FROM TODAY'S READING (5/31/2017)...
"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears."
John Vance Chaney
Psalms 30:11-12 (NLT) You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
Image: Creative Commons (maxpixel: nature/landscapes)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/26/2017)...
"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music, and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."
Henny Youngman
Ephesians 5:31-33 (NLT) As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Image: Creative Commons (Google/unknown)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/25/2017)...
An elderly woman was preparing to park her big and expensive car when a young college student cut her off and stole her parking spot. The young man jumped from his car and sarcastically said, "Oh to be young and fast." When the unwise student returned to his car he was appalled at what he saw. The old woman was using her big car as a battering ram to demolish his little car. To his surprise, the lady rolled down her power window and said with a smile, "Oh to be old and rich."
King Duncan (King's Treasury of Dynamic Humor, 1990, p.28)
Romans 12:17-21 (NLT) Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Image: Creative Commons (Google/unknown)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/24/2017)...
"God encourages persistence in all areas of our lives, including the spiritual. Where in your spiritual life do you need more persistence? Strong character develops as you struggle through tough conditions."
LAB Study Note (Genesis 32:26)
Genesis 32:24-28 (NIV) So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
"Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Image: Creative Commons (Google/unknown origin)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/23/2017)...
"It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"
Henry David Thoreau
Proverbs 6:6-11 (NLT) Take a lesson from the ants...Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
Image: Creative Commons (Flickr/Niels Photography)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/22/2017)...
"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus."
Alexander Abraham Bell
Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT) Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Image: Creative Commons (Flickr/Michael Dales)
FROM TODAY'S READING (5/19/2017)...
"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT) Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (NLT) Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
Image: Creative Commons (Flickr/Kevan)