Corrie ten Boom Quote

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."

From goodreads.com

George MacDonald Quotes

Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.

Anything large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon.

Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life.

How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.

It matters little where a man may be at this moment; the point is whether he is growing.

Love is the opener as well as closer of eyes.

Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.

You can't live on amusement. It is the froth on water - an inch deep and then the mud.

There are thousands willing to do great things for one willing to do a small thing.

From brainyquote.com

Job 38

Orion's Nebula image from freewebs.com

King James Version (KJV)


Job 38
1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

3Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

10And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

19Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

21Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

22Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

27To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

28Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

35Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?

36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

38When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

39Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

40When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

41Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

From biblegateway.com

If I Gained the World

1. If I gained the world, but had not Jesus,
Were my life worth iving for a day?
Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort
In the things that soon must pass away?
If I gained the world, but had not Jesus,
Would my gain be worth the life-long strife?
Are all earthly pleasures worth comparing
For a moment with a Christ-filled life?

2. Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,
And a name revered both far and near.
Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,
Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer;
If I gained the world, but had not Jesus,
Who endured the cross and died for me,
Could then all the world afford a refuge,
Whither, in my anguish I might flee?

3. O the joy of having all in Jesus!
What a balm the broken heart heal!
Ne'er a sin so great, but heal forgive it,
Nor a sorrow that he does not feel!
If I have but Jesus, only Jesus,
Nothing else in all the world beside
O then ev'ry thing is mine in Jesus;
For my needs and more He will provide.

--Anna Olander

If Ye Love Me

The highest attainment in Christian life

(J. R. Miller, "The Life of Jesus")

"Do this in remembrance of Me." 1 Corinthians 11:25

The secret of all the noble heroisms of the Church, has been passionate love for Jesus!

The Lord's Supper was intended to keep Christ always vividly in remembrance. We are to think of Him, when we have the sacred memorials of His love in our hands, reminding us of what He did to redeem us. But we are to think of Him just as devoutly, when we are away from the sacred table--in the midst of worldly tasks and circumstances.

If we always remember Christ, it will keep us faithful in our loyalty--as true to Him out on the streets, and when we are tempted and tried--as when we are at His feet in prayer.

Remembering Christ, will transform us into His likeness. Our thoughts are the builders, which rear the temple of our character. If we think of unclean things--our lives will become unclean. If we think of earthly things--we will grow earthly. If we think of Christ, if thoughts of Him are in our mind and heart continually, we will be changed, moment by moment, into His beauty!

The highest attainment in Christian life--is to always remember Christ, never to forget Him, to keep His blessed face ever before us. Then we shall never lose His peace out of our hearts. Then we shall never fail Him in any duty or struggle. Then we shall never be lonely, for remembering Christ will keep us ever conscious of His gracious presence.

Happiness

Happiness is as a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

~Hawthorne

Psalm 115

1Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

2Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

5They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

9O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

10O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

11Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

12The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

13He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.

14The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

15Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.

16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

17The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

18But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

From Biblegateway.com

Psalm 105

Psalm 105
King James Version (KJV)


Psalm 105
1O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

2Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

3Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

4Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

5Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

6O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

8He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

10And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

11Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

12When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

13When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

14He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

17He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

18Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

19Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

20The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

21He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

22To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

23Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

25He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

26He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

27They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

28He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

29He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

30Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

31He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

32He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.

33He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

34He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

35And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

36He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

37He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

38Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.

39He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

40The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

41He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

42For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.

43And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:

44And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;

45That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

From Biblegateway.com

Sermons We See

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day,

I'd rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.

The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear;

Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,

For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.

I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done.

I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true;

But I'd rather learn my lesson by observing what you do.

For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,

But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

~Edgar A. Guest

This poem was excerpted from the book "Leaves of Gold".

Lewis Carroll Quotes

I love Lewis Carroll. The world needs imaginative people who can be fun, clean, deep, and odd. :)




Always speak the truth, think before you speak, and write it down afterwards.

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.

Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.

Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.

I have proved by actual trial that a letter, that takes an hour to write, takes only about 3 minutes to read!

She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).

'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.'

There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents, you know.

Which form of proverb do you prefer Better late than never, or Better never than late?

While the laughter of joy is in full harmony with our deeper life, the laughter of amusement should be kept apart from it. The danger is too great of thus learning to look at solemn things in a spirit of mockery, and to seek in them opportunities for exercising wit.

Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.

From brainyquote.com

Longfellow Quotes

Here are some quotes from dear Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

"However things may seem, no evil thing is success and no good thing is failure."

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."

"Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat."

"Love gives itself; it is not bought."

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."

"Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night."

From brainyquote.com

The secret of being content!

(John MacDuff, "THE MIND OF JESUS" 1870)

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed--or hungry, whether living in plenty--or in need." Philippians 4:11-13



It is from the state of our minds that contentment arises--and not from the amount of our possessions. If we are not content with those things which we have--we are not likely to be content, if we succeeded in attaining all that we desire. The possession of all the good we may think it desirable or even possible to attain--would still leave an aching void; there would still be "a cruel something" unpossessed. But when the mind and the present condition are brought to meet--then, and then only, will true contentment be found! If our heart is brought to our condition--then our condition will then be according to our heart.

The consideration that our earthly lot is appointed by God--that it is He who fixes the bounds of our habitation--is eminently calculated to promote contentment. We are to remember that He is not merely the Creator--but the Governor of the world; and that every circumstance which transpires in our life, is under His superintendence and control. And hence we find the people of God, in every age, passing by merely second causes--until they came to the First Great Cause of all. They heard His voice, and saw His hand--in whatever befell them.

There are some who think that it is beneath the notice of God to regard such trivial events as those which make up our common everyday history. But in God's estimation, the distinctions of great and small, of vast and minute--are altogether unknown. It is not a greater act of condescension in God to number the hairs of our head--than it is for Him to number the stars of heaven; the one being as near to His immensity as the other. Such is His infinite greatness, that in comparison with it--the mightiest world is on a level with the smallest atom!

This doctrine is clearly taught in the volume of inspiration. He who rules in the armies of heaven--who commissions angels and flaming seraphs that stand before His throne, saying to one, "Come!" and he comes, and to another, "Go!" and he goes; who wheels the innumerable worlds which are scattered through the immensity of space in their appointed courses--this great, adorable, incomprehensible Being, regards with tender compassion the poor little sparrow which falls unheeded to the ground, and clothes the lowliest flower with its tints of beauty! Of His care, we are warranted in saying that nothing is too great to be above it--and that nothing, on the other hand, is too minute to be beneath it!

Were the doctrine of "chance" a doctrine of God's Word, there might then be some reason for our murmuring. But if it is He who makes poor--and who makes rich; who brings low--and lifts up; if whatever befalls us is by His appointment or permission, whom we profess to love and honor--then, surely, contentment with our lot must be a reasonable duty indeed!

"In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." Job 1:22. Job saw the hand of God in all that took place! It was not to the invasion of the Sabeans and Chaldeans--that he traced the loss of his property. It was not to the fury of "mother nature"--that he traced the death of his children. No! He looked farther and higher! Prostrate in adoration at the Divine footstool, he exclaimed, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had--and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!"

Now, how important it is, that the same mind which was in Job--should be in us also. To murmur under the Divine dispensations--to be dissatisfied with the lot which has been appointed to us--to be always complaining of one circumstance or another--what is this, in effect--but to charge God with wrongdoing? It is practically to attribute folly to Him who is the only wise God, and whose knowledge and understanding are infinite! O let us beware then of a discontented spirit--remembering that God orders all our affairs!

Whatever He gives us--let us thankfully receive it.

Whatever He denies us--let us be satisfied without it.

Whatever He takes from us--let us uncomplainingly part with it.

Whatever trial He lays on us--let us endeavor patiently to bear it.

Yes, our lot in life, with all its attendant circumstances, is chosen by God! Let the sun of prosperity shine--or let the clouds of adversity lower; let our path be smooth--or let it be rugged; we should be disposed to say, "It is the Lord's will--let Him do what He thinks best!" We may be often afflicted, being called to eat the bread of trouble, and drink the waters of affliction--but let us not rest until we can utter these words. We may not be able now to see how it is good; but let us think of the wisdom and love of Him who placed us there--and can we doubt it, whether we understand it or not? He is too wise to err--and too good to be unkind!

"Good when He gives, supremely good,
Nor less when He denies!
Even crosses from His sovereign hand
Are blessings in disguise!"

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Words: Ju­lia W. Howe, 1861, alt. This hymn was born dur­ing the Amer­i­can ci­vil war, when Howe vis­it­ed a Un­ion Ar­my camp on the Po­to­mac Riv­er near Wash­ing­ton, D. C. She heard the sol­diers sing­ing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was tak­en with the strong march­ing beat. She wrote the words the next day:

I awoke in the grey of the morn­ing, and as I lay wait­ing for dawn, the long lines of the de­sired po­em be­gan to en­twine them­selves in my mind, and I said to my­self, “I must get up and write these vers­es, lest I fall asleep and for­get them!” So I sprang out of bed and in the dim­ness found an old stump of a pen, which I re­mem­bered us­ing the day be­fore. I scrawled the vers­es al­most with­out look­ing at the p­aper.



Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

History and lyrics from www.cyberhymnal.org

No vague sentiment

(J. R. Miller, "Being Christians on Weekdays" 1912)



We are too apt to imagine that holiness consists in mere good feeling toward God. It does not! It consists in obedience in heart and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is to be set apart for God and devoted to God's service, "The Lord has set apart him who is godly for himself." But if we are set apart for God in this sense, it necessarily follows that we must live for God. We belong wholly to him, and any use of our life in any other service is sacrilege, as if one would rob the very altar of its smoking sacrifice, to gratify one's common hunger.

Our hands are God's—and can fitly be used only in doing his work. Our feet are God's—and may be employed only in walking in his ways and running his errands. Our lips are God's—and should speak only words which honor him and bless others. Our hearts are God's—and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections which are not pure.

Biblical holiness is no vague sentiment—it is intensely practical. It is nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling and act—into obedience to Christ.

An Interesting Bit of Ireland

Change Can Be Good

This is an excerpt from something, from Dayspring, that Shaina sent to me months ago.

God is a changer

God is a changer.
He changes darkness into Light...
Bondage into Liberty...
Ashes into Beauty...
Conflict into Peace...
He has changed death to Life!

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me... to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness... Isaiah 61:1,3 KJV

Living Richly

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."

--Woodrow Wilson

Nothing Lost

Nothing which is done for Christ is lost!

(J. R. Miller, "In His Steps" 1897)

Every truly consecrated life, with all its faculties, has been given over to Christ. Faith implies full surrender. "You are not your own." "You are Christ's." Christ owns us first by right of creation, then by right of purchase. We acknowledge His ownership and all that it includes, when we receive Him as our Savior and Lord. The first question, therefore, of the new believer is, "What will you have me to do, Lord?" We want to begin to work for our new Master. A heart of love for Christ, makes the sweeping of a room, the plowing of a field, the sawing of a board, the making of a garment, the selling of a piece of goods, the minding of a baby--as acceptable to God, as the ministry of angels!

One way of working for Christ, therefore, is to be diligent in the doing of life's common daily tasks. The true giving of ourselves to God, exalts all of life into divine honor and sacredness. Nothing is trivial or indifferent, which it is our duty to do. We are never to neglect any work, however secular it may seem--in order to do something else which appears to be more religious. There are some people who would be better Christians, if they paid more heed to their own daily business, attended fewer church meetings and did less religious gossiping.

We need a religion which puts itself into everything we do! The old shoemaker was right, when he said that when he stands before the great white throne, God will ask, "What kind of shoes did you make down on the earth?" We must do all our work for the judgment day--our common everyday tasks--as well as our religious duties. The carpenter must get his religion into the houses he builds; the plumber must get his religion into his plumbing; the tailor must get his religion into his seams; the merchant must get his religion into his sales. All our work--we must do for God's eye!

It is the little things which all of us can do in Christ's name, which in the end leave the largest aggregate of blessing in the world. We need not wait to do great and conspicuous things. A life that every day gives its blessing to another, and adds to the happiness of some fellow being, by only a word of kindness, a thoughtful act, a cheering look, or a hearty hand grasp--does more for the world than he who but once in a lifetime does some great thing which fills a land with his praise. Nothing which is done for Christ is lost! The smallest acts, the quietest words, the gentlest inspirations which touch human souls, leave their impress for eternity! "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matthew 10:42

A young girl was asked what it meant for her to be a Christian. She replied, "I suppose it is to do what Jesus would do--and behave as Jesus would behave--if He were a young girl and lived at our house." No better answer could have been given! The greatest duty of a Christian, is to do what Jesus would do--and to behave as He would behave--if He were precisely in our place, and our circumstances.

One Fine Day

Prayer for People in High Places

chawnghilh.wordpress.com

It is good and right to pray for someone in government, a lost friend or family member, and other things; but I wanted to bring up celebrities. People like athletes, musicians etc. who can be very enjoyable (or not) but very lost. I wanted to send out a word to encourage prayer for salvation for them. Also strangers, maybe somebody you've seen on the news or someone you see in passing. Who knows? Maybe someday you'll hear of one of them being saved or meet one in heaven.

Achievement

Every achievement worth remembering is stained with the blood of diligence and scarred by the wounds of disappointment. To quit, to run, to escape, to hide---none of these options solve anything. They only postpone the acceptance of, and reckoning with, reality.

Churchill put it well: "Wars are not won by evacuations."

--Charles Swindoll

Tanistry

A note on tanistry (or why early medieval Scots kings were constantly being murdered by their uncles, nephews and cousins):

In ancient Ireland, the High Kings of Tara were chosen by a group of lesser kings from one of their number based on fitness. Not a bad method. In ancient Pictland, a ruling group of seven nobles families chose from their numbers based on matrilineal descent, with a twist involving the notion of rotating between the families. Very complex and not well understood by the historians.

The Gaels of Dalriada, having brought their Stone of Destiny with them to Alba, developed a system called tanistry which incorporated some elements of both Irish and Pictish tradition. Originally, a Gaelic king would be elected from a wide circle of anyone whose great grandfather had been a king. The heir apparent was called the "tanist". Under Pictish influence, this system resolved into a rotation between the two main branches of the royal house. This led to a lot of rivalry and violence between the houses.

As the idea of direct hereditary descent became current, kings would seek to annihilate claimants of the rival house to ensure succession by their sons and grandsons. MacBeth is the great historical example. Malcolm II had no sons and wanted to secure the kingdom to his grandson, Duncan. So, he killed his predecessor's grandson (of the rival house). However, MacBeth was stepfather of the murdered man's heir and fought for and gained the throne on that basis. In turn, Duncan murdered MacBeth and regained the throne for himself (this short note leaves out quite a bit of the ins and outs).

The Canmore kings were able to establish direct hereditary descent (not without opposition), which made things considerably easier, but primogeniture as practiced in England did not prevail in Scotland until much later. In a nutshell, succession fell to the closest male relative of the old king, until all in that first generation were dead. For example, let's say King Joe had three sons. Each of them would rule in succession (oldest to youngest) before the son of the oldest son could gain the throne. Very messy and confusing when drawing the genealogical charts.


History from heartoscotland.com

History of Medieval Scotland #3

While David I was Normanizing his portion of medieval Scotland, extending her borders well into England, and, all in all, very capably ruling, the western clans were caught up in their own battles with the Norse. The 12th century is the age of Somerled, the great half-Viking king who recaptured Argyll and the Isles from the Norse. His descendants (the MacDonalds) styled themselves "Lord of the Isles" and were a thorn in the side of the Scottish monarchy for almost three hundred years.

Somerled



http://www.clandonaldgatherings.com

David I was succeeded by an 11-year-old grandson, another Malcolm, who proved no match for Henry II, losing much of David's gain in northern England. Fortunately, his brother William (the Lion) who followed, was able to recoup while Richard I abandoned his English kingdom for the Crusades. William was a great warrior and wrested the northern portions of mainland Scotland (Caithness, Sutherland, Ross) from the Norse. His banner was the red lion rampant on a yellow background - the flag of the Scottish monarchy to this day.

Somerled had been killed in battle by Malcolm IV and his possessions nominally came under the rule of Scotland, though his descendants would conspire for centuries with various English kings to gain Scotland's rule for themselves. Nevertheless, it was under 13th century Canmore kings (Alexander II and Alexander III) that the western isles were finally ceded from Norway to Scotland. Only the Orkneys and Shetlands remained under Norse rule until they were peacefully ceded to Scotland as part of a dowry to James II in 1468.

In 1286, after a long and productive reign, Alexander III died, leaving as heir a three-year-old granddaughter, Margaret, the Maid of Norway (her mother had married King Eric II of Norway). A group of six "Guardians" served as regents for four years. At the age of seven, en route to her kingdom, the little girl died without ever stepping foot on Scottish soil. She left a chaotic Scotland, with no fewer than 13 claimants to the throne.

In the 400 years from Kenneth MacAlpin to Alexander III, Scotland traveled from the land of legend and myth into the realm of history. The Picts, Britons and Angles merged into one people with a common law, language and religion. The depth of their national feeling was as yet unmeasured, but the blood of those who had fought tooth and nail against the Vikings flowed strongly in their veins. While having more in common with the Scots than with the Norse or Irish, yet the western lands had never wholeheartedly embraced the Scottish monarcy and its new ways. The highland clan system had also developed during these years, with the great clans growing stronger and their loyalties rigid.

Could medieval Scotland in 1296 hope to retain her independence against the wily Edward I of England? Would the feudal magnates with lands on both sides of the border be willing to die to maintain Scottish sovereignty? Would the clans come down from the mountains to fight for a monarchy and a nation they felt despised them? Could any of the many claimants to the throne win the hearts and minds of the Scots people?

History tells the tale.

History from heartoscotland.com

History of Medieval Scotland #2

The glories of the Viking age are well-told in myth and legend. Their blood now flows in the veins of people from Kiev to Iceland. Their cultural impact on all Europe cannot be overestimated. By the mid-700s, the Danes had established their base in Dublin and ruled there for hundreds of years, establishing most of the major coastal cities of Ireland. From Dublin, they sailed around England and established a strong kingdom on the east side, based in Yorkshire. Their power was so great that for years a Danish king sat on the English throne and their laws and customs are incorporated into English Common Law.

In 872 AD, Norway was finally consolidated under the reign of a mighty king, Harold Fairhair. As a consequence, many Norse jarls sought independence in the west and the invasions of northern Scotland began. The Norse gained the Orkneys and Shetlands, holding them for hundreds of years, and took much of Caithness and the Western Isles as well. But the courage and strength of the Scots held firm; medieval Scotland's core remained independent and, over time, the Norse territories were incorporated into Scotland.

Scotland was now surrounded by Vikings and cut off from Ireland and England as never before. The Scots peoples had much in common - except for the Angles, they had a common Celtic background. All were tribal groups and both Celtic and Angle law was based on payment as restitution for crime. The anglish and gaelic languages were beginning to merge in common areas. Most importantly, they were Christians, while the Vikings were pagan.

In the year 1018, the angles of Lothian were finally brought under the Scottish crown by Malcolm II. At the same time, the king of Strathclyde died and the crown passed to Malcolm II's grandson, Duncan. In 1034, when Duncan ascended the throne, he ruled most of modern Scotland, aside from the Norse territories of the isles.

Eleventh century medieval Scotland was an exciting place to live - changes abounded and the century produced several landmarks in Scottish history. Duncan, as we all know, met his fate at the hands of MacBeth, who, after ruling effectively for 17 years, was in turn murdered by Malcolm Canmore (crowned as Malcolm III and progenitor of the Canmore kings who ruled until 1296).

Malcolm III married Margaret, an English princess who had fled to Scotland with her family after the Norman Conquest (1066). Their union had far-reaching effects on Scottish culture and history. Margaret devoted herself to "civilizing" and reforming both the Scots nobility and church. Depending on your inclinations, she either did the church good or harm, as she fought relentlessly to bring the Scots church into greater conformity with Rome. There is no doubt she was extremely pious and her charitable works (hospitals, orphanages, abbeys, etc.) of great benefit to the Scots. She was canonized in 1251. Of cultural import, Margaret convinced Malcolm to make Saxon the official court language. Over time, these languages merged into the unique form of English spoken only in Scotland...

While these changes served to unite the eastern and southern portions of medieval Scotland, they served to further alienate the west, which continued to use the gaelic language and clung to the Celtic Christianity of their ancestors. More and more, the highland clans drifted from the mores of the east, being more influenced by the Norse of the Western Isles (and intermarriage with them) than by the rest of Scotland, which drew more from English (and later Norman) culture.

The divide of east and west became much more pronounced under David I (the Saint, ruled 1124-1153), youngest son of Malcolm and Margaret. David had escaped a murder plot by his uncle, Donald Bane, fleeing to England where he was raised by Henry I. He obtained lands that encompassed both sides of the border (eg, Huntingdon) for which he paid fealty to the English king. His upbringing was Norman, his friends were Norman, his language was French.

When he assumed the throne, he brought the Normans with him, transforming eastern and southern Scotland into a feudal kingdom modeled on the English. Mormaers and thanes became dukes and earls, their lands granted in law by the king to his friends. Many of these new magnates possessed lands in both Scotland and England; in later times they would have to choose where their loyalties lie.

History from heartoscotland.com

History of Medieval Scotland

When Kenneth MacAlpin achieved his ambition of being styled King of Scots and Picts, the land of Alba began it's 500-year transformation into the fiercely nationalistic medieval Scotland of Wallace and Bruce. The price paid was a heavy one for the Gaels who founded ancient Dalriada, for the very factors that conspired to unite Scotland under one language and one king worked to alienate the clan-based, Gaelic-speaking west so that by 1296 the Highland line was clearly established culturally as well as geographically.

When Kenneth MacAlpin achieved his ambition of being styled King of Scots and Picts, the land of Alba began it's 500-year transformation into the fiercely nationalistic medieval Scotland of Wallace and Bruce. The price paid was a heavy one for the Gaels who founded ancient Dalriada, for the very factors that conspired to unite Scotland under one language and one king worked to alienate the clan-based, Gaelic-speaking west so that by 1296 the Highland line was clearly established culturally as well as geographically.


MacAlpin's kingdom stretched from west to east across the face of Scotland, with a British kingdom firmly established in Strathclyde to the southwest, and the Angles permanently based in Lothian and Northumbria. From now on Alba would be styled "Scotia" and Scottish language and culture, over the next 200 years, would completely overlay and submerge the Pictish language and story, until within three or four generations, the Picts themselves became the stuff of legend.

Of course, the Pictish people were still there - making up the bulk of the population in Scotia, and without them Scotland would be unrecognizable as the distinct country it is. For a very long while, both before and after MacAlpin, the Pictish warriors fought the Britons, the Angles, the Danes, and the Norse, holding them off and preserving the core of early medieval Scotland for the Scots.

MacAlpin's first steps in uniting the Scottish peoples were to move his capital to Forteviot in the east, move the religious capital to Dunkeld (bringing St. Columba's bones with him), and bring the Stone of Destiny to Scone, one of the old Pictish capitals. This shift in powerbase from west to east was permanent and of long-lasting import to the clans of the west.

Little is known of the kings over the next 150 years, besides a recitation of the major battles. For through this time, Scotland's four peoples - Gaels, Picts, Angles, and Britons - forged ties of friendship and cultural exchange through their lengthy and fiercely contested efforts to hold off the Vikings (this is not to say they didn't continue to fight one another!).

History from heartoscotland.com

The Church's one foundation

This is one of my favorite hymns.

The Church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation,
by water and the word:
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed;
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, "How long?"
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blessed,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God, the Three in one,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

Words: Samuel John Stone, 1868

From oremus.org

The Ancient Scots and Picts

Dalriada

Northern Ireland is "nae so far" from Scotland, and as early as 258 AD the Romans complain of Scots from the north sweeping down upon them. The ancient Irish kingdom of Dalriada (race of Riada) traces its legendary lineage from the High Kings of Tara. About 500 AD, the sons of Erc, King of Dalriada, Fergus, Loarn, and Angus, established kingdoms in the Western Isles and Argyll, with their seat at Dunadd.

The kings of Scotland are descended from one of Fergus Mor's sons, Gabhran. In the mid-500s, St. Columba established a monastery on the Isle of Iona. From there, he acted not only as missionary to the Picts, but diplomat as well, helping to unite the Scots under Gabhran's son, King Aidan. Nevertheless, the Scots did not fare too well their first three centuries in Scotland, losing to the Britons in the south, and the Picts in the west. Indeed, the Picts continued as the strongest force in the land for 300 years more, both numerically and politically.

Saint Columba



Picture from saintcolumba.org

There are a great many legends surrounding Kenneth McAlpin, Scotland's first Scottish king. They say he killed the members of all seven Pictish royal houses to secure the throne. Such ruthlessness paid off, though. While some future kings were styled "King of the Scots" or "King of the Picts", all were buried on Iona as Scottish kings and the name of the country became "Scotia".

So Pictish power gave way to Scots, and the kingdom of the Gaels stretched from the Western Isles to the eastern coast. But there were Vikings in the north, and Britons and Angles in the south. Future kings would have the task of expanding Scotland's borders to their present extent and preserving her independence.

History from heartoscotland.com

Rome and Scotland

Roman Britain

In Iron Age Scotland, based on Celtic tribal society, warfare was common. First millenium BC Scots built hillforts, great duns (stone hill fortresses), crannogs (forts and houses built on stilts in lochs, and, unique to Scotland, brochs. Brochs are round stone towers, tapering inward as they rise from the ground. Hundreds may be found all over north and west Scotland and the Isles.

A Broch



http://www.scran.ac.uk/

When the Romans arrived in ancient Britain, they found numerous fierce tribes which they grouped under some general headings: Britons in England, Scotti in Ireland, and Picts in Scotland. It is believed that all these groupings were fundamentally Celtic. The Gaelic language of the Britons survives in Wales, Scots Gaelic (derived from Irish Gaelic) in western Scotland.

Many scholars believe the Picts spoke a version of Gaelic, related to Welsh but unknown to the later Scots (St. Columba required a translator when he converted Brude, the Pictish king). Other scholars claim evidence of a prior, non-indo-european language, related to Basque. The Pictish script found on stone monuments appears to use similar letter forms to the Irish Ogham, but remains as yet untranslated.

A crannog (I don't know if it is a reconstruction or not).



www.scottish-places.info

Another area of debate concerns the word Picti, meaning "painted" in Latin. Rather than painting themselves, other historical records suggest they actually tattooed their faces and bodies. Irregardless, they were mighty warriors, holding off Romans, Angles, and Vikings before their culture was absorbed by the Scots. The Hadrian and Antonine Walls are a tribute to the fear they instilled in Roman hearts.

Pictish society was one of the very few matrilineal societies of ancient Europe (setting them quite apart from the Irish and British), with kingship conferred through the mother. This is how Kenneth McAlpin, first Scottish King of the Scots and the Picts, came to the throne - his mother was a Pictish princess.

Remarkably, Pictish culture seems to have completely disappeared into legend and myth by the end of the 10th century, leaving behind a wide-open field of lively debate among present-day scholars.

History from heartoscotland.com

The Iron Age In Scotland

Iron Age in Ancient Scotland

Now we come to one of the two great areas of debate concerning early British history (the other, found below, involves the Picts). Who were the Celts? When did they get to the British Isles? Are Celts and Druids really a part of the same culture?

First of all, there is a simplistic mental image, produced by reading textbooks, in which we envision "waves" of people hurling themselves across Europe, destroying all in their path, and imposing their ethnic identity and DNA on the hapless prior inhabitants. This is incorrect. DNA testing has revealed that present-day inhabitants of Britain are primarily descended from the mesolithic (early stone age) or original inhabitants of the islands.

It is true that a tribe or group of people may "win the war" and impose their rule and their culture - this happens time and time again. But they intermarry, rather than annihilate, and the basic stock remains the same. Nevertheless, it is remarkable how widespread Celtic culture was in western Europe (Spain, France, and Britain) hundreds of years before the Romans took an interest in their history.

By 400 BC or so, we stand at a crossroads in our study of ancient Scotland. For the Celts are still living in the world of archeological record, while the Mediterranean world has long since moved into the realm of history. The difference? Writing.

From the Greek and Roman historians who first encountered the Celtic peoples we have developed our basic image of the fierce Celtic warrior, woad-painted and naked, howling like a banshee. We've also garnered images of ancient druids, congregating under the sacred oaks, harvesting mistletoe, and supervising human sacrifice.

Some of what they record is likely true and some colored by hearsay, wishful thinking, and political expediency. Unfortunately, the Celts cannot answer back because at that time they had no written language.

There is one point of great debate and historical interest, however. By the time of Julius Caesar, it would appear that the power base of druid religion and culture derived from Britain. In other words, the druid religion may have spread outward from Britain to Europe rather than vice versa. Perhaps, as the Celts migrated into the British Isles, encountering the indigenous culture and its great stone circles, they developed a unique religion, druidism, which then migrated back to France and Germany. The implications are stunning and call on us to do our own research and come to our own conclusions.

From heartoscotland.com

Optimistic Thoughts

My Mum e-mailed this article to me today. I thought I'd share. I'll add the Scripure below the reference.

September 3, 2010

Thoughts
by Charles R. Swindoll

Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -From biblegateway.com

Thoughts are the thermostat that regulates what we accomplish in life. If I feed my mind upon doubt, disbelief, and discouragement, that is precisely the kind of day my body will experience. If I adjust my thermostat forward to thoughts filled with vision, vitality, and victory, I can count on that kind of day. Thus, you and I become what we think about.

Neither Dale Carnegie nor Norman Vincent Peale originated such a message. God did. "For as [a man] thinks within himself, so he is" (Prov. 23:7). "Therefore, prepare your minds for action" (1 Peter 1:13).

The mind is a "thought factory" producing thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of thoughts each day. Production in your thought factory is under the charge of two foremen. One we shall call Mr. Triumph, the other Mr. Defeat.

Mr. Triumph specializes in producing reasons why you can face life victoriously, why you can handle what comes your way, why you're more than able to conquer. Mr. Defeat is an expert in the opposite. He develops reasons why you cannot succeed, why you're inadequate, why you should give up and give in to worry, failure, discouragement, and inferiority.

Give a positive signal, and Mr. Triumph will see to it that one encouraging, edifying thought after another floods your mind. But Mr. Defeat is always standing by, awaiting a negative signal (which he would rather you call "reality" or "common sense!"), and when he gets it, he cranks out discouraging, destructive, demoralizing thoughts that will soon have you convinced you can't or won't or shouldn't.

Thoughts, positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition. That may explain why so many who are gloomy and gray stay in that mood . . . and why those who are cheery and enthusiastic continue to be so.

What kind of performance would your car deliver if every morning before you left for work you scooped up a handful of dirt and put it in your crankcase? The engine would soon be coughing and sputtering. Ultimately it would refuse to start. The same is true of your life. Thoughts that are narrow, self-destructive, and abrasive produce needless wear and tear on your mental motor. They send you off the road while others drive past.

You need only one foreman in your mental factory: Mr. Triumph is his name. He is eager to assist you and available to all the members of God's family.

His real name is the Holy Spirit, the Helper.

If Mr. Defeat is busily engaged as the foreman of your factory, fire yours and hire ours! You will be amazed at how smoothly the plant will run under His leadership.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

The Bronze Age

Bronze Age in Ancient Scotland

Archeologists believe that new people, called the Beaker people after their most common archealogical product, moved to the Isles around 2500 BC bringing their metalworking skills and culture with them. This was a peaceful influx, a more technologically advanced society influencing and dominating the less advanced. However, the Beaker people embraced wholeheartedly the notion of stone circles and they are the ones who perfected the art. So cultural exchange worked both ways.

Scottish culture changed dramatically with the advent of metalworking. Learning to smelt gold and copper, and later to combine copper and tin into sturdy bronze, opened broad new vistas in trade, the arts, accumulation of wealth, and warfare. All of these produced commensurate changes in class structure and ancient society. Gold and copper were available in Scotland, but the tin had to come from Cornwall, increasing trade traffic all around the Isles.

With metalworking, the days of bonking someone over the head with a club or sailing a stone at them were over. Swords and shields, dirks, daggers and spearheads - all beautifully crafted and carved - and, of course, expensive. They would belong to the man who could get them and hold them, and the age of warrior aristocracy began. Stone age cairns held many people, but the Beaker people buried their aristocracy alone, complete with artifacts and goods for the journey ahead.

While all these changes were taking place in ancient Scotland, a new people were spreading across the face of Europe. Coming from the steppes of southeast Asia, as had so many before them, they made great use of horses to overcome and subdue. By 700 BC, they had reached England and their influence spread until their culture dominated the British Isles. They were the Celts.

From heartoscotland.com

A Special Treat

This is an adorable little boy saying The Lord's Prayer in Scots Gaelic.





Image from freerepublic.com

Scotland!

I plan to dedicate, or perhaps mainly dedicate, this month's historical/cultural perspectives on all things Scottish. Now, If you are anything like me, you are very much inclined to believe that the world is somewhere in the area of 6,000-years-old. For now, and in furture things that I post, dates may come up where I might think "I don't know about that one". But anyway, let us continue.



Image taken from celtscot.ed.ac.uk


Stone Age in Ancient Scotland

Archeology is a fascinating field of study. You get to spend your life holding, for instance, a small carved stone ball up to the light while saying "What in the world did they use this for?" The two favorite words of archeologists? probably. possibly.

Archeology is a fascinating field of study. You get to spend your life holding, for instance, a small carved stone ball up to the light while saying "What in the world did they use this for?" The two favorite words of archeologists? probably. possibly.
Probably farming began to take hold in ancient Scotland around 4000 BC. Possibly the carved stone balls were used for a game. In the east, people were buried in large barrows (called cairns when made with stones). In the west, they used chambered cairns (everyone got their own spot). Later, possibly, these two cultures merged under the new technologies, greater population, and increased trade of the Bronze Age.

Archeologists do magnificent work, bringing the past to light, but must walk a fine line between assuming ancient peoples thought exactly the way we do with very similar motivations and interests, or conversely lived in a world of such deep superstition and barbarity that we should be unable to relate to their concerns and activities in any way. It's a tough task. Once in a while, archeologists are rewarded with a very well-preserved site, such as Skara Brae in the Orkneys.

Undercovered by a storm in 1850, the village of Skara Brae survived under sand for 5000 years almost completely intact. Why? Because virtually everything was made of stone - houses, beds, dressers and shelves - even wall recesses with drains beneath, suggesting indoor facilities. They had to use stone, since Orkney has few trees.

Other sites, similar to Skara Brae, suggest that the Orkney tribes were totem-based. At Cuween Hill, many dog skulls have been found, while the Ibister were people of the eagle.

These were the early years of the great henges and stone circles, though most were built during the Bronze Age, including some of the largest such as Stone Henge. What is a henge? Henges include the circles of stone, but are surrounded by a ditch, with the earth dug up and piled around the outer perimeter of the ditch, encircling and protecting the stone and timber arrangements inside.

There is a great deal of speculation about the uses of the circles. Many included altars and burials. Some seem oriented toward the sun and some toward the moon. It would seem they may have been used for a variety of purposes depending on the time, place and current culture. Popular imagination peoples the henges with druids, but the circles of stone predate the druids by many, many centuries.

From www.heartoscotland.com

A quote from John Newton

"I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world, but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am."

Dealing with Disappointment

Another gem I've kept in my e-mail.

(The following is a letter of John Newton to his 13 year old adopted daughter, who was away at school)

"The LORD does whatever pleases Him--in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:6

My dear Betsy,
How vain are all things here below! "Vanity of vanities!" says the preacher. And you, and I, and your mamma, may say so likewise; for we all counted upon seeing you last Sunday. We listened at the door--and peeped out of the window--but no Betsy came! Now we will venture to expect you next Sunday.

Indeed, it is not amiss that you should now and then meet with a hindrance--that you may learn, if possible--not to count too much on what tomorrow may do for you--and that you may begin to feel the impossibility of being happy, any further than your will is brought into submission to the will of God. In order to learn this--you must have your own will frequently crossed. And things do and will turn out, almost daily in one way or other--contrary to our wishes and expectations.

When such disappointments happen--most people fret and fume! They are angry and impatient! But others, who are in the Lord's school, and desirous of being taught by Him--get benefit by these things, and sometimes find more pleasure in yielding to His appointments, though contrary to their own wills--than they would have done, if all had happened just as they had desired!

I wish for you my dear child, to think much of the Lord's governing providence. It extends to the minutest concerns. He rules and manages all things; but in so secret a way, that most people think that He does nothing. When, in reality--He does ALL!

He appointed the time of your coming into the world. And the day and hour of your coming home from school to us--totally depends upon Him likewise! Nor can you safely travel one step of the road--without His protection and care over you!

It may now seem a small matter to you and I, whether you came home last Sunday--or are to come home next Sunday. But we know not what different consequences may depend upon the day--we know not what hidden danger you might have escaped by staying at school last Sunday. The Lord knows all things! He foresees every possible consequence! Often what we call disappointments, are really mercies from Him to save us from harm!

If I could teach you a lesson, which, as yet, I have but poorly learned myself--I would teach you a way to be never be disappointed. This would be the case--if you could always form a right judgment of this world, and all things in it.

If you go to a bramble-bush to look for grapes--you must be disappointed; but then you are old enough to know that grapes never grow upon brambles. So, if you expect much pleasure here in this world--you will not find it. But you ought not to say you are disappointed, because the Scripture plainly warned you beforehand, to look for crosses, trials and hindrances, every day. If you expect such things--you will not be disappointed when they happen!

"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: Naked I came from my mother's womb--and naked I will depart. The Lord gave--and the Lord has taken away! May the name of the Lord be praised!" Job 1:20-21

Breathe On Me Breath of God

What a blessing.

Does God really care for us?

There is a lady who at times sends me "Grace Gems" in my e-mail. One of them had links to a couple of articles, that J. R. Miller had written, underneath the message itself. I really appreciate this man. I have a folder in my e-mail dedicated to him.

Does God really care for us?

(J. R. Miller, "Does God Care?" 1912)


"I am poor and needy—yet the Lord thinks upon me!" Psalm 40:17

Did God really care for him? And does God care for us, and think upon us—when we are poor and needy? Does God really care for us, as individuals? Does He give personal thought to any of us—to you, to me—according to our condition? Does pain or trouble in us—cause pity in His heart? Does God care? Does He see the individual in the crowd? When you are passing through some great trouble, enduring pain or adversity—does God know it, and does He care?

A daughter had a bitter sorrow, a sore disappointment. The mother knew just what her daughter was passing through. Her love for her child, entered into and shared all the child's experiences. The mother cared. Is there ever anything like this in the heart of God—as He looks upon His children and knows that they are suffering?

When we turn to the Bible, we find on every page the revelation—that God does care—and has personal interest in His people.

Christ assured His disciples, that the very hairs of their heads are all numbered; meaning that God personally cares for all the minutest affairs of our lives—He cares for us as individuals. His love is as personal and individual, as the love of a mother for each one of her children.

Paul took the love of Christ to himself—as if he were the only one Christ loved! "He loved me—and gave Himself up for me!" God's love is personal. He cares for us—for me!

Whatever your need, your trial, your perplexity, your struggle may be—you may be sure that God knows and cares—and that when you come to Him with it, He will take time amid all His infinite affairs, to help you—as if He had nothing else in all the world to do!


God cares! His love for each one of His children is so deep, so personal, so tender—that He has compassion on our every pain, every distress, every struggle. "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." Psalm 103:13. God is our Father, and His care is gentler than a human father's—as His love exceeds human love.

Much human care has no power to help—but when God cares—He helps omnipotently. When human friendship can give no relief—then God will come. When no one in all the world cares—then God cares! "Cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7

Concerning Night and Day

The moon is beautiful but when God comes to rule on earth,^"18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
¹⁹ The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
²⁰ Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."

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From Isaiah 60



Again in Revelation 21, speaking of the new Jerusalem, it says
^"23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
²⁴ And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
²⁵ And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
²⁷ And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

A.W. Tozer

A quote from "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer--

"The Lord takes peculiar pleasure in His saints. Many think of God as far removed, gloomy and mightily displeased with everything, gazing down in a mood of fixed apathy upon a world in which He has long ago lost interest; but this is to think erroneously. True, God hates sin and can never look with pleasure upon iniquity, but where men seek to do God's will He responds with genuine affection. Christ in His atonement has removed the bar of divine fellowship. Now in Christ all believing souls are objects of God's delight. "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."





Aiden Wilson Tozer (April 21, 1897 - May 12, 1963) was an American Christian pastor, preacher, author, magazine editor, Bible conference speaker, and spiritual mentor. For his work, he received two honorary doctorate degrees. (quoted from wikipedia.org)

He is one of my favorite authors. You will probably hear more quotes from him in the future. :)

Purpose

My first blog, emilyandtheyellowhouse, has been kept pretty light-hearted with meals and things. For the most part I would like to keep it that way; but I have a desire to post things concerning religion and history. This blog will probably (mainly) center around those two things.



Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42