Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Drawn and Quoted

Be thankful for the endless flow of amazing quotes flowing steadily across social media platforms. Frankly, we need the encouragement.

Iron Burger is the super hero alter-ego
of Chester the Cheeseburger (credit: Alex Russell)
However, not all quotes have the same level of amazing-ness... or credibility. "I cannot brain today. I have the dumb." - LOL Cat. "Anything I don't understand or can't do is stupid." - Doug Stanhope.

If you're going to have "amazing quotes" in your diet... choose well. Make room for the voices of those that have walked in deep truth and holy beauty. Seek out those who draw truth and love to light.

"Cruelty and wrong are not the greatest forces in the world. There is nothing eternal in them. Only love is eternal." - Elisabeth Elliot. (Matt 28:18 "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.'")

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. - St. Augustine. (1 Cor. 13:7-8a "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.")

"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of God upon earth." - John Wesley (Matt. 16:18 - "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.")

The most amazing ideas spring from a heart touched by, and inspired by, the Master Creator. Our kind Creator, composed a beautiful collection through some of His favorite people for us to return to, for truth, encouragement, and hope.

4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates....
... And maybe post them daily on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.... ;-)

Advertisers know the power of repetition. Educators understand the influence of ongoing effort. What  parts of scripture to you repeat? Where are you applying ongoing effort to sew scripture within your own heart and the hearts of your children?

... Not one should be lost.

P.S. ... just because it's fun... "Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted." - Fred Allen (Proverbs 17:22  "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.")