It's Sunday night here, but here's how my day started:
John 15:9-17
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I
chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
...& the prayer that was laid on my heart with it:
"Oh Lord, help us to open our eyes, our ears, our hearts, our spirits to Your Love.
You are closer than our next breath–always–and yet we can’t or don’t seem to remember that.
Lord, forgive our willfulness, our forgetfulness.
Give us hearts that remember your love for us.
Give us spirits that are aware of Your Spirit & wills that choose obedience.
Help us to remain in Your presence & not get distracted so easily.
For it’s in You that we find true Joy, true Hope, & divine Rest for our weary souls.
Help us to remain in Your love & walk in the words You taught us to pray..."
May this part of His Word & these words be a blessing to your heart.
~~~
12 comments:
Love your inspiring words!
Thanks for your comments on my blog. It's readers like yourself that keep me going.
Have a great week, Susannah!
Remain in my love. Open our eyes. Amen!
There is no greater love to remain in, may all eyes be opened to such a love and a friendship so freely offered.
Difficult to be joyful in these terrible political days.
That said, we must look to the Lord. There is no other Hope.
Jackie~ Thank YOU! It's nice to know you're out there, friend!
Bryan~ Thanks for coming by & welcome! The rest of what you said - indeed.
Always~ Welcome! You're right. Let's look, though. Tea Parties came out of this (& I think that's only the beginning). Let's be joyful in that today, yes? And you're right, my sister, no other Hope exists.
Beautiful, Susannah...so inspiring.
the prayer is perfect..."not get distracted so easily..." PLEASE, GOD!!
Thanks for the comments to my troll. He's a humorless, nasty person, sadly. THERE is a man who needs prayer, come to think of it.
Mostly, all I've been doing is pray that he finally leaves again...!
God's blessings to you!
Susannah,
I'd like to continue this discussion either on my blog or yours.
You wrote:
Mr. O perpetuated it by claiming HIMSELF to be The Source of Hope for America (not his campaign & the movement it inspired, mind you, but HIMSELF). So, the term does have merit.
Can you find me an exact quote by Mr. Obama where he says this?
I do remember during the campaign where he said something to the effect "We are the ones we've been waiting for." But he was including everyone, not depicting himself as a "savior."
Susannah also wrote:
Didn't I mention the woman who came into my church wearing a button that said, "Faith, Hope, Obama" (That's a reference from Corinthians - a synonym for Jesus should go in the place where Mr. O's name is.) Maybe I was just talking to myself.There is absolutely nothing wrong with the button that woman wore. People use Biblical verses and references all the time to suit their causes. The problem seems to be that certain religious people want to keep that privilege to themselves and not allow anyone else to use Biblical references for an opposing point of view.
That's what your complaint sounds like.
There is no mocking or disrespect in those words on that button.
No one owns the words "faith" and "hope," nor is there any prohibition that I know of in any religion that forbids those two words to be used in conjunction with a person's name.
Your discomfort with that button's phrase says more about your feelings against Obama and his supporters than it does about the woman who wore it.
That button spoke of Mr. Obama's supporters' hopes for the future, nothing else.
It is you who read something nefarious or blasphemous into it.
There is a button like that? Hmmm. Mr. Obama's name does not belong in that verse in place of the word charity, neither does any other fleshly man's name. That would be an ignorant button. How ignorant? Let us follow the theme and see:
"And now abideth faith, hope, Obama, these three; but the greatest of these is Obama."
"Obama never faileth."
"Let all your things be done with Obama."
"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, Obama, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
"And above all things have fervent Obama among yourselves: for Obama shall cover the multitude of sins."
Yes, it was an ignorant button. Susannah, I hope you do not mind that I chimed in on that. I will apologize if so.
Z~ Thanks so much! It's b/c of you that I started doing the Sunday thing! :)
Hi Shaw! Welcome~
"We are the ones we've been waiting for" were very inspiring words, indeed, to those who believed him. However, I distinctly remember hearing Mr. O say (off the cuff to a crowd, not in a prepared speech) “I’m the hope we’ve been waiting for…” Like you, I don’t know exactly which crowd/what date, but it was so startlingly arrogant, I could hardly believe his audacity (no pun intended). So no, I don’t have an exact quote, but he did say it. You’ll have to trust my word; or not.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the button that woman wore."
Oh, but there is. It’s disrespectful of the Holy Word of God, plain & simple. THAT’s the source of my discomfort & irritation. (I'd have felt the same if it said, “Faith, Hope, Palin,” believe it or not.) Bryan does a nice job of illustrating the audacity & arrogance (no pun, again) found in this kind of disrespect.
"People use Biblical verses and references all the time to suit their causes."
Sure they do. The difference lies in using scripture to support a cause vs. inflating the OBJECT of your cause into the position of Christ. This button does just that by CHANGING scripture, replacing Love (synonym for Christ) with BO’s name. Disrespectful.
(I didn’t say that the button was mockery – though one could make a case for it. I said the picture you have on your blog is mockery.)
Keeping scripture to yourself or claiming ownership over words is not relevant. I Corinthians 13:13 is one of the most well-known verses of the entire New Testament, & has distinct significance to people of Christian faith. They’re not just random words pulled out of the dictionary & strung together.
"That button spoke of Mr. Obama's supporters' hopes for the future, nothing else." Fine. Don’t mutilate scripture & deify your guy to make that statement. And don't wear it to a place where people are certain to 'get it'. It was a very specific, targeted message & grossly inappropriate.
Bryan~ Thanks for your input. High illustrative quotient. (I think you're gonna get that award today.)
Hi again Bryan~ I just reread your comment. Mind?? Of course not! That's what makes blogging interesting - other people's 'chiming in'.
susannah, did you send me an email to my gmail account? an invite?
Yes, Z, a Twitter, was it?
I guess I should do a quick post about that!
:) Thanks for the head's up!
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