Loneliness
"Many a time of an evening, when I sat alone looking at the fire, I thought, after all, there was no fire like the forge fire and the kitchen fire at home."
- Pip thinking to himself, from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, Ch XXXIV.
Nevers
Recently, the worthy Dan Dumas started off a list of tweets on things a person of character should never do. It started with this and went from there. I thought it worth remembering.
1. Never send a nasty email.
2. Never post a snarky tweet.
3. Never write a harsh blog post.
4. Never leave an ugly voicemail.
5. Never mock the under privileged.
6. Never use racial slurs.
7. Never win a battle and lose the war.
8. Never judge a book by its cover.
9. Never spread gossip.
10. Never panic.
The Church's Treasure
#62 The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
#63 But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).
- Martin Luther, The 95 Theses
A Question Worth Asking
Question 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death?
Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.
- Question 1 of The Heidelberg Catechism
In a Word, the Entire Life of Believers
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
- Martin Luther, Thesis 1 of the 95 Theses
The Violence of Hurry
"Hurry is a form of violence practiced on time. But time is sacred." - Eugene Peterson