“QUOTES FOR LIFE (Part 3 of 3)”
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.”
– 1 Chronicles 29:10-12
Thank you for being faithful readers of this column! At age 70 writing this each week helps keep my mind clear and as one old friend encouraged me recently… I need to keep doing this in order to be a positive voice in a world which can get confusing very quickly. As I wrote last week… every once in a while, it is good to have handy a list of quotes to help us muddle through and carry on. Here are three more
GUILT: “You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you. Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.”
– Psalm 69:5-7
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
– James 2:8-10
“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.”
– Vera Nazarian
GRACE: ”The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. 11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.”
– Proverbs 22:8-10
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
– Ephesians 2:4-6
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.”
– Anne Lamott
GREATNESS: “Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre.”
– Psalm 150:1-3
“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.”
– 2 Corinthians 13:11-12
“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.”
– 1 John 3:18-20
“Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
– Matthew 20: 26-28
In the big picture there is good guilt and bad guilt. Good guilt comes from within. The other is when people point fingers and another. Grace is the salve which moves us beyond our guilt into a new day and a new reality… always generous… never-ending… providing an opportunity to do it all over… offering a holy space to perhaps find some greatness in the mix. Faith matters. God bless!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
