Metanoeite

"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time..."

Seething was sensed then seen in their presence; and I was reminded there's evidence of election and proof of perdition.

"It's axiomatic."

"What happens when we live God's way?
He brings gifts into our lives;
much the same way that
fruit
appears
in
the orchard."

Metanoeite

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

I've never felt so wrong about being so right as when I've demanded dogmatic high-stepping to my beat.

"Sing with Me, 'Love, love, love...love is all you need!'"

"Love is the best!"

Metanoeite

"Light has come into the world."

He doesn't want to be saved.

"Some people are like that."

"People love darkness."

Metanoeite LXLXXX

"The fruit of the Spirit or evidence of communion with God is..."

What can I do for consistently miserable people?

"Nothing!"

"Go deeper!"

Metanoeite CXLXXIV

"Love each other just as much as I love you."

Everybody told me to give up on him.

"Not Me."

"How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
For I am God and not man,
The Holy One
in
your midst."

Metanoeite CXLXXIII

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you should...I advise
every last one of you not to overestimate your importance."

So many people are so thin-skinned.

"It takes one to know one."

"Therefore, in all your dealings with people,
treat them as you want to be treated.
This, in a nutshell, is the essence
of all our moral and religious
principles."

Metanoeite CXLXXII

"God loves the world so much that..."

As a mosquito flew into my nose during the downswing on the 15th tee, I thought of an old friend who warned, "Just one flea can make a big dog itch."

"Even when you're really annoying, I don't swat you away."

"As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings..."

Metanoeite CXLXXI

"The Word became flesh...full of grace and truth."

I may be wrong.

"True!"

"God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him."

Metanoeite CXLXX

"The truth will set you free."

If I say everything's great, people know I'm lying; but if I say everything's not great, people don't like it.

"I tell you to tell the truth."

"I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Metanoeite CXLXIX

"A Sabbath rest remains for God's people."

I'm weary and wearing out.

"Come to Me for regenerating rest."

"Let us make every effort to enter that rest."

Metanoeite CXLXVIII

"And when you fast..."

Lord, I'm not really into it.

"You still don't get it."

"I will honor those who honor Me."

Metanoeite CXLXVII

"Stay here while I go over there to pray."

Jesus, I need to get away before I come back.

"I did."

"Angels came and cared for Jesus' needs."

Metanoeite CXLXVI

"Look up!"

I'm so weary and feeling pulled down by naysayers, navel-gazers, party-poopers, and damning demi-gods who see what's wrong with everybody but themselves.

"Shifting sight saves."

"You'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things
true,
noble,
reputable,
authentic,
compelling,
gracious -
the best, not the worst;
the beautiful, not the ugly;
things to praise, not things to curse."

Metanoeite CXLXV

"I do not change...I make everything new."

You are always providing new ways to experience and express You.

"Because you've still got changes to make to conform to Me."

"You must be born again and from above."

Metanoeite CXLXIV

"You have heard...but I say..."

I met with a young man who wept because of "people bein' ugly" to each other; so I quoted some of Your friends: "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

"My people brighten the path leading to Me."

"Let your light shine so they may see..."

Metanoeite CXLXIII

"Absolute futility! Everything is futile!"

I came back, went to my study nearly five hours before a wedding because I had so much work and catching up to do, turned everything on, and nothing worked.

"I do."

"God alone is my salvation."

Metanoeite CXLXII

"Love them as much as I love you."

I love them so much; and I'd die for them.

"I love them so much; and I did!"

"I lay down my life for them voluntarily."

Metanoeite CXLXI

"Remember and repent!"

Retarding relationships suffer a similar refrain: "I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back."

"I revealed the remedy at genesis: 'Return to Me; and I will revive you.'"

"If you do not remember and repent,
I will remove your lampstand."

Metanoeite CXLX

"Watch out for those cause controversies contrary to what you have learned...Avoid them!
They don't serve Jesus. They have their own needs.
They cozy up to you, say what you want to hear,
and
deceive to divide."

I've noticed some who slither and sneak around to stir up problems to help solve them on their terms.

"They're crying out for attention; and they'll keep wailing away until they get it."

"Remember, Jesus told us this would happen...There will be people...who
split churches, thinking only of themselves. There's nothing to them,
no sign of the Spirit!...Carefully build yourselves up!...Go easy
on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take
the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft
on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven."

Metanoeite CXLIX

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses...I have set before you life and death.
Choose life
so that
you and your children
will live."

We have a choice to make: become a safe haven, beacon, and mission post or slide from museum to mausoleum.

"Who said you have a choice?"

"You shall be My witnesses."

Metanoeite CXLVIII

"Martha was so busy and distracted."

Martha's relatives are offended by what You said to Mary but Mary's understand.

"I love 'em both; but pay more attention to Mary."

"Mary focused on Jesus."

Metanoeite CXLVII

"Turn back! Recover your dear early love for Me. No time to waste;
for I am well on My way to removing
the light entrusted to you
to shine on others."

You called me to a museum to pray and labor with the remnant to build a mission post not preface to a mausoleum; and I will stay to baptize or inter.

"I have never left you and you will never leave Mine."

"Wake up! Strengthen what remains...Go back
to what you heard and believed...Hold to it
firmly
and
turn to Me
again."

Metanoeite CXLVI

"The Lord is the strength of His people."

I always have enough energy when You call me to action.

"Charging comes with call."

"I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Metanoeite CXLV

"I go to prepare a place for you...There will be no more pain or tears."

Despite nearly a decade together as presbyters, I hardly knew him; and now he's dead.

"I did, do, and so will you...through Me."

"You will be with me in paradise."

Metanoeite CXLIV

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only."

Those Nike guys must read Chambers: "If God has shown you something to do, don't say, 'I'll do it'; do it!"

"Behavior betrays belief."

"Walk the talk!"

Metanoeite CXLIII

"Let me tell you why you are here.
You're here to be
salt-seasoning -
that
brings out the
God-flavors...
If you lose your saltiness,
how will people taste
Godliness?
You've lost your usefulness
and
will end up
in
the
garbage."

Warned that evil schemes to exterminate whoever dares to expose them, I confess I'd rather be like those preachers who pretend everything's O.K. to avoid hassles, headaches, and heartaches.

"You can't...if you're on My side."

"You're not in the driver's seat.
I am.
Don't run from suffering; embrace it.
Follow Me...
Self-help is no help at all.
Self-sacrifice
is the way,
My way,
to
finding yourself, your true self.
What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself?
What could you ever trade your soul for?"

Metanoeite CXLII

"I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God.
You're acting like infants in relation to Christ,
capable of nothing much more
than nursing at the breast.
Well, then, I'll nurse you
since
you don't seem capable of anything more.
As long as you grab
for
what makes you feel good
or
makes you look important,
are you really much different than a babe at the breast,
content only when everything's going your way?"

Whether it's presbyters, pulpiteers, pewsitters, or people who volunteer to work in youth sports, I feel more like a babysitter than discipler too often.

"You love and I'll judge."

"God wants everybody to be saved."

Metanoeite CXLI

"If you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't.
You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.
Doom to the world
for
giving these God-believing children a hard time!
Hard times are inevitable,
but
you don't have to make it worse -
and
it's doomsday to you
if
you do."

After another thinly veiled threat for exposing their racism and consistent pattern of intimidation, megalomania, and narcissism, I thought, "Bring it on, you _____!"

"If you're true to Me, I will take care of them; for it's like I warned through the prophet, "Don't mess with Me, Babylon; or I'll come and break the backbone of your power!"

"You come from God and belong to God.
You have already
won
a big victory
over
those false teachers,
for
the Spirit
in
you
is far stronger
than
anything in the world."

Metanoeite CXL

"Jesus wept."

So much barking, bitching, berating, beating, bruising, battering, and butchering in this world; and I can't stop crying.

"Come to Me."

"He will wipe away every tear."

Metanoeite CXXXIX

"Forgive our debts as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us."

I'd like You to erase two debts that are really inhibiting me; for I've learned less debt means less stress.

"The biggest one has been cancelled already; so there's no problem with the rest as long as you do your part."

"There is a connection between what God does and what you do.
You can't get forgiveness from God,
for instance,
without also forgiving others.
If you refuse to do your part,
you cut yourself off
from
God's part."

Metanoeite CXXXVIII

"Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice
between
prosperity and disaster,
between
life and death."

She closed the door; leaving others open.

"Behind every door is a consequence."

"Choose this day."

Metanoeite CXXXVII

"Put no value on earthly things, which worms and rust consume, and which thieves break into and steal.
Rather, y'all set your hearts on spiritual values...For
your values and your character
are wrapped up together."

I'm so upset about losing those two Starbucks cards.

"If only you cared as much about..."

"'Let's all eat and drink and whoop it up,
because
this son of mine was given up for dead,
and
he's still alive;
he was lost
and
is
now
found.'
And they began to whoop it up!"

Metanoeite CXXXVI

"Love does not hold grudges or catalogue wrongs.
Love is not touchy.
Love hardly even
notices when
others do it
wrong."

She said she can't/won't forgive.

"Self-righteousness is self-destructive now and then."

"Your Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you;
but
if you refuse to forgive them,
He
will not
forgive
you."

Metanoeite CXXXV

"Rain falls on everybody."

Winter inhibits worship, work, and witness.

"Walking in the Sonshine is a choice."

"I am with you."

Metanoeite CXXXIV

"...with a kiss?"

Friend betrayed friend who betrayed friend who betrayed friend who betrayed friend who betrayed friend who...

"...betrayed Me."

"As you do it to members of My family,
you
do it
to
Me!"

Metanoeite CXXXIII

"I thirst for God."

It's been a year since Kopper joined our family; yet our puppy still likes to be cradled and cuddled.

"Kind of like you."

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you."

Metanoeite CXXXII

"He lets His sun rise on both sinners and saints, and
He sends rain on both good people and bad."

I've been walking this puppy for over a year every early morning and every late night and I'm getting tired of the snow, rain, mosquitoes covering me like make-up on teenagers at the mall, and whatever...

"Don't leave home without Me."

"Keep Your eye on me;
hide me
under
Your
cool wing feathers."

Metanoeite CXXXI

"My people are hell-bent on leaving Me...Oh, how can I give you up? How can I destroy you?
My heart is torn within Me, and My compassion overflows.
No, I will not punish you as much as My burning
anger tells Me to...for I am God...I am the
Holy One living among you, and
I
will not
come
to
destroy."

Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and quit.

"That's not how Ours do it until..."

"It is finished."

Metanoeite CXXX

"Don't look for someone to blame. No finger pointing!
You, priest, are the one...
My people are ruined
because
they don't know what's right or true.
Because
you've
turned your back on knowledge,
I've
turned my back on you priests...
They've
walked out on me,
their God,
for a life
of
rutting
with
whores."

Telling the truth does not exempt me from it; or as my wife asks regularly as well as rhetorically, "Why don't you practice what you preach?"

"Wives know their spices...like salt."

"You who place such emphasis on the Bible,
are
you
disgracing God
by
your
violations
of
the
Scripture?"

Metanoeite CXXVIII

"How often I've ached to embrace your children,
the way a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings,
but
you
wouldn't let Me."

The auto-suggested righteous who rationalize to spiritualize creeds and deeds because they always need to be right and win while pretending to know You better than anyone else exhaust me.

"You!?"

"He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many."

Metanoeite CXXIX

"Half the time I don't know which end is up. The things I really don't want I make a habit of,
and the things I just despise I go right on doing...The desire to do right is there, yes, but
the deed, no. I simply don't carry through on my good intentions; worse,
I fall into the habit of doing the bad things I don't intend.
What a scoundrel I am!
Who can get me out
of
this
rut
of
destruction?"

I can't stop making mistakes.

"You're so human; requiring One so Divine."

"While we were real sick, in the nick of time Christ died for people
who couldn't care less for a loving God...God convinces us of
His love, because while we were still sinful trash
Christ gave His life for us."

Metanoeite CXXVII

"We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing,
gone our own way."

I think I've figured out the difference between Your Church and our churches: Yours looks up, stands up, speaks up, and acts up for Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture while ours navel-gazes.

"You cannot have other gods - even yourselves - before Me."

"I will build My Church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it."

Metanoeite CXXVI

Metanoeite (CXXVI)

"Very early on Sunday morning, as the Son rose..."

It's Sunday!

"So stop acting like it's still Friday!"

"I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally,
experience His resurrection power!"

Metanoeite CXXV

"I must be about My Father's business."

Kopper and I walk for about 30 minutes in the morning and at night; and he waited so long for everything to be to his liking today that he almost failed to do his business.

"Some churches wait just long enough to miss opportunities to honor Me; which betrays deeply embedded disobedience."

"Time is just about up."

Metanoeite CXXIV

"I will never desert You; even if they all do."

They nailed You; then I found the hammer in my hands.

"It's relative to the Adamsons."

"Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death,
another person did it right and got us out of it...One man said no to God and put
many people in the wrong; one Man said yes to God and put many in the right...
Adam caused many to be sinners
because
he disobeyed God,
and
Christ caused many to be made acceptable to God
because
He
obeyed.
...[It's relative]...
You must be born again and from above."

Metanoeite CXXIII

"What must I do to be saved?"

Our puppy Kopper takes the surest and safest way to where he wants to go.

"He's Me for you."

"No one goes to the Father except by Me."

Metanoeite CXXII

"All we preach is Christ crucified."

Visiting a new church, I couldn't find the old cross.

"Obviously, they don't know Me."

"I am going to boast about nothing but the cross of our Master, Jesus Christ."

Metanoeite CXXI

"So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it,
it becomes obvious
that
God's command
is
necessary."

Fiddling with thermostats before checking temperatures, spicing before tasting, voting by reflex without reflection, and knee-jerking through life and ministry illustrate habitual insults to Your holiness.

"Change your habits!"

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead,
fix your attention on God.
You'll be changed
from the inside
out.
Readily recognize
what He wants from you,
and
quickly respond to it.
Unlike the culture around you,
always dragging you down
to
its
level of immaturity,
God brings the best out of you,
develops well-formed maturity in you."

Metanoeite CXX

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

She confided concern about disdain transferred to her because of a friend; so I repeated counsel offered to me: "You are not responsible for what others say and do; but you are responsible for how you react to what others say and do."

"You are Mine in whatever, whenever, wherever, and with whomever."

"Fill your minds with those things that are good and deserve praise:
things that are
true,
noble,
right,
pure,
lovely,
and honorable.
Put into practice what your learned and received from me,
both from my words and from my deeds.
And the God who gives us peace
will be with you."

Metanoeite CXIX

"When the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
you will receive power
and
will tell people
about
Me."

Frustrated and feeling like a failure because there are more needs than me to go around, You brought a saint's recipe for existential and eternal satisfactions to mind: "I tell people, 'Don't follow me. Follow Jesus!'"

"You can't satisfy anyone's needs."

"I am at rest
in
God alone.
He alone
is
my rock and my salvation.
O my people,
trust in Him
at
all times.
Pour out your heart to Him,
for
God alone
is
our refuge."

Metanoeite CXVIII

"Everything is possible to the one who believes."

So, uh, Lord, how are we going to pay for it?

"Trust and obey Me."

"You have a long history of ignoring My commands.
You haven't done a thing I've told you.
Return to Me
so
I can return to you...
Begin
by
being honest.
Do honest people rob God?...You rob me day after day.
You ask, 'How have we robbed You?'
The tithe and the offering - that's how!...
Bring your full tithe to the treasury...
Test Me in this
and see if
I don't
open
up
heaven
to you
and
pour out
blessings beyond your wildest dreams."

Metanoeite CXVII

"If God doesn't build the house, the builders labor in vain."

When we saw the opportunities to advance Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, I was just thinking space, elevator, and renovation.

"Your god is too small."

"So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ,
act like it.
Pursue
the things
over which
Christ
presides.
Don't shuffle along,
eyes to the ground,
absorbed with the things right in front of you.
Look up,
and be alert
to
what is going on around Christ - that's where the action is.
See things
from
His perspective."

Metanoeite CXVI

"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

My wife and I were talking about every Christian having at least one special way to honor You which is dependent upon others using their special ways of honoring You in a complementary design intended to prove no one is no more nor no less important to You in the health and holiness of Your Church; and then she hit me with Your punchline: "Humility is putting into perspective what small yet significant part our thing plays in the big picture."

"Pay more attention to her."

"Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ's body.
We are all parts of it,
and it takes every one of us to make it complete,
for we each have different work to do.
So we belong to each other,
and
each
needs
all the others."

Metanoeite CXV

"I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made."

Before I was born, You knew me. Then You made me. You knit me together in mother's womb. You love me so much. You sent Yourself in Jesus to save me. You want me to be Yours.

"Before the womb and after the tomb - life without end - you are Mine."

"God has moved into the neighborhood,
making His home with men and women!
They're His people,
He's their God."

Metanoeite CXIV

"Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near."

You're kicked out of the bank, capitol, classroom, and even church until there's a tragedy; and then Your grace and governance are begged on bended knee.

"Whenever, wherever, whatever, and whoever, I come at the call of My children."

"God is a safe place to hide,
ready to help
when
we need Him."

Metanoeite CXIII

Metanoeite (CXIII)

"The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church."

Among the most scripted politicians of our time without shame for shared indiscretions, the entitled candidate challenged the usurper for lifting rhetorical lines; reminding me of the religious celebrity who said without blushing, "Before performing this song which our sweet Lord gave to me to honor Him and bless you, please, my dearest friends, remember not to use it without my permission and payment of royalties or I'll sue you for everything that you've got."

"Your best is Mine to share."

"Give as freely as you have received!"

Metanoeite CXII

"Choose for yourselves whom you will serve."

Do we have volition or have You determined everything?

"Yes."

"God knew His people in advance...In Him
we were chosen,
having been predestined
according
to the plan
of
Him
who works out everything
in conformity with
the purpose of His will."

Metanoeite CXI

"My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."

He wrote in my 8th grade yearbook, "May you live as long as you want to and want to as long as you live!"

"Celebrate good times, c'mon!"

"If you'll hold on to Me for dear life, I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care if you'll only
get to know and trust Me.
Call me and I'll answer,
be at your side in bad times,
I'll rescue you,
then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation."

Metanoeite CX

Metanoeite (CX)

"As for me, I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war!"

While scents from simmering pots keep me close to the stove, mediating church disputes around the country have convinced me that dark concoctions in Colorado, Virginia, Illinois, and those kinds of places will boil over in our kinds of places without warning with increasing frequency until Your kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.

"You can't fix them until you've allowed Me to fix you."

"It will be hell for you, you frauds and phonies in religious costuming!
You send missionaries around the world to make one convert,
and then turn him into double the devil's son that you are."

Metanoeite CIX

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Aggravating more than assuaging her pain as scapegoat for transferred pathologies, I noted, "They have this instinct to hit, hurt, and hate and they'll keep looking for something negative about you to them to justify their need to hit, hurt, and hate; and nothing short of conversion will change that."

"Rebirth is the prerequisite to reconciliation."

"You must be born again and from above to see..."

Metanoeite CVIII

"You put us in charge of Your handcrafted world."

Snipped for his own good, Kopper needs tender touch as essential to healing; reminding me of Francis' parallel: "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

"Comprehending genesis, you will provide reverential regard for all life as to Me."

"God created human beings, He created them godlike, reflecting God's nature:
'Let us make human beings in Our image, make them reflecting Our nature
so
they can be responsible
for
the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air,
the cattle,
and,
yes,
earth itself,
and
every animal that moves on the face of the earth.'"

Metanoeite CVII

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior:
Ask yourself what you want people to do for you,
then grab the initiative and do it for them."

Unguarded by grieving at the tragedy's site, I bled when asked why so much meanness, madness, and misery in our world: "Everybody's just so p_____ off these days about everything that nobody's safe anymore."

"I am where love is."

"Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God
and those who are loving and kind show
they are the children of God,...
But if a person isn't
loving and kind,
it shows
he doesn't know God - for God is love."

Metanoeite CVI

"Watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people's faith;
teaching things about Jesus that are contrary to what you have been taught.
Avoid them!
They are not serving Jesus!
They are serving their own appetites!
Watch out!
By smooth talk and flattery,
pious and persuasive arguments,
they deceive the minds of naive people."

Arguing about shallow stuff betrays personal idleness and dark allegiances.

"Agreements and affections are in, through, and for Me."

"So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.
Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground,
absorbed with the things right in front of you.
Look up,
and be alert
to
what is going on around Christ - that's where the action is.
See things from His perspective."

Metanoeite CV

"Give the government's things to the government and God's things to God."

He says a lot about everything without experience, she's the Howard Cosell of American politics, he's alienated the party's base, and he likes the Confederate flag; but I can't preach about that because we're supposed to separate personal faith from public life.

"Who said that? Not Me!"

"It's our duty to obey God rather than people."

Metanoeite CIV

"Father, if there is any way, get me out of this."

Quitting is natural.

"We're about finishing supernaturally."

"Think constantly of Jesus enduring hostility from sinners
and you will not lose your purpose or your courage."

Metanoeite CIII

"No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God...And because of this,
the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken -
animals in the fields and birds on the wing,
even the fish of the sea are listless,
lifeless."

I keep Kopper on a leash because I love him; for if he runs wild, he will be no match for the traffic.

"Boundaries for behavior are blessings."

"The Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what He requires:
to do what is right,
to love mercy,
and
to walk humbly with your God...
Attention!
If you know what's good for you,
you'll listen."

Metanoeite CII

"No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God.
All this cussing and lying and killing,
theft and loose sex,
sheer anarchy,
one murder after another!
Because of all this, the very land itself weeps
and
everything in it is grief-stricken."

The culture's coarsening confounds me.

"Who told you to be a part of it?"

"Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity,
God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you...Don't let
the present age keep you in its cocoon. Instead, metamorphose into the
new mind, so as to be capable of discerning God's design,
which is good and right and mature."

Metanoeite CI

"He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

I've been assessing the candidates.

"Only One qualifies."

"It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in people.
It is better to trust the Lord
than to put confidence in
celebrities."

Metanoeite C

"Let your 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no' be 'no.'
If it takes more than that, it's bad."

The nuns say, "If you're right, you don't need to argue; and if you're wrong, you can't afford to."

"When I'm filling your mind, there's no room for agitation."

"My peace I give to you."

Metanoeite XCIX

"Stick with what you learned and believed."

Faith and morality surrender to the last vote.

"Not in My book!"

"There's nothing like the written Word of God
for
showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Every part of Scripture is God-breathed
and
useful one way or another -
showing us truth,
exposing our rebellion,
correcting our mistakes,
training us to live God's way."

Metanoeite XCVIII

"There is mercy with the Lord."

Everybody gave up on her.

"I'm not everybody."

"There is plenteous redemption with the Lord."

Metanoeite XCVII

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with scoffers.
But
they delight in doing everything the Lord wants;
day and night
they think
about
His law."

Though the authors aren't believers, I read some arousing apologies about separating personal faith from public life, and I thought...

"Wrong!"

"Our battle is to break down every deceptive argument and every imposing defense
that men erect
against
the true knowledge of God.
We
fight
to capture every thought
until
it acknowledges the authority of Christ."

Metanoeite XCVI

"Take care of others like you take care of yourself."

They need help.

"You've said enough."

"As you do it for them, you do it for Me."

Metanoeite XCV

"The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

I'm accessible to anyone anywhere at anytime because of a cellular and laptop.

"You can be with Me anywhere at anytime with anyone if you call."

"Start asking and it will be given to you; start looking and you will find; start knocking,
and the door will be opened to you...Don't bargain with God.
Be direct. Ask for what you need.
This isn't a cat-and-mouse,
hide-and-seek game."

Metanoeite XCIV

"Distance from God is obvious."

I want to be like You.

"Then spend more time with Me."

"People who are close to God show
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faith,
gentleness/humility,
and
self-control."

Metanoeite XCIII

"We love because He first loved us."

As our decreasingly small part of the Kingdom increasingly insults Your holiness, calls to give up and move on cascade yet still fail to convince; for You and Yours never gave up on me even when I broke my promises to You and them, and I'm still convicted by the old saint who returned to You so long ago: "If you've ever wanted to be a missionary, stay in our denomination. It's the best mission field open to us today."

"I want everybody to be saved."

"My people are hell-bent on leaving Me...But how can I give up on you?
How can I turn you loose?
How can I leave you?
I can't bear to even think such thoughts.
My insides churn in protest.
And so I'm not going to act on my anger...Because I am God and not human.
I'm The Holy One and I'm here -
in your very midst."

Metanoeite XCII

"Do you want to get well?"

Despite our smarts, sophistication, and strategies, we're barely surviving; as a brother noted the disconnection: "The fuller of the Spirit you are, the fewer programs you need. No program can match the filling from heaven. Counseling would be cut short if more folks were being filled than counseled."

"Supreme substance never style satiates the soul."

"I have neither silver nor gold; but what I have, I give to you.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk!"

Metanoeite XCI

"If we refuse to admit that we are sinners,
then we live in a world of illusion
and truth becomes a stranger
to us."

I can see everyone else's falls and failures.

"Look closer."

"Listen, you phony, first pull the plank from your eye
and then you'll be able to see better."

Metanoeite XC

Metanoeite (XC)

"We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing,
gone our own way."

Numbers discourage me.

"I don't."

"When two or three of you are together because of Me,
you can be sure that I'll be there."

Metanoeite LXXXIX

"I know My sheep and My sheep know Me -
just as the Father knows Me
and I know the Father."

How can I help them to know You better?

"You can't lead until you've been led."

"Follow Me and I will make you fish for souls."

Metanoeite LXXXVIII

"Love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.
Then your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Most High.
For He is gracious
to
the ungrateful and evil.
Be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful."

Our distinctive ethic is praying and laboring for the highest good for others regardless of who, what, where, or when without the need or expectation for response, regard, or reward.

"It's not enough to define love."

"You must do what the Word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves."

Metanoeite LXXXVII

Metanoeite (LXXXVII)

"Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You."

Good days start with You.

"Staying and starting are synonyms for a satisfied spirit."

"Pray at all times."

Metanoeite LXXXVI

"If your life is divided, you're really in the dark.
That's why it is impossible to serve
two masters."

The day started badly with his e-mail invitation to attend the clergy meeting because "some" of 'em missed me and it got worse when she introduced me to her doctor and said, "He must be O.K. because they haven't run him out yet"; recalling the response of the new pastor to a kindly intended woman who asked, "How can you ever expect to please so many people?": "That's not important to me because I'm called to please One."

"Knowing you're going to live with Me longer than anybody else makes establishing priorities a no brainer."

"Obedience to God comes before obedience to men."

Metanoeite LXXXV

"For there is coming a time when people won't listen to the truth,
but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them
just what they want to hear.
They won't listen to what the Bible says
but will blithely follow
their own
misguided
ideas."

He didn't like what I wrote about the shared arrogance of apostates and schismatics; so he told me not to write to him anymore.

"Everybody's building a tower."

"Do not make for yourself an idol."

Metanoeite LXXXIV

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a workman who does not need to be ashamed
and who rightly divides the word of truth."

The profound infidelities of the perpetually positive or pejorative are scarcely masked by pretended passion to persuade.

"Truth is not relative to personality."

"We know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception."

Metanoeite LXXXIII

"In the end time, there will be scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires.
These people create divisions and are merely natural, not having the Spirit."

The shrink at the corporate executive seminar said we're not responsible for what others say and do but only for what we say and do; but what should I say and do if they revise the rules and write you out?

"Fulfill your ministry."

"The God Movement is like yeast which a woman puts in a triple recipe
until
the whole batch
rises."

Metanoeite LXXXII

Metanoeite (LXXXII)

"I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary."

I want to be everywhere for everyone about everything; but I can't.

"I can."

"Let's keep our eyes fixed on Jesus."

Metanoeite LXXXI

"Make your home in Me."

I'm only scratching the surface of holy communion with You.

"Keep scratching."

"Go out where it's deep."