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."