Norman Vincent Peale
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
Dr. Seuss
It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.
Rabindranath Tagore
Dr. Seuss
It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.Rabindranath Tagore
When I was about 16, my Sunday school teacher gave our class a daily devotional called, "Our Daily Bread". I have read this devotional off and on in the MANY years since then. I used to get the little booklet...now like almost everything else...I read it online at http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtmlIt is a very simple devotional which at times I am frustrated with....BECAUSE of it's simpleness...and at other times I am moved to tears...because of it's SIMPLENESS.
Crazy huh?
Today's devotional was no different....
That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. —2 Corinthians 4:7
That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. —2 Corinthians 4:7
In the days of John Wesley, lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services. One man used Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared Thee, because Thou art an austere man" (KJV). Not knowing the word austere, he thought the text spoke of "an oyster man."
He explained how a diver must grope in dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In his attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands." The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into . . . sinful human society, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven. His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."
Afterward, 12 men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on. The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."
He explained how a diver must grope in dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In his attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands." The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into . . . sinful human society, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven. His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."
Afterward, 12 men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on. The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."
I LOVE THAT....."Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight." !!!!
We should NEVER underestimate the power of the simple things....or folks in life.......
A simple prayer, the first I learned from my father...Now I lay me....a simple painting....The Mona Lisa....a simple song, accompanied for the first time by simple instrument, the guitar.....Silent Night....a simple flower, used to play a simple game of love or to fashion a simple crown....daisies....a simple man....Jesus.
BTW...That Sunday School teacher was Christine McDonald.
Christine is one of the finest examples of the "simple", yet life changing, love of Christ I have ever witnessed. She also happens to be the mother of my first true friend, she was the church secretary at the first church we ever attended, a chaperon on the first youth trip I ever went on, she helped me get my fist job, she made my wedding cake, she was there when my first child was born .....
and I have often said of her... that in heaven..... if I can live in a cardboard box in the alley behind her mansion and help her carry her many crowns....then I will be forever happy.
Live simply.
1 comment:
I love a simple life, too! You should see mine- I'm parred down to the basics and I love it. Thanks for reminding me to keep ALL things simple- thoughts, actions, friendships, etc. You are simply the best.
Love,
Kath
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