... and sounds of the Living Water of the Lord. Taste and see. And the Lord will establish that never-ending spring inside of you! You will experience what it’s like to be filled with the joy and glory of the Lord, to be filled up with good thoughts and tender love, with joy and with mirth so powerful that nothing can quell it. Jesus is the well. Jesus is the Source. Jesus is Messiah. *hometownwaterwells.com **www.bbc.com Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text Jesus at Jacob’s Well (John 4) Minor Text The ...
... children are often still our most undervalued resource. While our schools and organizations celebrate their accomplishments and creativity, their ideas and attitudes within an enclosed environment, we adults often don’t take seriously their abilities and thoughts. We most often relegate kids’ thoughts and attitudes as being immature, childish, fanciful, and naïve. It’s easy for us to disregard their input and skills as underdeveloped, while we adults strive to create the world we believe is in the ...
... he was appointed leader of the civil rights campaign in Montgomery, Alabama. One night, he got an anonymous call from a man who said that King’s house would be bombed in three days if they didn’t get out of town. Fear filled Dr. King as he thought about the danger facing him and his family if he continued to follow God’s calling. He wanted to run away. He wanted to give up. He began praying to God and confessing his fear and his weakness. And he said he sensed an inner voice saying, “Martin Luther ...
... them about the kingdom of God. And with each day, his disciples got more and more excited. Finally, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They thought that Jesus was preparing them to help in building his earthly kingdom. And they were ready, willing and able—or so they thought—to assist him. Did they know what job they were interviewing for? And that brings us to our Bible passage for today. He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or ...
... well wrapped up in a heavy overcoat. As the visit drew to a close, the vicar told the man that he wished to ask him something confidential. This caused the man to accompany the vicar outside. The man didn’t bother to put on his jacket. He thought it wouldn’t be necessary. After all, what could the vicar want from him that would take that long? But the vicar, cozy in his heavy overcoat, began talking about one thing and another until his host was literally shivering with cold. The man repeatedly tried to ...
... But,” protested another child, “if he wouldn’t eat so much and wouldn’t be so messy, could we keep him?” Mom held her ground, “It’s time to take Danny to his new home.” With one voice and in tearful outrage the children reacted, “DANNY?” they sobbed. “We thought you said Daddy!” (2) Well, it’s true, Daddies would be easier to deal with if they wouldn’t eat so much and wouldn’t be so messy. It’s not always easy to be a Dad, but we know that we have many fine Dads in our church ...
... miraculous to happen. She may not have known when or exactly how, but on that third day, she came nevertheless, in the darkness, hoping that God would come through, that light would some how break through. I've often thought how the realization of resurrection washed over them. Mary initially thought that the authorities had taken his body and disposed of it. It took Jesus appearing before them several times to shake them into to knowing, understanding the resurrection. So it didn't come all at once. That's ...
... , ‘Why?’ “Why was this going on? Why did my father pass away when I was a child? Why did I feel this way? “All of these ‘whys.’ In asking that, I found out some things were just out of my control; I couldn’t do everything on my own. I thought that there had to be something bigger to make sense of what was happening in my life. “I remember sitting at chapel one day when God spoke to me. “It’s crazy how God will come to you even in the most small, subtle ways — maybe even a whisper. He ...
... search for the criminal mastermind, sat again with the parents and stated that while everything about this child was in the top range of all tests, there was one category where he was in the normal range, albeit in the high normal range. The doctor thought, perhaps a normal range was abnormal for this child. His electrolyte levels were off. Why? This was unknown. The usual culprits did not show up in any of the tests or countless questions about medical history. What did he suggest? He suggested giving him ...
... know him. Look again at Jesus’ words in verse 18: “. . . and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” “I will build my church”—Jesus is building the church through us. Isn’t that a mind-blowing thought? Two thousand years ago, Jesus had a vision of people all over the world, people just like you and me, joining together in prayer and Bible study and worship, going out to minister to the hurting and the needy in our communities, and loving each other ...
But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication.
It is only a man's own fundamental thoughts that have truth and life in them. For it is these that he really and completely understands. To read the thoughts of others is like taking the remains of someone else's meal, like putting on the discarded clothes of a stranger.
It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts.
If you want to be happy, set yourself a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. Happiness is within you. It comes from doing some certain thing into which you can put all your thought and energy. If you want to be happy, get enthusiastic about something.
Our best friends and our worst enemies are our thoughts. A thought can do us more good than a doctor or a banker or a faithful friend. It can also do us more harm than a brick.
The fundamental fact about the Greek was that he had to use his mind. The ancient priests had said 'Thus far and no farther. We set the limits of thought.' The Greek said, 'All things are to be examined and called into question. There are no limits set on thought.'
All that I have accomplished . . . has been by that plodding, patient, persevering process of accretion which builds the ant heap particle by particle, thought by thought, fact by fact.