John 6:37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Oh Friends, there’s a bit of snow on the ground in my area. Steups! Hopefully though, by midmorning it will all be gone, melted! I guess it’s just a gentle reminder of what’s to come in the next few months. Anyway, while reading a devotional dedicated to St. Therese, patron saint of the Society of the Little Flower, I came across this passage, and I felt the urge to share it with you. St. Therese wrote: ‘I have always longed to be a saint, but when I compare myself with saints, I was conscious of the same difference that exists between a high mountain and a grain of sand. Instead of feeling discouraged, I would say to myself: God would never inspire me with an ideal that cannot be attained, so that I can still aspire to sanctity although I am so small and weak. I cannot become great; I must put up with myself as I am, with my innumerable imperfections, but I will try to find a new way to heaven quite short and direct. We live in an age of inventions; in the houses of the rich you go up in a lift, instead of climbing the stairs. As I am too small to climb the arduous ladder of perfection, I must also find a lift to carry me up to God. I turned to the scriptures to find some clue and came upon these words of eternal Wisdom: “Whomever is a little one, let him come to me!’…”Your arms, O Jesus, are the lift which will carry me up to heaven’ Wow Friends! That certainly was interesting! My first inspiration came from the words: ‘God would never inspire me to an ideal that cannot be attained…’ And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Our wise God will never put a desire in our hearts knowing we cannot achieve it. That means any desire(s) He’s seen fit to put in our hearts is attainable – with His help of course. The next thing that moved me is the fact that not all of us can be world movers and shakers, but all of us can do important small stuff for God. Please remember that and keep it before you all the time. St Therese wanted to do big things for God, but that wasn’t in His plans for her, and when she realized that, she humbled herself and became contented doing small things in His Name, which were just as important as the big things. And yuh see mih people where she went to find the answer to her problem – the Scriptures – the same place we should always go first to find help for our problems. Lo and behold she eventually came to understand Jesus’ penchant for the small, the humble, the insignificant, the impoverished, the sick, the suffering, the underdog, the woeful sinner, whom He came to earth to lift up on high with Him. That led me to our Bit: ‘All the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.’ Now Friends, isn’t that a most assuring and encouraging promise? It sure is! And one of the traits that I admire about Jesus is how He was always calling people to come to Him. While assembling His disciples, He simply walked around and to those that took His fancy, He merely said, ‘Come and follow me.’ And those men just dropped whatever they were doing and followed Him. Then, when the disciples were turning away children, He sternly upbraided them: ‘Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.19:14) Likewise, just before our Bit, He informed the disciples: ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35) And finally for today, let’s hear His great invitation to all and sundry: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30) Oh Friends, how much more pleading and inviting do we need to see the light eh? The light that’s Jesus; that He’s the ONLY ONE who can help us, through whom we can find peace, rest and contentment; the ONLY ONE through whom we can have any access to God the Father, and thus enjoy His gracious gifts of salvation and eternal life! I’m therefore asking all of us today my brethren, to put Jesus first place in our hearts and in our lives, because He’s earned that right by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones. That’s the best way for us to say thanks! Much LOVE!…to truly appreciate Jesus’ character…we must learn to walk humbly…doing small, but important things…like He did…
Oh Friends, there’s a bit of snow on the ground in my area. Steups! Hopefully though, by midmorning it will all be gone, melted! I guess it’s just a gentle reminder of what’s to come in the next few months. Anyway, while reading a devotional dedicated to St. Therese, patron saint of the Society of the Little Flower, I came across this passage, and I felt the urge to share it with you. St. Therese wrote: ‘I have always longed to be a saint, but when I compare myself with saints, I was conscious of the same difference that exists between a high mountain and a grain of sand. Instead of feeling discouraged, I would say to myself: God would never inspire me with an ideal that cannot be attained, so that I can still aspire to sanctity although I am so small and weak. I cannot become great; I must put up with myself as I am, with my innumerable imperfections, but I will try to find a new way to heaven quite short and direct. We live in an age of inventions; in the houses of the rich you go up in a lift, instead of climbing the stairs. As I am too small to climb the arduous ladder of perfection, I must also find a lift to carry me up to God. I turned to the scriptures to find some clue and came upon these words of eternal Wisdom: “Whomever is a little one, let him come to me!’…”Your arms, O Jesus, are the lift which will carry me up to heaven’ Wow Friends! That certainly was interesting! My first inspiration came from the words: ‘God would never inspire me to an ideal that cannot be attained…’ And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Our wise God will never put a desire in our hearts knowing we cannot achieve it. That means any desire(s) He’s seen fit to put in our hearts is attainable – with His help of course. The next thing that moved me is the fact that not all of us can be world movers and shakers, but all of us can do important small stuff for God. Please remember that and keep it before you all the time. St Therese wanted to do big things for God, but that wasn’t in His plans for her, and when she realized that, she humbled herself and became contented doing small things in His Name, which were just as important as the big things. And yuh see mih people where she went to find the answer to her problem – the Scriptures – the same place we should always go first to find help for our problems. Lo and behold she eventually came to understand Jesus’ penchant for the small, the humble, the insignificant, the impoverished, the sick, the suffering, the underdog, the woeful sinner, whom He came to earth to lift up on high with Him. That led me to our Bit: ‘All the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.’ Now Friends, isn’t that a most assuring and encouraging promise? It sure is! And one of the traits that I admire about Jesus is how He was always calling people to come to Him. While assembling His disciples, He simply walked around and to those that took His fancy, He merely said, ‘Come and follow me.’ And those men just dropped whatever they were doing and followed Him. Then, when the disciples were turning away children, He sternly upbraided them: ‘Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.19:14) Likewise, just before our Bit, He informed the disciples: ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35) And finally for today, let’s hear His great invitation to all and sundry: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30) Oh Friends, how much more pleading and inviting do we need to see the light eh? The light that’s Jesus; that He’s the ONLY ONE who can help us, through whom we can find peace, rest and contentment; the ONLY ONE through whom we can have any access to God the Father, and thus enjoy His gracious gifts of salvation and eternal life! I’m therefore asking all of us today my brethren, to put Jesus first place in our hearts and in our lives, because He’s earned that right by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones. That’s the best way for us to say thanks! Much LOVE!…to truly appreciate Jesus’ character…we must learn to walk humbly…doing small, but important things…like He did…
SCRIP-BITS 