<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Maxioms.com</title><description>Quotes, Famous Quotes, Sayings, Proverbs, Maxims, Axioms, Maxioms</description><link>http://maxioms.com</link><language>en-us</language><copyright>Copyright 2026 Maxioms.com. All Rights Reserved.</copyright><item><title><![CDATA[All perception of truth is the detection of an analogy. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46094]]></link><description><![CDATA[All perception of truth is the detection of an analogy.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46094</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/17231]]></link><description><![CDATA[If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/17231</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/47147]]></link><description><![CDATA[The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/47147</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/1062]]></link><description><![CDATA[I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/1062</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Let God operate in thee; Hand the work over to Him and do not disquiet thyself as to whether or ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/8403]]></link><description><![CDATA[Let God operate in thee; Hand the work over to Him and do not disquiet thyself as to whether or no He is working with nature or above nature, for His are both nature and grace.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/8403</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/16459]]></link><description><![CDATA[The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/16459</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Past lives o'er again, In its effects, and to the guilty spirit  The ever-frowning Present is its image. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/9794]]></link><description><![CDATA[The Past lives o'er again, In its effects, and to the guilty spirit  The ever-frowning Present is its image.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/9794</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA['Tis easy enough to be pleasant, When life flows along like a song;  But the man worth while is ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/56692]]></link><description><![CDATA['Tis easy enough to be pleasant, When life flows along like a song;  But the man worth while is the one who will smile   When everything does dead wrong;    For the test of the heart is trouble,     And it always comes with the years,      But the smile that is worth the praise of earth       Is the smile that comes through tears.        . . . .         But the virtue that conquers passion,          And the sorrow that hides in a smile--           It is these that are worth the homage of earth,            For we find them but once in a while.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/56692</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[My breasts are beautiful, and I gotta tell you, they've gotten a lot of attention for what is relatively short ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/2856]]></link><description><![CDATA[My breasts are beautiful, and I gotta tell you, they've gotten a lot of attention for what is relatively short screen time.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/2856</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[How gracious those dews of solace that over my senses fall At the clink of the ice in the pitcher ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13006]]></link><description><![CDATA[How gracious those dews of solace that over my senses fall At the clink of the ice in the pitcher the boy brings up the hall.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13006</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A fair face may hide a foul heart. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/50955]]></link><description><![CDATA[A fair face may hide a foul heart.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/50955</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Education is not received. It is achieved. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13361]]></link><description><![CDATA[Education is not received. It is achieved.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13361</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[War leads to peace. [Lat., Cedant arma togae.] ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/45876]]></link><description><![CDATA[War leads to peace. [Lat., Cedant arma togae.]]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/45876</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/44086]]></link><description><![CDATA[We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/44086</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Speak me fair in death. -The Merchant of Venice. Act iv. Sc. 1. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/55608]]></link><description><![CDATA[Speak me fair in death. -The Merchant of Venice. Act iv. Sc. 1.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/55608</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The hope of impunity is the greatest inducement to do wrong. [Lat., Maxima illecebra est peccandi impunitatis spes.] ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/19775]]></link><description><![CDATA[The hope of impunity is the greatest inducement to do wrong. [Lat., Maxima illecebra est peccandi impunitatis spes.]]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/19775</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/65961]]></link><description><![CDATA[Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/65961</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfullynor for much longer unless we see it ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22060]]></link><description><![CDATA[We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfullynor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate ascommon. It has to be everybody or nobody.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22060</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[If you asked me to name the three scariest threats facing the human race, I would give the same answer ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/17519]]></link><description><![CDATA[If you asked me to name the three scariest threats facing the human race, I would give the same answer that most people would: nuclear war, global warming and Windows.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/17519</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Our birth is nothing but our death begun, As tapers waste the moment they take fire. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/4271]]></link><description><![CDATA[Our birth is nothing but our death begun, As tapers waste the moment they take fire.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/4271</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[In naked beauty more adorned More lovely than Pandora. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/2750]]></link><description><![CDATA[In naked beauty more adorned More lovely than Pandora.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/2750</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[His frown was full of terror, and his voice Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe  As left ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/15506]]></link><description><![CDATA[His frown was full of terror, and his voice Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe  As left him not, till penitence had won   Lost favor back again, and clos'd the breach.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/15506</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shows that we build, when we should but entomb us. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/48757]]></link><description><![CDATA[Shows that we build, when we should but entomb us.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/48757</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/3322]]></link><description><![CDATA[Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/3322</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Post-modernism is modernism with the optimism taken out. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46298]]></link><description><![CDATA[Post-modernism is modernism with the optimism taken out.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46298</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/20478]]></link><description><![CDATA[The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/20478</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Commemoration of Giles of Provence, Hermit, c.710   Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/8313]]></link><description><![CDATA[Commemoration of Giles of Provence, Hermit, c.710   Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/8313</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A kind and gentle heart he had, To comfort friends and foes;  The naked every day he clad  ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46459]]></link><description><![CDATA[A kind and gentle heart he had, To comfort friends and foes;  The naked every day he clad   When he put on his clothes.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/46459</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[No man was ever great without divine inspiration. [Lat., Nemo vir magnus aliquo afflatu divino unquam fuit.] ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/18249]]></link><description><![CDATA[No man was ever great without divine inspiration. [Lat., Nemo vir magnus aliquo afflatu divino unquam fuit.]]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/18249</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[I want to talk with people who care about things that matter thatwill make a life-changing difference. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22432]]></link><description><![CDATA[I want to talk with people who care about things that matter thatwill make a life-changing difference.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22432</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A man who does not think for himself does not think at all. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/20767]]></link><description><![CDATA[A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/20767</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/27356]]></link><description><![CDATA[The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/27356</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[It's actually fairly critical that we have a definitive time frame, because as we move into the Christmas season, a ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/38727]]></link><description><![CDATA[It's actually fairly critical that we have a definitive time frame, because as we move into the Christmas season, a number of hotels have reservations and bookings. It may become more challenging for us to find accommodations,]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/38727</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/53350]]></link><description><![CDATA[Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/53350</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The emergency we face in the Horn today is the result of successive seasons of failed rains. Consequently, pastoralists living ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/36569]]></link><description><![CDATA[The emergency we face in the Horn today is the result of successive seasons of failed rains. Consequently, pastoralists living in these arid, remote lands have very few survival strategies left and desperately require our assistance to make it through until the next rains.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/36569</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Uncontrolled, the hunger and thirst after God may become an obstacle, cutting off the soul from what it desires. If ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/63758]]></link><description><![CDATA[Uncontrolled, the hunger and thirst after God may become an obstacle, cutting off the soul from what it desires. If a man would travel far along the mystic road, he must learn to desire God intensely but in stillness, passively and yet with all his heart and mind and strength.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/63758</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Commemoration of John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888  "Secret" sins, such as are not known ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/7365]]></link><description><![CDATA[Commemoration of John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888  "Secret" sins, such as are not known to be sins (it may be) to ourselves, make way for those that are "presumptuous". Thus pride may seem to be nothing but a frame of mind belonging unto our wealth and dignity, or our ... abilities; sensuality may seem to be but a lawful participation of the good things of this life; passion and peevishness, but a due sense of the want of respect that we must suppose owing unto us; covetousness, a necessary care of ourselves and of our families. If the seeds of sin are covered with such pretences, they will in time spring up and bear bitter fruit in the minds and the lives of men; and the beginning of all apostasy, both in religion and in morality, lies in just such pretences. Men plead that they can do so-and-so lawfully, until they can do things openly unlawful.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/7365</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[It is not something I must do but something I want to do…. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22307]]></link><description><![CDATA[It is not something I must do but something I want to do….]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/22307</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Divide and command, a wise maxim; Unite and guide, a better.  [Ger., Entzwei' und gebiete! Tuchtig Wort,   ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/60136]]></link><description><![CDATA[Divide and command, a wise maxim; Unite and guide, a better.  [Ger., Entzwei' und gebiete! Tuchtig Wort,   Verein' und leite! Bess'rer Hort.]]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/60136</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[In a long work sleep may be naturally expected. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/50268]]></link><description><![CDATA[In a long work sleep may be naturally expected.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/50268</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13419]]></link><description><![CDATA[An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/13419</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/65853]]></link><description><![CDATA[You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/65853</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A mockery king of snow. -King Richard II. Act iv. Sc. 1. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/55828]]></link><description><![CDATA[A mockery king of snow. -King Richard II. Act iv. Sc. 1.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/55828</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The business community is in the best position to argue the need for workers. The unions are the best to ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/29351]]></link><description><![CDATA[The business community is in the best position to argue the need for workers. The unions are the best to argue why legalization is not just an issue of labor but of protecting workers.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/29351</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Let us not forget the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not think of it vaguely, and fall ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/7127]]></link><description><![CDATA[Let us not forget the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not think of it vaguely, and fall into the heretical fancy that the Son of God became man merely to transact certain things which were necessary to secure the salvation of men, and that after this object was achieved His human nature recedes into the background and impenetrable obscurity. No, it is not so; all-important as His work on earth was -- the only foundation of our hope and blessedness -- let us adore the revealed mystery that God gave us His Son, never to recall Him, as it were, and take Him away from us; He spared Him not and gave Him to us, allowing Him to become man, exalting Him as the Son of Man, enthroning Him because of his obedience unto death, and giving unto Him as the Son of Man all power in heaven and earth.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/7127</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165 Commemoration of Angela de'Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540  ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/6474]]></link><description><![CDATA[Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165 Commemoration of Angela de'Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540  It has been said that agapao refers to "the love of God" and phileo is only "the love of men." But this distinction is only a very small part of the difference, and as such is in itself incorrect. Both of these words may convey intense emotion or may be relatively weak in their meanings. These words do not indicate degree of love, but kinds of love. Agapao refers to love which arises from a keen sense of the value and worth in the object of our love, and phileo describes the emotional attachment which results from intimate and prolonged association. That is why in the Scriptures we are never commanded to "love" with the word phileo. Even when husbands and wives are instructed to love one another, the word agapao is used, for it is impossible to command that kind of love which can arise only from intimate association. On the other hand, the saints are admonished to appreciate profoundly the worth and value in others, and agapao is used to convey this meaning. All Christians are not necessarily to have sentimental attachments for one another (phileo). This would be impossible, for our circle of intimate friends is limited by the nature of our lives. But we can all be commanded to appreciate intensely the worth of others.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/6474</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus A LETTER FROM PAUL THE MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIANS IN ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/6936]]></link><description><![CDATA[Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus A LETTER FROM PAUL THE MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIANS IN ROME The following abridged paraphrase of the Epistle to the Romans aims at presenting in a plain way the continuous sequence of the argument, while suggesting the free epistolary form of the original: My DEAR FELLOW-CHRISTIANS OF ROME,  Wherever I go I hear of your faith, and I thank God for it. It is a part of my daily prayers that I may be permitted to visit you. I believe such a visit would do you good, and I am sure it would do me good. In fact, I have tried again and again to get to Rome, but hitherto something has always turned up to prevent me. I shall not feel that my work as missionary to the Gentiles is complete until I have preached in Rome. My mission is a universal one, knowing no bounds of race or culture--naturally, since my message is a universal one. It is a message of God's righteousness, revealed to men on a basis of faith. (Rom. 1:1-17)  Apart from this, there is nothing to be seen in the world of today but the Nemesis of sin. Take the pagan world: all men have a knowledge of God by natural religion; but the pagan world has deliberately turned its back upon this knowledge, and, for all its boasted philosophy, has degraded religion into idolatry. The natural consequence is a moral perversity horrible to contemplate. (Rom. 1:18-32)  But you, my Jewish friend, need not dwell with complacency upon the sins of the pagan world. You are guilty yourself. Do not mistake God's patience with His people for indulgence. His judgments are impartial. Knowledge or ignorance of the Law of Moses makes no difference here. The pagans have God's law written in their conscience. If they obey it, well; if not, they stand condemned. And as for you--you call yourself a Jew and pride yourself on the Law. But have you kept all its precepts? You are circumcised and so forth: that goes for nothing; God looks at the inner life of motive and affection. An honest pagan is better than a bad Jew in His sight. I do not mean to say there is no advantage in being a Jew: of this more presently ; but read your Bible and take to yourself the hard words of the prophets--spoken, remember, not to heathens, but to people who knew the Law, just as you do. No, Jew and pagan, we are in the same case. No one can stand right before God on the basis of what he has actually done. Law only serves to bring consciousness of guilt. (Rom. 2:1-3:20)  But now, Law apart, we have a revelation of God's righteousness, as I was saying (Rom. 1:17). It comes by faith, the faith of Jesus Christ; and it comes to every one, Jew or Gentile, who has faith. We have all sinned, and all of us can be made to stand right with God. That is a free gift to us, due to His graciousness. We are emancipated in Christ Jesus, who is God's appointed means of dealing with sin--a means operating by the devotion of His life, and by faith on our part. It is thus that God, having passed over sins committed in the old days when He held His hand, demonstrates His righteousness in the world of to-day; i.e., it is thus that He both shows Himself righteous, and makes those stand right before Him who have faith in Jesus Christ. No room for boasting here! No distinction of Jew and Gentile here! (Rom. 3:21-31)  But what about Abraham? you will say. Did not he win God's graciousness by what he did? Not at all. Read your Bible, and you will find that the promise was given to him before he was circumcised; and the Bible expressly says that "he had faith in God, and that counted for righteousness." The same principle applies to us all. (Rom. 4:1-25)  To return to the point, then, we stand right with God on the ground of faith, and we are at peace with Him, come what may. God's love floods our whole being--a love shown in the fact that Christ died for us, not because we were good people for whom anyone might die, but actually while we were sinners. He died, not for His friends, but for His enemies. Very well then, if while we were enemies Christ died for us, surely He will save us now that we are friends! If He reconciled us to God by dying for us, surely He will save us by living for us, and in us. There is something to boast about! (Rom. 5:1-11)  Christ died and lives for us all, I say. But, you ask, how can the life and death of one individual have consequences for so many? You believe that we all suffer for Adam's sin; and if so, why should we not all profit by Christ's righteousness? Of course there is really no comparison between the power of evil to propagate itself, and the power of good to win the victory, for that is a matter of God's graciousness. However, you see my point : one man sinned--a whole race suffers for it; one Man lived righteously--a whole race wins life by it. But what about Law? you say. Law only came in by the way, to intensify the consciousness of guilt. (Rom. 5:12-21) (Continued tomorrow)  ... paraphrased and abridged by C. Harold Dodd, from The Meaning of Paul for Today January 2, 2000 Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389 Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, Staretz, 1833 A LETTER FROM PAUL THE MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIANS IN ROME (This abridged paraphrase of the Epistle to the Romans is continued from yesterday)  Now I come to a difficulty. I have heard people say, "If human sin gives play to God's graciousness, let us go on sinning to give Him a better chance. Why not do evil that good may come?" (Rom. 3:8) What nonsense! To be saved through Christ is to be a dead man so far as sin is concerned. Think of the symbolism of Baptism. You go down into the water: that is like being buried with Christ. You come up out of the water: that is like rising with Christ from the tomb. It means, therefore, a new life, a life which comes by union with the living Christ. You will admit that, once a man is dead, there is no more claim against him for any wrong he may have committed. He is like a slave set free from all claims on the part of his late master. Think, then, of yourselves as dead. When you remember the death of Christ, think that you--i.e., your old bad selves--were crucified with Him. And when you remember His resurrection, think of yourselves as living with Him, a new life. And above all, bear in mind that Christ, once risen, does not die again: and so you, living the new life in Him, need not die again. I mean, the sin that once dominated you need not any longer control you; do not let it! You are freed slaves; do not sell yourselves into slavery again. Or, if you like to put it so, you are now slaves, not of Sin, but of Righteousness (a very crude way of putting it, but I want to help you out). Just as once you were the property of Sin, and all your faculties were instruments of wrong, so now you are the property of Righteousness, and every faculty you have must be an instrument of right. Freed from sin, you are slaves of God; that is what I mean. The wages your old master paid was death. Your new Master makes you a present of life. (Rom. 6:1-23)  Or take another illustration. You know that by law a woman is bound to her husband while he lives; when he is dead she is free; she can marry again if she likes and the law has no claim against her. So you may think of yourselves as having been married to Sin, or to Law. Death has now released you from that marriage bond, though here the illustration halts, for it is Christ's death that has freed you! Well, anyhow, you are free--free, shall I say, to marry Christ. You had a numerous progeny of evil deeds by your first marriage; you must now produce an offspring of good deeds to Christ. I mean, of course, you must serve God in Christ's spirit. (Rom. 7:1-6)  Now I admit that all this sounds as though I identified law with sin. That is not my meaning. But surely it is clear that the function of law is to bring consciousness of sin; e.g., I should never have known what covetousness was but that the law said, "Thou shalt not covet." Such is the perversity of human nature under the dominion of sin that the very prohibition provokes me to covet. There was a time when I knew nothing of Law, and lived my own life. Then Law came, sin awakened in me, and life became death for me. Of course, Law is good, but Sin took advantage of it, to my cost. I am only flesh and blood, and flesh and blood is prone to sin. I can see what is good, and desire it, but I cannot practice it; i.e., my reason recognizes the law, and yet I break it through moral perversity. If you like to put it so, there is one law for my reason, the Law of God, and another for my outward conduct, the law of sin and death. It is like a living man chained to a dead body. It is perfect misery. But, thank God, the chain is broken! The law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death. Christ entered into this human nature of flesh and blood which is under the dominion of Sin. Sin put in its claim to be His master; but Christ won His case; Sin was non-suited, its claim disallowed, and human nature was free. The result is that all the Law stood for of righteousness, holiness, and goodness is fulfilled in those who live by Christ's Spirit. There are two possible forms of human life: there is the life of the lower nature of flesh and blood, of which I have spoken; and there is the life of the spirit. We have Christ's Spirit, and so we can live the life of the spirit. And in the end that Spirit will give new life to the whole human organism. (Rom. 7:7-8:11)  You see, then, that the flesh-and-blood nature has no claim upon us. We belong to the Spirit. Those who are actuated by that Spirit are sons of God. I used a while back the expression, "slaves of God "; but really we are not slaves but sons---sons and heirs of God, like Christ; and when we come into our inheritance, how glorious it will be! (Rom. 8:12-18)  This, however, is still in the future. At the present time the whole universe is in misery, and in its misery it waits for the revelation of God's sons. Now all existence seems futile in its transience; and even we still share creation's pangs. But we have hope; and the ground of that hope is the possession of God's Spirit--in a first installment only, but enough to reckon upon. The fact is that every prayer we utter--yes, even an inarticulate prayer--is the utterance of the Spirit within us. We know that all through God is working with us. His purpose is behind the whole process, and He is on our side. If He gave His Son, we can trust Him to give us everything else. He loves us, and nothing in the world or out of it can separate us from His love. (Rom. 8:18-39) (Continued tomorrow)  ... paraphrased and abridged by C. Harold Dodd, from The Meaning of Paul for Today January 3, 2000 Commemoration of Gladys Aylward, Missionary in China, 1970 A LETTER FROM PAUL THE MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIANS IN ROME (This abridged paraphrase of the Epistle to the Romans is continued from yesterday)  That concludes the present stage of my argument; but before I can proceed to final deductions, I must return to a difficulty already raised (Rom. 3:1-4). If there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, does all the great past of Israel go for nothing? Do all the promises of Scripture go for nothing? First, let me say how bitterly I regret the exclusion of the Jewish nation as a body from the new life. I would surrender all my Christian privileges if I could find a way to bring them in. But we must recognize facts; and the first fact is that the nation as a whole never was able to claim the promises; from the beginning, there was a process of selection. Of the sons of Abraham, Isaac alone was called; of the sons of Isaac, Jacob only. If we ask why, there is no answer save that God is bound by no natural or historical necessity, but intervenes according to His will. To question that will is as absurd as for the pot to arraign the potter. Then again, while some members of the Hebrew race have always fallen out, always God has declared His purpose ultimately to include others, not members of the Hebrew race--and that is just what is now happening. Now, as I said, I desire nothing more earnestly than that the whole nation should be saved. But the fact is that they have deliberately rejected the chance that was offered them. There is nothing remote or abstruse about the Christian message. It is a very simple thing: acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and believe that He is alive; that is all. And they cannot say that they have never heard the message, for Christ has His witnesses everywhere. It looks, then, as if God had rejected His people, as punishment for their obstinacy. I do not believe it. God's promises cannot go for nothing. In the first place, there has always been, and there still is, a faithful remnant of the Jewish people. And in the second place, as for the main body, their present rejection of the message is only a means in God's Providence for its extension to the Gentiles. The old olive-tree of Israel stands yet; many of its branches have been lopped off, and new branches of wild olive have been engrafted in their place. But God can engraft the lopped branches on again, if it be His will; and I believe it is His will, and that in the end the whole nation will return to Him and inherit the promises. And if the failure of Israel has meant such blessing to the world, how much greater blessing will its ultimate salvation bring! God's purpose, as I said at the beginning (Rom. 1:16), is universal: He has permitted the whole of humanity, Jew and Gentile alike, to fall under sin, only in order that He may finally have mercy on the whole of humanity, Jew and Gentile alike. How profound and unsearchable are His plans! (Rom. 9:1-11:36)  So now I can take up again my main argument. If this is the way of God's dealing with us, what ought to be our response? Can we do less than offer our entire selves to God as a sacrifice of thanksgiving? How will that work out? In a life lived as by members of one single body. Let each perform his part faithfully. Let love rule all your relations one to another, and to those outside, even to your enemies. Do not regard the Emperor as outside the scope of love, but obey his laws and pay his taxes. Yes, and pay all debts to every one. Love is, in fact, the one comprehensive debt of man to man. If you love your neighbour as yourself, you have fulfilled the whole moral law. But be in earnest about things, for the better day is already dawning. (Rom. 12:1-13:14)  I hear you have differences among yourselves about Sabbath-keeping and vegetarianism. Take this matter, then, as an example of what I mean by the application of brotherly love to all conduct. Remember that the Sabbatarian and the anti-Sabbatarian, the vegetarian and the meat-eater, are alike servants of one Master. Give each other credit for the best motives. Do not think of yourself alone; think of your Christian brother, and try to put yourself in his place. If he seems to you a weak-minded, over-scrupulous individual, remember that in any case he is your brother, and that Christ died for him as well as for you, and reverence his conscience. If through your example he should do an act which is harmless in you but sin to him, you have injured his conscience. Is it worth while so to imperil a soul for the sake of your liberty in such external matters? If the other man is weak-minded, and you strong-minded, all the more reason why you should help to bear his burden. Remember, Christ did not please Himself. In a word, Sabbatarian and anti-Sabbatarian, Jew and Gentile, treat one another as Christ has treated you, and God be with you. (Rom. 14:1-15:13)  Well, friends, I hardly think you needed this long exhortation from me. You are intelligent Christians, and well able to give one another good advice. Still, I thought I might venture to remind you of a few points ; for after all, I do feel a measure of responsibility for you, as missionary to the Gentiles. I have now accomplished my mission as far West as the Adriatic. Now I am going to Jerusalem to hand over the relief fund we have raised in Greece. After that I hope to start work in the West, and I propose to set out for Spain and take Rome on my way. Pray for me, that my errand to Jerusalem may be successful, so that I may be free to visit you. (Rom. 15:14-33)  I wish to introduce to you our friend Phoebe. She renders admirable service to our congregation at Cenchrea. Do all you can for her; she deserves it.  Kind regards to Priscilla and Aquila, Epaenetus, Mary, and all friends in Rome.   (P.S.--Beware of folk who make mischief. Be wise; be gentle; and all good be with you.)  Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, and all friends at Corinth send kind regards. (So do I--Tertius, amanuensis!)  Glory be to God!  With all good wishes,  Your brother,  PAUL, Missionary of Jesus Christ.  ... paraphrased and abridged by C. Harold Dodd, from The Meaning of Paul for Today January 4, 2000  Nothing shall be lost that is done for God or in obedience to Him.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/6936</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[I've seen the Rhine with younger wave, O'er every obstacle to rave.  I see the Rhine in his native ...]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/54194]]></link><description><![CDATA[I've seen the Rhine with younger wave, O'er every obstacle to rave.  I see the Rhine in his native wild   Is still a mighty mountain child.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/54194</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The love of money is the root of all evil. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/42997]]></link><description><![CDATA[The love of money is the root of all evil.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/42997</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[We have to be capable of facing such a number. ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://maxioms.com/maxiom/29091]]></link><description><![CDATA[We have to be capable of facing such a number.]]></description><guid>http://maxioms.com/maxiom/29091</guid></item></channel></rss>