When Jesus takes possession of our life, it is not only that the past is forgotten and forgiven; if that were all, we might well proceed to make the same mess of life all over again; but into life there enters this new power which enables us to be what by ourselves we could never be, and to do what by ourselves we could never do. Water and the Spirit stand for the cleansing and the strengthening power of Christ, which wipes out the past and which gives us victory in the future.
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Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ; and read more
Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ; and if he has Christ he has at the same time all that is in Christ.
Beside Jesus, the whole lot of us are so contemptible... But God is like Jesus, and like Jesus, He will read more
Beside Jesus, the whole lot of us are so contemptible... But God is like Jesus, and like Jesus, He will not give up until we, too, are like Jesus.
Commemoration of Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012 The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men read more
Commemoration of Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012 The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.
Palm Sunday I had no God but these, The sacerdotal trees, And they uplifted me, "I hung upon a read more
Palm Sunday I had no God but these, The sacerdotal trees, And they uplifted me, "I hung upon a Tree." The sun and moon I saw, And reverential awe Subdued me day and night, "I am the perfect light." Within a lifeless stone -- All other gods unknown -- I sought Divinity, "The Corner-stone am I." For sacrificial feast I slaughtered man and beast, Red recompense to gain. "So I a Lamb was slain." "Yea, such My hungering Grace That whereso'er My face Is hidden, none may grope Beyond eternal Hope.".
A science which does not bring us nearer to God is worthless.
A science which does not bring us nearer to God is worthless.
Feast of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988 In coming to know Jesus, you have come to know yourself, read more
Feast of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988 In coming to know Jesus, you have come to know yourself, too: naturally, this is more pleasant for some than for others, but to see yourself as you really are can never be entirely pleasant. And when a Christian fails at something he ought to have done, it isn't just the failure that hurts -- there is also the knowledge that he has let Jesus down. And those little shortcomings of ours, that used to matter so little, compared with the glaring faults of others: we know now that our temper, or our gloom, or our selfishness, reflects on Jesus; and knowing that people are judging your Lord by you is not always a joyous thought to live with. Even the growing up to His measure is hard on a man: we have so little aptitude for such a transformation that it always means conflict, and often rebellion. And temptations hurt as they never did before: not just in the conscience, but in the heart. The assaults of temptation are not on our prudence now, or even on our morals, but on the love for Jesus. His love for us has made Him quite defenseless against our hurting Him, and so temptation is no longer an urge to do a bad thing but an urge to hurt a loving Person.
God wants us to know that when we have Him we have everything.
God wants us to know that when we have Him we have everything.
Feast of Teresa of Avila, Mystic, Teacher, 1582 Our body has this defect that, the more it is read more
Feast of Teresa of Avila, Mystic, Teacher, 1582 Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.
Commemoration of Cecilia, Martyr at Rome, c.230 Commemoration of Clive Staples Lewis, Spiritual Writer, 1963 What we have been read more
Commemoration of Cecilia, Martyr at Rome, c.230 Commemoration of Clive Staples Lewis, Spiritual Writer, 1963 What we have been told is how we men can be drawn into Christ -- can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer to His Father -- that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange, exciting hints in the Bible that when we are drawn in, a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.
