Posted on 04/02/2007 12:18:53 PM PDT by Between the Lines
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith,
so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind;
love is not jealous or boastful;
it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrong,
but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never ends.
(1 Corinthians 13:1-8a)
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.
Galatians 5:14-26
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6: 6-8
Thnaks for this post and the intent behind it.
All of the quotes are perfection in themselves, but I particularly relate to Romans 14:13 at this point in my time on FR Religion Forum. I have been quite surprised at the “passing of judgment”, not only in open posts but also by FReepmail.
I am always hoping for a honest exchange of ideas, and beliefs that aren’t accmpanied by sweeping condemnations of other’s profession of faith not in accord with one’s own.
It seems to me that the “judging” is often adminiastered under the canopy of ‘it’s OK as along as it’s not ad hominem.”
Nothing could be any more pleasing to the eyes, the ears and soul as these quotes you have offered for our meditation, BTL and again, I thank you for it.
I only hope that I can live up to them, as I am the one who must give account for myself.
God’s blessing
ROE
Sorry I didn’t use spellcheck in my last post
Loooooonnng ago, I heard a radio interview with Gene Simmons, lead singer (I use the term loosely) from Kiss. The interviewer asked about their ‘success’ ... he replied that they “gross over a million every year ... most of them parents”. I always got the feeling that they weren’t taking themselves anywhere near as seriously as a lot of other folks took them, and laughing all the way to the bank.
Peace be with you.
I can believe that.
However, some of their motifs, themes are not very edifying, to put it mildly.
Some of the Biblical assertions about one’s eyes avoiding evil come to mind.
I’m tempted to simply post Matthew 5, in its entirety ... and I recommend going and reading it. Again. I’ll post a few verses that speak to me, on this topic:
5”Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
...
7”Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
...
14”You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16”Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
...
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
22”But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
23”Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
...
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘ YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’
44”But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
I present the following, as a sort of examination of conscience. I think we would all (self most definitely included) benefit by considering whether our posting habits are in line with the Gospel.
1) Am I gentle, merciful, a peacemaker? What happens to a thread, when I participate in it?
2) My light shines, for good or ill. What sort of light to I shine? Does my behaviour glorify God?
3) How do I treat those with whom I disagree? Do I show them respect, as persons?
May the Light of the Risen Christ shine in all of us.
to put it VERY mildly. I found them repulsive. I'd rather not sidetrack this into a "music and art" thread, so I'll let it go at this. I grew up trained in classical music. I can appreciate the raw talent and even trained musicianship of some rock-n-rollers. Kiss was simply abhorrent; all show and no go.
Agreed. Understand.
Great and humbling points. Thanks.
It gets silly, and everyone has to look at baby pictures.
LOL! Bless you, Tax-chick, and all of your little chickies.
And the same to you.
(Feel the Molasses Miasma of Niceness? Pine-Sol will take it off your keyboard, if necessary ...)
We especially need to ask ourselves that when we feel really strongly about a subject. So often our desire to defend our view of God, or the church or our faith tradition, we get an emotional reaction as if personally attacked.
This is one of the passages I use as a philosophy on these things:
Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing.
2 Timothy 2:23-24
Absolutely right.
Agreed.
Well done, AB.
************
LOL!!
Thx.
Great thread.
BTTT
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