Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord...
Isaiah 6: 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
"Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?"
Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Matthew 6: 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Luke 22: 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail...
Song 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
this is actually a selection of verses i sent to a friend of mine who is about to go into mission work.
the duality of justice and mercy is an interesting quality. i think it refers to being just with those undeserving of evil and be merciful to those who do. this is carried into the turning of the cheek. generally, be kind and gracious to all.
be comforted that what you seek is promised to you. do not fret about what you need or what lies in store for you.
volunteerism is important. volunteer willingly and speedily to assist those around you. give of yourself whether asked or demanded or not requested at all. be aware of your surroundings that you may be of aid to another before that aid is even known to be needed.
support each other in kind thoughts and know that your brothers are supporting you in their thoughts and prayers. even this, that the lord supports you in his prayers.
the lord is love. whether he be omnibenevolent or not, the very idea of the gospel is that love is indeed the very bonds between electrons. the fabric of the universe is love. (i know i don't tend to mysticism here; blame the wine.) and love never fails. love is never defeated. this knowledge gives way to hope and hope is the most powerful force there is. hope can give life to the dying and dreams to the broken.
1 corinthians 13: 1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body *to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
and faith can move mountains.
those of contrite (dictionary.com: Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent.) heart --immaterial of their confession--are the ones god seeks. those who know their limits and know their strengths and do not confuse the two. those who know that there is something greater... be it love or light or universe or kharma or god. those who accept the frailty of their own existence and yet accept honesty when given it. those who accept the world as good and honest and beautiful as a child might. these are the ones the lord loves and these are those with whome he will surround himself for eternity.
the lord created mankind as his companion. he will not surround himself with companions who are divisive or judgemental or histerical... rather those who seek peace, forgiveness, and gentleness.
for now we see as though through a glass, darkly...
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
™ Version 4.2