Thought for today - 12/31/2014

HABIT IS A CABLE
"It is my custom every night, as soon as the candle is out, to run over the words and actions of the past day; and I let nothing escape me, for why should I fear the sight of my errors when I can admonish and forgive myself? I was a little too hot in such a dispute; my opinion might well have been withheld, for it gave offense and did no good. The thing was true; but all truths are not to be spoken at all times. I would I had held my tongue, for there is no contending, either with fools or with our superiors. I have done ill, but it shall be so no more. Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it."
- Horace Mann

Aspartame linked to cancer

Results of the most thorough study of Aspartame ever done on the link to cancer in humans, show that as little as one diet soda daily may increase the risk for:

- leukemia in men and women
- multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin
    lymphoma in men.

Video (0:59):

http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/20922.html

- Ken McCarthy 
The Real Food Channel           

Thought for today - 12/30/2014

LETTING GO
"When I trouble myself over a trifle, even a trifle confessed -- the loss of some little article, say -- spurring my memory, and hunting the house, not from immediate need, but from dislike of loss; when a book has been borrowed of me and is not returned, and I have forgotten the borrower, and fret over the missing volume, ... is it not time that I lost a few things when I care for them so unreasonably? This losing of things is the mercy of God; it comes to teach us to let them go. Or have I forgotten a thought that came to me, which seemed of the truth? I keep trying and trying to call it back, feeling a poor man until that thought be recovered -- to be far more lost, perhaps, in a notebook into which I shall never look again to find it! I forget that it is live things that God cares about."
- George MacDonald (1824-1905), "The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity", in Unspoken Sermons, Second Series, London: Longmans, Green, 1886, p. 53-43

Thought for today - 12/29/2014

SIN'S TENACITY
"Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until he be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so will he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death."
- John Owen (1616-1683), A Discourse Concerning Holy Spirit, bk. I-V [1674], in Works of John Owen, v. III, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1852, p. 546-547

"When in hand-to-hand conflict with the world and the devil, neat little Biblical confectionery is like shooting lions with a pea-shooter; one needs a man who will let go and deliver blows right and left as hard as he can hit, in the power of the Holy Ghost... Nothing but forked-lightning Christians will count."
- C. T. Studd (1860-1931), quoted in C. T. Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer [1933], Norman P. Grubb, Read Books, 2008, p. 163

Thought for today - 12/28/2014

CONSIDER
"The least pain in our little finger gives us more concern than the destruction of millions of our fellow men."
- William Hazlitt

Thought for today - 12/27/2014

"I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."
- Psalm 59:16

Thought for today - 12/26/2014

It's not so much about "Why this?" as "What's next?"

Thought For Today - 12/25/2014

ON PRAYER
"Prayer was never meant to be just a recitation of our laundry list of needs and desires. For too many of us, prayer has become a monologue rather than a dialogue. When we run out of things to ask for, we stop praying. If we would stay in God's presence a little longer and listen, he would pour out his heart and mind to us. He would tell us invaluable insights into our circumstances. He would counsel us on some family problem or testy relationship at work. He would reveal whether we should say yes or no to a present opportunity. We need his guidance, and the good news is that he is more than willing to give it if we ask in faith."
- Jim Cymbala in You Were Made for More: The Life You Have, the Life God Wants You to Have

Thought for today - 12/24/2014

VERSE TO PONDER
"The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love."
- Psalm 33:4-5

Thought for today - 12/23/2014

CONSIDER
"To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted. No misfortune can disturb it. It obeys only [God] and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery."
- Augustine of Hippo

Thought For Today - 12/21/2014

VERSE TO PONDER 
"He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor."
- Proverbs 21:21

/Thought for today - 12/17/2014

VERSE TO PONDER
"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
- Ephesians 6:12-13

Thought for today - 12/16/2014

CONSIDER
"Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ."
- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensees (Thoughts) [1660], P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, #548, p. 177

Thought for today - 12/15/2014

CONSIDER
"My son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and inward liberty. Be desirous to do the will of another rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always the lowest place, and to be inferior to everyone. Wish always, and pray, that the will of God may be wholly fulfilled in thee."
- Thomas Kempis

Thought for today - 12/14/2014

VERSE TO PONDER
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you."
- 1 Peter 5:6-7

Thought for today - 12/13/2014

CONSIDER
"If you are in the wrong place, the right place is empty."
- Unknown Author 

Thought for today - 12/12/2014

"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
- Isaiah 41:10

Thought for today - 12/11/2014

CONSIDER
"If every call to Christ and His righteousness is a call to suffering, the converse is equally -- every call to suffering is a call to Christ, a promotion, an invitation to come up higher." 
- Charles Brent (1862-1929)

Thought for today - 12/10/2014

ON PRAYER
"The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. The Lord detests the way of the wicked but He loves those who pursue righteousness."
- Proverbs: 15:7-9 (NIV)

Thought for today - 12/09/2014

CONSIDER
"God has called us to shine, just as much as Daniel was sent into Babylon to shine.  Let no one say that he cannot shine because he has not so much influence as some others may have.  What God wants you to do is to use the influence you have.  Daniel probably did not have much influence down in Babylon at first, but God soon gave him more because he was faithful and used what he had."  
- Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)

Thought for today - 12/08/2014

CONSIDER
"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God no matter what the conflict." 
- Unknown Author

Thought for today - 12/07/2014

CONSIDER
"Never esteem anything as of advantage to thee that shall make thee break thy word or lose thy self-respect." 
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Thought for today - 12/06/2014

CONSIDER
"The world says, The more you take, the more you have.  Christ says, the more you give, the more you are."  
- Frederick Buechner

Thought for today - 12/05/2014

CONSIDER
"Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter."  
- Richard Hendrix

Thought for today - 12/04/2014

CONSIDER
"Many ordinary treasures may be denied the man who has God, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness.  Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss."
- A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948]

Thought for today - 12/03/2014

CONSIDER
"If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster." 
- Stephan Covey

Thought for today - 12/02/2014

You don't stop playing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop playing.

Thought for today - 12/01/2014

ON PRAYER
"Enable me, Father, to realize that words once spoken, like coins in circulation, pass from person to person along an uncharted course. Grant me the insight so to speak that any words of mine may be repeated without giving hurt. Help me not to criticize but rather to stress the things that are pure, lovely, and of good report. Make my habit of thought gentle and eager to pass along news of kindness and work well done. May my words build, never destroy, faith and confidence. To this end I pray that Thou wilt lead me in the ways of understanding. Amen."
- Unknown Author