It's A Sign!

Pentax Optio S50

"As the crowd increased, Jesus began tos peak in this way, 'People of the present time are evil people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation. The Queen of the SOuth will rise up on Judgment day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah's preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah."

LUKE 11:29-32

"May Your life and death be enough sign for me of Your love."

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When God's Will Hurts

From www.theworkofgod.org

"When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.

"This then is how you should pray:

"Our Father in heaven,
holy be your name,
your kingdom come
and your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today the kind of bread we need.
Forgive us our debts
just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
Do not bring us to the test
but deliver us from the evil one.

"If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either."

MATTHEW 6:7-15

"Lord, even if it isn't easy,
help me to accept Your will in all areas of my life."

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Cheat!

Pentax S50

"Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 'Speak to the entire assembly of the people of Israel and say to them: Be holy for I, Yahweh, your God, am holy.

"Do not steal or lie or deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name so as to profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

"Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block in the way of the blind; but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.

"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor nor bow to the great; you are to judge your neighbor fairly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not go about as a slanderer of your people and do not seek the death of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.

"Do not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke your neighbor frankly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or nurture a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh."

LEVITICUS 19:1-2,11-18

"You are Truth, You are life.
May I never forget this."

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Enter The Desert

"Jesus was now full of Holy Spirit. As he returned from the Jordan, the Spirit led him into the desert where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during that time, and in the end he was hungry. The devil then said to him, 'If you are son of God, tell this stone to turn into bread.' But Jesus answered, 'Scripture says: People cannot live on bread alone.'

"The the devil took him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the nations of the world. And he said to Jesus, 'I can give you power over all the nations and their wealth will be yours, for power and wealth have been delivered to me and I give them to whom I wish. All this will be yours provided you worship me.' But Jesus replied, 'Scripture says: You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.'

"Then the devil took him up to Jerusalem and set him on the highest wall of the Temple and he said, 'If you are son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: God will order his angels to take care of you, and again: They will hold you in their hands, lest you hurt your foot on the stones.' But Jesus replied, 'It is written: You shall not challenge the Lord your God.'

"When the devil had exhausted every way of tempting Jesus he left him, to return another time."

LUKE 4:1-13

"Lord, quiet me and clam my heart.
Silence the noise of my life that I may hear Your voice."

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Rags to Riches

From www.amazon.com

"Then you will call and Yahweh will answer,
you will cry and he will say, I am here.

"If you remove from your midst the yoke,
the clenched fist and the wicked word,
if you share your food with hungry
and give relief to the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the dark,
your night will be like noon.
Yahweh will guide you always
and give you relief in desert places.
He will strengthen your bones;
he will make you as a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt,
the age-old foundations will be riased.
You will be called the Breach-mender,
and the Restorer of ruined houses.

"If you stop profaning the sabbath
and doing as you please on the holy day,
if you call the sabbath a day of delight
and keep sacred Yahweh's hold day,
if you honor it by not going your own way,
not doing as you please
and not speaking with malice,
then you will find happiness in Yahweh,
over the heights you will ride triumphantly,
on the inheritance of your father Jacob
you will feast joyfully.
The mouth of Yahweh has spoken."

ISAIAH 58:9-14


"Fill me with Your Spirit of perseverance and love."

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Ever Present

Pentax Optio S50

"Cry out aloud for all you are worth;
raise your voice like a trumpet blast;
tell my people of their offenses,
Jacob's family of their sins.

"Is it true that they seek me
day after day, longing to know my ways,
as a people that does what is right
and has not forsaken the word of its God?

"They want to know the just laws
and not to drift away form their God.
'Why are we fasting,' they complain,
'and you do not even see it?
We are doing penance and you never notice it.'

"Look, on your fast days you push your trade
and you oppress your laborers.
Yes, you fast but end up quarreling,
striking each other with wicked blows.
Fasting as you do
will not make your voice heard on high.

"Is that the kind of fast that pleases me,
just a day for a man to humble himself?
Is fasting merely bowing down one's head,
and making use of sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call that fasting,
a day acceptable to Yahweh?

"See the fast that pleases me:
breaking the letters of injustice
and unfastening the thongs of the yoke,
setting the oppressed free
and breaking every yoke.
Fast by sharing your food with the hungry,
bring to your house the homeless,
clothe the man you see naked
and do not turn away from your own kin.

"Then will your light break forth as the dawn
and your healing come in a flash.
Your righteousness will be your vanguard,
the Glory of Yahweh your rearguard.
Then you will call and Yahweh will answer,
you will cry and he will say, I am here."

ISAIAH 58:1-9

"Help me remember You are omniscient and omnipresent,
ever attentive to me."

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Embezzling Heaven's Funds

From various websites

"I now address myself to those elders among you; I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, hoping to share the Glory which is to be revealed. Shepherd the flock which God had entrusted to you, guarding it not out of obligation but willingly for God's sake; not as one looking for a reward but with a generous heart; do not lord it over those in your care, rather be an example to your flock. Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will be given a crown of unfading glory."

1 PETER 5:1-4

"Lord, You are my treasure.
Nothing on earth can compare with You."

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No Better Time

Pentax S50

"So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the name of Christ, as if God himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made him bear our sin, so that in him we might share the holiness of God.

"Being God's helpers we beg you: let it not be in vain that you received this grace of God. Scripture says: At the favorable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you. This is the favorable time, this is the day of salvation."

2 CORINTHIANS 5:20-6:2

"Lord, I come to You this moment..."

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Why Catholic?

Pentax S50

"After leaving that place, they made their way through Galilee; but Jesus did not want people to know where he was because he was teaching his disciples. And he told them, 'The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him, but three days after he has been killed, he will rise.' The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

"They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they did not answer because they had been arguing about who was the greatest.

"Then he sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, 'If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.' Then he took a little child, placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes a child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcome not me but the One who sent me.'"

MARK 9:30-37

"Heavenly Father, stir up in me a real hunger for Your truth
and help me to know You that I may be like You."

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It Is The Lord!

Canon S45

"All wisdom comes from the Lord and endures with him forever.

"The grains of sand, the drops of rain and the days of eternity, who can count them?

"The height of heaven, the extent of the earth and the depths of the abyss, who can measure them?

"Wisdom was created before all things and the prudent intellect before the beginning of time.

"To whom was the source of Wisdom revealed? Who has known her secret designs?

"One alone is wise and greatly to be feared. The One who is seated upon his throne.

"The Lord himself created Wisdom. He looked on her and knew her value. He poured her out over all his works; upon all mortal beings, in accordance with his goodness. He lavished her on those who love him."

SIRACH 1:1-10

"When I begin to puff up with pride,
remind me again, Lord, who is Lord."

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Are You Ready To Really Love?

"'But I say to you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks and if anyone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.

"'Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of graciousness is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of graciousness is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return.

"'But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. FOr he is kind towards the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Don't be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.'"

LUKE 6:27-38

"In spite of and despite their weaknesses,
may I learn to love others as You do."

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Grandma, Listen

"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain. There his appearance was changed before their eyes. Even his clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.

"Then Peter spoke and said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' For he did not know what to say, they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came this word, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.' And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them.

"As they came down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man be risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what 'to rise from the dead' could mean.

"Finally they asked him, 'Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?' Jesus answered them, 'Of course, Elijah will come first so that everything may be as it should be... But, why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? I tell you that Elijah has already come and they have treated him as they pleased, s the Scriptures say of him.'"

MARK 9:2-13

"Lord, give me the grace to be a good listener, especially to You."

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Surrendering

Sony Mavica

"Then Jesus called the people and his disciples and said, 'If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, you will save it.

"'What good is it to gain the whole world but destroy yourself? There is nothing you can give to recover your life. I tell you: If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words among this adulterous and sinful people, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the Glory of his Father with the holy angels.'

"And he went on to say, 'Truly I tell you, there are some her who will not die before they see the kingdom of God coming with power.'"

MARK 8:34-9:1

"Lord, be it done unto me according to Your word."

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Through God's Eyes

"Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Cesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, 'Who do people say I am?' And they told him, 'Some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah or one of the prophets.'

"Then Jesus asked them, 'But you, who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah.' And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

"Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and after three days rise again. Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus turning around, and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter saying, 'Get behind me Satan! You are thinking, not as God does, but as people do.'"

MARK 8:27-33

"Thank You for loving all of me, Lord."

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Smelling Good

Canon EOS 300

"At the end of the forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had built and let the raven out. This went off and kept flying to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

"Then Noah let out the dove to see if the waters were receding from the earth. But the dove could not find a place to set its foot and flew back to him in the ark for the waters still covered the surface of the whole earth. So Noah stretched out his hand, took hold of it and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited some more days and again sent the dove out from the ark. This time the dove came back to him in the evening with a fresh olive branch in its beak.

"Then Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and let the dove loose, but it did not return to him any more.

"In the year six hundred and one, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and looked out and saw that the surface of the earth was dry.

"Noah built an altar to Yahweh and, taking some of all the clean animals and all the clean birds, he offered burnt offerings on it. Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said to himself: 'Never again will I curse the earth because of man, even though his heart is set on evil from childhood; never again will I strike down every living creature as I have done.

"'As long as the earth lasts,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
shall not cease to be.'"

GENESIS 8:6-13,20-22

"Lord, let my life be a pleasing fragrance to You."

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The Blame Game

Pentax S50

"The disciples had forgotten to bring more bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then Jesus warned them, 'Keep your eyes open and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.' And they said to one another 'He saw that we have no bread.'

"Aware of this, Jesus asked them, 'Why are you talking about the loaves you are short of? Do you not see or understand? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that don't see and ears that don't hear? And do you not remember when I brok the five loaves among five thousand? How many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?' They answered, 'Twelve.' 'And having seven loaves for the four thousand, how many wicker baskets of leftovers did you collect?' They answered, 'Seven'. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do you still not understand?'"

MARK 8:14-21

"I realize that more than the miracles You work out for me, You are more interested in my growth out of worrying about trivial matters so I can truly listen to Your voice."

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Doubt Not

From http://cgfa.sunsite.dk

"The Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then his spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, 'Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.' Then he left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake."

MARK 8:11-13

"Lord, come to my rescue each time my doubting self would manifest."

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Beyond Here

"Well, then, if Christ is preached as risen from the dead, how can some of your say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith sin. Also those who fall asleep in Christ are lost. If it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

"But, no, Christ has been raised from the dead and he comes before all those who have fallen asleep."

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12,16-20

""May I be thankful always for what I have on earth now,
and be always conscious of what I have to come in Your home.

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Sorry Could Have Done It!

From www.hasbro.com

"Yahweh God called the man saying to him, 'Where are you?' He said, 'I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' God said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?' The man answered, 'The woman you put with me gave me fruit form the tree and I ate it.' God said to the woman, 'What have you done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me and I ate.'

"Yahweh God said to the serpent, 'Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.'

"To the woman, God said, 'I will increase your suffering in childbearing, and you will give birth to your children in pain. You will be dependent on your husband and he will lord it over you.'

"To the man, He said, 'Because you have listened to your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I forbade you to eat, cursed be the soil because of you! In suffering you will provide food for yourself from it, all the days of your life. It will produce thorn and thistle for you and you will eat the plants of the field. With sweat on your face you will eat your bread, until you return to clay, since it was from clay that you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return.'

"The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. Yahweh God made garments of skin for the man and his wife, and with these he clothed them.

"Then Yahweh God said, 'Man has now become like one of us, making himself judge of good and evil. Let him not stretch out his hand to take and eat from the tree of Life as well, and live forever.' So God cast him from the garden of Eden to till the soil from which he had been made. And after having driven the man out, God posted cherubim and a flaming sword that kept turning at the east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of Life."

GENESIS 3:9-24

"O my God, I am heartily sorry, for having offended Thee..."

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Curiosity Killed The Cat

Canon EOS 300

"Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the wild creatures that Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say: You must not eat from any tree in the garden?' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden God said: You must not eat, and you must not touch it or you will die.' The serpent said to the woman, 'You will not die, but God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.'

"The woman saw that the fruit was good to eat, and pleasant to the eyes, and ideal for gaining knowledge. She took tis fruit and ate it and gave some to her husband who was with her. He ate it. Then their eyes were opened and both of them knew they were naked. So they sewed leaves of a fig tree together and made themselves loincloths.

"They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day, and they, the man and his wife, hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden."

GENESIS 3:1-8

"Where does your curiosity lead you?"

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Are You Irresistible?

Canon EOS 300

"When Jesus left that place he went to the border of the Tyrian country. There he entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not remain hidden. A woman whose small daughter had an evil spirit heard of him and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

"Jesus told her, 'Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.' But she replied, 'Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs from the children's bread.' Then Jesus said to her, 'You may go your way; because of such a reply the demon has gone out of your daughter.' And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone."

MARK 7:24-30

"My heart make humble, O God."

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Logbook of Wrongs

Sony Mavica

"Jesus then called the people to him again and said to them, 'Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes out from within that makes unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen.'

"When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this saying and he replied, 'So even you are dull? Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean? Since it enters, not the heart but the stomach and is finally passed out.'

"Then Jesus declared that all foods are clean.

"And he went on, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles, for evil designs come out of the heart: theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.'"

MARK 7:14-23

"Make my heart a dwelling place, a temple just for You!"

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Recharged, Reloaded and Refocused

Pentax Optio S50

"One day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem.

"They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is without washing them. Now the Pharisees, and in fact, all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything when they come from the market without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe, for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

"So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, 'Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?'

"Jesus answered, 'You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.'

"And Jesus commented, 'You have a fine way of disregarding the commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition. For example, Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you someone could say to his father or mother: "I already declared Corban, which means 'offered to God,' what you could have expected from me." In this case, you no longer let him do anything for a father or mother. So you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.'"

MARK 7:1-13

"Come Holy Spirit, rekindle in us the fire of Your love..."

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God of Wonder

Canon EOS 350D, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec

"In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

"God said, 'Let there be light!'; and there was light. God saw that the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'Day' and the darkness 'Night". There was evening and there was morning: the first day.

"God said, 'Let there be a firm ceiling between the waters and let it separate waters from waters.' So God made the ceiling and separated the waters below it from the waters above it. And so it was. God called the firm ceiling 'Sky'. There was evening and there was morning: the second day.

"God said, 'Let the waters below the sky be gathered together in one place and let dry land appear.' And so it was. God called the dry land 'Earth', and the waters gathered together he called 'Seas'. God saw that it was good.

"God said, 'Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, fruit-trees bearing fruit with seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.' And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees producing fruit which has seed, according to their kind. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning: the third day.

"God said, 'Let there be lights in the ceiling of the sky to separate day from night and to serve as signs for the seasons, days and years; and let these lights in the sky shine above the earth.' And so it was. God therefore made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the smaller light to govern the night; and God made the stars as well. God placed them in the ceiling of the sky to give light on the earth and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning: the fourth day."

GENESIS 1:1-19

"For day and night, thank You, Lord.
For breeze and sights, praise You, Lord.
For every cloud and rainbow,
every morning dew,
all this made with love for me from You!"

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I Yam What I Yam

From www.lfb.it

"Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

"In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles. And last of all, he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

"Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed."

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

"Now Lord, with Your help
I shall become all that You want me to be."

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Downpour of Grace

Canon EOS 350D, f/11, 1/640 sec

"Let, then, continually offer through Jesus a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips celebrating his name. Do not neglect good works and common life, for these are sacrifices pleasing to God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are concerned for your souls and are accountable for them. Let this be a joy for them rather than a burden, which would be of no advantage for you.

"May God give you peace, he who brought back from among the dead Jesus our Lord, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, whose blood seals the eternal covenant.

"He will train you in every good work, that you may do his will, for it is he who works in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, to whom all glory be for ever and ever. Amen!"

HEBREWS 13:15-17,20-21

"Jesus, You're always watching out for me.
You even give me all that I need to live according to Your will.
For this I am eternally grateful. Amen."

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From instruct1.cit.cornell.edu

"When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

"There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.

"Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying,

"'Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace,
for you have fulfilled your word
and my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you display for all the people to see.
Here is the light you will reveal to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.'

"His father and mother wondered at what was said about the child. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, 'See him; he will be for the rise and fall of the multitudes of Israel. He shall stand as a sign of contradiction, while a sword will pierce your own soul. Then the secret thoughts of many may be brought to the light.'

"There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father's home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

"When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the child grew in stature and strength and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him."

LUKE 2:22-40

"For banishing our fear of death, and for letting Your fire
burn away our flaws little by little, we thank You, Lord Jesus."

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Not Everyone Will Like You

Canon EOS 300

"He called the Twelve to him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits. And he ordered them to take nothing for the journey except a staff; no food, no bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.

"And he added, 'In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place. If any place doesn't receive you and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.'"

MARK 6:7-13

"Lord, teach me to live my life based on Your love,
not on whether people accept me or not."

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