But He was pierced for our transgressions.He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishmentthat brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.—Isaiah 53:5
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Yours the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior,
It is I who deserve Your place;
Look on me with Your favor,
Promise to me Your grace.
-from O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, written by Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Then Simeon said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
“God overrules every reproach of untruth, doubt, and uncertainty raised against God’s love by entering as a human being into human life, by taking on and bearing bodily the nature, essence, guilt, and suffering of human beings. God becomes human out of love for humanity.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer
God’s care for humanity was so great that he sent his unique Son among us, so that those who count on him might not lead a futile and failing existence, but have the undying life of God Himself. –John 3:16
O Lord, who brings us to the Father,
The Life, the Truth, the Way
The path of prayer You did walk;
Lord, teach us now to pray.
“Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite and vivid consciousness that we are talking to God and should believe that He is listening to our petition and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him. We should look to the Holy Spirit to really lead us into the presence of God and should not be hasty in words until He has actually brought us there.” –-R. A. Torrey
“We can never expect to grow in the likeness of our Lord unless we follow His example and give more time to communion with the Father. A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution.” –- E.M. Bounds
“The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says “Amen” and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas.”—Frank Laubach
“The value in persistent prayer is not that he will hear us…but that we will finally hear him.”—William McGill
“Prayer means yearning for the simple presence of God, for a personal understanding of his word, for knowledge of his will and for capacity to hear and obey him.”—Thomas Merton
We look at Jesus and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at Jesus and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. –Colossians 1:18-20 The MSG
Not only do we not know God save through Jesus Christ, but we do not know ourselves save through Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ we know not what our life is, nor our death, nor God, nor ourselves. –Blaise Pascal
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky…
righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps. –Psalm 85:10-11,13
To live strongly and creatively in the kingdom of God, we need to have firmly fixed in our minds what our future is to be like. We want to live fully in the Kingdom now, and for that purpose our future must make sense to us” –Dallas Willard
When Christ, who is our life shall appear then you will be revealed with Him as glorious. –Colossians 3:4
How great a love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be described as children of God! But it has not yet been shown what we shall be. We only know that when He appears we shall be as He is. –I John 3:1-2
He will transform our lowly body to be like his glory body, using the power He has over everything. –Philippians 3:20
Ah, Lord God, you holy Lover of my soul, when you come into my soul, all that is within me shall rejoice. You are my Glory and the exultation of my heart; you are my Hope and Refuge in the day of my trouble. Set me free from all evil passions, and heal my heart of all inordinate affections; that, being inwardly cured and thoroughly cleansed, I may be made fit to love, courageous to suffer, steady to persevere. Nothing is sweeter than Love, nothing more courageous, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth; because Love is born of God, and cannot rest but in God, above all created things. Let me love you more than myself, nor love myself but for you. Amen.—Thomas a Kempis
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.-Psalm 118-24
Life is short, full of beauty and pain;
tears and laughter.
Cherish the moments of joy,
be grateful for the now
and treasure the delight of a child
and remember your Maker.
-Ryan Thurman
The One who is to come is born of a woman, Mary.
His name is above every name. At his name every knee shall bow
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!–O Holy Night
Capturing Moments 