A Person’s Measure

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
       your love, O LORD, endures forever—
       do not abandon the works of your hands.-Psalm 138:8 

If we are worth anything,
   it is not because we have more money
      or more talent,
   or more human qualities.
Insofar as we are worth anything,
it is because we are grafted on to Christ’s life,
   his cross and resurrection.
That is a person’s measure.–Archbishop Oscar Romero 

Lord God, you who revealed yourself in Christ Jesus, your Son, let me turn from my preoccupation with things to see the vision of your Son.

November 5, 2007 by ryanmthurman Categories: Encouragement, God's Beauty, Jesus, People, Photography, Quotations Leave a comment

Wander into Temptation

 

When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” (Matthew 26:40-42) 

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is…that is why bad people know very little about badness.  They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.  We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it:  and Christ because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means-the only complete realist      -C.S. Lewis

October 29, 2007November 4, 2007 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Encouragement, God's Beauty, Inspiration, Jesus, Life, People, Photography, prayer, Quotations Leave a comment

What do you thirst for?

We live in a time when we can look around us and see the dire thirst of the world around us.  We find ourselves in a world filled with many tempting waters said to satisfy any thirst. And yet, our chorus seems to be closer to the old song: “I can’t get no satisfaction.” In Jeremiah it is said that the people had erred in two ways they had forsaken God, the living water, the source.  Secondly, they had built their own cisterns, ones that were faulty; full of leaks.  Jesus once asked two men who were following him, “What do you want?” It is a question I believe he still bids us to answer. What is it you thirst for? What is your heart’s deepest desire? Is the world you have created to manufacture life and happiness working?  Are you in an unending cycle of grasping and clinging for life that is always seeping out of your grasp? 

October 28, 2007October 29, 2007 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Encouragement, God's Beauty, Jesus, Life, Photography Leave a comment

Jesus

“The Jesus who is the one whom we search for even when we do not know that we are searching and hide from even when we do not know that we are hiding.”—Fredrick Buechner

Jesus, thank you that you respect and honor our freedom, and although you love us so deeply—deeper than the deepest oceans—you do not force yourself upon us, but in your vulnerability you wait to be wanted and pursued by us.  You keep your heart open with all your loving affections toward us, even though we often don’t recognize you or altogether reject you.   You invite us even tonight to change our thinking and take a chance with the way of life that you have come to offer, calling us to  turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, dream, or imagine!

October 16, 2007October 16, 2007 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Encouragement, God's Beauty, Jesus, Life, People, Photography, prayer, Quotations Leave a comment