Jesse, Love and Thankfulness, 15 November 2018
"We pray for the big things, and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small, and yet really not so small, blessings.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“People with advantages are loathe to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages. They come readily to define themselves as inherently worthy of what they possess; they come to believe themselves 'naturally' elite; and, in fact, to imagine their possessions and their privileges as natural extensions of their own elite selves.”
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite
"The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity— greedy, dishonest, adulterous— or even like this tax collector over there."
Luke 18:11
"All sin, indeed, when repented of, He will put away; but pride hardens the heart against repentance, and sensuality debases it to a brutal nature."
John Henry Newman
"Almighty God lets the sinner go his own way, for He has given to man free-will, and does not want a forced obedience, but an obedience springing from love. In his forgetfulness of God, the sinner squanders his fortune, the natural and supernatural gifts which he has received, using his natural gifts, his health, his physical powers, and his reason, to offend God. The sinner, having forsaken the service of his God, falls under the dominance of Satan, and becomes the slave of his lowest passions, which are signified by the swine which the prodigal was forced to feed. But the more he obeys his passions, the more dissatisfied he becomes. No pleasure of the senses can give him happiness, and he feels an emptiness and spiritual hunger in his heart which he is powerless to satisfy. He knows no rest; he only knows that he is miserable, and hateful to himself."
Friedrich Justus Knecht
"The Lord requires you to act justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8
We are commanded by God to love His creation and our neighbors, both the worthy and the unworthy, in this attractive but deceitful world.
Not for any profit, or admiration, or even gratitude which is often enough lacking in this fallen world, but because it is His will, and we are His— in repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness.
He has chosen us, and called us by name. Nothing else can claim us. Only we can harden our hearts and choose to say no.
And in the end, that is the only real tragedy.
It's time to leave the world of empty illusions, and cast your pride aside.
Time to come home.
The highly optimistic rally of the week ended with profit-taking today.
What a surprise.
Stocks were lower.
VIX rose sharply as traders rediscovered the concept of risk.
Gold and silver rallied sharply as the very heavy-handed price suppression of the week of the Non-farm Payrolls report has helped to fuel a strong rebound.
Wash - rinse - repeat.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East may weigh heavily on markets as they re-open on Monday.
Need little, want less, love more. For those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them.
Have a pleasant weekend.
