I have plenty of ignorance. It is the confidence that I sometimes lack. At 70 I can safely say I have had some successes thanks to a God who loves me It is the ignorance part that sometimes bothers me. I know we are not suppose to compare ourselves with others, but I have greatly admired the writings of people who have an expansive vocabulary. Mine seems to be shrinking as I get older. 🤷♀️ Thanks, again, to a God who loves and His Spirit who guides me, I am able to get past that age factor when I need to . . . if I am paying attention. But that is another problem!
Confidence, for me anyway, comes from the realization that no writer says anything new. (This is probably still coming from my study of Lamentations.) Anything I or anyone else writes comes from knowledge gained elsewhere. We are just expressing in a different way what someone else has already said. There! My notes and quotes are just that, and they enrich my mind and my writing.
One of my favorites comes from a sermon we heard long ago. I did not write down who said this, but I love it!
“When you are uncertain what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and others.”
I wrote down two verses that support that thought: ”You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.“ Leviticus 19:18 NKJV; and ”“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”“ Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV. These are verses most followers of Jesus know and understand. My quote is a modern version of these verses, one from the Old Testament and the other from the New Testament .
Another favorite quote I made note of is from John Wesley, who with his brother Charles started a revival in the Church of England in the mid-1700’s known as Methodism. He said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” The same verses above apply here, too.
And, finally, I love this note, too:
What makes God smile?
1. Love Him supremely (”So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”“Luke 10:27 NKJV, also in Deuteronomy, Mathhew, Mark, and John)
2. Trust Him completely (”Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.“Psalms 16:1, ”Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.“ Psalms 56:3, ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;“Proverbs 3:5 NKJV)
3. Obey Him wholeheartedly (”So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .“ I Samuel 15:22 , ”But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.“ I John 2:5 NKJV)
4. Praise and thank Him continually (”Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!“Psalms 150:1-6 NKJV)
5. Use your abilities (gifts) (”Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.“ Romans 12:6-8 NKJV, and ”Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.“ James 1:17 NKJV).
Everything boils down to the Bible. It is true and complete from the beginning to the end, written by our God who has no beginning or end. God knows every detail until the end and He loves us.
Amen! 🙏🎚️❤️
I am always fascinated by the education of the Founding Fathers and others of that time. They were widely read from the Ancient Greeks to their contemporaries. I think that following their example and casting our knowledge net far and wide will help expand our thinking and our vocabulary.
Sort of bearing up my previous comment, I think it very useful to read this article concerning the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. This is, in my opinion, further evidence of the education of our forefathers. Their education, "primitive" according to current day thinkers, FAR outstrips the "education" being given to our children today.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/the-unexploded-bomb-in-the-constitution-thats-threatening-the-2024-election-5569216?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy