Quote Contemplations

“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” ―  H. Jackson Brown Jr.

 

“It is better to give than to receive.”  - Proverb 20:35

 

“The proverb ‘it is better to give than to receive’ means that the act of giving is more virtuous, noble, and spiritually satisfying than the act of receiving. Originating from Acts 20:35, where the Apostle Paul quotes Jesus, the phrase teaches that generosity brings greater happiness and blessing to the giver than the pleasure of acquiring things for oneself.” ^[1]

      I know that to be true. When you give money to someone who is in dire straits, or food to people without, or a winter coat to a homeless person, when given with the proper motivation, is very satisfying. It’s not all about us. God uses us in various ways and scripture is very clear on this front: “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” [Matthew 6:3 NLT] In other words, don’t broadcast what you’re doing for someone, for what you did is no one else’s business. We are not to seek recognition for anything we do in the name of the Lord. A humble spirit is required. Whether anyone knows who gave the gift is of no consequence. The Lord indirectly did it thru you. He moved upon the heart of a person to assist in a tangible way. God is to receive the glory, not us. 

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] www.biblehub.com

 

Quote Contemplations

“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”  -  Victor Hugo*

 

            This is something I say quite often. That God loves us in spite of ourselves. Let’s face it, our lives don’t paint a pretty picture. Mankind is deeply flawed and in need of a major makeover. The beauty of God is that he knows all about us yet loves us in spite of ourselves. He knows we are but dust and to dust we shall return. 

            We must understand something very important. God knows who we are. He knows what we’ve thought, said, and done in our life. He knows the good and the bad; the beautiful and the ugly side of each one of us. In spite of all our foul-ups he loves us. He loves us in spite of our moral and/or ethical weaknesses. He may not agree or like what we are doing with our lives, but it has no impact on his feelings for us. 

            We can go to the Lord with any problem or potentially dire situation, and he will not judge us.  Instead he will show us a better way. He is always ready to forgive the contrite heart and will never hold any past iniquities against us. So remember and never forget that we are loved by our Creator passionately and eternally and NOTHING will ever change that!!

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Victor-Marie Hugo, February 26,1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.

 

Quote Contemplations

“Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.” -  H. Jackson Brown, Jr.*

            This advice is well suited for marriage and other special relationships. The truth of the matter is that when you’ve made someone you care about happy, then YOU are happy as well. Love is the catalyst that provides the spark. When you love someone then their feelings are paramount to you. Doing for them out of love brings you satisfaction. It also reveals to the recipient the depth of feelings you have for them.

            Spiritually speaking, we should return God’s love for us back to him. We do that by obeying the standards laid out in the Bible. God’s love for us cannot be topped in that his own Son died in our place, the atonement for our sins. THAT is a special, supernatural kind of love that is eternal in nature.

            Being happy is a choice. Some people have wonderful lives by worldly standards yet are not happy because they feel they are missing something. They are. A relationship with their Creator. They haven’t found that piece of unparallelled happiness and satisfaction yet, but it is our prayer that some day they will. 

            Worldly happiness is temporal; here today and gone tomorrow. Only that which is eternal will last. Some folks look for that ‘thing’ that they feel they are missing, without knowing where to look or how to find it. And the Holy Spirit quietly calls out to them, but they do not have ears to hear. Someday maybe they will. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Horace Jackson Brown Jr. (March 14, 1940 – November 30, 2021) was an American author who was best known for his inspirational book, Life's Little Instruction Book.

Quote Contemplations

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1 NIV

 

            “...The full extent of his love.” If you ever had any doubts as to how much God loves you, doubt no further. Knowing in painful detail what he would have to go thru to show the world the depth of his love, Jesus willingly gave himself over to the cruelty of the Roman soldiers. The Lord took an ordinary scene and by his divine presence and calm demeanor, turned it into a holy event. The man who could have called down a thousand angels to his side to defend him remained silent. Jesus knew what must be done and he also knew he was the ONLY one who could accomplish this and have it mean something eternal. I would say that there is no one living or dead who could have pulled this off, because the creature is but a pale reflection of its creator.

            The full extent of God’s love for those who have given themselves over to his guidance and leadership is deeper than the deepest ocean and wider than the sky.  Nothing compares to it. Nothing ever will. It is my believe that mankind will never, ever fully appreciate or understand what actually transpired over 2000 years ago on a hill called Golgotha. And Christ did that for each one of us. Some embrace it and have it revolutionize their lives; others barely consider it, questioning if it was real or just a legend.  

            They say experience is a great teacher. Experiencing salvation thru faith and trust in God teaches you over the course of time that Christ and his crucifixion were very real historic events. Scripture combined with time period documents verify the existence of Jesus of Nazareth and the spectacle on Golgotha’s hill. That is how deep the extent of Christ’s love for us is. That he would die for each one of us. Matchless love, incredible display. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

          Once you’ve been seen as a person of low integrity by others, it’s very difficult to gain a person’s trust again. God forgives; man typically does not. Those who know God and walk with Him can make somewhat of a recovery as far as being trusted again, but the consequences can be rough. When you aren’t trusted for legitimate reasons, you’ve shot yourself in the foot, quite literally. You’ve singlehandedly made your life a lot harder than it had to be.

That is precisely why a believer simply MUST dedicate time to knowing the Lord better and learn to emulate Christ. We cannot live this life without some outside help. Worldly help is risky business since the world is inwardly and not outwardly focused. We are inconsequential in God’s universal plan. In other words, He doesn’t NEED us to make His plan work; rather God has CHOSEN to use us and that my friends is a whole lot different than Him NEEDING us. He sees value in us. He knows what we can become with His influence firmly planted within our heart & mind. The catch is that we HAVE TO submit to His leadership in our lives. If you aren’t willing to entertain that proposal, then you’ve made your decision and once you die it becomes irreversible. 

If you don’t believe in there being an Almighty God who loves you and desires to have a relationship with you, then all I have to say is “YOU BETTER BE RIGHT.” Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 Understanding how fragile and brief life truly is, I honestly don’t waste a lot of time pondering its brevity. I’ve tried to make the most out of my life for the Lord in the comparatively short time that we all have?

                  I say our lives are brief because of the point of reference I am using. My point of reference is the longevity of God’s existence. It’s really no different than the bigness of God compared to His creation; namely man. We are nothing more than single grains of sand on the beaches of creation, especially when compared to the vastness of the universe and the Lord’s preeminence.

                  There appears to be a whole lot of folks in the world today who have an over-inflated sense of importance. They seem to think they are better than all others in intellect, status, looks, and so on. Only God knows who is serious about their commitment to Him.  Selfishness, laced with arrogance, is a poor path to follow. These type of people don’t think about the frailty of life, but rather have the odd notion that they will never die.

                  Life is too short to waste time on trivial matters. God is to be our primary focus. Understanding who He is and who we are in relation to Him is crucial to our spiritual growth. So don’t focus on the shortness of time, but rather focus on how you can make the most out of the time we have for the Lord. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

The world is filled with hatred and the vilest sort of evil that it leaves our collective heads spinning. It makes us bone weary. In our efforts to replicate the behavioral traits of Jesus we find Satanic opposition at every turn. The hatred that is percolating right below the surface is bringing about stiff resistance to Christianity. Notice that other “religious beliefs” are not mentioned. Why? Because they present no threat to the enemy. 

Jesus is THE ONE WAY to heaven and THAT is why He comes under attack so often from Satanic forces. It makes walking by faith a bit more of a challenge. But we must never lose sight of who God is & who we are IN HIM. 

With God there is nothing to fear. With God, by association, there is nothing we cannot do in His name. Faith and trust in God is what we need to survive in this world. He is the only One that can wipe your proverbial slate clean and give you a new start. He is the only One with the resources (Christ’s blood) to simply remove one’s sin permanently and for all time. God is the only One who can provide the way to an eternity with Him. 

So don’t look at the potential problems that loom off in the distant, but rather look at that which is right beside you, namely, Jesus Christ, the author and completer of our faith.

Refocus on that which is positive and refresh your mind with His word daily. We’re in a war of good vs. evil and though we already know that good wins, we need to play it out. Trust the Lord to lead you to the Promised Land. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries