journal/FINDING MEANING IN LIFE

"NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU"  HOW sweetly and SOFTLY those words fall off of Jesus'
lips to the adulterous woman in John 8:11---and ONE-BY-ONE her accusers walk away

AS CHRISTIANS like our TEACHER Jesus-we are called to SHOW MERCY AND COMPASSION
to others-NOT JUDGE-that is GOD THE FATHER'S JOB

Dear LORD-HELP us to show MERCY to others today-because we SOMETIMES FAIL you too
BUT your LOVE never fails us

it is a GREAT DAY to be ALIVE in GOD'S LOVE for us!
LOVE YOU ALL!








WITNESS




9-14-13




FINDING MEANING IN LIFE


Where do you find meaning
In your life
Is it family
Is it friends
Is it some worthwhile cause
Greater than you


All worthy
All worthwhile
All very important


But I suggest to you
That you can never
Really truly find yourself
And the meaning of life
Until you find God


“For whoever finds me finds life
And receives favor from the Lord
But whoever fails to find me
Harms himself
All who hate me love death” Proverbs 8:35-36


Leo Tolstoy was a great great man
Rich in wealth and fame
With a beautiful wife
But as time went on
He suffered serious bouts of depression
And even contemplated suicide


But he eventually
Found peace by reading the Bible
Particularly Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
He dedicated the rest of his days
To building the Kingdom of God
On earth


“Whoever finds his life
Will lose it
And whoever loses his life
For my sake
Will find it” Matthew 10:39


Saint Augustine
Was a womanizer
And living a lost life
He even had
A mistress and an illegitimate son
His Mother---Saint Monica
Continued to pray for him
And his conversion


Augustine
Felt a deep yearning
For something more in his life
One day he just flipped open the Bible
And it opened to:


“Let us conduct ourselves properly
And in the day
Not in orgies and drunkenness
Not in promiscuity and licentiousness
Not in rivalry and jealousy
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ
And make no provision
For the desires of the flesh” Romans 13:13-14


Leo Tolstoy found God
Saint Augustine found God
How about you
How about me


“You have made us for yourselves,
Oh Lord,
And our hearts are restless
Until they rest in you” Saint Augutine


In 1977
I had one life and death operation
Two more were to come that same year


For most of that year
I was flat on my back in my room
Unable to get out of my bed
It was then that I began
A deep deep search to find God


Jesus taught us how to pray
Many many years ago,
“Go in your room alone
Close the door
And pray to your Father in secret
And your Father
Who sees in secret
Will repay you” Matthew 6:6


Life is a journey
Not a destination
And along the way
I found God


Family has stepped up
For me
Friends have stepped forward
For me
Churches have stepped forward
For me


Where do you find your meaning in life
Family, friends, a cause greater than yourself


“Seek first the KINGDOM OF GOD
And all these things
Will be given to you” Luke 12:31


WE ARE ALL
CHILDREN OF GOD


Robert P. Wallman
4-22-11




*Inspired by The Word Among Us”---March 9^th to April 23^rd issue




Ps WITNESS 9-14-13


MISC. WITNESS 4-7-14