A slave...

Enslavement to the opinions of others is the source of a great deal of duplicity in modern society. How often we discover our action to be prompted, not by the divine Center [God], but by what others may say or think.

Richard J. Foster--Freedom of Simplicity

I think if we are honest with ourselves we will begin to question our motives...why do we raise our hands in worship, why do we have to have the last word in a discussion, why do we have the profession we do? I think the doom of our time is that we lived shallow lives because we wanted to look good in the eyes of others!

Suffering!

Will people receive this? Or does it even matter?

Courage!

The Decision

...Men can do them no harm, for the power of men ceases with the death of the body. But they must overcome the fear of death with the fear of God. The danger lies not in the judgement of men, but in the judgement of God, not in the death of the body but in the eternal destruction of body and soul. Those who are still afraid of men have no fear of God, and those who have fear of God have ceased to be afraid of men. All preachers of the gospel will do well to recollect this saying daily.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- The Cost of Discipleship

Bonhoeffer's point really does not give the believer any room to compromise...And, the point is powerful enough to actually make a lasting impression on the life of a believer... Why? Because this truth leads to one conclusion, either you fear God or you don't. There is no grey there!

WHY DID JESUS FOLD THE NAPKIN??

            This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the emails so; if it touches you, you may want to forward it.   Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?  I never noticed this....

            The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.  The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.  Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.  She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.  She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!' 

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.  The other disciple outran Peter and got there first.  He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.  Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside.  He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.  (John 20:6-7)  Was that important?  Absolutely!  Is it really significant?  Yes!  In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.  The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.  When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. 

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating.  The servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.  Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.  The servant would then know to clear the table.  For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.  But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........  The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

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