The Imitation of Christ - BOOK 1 - 7th Chapter

The Imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis
BOOK ONE
THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL

The Seventh Chapter
AVOIDING FALSE HOPE AND PRIDE

VAIN is the man who puts his trust in men, in created things.

Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble and humbles the proud.

If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.

Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God's judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.

Beam Me Up Sweet Jesus

Beam Me Up Sweet Jesus

A Wondering Heart is a Sign of an Unstable Mind
Seek Your Happiness in Your Own Backyard Instead
Forget the Lure of the Beauty of Other Worlds
You Cannot Escape Your Trials by Fleeing From Them
Let Adventure Befriend You in Your Youth
But Allow Steadiness to Accompany You When You're Old
Remember That People Can Be Strange
When You're From a Different Part of the World
Soon Your New Friends' Foibles Will Appear Insurmountable
On the Other Hand, No Place on Earth Can Be Called Home
You, Good Soul, Would Get Bored Even on the Space Station
Jesus and His Saints Await Us in Our Permanent Abode
There, We'll Not Feel Homesick for This Earth
So... Whenever You're Ready... Beam Me Up Sweet Jesus

If God Didn't Give It To You... You Don't Need It (Or... You May Already Have It!)

If God Didn't Give It To You... You Don't Need It (Or... You May Already Have It!)

Let's examine the Scarecrow, in search of a brain:
Wizard of Oz: Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma.

Look at the Tin Man looking for a heart:
Wizard of Oz: A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.
Wizard of Oz: As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don't know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.

Let's see the Cowardly Lion who desperately needs courage:
Wizard of Oz: You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom.

Where Is Our Treasure?

Where Is Our Treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

No Superpowers Needed - Just Follow Christ's Example

No Superpowers Needed - Just Follow Christ's Example

John 13:12-17 NIV
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV
11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

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We don't need God to give us special or super powers to accomplish the work he's set out for us to do in the world. He will give us the necessary graces but we're still free to reject them. Keep in mind that if we reject His graces, our spiritual rewards will be less.
To think we have to "save the world" is truly psychotic. Enough is for us to play the part alloted to us in the Body of Christ. Only Jesus could have and did save the world.

Truth Seeker

Saint Michael The Archangel Defend Us in Battle

Holy Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protector against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen