Benjamin Franklin on faith, hope and love: "My belief induces me to hope, though I must not presume, that the same goodness will still be exercised toward me"

"...it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity among the other comforts of life. And now I speak of thanking God, I desire with all humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence, which lead me to the means I used and gave them success. My belief of this induces me to hope, though I must not presume, that the same goodness will still be exercised toward me, in continuing that happiness, or enabling me to bear a fatal reverse, which I may experience as others have done; the complexion of my future fortune being known to Him only in whose power it is to bless to us even our afflictions."
Benjamin Franklin Autobiography, 1789

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin-Benjamin-LOC.jpg

Joseph Duplessis [Public domain]

           faith 

                      hope 
                                  love 

"No one is good but God alone." Mark 10: 17-18, Luke 18: 18-19

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

Mark 10: 17-18


Glory and Praise to Our God by John Michael Talbot - YouTube

image by QuotesEverlasting

''There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is g… | Flickr 

psalm 95: "Whose hand holds the depths of the earth; who owns the tops of the mountains."

I

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.

For the LORD is the great God,
the great king over all gods, 

Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.

The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.

II

Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.

III

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,

as on the day of Massah in the desert.

There your ancestors tested me;

they tried me though they had seen my works.

Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my anger:

“They shall never enter my rest.”

Sunday School Songs - He's Got The Whole World In His Hands [with lyrics] - YouTube

image by Courtney Carmody

208/365 - He's got the whole world in his hands. | John 3:16… | Flickr

Merry Christmas!

with God, there is hope.

God

hope

john 8 12

psalm 30, "At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing.", city of God

A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. Of David.

I

I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O LORD, my God,
I cried out to you for help and you healed me.

LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
you let me live, from going down to the pit.

II

Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.

For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.

At dusk weeping comes for the night;
but at dawn there is rejoicing.

III

Complacent, I once said,
“I shall never be shaken.”

LORD, you showed me favor,
established for me mountains of virtue.

But when you hid your face
I was struck with terror.

To you, LORD, I cried out;
with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:

“What gain is there from my lifeblood,
from my going down to the grave?

Does dust give you thanks
or declare your faithfulness?

Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me;
LORD, be my helper.”

IV

You changed my mourning into dancing;

you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.

So that my glory may praise you
and not be silent.

O LORD, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.

psalm 30

City of God Hymn

Awake from your slumber! Arise from your sleep!
A new day is dawning for all those who weep.
The people in darkness have seen a great light.
The Lord of our longing has conquered the night.

Refrain: Let us build the city of God.
May our tears be turned into dancing.
For the Lord our light and our love has turned the night into day.

We are sons of the morning; we are daughters of day.
The One who has loved us has brightened our way.
The Lord of all kindness has called us to be
a light for all people to set their hearts free.

God is light; in God there is no darkness.
Let us walk in the light. God's children one and all.
O comfort my people make gentle your words,
proclaim to my city the day of her birth.

O city of gladness now lift up your voice,
proclaim the good tidings that all may rejoice.

City of God dan schutte - YouTube 

City of God Catholic Hymn

           faith 

                      hope 
                                  love 

questions

some of life's most confounding questions are:

• who am I?
• where am I?
• how did I get here?
• why am I here?

• where did the universe, and all that is in it, come from? 

• does God exist?
• who is God?
• how do I know God?

I believe that:

• no one speaks for God but God.
• God hears my prayers.
• God chooses when to answer my prayers.
• God doesn't give me everything that I ask for.
• (I didn't give my children everything that they asked for.)
• the bible tells me about God.
• sometimes the bible is clear and unambiguous.
• I don't allow other humans to convince me that it means something different.
• sometimes the bible isn't so clear, e.g. Revelations.
• I ask God what the bible means.
• sometimes God answers me clearly.
• sometimes I don't hear God clearly.
• I can keep asking.
• I can move on.
• God is God.
• there is no other God than God.
• God will reveal to me as God sees fit. 
• sometimes God will reveal to me clearly.
• sometimes God won't.
• God is both revealing and mysterious.
• God's ways are not human ways.
• human ways are not God's ways.
• God, and the bible, tell me much about God.
• I reject other human beings who presume to speak for God.

psalm 25, "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul, my God"

I

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,
my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced;

do not let my enemies gloat over me.

No one is disgraced who waits for you,

but only those who are treacherous without cause.

Make known to me your ways, LORD;
teach me your paths.

Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your compassion and your mercy, O LORD,
for they are ages old.

Remember no more the sins of my youth;

remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, LORD.

II

Good and upright is the LORD,

therefore he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.

For the sake of your name, LORD,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
Who is the one who fears the LORD?
God shows him the way he should choose.

He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.

The counsel of the LORD belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
My eyes are ever upon the LORD,
who frees my feet from the snare.

III

Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.

See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.

Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, 
for in you I seek refuge.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O LORD.
Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress!

psalm 25

Psalm 25: I Lift up My Soul - YouTube 

image by QuotesEverlasting

"Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God o… | Flickr