The Kiss

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  “Ryabovitch pulled the bed-clothes over his head, curled himself up in bed, and tried to gather together the floating images in his mind and to combine them into one whole. But nothing came of it. He soon fell asleep, and his last thought was that someone had caressed him and made him happy—that something extraordinary, foolish, but joyful and delightful, had come into his life. The thought did not leave him even in his sleep. When he woke up the sensations of oil on his neck and the chill of peppermint about his lips had gone, but joy flooded his heart just as the day before.” The Kiss By Anton Chekhov (1860–1904)

Comforting Words (part 1)

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I heard a quote recently that I would like to modify: “studying God’s Word is for the serious, not the curious.” Sure, we could approach this block of paper with curiosity, read it as a great literary work of the world, but the serious student find God’s Word as living, active. Like a two-edged sword.

The living Word of God makes the difference for one’s survival as it contains direction for life orientation, connecting to God. Sometimes we get in trouble, disoriented, but like a compass we can find the way once more through God’s unchanging Word.

When it comes down to reading, understanding and “doing” God’s Word, we find there is a difference between our wishful thinking and God’s plan. The Bible is a record of what God does in life, about His love and concern for us, even about what to expect when we face troubling times. 

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