Thanks be to Jesus for this new day. We will gather for our Wednesday fellowship and study this evening with a very special meal at 6 PM followed by Bible Study at 6:30 PM.
From time to time, we hear about people who hoard things. We wonder how and why they do it. Yet we all love to save things. Favorite photos, interesting articles — we all save things. I love to collect books even though I do not get to read them. My wife whispers loudly in my ears from time to time get rid of some of your books, because you are nearing your Exit-Age( Retirement). I retaliate back saying loudly she needs to get rid of her fabrics. She loves to sew. She sewed my wedding suit. She sowed our oldest daughter's wedding dress. She sewed the dresses for our daughters. They were better than any designers clothes. She is busy sowing for our grandchildren. Janice, our oldest daughter, has her mother's DNA. She also sews for her children. The gist of this is that we both hoard things that are dear to our hearts.
I read about Homer and Langley Collyer, who also hoarded things. In fact, they hoarded everything. Newspapers, letters, clothing — you name it, they kept it. Born in the late 1800s to an affluent Manhattan couple, the brothers lived in a luxurious three-story mansion at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 128th Street. Homer earned a degree in engineering; Langley became a lawyer. All seemed well in the Collyer family. But then mom and dad divorced in 1909. The boys, in their twenties, remained in the home with their mother. Crime escalated in the city and the neighborhood deteriorated. Homer and Langley retaliated by escaping the world. For reasons of their own, the duo retreated into their inherited mansion, where they closed and locked the doors.
The brothers were all but unheard of for
nearly 40 years. Then, in 1947, someone reported the suspicion of a dead body
at their address. It took seven policemen to break down the door because the
entrance was blocked by a wall of newspapers, folding beds, half a sewing
machine, old chairs, part of a winepress and other pieces of junk. After
several hours of digging, policemen found the body of Homer, seated on the
floor, head between his knees, his long and matted gray hair reaching his
shoulders.
Where was Langley? That question triggered one of the strangest searches in Manhattan history. Fifteen days of quarrying produced 103 tons of junk — gas chandeliers, a sawhorse, the chassis of an old car, a Steinway piano, a horse's jawbone and, finally, one missing brother. The stuff he'd kept had collapsed on him and killed him.
To most this is bizarre! Who wants to live with yesterday's rubble, to hoard the trash of the past? Do we do the same thing, not in our house, but in our heart? Do we store up the remnants of anger and hurt, pack away pain, relive offenses? Do have mental databases where we hoard the clutter and debris of the past?
Though none could blame us, we all have stories of innocence takers, promise breakers, wound makers — We all have had our share of these. Yet, it makes sense to get rid of these piles of trash and give every day a chance? Jesus said, "Give the grace you've been given."
I love to pause and ponder Peter's question: "‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "'No,not seven times,'Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!'" (Matt. 18:21-22 NLT). For those who insist on an exact number, that is 490. Are we counting each offense so that we can write off the offender at 491? If we are, we need the powerful, grace driven, grace-filled heart and mind of Jesus to keep on bearing,and keep on forgiving.
Our God forgives the unforgivable. As we recite the Apostles' Creed, we declare with boldness, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins". Our Lord pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity. "Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:24).
In Christ, we are Forgiven.
In Him,
Brown
http://youtu.be/DSKnkqAOhpA
Where was Langley? That question triggered one of the strangest searches in Manhattan history. Fifteen days of quarrying produced 103 tons of junk — gas chandeliers, a sawhorse, the chassis of an old car, a Steinway piano, a horse's jawbone and, finally, one missing brother. The stuff he'd kept had collapsed on him and killed him.
To most this is bizarre! Who wants to live with yesterday's rubble, to hoard the trash of the past? Do we do the same thing, not in our house, but in our heart? Do we store up the remnants of anger and hurt, pack away pain, relive offenses? Do have mental databases where we hoard the clutter and debris of the past?
Though none could blame us, we all have stories of innocence takers, promise breakers, wound makers — We all have had our share of these. Yet, it makes sense to get rid of these piles of trash and give every day a chance? Jesus said, "Give the grace you've been given."
I love to pause and ponder Peter's question: "‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "'No,not seven times,'Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!'" (Matt. 18:21-22 NLT). For those who insist on an exact number, that is 490. Are we counting each offense so that we can write off the offender at 491? If we are, we need the powerful, grace driven, grace-filled heart and mind of Jesus to keep on bearing,and keep on forgiving.
Our God forgives the unforgivable. As we recite the Apostles' Creed, we declare with boldness, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins". Our Lord pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity. "Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:24).
In Christ, we are Forgiven.
In Him,
Brown
http://youtu.be/DSKnkqAOhpA
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