Posts by Ralph Patrick

“The fruit of the Spirit is . . . Peace.” Galatians 5:22 “Peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you.”  Jesus of Nazareth “All God wants of man is a peaceful heart.” Meister Eckhardt Yesterday was the twentieth anniversary of 9-11.  There have been many results which we continue to live with,…

“The third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee . . .” John 2:1 “The Mighty Three, my protection be, encircle me.  You are around my life, my love, my home.  Encircle me O sacred three, the Mighty Thee.”  (Traditional Celtic Wedding blessing spoken by the bride and the groom) A wedding celebration! …

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”  Psalm 51 “Therefore you have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you.”  Jesus in John 16:22 Joy thieves.  Entities that threaten to steal our joy.  You know what I’m…

“The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy . . .” Matt. 28:8 “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect it to—Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeaths it.”  Frederick Buechner Just as the Spirit is unpredictable, so too are the gifts…

“They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” Matthew 2:10 “Laughter lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places.”  Sarah Young It’s not Christmas.  I know.  But I love Christmas for the joy it brings.  This Christmas joy is captured in the response of the Magi to the sighting of the star and coming into…

(Part 2 of Galatians 5:22) “. . . And the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13 “Love gives not but itself and takes naught from itself.  Love possesses not, nor would it be possessed.  For love is sufficient unto love.  And think not that you can direct the course of love, for love,…

“The wind blows as it wishes . . . so is everyone born of the Spirit.”  Jesus in John 3 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” What do you believe about the Holy Spirit?  I don’t mean what do you believe about what you’ve…

“Fear Not, for behold I bring you Good News of Great Joy.”  “I didn’t wander in the woods, Used to fear the darkness.  I didn’t like getting deep, I was scared of what I couldn’t keep.  But when You give me love, I have no fear of heights.”  Katie Melua What do you fear?  Our…

“No one is good but God alone.”  Jesus of Nazareth “The highest virtue is to act without a sense of self.” Lao-Tzu “The best good work is the one you’re not aware of.” Martin Luther “Be good.”  How many times did you hear that from your parents?  How many times have you spoken it to…

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” John 11:5 “Looking at him, Jesus loved him.” Mark 10:21 Today I’m writing this from Las Cruces, New Mexico.  As I do so the sun is rising brilliantly over the Organ Mountains, casting it’s golden rays over the expansive desert valley.  It’s the fourth of July.  Sleeping…