Monday, January 18, 2016

Reverend Martin Luther King Day 2016


“I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land!”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘if I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But, the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

“Now, there is a final reason I think Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power that that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love.  There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”

“The end (the goal) of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”

“The early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days, the church was not merely a thermometer that records the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.”


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