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Questions & Answers

Judas

He washes my feet. Poor stumbling Peter balked To see him kneeling slavelike with the bowl.

The practitioner

The quiet touch, The tender word, Resolve sufficient for the deed; A love for God Beyond all else, An urge to succor and to feed; Enough of patience, A store of cheer To wait the flowering of the seed: These the gifts The Father sends To help us meet a brother's need. JEAN B.

As present as prayer

church is the crucible in which our consecration is refined, our patience is tested, zeal is tempered, hatred melts— the sanctuary in which our silent prayer is practiced, our longings find answer, our peace is renewed, our hearts yield to healing— the Lord's house where all are one family, Christ speaks to each heart, and God, good, reigns supreme. MARY McCONNEL DAVIS.

... or, you eat what you are

Well then .

The aftermath

No tremor of fear, heat, or tide Of human opinion can change The evidence of Spirit. Mortal beliefs, fallacious and fiery, Erupt like lava—then fall Into dust/nothingness.

Eternal substance

Inspiration received is not time-locked— a treasure belonging to yesteryear/yesterday or a will-be to be had again someday. Once gained, it is ours always.

Out of the listening

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness . (Psalms 29:2) Right in the midst of pressing obligations and wondering what I need to do next, I hear God talking to me.

A librarian's prayer

Let this place be a haven for all those seeking spiritual uplift and peace. Let this place be an oasis for all those hungering and thirsting after Truth.

Nineveh-bound

God sends everyone to Nineveh to prophesy, but, Jonah-like, we turn our backs and try to flee. Can you flee God's good command? Do you seek the belly of a whale? Return, wanderer, and bless the Nineveh you're bound for.

As offering

Lift up your life as loving sacrifice held like a cup in your hands and that one purpose, poised and deliberate, shall by His merits sustain you, until nothing remains but the pure distillation of all you would most willingly see accomplished, when, all hurts healed and all hardness at last annealed, you become your offering —the finally valid fulfillment of the heart's one absolute pledge. STEPHEN GOTTSCHALK.