When I saw this photo it just made me thin, "What's wrong with us? How can adults divide by flesh-tones?" I pray the next generations will get past this plague of hate. 

 We all want to cultivate a life that is useful and brings joy into living. The Bible inspires us to learn of the love of God, the source of happiness. And God has given us all good things to enjoy. The following piece is a great example of how to live a truly joyous life within. The principles are especially important for those who've suffered trauma and addiction, which robs us of these very principles. It stifles our ability to find delight and joy, and delight is something each of us needs. 

  "Joy and delight are the things that brims the channel of life, stimulates, freshens, enlivens, tantalizes and attracts. It must at all costs be beautiful. It must embrace that part of religion that glows for us, the thing which we find beautiful in other souls, the art, the poetry, the tradition, the love of nature, the craft, the interests we hanker after. 
It is by meeting the larger spirit that lies behind life, recognizing the impulse which meets us in a thousand forms, which forces us not to be content with narrow and petty things, but emerges as the energy, whatever it is, that pushes through the crust of life, as the flower pushes through the mould. 

  Now many of us have a dark suspicion of all that is joyful, inherited perhaps from or Puritan ancestry, a fear of yielding ourselves to its influence, a terror of being grimly repaid for indulgence, an old superstitions dread of somehow incurring the wrath of God, if we aim at happiness at all. 

 We must aim then at fulness of life; not at husbanding our resources with meagre economy, but at spending generously and fearlessly, grasping experience firmly, nurturing zest and hope. The frame of mind we must beware of, which is but a stingy vanity, is that which makes us say, "I am sure I should not like that person, that book, that place!" It is that closing-in of our own possibilities that we must avoid." Arthur Benson. 

  Now these pursuits have nothing to do with money or spending, or luxury; but rather, this is all about attitudes and our souls inner pursuits that are all spiritual, and all about embracing the good in the world which Christ has provided for us to brace and strengthen us in our battle against evil. 

 I here so much talk of "woman power" today; but this photo, this struggle, this desperate need is where the power of women's is truly displayed. The power of a woman's love knows no bounds, has no fear and all through history has overcome all odds. 

  Here is the mission field of today; oh Christian, are you prepared? Do you see her haunting past and depth of anguish? Do you see the hunger and thirst for love, almost completely eclipsed by loss of hope in anything good, much less pure. Behind those eyes are wounds and sorrows.  Oh friend, Jesus is working in hearts and lives like hers today! If you think her face is set against Christ you have forgotten His great power and love! Here lies the ground for revival, as always, in the hearts of the hurting in desperate need of His love.  

  Did Lazarus, who sat at the gate of the rich man have it any worse than this man here in Portland? I doubt not, but this man has no dogs for comfort. Every homeless person you ever see, has gone through horrific trauma; or they have debilitating mental problems. Know this, if you ever find yourself curbing your sympathy, this man is exactly who Jesus was talking about. If I fail to see him that way I am as blind as the rich man was. Woe unto me, God's heart is always for the oppressed and downcast; without exception. 

 "When Miranda has the New Testament in her hand, she supposes her self at the feet of our Savior and His Apostles, and makes every thing that she learns of them, so many laws of her life. She receives their sacred words with as much attention, and reverence, as if she saw their persons, and knew that they were just come from Heaven on purpose to teach her the way that leads to it."

William Law, A sincere call to a devout and holy life.

  “My friends, the world we live in, the time and town we live in, are full of unhealthiness. There are exaggerations, affectations, complications, thin frenzies, theatrical excitement, fashions of passions, fitful stars of morbid fascinating brilliance, till our souls grow sick and tired of it all. Where is the escape from it? 
Only in what St. Paul calls, “The simplicity which is in Christ.” Go up into the mountain of His love and service, and you shall leave all these mists and fogs below.” 
Phillips Brooks

 
"Then the Spirit took me up... and the Lord said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with you." Ezek. 3:12.22

   "You whose work is pre-eminently on the plain, get a preliminary glimpse of God! Come up and see the sunrise before you go down into the toils of the wilderness! You who labor among the sick, come first to the top of the hill! You who labor among the poor, come first to the the of the hill! - take a deep draught of hope before you traverse the dens and alleys! You who labor among the lapsed, come first to the top of the hill! - get a sight of human possibilities before you tread the path of tears! For it is not despair that emboldens you or nerves you, you workers in waste and wilderness. They among whom you sojourn may be sunk in depravity, dead in trespasses and sin; yet it is not despair that nerves you. Paul says we are saved by hope; yes, and we save others by hope. You that toil in the penitentiaries, what is it you see? Is it the depraved soul walking amid the tombs? No, it is the soul set free -- the soul as God painted it. Never lose sight of the Christ when you stand in Bethlehem's manger! For it is Christ that makes the manger bearable. Hope, and you will help; be bright, and you will bear; enjoy the vision of triumph, and you will endure the vale of tears. They who have mounted up as eagles in the morning, shall in the afternoon walk and not faint." George Matheson. 

  At seventy two, and after walking with the Lord for fifty years: I've learned there is always a way. Often it is not the way we would've chosen or discovered without God's help, but He always makes a way. 

  "Lord, there are many whom you can send to the gentiles - the impoverished of the earth; but send me!
There are myriads of celestial spirits who wait to do your bidding; but send me! I am slower in hand and feebler in heart than they, yet send me!
Send me because I am slower in hand and feebler in heart! It is not your holy angels that need to be trained in the joys of paradise; it is I. 
Shall I receive no message in the language of heaven- the language of sympathy! Shall all your messages of mercy be carried by Gabriel and Michael, and none by me! If by every couch of pain I beheld your ministering angel, I would never learn the science of sympathy." George Matheson. 

   "We often ask the question, why does God permit the continuance of so much sin in the world? The district church visitor, going through her rounds amid scenes of moral misery, the philanthropist threading his way through paths of deep pollution, the home missionary coming into contact with forms of life that would make the angels weep- - all put the question to their heart, Why does not God interfere? And to each there ought to be one answer: He does interfere, He is at this moment interfering; He is interfering through you.

This is exactly what Paul says: "God has given unto us the ministry of reconciliation." The Lord has asked us to take up His burden -- the burden of human sin. He has asked us to interfere for Him, to act for Him, to strive for Him, to love for Him.

It is not for His sake that God makes you His fellow-laborer; it is for your own. He has put the reins of the moral world into your hands - not because the steeds are unmanageable, but because you need training as a charioteer. When you go forth to dispense your charities among the destitute, never forget that you are yourself the largest beneficiary. " George Matheson.