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Jon Moore
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Married, with 8 kids, Pastor of the United Methodist variety

Wisdom of the Eastern Fathers, Lent 02/20/2018


“Being bountiful and full of love, God awaits with great patience the repentance of every sinner, and he celebrates the return of the sinner with celestial rejoicing… when one sees this generosity and patience [one may] make such generosity an excuse for indifference, adding sin to sin, offense to offense, laziness to laziness.… And fall into such transgression he is not able to recover himself.”             
St. Makarios of Egypt

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:7

Psalm 32

Lord, bless us, if it may be,
   in all our innocent endeavors.
If it may not, give us strength
      to encounter what is to come,
   that we be brave in peril,
      constant in tribulation,
      and in all changes of fortune, and
      down to the gates of death,
      loyal and loving to one another.
As the clay to the potter,
   as the windmill to the wind,
   as children of their sire,
we beg of you this help and mercy
   for Christ’s sake. Amen.

                         Robert Louis Stevenson

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