/ / /mAbortion /s /i /d1/2000.17 /tAbortion & Slavery /fN Submitted by: Pastor Max Hutto Email address: max@fbcmc.org People today find it difficult to believe that the time existed, not that long ago, when America not only allowed slavery, but protected it by law. However a curious parallel exists between the pro-slaver of yesterday and the pro-abortionist of today. The pro-slaver put forth three main arguments for the retention of slavery -That the slave was his property and that this gave the owner rights over the slave's body. -That the slave did not have a soul and was therefore not human. -That government had no business interfering. The pro-abortionist uses the same arguments: -A woman has the right to dispose of the child within her because her body is her property. -The fetus isn't human.. -Government has no right to interfere. It took a civil war last time to make America aware of her sins. What will it take this time? DAVID CRITCHFIELD, pastor, Oklahoma City / / /mAdversity /sBlessings in Disguise /i2903 /d2/2000.8 /tTHINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM /fN Submitted by Karen Cole Email - karencole@mindspring.com Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem." The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die. "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it." "Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem." Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later... / / /mAIDs /slike leporsy /i /d2/2002.101 /tarticle from Naz Comp Min /fN WORLD WATCH- A Word for Our Time: Working toward a Biblical Theology of HIV/AIDS by Mark Bilby The following is excerpted from Mr. Bilby’s original essay. Contact us for a copy in its entirety. One of the most significant and helpful bridges for arriving at a Biblical theology of AIDS/HIV is the remarkable similarity between leprosy in Biblical times and AIDS/HIV in today's world. Since leprosy threatened populations well into the 20th century before its cure finally came to Africa, this connection should be all the easier for Africans to make. Both diseases are highly contagious in specific ways, one through contact with infected skin and the other through sexual or blood contact. Both can be communicated by parents to their children. Both lead to social rejection and marginalization because of "uncleanness," whether this is interpreted biologically or morally/religiously. On this basis we would anticipate that Scriptural perspectives on leprosy would hold much value for understanding HIV/AIDS. The following paragraphs will outline pertinent Scriptural themes in regard to leprosy and then begin to unpack their significance for the HIV/AIDS epidemic. First, the Scriptures picture leprosy as a disease that needed to be detected, prevented, and treated from a social standpoint. Leviticus \reference{chapters 13-14}{Leviticus 13-14} provides the key text for this perspective, with \reference{Numbers 5:1-4}{Numbers 5:1-4} and \reference{Deuteronomy 24:8-9}{Deuteronomy 24:8-9} serving as reminders of the detailed instructions recorded in the Leviticus passage. If there were no present day epidemic, \reference{Leviticus 13-14}{Leviticus 13-14} might be one of those passages that would tend to be conveniently ignored as irrelevant and overly detailed. But thinking about the real-life issues of an epidemic, the passage is pregnant with significance. Second, the Scriptures sometimes picture leprosy as a curse or a judgment, brought about according to the initiative of God or even humans. After the insubordination of Moses' divine authority by Aaron and Miriam, Miriam herself was struck with leprosy (\reference{Numbers 12}{Numbers 12}). She recovered, but her disobedience served as a continual warning to the community (\reference{Deut 24:9}{Deuteronomy 24:9}). God brings leprosy as a judgment on King Azariah of Judah, apparently for his reluctance to destroy the idols in the land (\reference{2 Kings 15}{2 Kings 15}), and on King Uzziah of Judah, who presumed to perform the consecrated duties of the Levitical priests (\reference{2 Chronicles 26}{2 Chronicles 26}). After Joab, the general of Israel's military, went against King David's command and killed his own brother, David called a curse upon him and his whole family with the words, "may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous...or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!" (\reference{2 Sam. 3:29}{2 Samuel 3:29}). Elisha also pronounces judgment of leprosy on his servant Gehazi after his attempt to extort money from the Aramean general Naaman (\reference{2 Kings 5}{2 Kings 5}). The story of Naaman points us to a third facet, that God alone holds the ultimate cure to the disease. Though Naaman did not like the method or appreciate the inhospitality of Elisha, he did find himself miraculously healed from his leprous condition after he dipped himself seven times in the Jordan river. Just as God has the power to strike somebody with disease, God also may bring about full and immediate healing. God made this abundantly clear to Moses at Mt. Horeb. Moses thought he needed something to convince his fellow Israelites of his divine credentials. God then had Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and suddenly it was white with leprosy. When he repeated the gesture, it was fully restored (\reference{Exodus 4:6}{Exodus 4:6}). As the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene indicates, we believe that God still works miracles of healing in our day. God may also work through the practice of human medicine. God's hands are not tied but free to work in any way God chooses. That leaves us in a position to make use of all of the resources that God gives us to deal with the disease, including intercessory prayer and services of healing along with advocating and providing medical treatment. Fourth, Jesus' ministry among lepers signaled that the kingdom of God had come near. Things would never be the same again. Persons had been healed of leprosy before by God's provision and power. But now the kingdom of God had come to dwell among humans. Jesus freely associated with leprous outcasts and touched these untouchables, and his word and touch healed them. (\reference{Mt. 8:1-4}{Matthew 8:1-4}, \reference{Mk. 1:40-45}{Mark 1:40-45}, \reference{Lk. 5:12-15}{Luke 5:12-15}) That God had come on the scene did not make the social and legal provisions irrelevant. To the contrary, Jesus affirmed the authority and responsibility of the Levitical priesthood by sending his miracle stories their way. Yet, as the incarnate Son of God, his priestly ministry of offering healing and social restoration surpassed theirs in every way. Jesus explicitly cited his healing of lepers as one of the signs that the Messiah had come, and with Him the kingdom of God. Others signs included the blind seeing, the lame walking, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, and the poor having good news brought to them (\reference{Mt. 11:5}{Matthew 11:5}). And yet the kingdom did not stop at Jesus. After Jesus showed how it was done, He sent the twelve disciples to "proclaim the gospel...cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons" (\reference{Mt. 10:6-8}{Matthew 10:6-8}). It has not stopped since. A little less than a century ago, Swaziland missionary Elizabeth Cole in an article in the Herald of Holiness bemoaned, "Swazi Lepers – Nobody Cares!" She wanted to know where Christ was, if not in His people. Just as we needed persons to walk into leper camps then, we need persons now who will walk into hospices and hospitals, into clinics and counseling rooms, into suffering families and infected villages. In some ways, however, leprosy presents a different kind of challenge. We would not expect persons with HIV/AIDS to live in quarantine. Precaution and prevention of this disease has more to do with testing, education, and avoiding infectious contact through sex or blood. With HIV/AIDS, we need to "go out" but also to "create space" for people in our hearts, lives, families, villages, and congregations. / / /mAmerica /sPrayer for /i /d9/2003.101 /t /fN This is an interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard: "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!" The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God." / / /mAtheism /s /i1225 /d2/2004.101 /tTheir Hoiliday /fN In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation for Easter and Passover holidays and decided to contact the local ACLU about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while the atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The ACLU jumped on the opportunity to once again pick up the cause of the godless and assigned their sharpest attorneys to the case. The case was brought before a wise judge who after listening to the long, passionate presentation of the ACLU lawyers, promptly banged his gavel and declared, "Case dismissed!" The lead ACLU lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? Surely the Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. And the Jews--why in addition to Passover they have Yom Kippur and Hanukkah ...and yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!" The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said obviously your client is too confused to know about, or for that matter, even celebrate the atheists' holiday!" The ACLU lawyer pompously said "We are aware of no such holiday for atheists, just when might that be, your honor?" The judge said "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date---April 1st!" / / /mAttitude /sA Choice Each Day /i /d4/2006.101 /tFix my hair /fN Attitude There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So She did and she had a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!" Attitude is everything --- Have a wonderful day! / / /mBible /sGuidance /i /d12/2005.101 /tOur road map /fN I was on my way for the visitation of Anna Wolford who had recently gone on to heaven. First, I visited with Fred at St Marys, Ohio. Before I left St Marys, Fred and another lady told me how to get to Spencerville, Ohio. I was to go back towards town and turn right at the 3rd light. Then highway 66 would be the straight route to the town. I did this and headed on my way. It seemed like I was going the wrong direction but soon I saw the city limits. I rejoiced that the directions were correct. After I asked someone about the location of the funeral home I quickly arrived. Following visitation I headed west toward where I had vaguely remembered the road led to Indiana. But I was not sure. It seemed right but I was a bit unsettled. The long and winding road seemed to go on and on! I arrived at Rockford and gased up at Marathon. There I read a map and saw the sure way back home. Now I was relieved and sure! The map was the authentic plan for me. I safely arrived home. God's Word is the sure map to take us to heaven. People who know the way can help. Feelings and vague memories are unsafe! The Holy Bible gives us assurance and inward peace! - WFS 12/2005 / / /mBible /sIgnorance Of /i414-434 /d4/2003.101 /tRead His Book /fN Bill Bryson has written a fascinating book called, "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America." In the book, he tells of traveling to Hannibal, Missouri to visit the boyhood home of the noted author Mark Twain. He described the house as a "trim, white-washed house with green shutters, set incongruously in the middle of downtown." It costs two dollars to visit Mark Twain's home and to walk around the site. Bill Bryson said he found the home to be a disappointment. He expressed his disillusionment like this: "It purported to be a faithful reproduction of the original interiors, but there were wires and water sprinklers clumsily evident in every room. I also very much doubt that young Samuel Clemens' bedroom had Armstrong vinyl on the floor or that his sister's bedroom had a plywood partition in it." He said that the house, which is owned by the city of Hannibal, attracts some 135,000 visitors each year. But Bryson was disappointed that he was not able to actually go inside the house. "You look through the windows," he says. "At each window there is a recorded message telling about each room." As he proceeded from window to window, he met another tourist who seemed to know a lot about the house. Bryson asked him: "What do you think of it?" The friendly stranger replied: "Oh, I think it's great. I always come here when I'm in Hannibal. two or three times a year. Sometimes I go out of my way to come here." Bill Bryson was fascinated, "Really?" he replied. "O yes," the man said. "I must have been here twenty or thirty times by now. This is a real shrine you know." As the two of them continued walking and touring together, Bill Bryson said to the man: "You must be a real fan and follower of Mark Twain. Would you say the house is just like Mark Twain described it in his books?" "O, I don't know," said the tourist. "wouldn't have the foggiest notion. I' ve never read any of his books!" Visiting his shrine, but ignoring his books. Sadly, that may be a pretty good description of how many people deal with Jesus Christ. They visit his shrines, but fail to accept Him and follow Him and fail to read his book and apply His teachings to their daily lives. James W. Moore, Sermon: "Jesus & Mary Magdalene" / / /mCall /sDivine, To Leadership /i1790 /d12/2002.101 /tAlbert Schweitzer /fN Late one evening a professor sat at his desk working on the next day's lectures. He shuffled through the papers and mail placed there by his housekeeper. He began to throw them in the wastebasket when one magazine - not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake - caught his attention. It fell open to an article titled "The Needs of the Congo Mission". The professor began reading it idly, but then was consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one - one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast - that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." The professor closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the Congo. [Leadership Vol 12 No. 3] The professor's name was Albert Schweitzer. That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone else, was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title which seemed to leap out at him. . . . Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. / / /mChildren /sHow Is Your Influence? /i /d5/2002.101 /tAs they are taught /fN If a child lives with criticism, HE learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, HE learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, HE learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, HE learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, HE learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, HE learns confidence. If a child lives with praise, HE learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, HE learns justice. If a child lives with security, HE learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, HE learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, HE learns to find love in the world. Author unknown. / / /mChrist /sBore the Sins of Many /i3362 /mSalvation /sDivine Pardon /i3125-3126 /d2/2000.14 /tThe Clean Slate /fn When my wife returned from her "Sunday School" run, she was empty handed. The children she went to pick up were not ready and she thought that she would not have a Sunday School class this week. Another lady had picked up a car load of new children and one was old enough for my wife's class. My wife had only one little girl in her Sunday School class this last week. This petite first time visitor had NEVER been to church or exposed to the Bible. My wife said it was like working with a totally "blank" slate. Everything she talked about was totally new to the little girl. She did not know what the Bible was, what prayer was or who Jesus was, but she was oh so eager to learn and like a sponge she absorbed every word my wife was saying. As my wife spoke of Jesus and what he did for us on the cross of Calvary, she asked the little girl if she had ever seen a picture of the man on the cross. The little girl seemed relieved that she had seen that picture and she answered "oh, yes, I have." "Tell me," my wife asked, "what did you think of that picture." The little girl replied with a serious look, "He must have did something really bad." My wife then was able to share the truth of the gospel and Kelly was gloriously saved. She explained that he died for our "bad" things. He died in order that we might be saved. All the way home Kelly spoke of her new found faith. She took her Sunday School lesson and asked for a Bible to borrow for next week. We all went home rejoicing that my wife only had ONE in her Sunday School class. --Shelton Cole / / /mChrist /sGreatness of /i1463 /d11/2005.101 /tAltogether lovely /fN "He became a man that we might become the sons of God. In infancy He troubled a king; in boyhood He puzzled the teachers; in manhood He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows, hushed the sea to sleep, and healed the multitudes without medicine. He never wrote a book; yet the libraries of the world are filled with volumes that have been written about Him. He never penned a musical note; yet He is the theme of more songs than any other subject in the world. Great men have come and gone; yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him, Satan could not seduce Him, death could not destroy Him, the grave could not hold Him. All others have failed in some way, but not Jesus! This perfect One is altogether lovely." / / /mChristmas /sFirst /i /d12/2002.101 /tHow Christmas Started /fN Consider Again Christmas When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today. It is a long time since 1832, longer still from 353, longer still from that dark night brightened by a special star in which Jesus the king was born. Yet, as we approach December 25 again, it gives us yet another opportunity to pause, and in the midst of all the excitement and elaborate decorations and expensive commercialization which surround Christmas today, to consider again the event of Christmas and the person whose birth we celebrate. Brian L. Harbour, James W. Cox, The Minister's Manual: 1994, San Fransico: Harper Collins, 1993, p. 254. / / /mChristmas /sin our world /i726-761 /d12/2002.101 /tThe New Age /fN Every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, there is displayed, beneath the great Christmas tree, a beautiful eighteenth century Neapolitan nativity scene. In many ways it is a very familiar scene. The usual characters are all there: shepherds roused from sleep by the voices of angels; the exotic wisemen from the East seeking, as Auden once put it, "how to be human now"; Joseph; Mary; the babe -- all are there, each figure an artistic marvel of wood, clay, and paint. There is, however, something surprising about this scene, something unexpected here, easily missed by the causal observer. What is strange here is that the stable, and the shepherds, and the cradle are set, not in the expected small town of Bethlehem, but among the ruins of mighty Roman columns. The fragile manger is surrounded by broken and decaying columns. The artists knew the meaning of this event: The gospel, the birth of God's new age, was also the death of the old world. Herods know in their souls what we perhaps have passed over too lightly: God's presence in the world means finally the end of their own power. They seek not to preserve the birth of God's new age, but to crush it. For Herod, the gospel is news too bad to be endured, for Mary, Joseph, and all the other characters it is news too good to miss. Adapted from Thomas G. Long, Something Is About To Happen, CSS Publishing Co., 1987. / / /mChristmas /sIncarnation /i /d12/2002.101 /tBecome a Goose like them /fN There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments. One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump.! He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When thesnow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe;surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited,hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn! 't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as h! e circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one by one the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!" Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!" --Author unknown / / /mChristmas /sJoke /i /d12/2002.101 /tSleep in heavenly beans /fN Heavenly Peace A little boy and girl were singing their favorite Christmas carol in church the Sunday before Christmas. The boy concluded "Silent Night" with the words, "Sleep in heavenly beans." "No," his sister corrected, "not beans, peas." Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p. 57. / / /mChristmas /sJoke /i /d12/2002.101 /tEve /fN One week a Sunday school teacher had just finished telling her class the Christmas story, how Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem and how Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. After telling the story the teacher asked, "Who do you think the most important woman in the Bible is?" Of course, the teacher was expecting one of the kids to say, "Mary." But instead, a little boy raised his hand and said, "Eve." So the teacher asked him why he thought Eve was the most important woman in the Bible. And the little boy replied, "Well, they named two days of the year after Eve. You know, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve." / / /mChristmas /sMary - humble /i /d12/2002.101 /tQuotation /fN Hopelessness - For a Sermon on Mary The message of Christmas is that God intrudes upon the weak and the vulnerable, and this is precisely the message that we so often miss. God does not come to that part of that part of us that swaggers through life, confident in our self sufficiency. God leaves his treasure in the broken fragmented places of our life. God comes to us in those rare moments when we are able to transcend our own selfishness long enough to really care about another human being. On the wall of the museum of the concentration camp at Dachau is a large and moving photograph of a mother and her little girl standing in line of a gas chamber. The child, who is walking in front of her mother, does not know where she is going. The mother, who walks behind, does know, but is helpless to stop the tragedy. In her helplessness she performs the only act of love left to her. She places her hands over he child's eyes so she will at least not see the horror to come. When people come into the museum they do not whisk by this photo hurriedly. They pause. They almost feel the pain. And deep inside I think that they are all saying: "O God, don't let that be all that there is." God's hears those prayers and it is in just such situations of hopelessness and helplessness that his almighty power is born. It is there that God leaves his treasure. In Mary and in all of us, as Christ is born anew within. Sermon Illustrations, 1999 / / /mChristmas /sMary - humble /i /d12/2002.101 /tThe Future of the World In The Hands of Girl /fN She struck the angel Gabriel as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child, but he'd been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, and who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. "You mustn 't be afraid, Mary," he said. And as he said it, he only hoped she wouldn't notice that beneath the great, golden wings he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of creation hung now on the answer of a girl." Frederick Buechner / / /mChristmas /sReason for Christmas /i /d12/2001.101 /tWhat is Christmas? /fN In the Christmas window of one of the largest department stores in San Francisco are the following words: "What is Christmas? Christmas is-Wide-eyed children; Fairy-land magic; Age-old music; and good will in the hearts of men." "Is that all there is...?" Two women stopped in front of another store window at Christmastime. In the midst of all the merchandise was a small little Nativity scene. And one woman remarked to the other: "What do you know about that! Even the church is trying to horn in on Christmastime." That comment is similar to another woman's attitude. "Most of the Christmas songs," she complained, "are too distressingly theological!" / / /mChristmas /sReason for Christmas /i /d12/2005.101 /tDay He died? /fN The Meaning of Christmas A television interviewer was walking the streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. Much as in America, Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan. The interviewer stopped one young women on the sidewalk, and asked, "What is the meaning of Christmas?" Laughing, she responded, "I don't know. Is that the day that Jesus died?" There was some truth in her answer. Donald L. Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations, Resource, 1992, p. 16. / / /mChristmas /sRemoving /i /d12/2002.101 /tChanging holiday /fN To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son's school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and--this is a real song--"Suzy Snowflake," all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology. Dave Barry in his "Notes on Western Civilization" Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991 / / /mChristmas /sRoom for Jesus /i /d12/2002.101 /tThere's room for Jesus /fN Wally was big for his age--seven years old. Everyone wondered what role the teacher would give him in the annual Christmas play. Especially considering the fact that he was also a slow learner. Perhaps he could pull the curtain. To everyone's surprise the teacher gave Wally the role of the innkeeper. The boy of course was delighted. After all, all he had to learn was one line: "There is no room in the inn." He had that down in no time. Then came the night for the program. The parents took their places. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. The children entered singing "Oh come all ye faithful." The lights dimmed. A hush moved over the audience. The curtain opened on Scene One. Mary and Joseph entered the stage and walked up to the inn. "Please sir, my wife is not well. Could we have a room for the night?" Wally was ready for his line. He had rehearsed it all night. He began, there is.and he hesitated. He started over again. There is. . .and again his mind went completely blank. Everyone was embarrassed for him but poor Wally just didn't know what to do. Joseph thought he would improvise and started walking away toward the stable on stage left. Seeing him walking away Wally in desperation called out: "Look, there's plenty of room at my house, just come on home with me." e-Sermons.com / / /mChristmas /sSeeing Jesus /i /d12/2001.101 /tThe mystery sack /fN Robert Fulghum in It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, tells a story involving his daughter, Molly. One day, as Fulghum was ready to leave for work, Molly handed him two brown paper sacks. In one was his lunch. What was in the other was a mystery. When Fulghum asked Molly what was in the mystery bag, she said, "Just some stuff-take it with you." At lunch time, Fulghum tore open the mystery bag, Dumping the contents onto his desk. The contents consisted of: two hair ribbons, three small stones, a plastic dinosaur, a pencil stub, a tiny seashell, two animal crackers, a marble, a used lipstick, a small doll, two chocolate kisses, and thirteen pennies. Later in the day, when Fulghum was cleaning off his desk before going home, he wiped the contents of Molly's bag into the waste basket. As he said, "There wasn't anything in there I needed." That evening Molly asked where her bag was. He told her he had left it at his office, and asked, "why?" Molly said, "Those are my things in the sack, Daddy, the ones I really like-I thought you might like to play with them, but now I want them back. You didn't lose the bag did you, Daddy?" "Those are my things in the sack, Daddy, the ones I really like." To Fulghum the hair ribbons, small stones, pencil stub, a used lipstick and all the rest did not seem like much. To Molly, they were her most priceless treasures. The things she loved the most. But Fulghum did not have the sight to see their true value. Long ago some shepherds left their fields and made their way to a stable. When they looked into the manger they saw a very ordinary baby wrapped in swaddling cloths. Whether the baby was sleeping, crying, or cooing, we are not told. But the shepherds saw something more, something which others who were gathered with Mary and Joseph apparently did not see. In this baby in the manger the shepherds saw none other than the One in whom all God's people find joy and peace, just as the angels had told them. The shepherds had heard the promise, had believed the promise, and in believing saw more than met the ordinary eye. In Jesus they saw the One in whom we have joy and peace. Donald L. Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations, Resource, 1992, p. 16-17 / / /mChristmas /sThankful /i /d12/2003.101 /tLittle boy's prayer /fN A little boy offered up a Thanksgiving Day prayer for the family and prayed: "Dear God, this is Jimmy. Thank you for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all of the holidays. Thank you for the turkey and dressing and Mom and Dad and even for my little sister, even though some times she can be a pain. Thank you for books and TV and game boy. Thank you for loving us. Oh, yeah. And take care of yourself, God. Because without you, we're sunk. Amen." / / /mChristmas /swisemen /i /d12/2004.101 /tLegends /fN There are other legends about this story of the wise men from the east. For instance, how many wise men were there? In the old days in the east, they believed that there were 12 men who made the journey, but now most everyone agrees there were three. One old legend even tells us the names of the three. Melchior was the oldest of the group, with a full beard. He gave the baby the gift of gold. Balthasar also had a beard, but was not as old as Melchior. He presented the gift of myrrh. The youngest of the three was Casper, who had no beard yet, but did present the gift of frankincense to the baby. Yet another legend goes on to tell us that after seeing the baby, the three continued traveling as far as Spain, telling the world the good news about what they had seen. / / /mChurch /s /i726-761 /d1/2000.31 /tThe Potato Church /fN Some people never seem motivated to participate, but are content to watch others do. They are called "Speck Tators." Some people never do anything to help, but are gifted at finding fault with the way others do things. They're called "Comment Tators." Some are always looking to cause problems and really get under your skin. They are called "Aggie Tators." There are those who are always saying they will, but somehow, they never get around to doing. We call them "Hezzie Tators." Some people put on a front and act like someone else. They're called "Emma Tators." Then, there are those who walk what they talk. They're always prepared to stop what they're doing to lend a hand to others and bring real sunshine into the lives of others. You can call them "Sweet Tators." / / /mChurch /sAttendance /i3523 /d8/2005.101 /tDying Ember /fN A DYING EMBER A story is told of a certain pastor who mourned over a backslider in his congregation, once a regular attendant at the prayer service, who for months had not been seen in the "upper room." Unable to stand it longer, at the close of one of the meetings, in which the voice, formerly accustomed to lead in prayers, was sorely missed, the minister went straight to the man's home and found his sitting, before the open fire. The absentee, somewhat startled by the intrusion, hastily placed another chair for this visitor and then waited for the expected words of rebuke. Had the rebuke been spoken, no one knows what the reply might have been, or what mistaken. yet lasting anger, might have been kindled. But not a word did the minister say. Taking his seat before the fire, he silently took the tongs and lifting a glowing coal from the midst of its fellows, laid it by itself on the hearthstone. Remaining painfully silent, he watched the blaze die out. Then the truant opened his lips to say: "You needn't say a single word, sir; I'll he there next Wednesday night." / / /mChurch /sDenominations /i734 /d8/2005.101 /tHow to change a light bulb /fN CHANGING a LIGHT Bulb The CHRISTIAN Way How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb? Charismatic: Only one. Hands already in the air. Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. Presbyterians: None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times. Roman Catholic: None. Candles only. Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad. Episcopalians: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old bulb was. Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it. Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb.? However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence. Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Church-wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish. Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy. Lutherans: None. Lutherans don't believe in change. Amish: What's a light bulb? / / /mComfort /sFrom God /i783-787 /d12/2002.101 /tA Word From Our Father /fN The great Scottish preacher John McNeill told that during his childhood he had to walk a long distance home every evening, and his route led through a forest with a large ravine. Reports said that wild animals and gangs of robbers were often seen in that area. Great fear would seize his heart as he made his way past the spooky looking trees. He recalled, "One night it was especially dark, but I was aware that something or someone was moving slowly and quietly toward me. I was sure it was a robber. When a voice called out, its eerie tone struck my heart with fear. I thought I was finished. Then came a second call. This time I could hear the voice saying, 'John, is that you?' It was my father. He had known of my fear and had come out to meet me." It was a word from John Mcneill's father that brought peace to his fearful heart that night. What we fearful humans need is a word from our Father. A word from Him who is able to expel our fears and eliminate our worries. We have such a word before us this morning. Alan Carr, Sermon: Fear Not / / /mCommitment /s /i /d1/2000.18 /tA Soldier in the Army of God /fN Submitted by: Patty Cutler Email - jwort77@aol.com -J. Michael Walls I am a soldier in the army of my God! The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer! The Holy Bible is my code of conduct! Faith, prayer and the word are my weapons of warfare! I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire! I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity! I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this Army; But I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out! I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable! If my God needs me, I am there! If He needs me in Sunday School, to teach children, work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn, He can use me, because I am there! I am a soldier! I am not a baby! I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or pepped up! I am a soldier! No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me or lure me! I am a soldier! I am not a wimp! I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts! I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to! I am committed! I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around! I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside! I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit! When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing! If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even! I will win! My God will supply all my needs! I am more than a conqueror! I will always triumph! I can do all things through Christ! Devils cannot defeat me! People cannot disillusion me! Weather cannot weary me! Sickness cannot stop me! Battles cannot beat me! Money cannot buy me! Governments cannot silence me and HELL CANNOT HANDLE ME! I am a soldier! Even death cannot destroy me! For when my commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain and then bring me back to rule this world with Him! I am a soldier, in the army, and I'm marching, claiming victory! I will not give up! I will not turn around! I am a soldier, marching heaven bound! Here I stand! WILL YOU STAND WITH ME? / / /mCompassion /sministering to others /i3517-3519 /d2/2002.101 /tPoem about helping others (Mt 25) /fN On one occasion a lady came to an evangelical church looking desperately for help unfortunately, she did not find the support that she needed days later she wrote the following poem: I was hungry And you formed a commission to study my problem; I was in jail, And you withdrew in silence to pray for my freedom; I was naked, And you reflected on the immorality of my appearance; I was sick, And you knelt in thanks for your own health; I needed a roof, And you preached to me about the refuge in the love of God; I was alone, And you abandoned me to go and pray for me. You appear to be so saintly, so close to God … But I still suffer from hunger, cold, and loneliness. / / /mconfusion /ssigns /i /d8/2003.101 /tConfusing Signs /fN CONFUSING SIGNS Sign seen on a bathroom door:: TOILET DOES NOT WORK; PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW. Sign in Laundromat: Automatic Washing Machines: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT. In a London Department store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS. Sign in an office: WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY, PLEASE BRING IT BACK, OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN. In an office: AFTER TEA BREAK, STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAIN BOARD Outside a thrift shop: WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING---BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG, AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN! Notice in health food shop window:: CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS Spotted in a safari park: ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR Seen during a conference: FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE'S A DAY CARE CENTER ON THE FIRST FLOOR. Seen in a field: THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES. Message on a leaflet: IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS. On a repair shop store window: WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR; BELL DOES NOT WORK) / / /mContentment /sPeanuts cartoon /i829 /d12/2001.101 /tOver the hill /fN We Can't See What Is Before us, We are Never Content In a Peanuts comic strip Lucy is speaking with Linus at the base of a hill. She says, "Someday I'm going over that hill and find the answer to my dreams.... Someday I'm going over that hill and find hope and fulfillment. I think, for me, all the answers to life lie beyond these clouds and over the grassy slopes of that hill!" Linus removes his thumb from his mouth, points toward the hill, and responds: "Perhaps there's another little kid on the other side of that hill who is looking this way and thinking that all the answers to life lie on this side of the hill." Lucy looks at Linus, then turns toward the hill and yells, "Forget it, kid!" / / /mCreation /sDefended /i884 /d6/2002.101 /tKant's confession /fN Immanuel Kant the great philosopher of the German Enlightenment was a devout Christian with unshakable faith. He confessed, "Two things fill me with awe, the starry skies above and the moral law within." / / /mCross of Christ /s /i891-892 /d1/2000.6 /tCross Symbol On U.S. Stamp Rejected /fn A 1962 news report tells how the US postal authorities rejected a special Christmas stamp that year on grounds that it suggested a cross. The design submitted showed a candle burning in a window framed by a wreath. The window panes was thought to resemble a cross. The final design chosen for 1962 shows a simple holy wreath and two tapers. Said a Religious News Service report: “Rejection of the design emphasized the fact that no religious symbol, or apparent religious symbol, will be permitted on the Christmas stamps which the department expects to issue each year to encourage use of first-class mail for Christmas greetings.” Happily, and for the first time since 1862, a US postage stamp was issued in 1966 which depicted the Christian cross. This stamp issued on July 30th commemorated the birth of the Polish nation and the introduction of Christianity to the Polish people. The stamp featured a shield bearing the Polish crowned eagle, ancient symbol of the Polish kingdom. Above it was the cross, with the inscription: “Poland’ s Millennium 966-1966.” The 1892 stamp on which a cross was significant, was a two-cent commemorative that showed Columbus planting the cross in the New World. It was issued October 12, 1892, on the four-hundredth anniversary of the event. Crosses have appeared in the background of other US stamps, on church steeples and the like, but not as part of the central design. / / /mCross of Christ /s /i891-892 /d4/2003.101 /tMust have cross /fN Christ Without The Cross? Theologian H. Richard Neibuhr condemns cross-less Christianity whether it is promoted by liberal Protestantism or the evangelical "feel good", seeker-sensitive churches. It is a false gospel in which "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross." There is no Christianity without the Cross. / / /mCross of Christ /s /i891-892 /d4/2003.101 /tGrain of wheat must die /fN When A Grain Of Wheat Falls Maybe you saw "Mr. Holland's Opus," starring Richard Dreyfus. It is a movie about the difficulties a man experiences as he struggles with adapting to the life he had instead of the one he wanted. Holland dreamed of being a composer but a baby came along and expenses too. So he found a job teaching music but in his spare time, he would compose music. Throughout the story his teaching responsibilities forced him to make choice between the students and his dream symphony. And while it looked like the students kept winning over the symphony, still his life was a composer's life, as the independent composer slowly dies to the teacher who composes. The "much fruit" he bore became clear in the finale, after many long years of touching young lives with his gifts. His "opus" was not the music marked on a sheet of paper, but a brilliant symphony composed of the individual lives that he encouraged and nurtured through his teaching. Is this not what Jesus was getting at? "When a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it surrenders to new life and bears much fruit." Dr. Dan Ivins, "When Death Met Its Match" \reference{John 12:23}{John 12:23} / / /mCross of Christ /s /i891-892 /d4/2003.101 /tOur Hope /fN Hope In The Citadel of Atheism As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband. Gary Thomas, Christianity Today, October 3, 1994, p. 26. / / /mDeath /sBeyond Death /i /d1/2005.101 /tMaster is there /fN A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was leaving the room after paying a visit, and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side." Very quietly the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?" The doctor was holding the handle of the door, on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice that dog? He had never been in this room before. He did not know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness. / / /mDevotional Life /s /i1002-1005 /d2/2006.101 /tOn the Heights /fN On the Heights. On the mountain, torrents flow right along, cutting their own courses. But on the plains, canals have to be cut out painfully by men so that the waters may flow. So among those who live on the heights with God, the Holy Spirit makes His way through of His own accord, whereas those who devote little time to prayer and communion with God, have to organize painfully. - SADHU SUNDAR SINGH / / /mDiscipleship /sConditions of /i1015 /d4/2003.101 /tNot easy cake mix /fN Years ago, when the Betty Crocker Company first began selling their cake mixes, they offered a product which only needed water. All you had to do was add water to the mix which came in the box, and you would get a perfect, delicious cake every time. It bombed. No one bought it and the company couldn't understand why, so they commissioned a study which brought back a surprising answer. It seemed that people weren't buying the cake mix because it was too easy. They didn't want to be totally excluded from the work of preparing a cake; they wanted to feel that they were contributing something to it. So, Betty Crocker changed the formula and required the customer to add an egg in addition to water. Immediately, the new cake mix was a huge success. Unfortunately, many people make the same mistake when it comes to "packaging" or presenting the Christian religion. They try to make the call of Jesus Christ as easy as possible because they're afraid people won't "buy it" if it seems too hard. / / /mEaster /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tPoem /fN Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer; Death is strong, but Life is stronger; Stronger than the dark, the light; Stronger than the wrong, the right; Faith and Hope triumphant say, Christ will rise on Easter Day. Phillips Brooks / / /mEaster /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tGod weeps /fN The German theologian Jurgen Moltmann expresses in a single sentence the great span from Good Friday to Easter. It is, in fact, a summary of human history, past, present, and future: "God weeps with us so that we may someday laugh with him." Philip Yancey in Christianity Today. \reference{1 Cor. 15:54}{1 Corinthians 15:54}. / / /mEaster /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tPantyhose /fN One Easter Sunday morning as the minister was preaching the children's sermon, he reached into his bag of props and pulled out an egg. He pointed at the egg and asked the children, "What's in here?" "I know!" a little boy exclaimed. "Pantyhose!" / / /mEaster /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tCandy /fN Easter is the second most important candy-eating occasion of the year for Americans, who consumed 7.1 billion pounds of candy in 1999, according to the National Confectioner's Association. Jellybeans did not become an Easter tradition until the 1930s. They were probably first made in America by Boston candy maker William Schrafft, who ran advertisements urging people to send jellybeans to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. Sixty million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year. Chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first, according to 74% of American children. 13% said bunnies should be eaten feet first, while 10% favored eating the tail first. Adults prefer milk chocolate (65%), to dark chocolate, (27%). Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 600 million Marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. / / /mEncouragement /s7 ups /i1019 /d1/2003.101 /tSeven Ups /fN The 7 Ups 1. Wake Up !! Decide to have a good day. "This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." \reference{Psalms 118:24}{Psalms 118:24} 2. Dress Up !! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7 3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. "He who guards his lips guards his soul." \reference{Proverbs 13:3}{Proverbs 13:3} 4. Stand Up!! .. . . for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." \reference{Galatians 6:9-10}{Galatians 6:9-10} 5. Look Up !! .. . . to the Lord. "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me". \reference{Philippians 4:13}{Philippians 4:13} 6. Reach Up !! .. . . for something higher. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." \reference{Proverbs 3:5-6}{Proverbs 3:5-6} 7. Lift Up !! .. . . your Prayers. "Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." \reference{Philippians 4:6}{Philippians 4:6} A POSITIVE THOUGHT If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring, and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary. Face it, He's crazy about you. God answers Knee-Mail! / / /mEvangelism /s /i1159 /d1/2000.28 /tLost Little Boy /fN Submitted by David Zimmerman Email - david.zimmerman@iolok.com A couple of winters back, a man in Birmingham drove to the hospital to pick up his wife and his newborn son. It was cold out-side, and he didn't expect to be long, so he left his engine running while he ran inside to get his wife and son. While he was in the hospital, someone stole his car. Strapped in the back seat had been his 3-year old son, Billy. The police were notified. They treated it as a kidnapping and started an all out search for the car and missing boy. Just before dark, they found the car, but Billy was not in it. The story was reported on the news that night and heard by a Vietnam vet. Like many others, the man wondered if perhaps the car had been stolen without the thief knowing that little Billy was in back. He wondered if perhaps, when the man had abandoned the car, Billy had been left behind and had simply wondered away. Knowing that the boy could not survive in the cold, the man grabbed a flashlight, went to where the car had been discovered, and began a search for Billy. He searched the neighborhood, walking up and down the streets and alleys, shining his light into every dark corner where a little boy might seek refuge. During his search, he came upon an abandoned home, its windows and doors boarded up. On the porch was a swing piled high with old newspapers. The man shined his light all around and was turning to leave when he thought he saw the pile of papers move. He called out, "Billy! Billy, are you there?" He heard a small voice answer, "Daddy, is that you?" The man pulled the little boy from beneath the papers and hugged him to his chest. Then he said, "No, Billy, I'm not your daddy, but I can take you to him." If we would show such concern for a little lost boy, how much more should we seek out those with lost souls and bring them to their heavenly Father. Some, like the leprous man, will come on their own. Many, like the paralytic, like little Billy, must be sought and brought. --Adrian Rogers / / /mEvolution /sjoke /i1164-1169 /d5/2002.101 /tDo you see God? /fN One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children. The teacher asked a little boy: TEACHER: Tommy do you see the tree outside? TOMMY: Yes. TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside? TOMMY: Yes. TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky. TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky. TEACHER: Did you see God? TOMMY: No. TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. He doesn't exist. A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy: LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the tree outside? TOMMY: Yes. LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside? TOMMY: Yessssss (getting tired of the questions by this time). LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky? TOMMY: Yessssss LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher? TOMMY: Yes LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain? TOMMY: No LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she must not have one! "FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT" ( \reference{2 Corinthians 5:7}{2 Corinthians 5:7}) / / /mExcuses /sFalse /i26700 /d7/2005.101 /tDog did it /fN One of the funniest excuses I've ever heard was from my boyfriend's 4 year old. He was at our house for the weekend and after a couple of days there we noticed that there was some kind of writing on the wall by the TV. When we looked closer we noticed that there was a 2 foot high "K" and then a smaller "urt". Well we only knew one Kurt around and when we asked him about it he told us the dog did it. We couldn't help but laugh, and we proceeded to ask him how the dog did it when the dog didn't have any figures and he explained to us that he just helped the dog do it. It was the typical "I didn't do it" excuse. - One of my Communications Students / / /mFaith /s /i1201-1218 /mPoems /s /i /d2/2000.14 /tTrusting In God /fN "How good is the God we adore, Our Faithful, Unchangeable Friend; Whose Love is as good as His Power, And knows neither measure nor end. 'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last, Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home; We'll praise Him for all that is past, And trust Him for all that's to come. / / /mFaith /sExercise of /i1203 /d2/2000.11 /t"I Can't See You" /fn During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, "I can't see you!" The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father. The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known. / / /mFaith /sLook to Jesus /i /mFaith /s /i /d11/2004.101 /tLook Up! /fN A buzzard, a bat and a Bumblebee. If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom it will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that if they look up, they'll find the answer / / /mFamily /sSAVING /i /d7/2004.101 /tSave family first /fN Years ago a ship was wrecked on the northwest coast of Ireland. A young man volunteered to row out and res cue the last survivor on board. His mother tried in vain to persuade him not to undertake the perilous task. She pleaded with him, reminding him that his father and his brother William had gone to sea and she had never heard from them again. She said that she would be left all alone if he were lost in the angry waves, but he resisted her entreaties and set out anyway. A short time later when his little boat was seen struggling back through the surf, the people on shore shouted, "Have you got your man?" Yes, and tell mother its brother William! / / /mFather /s /i /d6/2003.101 /tPrisons with fatherless /fN Today, we are seeing the disappearing dad. Time magazine featured a cover story on fatherhood. In that story it documented the changing shape of what we call family life. It reported that fathers used to occupy a greater place in the home and that "well into the 18th century, childrearing manuals in America were generally addressed to fathers, not mothers. But as the industrialization began to separate home and work, fathers could not be in both places at once. Family life in the 19th century was defined by what historians call the feminization of the domestic sphere and the marginalization of the father as a parent." The article makes some other sobering points. "Rising divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births mean that more than 40% of all children born between 1970 and 1984 are likely to spend much of their childhood living in single parent homes." And the impact of these fatherless homes on the children is significant, if not devastating. Time goes on to say, "Studies of young criminals have found that more than 70% of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes. Children from broken families are nearly twice as likely as those in two-parent families to drop out of high school." Dr. Harold L. White, "Fatherhood" / / /mFather /s /i /d6/2003.101 /tTwain's dad /fN When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. Mark Twain / / /mFather /s /i /d6/2003.101 /tI'll Always be There for You! /fN It's a fascinating story that comes out of the 1989 earthquake which almost flattened Armenia. This deadly tremor killed over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of all the confusion of the earthquake, a father rushed to his son's school. When he arrived there he discovered the building was flat as a pancake. Standing there looking at what was left of the school, the father remembered a promise he made to his son, "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" Tears began to fill his eyes. It looked like a hopeless situation, but he could not take his mind off his promise. Remembering that his son's classroom was in the back right corner of the building, the father rushed there and started digging through the rubble. As he was digging other grieving parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: "My son! "My daughter!" They tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying: "It's too late!" "They're dead!" "You can't help!" "Go home!" Even a police officer and a fire-fighter told him he should go home. To everyone who tried to stop him he said, "Are you going to help me now?" They did not answer him and he continued digging for his son stone by stone. He needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" This man dug for eight hours and then twelve and then twenty-four and then thirty-six. Finally in the thirty-eighth hour, as he pulled back a boulder, he heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!" and a voice answered him, "Dad?" It's me Dad!" Then the boy added these priceless words, "I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised that, Dad. 'No matter what,' you said, 'I'll always be there for you!' And here you are Dad. You kept your promise!" Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, "Chicken Soup for the Soul." / / /mFather /sGod created /i /d6/2003.101 /tWhen Gods created Fathers /fN When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping." And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?" And when God made a father's hands, they were large and sinewy. And the angel shook her head sadly and said, "Do You know what You're doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats." God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day.yet small enough to cup a child's face." Then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do You realize You just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus." God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do You honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to "ride a horse to Banbury Cross" or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill." God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, "Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?" And the angel shutteth up! By Erma Bombeck / / /mFather /sHumor /i /d6/2003.101 /t /fN Children go through four fascinating stages. First they call you Da-Da. Then they call you Daddy. As they mature they call you Dad. Finally they call you collect. King Duncan / / /mFather's Day /sHistory /i /d6/2003.101 /t /fN Fathers Day occurs on the 3rd Sunday in June. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Roses are the Father's Day flowers. / / /mFather's Day /sHumor /i /d6/2003.101 /tThought you said Dad /fN As we celebrate Father's Day today, I would like to share the following story about the effect that one father had on his family. This particular family had three small children who were determined to have a puppy. Mom protested because she knew that somehow or other, she would end up caring for the critter. True to form, the children solemnly promised that they would take care of it. Eventually, she relented and they brought their little puppy home. The children named him Danny and cared for him diligently - at first. But, sure enough, as time passed, Mom found herself becoming more and more responsible for taking care of the dog. Finally, she decided that the children were not living up to their promise so she began to search for a new home for Danny. When she found one and broke the news to the children, she was quite surprised that they had almost no reaction at all. One of them even said rather matter-of-factly, "We'll miss him." "I'm sure we will," Mom answered, "but he is too much work for one person and since I'm the one that has to do all the work, I say he goes." "But," protested another child, "if he wouldn't eat so much and wouldn't be so messy, could we keep him?" Mom held her ground, "It's time to take Danny to his new home." Suddenly, with one voice and with tears in their eyes, the children exclaimed, "Danny? We thought you said Daddy!" / / /mFather's Day /sTribute /i /d6/2003.101 /tMax Lucado /fN Today is Father's Day. A day of cologne. A day of hugs, new neckties, long-distance phone calls, and Hallmark cards. Today is my first Father's Day without a father. For thirty-one years I had one. I had one of the best. But now he's gone. He's buried under an oak tree in a west Texas cemetery. Even though he's gone, his presence is very near--especially today. It seems strange that he isn't here. I guess that's because he was never gone. He was always close by. Always available. Always present. His words were nothing novel. His achievements, though admirable, were nothing extraordinary. But his presence was. Like a warm fireplace in a large house, he was a source of comfort. Like a sturdy porch swing or a big-branched elm in the backyard, he could always be found...and leaned upon. During the turbulent years of my adolescence, Dad was one part of my life that was predictable. Girl friends came and girl friends went, but Dad was there. Football season turned into baseball season and turned into football season again and Dad was always there. Summer vacation, Homecoming dates, algebra, first car, driveway basketball--they all had one thing in common: his presence. And because he was there life went smoothly. The car always ran, the bills got paid, and the lawn stayed mowed. Because he was there, the laughter was fresh and the future was secure. Because he was there my growing up was what God intended growing up to be; a storybook scamper through the magic and mystery of the world. Because he was there we kids never worried about things like income tax, savings accounts, monthly bills, or mortgages. Those were the things on Daddy's desk. We have lots of family pictures without him. Not because he wasn't there, but because he was always behind the camera. He made the decisions, broke up the fights, chuckled at Archie Bunker, read the paper every evening, and fixed breakfast on Sundays. He didn't do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do--be there. He taught me how to shave and how to pray. He helped me memorize verses for Sunday school and taught me that wrong should be punished and that rightness has its own reward. He modeled the importance of getting up early and staying out of debt. His life expressed the elusive balance between ambition and self-acceptance. He comes to mind often. When I smell "Old Spice" aftershave, I think of him. When I see a bass boat I see his face. And occasionally, not too often, but occasionally when I hear a good joke, (the kind Red Skelton would tell), I hear him chuckle. He had a copyright chuckle that always came with a wide grin and arched eyebrows. Daddy never said a word to me about sex or told me his life story. But I knew that if I ever wanted to know, he would tell me. All I had to do was ask. And I knew if I ever needed him, he'd be there. Like a warm fireplace. Maybe that's why this Father's Day is a bit chilly. The fire has gone out. The winds of age swallowed the late splendid flame, leaving only golden embers. But there is a strange thing about those embers...stir them a bit and a flame will dance. It will dance only briefly, but it will dance. And it will knock just enough chill out of the air to remind me that he is still...in a special way...very present. Max Lucado / / /mFathers /sInvolved /i /d6/2003.101 /tInvolved dads /fN According to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a father's involvement with a child increases the child's IQ, the child's motivation to learn, and the child's self-confidence. In addition, children with involved dads are more likely to develop a sense of humor as well as an "inner excitement." Victor Parachin, "The Fine Art of Good Fathering," Herald of Holiness, February 1995, pp. 32-33. / / /mFathers /sLove /i /d6/2006.101 /tI'll be there for you! /fN It's a fascinating story that comes out of the 1989 earthquake which almost flattened Armenia. This deadly tremor killed over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of all the confusion of the earthquake, a father rushed to his son's school. When he arrived there he discovered the building was flat as a pancake. Standing there looking at what was left of the school, the father remembered a promise he made to his son, "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" Tears began to fill his eyes. It looked like a hopeless situation, but he could not take his mind off his promise. Remembering that his son's classroom was in the back right corner of the building, the father rushed there and started digging through the rubble. As he was digging other grieving parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: "My son! "My daughter!" They tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying: "It's too late!" "They're dead!" "You can't help!" "Go home!" Even a police officer and a fire fighter told him he should go home. To everyone who tried to stop him he said, "Are you going to help me now?" They did not answer him and he continued digging for his son stone by stone. He needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" This man dug for eight hours and then twelve and then twenty-four and then thirty-six. Finally in the thirty-eighth hour, as he pulled back a boulder, he heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!" and a voice answered him, "Dad?" It's me, Dad!" Then the boy added these priceless words, "I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised that, Dad. 'No matter what,' you said, 'I'll always be there for you!' And here you are Dad. You kept your promise!" Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, "Chicken Soup for the Soul." / / /mFathers /sraising children /i /d6/2006.101 /tRaising Kids /fN Harmon Killebrew, the great baseball player of yesteryear, tells in his autobiography about growing up in a home with four boys. He says that on one occasion his father was out in the front yard playing baseball with the boys and a neighbor walked by and said, "Mr. Killebrew, if you keep on playing baseball out on your front lawn, you won't have any grass left in your yard." Mr. Killebrew said, "Sir, I'm not raising grass, I'm raising kids." / / /mFathers /sraising children /i /d6/2006.101 /tElephants /fN Some years ago, South Africa's game managers had to figure out what to do about the elephant herd at Kruger National Park. The herd was growing well beyond the ability of the park to sustain it. And so they decided to transport some of the herd to a nearby game park. A dozen years later, however, several of the young male elephants (now teenagers) that had been transported to the game park began attacking the park ‘s herd of white rhinos, an endangered species. They used their trunks to throw sticks at the rhinos, chased them over long hours and great distances and stomped to death a tenth of the herd--all for no discernible reason. Park managers decided they had no choice but to kill some of the worst juvenile offenders. They had killed five of them when someone came up with another bright idea. They brought in some of the mature male elephants still residing in the Kruger Park and hoped that the bigger, stronger males could bring the adolescents under control. To the delight of the park officials, it worked. The big bulls quickly established the natural hierarchy and reduced the violent behavior of the younger bulls. "The new discipline, it turned out, was not just a matter of size intimidation," says Raspberry. "The young bulls actually started following the Big Daddies around, yielding to their authority and learning from them proper elephant conduct. The assaults on the white rhinos ended abruptly." Raspberry's point was that young males--whether they are wild animals or human beings--need Dads. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, from October 11, 2005, Washington Post Writers Group. / / /mForgetfulness /sold people /i3003-3004 /d12/2004.101 /tForget the toast /fN A couple in their 90's are having problems remembering things, so they decide to the go to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor tells them that they are physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember. Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. His wife asks, "Where are you going?" "To the kitchen," he replies. She asks, "Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?" The husband says, "Sure." She gently reminds him, "Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?" He says, "No, I can remember that." She then says, "Well, I'd like some strawberries on top. You'd better write it down 'cause I know you'll forget it." He says, "I can remember that! You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries." She adds, "I'd also like whipped cream. Now I'm certain you'll forget that, so you'd better write it down." Irritated, he says, "I don't need to write it down! I can remember that! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream!" He grumbles and then heads into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment and says, "Where's my toast?" / / /mFriendship /s /i1323 /d4/2003.101 /tWords can hurt /fN A Good Story for Great Friends..... There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The day passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone. The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, "You have done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one." You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say "I'm sorry", the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us. / / /mFrustration /s /i /d9/2003.101 /tOff with the Boots! /fn Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this one! Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of herkindergarten students put on his cowboy boots? He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on.Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. He > then announced, "These aren't my boots." She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No soonerhad they got the boots off when he said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em." Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots." / / /mGod /sSearch for /i4100 /d11/2002.101 /tGod in the Ordinary /fN Once upon a time, there was a far-away land that was ruled by a vicious king. His iron hand reached into every corner of his subjects' lives. Every corner - except one. Try as he might, he couldn't destroy their belief in God. In his frustration, he finally summoned his advisors and asked them: "Where can I hide God so the people will end up forgetting about him?" One suggested hiding God on the dark side of the moon. This idea was debated, but was voted down because the advisors feared that their scientists would one day discover a way to travel into space travel and God would be discovered again. Another suggested burying God in the deepest part of the ocean. But there was the same problem with this idea, so it was voted down. One idea after another was suggested and debated and rejected. Until finally the oldest and wisest advisor had a flash of insight. "I know," he said, "why don't we hide God where no one will ever even think to look?" And he explained, "If we hide God in the ordinary events of people's everyday lives, they'll never find him!" And so it was done. And they say people in that land are still looking for God - even today. Traditional, www.eSermons.com, November 2001. / / /mGossip /s /i /d1/2005.101 /tBackfired /fN Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several residents were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny, he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house................ and left it there all night. / / /mGossip /s /i3307 /mGossip /s /i /d9/2004.101 /tHypocrisy in Church /fN "My belief in God and my attitude towards the church influences my atttitude towards people and life in general. When I was younger I thought that everyone in the church was honest and always willing to help one another, but I was sadly mistaken. There are people in the church that gossip all the time and love to hear about people doing worst then they are. When I witnessed this it changed my whole aspect on church and trusting people in genaral. That made me question the heart of must people and not want to trust anyone. I have and still am working out my trust issue with others. I know this is important beacuse everyone has to trust someone sooner or later." - From a Student I had in Interpersonal Communications class WFS 9/2004 / / /mGossip /sJumping to conclusions /i /d2/2005.101 /tIndian gathers wood /fN A man left his indian tribe and went into the world and made his mark as a lawyer. Years later his father, the chief, died. Being the only remaining blood heir he was called home to serve as chief to the tribe. One Fall day the tribe elders asked if the winter would cold and long. He thought for a moment and said yes. The tribe organized and collected firewood for a full mile around the encampment. They came to him again and asked the same question and he said yes. Again they went out and collected firewood another mile out. He was amazed at how powerful his word was, but alos felt it to be an awesome responsibility. So, he called the weather station to verify that the winter would be cold and long. The weatherman said it definitely would be. The elders asked him again if he was sure about the winter and he said with confidence that it surely would be cold and long. The indians had now gone out 5 miles and collected every piece of wood that would burn. He began to doubt his role in all this and once again called the weather station and the weatherman gave him the same answer. He asked him how he knows this to be true and the weatherman told him that they've been watching the local indian tribe collect firewood and by the amount they had collected it had to be a cold and long winter. / / /mGrace /sRiches of /i1448 /d2/2000.9 /tThe List /fN A husband and wife didn't really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his "do's and don'ts" indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done. After several long years, the husband died. As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her. Soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as he was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn't given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband's list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation. --Unknown / / /mGrace /sRiches of /i1448 /d6/2004.101 /tBilly Graham is forgiven /fN When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That'll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit." Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid--but I am going to pay it for you." He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God treats repentant sinners!" Progress Magazine, December 14, 1992. / / /mGrand Parents /sGrandma /i /d12/2004.101 /tAngel given to child /fN Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. The child asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow. How am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God replied, "Among the angels, I'll choose one for you. Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child further inquired, "but tell me God, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and feel very happy." Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak." "I've heard that on earth there are bad people. Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life." At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but the voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." "Her name is not important. You will simply call her GRANDMA." / / /mHeaven /s /i /d5/2006.101 /tBETTER HIGHER UP! /fN D. L. Moody told about a Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful, and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building. A friend decided to visit her one day and brought along another woman - a person of great wealth. Since there was no elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, "What a dark and filthy place!" Her friend replied, "It's better higher up." When they arrived at the third landing, the remark was made, "Things look even worse here." Again the reply, "It's better higher up." The two women finally reached the attic level, where they found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the joy that filled her heart. Although the room was clean and flowers were on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over the stark surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out, "It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!" Without a moment's hesitation the shut-in responded, "It's better higher up." / / /mHeaven /sbetter than eartly manson /i /d11/2005.101 /t /fN 'A fine Christian lady who had been extremely poor inherited a fortune and was able to move into a lovely home. She thoroughly enjoyed her comfortable lifestyle. But then she learned that an incurable disease would soon take her life. When she did not express dismay at the prospect of leaving her beautiful new surroundings, her friends were amazed. "How can you be so cheerful about it?" they asked. "Oh, that's easy," she replied. "Just think what's waiting for me-heaven and being with Jesus!" / / /mHeavenly Home /s /i1356 /d1/2000.6 /tA Building in Heaven /fN I’ve purchased a town lot in heaven On the city not built with hand, I’m sending material daily To build in that happy land. I’d like a mansion on Main Street, Where streets are all paved with gold. With a clear view of the pearly gates Where Christ takes care of the soul. I want to send good material That will stand the test of time, So I’ll not be disappointed When I reach that home sublime. Prayer is for the foundation, Faith and love for the walls, Good deeds for the reinforcement, That will stand when the Savior calls. I would like you for my neighbor In that city so divine— Maybe just across the street Or your home close to mine. Up there we will know no sorrow, Tears will never dim the eyes. There we will rest in peace forever In that happy home on high. So my friends, start to building Your home beyond the sky Where we can all be together In the sweet by and by. --Author Unknown / / /mHoliness /s /i1598 /d1/2005.101 /tWhat is holiness? /fN Holiness is a state of soul in which powers of the body and mind are consciously given up to God. — Phoebe Palmer / / /mHoly Spirit /scomfort /i1601-1614 /d5/2004.101 /tWaves Of Worry /fn Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred. This, I believe, is a perfect picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Spirit. The waves of worry, of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide. \reference{Isaiah 26:3}{Isaiah 26:3} / / /mHoly Spirit /sFilling Believers /i1125 /d5/2004.101 /tFinney /fN Finney wrote how God gave him mighty infillings of the Holy Spirit "that went through me, as it seemed, body and soul. I immediately found myself endued with such power from on high that a few words dropped here and there to individuals were the means of their immediate conversion. My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke the heart like a hammer. Multitudes can attest to this...Sometimes I would find myself in a great measure empty of this power. I would go and visit, and find that I made no saving impression. I would exhort and pray with the same results. I would they set apart a day for private fasting and prayer...after humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life." W. Duewel, Touch the World Through Prayer, OMS, p. 232. \reference{Acts 2:1}{Acts 2:1} / / /mHoly Spirit /sFilling Believers /i1125 /d5/2004.101 /temptied to be filled /fN D.L Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled." J. Kuhatschek, Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible, IVP, p. 153ff. \reference{Acts 2:1-4}{Acts 2:1-4} / / /mHoly Spirit /sFilling Believers /i1125 /d2/2006.101 /tNeed His Spirit /fN The Master's Brush. A young Italian boy knocked one day at the door of an artist's studio in Rome, and when it was opened, exclaimed, "Please, madam, will you give me the master's brush?" The painter was dead, and the boy, inflamed with a longing to be an artist, wished for the great master's brush. The lady placed the brush in the boy's hands, saying, "This is his brush; try it, my boy." With a flush of earnestness in his face, he tried, but found he could paint no better than with his own. The lady then said to him, "You cannot paint like the great master unless you have his spirit." So it is with us in the church today; if we have not the Master's Spirit we cannot successfully carry on the Master's work. -The Expositor / / /mHoly Spirit /sfire /i1601-1614 /d5/2004.101 /tmelts like fire /fN The Holy Spirit warms us and melts our cold, cold hearts. Recently I ran across a parable that makes the point: Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to break it, but all had failed. "I'll master it," said the axe. and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but every blow only made the axe's edge more blunt, until it finally ceased to strike and gave up in frustration. "Leave it to me," said the saw. and it worked back and forth on the iron's surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then in despair, the saw quit trying and fell to the side. "Ah!" said the hammer, "I knew you two wouldn't succeed. I'll show you how to do this!" But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged. "Shall I try?" asked the small soft flame. "Forget it," everyone else said. "What can you do? You're too small and you have no strength." But the small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it. and never left it until it melted under its warm irresistible influence. There's a sermon there somewhere. Perhaps it means that God's way is not the way of force but love. God's way is not to break hearts but to melt them. Perhaps it means that that is our calling - to melt hearts. under the irresistible warmth of God's gracious love. James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift? / / /mHoly Spirit /sGive the Lord Control /i /d5/2004.101 /tMoody /fN Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, "Why do we need this 'Mr. Moody'? He's uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody." / / /mHope /sEternal /i1692 /d1/2005.101 /tAW Tozer /fN No one who knows what the New Testament is about will worry over the charge that Christianity is otherworldly. Of course it is—and that is precisely where its power lies. Christianity, which is faith in Christ, trusts in His promise and obedience to His commandments, rests squarely upon the Person of Christ. What He is, what He did, and what He is doing—these provide a full guarantee that the Christian’s hopes are valid. — A. W. Tozer / / /mHumility /s /i /d12/2004.101 /tBilly Graham a Star /fN In October, 1989, a new star was added to the 1900 stars on the famed sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard. The new star was placed near the stars of Julie Andrews and Wayne Newton. The new star, as curious as it seems, was evangelist Billy Graham, who has preached the gospel to more than 100 million people around the world. Forty years ago he refused to have his name on a star, but he reconsidered it in 1989. He said, "I hope it will identify me with the gospel that I preach." At the unveiling he added, "We should put our eyes on the star, which is the Lord." John R. Brokhoff, Preaching the Miracles, CSS Publishing Company, 1991 / / /mHumility /sAccepting wrong /i /d2/2006.101 /tRobert Kennedy /fN An article in Parade magazine mentioned a touching story about the late Robert F. Kennedy. It was about an event that occurred not long after the tragic assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. Robert, still heavy in heart, decided to appear publicly for the first time in order to honor a commitment to attend a party for orphaned children. When he arrived, he walked hesitantly into a room of noisy youngsters. Suddenly one little boy noticed Mr. Kennedy, ran up to him, and shouted, "Your brother's dead! Your brother's dead!" The room fell silent. The young child realized that he had done something wrong and began to cry. But Kennedy rose to the occasion. He bent down, swept up the boy in his arms, and held him close: A friend standing with Robert heard him whisper gently, "It's all right, I have another brother." The author of the article remarked that this compassionate response was a "mark of greatness." / / /mHusband and Wives /sDuties of Husbands /i1626 /d3/2004.101 /tJoke - Three men and their new wives /fN Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their recent brides straight on their duties. The first man had married a woman from California and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed t be done at their house. He said that it took a couple days, but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away. The second man had married a woman from Ohio. He bragged to the guys that he had given his new bride orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and cooking. He told them that the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had come home to a huge dinner on the table. The third man had married a Texas girl. He boasted to the guys that he told her his house was to be cleaned, the dishes washed, the cooking done and laundry washed & ironed... And this was all her responsibility. He said the first day he didn't see anything and the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down so he could see a little out of his left eye. / / /mHymns /sFunny /i /d4/2003.101 /tFavorite Hymns /fN Architect's Hymn -- "How Firm A Foundation" Interior Designer's -- "We Meet, As In That Upper Room" Planner's Hymn -- "O Zion, Blessed City" Surveyor's Hymn -- "In Christ There is No east or West" The Concrete Finisher's Hymn -- "Christ, The Solid Rock" Developer's Hymn -- "Oh Beulah Land" The Skylight Installer's Hymn -- "Heavenly Sunlight" Sailor's Hymn -- "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" The ood Carver's Hymn -- "The Old Rugged Cross" The Novelist's Hymn -- "We've a Story To Tell To The Nations" The Song Writer's Hymn -- "There's Music In My Soul" The Coast Guard's Hymn -- "Rescue The Perishing" A Pilot's Hymn -- "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" The Socialist's Hymn -- "When We Get All Get To Heaven" The Banker's Hymn -- "Unsearchable Riches" The Egg Beater's Hymn -- "His Yoke is Easy" The Mortician's Hymn -- "Revive s Again" An Accountant's Hymn -- "The Half Has Never Yet Been Told" A Bookkeeper's Hymn -- "I Know My Name Is there" A Shoe Salesman's Hymn -- "Sitting At The Feet Of Jesus" A Bread Maker's Hymn -- "I Need Thee Every Hour" The Hym of the Stealth -- "Be Still" A Prince's Hymn -- "The Child of a King" Mr. Roger's Hymn -- "I Love To tell the Story" Heart Surgeon's Hymn -- "I Know In My Heart What It Means" A Miner's Hymn -- "The Hollow of His Mighty Hand" A Quarry Hymn -- "Rock of Ages, Cleft For Me" Grave Digger's Hymn -- "Down At The Cross" Well Digger's Hymn -- "It Is Well With My Soul" Militarist's Hymn -- "There Is Joy In The Service" Globalist's Hymn -- "Jesus Is all The World To Me" The Sprinkler's Hymn -- "If Thou Wilt Know The Fountain Deep" A Geyser's Hymn -- "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" The Snatch Victim of A Giant Flying Dragon -- "Under His Wings" The Hymn When Jesus Returns -- "Peace, Perfect Peace" The Bored's Hymn -- "That's Enough For Me" / / /mIncarnation /s /i /d5/2003.101 /tGod Man /fN 1. As man He was born of a woman, as God He came down from heaven 2. As man He was a baby, as God He is the eternal Creator 3. As man He was the seed of Abraham, as God Before Abraham was I AM 4. As man He was David's son, as God He was David's Lord 5. As man He was compassed with infirmity, as God all power and honor is His. 6. As man He was raised by his parents, as God He is our heavenly Father 7. As man He asked questions in the temple, as God He is omniscient 8. As man He was baptized, as God we are baptized in His Name. 9. As man He was hungry and thirsty, As God He provides for all creation 10. As man He dwelt with His disciples, as God He is with us everywhere 11. As man He became poor for us, as God He shall come to reward His saints with eternal riches 12. As a man He prayed to His Father, as God He answers our prayers 13. As man He was tempted as we are, as God He is holy and without sin 14. As man He got tired and needed rest, as God He says--"Come unto me... and I will give you rest. 15. As a man He slept on the boat, as God He calmed the raging sea 16. As man He wept at Lazarus' grave, as God He raised him from the dead 17. As man He was arrested as a criminal, as God He is the judge of all 18. As man He died for sins, as God He does forgive all Sin 19. As man He gave into death, as God He arose as Victor over sin, death and hell 20. As man He was born once, as God He is coming again as omnipotent God. / / /mIncarnation /s /i /d3/2005.101 /tErasmus /fN "How much more wonderful the work of redemption is, in comparison with creation. It is more marvelous that God was made man than that He created the angels; that He wailed in a stable than that He reigns in the heavens. The creation of the world was a work of power, but the redemption of the world was a work of mercy." - Erasmus. / / /mInspiration /sDivine /i1774-1776 /d6/2004.101 /tNo price too high /fN A wealthy woman who was traveling overseas saw a bracelet she thought was irresistible, so she sent her husband this cable: "Have found wonderful bracelet. Price $75,000. May I buy it?" Her husband promptly wired back this response: "No, price too high." But the cable operator omitted the comma, so the woman received this message: "No price too high." Elated, she purchased the bracelet. Needless to say, at her return her husband was dismayed. It was just a little thing--a comma--but what a difference it made! Leslie B. Flynn, The Twelve. / / /mInspiration /sDivine /i1774-1776 /d6/2004.101 /tRobert Dick Wilson /fN "I have come to the conviction that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament. Every time when anyone has been able to get together enough documentary 'proofs' to undertake an investigation, the biblical facts in the original text have victoriously met the test." Prof. Robert Dick Wilson of Princeton, who held several doctorates and knew 45 languages and dialects of the Near East, as quoted in R. Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture. / / /mInspiration /sDivine /i1774-1776 /d6/2004.101 /tInerrancy /fN For practical purposes the words infallible and inerrant are interchangeable. When we apply them to the Bible, what we are saying is that only those who accept as from God all that Scripture proves to tell us, promise us, or require of us, can ever fully please him. Both words thus have religious as well as theological significance; their function is to impose on our handling of the Bible a procedure which expresses faith in the reality and veracity of the God who speaks to us in and through what it says and who requires us to heed every word that proceeds from his mouth. This procedure requires us not to deny, disregard, or arbitrarily relativize anything that the writers teach or to discount any of the practical implications for worship and service which their teaching carries or to cut the knot of any problem of Bible harmony, factual or theological, by allowing ourselves to assume that the writers were not necessarily consistent with themselves or with each other. For me to confess that Scripture is infallible and inerrant is to bind myself in advance to follow the method of harmonizing and integrating all that Scripture declares, without exception, I must believe that it is from God, however little I may like it, and whatever change of present beliefs, ways, and commitments it may require, and I must actively seek to live by it. James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986. / / /mJudging /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tJumping to conclusions /fN The barrier to good communication that I find myself most guilty of is pragmatic implication. That is believing what you see is the truth (assuming) or jumping to conclusions without valid facts. I knew of 2 people 1 male and 1 female who I thought were having an affair. It really bothered me because he had always portrayed himself as being an upright, respectable man. I would see him with this woman in the morning before work, sometimes at lunch and he always walked her to her car in the evenings. Since I saw them together all the time and I didn’t think she was married I just knew he was having an affair. I was so disheartened by this (as if it was any of my business). Over one weekend he had a heart attack and I wondered how the wife and lover were going to handle the hospital visits. While talking to another friend I found out they were husband and wife. The woman he was with in the mornings before work, at lunch and after work was actually his wife. I was so happy when I found this out and even more glad that I had spread any rumors of him having an affair. One way this can be corrected is for me to learn to keep my nose out of other folks business and to realize that things are not always as they seem. - from one of my "Interpersonal Communication" Students / / /mLiving /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tYou call this living? /fN There is a story of two garment workers in New York City. One was a cutter and one was a stitcher. They were working side by side. They got to talking about vacations. One said he was looking forward to his vacation and the other said he was not going on a vacation this year. The question was asked, "Why?" "I went to Africa last year. I went elephant hunting." "Did you get any elephants?" "No, I found an elephant. He charged me, but my gun was jammed, and I was killed." A little stunned he looked at his friend and said, "What are you talking about, you was killed? You aren't dead. You're sitting here living." And the other fellow looked down at his scissors, looked across at the needle and fabric in his friend's hands and replied: "You call this living?" Many of us look around at our lives and ask: Do you call this living? I am here to tell you-Easter sounds a resounding yes. Here is resurrection and here is life. We are His family -- the saved, the people who gather to worship him. This is indeed living! We are the resurrection people and we live on this side of Easter. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, April 2001 / / /mLoneliness /s /i1331 /d2/2000.18 /tLoneliness /fn We need a community around us. Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard that he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced that he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. Everyone said to him: They have got the finest facilities in Washington, D. C., why go back to that little town. Rayburn's words have been quoted so often that some of you have probably heard them. He said: "Because in Bohman, Texas, they know if you’re sick and they care when you die. We need community. In his autobiography, Robet Brooke told of a trip he made from England to the United States, aboard the C. C. Cedric. When he arrived at the dock, he noticed that everyone had relatives standing there to send them off. In the midst of the embraces he felt terribly lonely. He thus called a young boy over and paid him a schilling to wave at him as the boat pulled out of the dock. And sure enough, the young boy stood there waving with all his might, and Brooke waved back. Everyone needs a community to love them and recognize them / / /mlove /sagape /i /d10/2004.101 /tdefined by student /fN "My most desirable love type, is the agape love. Even though I will never ever obtain it, I want to be able to always set that as my Goal. I want to be able to love my family and others in my life with true unselfish love. I want to love someone with out conditions and expectations. I want to love without the sensitivity to negative qualities and negative responses. I want to let go of the pride I have and become more humble. I want to love and be confident with out expecting it back in every situation. I truly believe that if we love, care and serve others over and above ourselves, then this kind of love can actually appear at times in our lives." - from a student in my Communications Class / / /mlove /sagape /i /d7/2005.101 /tTHIS IS WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT /fN It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment> this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him. "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he patted my hand and said. "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life." True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there are some that come along that have an important message, and this is one of those kinds. Just had to share it with you all. Oh, by the way, peace is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank. "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything that comes along their way." / / /mLove /sExamples Of Father's Love /i1625 /d4/2003.101 /tDaddy wept /fN The Mercy Of God Christian Author Walter Wangerin has a wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" about how he tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried various uses of the law over several years and continued to fail. Finally, he resorted to something he rarely used: a spanking. He did it deliberately, almost ritualistically, and he was so upset when he finished that he left the room and wept. After pulling himself back together, he went in to Matthew and hugged him. A number of years later, Matthew and his mother were doing some general reminiscing, and Matthew happened to bring up the time when he kept stealing comic books. "And you know why I finally stopped?" he asked. "Sure," she said, "Because Dad finally spanked you." "No!" replied Matthew, "No, it was because Dad wept. / / /mLove /sGod's /i2206 /d1/2004.101 /tHe took the Lickin for me /fN HE TOOK MY LICKIN FOR ME Rev. A. C. Dixon, the great Baptist preacher who was born in the mountains of Virginia, told this true story. Many years ago there was a school which no teacher could control. The boys were very rough. A young teacher applied, and the old director said, "Young feller, do you know what you are doing? Every teacher we have had for years has had to take a beating." He replied, "I will risk it." When the new teacher started. One big student, Tom, looked at the him and said, "I can lick him myself." The teacher said, "Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school, now, I want a good school, but I need your help. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me and I will write them on the blackboard." One fellow yelled, "No stealing!" Another yelled, "On time." Finally ten rules appeared. "Now," said the teacher, "a law is no good unless there is a penalty. What shall we do if someone breaks the rules?" "Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on." "Are you sure, boys. Are you ready to stand by it?" They all agreed to the new rules. Then school started. In a day or so Big Tom found his dinner was stolen. Upon inquiry the thief was located a little hungry boy, about ten. Then next morning the teacher announced, "We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!" The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to the neck and pleaded, "Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please don't make me take my coat off!" "Take that coat off; you helped make the rules!" "O teacher, don't make me!" He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The lad had no shirt on and a very bony body. "How can I whip this child?" thought the teacher. Everything was quiet as death. "How come you to be without a shirt, Jim?" He replied, "My father died and mother is very poor. I have only one shirt to my name, and she is washing that today, and I wore my brother's big coat to keep warm." Just then Big Tom jumped to his feet and said, "Teacher, I will take Jim's lickin for him." "Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?" Off came Tom's coat, and after 5 hard strokes the rod broke! The teacher thought, "How can I finish this awful task?" Then he heard the entire school sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around the neck. "Tom, I am sorry I stole your dinner, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I'll love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I'll love you forever." Friend, you have broken every rule and deserve eternal punishment! But Jesus Christ took your whipping for you and died in your place. Christians should be as Jim and say to the Lord, "I'll love you forever for taking my licking for me." / / /mLove /sLove to others /i2200-2209 /d11/2002.101 /tThe Hug /fN HUGS No moving parts, no batteries. No monthly payments and no fees; Inflation proof, non-taxable, In fact, it's quite relaxable; It can't be stolen, won't pollute, One size fits all, do not dilute. It uses little energy, But yields results enormously. Relieves your tension and your stress, Invigorate your happiness; Combats depression, makes you beam, And elevates your self esteem! Your circulation it corrects Without unpleasant side effects It is, I think, the perfect drug: May I prescribe, my friend,... the hug! (and, of course, fully returnable!) -- Author Unknown / / /mLukewarmness /s /i1083-1084 /d4/2003.101 /tReligious Neutrality /fN Religiously Neutral The world today prefers to be inoffensively neutral. It does not like having to decide. Dorothy L. Sayers observed, "In the world it is called tolerance, but in hell it is called despair... the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die." How different with Jesus. It was judgment time. The Judge was about to take their just deserts upon Himself. Jesus was going to do three things simultaneously by his death. 3.1 Glorify the Father 12:27 - make him known 3.2 Judge the World 12:31 - pay the price for sin 3.3 Rescue People 12:32-33 - save those who turn to him Stephen Sizer / / /mMiracle /shealing /i /d11/2004.101 /tCheyann healed of Monkeypox /fN THE MONKEY PBX MIRACLE On May 18, 2003, we purchased a pair of Prairie Dogs at an exotic trade show. For those of you who don't know much about these animals, they are from out west in the prairies. They are related to the squirrel family and are fairly intelligent. The first day after bringing the Prairie Dogs home the one was showing signs of being ill and died six days later. The other one died a few days after that. Cheyann and I held the second Prairie Dog as it was dying. We both were very attached to these animals. My husband, Tim, daughter, Cheyann, and myself, Tami, all came down with what we thought was the fly. We took Cheyann, age 7, to the emergency room. She had severe red spots all over her body. They said she had strep throat and scarlet fever and sent her home. Her condition kept getting worse, so we returned to the hospital for the second time. They gave her steroids and sent her home. The next day we took her to our family doctor and he was clueless about her condition. He sent both my daughter and myself to a dermatologist in Bluffton to try to find out why we had these unusual spots. He took skin cultures of the spots. Then we got sent to another Dermatologist in Ft. Wayne for a second opinion. He took more skin cultures with still no answers. This was June 3, 2003. On the way bark home from the Ft. Wayne doctor I was having difficulty breathing and I had the same symptoms as my daughter. It came from my swollen throat, which the doctors thought was strep. I was taken to the Adams Co. Hospital to get checked out. They wanted to keep me over night to keep an eye on me. At this time Cheyann was in a very weakened state. She became very unresponsive as her condition got worse. She wasn't able to walk or sit up on her own and was very pale. I told them if I stayed I wanted them to admit her along with me. They sent us home once again and said we would be fine. The next morning Tim gave Cheyenne a kiss and told her to get better as he left for work. "I will try, Daddy," she said. (Little did we know this was the last conversation we would have with her for a very long two weeks.) As the day went on Cheyenne got weaker by the minute, to the point that I couldn't wake her up. I rushed her to the Adams County Hospital. Within five minutes of her being there, she went into a major seizure. On a scale of 1 to 10, she was a 10. The doctors said if I would have gotten her there two minutes later she wouldn't have made it. Cheyenne was in such a critical state that they stabilized her the best they could and rushed her by EMS to the Lutheran Hospital. We got to see her for a few minutes then we had to go wait in the waiting room so they could get all the IV's put into her tiny body. One and a half hours later we were able to go into her room. We weren't expecting to see what we saw. She had eight IV's in her, a ventilator to help her breathe, heart monitors, and the works. Her tempera­ture was 104 to 107 degrees far four days. The doctor put her on a cooling blanket to try to get her temperature down. (At this time it had been around one week that she had been sick.) The doctor told us that he didn't expect her to live. Not knowing what we were dealing with, the doctors did all kinds of tests, including M RI's, CAT scans, EKG, etc. The EKG showed she had encephi­litis (sleeping illness). The third day the doctors still gave us no hope. Tim's brother, Troy, called us at the hospital at midnight to tell us that there was a clip on the News that Prairie Dogs were infected with Monkey Pox. It's between small pox and chicken pox. The Monkey Pox came from an infected Gambian Rat that came from Africa. It was housed in cages next to the Prairie Dogs in Texas. As of then, we were quarantined to Cheyann's hospital room for a week. No family and friends were allowed in. The doctors and nurses had to peat on masks, gloves and gowns before entering our room. This was because no one knew anything about the monkey pox. They didn't know whether it was passed from human to human. (It is only passed from animal to human.) We were so confused. We had so many doctors, the CDC, and people from the state coming and going, asking us questions after questions, day after day. We only had to ask Gad to make her well. We were being selfish with our prayers, but we just weren't ready to let her go. Finally, we surrendered her to God's will. She was in a coma for a total of nine days. Her body was so weak from the disease that she went from 50 lbs. to 30 Ibs. Cheyann was still in a coma on the ninth day. I was talking to her and asked if she wanted some mashed potatoes and of course, there was no response. To my surprise, a half hour later she opened her eyes and said she was hungry. What an answer to prayer! From then on, nothing but good things were happening. Cheyann began therapy. With her being in a coma far so long, she lost muscle tone. She had to learn to walk by herself, hold silverware, etc. She had to learn everything. We ended up being in the hospital for a total of fifteen days. They sent us home on the condition that we would get therapy for Cheyann. We did two months of therapy. It only took two weeks for her to walk. Prayers that were answered: 1. Being quarantined to the room. This was an answer because Tim didn't want do go back to work. He didn't want to leave Cheyann and me. 2. When Cheyann had the swelling in her brain and was in the coma, she was very restless. I went down to the Chapel and prayed that Cheyann could have a good night of sleep. When I came back to the room she was sleeping peacefully. Before I went to the Chapel we asked if they could give her medicine to help her relax. They pit it in her IV bag. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized when the nurse but the medicine into the bag that there was a hole in the tube, so all the medicine she got that night went onto the floor, not into her. God allowed her to rest peacefully. 3. After a very despairing day of answering the same questions over and over with nose of ours being answered about our daughter; like, "When will family be able to come in?" etc..etc?? - We literally got down on our knees and asked Gad for a sign that we'll be okay. Within seconds, the phone rang and a great friend of ours said he had some amazing news. He's half native American. There was a big Indian dance coming up that weekend where about 5,000 attend (Indians only). Out of hundreds of prayer requests they picked ours to do. After we hung up we felt such a calmness and knew things were going to be okay. Cheyann was going to make it. Our friend had asked what Cheyann's favorite color was (blue) and her middle name (Marie). He danced a seven minute dance in honor of Cheyann and at the end of the dance he lit this blue cloth with her middle name on it and sent it to the heavens. The Indians believe everything happens in a circle. You're sick, you get better and then you're completely healed. After she was completely healed, the same Indians joined together and had a final dance for Cheyann. Never give up on God! He will never leave yon! - Tim, Tami, Cheyann Wilkins, Berne, IN / / /mMisunderstanding /s /i /d4/2003.101 /tNot that Scarecrow /fN An Ugly Scarecrow Years ago a boy had a crush on girl in his high school freshman class named Laura Mae. It was a farm community and everybody planted gardens. They also protected them with scarecrows. Each family tried to make its scarecrow the most lifelike and original. Riding home on the school bus one afternoon, they rounded the curve near Laura Mae's house and her parent's garden came into view. There in the middle of the rows, was a figure dressed in an old straw hat, ragged overalls, and a faded checked shirt. A hoe was stuck under his right arm, adding authenticity. In an effort to gain favor with the girl he loved, this boy said, "Laura Mae, your Daddy never has to worry about crows in his garden; anything that ugly will keep everything away." And right at that moment, the 'scarecrow' began hoeing. Laura Mae is married now, but not to that boy. Progressive Farmer, Jan 1991 (Birmingham, AL) / / /mMother /s /i /d8/2003.101 /tWhat are Mothers made of? /fN The following are different answers given by school-age children to each of the given questions: Why did God make mothers? 1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 2. Think about it, it was the best way to get more people. 3. Mostly to clean the house. 4. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mothers? 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts. Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? 1. We're related. 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me What ingredients are mothers made of? 1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string. I think. What kind of little girl was your mom? 1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff. 2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy. 3. They say she used to be nice. How did your mom meet your dad? 1. Mom was working in a store and dad was shoplifting. What did mom need to know about dad before she married him? 1. His last name. 2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer? Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores? Why did your mom marry your dad? 1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot. 2. She got too old to do anything else with him. 3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on. What makes a real woman? 1. It means you have to be really bossy without looking bossy. Who's the boss at your house? 1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dads such a goofball. 2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed. 3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad. What's the difference between moms and dads? 1. Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just got to work at work. 2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them. 3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you gotta ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. What does your mom do in her spare time? 1. Mothers don't do spare time. 2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long. What's the difference between moms and grandmas? 1. About 30 years. 2. You can always count on grandmothers for candy. Sometimes moms don't even have bread on them! Describe the world's greatest mom? 1. She would make broccoli taste like ice cream! 2. The greatest mom in the world wouldn't make me kiss my fat aunts! 3. She'd always be smiling and keep her opinions to herself. Is anything about your mom perfect? 1. Her teeth are perfect, but she bought them from the dentist. 2. Her casserole recipes. But we hate them. 3. Just her children. What would it take to make your mom perfect? 1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery. 2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd dye-it, maybe blue. If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be? 1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that. / / /mMother's Day /sIts origin /i /d5/2002.101 /t /fN Mother's Day Background Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother's favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother's Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day. Pulpit Helps, May, 1991 / / /mMothers /sChrist in a College Dorm /i /d5/2006.101 /tFirst be Mother /fN All Those Preliminaries In an old Peanuts strip, Peppermint Patty and Violet are reflecting on being a grandmother. After Patty declares that she would like to be a grandmother, Violet agrees and says it would be nice because all they have to do is "sit and rock" (not quite the case, is it?) The girls then decide that the trouble with being a grandmother is that first you have to be a wife and then a mother.and Violet sighs, "I know it.it's all those preliminaries that get me!" Adapted from the ever-brilliant Peanuts. Original strip run March 13, 1950. Reprinted in 2004 in The Complete Peanuts: The Definitive Collection of Charles M. Schulz's Comic Strip Masterpiece 1950-1952. / / /mMothers /sFunny /i /d5/2006.101 /tPiggy ate roast beef /fN A woman had quit work to stay home and take care of her new baby daughter. Countless hours of peekaboo and other games slowly took their toll. One evening she smacked her bare toes on the corner of a dresser and, grabbing her foot, sank to the floor. Her husband rushed to her side and asked where it hurt. She looked at her husband through her tear-filled eyes and managed to moan, "It's the piggy that ate the roast beef." Parables, Etc. Vol. 21. No 4, June 2001, pg. 1. / / /mMothers /sLove /i /d5/2006.101 /t1 Cor abt Mom's love /fN If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper--not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness - not godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart. Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love. Author Unknown / / /mMothers /sLove Of /i19600 /d5/2002.101 /tMan with aids /fN There was an interesting story on CNN not long ago about a twenty-five year old man in San Francisco who was dying of aids. And you know how he got it and I do too. Because of that his father had completely disowned him. His mother was dead. So there was nobody. The man looked like he could not weigh over a hundred pounds and had the look of death on his face. The reporter asked him how he was able to stand all of the pain, not only of death, but the pain of family rejection. He gave an interesting answer. He said I stand it by closing my eyes and imagining that I will awaken in the arms of my mother. I know that she will never leave my side. I tell you friends, long after some fathers have disowned their children a mother will still be there. There is a tenacity about mothers. / / /mMysteries /s /i /d2/2006.101 /tOliver Wendall Holmes /fN Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior, was a doctor. As such he was very interested in the use of ether. In order to know how his patients felt under its influence, he once had a dose administered to himself. As he was going under, in a dreamy state, a profound thought came to him. He believed that he had suddenly grasped the key to all the mysteries of the universe. When he regained consciousness, however, he was unable to remember what the insight was. Because of the great importance this thought would be to mankind, Holmes arranged to have himself given either again. This time he had a stenographer present to take down the great thought. The either was administered, and sure enough, just before passing out the insight reappeared. He mumbled the words, the stenographer took them down, and he went to sleep confident in the knowledge that he had succeeded. Upon awakening, he turned eagerly to the stenographer and asked her to read what he had uttered. This is what she read: "The entire universe is permeated with a strong odor of turpentine." / / /mMysteries /sNo Explanation /i /d2/2006.101 /tGod only knows /fN William Phelps taught English literature at Yale for forty-one years until his retirement in 1933. Marking an examination paper shortly before Christmas one year, Phelps came across the note: "God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas." Phelps returned the paper with this note: "God gets an A. You get an F. Happy New Year." Today in the Word, October, 1990, p. 10. / / /mNew Man /s /i2582-2586 /d5/2004.101 /tNo longer I /fn Soon after Augustine's conversion, he was walking down the street in Milan, Italy. There he met a prostitute whom he had known most intimately. She called but he would not answer. He kept right on walking. "Augustine," she called again. "It is I!" Without missing a beat and with the assurance of Christ in his heart, he replied, "Yes, but it is no longer I." Because of Christ and His Spirit, Augustine was a changed man. He was born again, a brand new creation. \reference{Galatians 2:20}{Galatians 2:20} / / /mNew Year /s /i /d1/2005.101 /tYou now you're in 2005 /fN You know you're living in 2005 when... 1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave. 2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3. 4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you. 5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. 6. You go home after a long day at work you still answer the phone in a business manner. 7. You make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get an outside line. 8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies. 10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o'clock news. 11. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job. 12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home. 13. Every commercial on television has a website at the bottom of the screen. 14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. 15. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee. 16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :) 17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing 18. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message. 19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list. / / /mPatience /s /i2691-2693 /d1/2000.24 /tWait /fN Submitted by Emory Ediger Email - cheerful4@yahoo.com Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried. Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait!" "'Wait?', you say, wait!" my indignant reply. "Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By FAITH I have asked, and am claiming your Word. "My future and all to which I can relate Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to WAIT? I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign, Or even a 'no' to which I can resign. "And Lord, you promised that if we believe We need but to ask, and we shall receive. And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry: I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!" Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate As my Master replied once again, "You must wait." So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting. . .for what?" He seemed then to kneel and His eyes wept with mine, And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign. I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun. I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run. All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be. You would have what you want--but, you wouldn't know ME. "You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint; You'd not know the power that I give to the faint; You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair; You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there; You'd not know the joy of resting in me When darkness and silence were all you could see. "You'd never experience that fullness of love As the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove; You'd know that I give and I save. . .(for a start), But you'd not know the depth of the beat of my heart. "The glow of my comfort late into the night. The faith that I give when you walk without sight, The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST. "You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee, What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' Yes, your dreams for your loved ones overnight would come true, But, oh, the loss! if I lost what I'm doing in you! "So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see THAT THE GREATEST OF GIFTS IS TO GET TO KNOW ME. And though my answers seem terribly late, My wisest of answers is still but to WAIT." -- Author Unknown- / / /mPatience /sIn Waiting for God /i2693 /d11/2003.101 /tThank-you God /fN Dear God: I'm writing to say I'm sorry For being angry yesterday When you seemed to ignore my prayer And things didn't go my way First, my car broke down I was very late for work But I missed that awful accident Was that your handiwork? I found a house I loved But others got there first I was angry, then relieved When I heard the pipes had burst! Yesterday, I found the perfect coat But the color was too pale Today, I found the coat in blue Would you believe, it was on sale! I know you're watching over me And I'm feeling truly blest For no matter what I pray for You always know what's best! I have this circle of E-mail friends, Who mean the world to me; Some days I "send" and "send," At other times, I let them be. When I see each name download, And view the message they've sent; I know they've thought of me that day, And "well wishes" were their intent. I am so blessed to have these friends, With whom I've grown so close; So this little poem I dedicate to them, Because to me they are the "Most"! So to you, my friends, I would like to say, Thank you for being a part; Of all my daily contacts, This comes right from my heart. God bless you all is my prayer today, I'm honored to call you "friend"; I pray the Lord will keep you safe, Until we write again. God Bless You Alex Rubio / / /mPhilosophy /sKant's faith /i /d6/2002.101 /tImmanuel Kant /fn Immanuel Kant the great philosopher of the German Enlightenment was a devout Christian with unshakable faith. He confessed, "Two things fill me with awe, the starry skies above and the moral law within." / / /mPower /s /i3803 /d5/2004.101 /tPower needed! /fN Sometime back the Associated Press carried this dispatch: "Glasgow, Ky.--Leslie Puckett, after struggling to start his car, lifted the hood and discovered that someone had stolen the motor." Associated Press. \reference{Acts 2:1}{Acts 2:1} / / /mPower /sSpiritual /i3803 /d11/2005.101 /tEph 1:19 commentary /fN l9. The final item Paul wants his readers to recognize is the enormous power of God. It is presented here as "incomparably great." Only Paul among the NT writers employs this term hyperballon. Literally, it suggests that the conception it is attached to is thrown over into another sphere altogether. This unimaginable potency is directed toward all who believe. Here is its intended destination. Paul proceeds to collect all the synonyms he can lay hands on as he describes how the power (dynamis) of God functions according to the operation (energeia) of the strength (kratos) of his might (isrhys). Dynamis is capability or potential; energeia is effective or operational power (3:7; 4:16); kratos is power exercised in resistance and control (6:10); ischys, used of bodily strength and muscular force, is inherent, vital power (6:10). 20. Having piled up the vocabulary of divine power, Paul shows where it was most impressively exerted (energesen)-that is, in the resurrection of Christ from the dead and his subsequent exaltation to the place of authority. - Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol 11, page 30. / / /mPrayer /s /i2816-2841 /d10/2003.101 /tASAP /fN There's work to do, deadlines to meet; You've got no time to spare, But as you hurry and scurry- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER In the midst of family chaos, "Quality time" is rare. Do your best; let God do the rest- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER. It may seem like your worries Are more than you can bear. Slow down and take a breather- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER God knows how stressful life is; He wants to ease our cares, And He'll respond to all your needs A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER. / / /mPrayer /sAnswered /i2818 /d4/2003.101 /tIn 2003 Iraqi War /fN A TRUE STORY ABOUT ANSWERED PRAYER Several weeks ago, through the website of The Presidential Prayer Team, I "adopted" a member of the Armed Forces to pray for daily during this time of war. I have prayed daily (early and often!) for "my" adopted Marine. Last night I returned home from work and turned on my television set for war updates. In progress was a battlefield interview from Iraq conducted by embedded correspondent Kerry Sanders. Kerry was speaking with a wounded young Marine who, surrounded by medics, lay on a stretcher on the ground "somewhere in the Iraqi desert." Fortunately, the brave young man appeared to be in fair condition despite a wound in the arm/hand. To my astonishment, I heard Kerry refer to the wounded Marine as "Josh," which just happens to be the name of my "adopted" Marine. "It can't be," I said to myself, "it just can't be!" After all, there must be hundreds of Marines named "Josh." But, incredibly, the young Marine IS "my Marine!" As the interview proceeded Kerry mentioned the Marine's last name, and YES, the young Marine IS indeed the Marine I pledged to pray for daily (and did, particularly at about the time he was under fire). I am overjoyed that "my Marine" has come through a fierce encounter near Nasiriyah alive, and though wounded, will recover. I'd like to think that my prayers may have helped Josh as he fought in the desert of Iraq a day or so ago. Patricia, Las Vegas, Nevada / / /mPrayer /sCauses of Failure in /i2820 /d5/2002.101 /tPrayer is needed! /fN Peter Marshall once began a Senate session with this prayer, "O Lord, forgive us for thinking that prayer is a waste of time, and help us to see that without prayer our work is a waste of time." Rev. Dr. Robert J. Bryan, "All Constantly Devoted to Prayer." / / /mPrayer /sExhortations to /i2841 /d1/2000.25 /tThe Difference /fN Submitted by: Craig Watters, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Louisville, CO I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day; I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me and heavier came each task; “Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered He said, “But you didn’t ask.” I wanted to see joy and beauty but the day toiled on, grey and bleak; I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, “But you didn’t seek.” I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys and the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.” I woke up early this morning And paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish That I had to take time to pray. Unknown / / /mPrayer /sExhortations to /i2841 /d1/2001.101 /tASAP /fN Did you ever wonder about the abbreviation "ASAP"? Generally, we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way. There's work to do -- deadlines to meet -- you've no time to spare.... BUT.....as you hurry, hurry and scurry - ASAP...Always Say A Prayer. In the midst of family chaos, quality time is often rare....do your best - let God do the rest...ASAP...Always Say A Prayer. It may seem like our worries are more than we can bear. Slow Down - take a breather - ASAP ....Always Say A Prayer. God knows how stressful life is - He wants to ease our cares - and he'll respond - ASAP....Always Say A Prayer. Today I am saying a little prayer that GOD will smile on you and send you all the special blessings you deserve. Pass It On........ASAP. / / /mPrayer /sFor Food /i2838 /mChildlikeness /s /i3334 /mGenerosity /s /i2126 /d2/2000.22 /tA Child's Prayer /fN Submitted by Mike Haxton Email - faithbaptist@plix.com Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!" Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!" Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong?Is God mad at me?" As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentle man approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer." "Really?" my son asked "Cross my heart." Then in theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes." Naturally, I bought my kid's ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her,"Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already." --Unknown / / /mPrayer /sFor Food /i2838 /d4/2003.101 /tMom's a good cook /fN The Sunday School teacher asked, "Now, Johnny, tell me, do you say prayers before eating?" "No sir," he replied, "We don't have to. My Mom is a good cook!" / / /mPrayer /sIntercessory /i1785 /d8/2003.101 /tWhose packing your parachute? /fN Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience! One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today." Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" / / /mPrayer /sIntercessory /i1785 /d6/2006.101 /t5 finger prayers /fN The Five Finger Prayer The 5 finger prayer: 1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty." 2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers. 3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance. 4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them. 5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively. / / /mPrayer /sPower of /i4193 /d1/2000.19 /t"Pr-air" Support /fN Submitted by David Zimmerman Email david.zimmerman@iolok.com On April 17th, 1961, the dawn revealed a brigade of about 1500 U.S. supported Cuban troops attempting a landing at the Bay of Pigs. The majority was killed; the few survivors were cap-tured. It proved to be one of the biggest embarrassments to the United States of the Cold War. It is generally agreed that the as-sault failed because a planned air-strike that would have knocked out the Cuban air force and provided air-support for the troops was cancelled. Without that air-support, the mission had little, if any, chance of success. Prayer provides the "air support" that can mean the difference between the success or failure in our spiritual battles. / / /mPrayer /stime for prayer /i2816-2841 /d5/2002.101 /tCS Lewis /fN The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. C.S. Lewis / / /mPrayers /sGood /i /d1/2005.101 /tHelp me do the unfinished /fN O God, . . . I am remembering now Things I haven’t done at all; Things I have left half-done and unfinished; Things I didn’t do very well, not nearly as well as I could have done them; Things I did with a grudge; Things I put off, and things I refused to do. Forgive me for all bad workmanship, and help me to do better tomorrow; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. — William Barclay / / /mPreaching /s /i2087-2089 /d2/2000.4 /tThe Sermon /fN Submitted by David Zimmerman Email - david.zimmerman@iolok.com Reckon that every sermon is a wasted sermon which is not Christ's word. Believe that all theology is rotten rubbish which is not the Word of the Lord. Do not be satisfied with going to a place of worship and hearing an eloquent discourse, unless the sum and substance of it is the Word of the Lord. My brothers and sisters, whether you teach children or their parents, do not think you have done any good unless you have taught the Word of the Lord. For saving purposes we must have the Lord's Word, and nothing else. --Charles Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 33, p. 440, from a sermon on \reference{Revelation 1:16}{Revelation 1:16} entitled "Lessons from the Christ of Patmos." As cited in Tom Carter's compilation of "2200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles Spurgeon," Baker Books, 1988. / / /mPresident of USA /squote /i /d11/2003.101 /tWe need God /fN "I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God's help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can't expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living." --Ronald Reagan / / /mPromises /sOf God /i2878 /d10/2005.101 /tTP /fN A certain formalistic Seminary professor went to a Church. He went thru his ritual as usual but after the service a saintly lady asked him to read her Bible. He didn't know what to do - it wasn't in the program. Finally to humor her he looked thru the Bible to find a Scripture. There were deep underlines with many verses having a date and the letters -- T.P. He looked at it so that the saint had to ask him again to read for her. The Minister asked her what the dates with T.P. meant. She said that the dates were for such and such a time and the T.P. stood for TRIED and PROVEN! (told by Rev. John S Logan at GBS camp, 1972) / / /mResurrection /sEaster /i2410-2415 /d3/2005.101 /tDiscussion about why I believe /fN What Do You Think of The Resurrection? Some years ago a college student came by his pastor's office to discuss theological issues. That sort of thing does not happen often. I hope it will not disappoint you to hear that most of the pastor's days are spent in meetings and with budgets, and staff issues and reports and not discussing theology. Eventually the conversation came around to the subject of Easter. After all, if you take Christianity seriously, it will ultimately always lead you to Easter. "What do you think of the resurrection, he asked. The pastor replied: I believe that it happened in reality and not just in the minds of men. What is your evidence, he asked, like a professor prodding a student. The pastor presented as Exhibit A: the disciples. Twelve men are not going to give up their lives to simply perpetuate that which they know to be a hoax. "I don't know," he mumbled. "I just don't know." There was his problem. He was seeking knowledge, not faith. You do not say: resurrected Christ, appear to me and then I will believe. It is just the opposite. The resurrected Christ appeared only to those who did believe. The angel told the men: Go to Judea and there you will find him. I would suggest that Judea represents the community of believers. Judea was to be the place where Jesus would plainly reveal to his followers that he was indeed alive. He did not reveal himself to the Caiaphas and Pilates and Herods of the world. Brett Blair and Staff, www.eSermons.com Sermons, ChristianGlobe Network, 2003, 0-0000-0000-01 / / /mResurrection /sEaster /i2410-2415 /d3/2005.101 /tRobbed of Terror /fN 845. Tomb Robbed of Terror In the country there was a house which was supposed to have a haunted room. One day the father determined to put a stop to the superstition, so he said he would sleep in that room. He did so, and next morning came down smiling, "There," he said, "I told you. There is nothing to be afraid of there." Is not this exactly what Christ did for us? (Webb's Illustrations) / / /mResurrection /sGood News /i2413 /d3/2005.101 /tHappy ending /fN A father took his little boy to a pet shop to pick out a puppy for his birthday present. For half an hour he looked at the assortment in the window. "Decided which one you want?" asked his Daddy. "Yes," the little fellow replied, pointing to one which was enthusiastically wagging his tail. "I want the one with the happy ending." For all the tears of sorrow, disappointment, and tragedy of Lent Easter is a Happy Ending to this season. Christ's glorious resurrection has turned them into tears of joy. Tears on Easter? Yes, tears of a happy ending to sorrow, death, and tragedy. Now we can say "HAPPY EASTER" and really mean it! / / /mResurrection /sGood News /i2413 /d3/2005.101 /tCelebrate! /fN Celebrate! There is an old, historic village in Salem, North Carolina. Every Easter morning, in the early hours of this day, thousands of people, many of them tourists who have come especially for this event, make their way towards the courtyard in front of a 200-year-old church, founded by the Moravians. Before daylight, five hundred members of various brass bands echo hymns from different parts of the city. Everyone converges on Salem Square to listen to the almost mystical-sounding music. As the first hint of the rising sun begins to soften the darkness, a hush falls over the vast throng of worshipers. When the church bell tolls at 6 a. m., the Bishop emerges from the church and announces in a loud, unwavering voice, "Christ is Risen!" And the crowd thunders back, "Christ is Risen indeed!" Then the band begins to play "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," and everyone joins in the singing there in front of the church. Then, in total silence, they walk in faithful procession to "God's Acre," an ancient cemetery, where all the graves, with their newly-polished gravestones, are covered with flowers. Even the oldest graves, some of them dating back three hundred years, are decorated with forsythia, jonquils, tulips, azaleas - whatever happens to be blooming at the time. The service concludes there, with more singing and remembrance of those who have died since the previous Easter. There, in the awesome silence, with the beauty of the flowers all around, it's as if the living are united with the dead in worship. A writer who witnessed the event said, "When you are in the midst of all this majesty and beauty, you cannot fail to believe in the resurrection." And so it is in thousands of churches of every denomination on this greatest of days, Easter. The Day of Resurrection. The day of joy and hope. The central day of our faith and witness. Christmas is nice, but it's not Easter. Anybody can get excited about Christmas, giving and receiving presents, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the baby born in Bethlehem. But when you come right down to it Christmas would not be Christmas without Easter. Johnny Dean, www.eSermons.com, Sermon: Celebrate! / / /mResurrection /sOf Christ /i2410-2414 /d4/2003.101 /tHe is Risen Indeed! /fN You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin nor should you. But during his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth. A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it. An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader. He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!" En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!" I say to you this morning: CHRIST IS RISEN! (congregational response should be: HE IS RISEN INDEED!). I am convinced! I have faith that Christ was dead and he was buried. That I believe. But, this too I accept as true: He rose from the dead and will come again in glory. / / /mResurrection /sOf Christ /i2410-2414 /d4/2003.101 /tIts too big! /fN It's Too Big Red Smith, famous sportswriter, related the following incident about novelist and film writer, Laurence Stallings. Though not a sportswriter, Stallings took an assignment to cover a football game between the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois. The year was 1925. Halfback Red Grange was dazzling. On a muddy field, where everyone else was slipping and falling, Grange broke loose for three touchdowns and set up another. Experienced sportswriters in the press box furiously pounded away at their typewriters. Not Stallings. In a tizzy, he paced up and down the press box, hands clasped to his head. "I can't," he wailed. "I can't write it! It's too big." That's the way many of us preachers feel on Easter Day. How can we preach about it? It's too big! Even the most gifted of preachers cannot do justice to this central earth-shattering event that has changed the course of all history. It's too big. / / /mResurrection /sOf Christ /i2410-2414 /d4/2003.101 /tI Am Alive In The Risen Lord /fN It was Easter Day, 1973. Uganda groaned under the terror of Idi Amin. Still fresh in young Pastor Kefa Sempangi's memory was a face burned beyond recognition, the sight of soldiers cruelly beating a man, and the horrible sound of boots crushing bones. all for the crime of being Christian. But that Easter of 1973 Sempangi bravely and openly preached on the risen Lord in his town's football stadium to over 7,000 people. After the service, five of Idi Amin's Secret Police followed Sempangi back to his little church and closed the door behind them. Five rifles pointed at Sempangi's face. "We are going to kill you for disobeying Amin's orders" said the captain. "If you have something to say, say it before you die." Sempangi, thinking of his beautiful wife and lovely little girl, began to shake. But the risen Lord living in his heart gave him the courage to speak. "Do what you must," he said. "The Word of God says that in Christ I am already dead, and that my real life is hidden with Him in God. It is not my life that is in danger, but yours. I am alive in the risen Lord but you are still dead in your sins. May He spare you from eternal destruction." The leader looked at Sempangi for a long time. Then he lowered his gun and said, "Will you pray for us?" Sempangi did, and from that day those five officers, now converted through the witness of Sempangi's bravery, protected the pastor with their very lives. Rev. Dr. Robert J. Bryan from "The ABC's of the Resurrection" / / /mResurrection /sOf Christ /i2410-2414 /d4/2003.101 /tEaster Without A Cross /fN In a certain church marketing newsletter, called the Church's Advertising Network, a campaign has been developed to attract people to church during the season of Easter. In this public relations campaign, it is suggested that the cross be removed from the altar. According to the author, a survey has revealed that the cross is one of those symbols that the new generation of churchgoers considered too "churchy." One pastor interviewed for the campaign gave his wholehearted endorsement. "We are going to attempt to concentrate on the resurrection, and not the death of Jesus. Easter without the cross. Rather an interesting thought. Is it possible to have resurrection without crucifixion? No. It distorts the entire gospel if crucifixion is separated from resurrection. The road to the empty tomb will forever pass by a cross. The one who is raised from the dead is none other than the crucified Christ. Easter without a cross is a hoax. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, April 2000 / / /mResurrection /sOf Christ /i2410-2414 /d4/2003.101 /tTwo forks in the Road /fN Dr. Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. "Some of his friends asked him, 'Why have you become a Christian?' He answered, 'Well, its like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn't know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive--which one would you ask which way to go?'" Warren Webster, April, 1980, HIS, p. 13. / / /mRevival /sobedience /i312-315 /d10/2001.101 /tRevival at Shackelfords /fn Rev. RG Flexon pastored the Pilgrim Holiness Church at Shackelfords, VA for nearly 10 years. He had many great Evangelists with little results. One afternoon he preached "You have sold yourselves for naught." The next day he went to the house of the treasurer for his $10 salary check. She was a wonderful women - a graduate from Taylor University, a voice teacher and SS Superintendent. But she disagreed with their church discipline. She obeyed the rules but not from the heart. As Flexon entered the house she was broken up -- God has spoken yesterday and she was lining up because God had put it in her heart. The next Sunday, she sang a special. The service was anointed and the congregation in tears! After the Service she said that God had impressed her that the pastor should hold a revival. But Rev. Flexon disagreed -- he had held several Campmeetings and 3 revivals on this campus already. She insisted. All night God spoke to his heart about revival. Monday morning he put up some crude posters. The church was filled that night! For 5 nights there was no preaching with lined altars. That lady said she was a hindrance to revival because she was not obeying God from her heart. Now revival was sweeping the community! / / /mSacrifice /sSubstitutionary /i3366 /d3/2006.101 /tI took your place /fN There is a story about a man who visited a church. He parked his car and started toward the front entrance. Another car pulled up nearby, and the irritated driver said to him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside and found that Sunday School was about to begin. He found an adult class, went inside, and sat down. A class member approached him and said, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down in an empty pew. Within moments another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was troubled, but said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to be present with them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and cried out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place." Some things that happen in church are silly. Some things are down right scandalous. Some things may even be sacrilegious. But the Church is still the body of Christ and it was for the Church that Christ died. Dr. B. Richard Dennis, "Over My Dead Body!" / / /mSalvation /s /i3116-3128 /d5/2004.101 /tGod works from inside out! /fN A little girl was visiting her grandmother one beautiful spring morning. They walked out into grandmother's flower garden. As grandmother was inspecting the progress of her flowers the little girl decided to try to open a rosebud with her own two hands. But no luck! As she would pull the petals open, they would tear or bruise or wilt or break off completely. Finally, in frustration, she said, "Gramma, I just don't understand it at all. When God opens a flower, it looks so beautiful but when I try, it just comes apart." "Well, honey," Grandmother answered, "There's a good reason for that. God is able to do it because He works from the inside out!" / / /mSalvation /sBy Faith /i1203 /d9/2005.101 /tTrust the Plank /fN A certain Scottish woman was endeavoring to get faith. The pastor --Dr. Chalmers had a stream to cross. There was a plank across the stream, but it was thin and looked rotten to the doctor. He was reluctant to try to walk that plank. The woman was watching from a window and, upon detecting the fear of the preacher, she shouted, "Just trust the plank, Doctor." He took her at her word and walked across the stream safely. He was later seeking to help the woman who was having difficulty with her faith and who was considering that she didn't have the right kind of faith. The doctor, in his effort to help the poor woman, finally thought of using his plank-walking experience in his attempt to help her. So he said to her, "Trust Christ, can't you?" "Oh, Doctor, is that faith?" she asked. "Is it just to trust Him?" "That is faith," he replied. "Just trust Him as I trusted that plank. It carried me over, and you trust God and He will carry you over." "Oh,"answered the woman, "I can do that." / / /mSalvation /sBy Grace /i1447 /d5/2003.101 /tBy grace not purchased by man /fN A mother, knowing that her sick child needed some fresh (fruit, went to a wealthy prince who lived nearby. In his royal vineyards were some of the choicest grapes to be found anywhere She scraped together what little money she could and made her way to the estate. Finding the caretaker, she offered to buy a cluster of the luscious grapes but was turned away with a curt, "They are not to be sold! Do you think the prince grows these to be peddled by a huckster?" Not easily discouraged, however, she returned several times, only to have her offer rejected again and again. When the plight of this humble peasant came to the attention of the princess, she asked to see her. Reaching for a basket, she filled it with some of the finest fruit of the vineyard and placed it in the hands of the anxious mother. "My husband does not sell his grapes," she said, "but he is always ready to give them away to the poor and needy." Those who would try to earn or buy their way into Heaven will find only the closed hand of the Almighty. But who come as spiritual paupers with nothing to present but their own unworthiness will receive salvation full and free. The grace of God is not for sale; it's a gift to all who trust in Christ. THOT: We are saved by God's mercy, not by our merit -- by Christ's dying, not by our doing! Our Daily Bread / / /mSalvation /sBy Works Is Impossible /i1447 /d9/2005.101 /tNeeded: A Song /fN A LADY ONCE asked a preacher to visit her husband who was gravely ill. After the evangelist had talked with the man for a while, he inquired about his spiritual condition. "Well," replied the invalid, "I think my chances of getting into Heaven are quite good. I've always been kind to my wife and children, lived a good moral life, and have never intentionally wronged my fellow man." "That's fine," said the pastor, "but what kind of a place do you think Heaven is, and what do they do there?" "Well, I believe there's no sin or sorrow there; and I think they sing a good deal." Turning to \reference{Revelation 1:5}{Revelation 1:5} the minister replied, "Yes, they do sing there, and I will read to you one of the songs: 'Unto him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood!' You see they are praising the Savior who loved them and died for them. They have not a word to say about what they have done, but only what He has accomplished on their behalf. If you were to go to Heaven on your terms, then one sinner would be there who would never have been cleansed in the precious blood of Christ, and who could not join in this wonderful hymn of praise." The man's head dropped, and he became silent and thoughtful. After explaining the Gospel invitation more fully, the preacher left. The next day when he was visited again, the dying one looked up J with a light of joy upon his face. "0, Sir," he exclaimed, "I I have received Christ and now I can sing, 'Unto him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood!' " / / /mSalvation /sJesus Is The Only Way To God /i3117 /d9/2005.101 /tSign the check /fN John D. Rockefeller once handed a check for $100.00 to a minister in appreciation of his sermon. The preacher, greatly elated, presented the check at the bank, but the clerk handed it back saying, "I can't cash it." Surprised, the minister said, "What's wrong? J. D.'s signature is on it. Am I at the wrong bank? Surely he must have $100.00." The clerk smiled and said, "This is the right bank, Mr. Rockefeller has a sufficient balance, and the check is made out to you and properly signed-BUT the trouble is you have forgotten to endorse it!" Quickly the preacher signed his own name on the back, and with joy received the money. / / /mSalvation /sPossible for all Men /i3119 /d3/2005.101 /tMontana /fN Montana, Bulgaria, is a mountainous area, with its beauty enhanced by brilliant sunshine. This was the site of our district assembly. This city has been a difficult area for Christianity to penetrate. A Roman colony 200 years before Christ lived, it has a dark history. In fact, pastor Valeri Munelski, who also teaches history part-time, advised us that in earlier years the city practiced human sacrifice. He took us to a hill overlooking the city and showed us the place where, as recently as a few years ago, human sacrifice was included in satanic worship. The city’s atmosphere was so negative from the proliferation of atheism, false religions, and Communism, that it was considered an unsuitable location for churches even though 50,000 people live there. When our missionaries became burdened for the city, they met significant barriers—including the fact that the best property for starting a church was the home of a former Communist mayor who declared that a church would never own his home. Many dark deeds had taken place in that home under Communist rule. In spite of all the obstacles, our leaders felt this place greatly needed the message of holiness. They asked God to overcome all of the formidable obstructions in their path, and God powerfully answered their prayers. First, God miraculously enabled them to acquire the mayor’s home. Then, a combination of resource partners, Work and Witness teams, and our Eurasia regional office helped renovate the property into a beautiful church and educational building. Now here I was, presiding over the first district assembly of the Church of the Nazarene in the history of Bulgaria, hosted by our Montana Church. They average nearly 200 in attendance and have not only ethnic Bulgarians worshiping there, but also a Gypsy congregation and a Turkish congregation. I was even able to officially organize the district because they had finally received official government registration, which was no small task. Missionary Jay Sunberg tells the thrilling story of the many obstacles overcome in achieving registration. The church leaders faced extensive bureaucratic red tape resulting in delay after delay for years until Sunberg met the new U.S. ambassador who promised to help expedite the process. It turns out that the ambassador’s first girlfriend was a Nazarene girl from Newcastle, Indiana. He knew all about the Church of the Nazarene. With his help, registration was soon granted. The overflow district assembly crowd of fervent Bulgarian Nazarenes responded enthusiastically to the general superintendent’s message of holiness. The church is growing in spite of impossible obstacles—all the way from atheism to a history of human sacrifice and satanic worship. The question comes to mind: Is anything too hard for the Lord? And the thought emerges: If God is able to deal so victoriously with barriers of this magnitude in such an unlikely place, isn’t it reasonable to believe He can do the same for us in our most challenging issues? The next time the enemy causes you to doubt, remember Montana and be encouraged! - Paul G. Cunningham is a general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. Holiness Today, January 2005 / / /mSalvation /stestimony /i3116-3128 /d10/2004.101 /tDavid Mall /fN David Mall was the son of a hard working man of Pakistan. His father had secured a good life until the Muslims took over the country and caused depression and bondage. Little David was hungry most of the time but he was enabled to attend and then graduate from high school. David learned four languages including English. Providentially David was able to attend college and found support from a Methodist pastor. He developed some sinful habits and nearly failed college but somehow made graduation. He attended a government college and graduated to become a school teacher. His parents wrote and said that they had chosen a bride for him. She was a Nurse and a Christian. David later secured a job at a Roman Catholic school and became second headmaster. Indeed this man who had been raised in poverty had become a success! Three months before his wife, Violet, was married to David she had a dynamic conversion to Christ. She testified, "The richness of the Holy Spirit assisted me in living the life as a true Christian. I begun enjoying the glorious new fellowship with God's people. I kept myself busy with prayer and the breaking of bread." But David did not share her joy and tried to squelch her Christian fervor. A few weeks later she had a strange dream that a Lion stood at the door and said - "Don't worry. I'm the guardian of your house." Her Christian friends told her that the Lion was Jesus - according to the book of Revelation. They encouraged her not to worry but trust God to save David. Because of socialistic Islam and depression in Pakistan, the Malls moved to Libya. But in Libya, Muammar Khaddafi had turned churches into government offices. Violet wondered how God would bring a preacher to witness to David that he might be saved. Someone suggested that David might start a church but he was not the least bit interested. He was living to make money and be successful. Several weeks later an Evangelist - Bashir Almas - came to preach for 15 days. Violet attended the services but David after one service said he did not like the preacher. At the end of the revival, as usual Violet attended the service but David headed for the movies. On the way to the theater, David said "God struck me" and I left my friend to attend Revival with my wife. Later after the service he found a place of prayer and was converted. He began to have a burning desire to proclaim God's Word and bring people to Jesus! David was delivered from his sinful habits and felt a call to be a Minister! - "Behind the Veil" Missionary book, 2004-5 / / /mSalvation /stestimony /i3116-3128 /d9/2005.101 /tCatherine Booth's testimony at death /fN MANY years ago in London a prominent woman died. Her body was brought to the largest auditorium in the city so that the people could come and pay their last respects. Representatives of the Queen and many dignitaries of the court walked past the coffin. Then the doors were opened to the commoners. Hundreds filed into the hall, quiet and respectful. Among them was a woman whose shabby dress and ragged shawl betrayed her deep poverty. Standing by the casket, she bowed her head and began to weep. She remained there so long that the crowd behind her became restless and impatient. One of the attendants quietly put a hand upon her shoulder and said, "Madam, you must move on; you are stopping the people." Turning around, she replied, "I must stay here a little longer. I have walked 40 miles to see this woman's face once more. God used her to save my boys from Hell, and I can never thank Him enough for what she has done. Please let me be here for a few moments more." The people sensed her deep sorrow and were filled with sympathy and understanding, and some began to cry. You see, the noble servant of God whose body lay there in death was none other than Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army. Her fruitful and sanctified life had left an indelible mark upon the society of her day, and her Christian witness is still a treasured memory to many. Yes, the fragrance of a godly life lingers on to bless and inspire even after that person has gone home to Glory. / / /mSalvation /stestimony /i3116-3128 /d11/2005.101 /tJarrette Aycock /fn At eight years old he was chewing tobacco and rolling his own. He was the youngest of eight children, the favorite, pampered by the family. They tried their best to steer him straight, but his knack to find trouble led to fights and mischief most of the time. At age 14 his "bad boy" behavior had exhausted his teacher's patience, forcing him to leave school. With help from his Christian family, he made a fresh start in another state. But there, involvement with the wrong crowd led to drinking whiskey and playing poker. After five failed attempts at five different schools, Jarrette Aycock sold everything he owned, went to the town water tank, and waited for a freight train to anywhere. For years he drifted around the country, hopping freights from city to city. An alcoholic and a wanderer, sometimes a tramp, he gambled and drank. Yet every once in a while, he took on the responsibility of a job. One night, though holding down a job at the time, a bitter and dejected Aycock walked along skid row in Los Angeles, cigarette hanging from his lips, the fumes of whiskey on his breath. The sound of a gospel song stopped him cold. There between two open saloons he saw the Union Rescue Mission. "Go in lad," a stranger said, "you might hear something that would do you good." As he walked through the doorway, he noticed a sign that read "There is hope for all who enter here." "The place was filled with derelicts, drunks, dope addicts, and all the odds and ends of Skid Row," Aycock later reported. "As I sat there looking them over, I got to thinking that I had been like them before and that I would be like them again unless I could somehow get free of all the old habits and the ceaseless downward pull that had plagued my life for years."' The speaker that evening was Mel Trotter, himself a hopeless drunk until, on the brink of suicide, he met the Savior at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Trotter became an evangelist, and for the next 40 years established over 60 rescue missions across the country. Aycock listened as Mel Trotter shared the story about how Jesus had changed his life. Then others shared their stories. "Some of them seemed to be telling my story," Aycock wrote. "They told of years of wandering, bound by sin and habits, loss of friends, loved ones, and a disappointed, brokenhearted mother."' An invitation followed the testimonies, and Jarrette Aycock made a difficult but very necessary decision. "It took a tremendous effort," he wrote, "because before we are ready to ask Jesus to give us a new life, we really have to be sick of the old one. We have to know that the person we have been so pleased with and proud of for so many years, the person we have pampered and almost ruined, isn't really any good at all and won't be any good until we let Jesus Christ rule that life. That isn't an easy decision. But the results of it are all glorious. I know because I made the decision myself that night, and Christ has never failed me." At the altar of a rescue mission, Jarrette Aycock walked away from his troubled past and into a hopefilled future. After working for a short while at another mission, he then began studying for the ministry. Two years after his conversion Aycock married Dell Davis. He entered the evangelistic field the following year and was ordained five years later in the Church of the Nazarene, where he served for 32 years as an evangelist. In 1942, now Dr. Jarrette Aycock became superintendent of the Kansas City District. In 1950 he founded the Kansas City Nazarene Rescue Mission that three years later became the Kansas City Rescue Mission. Here the objective would be that others would have the same opportunity young Jarrette Aycock had received years before. - "Takin' It to the Streets" pages 26-29. / / /mSalvation /stestimony /i3116-3128 /d11/2005.101 /tJim's story /fN He couldn't remember much when he arrived. Drug and alcohol addiction had led him into the wrong part of town where he suffered a severe beating, leaving him barely alive and unable to walk. He had temporary amnesia and was incapable of speaking in more than one-word sentences. Several months of rehab helped enable him to walk, but the frustration of chronic memory problems and the realization that he'd "failed at life" led to an unsuccessful suicide attempt and a five-year stretch of living in abandoned buildings and eventually a campsite in the Jungle. Scrounging around for food, clothing, and occasional shelter, drunkenness, fighting, and jail became a way of life. Trapped in the streets by the memories he could recall, vivid reminders of the family he'd pushed away and the job he'd lost, coupled with the short-term memory loss, Tim was convinced he'd never be functional again. "I could not find forgiveness or forgive myself," he told us later. "The only way to hold the guilt back was to drink, and the best place to drink was the River Market area. The Mission was there. The Salvation Army would come down nightly to feed us from the soup wagon, and the police usually wouldn't bother me." We had our work cut out for us with Tim. We weren't at all certain where to begin, so we simply listened, we cared, and we loved him. Slowly, the healing process, which would ultimately take years, began-physical, emotional, and spiritual alike. Eventually Tim became well enough to discuss, even debate with us, the existence of God and to seek work at the nearby labor pool. He even tried our budding Christian Development Program (CDP) for recovery for a few weeks, but his drinking remained a problem. Nevertheless, we wouldn't quit. We were in this for the long haul. ... Remember Tim? He's the alcoholic who'd been brutally beaten, left for dead, and consequently suffered amnesia. We worked with him for five years. During those years through the patient efforts of KCRM's staff and Mission-sponsored, Christ-centered Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Tim eventually found the Lord and forgiveness. He made amends for his reckless past and began a new life. He's been clean and sober for l 1 years, the last 7 of which he has served as a youth worker for Missouri's Jackson County family court system, helping troubled youth who are on the same destructive path Tim once walked. - "Takin' It to the Streets Again" Joe Colaizzi, pages 50, 51, 81. / / /mSalvation /stransform lives /i3116-3128 /d5/2004.101 /tThe Power To Transform Lives /fn Oscar Cervantes is a dramatic example of the Spirit's power to transform lives. As a child, Oscar began to get into trouble. Then as he got older, he was jailed 17 times for brutal crimes. Prison psychiatrists said he was beyond help. But they were wrong! During a brief interval of freedom, Oscar met an elderly man who told him about Jesus. He placed his trust in the Lord and was changed into a kind, caring man. Shortly afterward he started a prison ministry. Chaplain H. C. Warwick describes it this way: "The third Saturday night of each month is 'Oscar Night' at Soledad. Inmates come to hear Oscar and they sing gospel songs with fervor; they sit intently for over 2 hours; they come freely to the chapel altar.... What professionals had failed to do for Oscar in years of counseling, Christ's Spirit did in a moment of conversion." \reference{2 Corinthians 5:17}{2 Corinthians 5:17} / / /mSalvation /stransform lives /i3116-3128 /d7/2005.101 /tJosh McDowell's testimony /fN * Testimony of Josh McDowell – In his teen days he really desired to be happy and satisfied with life – He was looking for answers - He became disillusioned with the Church - sought to have prestige in College - was class President. A small Bible study group challenged and impressed him. He was witnessed to by a young lady who said that her relationship, not religion in Jesus Christ changed her. Josh was challenged to refute Christianity and its historicity. But research only confirmed it and he was converted. - McDowell, ETDAV, 364. (Summary by WFS) / / /mSeeking /sGod /i3191-3192 /d12/2001.101 /tLock looking to be unlocked /fN In the wonderful story of Alice And Wonderland one of the characters is a lock. The Lock is very restless and can not be still for a single moment. It is obviously hunting for something as it looks behind every rock and tree. As Alice watches the lock, her curiosity is aroused and she asks, "What is the matter?" The lock replies, "I am looking for something to unlock me." John Thomas Randolph, The Best Gift, CSS Publishing, 1983, pp \reference{19-20}{John 19-20}. / / /mServants /sFaithful /i603 /d4/2003.101 /tI don't do ceilings /fN The Heart of Servants A graduating student at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, had just received his appointment from the bishop. He was grousing and grumbling because the appointment didn't fit what he felt he deserved. Another student, in a loving but unsympathetic way patted him on the back and said, "You know the world is a better place because Michelangelo didn't say, 'I don't do ceilings.'" He lifted up Jesus for his friend to see because he understood that To Serve Is To Follow. And if you stop to think about it, that's the spirit of servanthood. The world is a better place because a German monk named Martin Luther didn't say, "I don't do doors." The world is a better place, because an Oxford don named John Wesley didn't say, "I don't do fields." Go from the beginning of the Bible to the end, and you will see over and over again the story of men and women who had servant hearts, minds and spirits. And the world is a better place, because: Moses didn't say, "I don't do rivers." Noah didn't say, "I don't do arks." Jeremiah didn't say, "I don't do weeping." Amos didn't say, "I don't do speeches." Rahab didn't say, "I don't do carpets." Ruth didn't say, "I don't do mothers-in-law." David didn't say, "I don't do giants." Mary didn't say, "I don't do virgin births." Mary Magdalene didn't say, "I don't do feet." John didn't say, "I don't do deserts." Peter didn't say, "I don't do Gentiles." Paul didn't say, "I don't do letters." Jesus didn't say, "I don't do crosses." Homiletics Annual CD, 1999 Edition / / /mService /s /i3894-3899 /d3/2004.101 /tGod wouldn't ask ... /fN TEN THINGS GOD WON'T ASK 1...God won't ask what kind of car you drove, He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation. 2...God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. 3...God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe. 4...God won't ask what your highest salary was, He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it. 5...God won't ask what your job title was, He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ability. 6...God won't ask how many friends you had, He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend. 7...God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors. 8..God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character. 9...God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation, He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell. 10...God won't ask how many people you forwarded this to, He'll ask if you were ashamed to pass it on to your friends. / / /mSin /sEffects of /i4205 /mproblems /sEffects of /i4205 /d3/2003.101 /tCharlie Brown's Problems /fN The Trouble With You Is You Lucy once said to Charlie Brown, "Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?" "You know what your whole trouble is? The whole trouble with you is that you're you!" Charlie asks, "Well, what in the world can I do about that?" Lucy answers, "I don't pretend to be able to give advice...I merely point out the trouble!" The symbol of Jesus on a pole indicates that the problem with us is us -- and that Jesus is the solution. However, another conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown indicates another part of the problem/solution. Lucy speaks, "You know what the whole trouble with you is, Charlie Brown?" Charlie answers, "No, and I don't want to know! Leave me alone!" He walks away. Lucy shouts after him, "The whole trouble with you is you won't listen to what the whole trouble with you is!" The solution begins with listening. If "you" are the problem, "you" can't be the solution. The solution has to come from outside yourself. Brian P. Stoffregen / / /mSinners /sAll are sinners /i /d12/2003.101 /tCharlemagne /fN When the funeral cortege of Charlemagne came to the cathedral, they were shocked to find the gate barred by the bishop. "Who comes?" shouted the bishop. The heralds answered, "Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire!" Answering for God, the bishop replied, "Him I know not! Who comes?" The heralds, a bit shaken, answered, "Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth!" Again the bishop answered, "Him I know not. Who comes?" Now completely crushed, the heralds say, "Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ." "Him I know," the bishop replied. "Enter! / / /mSlander /s /i3310 /d9/2005.101 /tFinney on Revival /fN 5. Slander. The times you have spoken behind people's backs of their faults, real or supposed, of members of the church or others, unnecessarily or without good reason. This is slander. You need not lie to be guilty of slander; - to tell the truth with the design to injure, is slander. - Charles Finney / / /mSoul-winning /s /i /d10/2005.101 /tOne more for Jesus! /fN My father was a minister for over fifty years, serving mostly in small, rural churches. He was a simple preacher, but he was a man with a mission. His favorite activity was taking teams of volunteers overseas to build church buildings for small congregations. In his lifetime, Dad built over 150 churches around the world. In 1999, my father died of cancer. In the final week of his life the disease kept him awake in a semi-conscious state nearly twenty-four hours a day. As he dreamed, he'd talk out loud about what he was dreaming. Sitting by his bedside, I learned a lot about my dad by just listening to his dreams. He relived one church building project after another. One night near the end, while my wife, my niece, and I were by his side, Dad suddenly became very active and tried to get out of bed. Of course he was too weak, and my wife insisted he lay back down. But he persisted in trying to get out of bed so my wife finally asked, "Jimmy, what are you trying to do?" He replied, "Got to save one more for Jesus! Cot to save one more for Jesus! Got to save one more for Jesus!" He began to repeat that phrase over and over. During the next hour, he said the phrase probably a hundred times. "Got to save one more for Jesus!" As I sat by his bed with tears flowing down my cheeks, I bowed my head to thank God for my dad's faith. At that moment Dad reached out and placed his frail hand on my head and said, as if commissioning me, "Save one more for Jesus! Save one more for Jesus!" - Rich Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, p. 287. / / /mSubmission /sTo Divine Will /i3234 /d3/2003.101 /tSubmission to Jesus /fN "Deissmann in Light from the Ancient East gives several convincing quotations from the papyri that pisteuein eiV auton meant surrender or submission to. A slave was sold into the name of the god of a temple; i.e., to be a temple servant. ... thus to believe on or to be baptized into the name of Jesus means to renounce self and to consider oneself the life-time servant of Jesus." - Dana & Mantey, A manual Grammar of the Greek NT., page 105. / / /mSuccess /sSecret Of /i2897-2900 /d11/2004.101 /tRoad to Success /fN The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called Success. - unknown. \reference{Phil 4:13}{Philippians 4:13} / / /mTen Commandments /s /i949 /d4/2003.101 /tCajun Style /fN Ten commandments In Cajun... (Keeps it REAL Simple) 1. God is number one... and das' All. 2. Don't pray to nuttin' or nobody... jus' God. 3. Don't cuss nobody... 'specially da Good Lord. 4. When it be Sunday... pass yo'self by God's House. 5. Yo mama an' yo daddy dun did it all..lissen to dem. 6. Killin' duck an' fish, das' OK... people - No! 7. God done give you a wife... sleep wit' jus' her. 8. Don't take nobody's boat... or nuttin' else. 9. Don't go wantin' somebody's stuff. 10. Stop lyin'... yo tongue gonna fall out yo mouf! / / /mthankful /s /i /d11/2002.101 /tTake Inventory /fN The renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in a small town general store. This was the day before mails and supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled., he heard the owner say to one of the clerks "It's that time of the year again, it's time to take inventory." Dr. McLennon Wrote that this was a word that had not yet entered into his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the kindly older man and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had--from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon then asked, Why? "Well, responded the owner, its easy to forget exactly how much you have each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what all you have." That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things that I don't have. It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to brood or whine in self pity. Have you taken inventory lately? What I am suggesting here is not some shallow "count your blessings" platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children's poem that says: "Count your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has done." Staff, www.eSermons.com, November 2001 / / /mThankful /sIn Difficulty /i /d11/2002.101 /tNow Thank We All Our God /fN Our closing hymn this morning was carefully selected. It was written in 1607 by a German by the name of Martin Reinkardht. The name of the hymn is "Now Thank We All Our God." In the year that Rinkardht wrote that hymn it is interesting to note that over 6000 persons in his German village, including his wife and his children, died of pestilence. Yet, in the midst of that catastrophic social and personal loss Reinkardht set down to pen this great hymn of praise: Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices.' The Christian faith affirms that in the midst of everything--in death, in loss, in hardship--we are to turn to God in praise. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, November, 2000 / / /mThankfulness /s /i /d11/2002.101 /tBe Thankful in difficulties /fN Back during the dark days of 1929, a group of ministers in the Northeast, all graduates of the Boston School of Theology, gathered to discuss how they should conduct their Thanksgiving Sunday services. Things were about as bad as they could get, with no sign of relief. The bread lines were depressingly long, the stock market had plummeted, and the term Great Depression seemed an apt description for the mood of the country. The ministers thought they should only lightly touch upon the subject Thanksgiving in deference to the human misery all about them. After all, there was to be thankful for. But it was Dr. William L. Stiger, pastor of a large congregation in the city that rallied the group. This was not the time, he suggested, to give mere passing mention to Thanksgiving, just the opposite. This was the time for the nation to get matters in perspective and thank God for blessings always present, but perhaps suppressed due to intense hardship. I suggest to you the ministers struck upon something. The most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound. Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving. Half their number dead, men without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God. Their gratitude was not for something but in something. It was that same sense of gratitude that lead Abraham Lincoln to formally establish the first Thanksgiving Day in the midst of national civil war, when the butcher' s list of casualties seemed to have no end and the very nation struggled for survival. Perhaps in your own life, right now, intense hardship. You are experiencing your own personal Great Depression. Why should you be thankful this day? May I suggest three things? 1. We must learn to be thankful or we become bitter. 2. We must learn to be thankful or we will become discouraged. 3. We must learn to be thankful or we shall surly grow arrogant and self-satisfied. / / /mThankfulness /s /i /d11/2002.101 /tThe Source of Thanksgiving /fN I will remind you of that wonderful Children's holiday classic "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." It was released a few years ago as a movie staring Jim Carrey. You'll recall in the story how the Grinch enters all the homes by way of their chimneys disguised as Santa Clause. He takes all the presents and ornaments, the trees and stockings, and even their food down to the last morsel. He drags his loot up to his mountain and then looks down upon Whoville with a sinister grin. He is listening for the cries and wailings of the people to start as they wake up on Christmas morning to discover a Christmas lost. What he hears instead surprises him. Up from the town of the Whos comes a joyful Christmas carol. They are singing. "Why?" he asks. It is because, he learns, Christmas resides not in things but in the heart which is thankful. He could not steal their gratitude. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, November, 2000 / / /mThankfulness /sExamples of /i1456 /d11/2002.101 /tWith Heart and Hand and Voices /fN Martin Rinkert was a minister in the little town of Eilenburg in Germany some 350 years ago. He was the son of a poor coppersmith, but somehow, he managed to work his way through an education. Finally, in the year 1617, he was offered the post of Archdeacon in his hometown parish. A year later, what has come to be known as the Thirty-Years-War broke out. His town was caught right in the middle. In 1637, the massive plague that swept across the continent hit Eilenburg... people died at the rate of fifty a day and the man called upon to bury most of them was Martin Rinkert. In all, over 8,000 people died, including Martin's own wife. His labors finally came to an end about 11 years later, just one year after the conclusion of the war. His ministry spanned 32 years, all but the first and the last overwhelmed by the great conflict that engulfed his town. Tough circumstances in which to be thankful. But he managed. And he wrote these words: Now thank we all our God With heart and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done, In whom his world rejoices. It takes a magnificent spirit to come through such hardship and express gratitude. Here is a great lesson. Surrounded by tremendous adversity, thanksgiving will deliver you...with heart and hand and voices. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, Nov. 2002. / / /mTHANKSGIVING /s /i /d11/2003.101 /tWhen to be Thankful /fN Back during the dark days of 1929, a group of ministers in the Northeast, all graduates of the Boston School of Theology, gathered to discuss how they should conduct their Thanksgiving Sunday services. Things were about as bad as they could get, with no sign of relief. The bread lines were depressingly long, the stock market had plummeted, and the term Great Depression seemed an apt description for the mood of the country. The ministers thought they should only lightly touch upon the subject Thanksgiving in deference to the human misery all about them. After all, there was to be thankful for. But it was Dr. William L. Stiger, pastor of a large congregation in the city that rallied the group. This was not the time, he suggested, to give mere passing mention to Thanksgiving, just the opposite. This was the time for the nation to get matters in perspective and thank God for blessings always present, but perhaps suppressed due to intense hardship. I suggest to you the ministers struck upon something. The most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound. Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving. Half their number dead, men without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God. Their gratitude was not for something but in something. It was that same sense of gratitude that lead Abraham Lincoln to formally establish the first Thanksgiving Day in the midst of national civil war, when the butcher' s list of casualties seemed to have no end and the very nation struggled for survival. Perhaps in your own life, right now, intense hardship. You are experiencing your own personal Great Depression. Why should you be thankful this day? May I suggest three things? 1. We must learn to be thankful or we become bitter. 2. We must learn to be thankful or we will become discouraged. 3. We must learn to be thankful or we shall surly grow arrogant and self-satisfied. / / /mTHANKSGIVING /s /i /d11/2003.101 /tWashington's speech /fN George Washington's 1782 Thanksgiving Proclamation expresses beautifully the utter dependence on God of our Founding Fathers, the Continental Congress, and the earliest leaders of our government. With these words, President Washington gives credit to God for every victory and success experienced by the fledgling country of America. His expressions of gratitude amount to a virtual grocery list of the blessings of the Almighty upon the country. "It being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for His gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give Him praise for His goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of His providence in their behalf. They do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for His goodness, by a cheerful obedience of His laws, and by promoting, each in His station, and by His influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness." --George Washington, 1782 / / /mThanksgiving /s /i /d11/2003.101 /tHistory /fN The Thanksgiving Story The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists. The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days. Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl. Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums. This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives," (see the proclamation). October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair. George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving. It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November. Copyright © 1997-2001 by Jerry Wilson; Get Permission to Reprint this article. / / /mThanksgiving /s /i /d11/2003.101 /tInward Blessing /fn The feast set on the table Is not the only way, I share the peace and plenty Of this Thanksgiving Day. My nourishment is made complete Not just by earthly fare, But the feast I have within me Served by quietness and prayer. It's there that I am nurtured, Strengthened and made whole By generosity of spirit And enrichment of the soul. From the same unending Source Comes my supply of all things good, So to God who sends all blessings, I send my gratitude. - Carol Driscoll / / /mThanksgiving /s /i1457 /d11/2002.101 /tThings to be Thankful for - joke /fN Seven Things To Be Thankful For * for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family come in for their after-dinner snacks. * for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals. * for the bathtub -- the one place the family allows Mom some time to herself. * for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They're such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents. * for gardening. It's a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change. * for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language. * for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey's done. Source unknown / / /mThanksgiving /sHistory /i /d11/2003.101 /tmore History /fN The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620. Their destination? The New World. Although filled with uncertainty and peril, it offered both civil and religious liberty. For over two months, the 102 passengers braved the harsh elements of a vast storm-tossed sea. Finally, with firm purpose and a reliance on Divine Providence, the cry of "Land!" was heard. Arriving in Massachusetts in late November, the Pilgrims sought a suitable landing place. On December 11, just before disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they signed the "Mayflower Compact" - America's first document of civil government and the first to introduce self-government. After a prayer service, the Pilgrims began building hasty shelters. However, unprepared for the starvation and sickness of a harsh New England winter, nearly half died before spring. Yet, persevering in prayer, and assisted by helpful Indians, they reaped a bountiful harvest the following summer. The grateful Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast, starting on December 13, 1621, to thank God and to celebrate with their Indian friends. While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America's first Thanksgiving Festival. Pilgrim Edward Winslow described the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving in these words: "Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling [bird hunting] so that we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as... served the company almost a week... Many of the Indians [came] amongst us and... their greatest King, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought... And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD WE ARE... FAR FROM WANT." In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington was a member, announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks, "unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities." Yet, despite these early national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the State level. Much of the credit for the adoption of a later ANNUAL national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln's precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday. Lincoln's original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came - spiritually speaking - at a pivotal point in his life. During the first week of July of that year, the Battle of Gettysburg occurred, resulting in the loss of some 60,000 American lives. Four months later in November, Lincoln delivered his famous "Gettsysburg Address." It was while Lincoln was walking among the thousands of graves there at Gettysburg that he committed his life to Christ. As he explained to a friend: When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving each year, we hope they will retain the original gratefulness to God displayed by the Pilgrims and many other founding fathers, and remember that it is to those early and courageous Pilgrims that they owe not only the traditional Thanksgiving holiday but also the concepts of self-government, the "hard-work" ethic, self-reliant communities, and devout religious faith. - www.christiananswers.net/ q-wall/wal-g007.html / / /mThanksgiving /sHymn by William Bradford /i /d11/2003.101 /tTruly it is a most glorious thing /fN And truly it is a most glorious thing Thus to hear men pray and God’s praises sing, O how great comfort is it now to see— The churches to enjoy full liberty. And to have the Gospel preachèd here with power, And such wolves repelled as all would else devour. But God will still for His people provide Such as be able them to help and guide, If they cleave to Him and do not forsake— His laws and truth and their own ways do take. If thou hast viewed the camp of Israel, How God in the wilderness with them did dwell. His great and marvelous works they here saw, And He them taught in His most holy law, A small emblem hereof thou mayest see, How God hath dealt with them in some degree, For much of Himself they now there have seen, And marvelous to them His works have been. - William Bradford / / /mThanksgiving /sIn Blessing and Afflictions /i480-490 /d11/2002.101 /tChuck Swindoll /fN I recall, as a little barefoot boy with a cowlick of snow-white hair on my forehead, standing erect in my classroom and repeating the "Pledge of Allegiance" one Thanksgiving season. Our nation was at war and times were hard. My teacher had lost her husband on the blood washed shores of Normandy. As we later bowed our heads for prayer she wept aloud. I did too. All the class joined in. She stumbled through one of the most moving expressions of gratitude and praise that ever emerged from a soul plunged in pain. At that time in my young life, I fell strangely in love with Thanksgiving. Lost in sympathy and a boy's pity for his teacher, I walked home very slowly that afternoon. Although only a child, I had profound feelings of gratitude for my country . . . my friends . . . my school . . . my church . . . my family. I swore before God that I would fight to the end to keep this land free from foes who would want to take away America's distinctives and the joys of living in this good land. I have never forgotten my childhood promise. I never shall. Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, p. 424. / / /mThanksgiving /sJoke /i /d11/2002.101 /tComing for Thanksgiving /fN We're Getting A Divorce An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough." "Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Then he hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares." Traditional / / /mTHANKSGIVING /sPres Bush /i /d11/2003.101 /tPresident Bush speaks /fN "As the Pilgrims did almost four centuries ago, we gratefully give thanks for the beauty, abundance, and opportunity this great land offers. We also thank God for the blessings of freedom and prosperity; and, with gratitude and humility, we acknowledge the importance of faith in our lives. Throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, let us renew our commitment to make our country and our world better...This Thanksgiving, we recognize the ties of friendship and respect that bind us together. And we renew our pledge to uphold the timeless principles of freedom, equality, and opportunity that have made our country into a great Nation. By working together, we will continue to build mutual trust, peace, and hope for all across this land and around the world." --George W. Bush / / /mThanksgiving /sProclamation /i /d11/2003.101 /t1676 /fN 1676 Thanksgiving Proclamation "The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions: The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and souls as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ." / / /mThanksgiving /sWilliam Bradford /i /mThanksgiving /s /i /d11/2003.101 /tHistory of William Bradford /fN William Bradford, who was born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England in 1590 and died in 1657, was an American colonial governor and one of the Pilgrim leaders. Bradford has many reasons for being famous. One reason is that he helped found Plymouth Colony. The second reason is that he helped make Thanksgiving Day possible by making peace with the Native Americans. And the third reason is that he was a delegate four times to the New England Confederation. A group of people called Pilgrims, who included William Bradford, sailed from England on the Mayflower in 1620. They were looking for a place where they could have freedom to practice religion of their choice and thought Virginia would be a good place to settle. Soon after the Mayflower arrived in America, at Plymouth Bay, the Pilgrims needed to make up a form of government because they were not in the Virginia, which had a government. William Bradford was one of the people that wrote the document known as the Mayflower Compact that outlined their new governmental policies. William Bradford became their leader and historian. When the Mayflower landed in New England, he reported that all things stared upon them with a weather-beaten face. The Pilgrims landed at the end of the harvest season and had an extremely hard first winter in their new home. Many of the families did not survive that first winter. The next year, William Bradford helped make the first American Thanksgiving possible. In 1621, he reasoned a treated with Massasoit, the Wamponoag tribe chief. Under the treaty (which was important to the maintenance and growth of the colony), Massasoit gave up Native American claims to the Plymouth colony area and made peace with the colonists. Some friendly Native Americans helped the Pilgrims plant and harvest their first crops in America. The first Thanksgiving Day in 1671 was organized by Governor Bradford to give thanks for the first harvest and for their survival. The Pilgrims and Massasoit and some of his braves feasted for three days in October. Bradford was a delegate four times to the New England Confederation. He was elected twice as president. He also wrote a book, History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, about the early settlers in New England. The book stayed in manuscript form until it finally was published in 1856, 200 years after his death, and is an important source for information about early settlers. In conclusion, William Bradford was a great man and he did great things for his colony and country. He helped found Plymouth Colony. He helped make Thanksgiving Day possible. And Bradford was a delegate four times to the New England Confederation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Bibliography: 1. Bradford, William (1590-1657),î Microsoft (R) Encarta (R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. 2. Schmidt, Gary D. William Bradford. U.S.A.: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1999, Chapter 6. 3. Joyce Appleby, Ph.D.; Alan Brinkley, Ph.D.; and James M. McPherson, Ph.D. The American Journey. New York: / / /mTime /sFullness of /i1343 /d4/2003.101 /tWhat time is it? /fN No Time Left A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop at the next city he came to, and park somewhere where it was quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. As luck would have it, the quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city's major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back for a snooze when there came a knock on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place. "Yes?" he said. "Excuse me, sir," the jogger, said, "do you have the time?" The man looked at the car clock and answered, "8:15." The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again, and was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another jogger. "Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?" asked the jogger. "8:25!" the man replied. The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid that, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign on his window saying, "I do not know the time!" Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window. "Sir, sir?" said a jogger, seeking to be helpful' "it's 8:45!" It is time, Jesus said, for the Son of man to be glorified. The hour has come. It was that moment when the last sand falls from the hourglass. No time left for the development of new disciples. No time left for miracles to convince the people. No time left for debates with the religious leaders. No time left, the passion has begone. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, April, 2003. / / /mTrials /sJesus-The Refiner /i /d4/2006.101 /tRefining our lives /fN \reference{Malachi 3:3}{Malachi 3:3} says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it" / / /mTrials /sPurpose Of /i489-499 /d12/2001.101 /tViolin Repaired /fN In the May, 1982, issue of Guideposts magazine, Norman Vincent Peale tells of a woman who came to him for help. Her husband had been killed in a tragic car crash, and as a result, she felt numb, hopeless, and "broken. Peale was able to help her by telling her a true story about a distinguished British violinist named Peter Cropper. Cropper's work was so outstanding that the Royal Academy of Music in London had honored him by lending him a priceless 258-year old Stradivarius. It is the dream of every violinist to be able to play such an instrument! But a terrible thing happened while Cropper was performing in Finland. He tripped and fell on top of the Stradivarius and broke it. Cropper's pleasant dream was turned into a horrible nightmare. He was, inconsolable. Then a London violin dealer told him of a master craftsman who could repair the Stradivarius. To make a long story short, the repairs were so perfect they could not even be seen, and the soaring notes of the instrument were more beautiful than they had ever been before - all because the broken parts were placed in the hands of a master craftsman who then applied his healing touch. / / /mTrouble /s /i1952 /d2/2000.15 /tOld Dogs and Bicycles /fN Submitted by: Ron Shultz Email address: MavMin@juno.com Today in Sunday School the teacher told us a story about Gaylord and his old dog that wouldn't bite anybody. Seems that the dog liked to run alongside when Gaylord rode his bike. Gaylord either did not have a chain guard on the bike or this was in the days when they did not use them. Anyway, one day the old dog was along side Gaylord and his tail just wagged a little too close and ended up between the chain and the sprocket. To say the dog was in pain is an understatement and he commenced to bite on that old bike, but could not free himself. When Gaylord tried to help the old dog in his pain commenced to bitin' on Gaylord. Eventually, between all that biting Gaylord got the old dog loose, but he lost a portion of his tail in the process. I got to thinkin' about that and it came to me that that is exactly how we are when we are in painful situations. We sometimes get there by accident and we try to bite our way out of it all we can and the pain remains. When God shows up instead of seeing Him as the friend He has always been we start biting on Him and get in the way of His help. By the time we either give up and let Him work or He breaks through out chompin' we end up losin' a part of our tail that we might not have lost had we just backed off and let Him end the painful situation for us. The old dog started out biting on the right thing, but ended up biting the one that loved him and wanted to care for him. Let's keep our wits even in pain and let the One who loves us and has the knowledge and ability to end the pain do it. It will cost us nothing and save us much loss. / / /mUnity /s /i3724-3727 /d5/2002.101 /tWeapon in unity /fN A Weapon Terrible to Behold. In one of my favorite Peanuts cartoons, Lucy come into the living room to find Linus in control of the TV. She demands he change the channel. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?" / / /mWarnings /s /i1794-1799 /d12/2003.101 /tTitanic /fN On January 23, 1909, a small invention played a crucial role in the lives of 1500 people. The New York-bound ocean liner the "Florida" rammed into the "Republic." Jack Binns, the Republic's new wireless radio man, reassembled his contraption which had been destroyed in the collision. He sent out distress calls for the next 12 hours until the crew and passengers were rescued in the dawn light of Sunday morning. Only a few died. Jack Binns became a national hero. He was given a ticker tape parade. Songs were written about him. He even testified before congress on the importance of regulating wireless technology on all ships. Congress listened politely but ignored his message. Binn gave up his quest, accepted no profit from his celebrity, and went back home to England to await reassignment. Three years later he received an assignment aboard a ship that he turned down. He had fallen in love and was soon to marry. The turned down assignment? The Titanic. / / /mWill /sGod's /i /d2/2000.16 /tUnfolding of a Rosebud /fN Submitted by John R. E Chastain Email - newelim@flash.net Unfolding of a Rose A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day and feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was inquiring of the older preacher. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the WILL OF GOD for his life and for his ministry. But because of his high respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to TRY to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn't long before he realized how impossible it was to do so. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud while keeping it intact, the older preacher began to recite the following poem... UNFOLDING THE ROSEBUD It is only a tiny rosebud, A flower of GOD's design; But I cannot unfold the petals With these clumsy hands of mine. The secret of unfolding flowers Is not known to such as I. GOD opens this flower so sweetly, When in my hands they fade and die. If I cannot unfold a rosebud, This flower of GOD's design, Then how can I think I have wisdom To unfold this life of mine? So I'll trust in Him for His leading Each moment of every day. I will look to him for His guidance Each step of the pilgrim way. The pathway that lies before me, Only my Heavenly Father knows. I'll trust Him to unfold the moments, Just as He unfolds the rose. / / /mWill /sGod's Will /i /d5/2002.101 /tMan in Prison /fN In Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Ivan endures all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day he is praying with his eyes closed when a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won't help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison but to do the will of God." Our Daily Bread, December 29, 1993 / / /mWords /swords effect us /i3296-3298 /d6/2005.101 /tWords hurt and heal /fN "I had never stopped and though of how much words can affect both positively and negatively. After I read the article I found myself paying attention to my surrounding and how words are spoken. I guess the saying, "sticks and stones my hurt my bones by words will never hurt me" should say, "sticks and stones can hurt my bones but words can emotionally hurt me". Some times being emotionally hurt is far worst than being physically hurt. My son who is 3 years old like any other little boy cries when he is hurt. If he falls down and scrapes his knee he comes in running crying like he just broke his arm. This afternoon he came crying in from outside, my thought was at first that he had hurt himself physically. The way he was crying was no different that when he had came in crying with a scraped knee. He was not hurt, no physically anyway, he came in and said, "My aunt said that she loves Amber more than me." We could not stop him from crying; he was hurt by the words that came out of his aunt's mouth. I then understood with out a doubt that the words we say can "cut or heal". " - Denniz Loza, One of my students (6/2005) / / /mWorship /sTrue Attitude in /i3923 /d7/2005.101 /tA Worship-Hungry Heart /fN A Worship-Hungry Heart by Max Lucado People on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common. All are on a journey. Most are well-behaved and presentable. Some doze, and others gaze out the window. For many, the mark of a good flight and the mark of a good worship assembly are the same. "Nice," we like to say. "It was a nice flight/It was a nice worship service." A few, however, are not content with nice. They long for something more. The boy who just passed me did. I heard him before I saw him. I was already in my seat when he asked, "Will they really let me meet the pilot?" The question floated into the cockpit, causing the pilot to lean out. "Well, come on in." With a nod from his mom, the youngster entered the cockpit's world of controls and gauges and emerged minutes later with eyes wide. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad to be on this plane!" No one else's face showed such wonder. I studied the faces of the other passengers but found no such enthusiasm. I mostly saw contentment: travelers content to be on the plane, content to be closer to their destination, content to be out of the airport, content to sit and stare and say little. Do you see why I say that people on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common? Enter a church sanctuary and look at the faces. Content to be there. Content to sit and look straight ahead and leave when the service is over. "Seek and you will find," Jesus promised (\reference{Matt. 7:7}{Matthew 7:7}). And since a nice service is what we seek, a nice service is usually what we find. A few, however, seek more. A few come with the childlike enthusiasm of the boy. And those few leave as he did, wide-eyed with the wonder of having stood in the presence of the pilot himself.