/ / /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.