Pastoral Resources

C. Everett Koop, M.D., formerly the Surgeon General, states that during his 35-plus years of practicing medicine, “Never once did a case come across my practice where abortion was necessary to save a mother’s life.”

One of England’s finest preachers was C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892). Frequently during his ministry he was plunged into severe depression, due in part to gout but also for other reasons. In a biography of the “prince of preachers,” Arnold Dallimore wrote, “What he suffered in those times of darkness we may not know...even his desperate calling on God brought no relief. ‘There are dungeons,’ he said, ‘beneath the castles of despair.’”

Many years ago in St. Louis, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him, “I’ve often wanted to ask you a question, but I’ve been afraid to do so.”

“What do you want to know?” asked the lawyer.

The man replied, “I’ve wondered why you’re not a Christian.”

The man hung his head, “I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!”

“You’re avoiding my questions,” continued the believer.

“Well, truthfully, I can’t recall anyone ever explaining how to become a Christian.”

Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins. “By receiving Him as your Substitute and Redeemer,” he said, “you can be forgiven. If you’re willing to receive Jesus, let’s pray together.”

The lawyer agreed, and when it was his turn he exclaimed, “O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life.” Right there he was converted.

That lawyer was C. I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name.

Nature never taught me that there exists a God of glory and of infinite majesty. I had to learn that in other ways. But nature gave the word glory a meaning for me.

An auto dealer, facing bankruptcy, was walking along a beach when he kicked a bottle and out popped a genie.

“Thanks for setting me free,” said the genie. “To show my appreciation, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Okay,” said the auto dealer, “I want to be the only foreign car dealer in a major metropolitan market.”

“Done!” cried the genie.

Immediately, the dealer found himself in a glass-walled office looking out over a major city. “Quick,” he said to his secretary, “tell me who I am.”

“You’re the only Cadillac dealer in downtown Tokyo,” said the secretary.

While pursuing a story about equivocation in high office, I was told, “He gave an if-by-whiskey speech.” My source, asked about his curious compound adjective, said he thought it was a Florida political expression possibly borrowed from a Minnesota Congressman. That triggered a call to Richard B. Stone, now a Washington banker, but a former U.S. Senator from Florida familiar with that state’s political patois. He immediately recognized the phrase, meaning “calculated ambivalence,” and provided the following anecdote: Fuller Warren, Florida’s governor in the ‘50s, was running for office in a year that counties were voting their local option on permitting the sale of liquor. Asked for his position on wet-versus-dry, he would say:

“If by whiskey you mean the water of life that cheers men’s souls, that smoothes out the tensions of the day, that gives gentle perspective to one’s view of life, then put my name on the list of the fervent wets. But if by whiskey you mean the devil’s brew that rends families, destroys careers and ruins one’s ability to work, then count me in the ranks of the dries.

July, the seventh month, was named after Julius Caesar. Not to be outdone, the Emperor Augustus called the following month August after himself. Since that month had only thirty days at the time, he borrowed a day from February and added it to August, making sure that his month would not be inferior to Julius Caesar’s.

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished Methodist minister of Australia who preached on sin. One of his church officers came afterward to talk with him in his study. He said to the minister: "Dr. Howard, we don't want you to talk so plainly about sin, because if our boys and girls hear you talking so much about sin, they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin." The minister took down a small bottle of strychnine that was marked "Poison." He said, "I see what you want me to do. You want me to change the label, such as 'Essence of Peppermint.' Don't you see what would happen? The milder you make the label, the more dangerous you make the poison."

Chariff Haddad is a Lebanese Christian. As a teenager, he struggled with a sense of call to ministry. During a shower following a soccer game, he was thinking about all the reasons he could not answer that call: his family, his desire to become an engineer. He prayed that it was impossible to do it financially. He said to God, “It’s impossible for me to change people’s hearts.”

Suddenly, Haddad’s friend in the next stall blurted out, “What is impossible to man is possible to God.” The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He knew his friend had not heard him. He asked why he had said those words. The friend answered, “I don’t know. They just came to mind, so I blurted them out.” Haddad went into ministry.

What we are called from and called to:

I. Called from labor to rest (Matt. 11:28)

II. Called from death to life (1 John 3:14)

III. Called from bondage to liberty (Gal 5:13)

IV. Called out of darkness into light (1 Pet. 2:9)

V. Called from bondage to peace (1 Cor. 7:15

VI. Called to the fellowship of His Son (1 Cor. 1:9)

What we are made by obeying the call:

I. We are made sons of God (John 1:12)

II. We are made the children of God (Gal. 3:26)

III. We are made the servants of God (Matt. 25:21)

IV. We are made God’s saints (Col. 1:1)

V. We are made God’s witnesses (I Thess. 2:10)

VI. We are made workers together with God (2 Cor. 6:1)

VII. We are called to a high calling (Phil. 3:14)

VIII. We are called to a holy calling (2 Tim. 1:9)

IX. We are called to a heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1)

Some believers are very surprised when they are called to suffer. They thought they would do some great thing for God, but all God permits them to do is to suffer. Just suppose you could speak with those who have gone to be with the Lord; everyone has a different story, yet everyone has a tale of suffering. One was persecuted by family and friends...another was inflicted with pain and disease, neglected by the world...another was bereaved of children...another had all these afflictions. But you will notice that though the water was deep, they all have reached the other side. Not one of them blames God for the road He led them; ‘Salvation’ is their only cry. Are there an of you, dear children, murmuring at your lot? Do not sin against God. This is the way God leads all His redeemed ones.

Frances Havergal, the songwriter, lived and moved in the Word of God. His Word was her constant companion. On the last day of her life, she asked a friend to read to her the second chapter of Isaiah. When the friend read the sixth verse, "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee," Miss Havergal stopped her. She whispered, "Called-held-kept. I can go home on that!" And she did go home on that. She found His promises unfailing.

Called to be a disciple (Jn. 1:40)

Called to be a constant companion (Mt. 4:19, Mk. 1:17, Lk. 5:10)

Called to be an apostle (Mt. 10:2, Mk. 3:14, 16, Lk. 6:13-14)

Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, “Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?” “Four, of course,” came the reply disgustedly. “That’s right,” agreed Lincoln. “Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?” “Why, five, of course,” was the confident reply. “Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” said Lincoln. “Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

And I am afraid there are Calvinists, who, while they account it a proof of their humility that they are willing in words to debase the creature, and to give all the glory of salvation to the Lord, yet know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines, as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace.

Camels may build up a pressure cooker of resentment toward human beings until the lid suddenly blows off and they go berserk. In Asia, when a camel driver senses trouble, he gives his coat to the animal. Rather like Japanese workers who are reported to work off frustrations by beating up models of their executives, the camel gives the garment hell—jumping on it, biting it, tearing it to pieces. When the camel feels it has blown its top enough, man and animal can live together in harmony again.

Yes, but it is like a soldier without an army; a student who will not attend school, a salesman without a customer, a sailor without a ship, a bee without a hive, an author without a reader, or a baseball player without a team.

These situations might exist, but they would not be very satisfactory.

A recent survey by America’s most popular teen magazine revealed that only 4.1% of the teenage girls in America feel they could to go their father to talk about a serious problem.

Even more recently, USA Today published the eye-opening results of a study of teens under stress. When asked where they turn to for help in a crisis, the most popular choice was music, the second choice was peers, and the third was TV. Amazing as it may sound, moms were down the list at number thirty-one, and dads were forty-eighth.

At times it appears that in our "Christian world" man is converted to a church rather than to Jesus Christ. Loyalty to a body of believers seems to have priority over allegiance to the Lord Jesus. Although each religion claims faith in the same Bible, because of certain doctrines peculiar to various denominations they separate themselves from one another. Frequently each denomination is divided into a number of sects.

Is it possible for man simply to be a "Christian"? Must he separate himself with some denominational name as Baptist Christian, Methodist Christian, etc.? God doesn't divide believers into various denominations-man does. Even with his own church choice, man is frequently at variance with his brother over some biblical understanding. Also, world Bible scholars differ in matters pertaining to Scripture understanding.

What authority does one believer have in saying, "I am right and you are wrong," or "I am more honest than you." Certainly the Bible is right, but does it necessarily follow that I am the one who has perfect understanding? Do you ever differ with members of your family over some conviction? Does it mean that you are no longer a member of that family? If there can be no unity in diversity, there is simply no possibility of unity, for we all differ in many things.

The story is told of a blind tortoise which lived in a well. Another tortoise, a native of the ocean, in its inland travels happened to tumble into this well. The blind one asked of his new comrade whence he came. "From the sea," was the response. Hearing of the sea, the tortoise swam round a little circle and asked, "Is the water of the ocean as large as this?" "Larger," replied he of the sea. The first tortoise then swam round two-thirds of the well and asked if the sea was as big as that. "Much larger than that," said the sea tortoise. "Well, then," asked the blind tortoise, "is the sea as large as this whole well?" "Larger," said the sea tortoise. "If that is so," said the other, "how big then is the sea?" The sea tortoise replied, "You only know about the water in your well. Your capability of understanding is small. As to the ocean, though you spent many years in it, you would never be able to explore the half of it, nor to reach the limit, and it is utterly impossible to compare it with this well of yours." The tortoise replied, "It is impossible there can be a larger body of water than this well; you are simply praising your native place in boastful words." This is only a Mongolian myth, but one that can teach man a great deal concerning his prejudiced view of his own knowledge. If man knows so little of the natural surroundings of his life, how much less must he know about the Infinite Creator of all things.

What’s all this hectic rush and worry?

Where go these crowds who run and curry?

Why all the lights—the Christmas trees?

The jolly “fat man,” tell me please!

Why, don’t you know? This is the day

For parties and for fun and play;

Why this is Christmas!

So this is Christmas, do you say?

But where is Christ this Christmas day?

Has He been lost among the throng?

His voice drowned out by empty song?

No. He’s not here—you’ll find Him where

Some humble soul now kneels in prayer,

Who knows the Christ of Christmas.

But see the many aimless thousands

Who gather on this Christmas Day,

Whose hearts have never yet been opened,

Or said to Him, “Come in to stay.”

In countless homes the candles burning,

In countless hearts expectant yearning

For gifts and presents, food and fun,

And laughter till the day is done.

But not a tear of grief or sorrow

For Him so poor He had to borrow

A crib, a colt, a boat, a bed

Where He could lay His weary head.

I’m tired of all this empty celebration,

Of feasting, drinking, recreation;

I’ll go instead to Calvary.

And there I’ll kneel with those who know

The meaning of that manger low,

And find the Christ—this Christmas.

I leap by faith across the years

To that great day when He appears

The second time, to rule and reign,

To end all sorrow, death, and pain.

In endless bliss we then shall dwell

With Him who saved our souls from hell,

And worship Christ—not Christmas!

Can we know? Or is one idea as good as another? The Word of God tells us that we can have a definite answer. It’s the answer that focuses on Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31 emphasizes, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Jesus Christ announced that whoever believes in Him will “not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Romans 5:1 reminds us that we can be qualified for heaven by faith in Christ.

The Duke of Wellington is best remembered as the general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. During his earlier service in India, Wellington was in charge of negotiations after the battle of Assaye. The emissary of an Indian ruler, anxious to know what territories would be ceded to his master, tried in various ways to get the information. Finally, he offered Wellingtron a large sum of money. “Can you keep a secret?” asked Wellington. “Yes, indeed,” the man said eagerly. “So can I,” replied Wellington.

“If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I ...daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?”

Having to wait for someone or something is difficult. What we want, we want now. Our fast food must be just that-fast. Instant pudding, instant rice, and instant results are part of our way of life. One individual prayed for patience and told the Lord that he wanted it "Right away!"

However, we know so agonizingly well that the Lord does not work on our time table. Having to wait upon the Lord (Psa_27:14; Psa_37:34) can be painful at times! The principle of the Lord working as He wills requires faith. He is never late! His promises are sure.

May we have the faith and patience to wait! The Lord will work out His plan, His way and in His time.

Our Daily Bread, Sept.-Nov. 1997, page for October 24.

.God is not discoverable or demonstrable by purely scientific means, unfortunately for the scientifically minded. But that really proves nothing. It simply means that the wrong instruments are being used for the job. - J. B. Phillips in For This Day

One of the better known treasure hunts in modern times is the quest to find the rumored wealth known as the “Beale treasure.” The hunt began when an eccentric man, who left the East for the gold and silver mines of the West, returned home, supposedly hid a vast amount of wealth, then disappeared forever. All he left behind were several messages written in a mysterious code. One of those messages when deciphered told of the treasure and its approximate location. The other documents, then, would narrow down the site. Since the Beale documents first came to light, thousands of man-hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent attempting to break the codes and find the legendary treasure.

A farmer hired a man to work for him. He told him his first task would be to paint the barn and said it should take him about three days to complete. But the hired man was finished in one day. The farmer set him to cutting wood, telling him it would require about 4 days. The hired man finished in a day and a half, to the farmer’s amazement. The next task was to sort out a large pile of potatoes. He was to arrange them into three piles: seed potatoes, food for the hogs, and potatoes that were good enough to sell. The farmer said it was a small job and shouldn’t take long at all. At the end of the day the farmer came back and found the hired man had barely started. “What’s the matter here” the farmer asked. “I can work hard, but I can’t make decisions!”

An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal’s back.

When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal’s back and continued on his way.

In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again.

In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road.

We smile, but this story makes a good point: We can’t please everybody, and if we try we end up carrying a heavy burden. Well-meaning Christians may offer us advice, and much of it is valuable. But when we try to do everything other believers want us to do, we can easily become frustrated and confused . That’s why we need to remember that the One we must please above all others is Christ. And we do that by obeying God’s Word. Carried any donkeys lately? You don’t have to if you’re trying to please Jesus.

English novelist William Golding tells with delight of the policewoman in a Wiltshire town near his home who gave him a parking ticket the day after he won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature. “Can’t you read?” she demanded.

What does the criticism of others do to our inner self? Take the case of Col. George Washington Goethals. While contending with the manifold problems of geography and climate in the building of the Panama Canal, he had to endure the carping criticism of countless busybodies back home who freely predicted he would never complete his task. But he pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. "Aren't you going to answer your critics?" a subordinate inquired. "In time," Goethals replied. "How?" The great engineer smiled. "With the canal," he said.

On the Lord’s day a group of missionaries and believers in New Guinea were gathered together to observe the Lord’s Supper. After one young man sat down, a missionary recognized that a sudden tremor had passed through the young man’s body that indicated he was under a great nervous strain. Then in a moment all was quiet again. The missionary whispered, “What was it that troubled you?” “Ah,” he said, “But the man who just came in killed and ate the body of my father. And now he has come in to remember the Lord with us. At first I didn’t know whether I could endure it. But it is all right now. He is washed in the same precious blood.” And so together they had Communion.

When in comes to belief in God, Canada’s young people are a lot like their elders, but they view religion as relatively unimportant, according to a federally sponsored study conducted by two experienced observers of Canadian social trends. Entitled Canada’s Youth: Ready for Today, the study was authored by Alberta sociologist Reginald Bibby and Ontario youth consultant Donald Posterski. The finding showed that 84 percent of the young people surveyed believe in God and 81 percent in the divinity of Jesus. Those figures are almost identical to previous Canadian statistics relating to the overall population. Over 80 percent of those surveyed said they would want a religious funeral or wedding; about 75 percent would involve a minister, priest, or rabbi in a birth-related rite. Only one in ten, however, indicated that God has “a great deal” of influence on how they live. Further, only one in 200 said they look to a religious leader for counsel or assistance.

All ends with the cancellation of forces and comes to nothing; and our universe thus ends in one vast, silent, unappreciated joke.

Cripple love!

Corrode faith!

Eat away peace!

Kill friendship!

Silence courage!

Invade the soul!

Quench the spirit!

Destroy confidence!

Reduce eternal life!

Erase the promises of God!

Obliterate happy memories!

Shatter the hope of Heaven!

Lessen the power of the resurrection!

Keep the faithfully obedient from Heaven!

Cancer can only affect the physical body for a time. It may hasten death, but it is appointed unto man, once to die, anyway (Heb 9:27). Therefore, if one is prepared through faith in Christ, and obedience to Christ's commands, we need not fear death! (Joh 12:48).

An official of a mission board, who knew it takes more than desire to make a missionary, was appointed to examine a candidate. He told the young man to come to his house at six o'clock in the morning. The young man went at six in the morning to be examined, and the examiner kept him sitting in the room until ten. Then he went down to him and said abruptly, "Can you write your name? Do you know what your name is?" "Yes, sir." He put him through a series of questions of that kind, and then went to the mission board and said, "He will do. I tried his patience for four hours, and he did not break down; I then insulted him, and he did not lose his temper. He will do." If a man answers all abuses with magnanimity, patience, fortitude, and gentleness, you can depend upon it, Christ's love has conquered his heart. His Christianity is vindicated by the very quality of his character.

We were on our annual Christmas trek to Chicago. Each year we brought our family to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma and visit the museums. This year we decided to finish our Christmas shopping at suburban Woodfield Mall. In the midst of all the fun and excitement, one of us noticed that little three-and-a-half-year-old Matthew was gone. Terror immediately struck our hearts. We had heard the horror stories: little children kidnapped in malls, rushed to a restroom, donned in different clothes and altered hairstyle, and then swiftly smuggled out, never to be seen again.

We split up, each taking an assigned location. Mine was the parking lot. I’ll never forget that night—kicking through the newly fallen snow, calling out his name at the top of my lungs. I felt like an abject fool, yet my concern for his safety outweighed all other feelings. Unsuccessful, I trudged back to our meeting point. My wife, Martie, had not found him, nor had my mother. And then my dad appeared, holding little Matthew by the hand.

Our hearts leapt for joy. Interestingly enough, Matthew was untraumatized. He hadn’t been crying. To him, there had been no problem. I asked my father where he had found him. “The candy counter,” he replied. “You should have seen him. His eyes came just about as high as the candy. He held his little hands behind his back and moved his head back and forth, surveying all the lucious options.” Matthew didn’t look lost. He didn’t know he was lost. He was oblivious to the phenomenal danger he was in. This is a candy-counter culture, where people who don’t look lost and don’t know they’re lost live.

Once armies carried cannonballs with them, afraid they would meet the enemy somewhere and have nothing to shoot at it. In terms of specific gravity, grudges are about as heavy as cannonballs. But it makes little sense to carry them. Most likely, the “enemy” is unaware of your enmity, and surely would be surprised to learn that you’ve been stalking him with a cannonball in your pocket. So examine your grudges. Do what armies do when hostilities are over: unload the cannonballs and stack them on the courthouse lawn. Then marvel at how much easier it is to get around.

“They that know God will be humble,” John Flavel has said, “and they that know themselves cannot be proud.”

A ship captain one day recorded in the ship’s log, “First-mate drunk today.” It was a true statement, but was the first incident where the mate had been drunk while on duty. The mate pleaded with the captain to amend the statement, but the captain refused, saying it was a true statement. The next time the First-mate was in charge of the ship, he recorded in the log, “Captain sober today.”

It wasn’t like Scott Kregel to give up. He was a battler, a dedicated athlete who spent hour after hour perfecting his three throw and jump shot during the hot summer months of 1987. But just before fall practice everything changed. A serious car accident left Scott in a coma for several days. When he awoke, a long rehabilitation process lay ahead. Like most patients with closed head injuries, Scott balked at doing the slow, tedious work that was required to get him back to normal—things such as stringing beads. What high school junior would enjoy that?

Tom Martin, Scott’s basketball coach at the Christian school he attended, had an idea. Coach Martin told Scott that he would reserve a spot on the varsity for him—if he would cooperate with his therapist and show progress in the tasks he was asked to do. And Tom’s wife Cindy spent many hours with Scott, encouraging him to keep going. Within 2 months, Scott was riding off the basketball court on his teammates’ shoulders. He had made nine straight free throws to clinch a triple-overtime league victory. It was a remarkable testimony of the power of encouragement.

In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.

After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.

J. B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.

In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he could either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years. Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station.

When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.

J. B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.

A woman locked herself out of her car, and a passer-by volunteered to go in search of a wire coat hanger, a standard implement in such cases. He returned shortly and was starting to sculpt the hanger into proper shape to invade the car when suddenly he stopped. “Are you sure this car is yours?” he asked the lady in distress. “I just did seven years for this same thing.”

On October 7, 1983, United Press International sent out a second-day story on the funeral of New York’s Cardinal Terence J. Cooke. This was the eighth paragraph: “As the coffin was lifted and carried to the altar, more than 3000 mourners sung the hymn, ‘O God Our Health and Age Has Passed.’“

1. Care: show concern for the person, and concern for your life before him.

2. Dare: it takes courage to witness—courage if the person is a stranger to you, and even more if the person is a close friend or relative.

3. Share: If you want to make a lasting impression, share yourself with the person. Get involved in his interests, get your shoulder under his burden, be genuinely glad when he has a success.

4. Prayer: Don’t discount the effectiveness of prayer in the preparation of people’s hearts for the Good News.

Did you hear about the student archaeologist who found his career in ruins?

We must face the fact that many today are notoriously careless in their living. This attitude finds its way into the church. We have liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury. As a result, discipline practically ;has disappeared. What would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the musician’s instrument were all hanging loose, not stretched tight, not “disciplined”?

The caricature of heaven as an eternity of idleness has no basis in Scripture. Instead, the N. T. conception unites the two thoughts of being with Christ and of service for Christ. This blending is definitely set forth in the last chapter of Revelation where we read of “those who serve Him, and see His face.” Here the life of contemplation and the life of active service are welded together as being not only compatible, but absolutely necessary for completeness. But remember that if there is to be service there, the exercising ground is here. I do not know what we are in this world for unless it is to apprentice us for heaven. Life on earth is a bewilderment unless we are being trained here for a nobler work which lies beyond the grave.

- Alexander Maclaren

Even if people reject the gospel, we still must love them. A good example of this was reported by Ralph Neighbour, pastor of Houston’s West Memorial Baptist Church (in Death And The Caring Community, by Larry Richards and Paul Johnson):

Jack had been president of a large corporation, and when he got cancer, they ruthlessly dumped him. He went through his insurance, used his life savings, and had practically nothing left.

I visited him with one of my deacons, who said, “Jack, you speak so openly about the brief life you have left. I wonder if you’ve prepared for your life after death?”

Jack stood up, livid with rage. “You *** Christians. All you ever think about is what’s going to happen to me after I die. If your God is so great, why doesn’t He do something about the real problems of life?” He went on to tell us he was leaving his wife penniless and his daughter without money for college. Then he ordered us out.

Later my deacon insisted we go back. We did.

“Jack, I know I offended you,” he said. “I humbly apologize. But I want you to know I’ve been working since then. Your first problem is where your family will live after you die. A realtor in our church has agreed to sell your house and give your wife his commission.

“I guarantee you that, if you’ll permit us, some other men and I will make the house payments until it’s sold.

“Then, I’ve contacted the owner of an apartment house down the street. He’s offered your wife a three-bedroom apartment plus free utilities and an $850-a-month salary in return for her collecting rents and supervising plumbing and electrical repairs. The income from your house should pay for your daughter’s college. I just want you to know your family will be cared for.”

Jack cried like a baby.

He died shortly thereafter, so wracked in pain he never accepted Christ. But he experienced God’s love even while rejecting Him. And his widow, touched by the caring Christians, responded to the gospel message.

Seoul—At his father’s funeral, American Carl Lewis placed his 100-meter gold medal from the 1984 Olympics in his father’s hands. “Don’t worry,” he told his surprised mother. “I’ll get another one.”

A year later, in the 100-meter final at the 1988 games, Lewis was competing against Canadian world-record-holder Ben Johnson. Halfway through the race Johnson was five feet in front. Lewis was convinced he could catch him. But at 80 meters, he was still five feet behind. It’s over, Dad, Lewis thought. As Johnson crossed the finish, he stared back at Lewis and thrust his right arm in the air, index finger extended.

Lewis was exasperated. He had noticed Johnson’s bulging muscles and yellow-tinged eyes, both indications of steroid use. “I didn’t have the medal, but I could still give to my father by acting with class and dignity,” Lewis said later. He shook Johnson’s hand and left the track.

But then came the announcement that Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids. He was stripped of his medal. The gold went to Lewis, a replacement for the medal he had given his father.

Actress Carol Burnett got out of a cab one day and caught her coat in the door. The driver was unaware of her plight and slowly began to edge out into traffic. To keep from being pulled off her feet, the comedienne had to run alongside down the block.

A passerby noted her predicament and quickly alerted the driver. He stopped, jumped out, and released Miss Burnett’s coat. “Are you all right?” he asked anxiously.

“Yes,” she gasped, “but how much more do I owe you?”

A professional carpet-layer stepped back to survey a newly installed carpet. Reaching into his shirt pocket for a cigarette, he realized the pack was missing. At the same time he noticed a lump under the carpet in the middle of the room, about the size of the missing cigarette pack.

There was no way to retrieve his cigarette pack from under the attached carpet without ripping everything up and starting over. Finally, he decided to beat the object flat, thereby destroying any evidence of his mistake.

Gathering his tools, the carpet layer walked out to his truck. There on the seat of his truck was the mislaid pack of cigarette. As he lit one up, the homeowner hurried out of the house and asked, “Hey, have you seen my son’s gerbil?”

In WWI, the American 308th regiment was surrounded by enemy forces and under severe mortar and machine gun fire. Casualties were heavy and supplies were short. The unbearable situation intensified when American artillery began shelling the sector where the 308th had dug in. The only communication was by carrier pigeon. In desperation, a sergeant released the last bird with a note pleading for the Americans to hold their fire. As soon as he pigeon lifted off, a stray bullet grazed the side of his head and tore out his left eye. Then a piece of shrapnel hit his chest, shattering his breastbone. But his homing instinct was strong and he struggled onward. Somewhere in the flight another piece of shrapnel tore off his left leg, leaving the message canister dangling from torn ligaments. The pigeon made it to his loft, however, and the order went out immediately to stop shelling. The 308th survived.

To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee.

A wise old sage early in our marriage advised us, “If you don’t carry out the garbage, one day your house will become a dump.”

Shades of the poet’s wording:

It is the little rift within the lute

that by and by may make the music mute.

“Carry some quiet around inside thee,” the well-known Quaker, George Fox, used to say. “Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit, from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord from whence cometh life; whereby thou mayest receive the strength and power to allay all storms and tempests.”

Eric Fellman speaks of meeting a Chinese couple in Hong Kong, while traveling to China.

“A friend took me down a narrow alley to a second-floor flat to meet a man recently released from prison in China. I knew I would be pressed to carry Bibles and literature on my trip. But I was hesitant and tried to mask my fear with rationalizations about legalities and other concerns. A Chinese man in his 6Os opened the door. His smile was radiant, but his back was bent almost double. He led us to a sparsely furnished room. A Chinese woman of about the same age came in to serve tea. As she lingered, I couldn’t help but notice how they touched and lovingly looked at each other. My staring apparently didn’t go unnoticed, for soon they were both giggling.

“What is it?” I asked my friend. “Oh nothing,” he said with a smile. “They just wanted you to know it was OK—they’re newlyweds.” I learned they had been engaged in 1949, when he was a student at Nanking Seminary. On the day of their wedding rehearsal, Chinese communists seized the seminary. They took the students to a hard-labor prison. For the next 30 years, the bride-to-be was allowed only one visit per year. Each time, following their brief minutes together, the man would be called to the warden’s office. “You may go home with your bride,” he said, “if you will renounce Christianity.”

Year after year, this man replied with just one word; “No.” I was stunned. How had he been able to stand the strain for so long, being denied his family, his marriage, and even his health? When I asked, he seemed astonished at my question. He replied, “With all that Jesus has one for me, how could I betray Him?” The next day, I requested that my suitcase be crammed with Bibles and training literature for Chinese Christians. I determined not to lie about the materials, yet lost not one minute of sleep worrying about the consequences. And as God had planned, my suitcases were never inspected.

Casey Stengel was a longtime major league baseball manager whose unique way with the English language became known as “Stengelese.” He once said, “I’ve always heard that it couldn’t be done, but sometimes it don’t always work.” That’s typical Stengelese. Casey held a position on the board of directors for a California bank. According to a story that originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Casey described his duties this way: “There ain’t nuthin’ to it. You go into the fancy meeting room and you just sit there and never open your yap. As long as you don’t say nuthin’ they don’t know whether you’re smart or dumb.”

Henry Moorhouse, when engaged in a work that seemed to call upon him for a more than usual exercise of faith, received what seems like a most tender answer from God.

His little daughter, who was a paralytic, was sitting in her chair as he entered the house with a package in his hand for his wife. Going up to her and kissing her, he asked, "Where is Mother?" "Mother is upstairs." "Well, I have a package for her." "Let me carry the package to Mother." "Why, Minnie, dear, how can you carry the package? You cannot carry yourself." With a smile on her face, Minnie said, "Oh, no, Papa; but you give me the package, and I will carry the package, and you will carry me." Taking her up in his arms, he carried her upstairs-little Minnie and the package, too.

And then it came to him that this was just his position in the work in which he was engaged. He was carrying his burden, but was not God carrying him? "Cast" (Psa 55:22). "Carry" (Isa 46:4).

The hymnwriter George Neumark was a dedicated Christian who was afflicted with blindness in his later years. This infirmity was just one more trial in a life already filled with heartache. While still a young man, he had been reduced to poverty and was down to his last penny. Yet his trust in God did not fail, for he found great strength in the promise, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” He prayed earnestly for God’s help. The answer came in the form of an unexpected appointment as tutor for the family of a rich judge. Relieved and delighted, he was prompted to compose one of his best-known hymns, “If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee,” to thank the Lord for His sustaining grace. Later Johann Sebastian Bach saw such beauty in the hymn that he used it as the basis for a cantata, and Mendelssohn included it in his oratorio Saint Paul.

Many of you may recall the popular song “Cat’s in the Cradle” sung by Harry Chapin. The words always bring a tear to my eye because I am a father, and over the years I have had to travel so much. The song unfolds as follows:

My child arrived just the other day;

He came to the world in the usual way,

But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay,

He learned to walk while I was away.

And he was talkin’ ‘fore I knew it and as he grew,

He’d say, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad.

You know I’m gonna be like you.”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,

Little Boy Blue and the man in the moon.

“When you comin’ home, Dad?”

“I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then;

You know we’ll have a good time then.”

My son turned ten just the other day.

He said, “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on, let’s play.

Can you teach me to throw?”

I said, “No, not today,

I got a lot to do.”

He said, “That’s okay.”

And he walked away but his smile never dimmed.

It said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah,

You know I’m gonna be like him….”

And he came from college just the other day;

So much like a man I just had to say,

“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”

He shook his head and he said with a smile,

“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys.

See you later, can I have them please?”

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away.

I called him up just the other day.

I said, “I’d like to see you, if you don’t mind.”

He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time.

You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu,

But it’s sure nice talkin’ to you, Dad,

It’s been nice talkin’ to you.”

And as I hung up the phone

It occurred to me,

He’d grown up just like me.

My boy was just like me.

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,

Little Boy Blue and the man in the moon,

“When you comin’ home, Son?”

“I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad.

We’re gonna have a good time then.”

The melodrama of this song was played out in Chapin’s own life almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have been told that his wife, who wrote the words of the song, asked him one day when he was going to slow down the torrid pace of his life and give some time to their children. His answer was, “At the end of this busy summer, I’ll take some time to be with them.” That summer, ironically and tragically, Harry Chapin was killed in a car accident.

It is not possible to read that postscript of Chapin’s death and miss the larger point—that something was known, believed, and even “preached,” but never lived. When we chase manmade crowns and sacrifice the treasured relationships for which God has made us, life loses its meaning.

A “do it yourself” catalog firm received the following letter from one of its customers: “I built a birdhouse according to your stupid plans, and not only is it much too big, it keeps blowing out of the tree. Signed, Unhappy.”

The firm replied: “Dear Unhappy, We’re sorry about the mix-up. We accidentally sent you a sailboat blueprint. But if you think you are unhappy, you should read the letter from the guy who came in last in the yacht club regatta.”

A few years ago gifts to the Prairie Bible Institute of Alberta, Canada, declined from a certain geographical area. At that time the school’s president, Dr. Maxwell, had undergone two operations for cataracts, one on each eye. When a representative of the school was visiting in that particular area, a donor asked why Dr. Maxwell was riding around in two Cadillacs.

Catch the child being good. Tell the child what behaviors please you. Respond to positive efforts and reinforce good behavior. An observing and sensitive parent will find countless opportunities during the day to make such comments as, “I like the way you come in for dinner without being reminded; I appreciate your hanging up your clothes even though you were in a hurry to get out to play.

Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ringtailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.

In his brilliant new book, Catching the Light, quantum physicist Arthur Zojanc writes of what he describes as the “entwined history of light and mind” (correctly described by one admirer as the “two ultimate metaphors of the human spirit”). For our purposes, his initial chapter is most helpful.

From both the animal and human studies, we know there are critical developmental “windows” in the first years of life. Sensory and motor skills are formed, and if this early opportunity is lost, trying to play catch up is hugely frustrating and mostly unsuccessful.

Prof. Zajoc writes of studies which investigated recovery from congenital blindness. Thanks to cornea transplants, people who had been blind from birth would suddenly have functional use of their eyes. Nevertheless, success was rare. Referring to one young boy, “the world does not appear to the patient as filled with the gifts of intelligible light, color, and shape upon awakening from surgery,” Zajoc observes. Light and eyes were not enough to grant the patient sight. “The light of day beckoned, but no light of mind replied within the boy’s anxious, open eyes.”

Zajoc quotes from a study by a Dr. Moreau who observed that while surgery gave the patient the “power to see,” “the employment of this power, which as a whole constitutes the act of seeing, still has to be acquired from the beginning.” Dr. Moreau concludes, “To give back sight to a congenitally blind person is more the work of an educator than of a surgeon.” To which Zajoc adds, “The sober truth remains that vision requires far more than a functioning physical organ. Without an inner light, without a formative visual imagination, we are blind,” he explains. That “inner light”—the light of the mind—“must flow into and marry with the light of nature to bring forth a world.”

archai: rulers (1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15)

exousiai: authorities (1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col :16; 2:10, 15)

dunameis: powers (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21)

kuriotes: dominions (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16)

thronoi: thrones (Col 1:16)

archontes: leaders, princes (1 Cor 2:6)

kosmokratores: world rulers (Eph 6:12)

Catherine Booth was the “mother” of the Salvation Army. “Wherever Catherine Booth went,” said G. Campbell Morgan, “humanity went to hear her. Princes and peeresses merged with paupers and prostitutes.”

One night, Morgan shared in a meeting with Mrs. Booth; and a great crowd of “publicans and sinners” was there. Her message brought many to Christ.

After the meeting, Morgan and Mrs. Booth went to be entertained at a fine home; and the lady of the manor said, “My dear Mrs. Booth, that meeting was dreadful”

“What do you mean, dearie?” asked Mrs. Booth.

“Oh, when you were speaking, I was looking at those people opposite to me. Their faces were so terrible, many of them. I don’t think I shall sleep tonight!”

“Why, dearie, don’t you know them?” Mrs. Booth asked; and the hostess replied, “Certainly not!”

“Well, that is interesting,” Mrs. Booth said. “I did not bring them with me from London; they are your neighbors!”

There is a new leader for Atlanta’s Roman Catholic community, Bishop James Lyke, and he is calling for a renewal and revival of the church which locally has been rocked by a sex scandal. More than a third of Roman Catholic Priests in the United States are sexually active. The American Psychological Association meeting in Boston hears of Johns Hopkins’ research indicating that 20 percent of priests are heterosexual, 10-13 percent homosexual, and 6 percent involved sexually with minors.

This 25-year study, by the way, was conducted by Richard Sight, who left the priesthood to marry. Catholic officials say that his study is not scientific.

A ten-year-old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything, but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enroll their son in a private Catholic school.

After the first day, the boy’s parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, focused and very determined expression on his face, and went right past them straight to his room, where he quietly closed the door.

For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room - with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime.

This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first quarter report card.

The boy walked in with his report card—unopened—laid it on the dinner table and went straight to his room. cautiously, his mother opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright red “A” under the subject of MATH. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son’s room, thrilled at his remarkable progress.

“Was it the nuns that did it?”, the father asked. The boy only shook his head and said, “No.”

“Was it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?”

“No.”

“The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?”

“Nope,” said the son. “on that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they nailed to the ‘plus sign,’ I just knew they meant business!”

Cato the Elder, on observing statues being set up in honor of others, remarked: “I would rather have people ask ‘Why isn’t there a statue to Cato? than ‘Why is there one?’”

In its early days, Dallas Theological Seminary was in critical need of $10,000 to keep the work going. During a prayer meeting, renowned Bible teacher Harry Ironside, a lecturer at the school, prayed, “Lord, you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of those cattle to help us meet this need.” Shortly after the prayer meeting, a check for $10,000 arrived at the school, sent days earlier by a friend who had no idea of the urgent need or of Ironside’s prayer. The man simply said the money came from the sale of some of his cattle!