Pastoral Resources

One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that God wants us to talk to Him about everything that is going on in our lives, even though He already knows everything. So why pray?

If you’ve ever wrestled with that question, perhaps the thoughts of the 19th-century preacher R. A. Torrey can help. Among the reasons he gave for prayer are these:

Because there is a devil, and prayer is a God-appointed way to resist Him (Eph. 6:12-13, 18).

Because prayer is God’s way for us to obtain what we need from Him (Lk. 11:3-13; Jas. 4:2).

Because prayer is the means God has appointed for us to find “grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Because prayer with thanksgiving is God’s way for us to obtain freedom from anxiety and to receive “the peace of God” (Phil. 4:6-7).

Besides these reasons, it’s enough to read the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing,” and realize that God wants us to talk with Him. Yes, He is all-knowing, but He also desires our fellowship. When we seek God’s face in prayer, we strengthen our relationship with Him. That’s the most important reason to pray. —JDB

Do you know what you get when there are thirty rabbits in a row marching backwards?

You have a receding hairline.

In a View From The Zoo, Gary Richmond, a former zoo keeper, had this to say:

“Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young friend of mine, Julie. She listened politely as I explained the coming danger. I’ll never forget her answer. “‘It will be different for me…’ And she smiled as she added, ‘Bandit wouldn’t hurt me. He just wouldn’t.’

“Three months later Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason. Bandit was released into the wild.”

Sin, too, often comes dressed in an adorable guise, and as we play with it, how easy it is to say, “It will be different for me.” The results are predictable.

Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff was once honored at a dinner hosted by fellow pianist Arthur Rubinstein. During the course of the evening, Rachmaninoff said he thought the Grieg piano concerto the greatest ever written. When Rubinstein said he had just recorded it, Rachmaninoff insisted on hearing it then and there. During coffee, Rubinstein put on the proofs of the record and Rachmaninoff, closing his eyes, settled down to listen. He listened right through without saying a word. At the end of the concerto he opened his eyes and said, “Piano out of tune.”

When Jean-Claude Killy made the French national ski team in the early 1960s, he was prepared to work harder than anyone else to be the best. At the crack of dawn he would run up the slopes with his skis on, an unbelievably grueling activity. In the evening he would lift weights, run sprints—anything to get an edge. But the other team members were working as hard and long as he was. He realized instinctively that simply training harder would never be enough.

Killy then began challenging the basic theories of racing technique. Each week he would try something different to see if he could find a better, faster way down the mountain. His experiments resulted in a new style that was almost exactly opposite the accepted technique of the time. It involved skiing with his legs apart (not together) for better balance and sitting back (not forward) on the skis when he came to a turn. He also used ski poles in an unorthodox way—to propel himself as he skied. The explosive new style helped cut Killy’s racing times dramatically. In 1966 and 1967 he captured virtually every major skiing trophy. The next year he won three gold medals in the Winter Olympics, a record in ski racing that has never been topped.

Killy learned an important secret shared by many creative people: innovations don’t require genius, just a willingness to question the way things have always been done.

A man named La Piere sent out letters to the managers of 256 hotels and restaurants across the southern half of the U.S. He told them that he was planning to tour the south with two Chinese companions and he wanted to know ahead of time whether they would be served. Ninety-two percent of the businesses replied that they did not serve Chinese and that La Piere could save himself considerable embarrassment by not showing up with such undesirables. He wasn’t surprised. Racial prejudice was a part of southern life in the 1930s, and this was long before a ban was placed on discrimination in interstate commerce. La Piere ignored the managers’ advice, however. Accompanied by a Chinese man and his wife, he visited every one of the establishments that said they’d refuse service. Surprise! Ninety-nine percent of the places admitted the oriental couple, and almost all did so without a hassle…La Piere’s study points up something that’s a consistent finding in the field of persuasion—that a person may say he feels one thing, and then turn right around and do something completely different.

The renowned Quaker scholar Rufus Jones was speaking of the importance of having a radiant countenance. After his address, a woman “with an almost unbelievably plain face” came up and asked him what he would do if he had a face like hers.

He replied, “While I have troubles of my own of that kind, I’ve discovered that if you light it up from within, any old face you have is good enough.”

Glen, one day while I was visiting with him, remarked about a radio preacher he’d heard earlier. “That was one of the best messages I’ve ever heard; he just did a tremendous job. Too bad you missed it, it was great…” After a pause his voice dropped and he said in a serious tone, “You know, he said some things I’d been thinking for a long time.” (1985).

When the railroads were first introduced to the U.S., some folks feared that they’d be the downfall of the nation! Here’s an exerpt from a letter to then President Jackson dated January 31, 1829:

As you may know, Mr. President, ‘railroad’ carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by ‘engines’ which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.

In South Africa, naturist club owner Beau Brummell was irked by accusations from morals watchdogs that a shriveling Transvaal drought was brought on by the “sin” of nude togetherness at his 1000-acre farm. So he asked his 370 visitors to get dressed. And, for the first time in two months, it poured rain. “It’s enough to make me become a monk!” Brummell said.

Resurrection means to be raised from the dead (John 5:28,29). The word is used in different contexts in the Bible. Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:43). This is a resurrection, but it is not part of the resurrection that occurs when we receive our new bodies when Christ returns (1 Thess. 4:13-18), on the last day (John 6:39-44) when the last trumpet is blown (1 Cor. 15:51-55). Lazarus died again. The resurrection of Jesus is promissory in that as we know He was raised, so we will be raised also. In that context, Jesus is the only one who has received a resurrected body. That is why He is called the first-fruit from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20-23). We will receive our bodies either at the rapture or when Jesus returns to earth.

The resurrected body is not subject to death or sin. We know very little about it except what was was manifested by Jesus after His resurrection; namely, that He was able to move about as He desired—in and out of rooms without the use of doors. Other than that, the rest is conjecture. (See 1 Cor. 15).

Honorable Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir,

My friend, Dan Hansen, over at Honey Creek, Iowa, received a check for $1,000.00 from the government for not raising hogs. So I want to go into the “NOT RAISING HOGS” business next year.

What I want to know is, in your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to raise hogs on? And what is the best breed of hogs not to raise? I want to be sure that I approach this endeavor in keeping with all government policies.

As I see it, the hardest part of the “NOT RAISING HOGS’ program is keeping an accurate inventory of how many hogs I haven’t raised.

My friend Hansen is very joyful about the future of the business. He has been raising hogs for twenty years or so, and the best he has ever made on them was $422.90 in 1968, until this year when he got your check for the $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs.

If I get $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs, then would I get $2000.00 for not raising 100 hogs? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself to about 4,000 hogs not raised the first year, which would bring in about $80,000.00; then I can afford an airplane.

Now another thing - these hogs I will not raise will not eat 100,000 bushels of corn. I understand that the government also pays people not to raise corn and wheat. Would I qualify for payments for not raising these crops not to feed my hogs I will not be raising?

I want to get started as soon as possible as this seems to be a good time of the year for the “NOT RAISING HOGS” and “NOT PLANTING CROPS” business.

Also I am giving serious consideration to the “NOT MILKING COWS” business and any information you would have on the endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

In view of the fact that I will be totally unemployed, I will be filing for unemployment and food stamps, and was wondering how long that process takes.

Be assured, Mr. Secretary, you will have my vote in the upcoming election.

Patriotically yours, P.S. Would you please notify me when you plan to give out the free cheese again?

Don Genereaux

The story is told of a heavy bronze bell that had sunk into a river in China. The efforts of various engineers to raise it had been of no avail. At last a clever native priest asked permission to make the attempt on the condition that the bell should be given to his temple. He then had his assistants gather an immense number of bamboo rods. These are hollow, light, and practically unsinkable. They were taken down by divers, one by one, and fastened to the bell. After many thousands of them had been thus fastened, it was noticed that the bell began to move, and, when the last one had been added, the buoyancy of the accumulated rods was so great that they actually lifted the enormous mass of bronze to the surface. You may think your bamboo rod is too small and light to make any difference, but it is necessary in God's sight to help in lifting souls to God and to lend strength to the others.

In “One Nation Under God,” a statistical map of American religion, summarized in the Nov. 29 issue of Newsweek, Barry Kosmin and Seymour Lachman of the City University of New York have assembled data from 113,000 respondents, by far the most comprehensive random sample of detailed religious preference ever collected. The survey determined that nearly 1/3 of the adult U.S. population (18 and over) is now “totally secular” in its spiritual outlook! It also found that only 19 percent of adult Americans—about 36 million people—regularly practice their faith. The rest are described as “moderately religious” (22 percent), “barely” or nominally religious (29 percent) and agnostics and atheists (7.5 percent). The survey has an important message for the religiously and politically conservative who are interested in reversing the downward cultural spiral. It is unlikely that the 19 percent whose faith affects their lives and world view can change the moral and social conditions of our country through political means alone.

“You have a very rare and extremely contagious condition,” the doctor told his patient. “We’re going to put you in an isolation unit, where you’ll be on a diet of pancakes and pizza.”

“Will pancakes and pizza cure my condition?”

“No,” replied the doctor. “They’re the only things we can slip under the door.”

Hans Isnik (sp?) did a study and found that if you have emotional problems, the probability that you will be well in 1 year if you go to see a psychoanalyst is 44%; psychotherapist is 53%; Psychiatrist is 61%; no one at all is 73%.

Thou oughtest so to order thyself in all thy thoughts and actions, as if today thou wert about to die. Labor now to live so, that at the hour of death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear.

A rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is—a biting of oneself. We think that we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.

Time is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible; without it, nothing. The supply of time is truly a daily miracle, an affair genuinely astonishing when one examines it.

You wake up in the morning, and lo! Your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours. It is the most precious of possessions... No one can take it from you. It is unstealable. And no one receives either more or less than you receive. Moreover, you cannot draw on its future. Impossible to get into debt! You can only waste the passing moment. You cannot waste tomorrow; it is kept for you. You cannot waste the next hour; it is kept for you.

You have to live on this twenty-four hours of daily time. Out of it you have to spin health, pleasure, money, content, respect, and the evolution of your immortal soul. Its right use, its most effective use, is a matter of the highest urgency and of the most thrilling actuality. All depends on that. Your happiness—the elusive prize that you are all clutching for, my friends—depends on that.

If one cannot arrange that an income of twenty-four hours a day shall exactly cover all proper items of expenditure, one does muddle one’s whole life indefinitely.

We shall never have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is.

REACH!-meaning "to stretch." It implies an inconvenience. It involves movement. You can't lean back, relax, get comfortable-and then reach, without giving up some of the comfort (at least for a moment). Reaching involves a little extra effort to get to something you want. How much extra energy you are willing to spend depends on how badly you want what you're reaching for. The more it means to you, the farther you are willing to stretch (even if it hurts).

It's not convenient to "reach" up to God to find the hand He lovingly extends to us; or to reach out to other people who so desperately need to know someone cares. It's not even easy to reach within ourselves to find our true feelings and values. But there is no more important way for us to spend our energy than to reach for a life that is pure, clean, and faithful to God. It may seem like a lot of trouble-but it's worth it!

It is now believed that a man reaches his peak mentally around the age of 35 and that this peak is maintained even past 70 years of age.

It has also been proven that the old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is untrue. The learning power at 70 is about the same as it is at 17.

As one authority put it, we do not become old through the passing of years, but rather by our reactions to the circumstances of life.

The bitter news of Dawson Trotman’s drowning swept like cold wind across Schroon Lake to the shoreline. Eyewitnesses tell of the profound anxiety, the tears, the helpless disbelief in the faces of those who now looked out across the deep blue water. Everyone’s face except one—Lila Trotman, Dawson’s widow. As she suddenly walked upon the scene a close friend shouted, “Oh, Lila ... He’s gone. Dawson’s gone!” To that she replied in calm assurance the words of Psalm 115:3: ‘But our God is in the heavens;He does whatever He pleases.

All of the anguish, the sudden loneliness that normally consumes and cripples those who survive did not invade that woman’s heart. Instead, she leaned hard upon her sovereign Lord, who had once again done what He pleased.

We can supplement our accountability to others by reading slowly through literature designed to challenge our Christian maturity. Consider, as an example, these questions related to sexual purity that I had to read carefully as I read Kent Hughes’ Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome:

1. Are we being desensitized by the present evil world? Do things that once shocked us now pass us by with little notice? Have our sexual ethics slackened?

2. Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform?

3. What are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries that we want no one else to see?

4. What are we renting at the local video stores? How many hours do we spend watching TV? How many adulteries did we watch last week? How many murders? How many did we watch with our children?

5. How many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?

George Mueller, who was known for his strong faith, confided. “The first 3 years after conversion, I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight!”

John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, testified, “Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions; pray and read, and read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from man.”

The following comes from a Wall Street Journal article:

Compaq is considering changing the command “Press Any Key” to “Press Return Key” because of the flood of calls asking where the “Any” key is.
A Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of trouble-shooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in
front of the monitor screen and hitting the “send” key.
A confused caller to IBM was having troubles printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had said it “couldn't find printer.” The user had also tried turning the computer screen to face the printer - but that his computer still couldn't “see” the printer.
A customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand-new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch, she asked “What
power switch?” (Alan Smith, TFTD, 7/9/2004 ).

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

Ready to answer— 1 Peter 3:15

Ready to preach— Romans 1:15

Ready to distribute— 1 Timothy 4:18

Ready for every good work— Titus 3:1

Ready to die— Acts 21:13

Ready to meet the Lord— Luke 12:36

Ready to enter the glory— Matthew 25:10

Once out of school, nearly 60 percent of all adult Americans will never again read a single book.

Have you heard about the little fellow in their group who was working diligently on his ABC Memory Book? He always looked like a little professor. His mother took him to the eye specialist, who had the young chap sit on the chair for examination. He placed the card with the letters on the wall in front of him and said, "Will you read it for me, please?"

Sure enough, the boy did not hesitate for a moment and said distinctly, "A-All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way."

In a typical week, during how many days, if any, would you read the Bible, not including the time you are at church? Daily, 13%; 3 times a week, 32%; Not at all, 43%.

It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.

It is possible to live under a delusion. You think you are kind, considerate and gracious, when you are really not. You think you are building positive values into your children, but, if you could check with them 20 years later, you really did not. What if you could read your own obituary? How do people really see you? Here is the story of a man who did.

One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as result of a simple journalistic error. You see, it was Alfred's brother that had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.

Any man would be disturbed under the circumstances, but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he saw himself as the world saw him. The "Dynamite King," the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was concerned, was the entire purpose of Alfred's life. None of his true intentions to break down the barriers that separated men and ideas for peace were recognized or given serious consideration. He was simply a merchant of death. And for that alone he would be remembered.

As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. This could be done through the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament would be the expression of his life's ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him. The result was the most valuable of prizes given to those who had done the most for the cause of world peace. It is called today the "Nobel Peace Prize."

You may think you are a kind, thoughtful, gracious person. But what if today you read your own obituary? You are a businessman, what would your employees write? You are a professional person, what would your clients say? You are a parent, what would your children write? You are a preacher, teacher, whatever, what would those who listen to you say? Since we cannot read our obituary, let us rewrite it. Starting today.

Misjudged by a fellow missionary, David Livingstone gave up his house and garden at Mabotsa, with all the toil and money they had cost him, rather than have any scandal before the heathen. He began in a new place the laborious building of a house and school, and gathered the people around him. His colleague was so struck with his generosity that he said if he had known his intention, he never would have spoken a word against him. Parting with his garden cost Livingstone a great pang. "I like a garden," he wrote, "but Paradise will make amends for all our privations here." Paul says, "I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus" (2Ti_2:10).

The man huddled on the cabin floor was slowly freezing to death. It was high in the Rockies in southwestern Alberta, and outside a blizzard raged. John Elliot had logged miles that day through the deep snows of the mountain passes. As he checked for avalanches, and as dusk and exhaustion overcame him, he had decided to "hole up." He made it wearily to his cabin but somewhat dazed with fatigue, he did not light a fire or remove his wet clothing.

As the blizzard blasted through the cracks in the old cabin walls, the sleeping forest ranger sank into oblivion, paralyzed by the pleasure of the storm's icy caress. Suddenly, however, his dog sprang into action, and with unrelenting whines, finally managed to rouse his near-comatose friend.

The dog was John's constant companion, a St. Bernard, one of a long line of dogs famous for their heroics in times of crisis. "If that dog had not been with me, I would be dead today," John Elliott says. "When you are freezing to death you actually feel warm all over, and do not wake up because it feels too good."

A gentleman residing in the fashionable part of London, and thoroughly carried away with the follies of society life, was walking down the street one day with a Christian woman of his acquaintance. He turned to her and asked, "How is it that you religious people are always trying to rob us of our pleasure? I enjoy life, and I can't see why you should be forever trying to rob me of what pleasure this short life affords." "You are greatly mistaken if that is what you think," replied the woman. "We do not want you to give up anything, but to receive." The gentleman kept thinking of the word "receive." It refused to leave him. Not long after, he called on the woman, told her his life was miserable, and asked what he must do to receive peace of soul and joy of heart. She led him to the Savior, where he found pardon and joy he had never known before.

William Gladstone, in announcing the death of Princess Alice to the House of Commons, told a touching story. The little daughter of the Princess was seriously ill with diphtheria. The doctors told the princess not to kiss her little daughter and endanger her life by breathing the child’s breath. Once when the child was struggling to breathe, the mother, forgetting herself entirely, took the little one into her arms to keep her from choking to death. Rasping and struggling for her life, the child said, “Momma, kiss me!” Without thinking of herself the mother tenderly kissed her daughter. She got diphtheria and some days thereafter she went to be forever with the Lord.

Real love forgets self. Real love knows no danger. Real love doesn’t count the cost. The Bible says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

To tell the Christmas story in a unique way, play A Charlie Brown Christmas ( 20:48-21:41 , begins with scene six).   This is Linus' retelling of Jesus' birth.

It is related of the Queen of Sheba that she sent two wreaths of roses to Solomon, one real and the other artificial. To test his reputed wisdom she defied him to detect the genuine from the artificial. Solomon at once directed that some bees be brought into the room. Immediately they flew to the real flowers and ignored the counterfeit. The real disciples of Christ are known by the bees that cluster around to sting them. Artificial flowers don't attract stinging bees. Rejoice, therefore, when you are excommunicated from the organized world of artificial religion.Learn from the Birds

Let us learn from the birds. What is it that enables them to fly? Wings? Of course, but not wings alone. It is the resistance of the air that makes flight possible. A bird flies much as an oarsman rows his boat. As oars are used to push against the resistance of water, thus sending the craft ahead, the scooped-out shape of the underside of the bird's wings helps it get a "grip" on the air. The air resists and the bird pushes against the resistance with the downward stroke of its wings. By such pushing movements, it succeeds in flying. Throughout life, progress is made only in the face of opposition. The bird flies through the resisting medium of air. The brook trout needs the resisting water if he is to swim. A democracy thrives through a system of opposing political parties and checks and balances in government. The spirit of a person grows stronger, not as life becomes easier, but as testings and temptations are met, struggled with, and beaten into submission.

Two little boys were playing together one afternoon. They had not been playing long when the larger boy took advantage of his weaker playmate. Georgie, the smaller one, too proud to complain, withdrew some distance and sat by himself, manfully winking back the ready tears. After a short time, the larger boy grew tired of his solitary play and called, "Say, Georgie, come back. I'm sorry." Georgie, warned by previous experience, did not respond to the invitation at once. "Yes," he replied cautiously, "but what kind of sorry? The kind so you won't do it again?"

Don Hewitt, creator of “60 Minutes,” on his special talent as a journalist: My philosophy is simple. It’s what little kids say to their parents: “Tell me a story.” Even the people who wrote the Bible knew that when you deal with issues, you tell stories. The issue was evil; the story was Noah.

I’ve had producers say, “We’ve got to do something on acid rain.” I say, “Hold it. Acid rain is not a story. Acid rain is a topic. We don’t do topics. Find me someone who has to deal with the problem of acid rain. Now you have a story.”

A life-threatening experience has a way of rearranging one’s priorities. That was true in the lives of former Texas Governor John Connally and his wife after he was wounded by the assassin who took the life of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

In an interview, Connally explained, “As far as Nellie and I are concerned,... it inevitably brought into sharper focus what’s really important in life... We try not to participate in things that are shallow or in the long run meaningless.”

Socrates, that great father of philosophy, advised young men to carry a mirror. If they were good looking, they should remind themselves that an ugly life was out of keeping with good looks. If their appearance was not attractive, they were told to remember that handsome actions offset ugly looks.

Why are children aborted? The Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) states:

1% are victims of incest or rape

1% had fetal abnormalities

4% had a doctor who said their health would worsen if they continued the pregnancy

50% said they didn’t want to be a single parent or they had problems in current relationships

66% stated they could not afford a child

75% said the child would interfere with their lives.

Tears resulting from sadness, anger, fear or joy vary chemically from those caused by smelling onions and may be nature’s method of removing chemicals built up by stress from the body. Dr. William Frey II, of the Psychiatry Research Laboratories at the St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center, St. Paul, Minn., believes this to be the case. Studies he has done indicate that women cry five times as often as men and that 85% of the women and 73% of the men thought that crying made them feel better. Most common reason for crying is sadness, followed in rank by happiness, anger, sympathy, anxiety and fear.

1. We may bring suffering upon ourselves. Dissipation and lack of discipline bring unhappy consequences. Long-term abuse of our bodies may bring on sickness. Wrong choices come back to haunt us. You may ask the caller: “Do you think this is happening to you because of your own bad judgment or intemperate actions? What can you do to alleviate your suffering?”

2. Sometimes God is taking corrective action because of sin and disobedience. God will correct and discipline His own. Through chastening He proves that He loves us and that we are truly His own (Hebrews 12:5-11).

3. God may permit suffering so we learn to respond to problems in a biblical way. Scripture tells us that Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8, NIV). Our goal should be not merely relief from suffering but rather learning to please God by being responsive and obedient to Him and to His Word (see Romans 12:1, 2).

4. Sometimes God permits us to suffer to teach us that pain is a part of life. Nowhere does the Bible say that the Christian will not suffer adversity! Paul points out in Philippians 1:29, KJV, that it is “given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” Adversity can be a gift from God.

Christ did not evade the Cross to escape suffering. Hebrews 12:2 says he “endured the cross, despising the shame.” Why? “For the joy that was set before him.” He knew that the final word was not crucifixion (suffering); it was resurrection (victory).

We may suffer briefly, or all our lives. But let us not give up hope or engage in self-pity or bitterness. The end-result is what we all look forward to. Being with the Lord in heaven will put all things into perspective!

5. God may permit suffering for our well-being. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, NIV). We must accept this by faith and pray that God’s highest good will come as a result of our suffering. Only through adversity are some of the deeper lessons of life learned. Trust God to work out His own will and purpose in us so that we might be more Christlike (see Romans 8:29).

There is no redemptive merit in our suffering as there was in that of Jesus, but if we are faithful under adversity we may be able to share in “the fellowship of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10, KJV).

6. Sometimes God permits suffering to speak through our life and testimony to comfort others. Jesus said that the sufferings of the blind man in John 9 were so “that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (NIV).

God might work in your life through suffering to inspire others by your example in adversity. Those who endure adversity can sympathize and identify more effectively with others in their sufferings. We comfort others in the way we are comforted. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4, (NIV).

Being reborn; the subject of Jesus’ discourse with Nicodemus in John 3 (cf. Titus 3:5). This word is not found often in Scripture, but the idea is important. Regeneration is seen to be the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). The “natural man” always thinks of salvation (however understood) as resting in one’s own hands, but Jesus taught that it is necessary for a divine work to take place if anyone is to be saved. Sinners must be reborn spiritually.”

Les Henson, a six-foot, six-inch senior forward on the Virginia Tech basketball team, will never forget a game against Florida State University in Tallahassee last year (1986). With two seconds to go and the score tied at 77 to 77, Henson grabbed a rebound off the Florida State backboard a foot from the baseline and threw the ball overhand toward his own basket. “It was eerie—you couldn’t hear a thing in the arena,” Henson recalled later. “Then it just swished through the hoop” —from 89 feet, 3 inches away, making it the longest field goal in college basketball history. And Henson, who shoots with his left hand, had done it with a right-handed throw.

Several small organizations intent on rebuilding the temple received additional publicity, and perhaps credibility, in October when Israel’s Religious Affairs Ministry sponsored the first conference of Temple Research. One of the most zealous groups is the Temple Institute, which has reconstructed 38 of the 103 ritual implements required for sacrifices. “Our task is to advance the cause of the temple and to prepare for its establishment, not just talk about it,” says director Zev Golan. “No one can say how, and no one wants to do it by force. But sooner or later, in a week or in a century, it will be done.” Two Talmudic schools near the Western (Wailing) Wall are teaching students details of temple service. Other scholars are researching genealogies to identify members of the priestly line. Plans call for an organizing convention of priestly descendants next year. One group of Jewish activists, the Temple Mount Faithful, dedicated a three-ton “cornerstone” two kilometers from the temple site. Police prevented them from staging the ceremony in the Western Wall Plaza.

If you recognize the responsibilities of your position and your exact relationship to the one who is above you, you will be wise. It is not always the ruler of a country who is the most intelligent man in that country. Nor is the principal of a school smarter than the teachers under him. The same holds true of students and teachers. Many times teachers are so wrong in their philosophy of life. Recognize realities even while you recognize the deficiencies of others, for the Scriptures teach us that those who are over us are placed there by God for some purpose.

A gentleman of wealth, but a stranger to a personal knowledge of God, was walking alone through his grounds one evening. Coming to the small hut of a poor man who earned his family's bread by his daily labor, he heard the continuous sound of loud speaking. Curiosity prompted him to stop and listen. The man of the house happened to be at prayer with his family. As soon as the gentleman could distinguish the words, he heard him give thanks to God for the goodness of His providence in giving them food to eat and clothes to put on, and in supplying them with what was necessary and comfortable in the present life. He was immediately struck with astonishment and confusion, and said to himself, "Does this poor man who has nothing but the meanest fare, and that purchased by hard work, give thanks to God for His goodness to himself and family, while I, who enjoy ease and honor, and everything that is pleasant and desirable, have hardly ever bent my knee or made any acknowledgement to my Maker and Preserver?" This incident was the means used by God to bring this rich man to a realization of his lack of what makes a person really blessed. It was not long before he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blessing is evidence in both poverty and riches.

Recognize any of these names: Owen D. Young, Pierre Laval, Hugh S. Johnson, James F. Byrnes, Mohammed Mossadegh, Harlow Curtis?

You should; according to Time magazine, these are all people who have been designate as “Man of the Year” by Time, indicating they had the greatest impact in that year of all persons living on Earth. The celebrity of today is all but forgotten tomorrow.

Around a man who has been pushed into the limelight a legend begins to grow as it does around a dead man. But a dead man is in no danger of yielding to the temptation to nourish his legend, or accept its picture as reality. I pity the man who falls in love with his image as it is drawn by public opinion during the honeymoon of publicity.

Have you ever been in a position where someone asks you for a reference to get a job and you find yourself in an awkward position? You don’t want to lie, but you really can’t tell the truth because it will hurt. Robert Thornton, professor of economics at Lehigh University, once composed the ideal letter to fit the situation:

I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine. In my opinion you will be fortunate to get this person to work for you. I recommend him with no qualifications whatsoever. No person would be better for the job. I urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment. All in all, and without reservation, I cannot say enough good things about him, nor can I recommend him too highly.

In a large prayer meeting about seven years ago, the pastor was urging everyone present to put away every hindrance to an immediate personal transaction with God, by which the soul might find instant forgiveness.

He saw a man leave his pew in a hurried, excited state, and go into the inquiry room. Quietly, an usher called two or three others to follow the man. Shortly, the man, as well as the others returned quietly to their seats.

At the close of the service, the pastor inquired into the reasons for the commotion. He was told there had been a quarrel sometime before the service; the man, hearing God's Word, wanted to find peace with God; he realized he could not have it until he was first reconciled to his offending brethren. Consequently, he had sent for them to come into the inquiry room.

When the man asked them for forgiveness, they freely forgave and were as glad as he to have fellowship again.

“Is it possible to reconnect fathers to their children? To reverse societal trends that produced the separation in the first place? To fashion government policies and reshape attitudes regarding fathers themselves? Probably. But not until we reconvince ourselves of what used to be common sense: Children need their fathers.” - William Rasberry, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post.

“Men have to be persuaded that bringing up children is a very important part of their life. Motherhood has been praised to the skies, but the greatest praise men can give to that role is for them to share in doing it.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

“Our very survival as a nation will depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in the home.” - Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family.

According to one report, the end of German’s famous “Red Baron,” Manfred von Richthofen, came because he pursued an Allied airplane “too long, too far, and too low into enemy territory.”

On April 21, 1918, von Richthofen, the celebrated World War I pilot who was responsible for shooting down 80 enemy aircraft, began chasing a British plane that was trying to escape the battle. As the Red Baron pursued his quarry behind Allied lines, gunfire from either machine-gun nests on the ground or another British pilot who had come to help killed von Richthofen.

A man was answering questions for a national poll. When asked for his church preference, he responded, “Red brick.”

Some years ago a fearful railroad wreck took a dreadful toll of life and limb in an eastern state. A train, loaded with young people returning from school, was stalled on a suburban track because of what is known as a “hot-box.” The limited was soon due, but a flagman was sent back to warn the engineer in order to avert a rear-end collision. Thinking all was well, the crowd laughed and chatted while the train-hands worked on in fancied security. Suddenly the whistle of the limited was heard and on came the heavy train and crashed into the local, with horrible effect.

The engineer of the limited saved his own life by jumping, and some days afterwards was hailed into court to account for his part in the calamity. And now a curious discrepancy in testimony occurred. He was asked, “Did you not see the flagman warning you to stop?”

He replied, “I saw him, but he waved a yellow flag, and I took it for granted all was well, and so went on, though slowing down.”

The flagman was called, “What flag did you wave?”

“A red flag, but he went by me like a shot.”

“Are you sure it was red?”

“Absolutely.”

Both insisted on the correctness of their testimony, and it was demonstrated that neither was color-blind. Finally the man was asked to produce the flag itself as evidence. After some delay he was able to do so, and then the mystery was explained. It had been red, but it had been exposed to the weather so long that all the red was bleached out, and it was but a dirty yellow!

Oh, the lives eternally wrecked by the yellow gospels of the day—the bloodless theories of unregenerate men that send their hearers to their doom instead of stopping them on their downward road!

Running red lights is the No. 1 cause of car crashes in American cities. Annual cost to society: $7 billion in damages, medical bills, and lost work time. The average amount of time saved by running a red light is 50 seconds.

It was May Day, 1990. The place, Moscow’s Red Square.

“Is it straight, Father?” one Orthodox priest asked another, shifting the heavy, eight-foot crucifix on his shoulder.

“Yes,” said the other. “It is straight.”

Together the two priests, along with a group of parishioners holding ropes that steadied the beams of the huge cross, walked the parade route. Before them was passed the official might of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: the usual May Day procession of tanks, missiles, troops, and salutes to the Communist party elite.

Behind the tanks surged a giant crowd of protesters, shouting up at Mikhail Gorbachev. “Bread! .Freedom! .Truth!”

As the throng passed directly in front of the Soviet leader standing in his place of honor, the priests hoisted their heavy burden toward the sky. The cross emerged from the crowd. As it did, the figure of Jesus Christ obscured the giant poster faces of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin that provided the backdrop for Gorbachev’s reviewing stand.

“Mikhail Sergeyevich!” one of the priests shouted, his deep voice cleaving the clamor of the protesters and piercing straight toward the angry Soviet leader. “Mikhail Sergeyevich! Christ is risen!”

The word means to buy back by paying a price, and set free

1. Man’s ruin Isaiah 52:3; John 8:34; Rom. 6:20

2. Man’s helplessness Psalm 49:7; Micah 6:7

3. A redeemer provided Job 33:24; Psalm 111:9

4. Redemption by blood Eph. 1:7; Acts 20:28; Heb. 9:12

5. Redemption by power Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; Rom. 8:23

6. Redemption from iniquity Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18

7. Redemption from the curse Gal. 3:3; Psalm 103:4

8. Redemption of the body Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:20

Redemption means to free someone from bondage. It often involves the paying of a ransom, a price that makes redemption possible. The Israelites were redeemed from Egypt. We were redeemed from the power of sin and the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13) through Jesus (Rom. 3:24; Col. 1:14). We were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).

Situation

Interpretation

Reference

Slave Market

World System

1 John 5:19

Slave Master

Satan

John 12:31

Slaves

Humanity

Ephesians 2:2-3

The Problem

Sin

Colossians 2:14

Highest Bidder

Jesus Christ

Hebrews 2:14-15

Ransom Price

Blood of Christ

1 Peter 1:18-19

lutroo = Emphasis on freedom

peripoiep = Emphasis on being God’s possession

agoradzo = Emphasis on the place of slavery

exagoradzo = Emphasis on permanence of freedom

One animal sacrifice per man, Genesis 3

One sacrifice per family, Exodus 12:3-14

One sacrifice per nation—Tabernacle in wilderness—Day of atonement

One sacrifice per world, John 1:29, Heb 10:1-14

Originally, the payment of a price to secure the release of a prisoner of war. The word came to be used also of the release of a slave, and sometimes of a person under sentence of death (Exod. 21:28-30). Redemption always means the payment of a price to secure release. People who sin become slaves of sin (John 8:34); they cannot free themselves from that slavery. Christ’s death on the cross was the payment of a ransom price (Mark 10:45) by which sinners are set free. Now that they are redeemed they must live as free people (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Gal. 5:1).

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim. - George Santayana

The March issue of Life magazine grabbed the attention of Christians with its cover story: “The Power of Prayer.” Here’s what former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said when Life asked about his prayer life: “Each morning I ask myself: ‘What can I take credit for in my life?’ I really think about that. The answer is ‘almost nothing.’”

He continues: “Even though I can take credit for almost nothing, I can do all things through Christ. That’s where my power comes from.”

It is unconstitutional for a student to pray aloud. - Reed v. Van Hoven, 1965

You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.

John H. Holcomb, The Militant Moderate (Rafter)

Genesis 30:1, 37:11

Numbers 16:1-3, Acts 13:45

The end result of all of this is sadly illustrated in the book, Reforming Fundamentalism, by George A. Marsden, which informs that 85% of the students in one of America’s largest evangelical seminaries stated that they do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. Beyond that, a poll of 10,000 U.S.A. clergymen (of whom 74% replied) by sociologist Jeffrey Hadden in 1987 clearly reveals the effects of this significant change of belief through the passage of time. When asked if they believed that the Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God in faith, history, and secular matters:

95% of Episcopalians said “No.”

87% of Methodists said “No.”

82% of Presbyterians said “No.”

77% of American Lutherans said “No.”

67% of American Baptists said “No.”

This sad commentary speaks for itself.

When Marie Antoinette came to Paris as a bride, not a single ragged or starving person appeared on the streets along which the splendid procession passed. France was seething with discontent at the time, born of dire poverty-a discontent that was later to break out in the horrors of the Revolution-but Marie Antoinette was not to know anything about that. So the poor starving populace were swept into the side streets where they could not be seen and kept penned up there so that Marie Antoinette might think all was happy and prosperous in Paris. But an optimism based on ignorance is not optimism at all. An optimism gained by a refusal to face the facts is deliberate self-deception. Fear to face reality stems from fear of the sacrifice and labor of love that may be involved. Selfishness turns away its face from the sorrows, shames, and failures of others. But love dares to look at the head bowed with grief and the face paled with suffering.

In China’s later Han era, there lived a politician called Yang Zhen, a man known for his upright character. After Yang Zhen was made a provincial governor, one of his earlier patrons, Wang Mi, paid him an unexpected visit. As they talked over old times, Wang Mi brought out a large gold cup and presented it to Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen refused to accept it, but Wang Mi persisted, saying, “There’s no one here tonight but you and me, so no one will know.”

“You say that no one will know,” Yang Zhen replied, “but that is not true. Heaven will know, and you and I will know too.”

Wang Mi was ashamed, and backed down. Subsequently Yang Zhen’s integrity won increasing recognition, and he rose to a high post in the central government.

Human nature is weak, and we tend to yield to temptation when we think nobody can see us. In fact, if there was no police force, many people would not hesitate to steal. This is not to say that when we do something bad, we feel no compunction at all, just that man is weak and prone to yield to temptation.

But even if nobody witnesses our sins, and not a soul knows of them, we cannot hide the truth from the eyes of our conscience. In the end, what is important is not that other people know, but that we ourselves know. When Yang Zhen told Wang Mi that “Heaven will know,” he meant that the gods would know what he had done: in other words, his own conscience.

A person who sins neither in thought nor deed, and is fair and just, gains enormous courage and strength. As a leader, you need courage born of integrity in order to be capable of powerful leadership. To achieve this courage, you must search your heart, and make sure that your conscience is clear and your behavior is beyond reproach.

Its necessity John 3:7, Gal. 6:15 Eph. 2:2

Its nature John 3:5; 2 Cor. 2:1-7; 5:17; Eph. 2:10

Its agent John 3:8; 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6; Titus 3:5

Its instrument 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18; John 5:24

Its means 1 John 5:1; Gal. 3:26; John 1:12-13

Its fruit 1 John 3:9; Rom. 6:22 1 John 3:10

Its manifestation 1 John 5:1-2, 3:6

Players who are in the game don’t always see the game. Even a star like the great Reggie Jackson still needed a coach. Earl Weaver demonstrated this point when he managed Reggie for the Baltimore Orioles.

One of Weaver’s rules about base stealing was that runners had to have a signal before stealing. This upset Reggie because he had studied many of the pitchers and catchers in the league. He knew those he could steal against.

During one game Reggie stole a base without a signal, His technique was flawless. He certainly didn’t expect the coach to disagree with his decision.

But Weaver pulled him aside and explained why there had been no signal. Reggie’s action, though successful, had actually helped the other team. By having first base open, the opponents had been able to walk the next man (a powerful hitter). That forced Weaver to use a pinch hitter to early in the game.

The coach trusted Reggie’s ability, but he also knew that it wasn’t time to steal a base. The player had a limited view; the coach saw the whole game.

The next year, Wolf and Holmgren went after Reggie White, a free agent who was one of the greatest defensive players in the history of pro football. Every team in the NFL would have liked to have signed White. An ordained minister, he said he would go where God wanted him to go.

Holmgren called White and left a message on his answering machine. “Reggie, this is God,” the message said. “I want you to go to Green Bay.”

Reggie White was not offended—not by Holmgren’s humor or by Wolf’s offer: $17 million for four years.

Favre joined in the pursuit too. “I told him this was a great football town,” Favre said. “I told him he could make the difference. I also told him I didn’t want him hitting me anymore.”