Pastoral Resources

In a sermon at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, Gary Wilburn said: “In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years’ War, a German pastor, Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, and average of fifteen a day. His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster. In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this table grace for his children:

Now thank we all our God

With heart and hands and voices;

Who wondrous things had done

In whom His world rejoices.

Who, from our mother’s arms

Hath led us on our way

With countless gifts of love

And still is ours today.”

Here was a man who knew thanksgiving comes from love of God, not from outward circumstances.

Charles Kettering, the inventor, had a unique method of solving problems. He would break down each problem into the smallest possible subproblems. Then he did research to find out which subproblems had already been solved. He often found that what looked like a huge problem had previously been 98 percent solved by others. Then he tackled what was left.

Thomas Guthrie used to say: "If you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of God, any table better than the Lord's table, any person better than Christ, any indulgence better than the hope of heaven-take alarm."

Bob Mumford in Take Another Look at Guidance, compares discovering God’s will with a sea captain’s docking procedure: A certain harbor in Italy can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have been wrecked, and navigation is hazardous. To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted on three huge poles in the harbor. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. If the pilot sees two or three lights, he knows he’s off course and in danger.

God has also provided three beacons to guide us. The same rules of navigation apply—the three lights must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three harbor lights of guidance are:

1. The Word of God (objective standard)

2. The Holy Spirit (subjective witness)

3. Circumstances (divine providence)

Together they assure us that the directions we’ve receivedVare from God and will lead us safely along his way.

- Gregory Asimakoupoulos

My wife told me one day that she had just come from a friend’s house where one of the children, a little boy, had been cutting something with a knife, and it had slipped upward and put out his eye, and his mother was afraid of his losing the other. Of course, after that my wife was careful that our little boy, two years old, shouldn’t get the scissors, or anything by which he could harm himself. But prohibit a child from having any particular thing, and he’s sure to have it; so one day our little fellow got hold of the scissors. His sister seeing what he had, and knowing the rule, tried to take the scissors from him, but the more she tried the more he clung to them. All at once she remembered that he liked oranges, and that there was one in the next room. Away she went and back she came: “Willie, would you like an orange?”

The scissors were dropped, and he clutched the orange. God sometimes takes away the scissors, but He gives us an orange. Get both your feet into the narrow way; it leads to life and joy; its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. It is the way of victory, of peace; no gloom there; all light.

Getting children to eat what is good for them can be quite a problem. Convincing them that you mean business takes more strength of character than some parents possess. Yet the mother who lets her child indulge his preference for sweets, instead of such body-building foods as milk, meat, and vegetables, does not really love him as much as the mother who does her best to see that he gets a balanced diet. The parents who give in to a child on matters that affect his future health and character are not loving. They are merely encouraging him to go on getting his way in all future contests of will. They are laying the foundation for trouble for the rest of his life. So it is with God. Unless people believe that He means what He says, they will run to all kinds of excesses, and ruin their lives for time and eternity. Although the Bible consistently proclaims that unbelief and sin, if unrepented of in this life, will result in eternal loss, too many people refuse to take God at His Word. They choose to believe He is too soft-hearted ever to condemn anyone to eternal punishment.

At age 16 Andor Foldes was already a skilled pianist, but he was experiencing a troubled year. In the midst of the young Hungarian’s personal struggles, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to Budapest. Emil von Sauer was famous not only for his abilities; he was also the last surviving pupil of the great Franz Liszt. Von Sauer requested that Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann.

When he finished, Von Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “My son,” he said, “when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, ‘Take good care of this kiss—it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.’ I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it.”

"Look, Daddy, I wrote my name all by myself!" cried a little boy proudly waving a paper. His mother had held his hand and helped him form the letters for several days, and now this wavering scrawl is suddenly his own accomplishment. We smile at this, but do we not often behave in similar fashion? When by God's grace we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, and His love comes to dwell within us, how can we take credit to self for His working in and through us? Paul's question, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1Co 4:7) should restore us to a proper sense of humility before God and our fellowmen.

In the old days of ocean sailing, a small boy was traveling on shipboard with his father. About once a day the boy saw the captain stand on deck with sextant in hand, and, as they used to say, "shoot the stars." The boy said to his father, "Daddy, what is the captain doing?" His father replied, "The captain is taking our bearings, seeing where we are, finding out if we are going in the right direction."

As a matter of fact, it is something of this kind that each of us is doing as we are in worship on Sunday morning. We are checking in with God; we are seeing where we are; we are finding out about our directions in relation to His will concerning our journey of life.

We can so easily become confused or lose our way out there in the weekday world of days, and we need this checkpoint. Here we touch base with the Lord of our life, and from Him we take our bearings for going on. We can deviate from the course and by winds and currents be carried far astray, unless from time to time we check in with God to set our course again.

An incident is related of a missionary who came into contact with a proud and powerful Indian chief. The chief, trembling under conviction of sin, approached the missionary and offered his belt of wampum as atonement. "No!" said the missionary, "Christ cannot accept a sacrifice like that." The Indian departed, but soon returned offering his valuable rifle and the most beautiful skins he had taken in hunting. "No!" was the reply, "Christ cannot accept those either." Again the Indian went away, only to return with a conscience more troubled than ever. This time he offered his wigwam, together with his wife and child-everything for peace and pardon. "No," was the reply even to this, "Christ cannot accept such a sacrifice." At this the chief seemed utterly oppressed; but suddenly he somehow sensed the deficiency, for, lifting up tearful eyes, he cried out, "Here, Lord, take this poor Indian too!" That is the only condition for fellowship with Christ.

Take time to think-it is the source of power.

Take time to play-it is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to be friendly-it is the road to happiness.

Take time to love-it is a God-given privilege.

Take time to pray-it is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to give-life is too short to be selfish.

I was weeping in the most bitter contritition of my heart, when I heard the voice of children from a neighboring house chanting, “take up and read; take up and read.” I could not remember ever having heard the like, so checking the torrent of my tears, I arose, interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book and read the first chapter I should find. Eagerly then I returned to the place where I had laid the volume of the apostle. I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: “Not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not is strife and envy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” No further would I read, nor did I need to. For instantly at the end of this sentence, it seemed as if a light of serenity infused into my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away. - Augustine

She: “How’d your doctor appointment go?”

He: “Well, there’s good news and bad news. My blood pressure’s high and I’m overweight. But, at the doctor’s suggestion, I’m going to take up golf!”

She: “And the good news?”

When Jesus said, “If you are going to follow me, you have to take up a cross,” it was the same as saying, “Come and bring your electric chair with you. Take up the gas chamber and follow me.” He did not have a beautiful gold cross in mind - the cross on a church steeple or on the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution.

In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, “Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answers, “Take your goat into the room with you.” The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. “Do as I say and come back in a week.” A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. “We cannot stand it,” he tells the rabbi. “The goat is filthy.” The rabbi then tells him, “Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week.” A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, “Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat—only the nine of us.”

In 480 B.C. the outmanned army of Sparta’s King Leonidas held off the Persian troops of Xerxes by fighting them one at a time as they came through a narrow mountain pass. Commenting on this strategy, C. H. Spurgeon said, “Suppose Leonidas and his handful of men had gone out into the wide-open plain and attacked the Persians—why, they would have died at once, even though they might have fought like lions.”

Spurgeon continued by saying that Christians stand in the narrow pass of today. If they choose to battle every difficulty at once, they’re sure to suffer defeat. But if they trust God and take their troubles one by one, they will find that their strength is sufficient.

Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is. If there are rats in a cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not make me ill-tempered; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.

Some time ago I remember reading of an incident that occurred between a prince in a foreign land and one of his subjects. This man for rebellion against the government was going to be executed. He was taken to the guilotine block. When the poor fellow reached the place of execution he was trembling with fear. The prince was present and asked him if he wished anything before judgment was carded out. The culprit replied: "A glass of water." It was brought to him, but he was so nervous he couldn't drink it. "Do not fear," said the prince to him, "judgment will not be carried out till you drink that water," and in an instant the glass was dashed to the ground and broken into a thousand pieces. He took that prince at his word.

In Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft, Thor Heyerdahl tells how he and a crew of five crossed the Pacific Ocean from South America to the South Pacific Islands on a crude raft of balsa logs bound together with hemp rope. During the three-month journey in 1947, they had little control of the direction of the raft and no way to stop its forward progress. They learned early in the voyage that anything dropped overboard was almost impossible to recover once it passed behind the raft.

Two months into the voyage and thousands of miles from land, Herman Watzinger lost his footing and went overboard. The raft, driven by a strong wind in heavy seas, moved ahead faster than he could swim. The five remaining men were horrified for their friend. They tried to throw him a life belt on a rope, but the wind blew it back at them. In seconds, Herman was all but lost to their sight in the tumble of waves.

Suddenly Knute Haugland grabbed the life belt and dove into the water. He swam back to Herman and wrapped his arm around him, holding his exhausted friend and the rope while the men on the boat drew them back to the boat.

Effective evangelism requires that someone risks and takes the gospel to the one who is lost.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Act 20:35).

There is an old story that goes like this:

An unusual tree grew outside the gates of a desert city in the Middle East. It was an old tree, a landmark as a matter of fact. It seemed to have been touched by the finger of God, for it bore fruit perpetually. Despite its old age, its limbs were constantly laden with fruit. Hundreds of passersby refreshed themselves from the tree as it never failed to give freely.

But then a greedy merchant purchased the property on which the tree grew. He saw hundreds of travelers "robbing" his tree, and he built a high fence around it. Travelers pleaded, "Share with us." The merchant quoted in return, "It is my tree, my fruit, bought with my money." And a strange thing happened: the old tree died! What had happened? The law of giving, as predictable as the law of gravity, had expressed its immutable principle: when a tree stops giving, it stops bearing, and it dies.

Yes, this story illustrates well the law of give-and-receive. And when I think of how much I take from God's world, I bow in guilt at how little I give to His work. "But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly" (2Co 9:6).

When Jim Burke became the head of a new products division at Johnson & Johnson, one of his first projects was the development of a children’s chest rub. The product failed miserably, and Burke expected that he would be fired. When he was called in to see the chairman of the board, however, he met a surprising reception. “Are you the one who just cost us all that money?” asked Robert Wood Johnson. “Well I just want to congratulate you. If you are making mistakes, that means you are taking risks, and we won’t grow unless you take risks.” Some years later, when Burke himself became chairman of J & J, he continued to spread that word.

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability.

Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.

“I have mastered a science,” said the first, “by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it.”

“I,” said the second, “know how to grow that creature’s skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones.”

The third said, “I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair.”

“And I,” concluded the fourth, “know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete.”

Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialities. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion’s. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life.

Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.

We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us—unless we first seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, and allow Him to breathe into what we make of life.

- Nathan Castens

A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world’s torrents. - Goethe

Bertoldo de Giovanni is a name even the most enthusiastic lover of art is unlikely to recognize. He was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time, and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of all time. Michelangelo was only 14 years old when he came to Bertoldo, but it was already obvious that he was enormously gifted. Bertoldo was wise enough to realize that gifted people are often tempted to coast rather than to grow, and therefore he kept trying to pressure his young prodigy to work seriously at his art. One day he came into the studio to find Michelangelo toying with a piece of sculpture far beneath his abilities. Bertoldo grabbed a hammer, stomped across the room, and smashed the work into tiny pieces, shouting this unforgettable message, “Michelangelo, talent is cheap; dedication is costly!”

A miserable looking woman recognized F. B. Meyer on the train and ventured to share her burden with him. For years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life. She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home. But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable. Home was not “home” anymore.

Meyer gave her wise counsel. “When you get home and put the key in the door,” he said, “say aloud, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’ and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door. And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter. At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’”

Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her. Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery. “I did as you told me,” she said, “and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him.”

Research shows that mothers are far more likely than fathers to discuss problems and have close personal talks with their teenage children. As a result, teenage boys and girls both say they feel freer to go to their mothers than their fathers to talk openly and discuss problems. In fact, when teenagers responded to the statement: “This person and I always talk openly to each other,” out of four choices (father, mother, close male friend, or close female friend), only 4% of sons and 1% of daughters chose “father.” Teens tell me that they want desperately to be able to talk with their dads, but they’ll stop trying if they think they aren’t being heard.

Only kings, editors, and people with tapeworm have the right to use the editorial “we.” - Mark Twain

A factory manager found that production was being hampered by the tardiness of his people returning from the lunch hour. When the whistle blew few were at their machines.

He posted a sign by the suggestion box offering a cash award for the best answer to this question: “What should we do to ensure that every man will be inside the factory when the whistle blows?”

Many suggestions were submitted, and the one that was selected solved the problem. But the manager, a man with a sense of humor, liked this one best, though he could not use it: “Let the last man in blow the whistle.”

The task ahead of you is never greater than the power behind you.

There was a little fellow who was returning home from a store with a pail of honey in his hand. A gentleman who walked beside him saw him slip one finger down into the pail. Then, because his mother had told him never to wipe his sticky fingers on his blouse or trousers, it found its only logical destination, his mouth. It really tasted good. After he had done this several times, the gentleman approached him and said, "See here, Sonny, what have you in that pail?" "Some honey, sir." "Honey-is it sweet?" "Yes, sir." "How sweet is your honey?" "It is very sweet, sir." "Well, I do not understand you. I asked you how sweet your honey was, and you have not yet told me. How sweet is it?" "Why, it is very, very sweet, sir." "Well, you are a funny little fellow; I asked you how sweet your honey is, and you just tell me it is very, very sweet. Now, can't you tell me really how sweet your honey is?" The little fellow was impatient by this time, so he stuck his finger down into the honey, and holding it up said, "Taste and see for yourself."

It is said that the way the natives in the East collect honey without being stung by the bees is quite remarkable. They are not protected by their clothing for they hardly wear any. And yet, although surrounded by clouds of angry bees, they rarely suffer. The explanation given is that these natives are quite passive, deliberate in their movements, making no effort to protect themselves, not attempting to drive the swarm away. If a bee settles upon them, it does not sting them any more than it would attempt to sting a piece of wood. The Westerner, on the other hand, is nervous, restless, combative; he attempts to frighten the bees, is manifestly scared himself, makes a noise, gesticulates, runs away, and ends by being badly stung. Our troubles in life compass us about like bees. If we fret and fume, we shall feel the sting and miss the honey. But if we live in quietness and confidence, we shall taste the sweetness and escape the sting.

Once walking through the twisted little streets of Kowloon in Hong Kong, I came upon a tattoo studio. In the window were displayed samples of the tattoos available. On the chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or whatever. But what struck me with force were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh, Born to lose. I entered the shop in astonishment and pointing to those words, asked the Chinese tattoo artist, “Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body.” He replied, “Yes, sometimes.” “But,” I said, “I just can’t believe that anyone in his right mind would do that.” The Chinese man simply tapped his forehead and said in broken English, “Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind.”

In an sample of 400 nurses, more than 90% failed to report all their income...In an audit of 4000 California returns that showed large charitable contributions, the vast majority of those filing the returns were found to be cheating. On average, they owed additional taxes of $5,800. Tax evasion is becoming not just sickness but an epidemic, no longer kept secret but widely admitted, even joked about and accepted.

In a newly created nation in Africa, an elderly native was told that he was going to be taxed to support the government. “Why?” he asked. “To protect you from enemies, to feed you when you are hungry, to care for you when you are sick, and to educate your children,” he was told. “I see,” said the old man. “It’s like I have this dog, and the dog is hungry. He comes begging to me for food. So I take my knife, cut off a piece of the poor dog’s tail and give it to him to eat. That, I believe is what this taxation is.”

“In 1950 median-income couples with two kids sent Washington two cents for every dollar of income. Now, it’s 25 cents. If the federal tax exemption that taxpayers receive for each child had been adjusted for both inflation and real growth in income since 1948, it would have risen to $8,652 in 1993, instead of the actual $2,350, and proposals for new tax credits would be unnecessary.”

Did you hear about the guy who is both a taxidermist and a veterinarian?

He has a sign on his door: “Either way, you get your dog back.”

British prime minister Herbert Asquith once spent a weekend at the Waddesdon estate of the 19th-century Rothschild family. One day, as Asquith was being waited on at teatime by the butler, the following conversation ensued: “Tea, coffee, or a peach from off the wall, sir?”

“Tea, please,” answered Asquith.

“China, India, or Ceylon, sir?” asked the butler.

“China, please.”

“Lemon, milk, or cream, sir?”

“Milk, please,” replied Asquith.

“Jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?” asked the butler.

Abraham Lincoln once listened to the pleas of the mother of a soldier who’d been sentenced to hang for treason. She begged the President to grant a pardon. Lincoln agreed. Yet, he’s reported to have left the lady with the following words: “Still, I wish we could teach him a lesson. I wish we could give him just a little bit of hangin’.”

In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first 100 years of the wall's existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children.

“When our children were small and we were trying to teach them to pray, we had three kinds of prayer: “Please prayers,” “Thank you prayers,” and “Sorry prayers.”

A Scotch philosopher wanted to teach his five-year-old son about God. He went into his garden alone and with his finger traced out the lad's name. He planted cress and mustard seed in the outline.

About 10 days later the lad came running to his father crying, "My name is coming up in the garden."

His father said, "Nonsense! It can't be!"

They went to the garden, and his father said, "Oh, that must just have happened."

"No, no," said the boy, "somebody must have planted it."

So the lad learned his first lesson about the Creator.

In a speech before regional community leaders in Kingsport, Tennessee, Ernie Deavenport, chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical Company, made a pitch for cooperation and teamwork between his company and the community leaders. To highlight his message, he told this story about a Little League coach:

At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, “Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?

The little boy nodded in the affirmative.

“Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?”

The little boy nodded yes.

“So,” the coach continued, “when a strike is called, or you’re out at first, you don’t argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all that?”

Again, the little boy nodded.

“Good,” said the coach. “Now go over there and explain it to your mother.”

Two little teardrops were floating down the river of life. One said to the other, “Who are you?”

Said the other, “I’m a teardrop from a girl who loved a man and lost him. Who are you?”

“Well, I am a teardrop of the girl who got him.”

Tears of faith Mark 9:24

Tears of devotion Luke 7:38

Tears of service Acts 20:19

Tears of sympathy 2 Timothy 1:4

Tears of warning Acts 20:31

Crying is common in this world. It does little good to ask the reason for it. Muddyscuttle is what one might call a weeping planet. Laughter can be heard here and there, but by and large, weeping predominates. With maturity the sound and reason for crying changes, but never does it stop. All infants do it everywhere—even in public. By adulthood most crying is done alone and in the dark. Weeping, for babies, is a sign of health and evidence that they are alive. Isn’t this a chilling omen?

Not laughter but tears is the life sign. It leaves weeping and being synonyms.

Said ABC Nightline’s Ted Koppel one night:

“We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. ‘Shoot up if you must, but use a clean needle.’ or, ‘Enjoy sex whenever and with whomever you wish, but protect yourself.’

“No! The answer is no! Not because it isn’t cool or smart or because you might wind up in jail or dying in the AIDS ward, but because it’s wrong!

“What Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions, but the Ten Commandments!”

Said ABC Nightline’s Ted Koppel one night: “We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. ‘Shoot up if you must, but use a clean needle.’ r, ‘Enjoy sex whenever and with whomever you wish, but protect yourself. “No! The answer is no! Not because it isn’t cool or smart or because you might wind up in jail or dying in the AIDS ward, but because it’s wrong! “What Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions, but the Ten Commandments!”

Cable television’s Ted Turner, who has condemned abortion foes as “bozos” who “look like idiots,” recently lashed out at Christianity. “Christianity is a religion of losers,” Turner told the Dallas Morning News. Referring to Christ’s death on the cross, Turner said, “I don’t want anybody to die for me. I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends, and if that’s gonna put me in hell, then so be it.”

Turner also told a group of broadcasters, “Your delegates to the United Nations are not as important as the people [broadcasters] in this room. We are the ones who determine what the people’s attitudes are. It’s in our hands.”

David McCullough in his book MORNINGS ON HORSEBACK tells this story about young Teddy Roosevelt:

“Mittie (his mother) had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the ‘zeal.’ It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what a zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about if from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word ZEAL until suddenly, very excited, he told her to stop. The line was from the Book of John, 2:17: ‘And his disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The ZEAL of thine house hath eaten me up”’”

People are still justifiably afraid to come near the “zeal” of the Lord, for they are perfectly aware it could “eat them up” if they aren’t one of His. Our Lord is good, but He isn’t safe.

Since the popular push for contraceptives for teens began, teenage sexual activity and pregnancy have increased 400%. 70% of unwed teen mothers will go on welfare. Of teens who marry because of pregnancy, 60% will be divorced in five years.

Charles C. Ryrie, So Great Salvation, (USA: Victor Books, a Division of Scripture Press, 1989), pp. 118ff

The Body, Charles W. Colson, 1992, Word Publishing, p. 336

What the Bible Teaches About the Church, John Balchin, p. 45ff

Tales of the Neverending, Mark Littleton, Moody, 1990, p. 82

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When you’re raised in the country, hunting is just a natural part of growing up. For years I enjoyed packing up my guns and some food to head off into the woods. Even more than the hunting itself, I enjoyed the way these trips always seemed to deepen my relationship with friends as we hunted during the day and talked late into the night around the campfire. When an old friend recently invited me to relive some of those days, I couldn’t pass up the chance.

For several weeks before the trip, I had taken the time to upgrade some of my equipment and sight in my rifle. When the day came, I was ready for the hunt. What I wasn’t ready for was what my close friend, Tom, shared with me the first night out on the trail.

I always enjoyed the time I spent with Tom. He had become a leader in his church and his warm and friendly manner had also taken him many steps along the path of business success. He had a lovely wife, and while I knew they had driven over some rocky roads in their marriage, things now seemed to be stable and growing. Tom’s kids, two daughters and a son, were struggling in junior high and high school with the normal problems of peer pressure and acceptance.

As we rode back into the mountains, I could tell that something big was eating away at Tom’s heart. His normal effervescent style was shrouded by an overwhelming inner hurt. Normally, Tom would attack problems with the same determination that had made him a success in business. Now, I saw him wrestling with something that seemed to have knocked him to the mat for the count.

Silence has a way of speaking for itself. All day and on into the evening, Tom let his lack of words shout out his inner restlessness. Finally, around the first night’s campfire, he opened up. The scenario Tom painted was annoyingly familiar. I’d heard it many times before in many other people’s lives. But the details seemed such a contract to the life that Tom and his wife lived and the beliefs they embraced. His oldest daughter had become attached to a boy at school. Shortly after they started going together, they became sexually involved. Within two months, she was pregnant. Tom’s wife discovered the truth when a packet from Planned Parenthood came in the mail addressed to her daughter. When confronted with it, the girl admitted she had requested it when she went to the clinic to find out if she was pregnant.

If we totaled up the number of girls who have gotten pregnant out of wedlock during the past two hundred years of our nation’s history, the total would be in the millions. Countless parents through the years have faced the devastating news. Being a member of such a large fraternity of history, however, does not soften the severity of the blow to your heart when you discover it’s your daughter.

Tom shared the humiliation he experienced when he realized that all of his teaching and example had been ignored. Years of spiritual training had been thrust aside. His stomach churned as he relived the emotional agony of knowing that the little girl he and his wife loved so much had made a choice that had permanently scarred her heart.

I’m frequently confronted with these problems in my ministry and have found that dwelling on the promiscuous act only makes matters worse. I worship a God of forgiveness and solutions, and at that moment in our conversation I was anxious to turn toward hope and healing.

I asked Tom what they had decided to do. Would they keep the baby, or put it up for adoption?

That’s when he delivered the blow. With the fire burning low, Tom paused for a long time before answering. And even when he spoke he wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“We considered the alternatives, Tim. Weighed all the options.” He took a deep breath. “We finally made an appointment with the abortion clinic. I took her down there myself.”

I dropped the stick I’d been poking the coals with and stared at Tom. Except for the wind in the trees and the snapping of our fire it was quiet for a long time. I couldn’t believe this was the same man who for years had been so outspoken against abortion. He and his wife had even volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center in his city.

Heartsick, I pressed him about the decision. Tom then made a statement that captured the essence of his problem…and the problem many others have in entering into genuine rest. In a mechanical voice, he said “I know what I believe, Tim, but that’s different than what I had to do. I had to make a decision that had the least amount of consequences for the people involved.”

Just by the way he said it, I could tell my friend had rehearsed these lines over and over in his mind. And by the look in his eyes and the emptiness in his voice, I could tell his words sounded as hollow to him as they did to me.

Marriage for teenagers is fearfully dangerous. Statistics show that 50% of all marriages involving a teenager end in divorce within five years after the marriage occurs. Those who think they can beat the statistics are usually the ones who are fooled and hurt. 51% of those we asked about marriage said it should be postponed, at the very least until after graduation from college. Only 7% were in favor of planning for marriage while still in high school. More than 87% of the fellows who took part in the survey felt that a “good job” was essential for successful marriage.

The lack of attentiveness to children’s needs by fathers has produced great changes in the American home. Fathers spend an average of only 38 seconds a day being totally attentive and 20 minutes being partially attentive to their children’s needs. Associated with these changes are the rising teen-age suicide rate, which has tripled in the last 20 years, and the increasing incidence of delinquent behavior, which will bring one of nine adolescents in the U.S. into a courtroom this year.

Why do teens drink? 66% cited stress and boredom, 25% said they drink to get high, and 31 percent said they drink alone. In 1989 3000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 died in alcohol-related auto accidents. The favored drink among teenagers is wine coolers, but many choose beer because it is cheaper and easier to get. Students annually consume 35 percent of all wine coolers sold in the U.S. or 31 million gallons. They also consume 1.1 billion cans of beer, or 102 million gallons.

A teenager was lounging on the floor watching TV when the phone rang. "Hello, son," said the voice. "Where is your mother?" "She is out working in the garden." "What?" barked the father. "Your mother is not as young and strong as she used to be. Why are you not helping her?" "I can't," was the reply. "Grandma is using the other hoe."

A telemarketer called a home one day, and a small voice whispered, “Hello?”

“Hello! What’s your name?”

Still whispering, the voice said, “Jimmy.”

“How old are you, Jimmy?”

“I’m four.”

“Good, Is your mother home?”

“Yes, but she’s busy.”

“Okay, is your father home?”

“He’s busy too.”

“I see, who else is there?”

“The police.”

“The police? May I speak with one of them?”

“They’re busy.”

“Any other grown-ups there?”

“The firemen.”

“May I speak with a fireman, please?”

“They’re all busy.”

“Jimmy, all those people in your house, and I can’t talk with any of them? What are they doing?”

“Looking for me,” whispered Jimmy.

The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it and so they see only the dead letter. - Phillip Brooks

I had never dreamed of having a snake for a pet until I saw one at my friend’s house. I had always been afraid of snakes - they somehow gave me the willies. But this one was different. It wasn’t slippery and slimy like most I had seen, and its colors were beautiful. Somehow it was intriguing. I knew it was poisonous, but it looked and seemed so harmless.

So I bought one for myself. I was living alone at the time and somehow its presence comforted me. I didn’t feel so alone anymore.

Later, when I married, my husband took right up with it and to my surprise, he grew to love this creature even more than I had. Before long I realized I was very jealous. My husband seemed to visit more with the snake than with me. This snake caused many arguments between us and I began to hate it. I resented their relationship so much that I refused to participate in their fun and games. I spent many evenings behind the closed doors of our bedroom, in loneliness and tears.

This snake was allowed to do absolutely anything it pleased. When the children were born I became even more frightened.

“Honey,” I pleaded, “we must get rid of this snake. If it bites one of the children, it could be fatal!”

“Oh, nonsense,” he responded. “We’ve had it this long, and it’s done no harm. Besides, it’s kept in a box. I’ll watch and make sure it doesn’t harm the children.”

One night the snake hissed at my daughter. Poison filled the air. We had to pray hard that night before she could sleep. Somehow the more frightful and violent it seemed, the more pleasure my husband derived from it.

One night I dreamed of praying over the snake and it withered an dried up. So I had friends at church join me in prayer. One saint came to the house. We laid hands on its box, praying that God would free us from this evil.

Soon my husband agreed to get rid of it. “But let’s sell it,” he implored. “We can’t destroy it!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “It’s poison - we can’t endanger someone else!”

I finally gave in and agreed to sell it. At least my children would be safe. Still I feared for this new innocent family. It was my joy to keep this poisonous creature from intruding on them.

One night while I was at church alone (my husband stayed home), the snake died. Just before it died it made one big long hiss-s-s-s-s! The picture tube went out—some innocent family was spared!

Television may be responsible for doubling our crime rate in the United States, suggests Brandon Centerwall, psychiatrist at the University of Washington, in a recent study reported in the June 1992 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Centerwall analyzed crime statistics both before and after TV was introduced in several communities. Those comparisons cause him to conclude that prolonged exposure to violence on TV has increased the number of murders in the U.S. by 10,000 each year. He sees TV as a “causal factor” in about 70,000 rapes and 700,000 injurious assaults annually.

Television may be responsible for doubling our crime rate in the United States, suggests Brandon Centerwall, psychiatrist at the University of Washington, in a recent study reported in the June 1992 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Centerwall analyzed crime statistics both before and after TV was introduced in several communities. Those comparisons cause him to conclude that prolonged exposure to violence on TV has increased the number of murders in the U.S. by 10,000 each year. He sees TV as a “causal factor” in about 70,000 rapes and 700,000 injurious assaults annually.

Amid the cares of married life,

In spite of toil and business strife,

If you value your sweet wife,

Tell her so!

There was a time you thought it bliss

To get the favor of a kiss;

A dozen now won't come amiss-

Tell her so!

Do not act as if she has passed her prime,

As though to please her were a crime-

If e'er you loved her, now is the time;

Tell her so!

Never let her heart grow cold;

Richer beauties will unfold.

She is worth her weight in gold;

Tell her so!

T. H. Huxley, a well-known agnostic, was with a group of men at a weekend house party. On Sunday morning, while most of them were preparing to go to church, he approached a man known for his Christian character and said, “Suppose you stay at home and tell my why you are a Christian.” The man, knowing he couldn’t match wits with Huxley, hesitated. But the agnostic said gently, “I don’t want to argue with you. I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you.” The man did, and when he finished, there were tears in Huxley’s eyes as he said, “I would give my right hand if only I could believe that!”

The movies say, "I'll entertain you, but you must buy a ticket first."

The restaurant asks, "Eat here but you have to pay the bill."

The insurance company offers to insure you, "But the premiums must be met."

The ball club says, "You'll see a good game, but you must have the price of admission."

The golf course says, "Play here but first pay the green fees."

The lake ranger says the fish are biting, "But you have to buy a license."

Then the Lord says, "In My church you will find spiritual food, fellowship, assurance of eternal life, consolation in time of trouble, spiritual blessings beyond measure and opportunities to do good to others and there is no specific charge. Pay as you are willing." And everybody tries to get by as cheaply as possible!

Can you tell me why?

The angel said, "Tell His disciples and Peter," but why "and Peter?" He was one of the disciples. Why single him out from among all the rest? Was he any better? No, he was, if anything, a little worse. He had denied his Lord-three times and with oaths. And he was feeling very bad about it. He was cast down, heartsick, almost overwhelmed. And Jesus knew it full well, and it was just like Him to send a special word of comfort to him. It must have cheered the Apostle beyond words to be told that Christ had mentioned him especially as one to be given the news of His resurrection.

Sometimes telling a story has as much effect on the teller as it does the listeners. Martin Buber, the Jewish philosopher, recalls:

“My grandfather was lame. Once they asked him to tell a story about his teacher, and he related how his master used to hop and dance while he prayed. My grandfather rose as he spoke and was so swept away by his story that he himself began to hop and dance to show how the master had done. From that hour he was cured of his lameness.”

When we tell the story of our Master, we too experience His power.

A small boy was on the witness stand in an important lawsuit. The prosecuting attorney cross-examined him, then delivered, he thought, a crushing blow to the testimony. "Your father has been telling you how to testify, has he not?" "Yes," the lad replied and did not hesitate with the answer. "Now," said the lawyer triumphantly, "just tell us how your father told you to testify." "Well," the boy said modestly, "Father told me the lawyers would try to tangle me in my testimony, but if I would just be careful to tell the truth, I could repeat the same thing every time."

During WWI one of my predecessors at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Donald Grey Barnhouse, led the son of a prominent American family to the Lord. He was in the service, but he showed the reality of his conversion by immediately professing Christ before the soldiers of his military company. The war ended. The day came when he was to return to his pre-war life in the wealthy suburb of a large American city. He talked to Barnhouse about life with his family and expressed fear that he might soon slip back into his old habits. He was afraid that love for parents, brothers, sisters, and friends might turn him from following after Jesus Christ. Barnhouse told him that if he was careful to make public confession of his faith in Christ, he would not have to worry. He would not have to give improper friends up. They would give him up. As a result of this conversation the young man agreed to tell the first ten people of his old set whom he encountered that he had become a Christian. The soldier went home.

Almost immediately—in fact, while he was still on the platform of the suburban station at the end of his return trip—he met a girl whom he had known socially. She was delighted to see him and asked how he was doing. He told her, “The greatest thing that could possibly happen to me has happened.” “You’re engaged to be married,” she exclaimed. “No,” he told her. “It’s even better than that. I’ve taken the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.” The girls’ expression froze. She mumbled a few polite words and went on her way.

A short time later the new Christian met a young man whom he had known before going into the service. “It’s good to see you back,” he declared. “We’ll have some great parties now that you’ve returned.” “I’ve just become a Christian,” the soldier said. He was thinking, That’s two! Again it was a case of a frozen smile and a quick change of conversation.

After this the same circumstances were repeated with a young couple and with two more old friends. By this time word had got around, and soon some of his friends stopped seeing him. He had become peculiar, religious, and—who knows!—they may even have called him crazy! What had he done? Nothing but confess Christ. The same confession that had aligned him with Christ had separated him from those who did not want Jesus Christ as Savior and who, in fact, did not even want to hear about Him.

I have a friend whose marriage has gone through tumultuous times. One night George passed a breaking point. He pounded the table and the floor. “I hate you!” he screamed at his wife. “I won’t take it anymore! I’ve had enough! I won’t go on! I won’t let it happen! No! No! No!”

Several months later my friend woke up in the middle of the night and heard strange sounds coming from the room where his two-year-old son slept. He padded down the hall, stood for a moment outside his son’s door, and shivers ran through his flesh. He could not draw a breath. In a soft voice, the two-year-old was repeating word for word with precise inflection the argument between his mother and father. “I hate you. I won’t take it anymore! No! No! No!”

You must pay for what you want. Temporary failure may be the price. If it occurs, accept it and move on. The absence of failure suggests a minimum of effort, and the likelihood that little will be achieved. In many cases failure can occur despite genuine effort. In such cases failure may be the next best thing to success.

That which moves us to sin. God cannot be tempted (James 1:13). But we can be tempted by our lusts (James 1:13-15), money (1 Tim. 6:9), lack of self examination (Gal. 6:1), and the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:16), to name a few. We are commanded to pray to be delivered from temptation (Matt. 6:13) for the Lord is capable of delivering us from it (2 Pet. 2:9).

Thomas à Kempis has said, "First there comes to the mind a bare thought of evil, then a strong imagination thereof, afterward delight and evil motion, and then consent." His advice was, "Withstand the beginnings." If you apply a magnet to the end of a needle that moves freely on its pivot, the needle affected by a strong attraction approaches as if it loved it. Reverse the order, applying the magnet to the other pole, and the needle shrinks away trembling as if it hated it. One man rushes into the arms of vice; another recoils from it in horror. According as the nature it addresses is holy or unholy, temptation attracts or repels, is loved or hated. Our Lord Jesus said, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mat 26:41).

Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin’ Big for Little Reasons, describes one quiet night in early spring: Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon? It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly—to take their place in the sky for which God made them—was sounding in their feathered breasts, but they never raised from the water. The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable. Temptation is always enjoyed at the price of losing the capacity for flight. - Jim Moss

1. The foundation of ministry is character.

2. The nature of ministry is service.

3. The motive for ministry is love.

4. The measure of ministry is sacrifice.

5. The authority of ministry is submission.

6. The purpose of ministry is the glory of God.

7. The tools of ministry are the Word and prayer.

8. The privilege of ministry is growth.

9. The power of ministry is the Holy Spirit.

10. The model for ministry is Jesus Christ

In stewardship speaking engagements across America and on five continents, I have discovered two things:

First: Christians of all income levels have experienced spiritual joy, supernatural grace and divine help through the practice of making a specific commitment to GIVE 10% OR MORE of their resources to the Lord’s work.

Second: The vast majority of pastors are reluctant to teach their congregations about money matters and Christian giving.

This list of 10 reasons to GIVE 10% OR MORE to the Lord’s work was written to encourage laity and clergy that this subject can be biblically and practically taught and caught! When believers are taught to make it a priority to give to God first, it will ultimately bring greater financial freedom and blessing into their personal lives and to the ministries they support.

Why give 10% or more of your income to the Lord’s work?

1. It is a tried and proven pattern of giving by godly people throughout the ages (regardless of cultures and income levels). Genesis 14:17-20, 28:16-22; Leviticus 27:30; Proverbs 3:9, 10; Malachi 3:7-15; Matthew 23:23

2. It will help you revere God more in your life. Deuteronomy 14:23

3. It will bring God’s wisdom and order to your finances and will help you harness the dragon of materialism. Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34; Luke 12:16-21; 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19; Ecclesiastes 5:10

4. It will serve as a practical reminder that God is the Owner of everything you have. 1 Chronicles 29:11-18; Psalm 24; 1,2; Psalm 59:10-12; Haggai 2:8

5. It will allow you to experience God’s creative care and provisions in ways you would not otherwise experience. 1 Kings 17; Proverbs 3:9,10; Malachi 3:7-15; Haggai 1:4-11, 2:15-10; Luke 6:38; Deuteronomy 14:23; Proverbs 3:5,6; Malachi 3:8-10; Haggai 1:4-11, 2:15-19; 2 Corinthians 8:5

6. It will encourage your spiritual growth and trust in God. Deuteronomy 14:23; Proverbs 3:5,6; Malachi 3:8-10; Haggai 1:4-11, 2:15-19; 2 Corinthians 8:5

7. It will ensure you of treasure in heaven. 1 Timothy 6:18, 19; Matthew 6:19021; Hebrews 6:10; 3 John 8; 1 Samuel 30:22

8. It will strengthen the ministry, outreach, and stability of your local church. Acts 2:42-27, 4:32; 2 Corinthians 9:12,13

9. It will help provide the means to keep your pastor and missionaries in full-time Christian service. 1 Corinthians 9:9-11,14; 1 Timothy 5:17,18; 3 John 5-8; Philippians 4:15-19; Galatians 6:6; Luke 8:3; 2 Kings 4:8-10

10. It will help accomplish needed building projects and renovations. 2 Chronicles 24:4-14; Exodus 35, 36; 2 Kings 12:2-16; 1 Chronicles 29:2-10; Ezekiel 1:4-6

1. If you sleep on it - make it up.

2. If you wear it - hang it up.

3. If you drop it - pick it up.

4. If you eat out of it - put it in the sink.

5. If you step on it - wipe it off.

6. If you open it - close it.

7. If you empty it - fill it up.

8. If it rings - answer it.

9. If it howls - feed it.

10. If it cries - love it.