Pastoral Resources

To make a long story short, yawn.

Ye call Me Master and obey me not,

Ye call Me Light and see me not,

Ye call Me way and follow me not

Ye call Me Life and desire me not,

Ye call Me wise and acknowledge me not,

Ye call Me fair and love me not,

Ye call Me rich and ask me not,

Ye call Me eternal and seek me not,

Ye call Me gracious and trust me not,

Ye call Me Noble and serve me not,

Ye call Me mighty and honor me not,

Ye call Me just and fear me not,

If I condemn you, blame me not.

A group of academics and historians has compiled this startling information: Since 3600 B.C., the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed is equal to a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick. Since 650 B.C., there have also been 1,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The reminder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.

Yeast, or leaven, is a powerful fungus that can cause a lump of dough to rise into bread, ferment liquids into alcohol, or cause painful infections. When Jesus spoke of yeast in His comments about the Pharisees and Herod (v. 15), His disciples were quite confused. What could He mean? What was the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod?

Jesus reminded His followers of His miracles of feeding the five thousand and the four thousand (vv. 19-21; 6:35-44; 8:1-9). What was the response of the Pharisees? They disputed with Him and tried to test Him by appealing for a miracle (v. 11). In short, they refused to believe—despite the miraculous provision of meals for more than nine thousand people! Furthermore, they were already in league with Herod and his supporters to destroy Jesus (3:6; 12:13), just as Herod had done away with John the Baptist (6:14-29).

Clearly, Jesus was warning His followers against the insidious infection of unbelief. Like yeast in dough, a lack of faith can permeate one’s life until it breaks out in open rebellion against God. No wonder the Lord was so displeased with the disciples’ lack of perception (8:17-18). Perhaps the yeast of unbelief was already at work among them. After all, they had apparently failed to understand the significance of a feeding miracle the first time around (6:52); now they were missing it a second time!

Jesus had grave concern about the condition of His followers’ faith. He knew that there was danger ahead. Powerful enemies would lay hold of Him, and the disciples would be sorely tested. No wonder He took measures to keep a low profile (vv. 26, 30). He wanted to avoid exposing these men to the full force of His opponents before their faith was ready to handle such a trial.

None of us knows what dangers lie ahead for our faith. We may be headed for trials and challenges that we never imagined. Is our faith ready to meet whatever challenges come our way? Or have we let the yeast of unbelief gain a foothold, breaking down our trust in God and spreading resistance to Him throughout our life?

Professional golfer Tommy Bolt was playing in Los Angeles and had a caddy with a reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, “Don’t say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no.”

During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake and onto the green. He got down on his knees and looked through the trees and sized up the shot.

“What do you think?” he asked the caddy. “Five-iron?”

“No, Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said.

“What do you mean, not a five-iron?” Bolt snorted.

“Watch this shot.”

The caddy rolled his eyes. “No-o-o, Mr. Bolt.”

But Bolt hit it and the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron and said, “Now what do you think about that? You can talk now.”

“Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said, “that wasn’t your ball.”

As we drove up the steep, winding road in the Cave of the Winds near Colorado Springs, we came suddenly to a narrow passageway between high rock walls through which it looked as if the car could not possibly go. But facing us was a sign which said: "Yes, you can! Millions of others have!" And so, driving carefully through, we soon came to a wider roadway.

So many times we face seemingly insoluble problems and impossible situations. But we can know that God is able to open ways before us which are now hidden from our view. We may hear God's message to us: "Yes, you can! Millions of others have gone this way. Be of good cheer. Trust in the Lord and go ahead!"

Heavenly Father, when we face difficult times, help us to trust in You to show us the way through. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Driving down a country road, I came to a very narrow bridge. In front of the bridge, a sign was posted: “YIELD.” Seeing no oncoming cars, I continued across the bridge and to my destination. On my way back, I came to the same one-lane bridge, now from the other direction. To my surprise, I saw another YIELD sign posted. CURIOUS, I thought, I’M SURE THERE WAS ONE POSITIONED ON THE OTHER SIDE. When I reached the other side of the bridge I looked back. Sure enough, yield signs had been placed at both ends of the bridge. Drivers from both directions were requested to give right of way. It was a reasonable and gracious way of preventing a head-on collision. When the Bible commands Christians to “be subject to one another” (Eph. 5:21) it is simply a reasonable and gracious command to let the other have the right of way and avoid interpersonal head-on collisions.

Some people fall into temptation, but a great many make plans for disaster ahead of time. “Son,” ordered a father, “Don’t swim in that canal.” “OK, Dad,” he answered. But he came home carrying a wet bathing suit that evening. “Where have you been?” demanded the father. “Swimming in the canal,” answered the boy. “Didn’t I tell you not to swim there?” asked the father. “Yes, Sir,” answered the boy. “Why did you?” he asked. “Well, Dad,” he explained, “I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn’t resist the temptation.” “Why did you take your bathing suit with you?” he questioned. “So I’d be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted,” he replied. Too many of us expect to sin and excite sin. The remedy for such dangerous action is found in Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Whenever we play with temptation, it is easy to drift into great danger. A woman was bathing in the Gulf of Mexico. She was enjoying the comfort of relaxing on an inflated cushion that kept her afloat. When she realized that she had been swept about a half mile out from the beach, she began to scream, but no one heard her. A coast guard craft found her five miles from the place where she first entered the water. She did not see her danger until she was beyond her own strength and ability.

Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame catcher and former New York Yankees manager, was the champion of muddled conversation. Here are a few of his ambiguous statements:

On a hot day in St. Petersburg, Florida, a spring training observer told Yogi, “Good afternoon, Mr. Berra. My, you look mighty cool today.” “Thank you, ma’am,” Yogi replied. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”

“We lost because we made too many wrong mistakes.”

“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”

“Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.”

“You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

The yoke and the cross are twin symbols of Christian experience. The cross speaks of leaving the world for Christ; the yoke speaks of learning in the world from Christ. The one speaks of sacrifice; the other service. The disciple must bear both; he cannot choose to take one and leave the other.

While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

“Still it has the heart of an eagle,” replied the naturalist, “and can surely be taught to fly.” He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.

The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.

It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia. It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard. But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.

Philip II, father of Alexander the Great and king of Macedon, was always accompanied by two men who had a very interesting duty. One man was to say to him each morning, “Philip, remember that you are but a man,” while the second asked the king each evening, “Philip, have you remembered that you are but a man?”

A helicopter was flying toward Seattle when an electrical malfunction disabled all the aircraft’s navigation and communications equipment. Due to the extreme haze that day, the pilot now had no way of determining the course to the airport. All he could make out was a tall building nearby, so he moved closer to it, quickly wrote out a large sign reading “Where am I?” and held it in the chopper’s window.

Responding quickly, the people in the building penned a large sign of their own. It read: “You are in a helicopter.” The pilot smiled, and within minutes he landed safely at the airport. After they were on the ground, the co-pilot asked how the sign helped him determine their position.

“I knew it had to be the Microsoft building,” the pilot replied, “because like any computer company’s help staff, they gave me a technically correct but completely useless answer.”

Watchman Nee tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. “No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salvation.” Nee said, “Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died.” We are Christ’s heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.

A preacher had been talking to a children's Bible class about kindness. He paused and asked, "If I should see a man beating a donkey and stopped him, what virtue would I be showing?"

A little voice responded with the unexpected answer, "Brotherly love."

James Michener, writing in his book, The Source, tells the story of a man named Urbaal, who was a farmer living about 2200 B.C. He worshiped two gods, one a god of death, the other a goddess of fertility. One day, the temple priests tell Urbaal to bring his young son to the temple for sacrifice—if he wants good crops. Urbaal obeys, and on the appointed day drags his wife and boy to the scene of the boy’s “religious execution” by fire to the god of death. After the sacrifice of Urbaal’s boy the several others, the priests announce that one of the fathers will spend next week in the temple, with a new temple prostitute. Urbaal’s wife is stunned as she notices a desire written more intensely across his face than she had seen before, and she is overwhelmed to see him eagerly lunge forward when his name is called. The ceremony over, she walks out of the temple with her head swimming, concluding that “if he had different gods, he would have been a different man.”

Max Beerbohm wrote a story entitled, "The Happy Hypocrite." The title sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? The story was about a character whose face personified evil. The man was faced with a dilemma: the woman he loved refused to marry him because he didn't look saintly. To solve the problem, the suitor put on a mask with a kind face. The young woman married him despite the face underneath the mask. Her husband proved to be an attentive, unselfish husband.

One day in a moment of rage, an enemy abruptly tore off her husband's mask before his wife's eyes. Instead of a cruel, grotesque face, the man had become what he had lived for many years. Kindness, not evil, radiated from his face!

The Bible urges us to "keep the faith" because someday we will look like Him in whom we believe (1Jo 3:2).

Zig Ziglar tells of visiting the Washington monument. As he and his party approached the monument, he heard a guide announcing loudly that there would be a two-hour wait to ride the elevator to the top of the monument. However, with a smile on his face the guide then said, “There is no one waiting to go to the top if you are willing to take the stairs.”

It is an insult to God to try to add anything to Christ's finished work. What if a boy was swimming in a lake one day, and began yelling for help. Another young man on shore ran to the water and swam out to rescue the first fellow. In the process of saving the life of the boy who was drowning, the young man lost his life. The two families, who had been observing all of this, were overwhelmed by the unexpected turn of events. The father of the youth who had been saved approached the father of the dead young man to offer his sympathy. "I really can't express how much I appreciate what your boy did, and how sorry I am that he lost his life. But I just happen to have $1.83 on me, and want to offer this to you as an indication of my feelings.

A tough construction foreman lined up his crew and told them: “The first thing I want you to know is that I can lick any man in my gang.”

A husky young fellow stepped forward and said, “You can’t lick me!”

The foreman looked him over carefully and announced, “Guess you’re right—you’re fired.”

During his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: “You can’t run the country if you can’t run yourself.” Respecting Mrs. Johnson’s wise observation, the President lost 23 pounds.

I remember that when I was in high school we had a mathematics teacher who loved to talk. If our lesson was difficult and we wanted to avoid tackling it, one of the students would adroitly put a question to the teacher to get him started. Good-bye to the lesson for that day! We often try to treat God in a similar manner, thinking to distract Him from His subject. When He tells us we must repent in order to be saved from sin, we resort to a philosophical argument as to what constitutes sin. Be careful. God is not an easily distracted professor of mathematics. He knows all our tricks.

The chief priests and the Pharisees were determined that Jesus was going to stay in his grave. They used every resource and power available to see to that. They secured the tomb by placing a seal on the great stone that had been rolled in front of it to close the entrance (Mat_27:66). They also posted guards at the entrance of the tomb. These were not the spekoulator who were bodyguards or executioners (Mar_6:27), nor the phulax who were keepers (Act_5:23), but the elite koustodia who were the Roman army's special forces.

In spite of all their human efforts, the Jewish leaders were unable to prevent Jesus from accomplishing what had already been determined and promised: "After three days I will rise again" (Mat_27:63). These carnal-minded, religious leaders did not know that NOTHING in the physical realm has the ability to hinder the divine will from accomplishing its purpose. YOU CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION.

Paul states that all who are baptized into Christ are baptized into his death, and in the same manner that Christ was resurrected they are to be resurrected to a new life in Christ (Rom_6:3-7). There are individuals who want others to believe that someone or something prevents their resurrection to a new life. Such a person remains the same individual that he was before his "conversion." At this point, you should again remember that YOU CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION in an individual's life. You can stop a fake, but not a genuine resurrection to a new life in Christ.

God's incomparably great power is available for those who believe. "That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms" (Eph_1:19-20). If you deliberately decide in your heart that you are going to bury your old self and be resurrected to a new life in Christ, you have God's promise that you cannot be stopped. However, if you are looking for an excuse for living the same old life day after day, you will find one. There are numerous people and things to blame. You can blame society, or your mate or your children, or your parents, or your neighbors or hypocrites in the church. You can blame bad breaks, the wrong side of the bed, circumstances, or your tough childhood. Excuses are endless, but if you want to be resurrected to a new life you will be. Nothing can stop you.

If you are a fake, you will always have an excuse why you cannot change. If you are genuine, you will not be stopped. YOU CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION!

One day a young man moved into a cave to study with a wise man. He hoped to learn everything there was to know. After giving his student a stack of books, the wise man sprinkled itching powder on his student’s hand and left. Every morning the wise man returned to the cave to monitor his student’s progress. “Have you learned everything there is to know yet?” the wise man asked.

And every morning his student said, “No, I haven’t.” Then the wise man would sprinkle itching powder on the student’s hand and leave. This was repeated for months. But one day, as the wise man entered the cave the student took the bag of itching powder and tossed it into the fire.

“Congratulations!” said the wise man. “You’ve graduated. You’ve learned you don’ t have to know everything to so something positive. And you’ve learned how to take control over your life and stop the itching.”

It is said that two kinds of birds fly over the California deserts: the hummingbird and the vulture.

All the vulture can see is rotting meat because that is all he looks for. He thrives on that diet. But the hummingbird ignores the carcasses and the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, he looks for the tiny blossoms of the cactus flowers. He buzzes around until he finds the colorful blooms almost hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds what it is looking for.

What are you looking for? Better still-what are you finding? What you are finding tells what you are really looking for. Your expectations of life will determine your outcome.

You lived next door to me for years;

We shared our dreams, our joys, our tears.

A friend to me you were indeed,

A friend who helped me in my need.

My faith in you was strong and sure;

We had such trust as should endure.

No spats between us e’er arose;

Our friends were like—and so, our foes.

What sadness then, my friend, to find

That, after all, you weren’t so kind.

The day my life on earth did end,

I found you weren’t a faithful friend.

For all those years we spent on earth

You never talked of second birth.

You never spoke of my lost soul

And of the Christ who’d make me whole.

I plead today from Hell’s cruel fire

And tell you now my last desire.

You cannot do a thing for me;

No words today my bonds to free.

But do not err, my friend, again—

Do all you can for souls of men.

Please with them now quite earnestly,

Lest they be cast in Hell with me.

Motivational speaker Bill Gove tells a story about Harry, who ran a small appliance store in Phoenix, Arizona. Harry was used to price-shopping by young couples. They would ask detailed questions about features, prices, and model numbers, and one of them always took notes. Harry knew that as soon as they left the store they were going to head for one of the discount appliance dealers to make comparisons. Nevertheless, Harry would patiently answer all their questions, even though it took more than a half hour at times. But when the couple would announce that they were going to look around at some other places, Harry had a standard spiel to deliver. “I know that you’re looking for the best deal you can find,” he would say. “I understand that, because I do the same thing myself. I know you’ll probably go down to Discount Dan’s to compare prices. I know I would. But after you’ve done that, I want you to think of one thing. When you buy from Discount Dan’s, you get an appliance—a good one, I know, because he sells the same appliances we do. But when you buy here, you get one thing you don’t get at Dan’s. You get me. I come with the deal. I stand behind what I sell. I want you to be happy with what you buy. I’ve been here 30 years. I learned the business from my Dad, and I hope to be able to give the business over to my daughter and son-in-law in a few years. So you know one thing for sure—when you buy an appliance from me, you get me with the deal. That means I’ll do everything I can to be sure you never regret doing business with me. That’s a guarantee.” Harry would then wish the couple well and give them a quart of ice cream in appreciation of their stopping at his store.

This is how Bill Gove finishes the story: “Now,” he says, “how far do you think that couple is going to get, with Harry’s speech ringing in their ears and a quart of ice cream on their hands in Phoenix, when it’s 110 degrees in the shade?”

The Atlantic Monthly (11/94) told about superstar tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti performing together in Los Angeles. A reporter tried to press the issue of competitiveness between the three men.

“You have to put all of your concentration into opening your heart to the music,” Domingo said. “You can’t be rivals when you’re together making music.”

That’s also true in the church.

A man was seated on a park bench when a little chap of about five sat down beside him and started winding what appeared to be a most prized possession-a watch. "My, what a pretty watch," remarked the man. "Does it tell you the time?"

"No sir," replied the boy; "you gotta look at it."

God's Truth is everywhere, but you must look for it and at it to see it.

Seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960, John F. Kennedy visited a coal mine in West Virginia, where a miner asked him, “Is it true that you’re the son of one of our wealthiest men?” Kennedy said it was so.

The miner continued, “Is it true you’ve never done a day’s work with your hands all your life?” Kennedy nodded.

“Well, let me tell you this,” the miner replied, “you haven’t missed a thing.”

Some time ago an 18-year-old girl from Washington state attended a worship service. For the first time in her life she heard a gospel sermon. The following Tuesday the pastor of the church received a letter from her. It read:

Dear Pastor:

Last Sunday I attended your church, and I heard you preach. In your sermon you said that all men have sinned and rebelled against God. Because of their rebellion and disobedience they all face eternal damnation and separation from God.

But then you also said God loved men and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem men from their sins and that all those who believe in him would go to heaven and live with God eternally.

My parents recently died in rapid succession. I know they did not believe in Jesus Christ, whom you call the Savior of the world. If what you preach is true, they are damned.

You compel me to believe that either the message is true, or that you yourself don’t believe this message, or that you don’t care. We live only three blocks from your church, and no one ever told us. You hypocrites!

Signed:______________

Could your pastor or your church ever receive such a letter from a neighbor who lives nearby? It’s not likely if you’re seriously praying for them. Churches that pray earnestly and specifically for neighbors always seem to find a way to touch their lives.

A man on vacation was strolling along outside his hotel in Acapulco, enjoying the sunny Mexican weather. Suddenly, he was attracted by the screams of a woman kneeling in front of a child.

The man knew enough Spanish to determine that the child had swallowed a coin. Seizing the child by the heels, the man held him up, gave him a few shakes, and an American quarter dropped to the sidewalk.

“Oh, thank you sir!” cried the woman. “You seemed to know just how to get it out of him. Are you a doctor?”

“No, ma’am,” replied the man. “I’m with the United States Internal Revenue Service.”

When we moved to a farm just outside a small town, I decided to check in with the police and fire departments in case we ever had an emergency. I dialed the number listed for the police department and a woman answered. “Courthouse,” she said.

“May I have the police department?” I asked.

“He isn’t here now,” she replied.

Well, let me illustrate it then, and perhaps you will be able to understand it. Suppose I am dying with consumption; which I inherited from my father or mother. I did not get it by any fault of my own, by any neglect of my health; I inherited it, let us suppose. Well, I go to my physician, and to the best physicians, and they all give me up. They say I am incurable; I must die; I have not thirty days to live. Well, a friend happens to come along and looks at me and says: "Moody, you have got the consumption." "I know it very well; I don't want any one to tell me that." "But," he says, "There is a remedy--a remedy, I tell you. Let me have your attention. I want to call your attention to it. I tell you there is a remedy." "But sir, I don't believe it. I have tried the leading physicians in this country and in Europe, and they tell me there is no hope." "But you know me, Moody; you have known me for years." "Yes, sir." "Do you think, then, I would tell you a falsehood?" "No." "Well, ten years ago I was far gone. I was given up by the physicians to die, but I took this medicine and it cured me, I am perfectly well--look at me;" I say that it is a very strange case. "Yes, it may be strange, but it is a fact. That medicine cured me; take this medicine and it will cure you. Although it has cost me a great deal, it shall not cost you anything. Although the salvation of Jesus Christ is as free as the air, it cost God the richest jewel of heaven. He had to give his only Son; give all He had; He had only one Son, and He gave Him. Do not make light of it, then, I beg of you." "Well" I say, "I would like to believe you, but this is contrary to my reason." Hearing this, my friend goes away and brings another friend to me and he testifies to the same thing. He again goes away when I do not yet believe, and brings in another, and another; and another, and they all testify to the same thing. They say they were as bad as myself; and they took the same medicine that has been offered to me, and it cured them. He then hands me the medicine. I dash it to the ground; I do not believe in its saving power: I die. The reason is, then, that I spurned the remedy.

So it will not be because Adam fell, but that you spurn the remedy offered to you to save you. You will have darkness rather than light. How, then, shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? There is no hope for you if you neglect the remedy.

Soon after our last child left home for college, my husband was resting next to me on the couch with his head in my lap. I carefully removed his glasses. “You know, honey,” I said sweetly, “without your glasses you look like the same handsome young man I married.”

“Honey,” he replied with a grin, “without my glasses, you still look pretty good too!”

After dinner one evening a rancher’s wife was entertaining their house guest by playing the piano. At one point she turned to the visitor and said, “I understand you love music.”

“Yes,” murmured the guest politely. “But never you mind. Keep right on playing.”

The photographer for a national magazine was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire. Smoke at the scene hampered him and he asked his home office to hire a plane. Arrangements were made and he was told to go at once to a nearby airport, where the plane would be waiting. When he arrived at the airport, a plane was warming up near the runway. He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, “Let’s go! Let’s go!” The pilot swung the plane into the wind and they soon were in the air. “Fly over the north side of the fire,” yelled the photographer, “and make three or four low level passes.” “Why?” asked the pilot. “Because I’m going to take pictures,” cried the photographer. “I’m a photographer and photographers take pictures!”

After a pause the pilot said, “You mean you’re not the instructor?”

A young nurse was helping to care for a sick, Christian gentleman whom she loved very much. He said to her, "Ellen, it is time I should take my medicine. Measure just a tablespoon and put it in a glass." She quickly did so and brought it to his bedside. He made no attempt to take it from her but said, "Now, dear, will you drink it for me?" "Me drink it? What do you mean? I am sure I would in a minute if it would make you well, but you know it won't do you any good unless you take it yourself." "Won't it really?" "No, I am sure it will not." "If you cannot take my medicine for me, neither can I take your salvation for you. You must go to Jesus and believe in Him for yourself." The dear old saint of God had been trying to explain to his young nurse that she could not be saved on his account and by serving him, but rather through her own acceptance of Jesus Christ as her Savior.

On occasion I do free-lance photography for local newspapers and magazines, and I take great pride in my work. At a party one evening, I was introduced to an extremely pompous gentleman who writes a weekly piece for a publication that had just used one of my pictures. After telling me how he liked the “rather interesting” composition and tones I had used in my latest work, he said, “You must have a good camera.” I then mentioned that I had enjoyed his most recent article, and added, “You must have a good typewriter.”

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried,

Quietly, patiently, lovingly He replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate.

And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”

“Wait! You say wait!” my indignant reply,

Lord, I need answers - I need to know why.

Is Your hand shortened, or have You not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming Your word.”

My future and all to which I can relate,

Hangs in the balance and You tell me ‘wait’?

I’m needing a ‘yes’—a go ahead sign,

Or at least a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

And Lord, I’ve been asking and this is my cry,

I’m weary of asking, I need a reply,

Then quietly, softly I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied, once again, “You must wait.”

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut.

And I grumbled to God—”So I’m waiting, for what?”

He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine,

And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.”

“I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,

Raise up the dead, cause the mountain to run.

All you seek, I could give and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.”

“You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint.

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair.

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.”

“You’d not know the joy of resting in Me.

When darkness and silence was all you could see.

You’d never experience that fullness of love,

As the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove.”

“You would know that I give and save for a start,

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart,

The glow of My comfort, late in the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight,

“The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask,

Of an infinite God that makes what you have last!

And you never would know should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Yes, your dreams for that loved one, One night would come true.

But oh the loss if you lost what I’m doing to you.

So be silent, my child, and in time you will see,

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft may My answers seem terribly late

That My most precious answer of all is still ‘wait’.”

- by Russell Kelfer

When the emperor Valens threatened Eusebuis with confiscation of all his goods, torture, banishment, or even death, the courageous Christian replied, “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.”

When the other person acts that way, he’s ugly

When you do it, its nerves.

When she’s set in her ways she’s obstinate

When you are, it’s just firmness.

When he doesn’t like your friends, he’s prejudiced

When you don’t like his, you’re showing good judgment.

When she tries to be accommodating, she’s apple-polishing.

When you do it, you’re using tact.

When he takes time to do things, he’s dead slow

When you take ages, you are deliberate.

When she picks flaws, she’s cranky

When you do it, you’re discriminating.

- Anonymous

Woodrow Wilson’s father was a minister in the South. One day he joined a group of men caught up in a heated discussion. One of the men lost his temper and swore loudly. Only then did he see the Reverend Wilson in their midst. The man apologized profusely and said, “Sir, I had forgotten that you were present. Please pardon me.”

Dr. Wilson replied, “It is not to me that you owe an apology, but to God.”

The kings of Italy and Bohemia both promised safe transport and safe custody to the great pre-Reformation Bohemian reformer, John Hus. Both, however, broke their promises, leading to Hus’s martyrdom in 1415. Earlier, Thomas Wentworth had carried a document signed by King Charles I which read, “Upon the word of a king you shall not suffer in life, honor, or fortune.” It was not long, however, before Wentworth’s death warrant was signed by the same monarch!

In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein’s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, “What are you actually by profession?” “I devote myself to the study of physics,” Einstein replied. The girl looked at him in astonishment. “You mean to say you study physics at your age?” she exclaimed. “I finished mine a year ago.”

Pianist Arthur Rubenstein, loquacious in eight languages, once told this story on himself: Some years ago he was assailed by a stubborn case of hoarseness. The newspapers were full of reports about smoking and cancer; so he decided to consult a throat specialist. “I searched his face for a clue during the 30-minute examination,” Rubenstein said, “but it was expressionless. He told me to come back the next day. I went home full of fears, and I didn’t sleep that night.” The next day there was another long examination and again an ominous silence. “Tell me,” the pianist exclaimed. “I can stand the truth. I’ve lived a full, rich life. What’s wrong with me?”

The physician said, “You talk too much.”

You tell what you are by the friends you seek,

By the very manner in which you speak,

By the way you employ your leisure time,

By the use you make of dollar and dime.

You tell what you are by the things you wear,

By the spirit in which you burdens bear,

By the kind of things at which you laugh,

By records you play on the phonograph.

You tell what you are by the way you walk,

By the things of which you delight to talk,

By the manner in which you bear defeat,

By so simple a thing as how you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf,

In these ways and more, you tell on yourself,

So there is really no particle of sense

In an effort to keep up false pretense.

There is a magnificent story in Marie Chapian’s book Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy. The book told of the sufferings of the true church in Yugoslavia where so much wrong has been perpetrated by the politicized ecclesiastical hierarchy. That which has gone on in the name of Christ for the enriching and empowering of corrupt church officials has been a terrible affront to decency.

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. “My own nephew was killed by them,” he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. “They wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses,” he said, “signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.”

Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track; they recognized your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?”

“I would deny it,” said Cimmerman.

“‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say,” retorted Jakov. This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home.

Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ, with him. Finally one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?” and Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul. Cimmerman bent his knee on the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.” And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.”

The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. “You were drunk last night weren’t you!” “No, honey.” “Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?”

One day Dwight Morrow and his wife, the parents of Anne Lindbergh, were in Rugby, England. After wandering through the streets they realized that they had lost their way. At this moment an incident occurred that entered into Morrow’s philosophy and became a guiding principle in his life. He stopped a little Rugby lad of about 12 years. “Could you tell us the way to the station?” he asked. “Well,” the boy answered, “You turn to the right there by the grocer’s shop and then take the second street to the left. That will bring you to a place where four streets meet. And then, sir, you had better inquire again.”

“This answer came to symbolize for Dwight Morrow his own method of approaching complicated problems,” writes Harold Nicolson in his excellent biography. “It implied in the first place a realistic skepticism regarding the capacity of human intelligence...It was in the second place an object lesson in the inevitability of gradualness. And in the third place, it was a parable of how, when the ultimate end is uncertain, one should endeavor to advance, if only a little way, in the correct, rather than the incorrect direction.

Vance Havner told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles—both real and imaginary. Finally, someone in her family tactfully told her, “Grandma, we’ve done all we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look of absolute despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh dear, has it come to that?” Havner commented, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!”

A man went to the doctor after weeks of symptoms. The doctor examined him carefully, then called the patient’s wife into his office. “Your husband is suffering from a rare form of anemia. Without treatment, he’ll be dead in a few weeks. The good news is, it can be treated with proper nutrition.”

“You will need to get up early every morning and fix your husband a hot breakfast—pancakes, bacon and eggs, the works. He’ll need a home-cooked lunch every day, and then an old-fashioned meat-and-potato dinner every evening. It would be especially helpful if you could bake frequently. Cakes, pies, homemade bread—these are the things that will allow your husband to live.

“One more thing. His immune system is weak, so it’s important that your home be kept spotless at all times. Do you have any questions?” The wife had none.

“Do you want to break the news, or shall I?” asked the doctor.

“I will,” the wife replied.

She walked into the exam room. The husband, sensing the seriousness of his illness, asked her, “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “What’s going to happen to me?” he asked.

With a sob, the wife blurted out, “The doctor says you’re gonna die!”

While I was working as a flight nurse, our helicopter was called to transport an unconscious scuba diver to the hospital. During the flight, she came to and began kicking and yelling.

The rule in such cases is to keep the patient away from the pilot. So the paramedic and I struggled to keep her on the stretcher.

When we arrived at the hospital, I removed my flight helmet and tinted face shield so I could make eye contact with the patient. She looked at me and gasped, “You’re human!”

Franklin Roosevelt had to work hard to persuade Harry Truman to be his running mate in the 1944 presidential election. Truman wanted to go to the Senate, but incumbent vice-president Henry Wallace was unpopular with many Democratic leaders. So Truman was approached, and accepted the job with extreme reluctance.

On April 12, 1945, he was summoned to the White House. There he was shown into Eleanor Roosevelt’s sitting room, where she told him that President Roosevelt was dead. After a moment of stunned silence Truman asked her, “Is there anything I can do for you?” She shook her head. “Is there anything we can do for you?” she said. “For you’re the one in trouble now.”

“You’re just out of date,”

said young pastor Bate

To one of our faithful old preachers

Who had tarried for years in travail and tears

The gospel to poor sinful creatures.

“You still preach on Hades,

and shock cultured ladies

With your barbarous doctrine of blood!

You’re so far behind you will never catch up—

You’re a flat tire stuck in the mud!”

For some little while, a bit of a smile

Enlightened the old preacher’s face.

Being made the butt of ridicule’s cut

Did not ruffle his sweetness and grace.

Then he returned to young Bate,

so suave and sedate.

“Catch up, did my ears hear you say?

“Why, I couldn’t succeed if I doubled my speed,

“My friend, I’m not going your way!”

A retired friend became interested in the construction of an addition to a shopping mall. Observing the activity regularly, he was especially impressed by the conscientious operator of a large piece of equipment. The day finally came when my friend had a chance to tell this man how much he’d enjoyed watching his scrupulous work. Looking astonished, the operator replied, “You’re not the supervisor?”

While my wife and I were shopping at a mall kiosk, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her.

Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you’re in?”

Spending habits of young married couples with children (both spouses 18 to 25):

Average after-tax income, $19,783.

Average annual spending, $21,401.

(they are spending around 8% more than they make.)

Spending habits of young married couples with children (both spouses 18 to 25): Average after-tax income, $19,783. Average annual spending, $21,401.

A young musician’s concert was poorly received by the critics. The famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius consoled him by patting him on the shoulder and saying, ‘Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have a statue to a critic. - Haddon Robinson

“You’re just out of date,” said young pastor Bate

To one of our faithful old preachers

Who had carried for years in travail and tears

The gospel to poor sinful creatures.

“You still preach on Hades, and shock cultured ladies

“With your barbarous doctrine of blood!

“You’re so far behind you will never catch up—

“You’re a flat tire stuck in the mud!”

For some little while, a bit of a smile

Enlightened the old preacher’s face.

Being made the butt of ridicule’s cut

Did not ruffle his sweetness and grace.

Then he returned to young Bate, so suave and sedate.

“Catch up, did my ears hear you say?

“Why, I couldn’t succeed if I doubled my speed,

“My friend, I’m not going your way!”

Biologically speaking, I came late to the party. When I was born, my mother was 41, my dad was 42 and my brother was already ten. This built-in generation gap probably defined me every bit as much as my distinctly peculiar blood mix.

My mother, Catherine, was born in Scotland. My father, Angelo, was a first-generation Italian-American. I seem to be divided right down the middle. My Scottish side is practical, analytical, even a bit frugal. My Italian side is loud, outgoing, ready to laugh (and be laughed at).

As in immigrant, my mother lived in constant fear of deportation. You could miss up to four questions on the citizenship test, and Mom missed five. The question she flunked on was: “What is the Constitution of the United States?” The answer she gave was: “A boat.” Which wasn’t entirely wrong. The USS Constitution was docked in Boston. But the judge instantly denied her citizenship.

My father stormed up to the judge. “What the hell is this? Let me see the test! She’s not wrong—the Constitution is a boat!”

The judge rolled his eyes and said, “No, the Constitution is the basic governing—”

“It’s also a boat in Boston! The Constitution! Same thing! Come on!”

The judge finally couldn’t take any more. He said, “Fine. She’s a citizen. Now get out of here!”

So my father said to my mom, “you passed!”

“No, I didn’t pass,” she whimpered. “They’re going to come after me!” From then on, any time my mother was even in the proximity of a policeman, she quaked with fear. When I took her to Scotland in 1983, she asked me, “Will I be able to get back in?”

“Ma! Don’t worry! That was 50 years ago! They don’t know that you said a boat!” It never ended.

A Brahmin said to a missionary: "We are finding you out. You are not as good as your Book. If you were as good as your Book, you could conquer India for Christ in five years." Scripture reveals the truth and sheds light on our shortcomings.

Eternity—Your Choice: Smoking or Non-smoking!

Twelve convincing reasons for having family devotions:

It unifies the family and sweetens home life.

It cultivates the Christian graces and relieves tension and misunderstanding that sometimes threaten the fellowship of the home.

It aids our boys and girls in becoming Christians, and helps them to develop ideals that guide them in vital Christian living.

It yields spiritual resources for daily tasks and assists us in cultivating dependence upon God.

It strengthens us in the face of adversities and disappointments and enables us to trust Christ implicitly in all of life's circumstances.

It makes us conscious during the day of the abiding presence of our Savior and Frie nd.

It bears a Christian witness to the guests in our home.

It undergirds the Christian teaching of the Sunday School and the ministry of the church.

It affords opportunity for the Christian family to pray for and to sharpen its concern for non-Christian families.

It helps us to give a right place to spiritual values and saves us from an undue concern for the temporal things of life.

It encourages us to put Christianity into practice in our homes.

It honors God and provides an excellent outlet for the expression of our gratitude for the abundance of daily mercies and blessings which come from Him.

General Mark Clark was one of the great heroes of WWII. He led the Salerno invasion that Winston Churchill said was “the most daring amphibious operation we have launched, or which, I think, has ever been launched on a similar scale in war.” At the time Clark was promoted to Lt. General, he was the youngest man of that rank in the U.S. Army. He graduated from West Point in 1917. At the top of his class? Nope. He was 111th from the top in a class of 139!

Even if you never earned a college degree, don’t worry, you’re in good company. Irving Berlin, for instance, only had two years of formal schooling. He never learned how to read music. When he composed his songs, he would hum the melody and a musical secretary would write down the notes. He became one of the greatest songwriters the country has ever known.

During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancée had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, “Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!”

Children grow up with teddy bears and often figure that since the toys are cuddly, the real things might also be so. In 1990 two boys scaled the fence at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and went into the polar bear compound. The next day they were found dead. Your pet sin can kill!

Parents rate their inability to spend enough time with their children as the greatest threat to the family. In a survey conducted for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Corp., 35 percent pointed to time constraints as the most important reason for the decline in family values. Another 22 percent mentioned a lack of parental discipline. While 63 percent listed family as their greatest source of pleasure, only 44 percent described the quality of family life in America as good or excellent. And only 34 percent expected it to be good or excellent by 1999. Despite their expressed desire for more family time, two-thirds of those surveyed say they would probably accept a job that required more time away from home if it offered higher income or greater prestige.

The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself...the only sustaining love involvement is with yourself...When you look back on your life and try to figure out where you’ve been and where you’re going, when you look at your work, your love affairs, your marriages, your children, your pain, your happiness—when you examine all that closely, what you really find out is that the only person you really go to bed with is yourself...The only thing you have is working to the consummation of your own identity. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do all my life.