Thursday, August 16, 2007

It is a matter of commitment



Thought: The secret of achievement is to not let what you're doing get to you before you get to it.

Biblical text: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." (Proverbs 16:3)

Jane was only seven years old when she visited a shabby street in a nearby town, and seeing ragged children there, announced that she wanted to build a big house so poor children will have a place to play. As a young adult, Jane and a friend, Ellen Starr, visited Toynbee Hall in London, where they saw educated people helping the poor by living among them. She and Ellen returned to the slums of Chicago, restored the old Hull mansion, and moved in! There they cared for children of working mothers, and held sewing and cooking classes. Older boys and girls had clubs at the mansion. An art gallery, playground, and public music, reading, and craft rooms were crafted in the mansion. Her childhood dream came true!

Jane fought against child labour laws and campaigned for adult education, day nurseries, better housing, and women's suffrage. She eventually was awarded an honorary degree from Yale, was called "America's most useful citizen" by President Theodore Roosevelt, and was given the Nobel Prize for Peace.

No matter how famous she became Jane Addams remained a resident of Hull House. She died a resident of Halsted Street in the heart of the slum she had come to call home.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Keep on faithing on

Thought: Feed your faith, and your doubts will starve to death.

Biblical text: "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:39)

Richard E. Byrd spent winter of 1934 at Bolling Advance Weather Base in Antarctica, where the temperature ranged from -58˚ to -76˚ F. By the time he was rescued, he was suffering from frostbite and carbon monoxide poisoning.

He wrote in his book, "Alone" the following passage:
"I had hardly strength to move. I clung to the sleeping bag, which was the only source of comfort and warmth left to me and mournfully debated the little that might be done. Two facts stood clear. One was that my chances of recovering were slim. The other was that in my weakness I was incapable of taking care of myself. But you must have faith. "You must have faith in the outcome, I whispered to myself". It is like a flight into another unknown. You start and you cannot turn back. You must go on, trusting your instruments, the course you have plotted."

With faith as his only guidance system, Byrd forced himself to do the necessary things for survival very slowly and with great deliberation. At times he felt as if he was living a thousand years in any given minute. But at each day's end, he could say he was still alive. And that was enough.

Some times the only thing left to do in a situation is to press on in faith. And so press on!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Laughter: the music of the soul



Thought: Humour is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles.

Biblical text: "A cheerful heart is good medicine; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)

Stand-up comedian and author David Brenner was signing books in a San Francisco bookstore when a young man handed him a newly purchased copy to be signed and said softly, "I want to thank you for saving my life." Brenner replied flippantly, "That's okay." The young man stood his ground and said, "No, I really mean it."

Brenner stoped signing and looked at him. The man said, "My father died. He was my best friend. I loved him and couldn't stop crying for weeks. I decided to take my own life. The night I was going to do it, I happened to have the TV on. You were hosting 'The Tonight Show', doing your monologue. Next thing I knew I was watching you and laughing hysterically. I realised then that if I was able to laugh, I was able to live. So I want to thank you for saving my life." Humbled and grateful, Brenner shook his hand and said, "No, I thank you."

Laughter does more than help us escape our problems. It sometimes gives us the courage to face them. As humorous author Barbara Johnson has said, "Laughter is like changing a baby's nappies. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for awhile."

Friday, August 10, 2007

Money is worth...what?

Thought: The heart of a person cannot be determined by the size of their pocketbook.

Biblical text: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36, 37)

Not a lot of press coverage was given to the tough Argentine golfer Robert De Vincenzo, but one story from his life shows his greatness as a person.

After winning the tournament, De Vincenzo received his check on the eighteenth green, flashed a smile for the cameras, and then walked alone to the clubhouse. As he went to his car, he was approached by a sad-eyed young woman who said to him, "It's a good day for you, but I have a baby with an incurable disease. It's of the blood, and the doctors say she will die." De Vincenzo paused and then asked, "May I help your little girl?" He then took out a pen, endorsed his winning check, and then pressed it into her hand. "Make some good days for the baby," he said.

A week later as he was having lunch at a country club, a PGA official approached him, saying "Some of the boys in the parking lot told me you met a young woman after you won the tournament." De Vincenzo nodded. The official said, "Well, she's a phoney. She has no sick baby. She fleeced you, my friend."

The golfer looked up and asked, "You mean that there is no baby who is dying without hope?" This time the PGA official nodded. De Vincenzo grinned and said, "That's the best news I've heard all week."

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Extreme Makeover

Thought: It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.

Bible text: “I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed” (Ezekiel 36:26).

One of the more popular television shows in the past few years has been a program called Extreme Makeover. The show’s “hook” revolves around the belief that people will actually feel different if they can only look different.

I was skeptical at first, but I have to admit the physical transformations that take place are nothing short of miraculous! Through tummy tucks, eye lifts, dental surgery, and a seemingly endless variety of implants, the physical attributes of the patients change in dramatic fashion. They emerge from their former physical selves as though they were beautiful monarchs shedding the imprisoning confines of an ugly chrysalis.

As stunning as these changes are though, I am still of the belief that these people are pretty much the same on the inside as they were before they became so drastically different on the outside. Can that be true even after thousands of dollars spent, dozens of surgeries performed, and hours of physical pain endured? Oh, these people might have a little more confidence, and they may even get a little egotistical, but when it’s all over, the studio lights dim, and the cheering crowd goes home, I believe that they are still, well…themselves!

God’s word is clear that unless we have an extreme spiritual makeover that we will retain the same feelings, desires and habits that we have always wrestled with. We still struggle with self worth, and often wonder to ourselves, “Is this all that life has to offer?”

The fact is, we can make over everything in our lives, but if we don’t allow God to do an extreme spiritual makeover we’ll still be just as miserable as we always were. We can get a new car, a new house, a new job, or even a new spouse, but unless we get to the root of where all happiness comes from we’re going to be right back where we started.

More than a makeover

God’s prescription for true happiness doesn’t involve tummy tucks, facelifts, or maxillofacial surgery. His prescription for a better life is nothing short of an entire heart transplant!

“I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed” (Ezekiel 36:26).

What God promises here is an extreme spiritual makeover that will bring true happiness, peace, and yes, even joy into our lives. And the best news is that we don’t have to make an appointment to have a consultation with the Great Physician. The doctor is always in!

Used with permission from www.e-gracenotes.com

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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Hard to Swallow


Thought: The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bible text: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Recently I had a medical procedure which required me to drink about a gallon of liquid in a couple of hours. Every ten minutes I was to consume eight ounces of this clear stuff which was supposed to have a "cherry" flavor to it. The directions recommended that the solution be cooled, and desiring to be an exemplary patient, I followed all the directions to the letter.

Let me just tell you that that stuff was absolutely, positively the very, very WORST tasting NASTIEST drink I have ever drank in my entire life. If they made drinking this concoction a part of "Fear Factor" nobody would advance to the next round. After having to force myself to drink it, I felt fully prepared for the end of the world. Bring it on. I have looked death in the face and survived.

There are times in each of our lives where circumstances or situations are very, very hard to swallow. The cup we are asked to drink is most bitter and causes every fiber of our innermost being to recoil from the horror of the reality which is being forced upon us. At such times God seems very far away as our lives our enveloped in a fearful darkness.

On a fateful night long ago, a humble carpenter, a most gentle and loving soul, drank from two cups--the first communion cup was full of life and blessing, the other cup of woe was full of death and a fearsome curse. And in between the drinking of those two cups, Jesus encouraged His faithful followers of all ages to abide in Him so that they might bear much fruit (John 15:1-5).

Life's two cups

The life of a fruit-bearing Christian is always oscillating between the two cups. While all of us would like to take up permanent residence in the Upper Room of feasting, there are times when the Lord asks us to travel with Him to the painful, blood-stained Garden of suffering. It was there in Gethsemane Jesus sweated blood over that second cup,and it was because of His infinite courage and sacrifice, our lives are saved for eternity.

Thank-you Jesus, for drinking that cup of woe. The cup of death that was meant for me, you have taken out of my hands and swallowed every last drop. All of a sudden, what You have asked me to swallow doesn't seem so distasteful anymore.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Live By Faith


Thought: "Faith is like electricity. You can't see it, but you can see the light." -Anonymous

Bible text: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Driving along the highway yesterday, I saw a church sign with the sermon title, “Faith is Daring the Soul to Go Beyond What the Eyes Can See!” I like that. It agrees with what the Bible says in Romans 1:17: “The righteous man shall live by faith” (NASB).

This is just the opposite of “Seeing is believing,” the rule most people live by today. I’ve even been advised by someone to believe only half of all I see.

To be sure, that last approach may be safer than the practice of one person I met. She said, “I just believe everything I see or hear. That way, I have all my bases covered.” But neither of these is what faith is all about.

Faith depends on a lack of visible evidence. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV). A good synonym for faith is trust. Trust, or faith, is something we all do every day, whether we realize it or not. Every time we sit down on a chair, or get into our car or lie down on a physician’s exam table, or relax (?) in a dental chair. We shop for food, trusting those who handled it. Without faith, we couldn’t ride elevators, or board planes.

In the same way, God asks us to trust Him. “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB).

You can put your plans, your very life, into God’s hands. He knows what’s best for you. He will give you what you would ask for if you could see the end from the beginning. You can bring to Him all your problems, all your anxieties and perplexities. He never gets tired of listening to your needs, whether they’re large or small. After all, He’s got the whole world in His hands! Literally!

God invites you to trust Him today by going beyond what your eyes can see!