(New One A Days are added Daily)
At the turn of the century, when President William McKinley had to appoint an ambassador to a foreign country, his decision was between two candidates, equally qualified. Then, considering what he knew about their personalities, he found a difference.
Back when he had been a congressman, he had ridden the streetcar with regularity and one day had observed one of the men boarding a streetcar at rush hour, taking the last vacant seat halfway down the aisle. A few stops later an elderly woman got on, carrying a heavy bag. As she made her way down the aisle, no one offered her a seat.
As she passed one of the men under consideration, McKinley had watched him raise his newspaper and make a great point of concentrating on what he was reading so he could more easily ignore her. When she reached the back of the trolley the future president rose and she thanked him as her tired body found relief.
The future candidate had kept his seat on the streetcar, but years later he didn’t get the ambassadorship.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
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Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
DON'T BE A SCARECROW!
(New One A Days are added daily)
A farmer hated all the wild critters that were constantly eating and destroying his crops so he worked diligently at scaring them away. He built big, menacing scarecrows that clanged loudly and flapped bright, tattered rags in the breeze. His labors were such a complete success that soon no animal or bird came within miles of his fields. His harvest grew large, beyond his wildest dreams.
Then one day, he began to feel terribly depressed. And finally he realized why.
It was too quiet: no cheerful singing and twittering of birds, no scurrying sounds of animals moving around or chattering back and forth. No creature sounds at all.
He was alone and therefore very lonely.
So he took away all the clanging, flapping scarecrows. But nothing changed. He even stood out in the middle of his field with arms outstretched, inviting all the animals and the birds to return. He did this for days and still nothing happened.
You see, he had so successfully scared them away for so long they did not trust his change in attitude.
This is how it may be for you if you decide to change, to become more loving, more patient than you have ever been before. If you have been for a long, long time the kind of person who has scared others away because of your temper, or your lack of honesty, or your rudeness, or unconcern, then don’t be surprised if many are not sure they can trust you.
If you have built in them a backlog of resentment, it may be too much to expect everyone to IMMEDIATELY react positively to the new you you have decided to become. You have a reputation to live down. You have frightened family, and friends and even strangers away and they have to learn to be comfortable with the you who is now none of these things. Fact of the matter is, you have to get used to the new you yourself.
So be patient, be kind, be loving, be honest, be true to your new value system…and eventually the world will beat a path to your door. They really will. Because the world so wants and needs more loving, caring, compassionate, patient, decent, honest people.
There are too many scarecrows out there selfishly frightening and frustrating the world so don’t be another one of them.
Live the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Wear it on your sleeve and in your heart. Love the unlovely, bury prejudice at the gateway to hell with a note that reads, It’s all yours, devil, I don’t need or want it anymore.
Put away all that has been in you that has not been of Christ and His teaching. Put away all that has made you a scarecrow standing in the middle of your life driving people away.
Do this, pray a follow-through prayer to love more and show it. And if you still scare some away, it will then be because of the heavenly, unearthly love you have begun to practice and not the lack of it.
Do this and soon you will no longer be like the farmer in the field, lonely and afraid. You will have taken Jesus at His word and traded in the uniform of a scarecrow for the uniform of a disciple.
“Live in harmony with one another” Romans 12:16
Consider visiting my other blog “Wyrick’s Writings” at
http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/
A farmer hated all the wild critters that were constantly eating and destroying his crops so he worked diligently at scaring them away. He built big, menacing scarecrows that clanged loudly and flapped bright, tattered rags in the breeze. His labors were such a complete success that soon no animal or bird came within miles of his fields. His harvest grew large, beyond his wildest dreams.
Then one day, he began to feel terribly depressed. And finally he realized why.
It was too quiet: no cheerful singing and twittering of birds, no scurrying sounds of animals moving around or chattering back and forth. No creature sounds at all.
He was alone and therefore very lonely.
So he took away all the clanging, flapping scarecrows. But nothing changed. He even stood out in the middle of his field with arms outstretched, inviting all the animals and the birds to return. He did this for days and still nothing happened.
You see, he had so successfully scared them away for so long they did not trust his change in attitude.
This is how it may be for you if you decide to change, to become more loving, more patient than you have ever been before. If you have been for a long, long time the kind of person who has scared others away because of your temper, or your lack of honesty, or your rudeness, or unconcern, then don’t be surprised if many are not sure they can trust you.
If you have built in them a backlog of resentment, it may be too much to expect everyone to IMMEDIATELY react positively to the new you you have decided to become. You have a reputation to live down. You have frightened family, and friends and even strangers away and they have to learn to be comfortable with the you who is now none of these things. Fact of the matter is, you have to get used to the new you yourself.
So be patient, be kind, be loving, be honest, be true to your new value system…and eventually the world will beat a path to your door. They really will. Because the world so wants and needs more loving, caring, compassionate, patient, decent, honest people.
There are too many scarecrows out there selfishly frightening and frustrating the world so don’t be another one of them.
Live the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Wear it on your sleeve and in your heart. Love the unlovely, bury prejudice at the gateway to hell with a note that reads, It’s all yours, devil, I don’t need or want it anymore.
Put away all that has been in you that has not been of Christ and His teaching. Put away all that has made you a scarecrow standing in the middle of your life driving people away.
Do this, pray a follow-through prayer to love more and show it. And if you still scare some away, it will then be because of the heavenly, unearthly love you have begun to practice and not the lack of it.
Do this and soon you will no longer be like the farmer in the field, lonely and afraid. You will have taken Jesus at His word and traded in the uniform of a scarecrow for the uniform of a disciple.
“Live in harmony with one another” Romans 12:16
Consider visiting my other blog “Wyrick’s Writings” at
http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A GOOD AMBASSADOR IS...
(A New One A Day is added each day)
Over one hundred years ago, in a small country that shall remain unnamed because neither name nor place is necessary to the story, the leaders decided to relax the qualifications of its Ambassador Corps. Usually the openings were reserved for the powerful, the rich and the famous.
A young woman, learning of this opportunity, spent every minute that she could for two years studying the requirements. As much as possible she became an expert on history, world religions, economics and public health.
She lived far away from the big city where she would be tested to see if she could prove her worth, but her dream was bigger than the mileage, so she persevered. As the day approached she grew more and more excited and then it happened.
A great snow storm came and covered the land with several feet of snow. She had no other means of transportation than her feet, but she would not be deterred.
Therefore, she left far earlier than she otherwise would have and slowly began to cover the grueling distance. The exam was to be held at 7 AM. She arrived at the examiner’s office at 5:30 AM. No one was present to open the door until 6:30 so she simply waited in the cold.
Finally inside, the clock chimed 7 times but no one came to give her the test. Eight o’clock passed and nine and still she sat. She could hear papers being shuffled in the background. She coughed several times to make sure they were aware that she was there but no one came.
Finally, at 9:30 AM the Foreign Service Officer walked out and invited her back to his desk. Without any small talk he went straight to the first question. “What is the sum of 10 plus 1.” She quietly replied, “Eleven.” He then closed the question book, looked her in the eyes and said, “You passed.”
She could not believe her ears. “I did?” she replied. “Oh yes,” he responded and then went on to explain.
“You see, first we tested you on perseverance. You had to wait for two long years, and then when the snow storm came, many obviously gave up for you were the only one who showed up. You already passed the test for promptness for we were well aware you arrived 1½ hours ahead of time.
Then we tested you on patience. We made you stand outside for an hour and then delayed your testing for 2½ hours and you did not get upset. Finally, we tested you on humility.
We know you have been studying all these months on the subjects you were told you would have to have knowledge of. And then, when we asked you a question even a little child could have answered, you did not respond with too much pride or indignation.
We believe you will be a very good ambassador for our country because you passed all four requirements - perseverance, promptness, patience and humility with flying colors.
Could you have passed?
“And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings” ” or type in the URL wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
Over one hundred years ago, in a small country that shall remain unnamed because neither name nor place is necessary to the story, the leaders decided to relax the qualifications of its Ambassador Corps. Usually the openings were reserved for the powerful, the rich and the famous.
A young woman, learning of this opportunity, spent every minute that she could for two years studying the requirements. As much as possible she became an expert on history, world religions, economics and public health.
She lived far away from the big city where she would be tested to see if she could prove her worth, but her dream was bigger than the mileage, so she persevered. As the day approached she grew more and more excited and then it happened.
A great snow storm came and covered the land with several feet of snow. She had no other means of transportation than her feet, but she would not be deterred.
Therefore, she left far earlier than she otherwise would have and slowly began to cover the grueling distance. The exam was to be held at 7 AM. She arrived at the examiner’s office at 5:30 AM. No one was present to open the door until 6:30 so she simply waited in the cold.
Finally inside, the clock chimed 7 times but no one came to give her the test. Eight o’clock passed and nine and still she sat. She could hear papers being shuffled in the background. She coughed several times to make sure they were aware that she was there but no one came.
Finally, at 9:30 AM the Foreign Service Officer walked out and invited her back to his desk. Without any small talk he went straight to the first question. “What is the sum of 10 plus 1.” She quietly replied, “Eleven.” He then closed the question book, looked her in the eyes and said, “You passed.”
She could not believe her ears. “I did?” she replied. “Oh yes,” he responded and then went on to explain.
“You see, first we tested you on perseverance. You had to wait for two long years, and then when the snow storm came, many obviously gave up for you were the only one who showed up. You already passed the test for promptness for we were well aware you arrived 1½ hours ahead of time.
Then we tested you on patience. We made you stand outside for an hour and then delayed your testing for 2½ hours and you did not get upset. Finally, we tested you on humility.
We know you have been studying all these months on the subjects you were told you would have to have knowledge of. And then, when we asked you a question even a little child could have answered, you did not respond with too much pride or indignation.
We believe you will be a very good ambassador for our country because you passed all four requirements - perseverance, promptness, patience and humility with flying colors.
Could you have passed?
“And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings” ” or type in the URL wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
Friday, August 28, 2009
BOUNDLESS NOT BOUNDED LOVE
(These One A Days are added to each day)
A little girl was playing with her dolls one day, but after a while she climbed onto her mother’s lap to give her a very big hug. “How nice, my darling,” the mother responded, “but what brought this on when you seemed to be enjoying your dolls so much?”
“They never love me back, mommy,” the little girl replied. “They never love me back.”
Are you willing to respond differently to a sometimes unloving world? Love people who won’t love you back? Love them anyway when they are showing you nothing but their backs?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “If your brother has sinned against you, you have every right to sin against him twice over.” Or, “Love thy neighbor as thyself, unless thy neighbor has been difficult to get along with.”
To paraphrase what the Bible does teach, “Don’t leave a gift at the altar if your heart is filled with anger or hate. First go out and give yourself the gift of a forgiving heart.”
The meaning is crystal-clear. No amount of monetary giving is equal to a forgiving heart. No amount of hymn singing or prayer praying is equal to a charitable soul. There is no number or length of services that will do for you what an absence of malice will do.
No love in your heart? No love practiced toward your fellowman? Then indeed, you are as a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. A lot of religious noise, but little or no substance.
“A new commandment I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings” or type in the URL wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
A little girl was playing with her dolls one day, but after a while she climbed onto her mother’s lap to give her a very big hug. “How nice, my darling,” the mother responded, “but what brought this on when you seemed to be enjoying your dolls so much?”
“They never love me back, mommy,” the little girl replied. “They never love me back.”
Are you willing to respond differently to a sometimes unloving world? Love people who won’t love you back? Love them anyway when they are showing you nothing but their backs?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “If your brother has sinned against you, you have every right to sin against him twice over.” Or, “Love thy neighbor as thyself, unless thy neighbor has been difficult to get along with.”
To paraphrase what the Bible does teach, “Don’t leave a gift at the altar if your heart is filled with anger or hate. First go out and give yourself the gift of a forgiving heart.”
The meaning is crystal-clear. No amount of monetary giving is equal to a forgiving heart. No amount of hymn singing or prayer praying is equal to a charitable soul. There is no number or length of services that will do for you what an absence of malice will do.
No love in your heart? No love practiced toward your fellowman? Then indeed, you are as a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. A lot of religious noise, but little or no substance.
“A new commandment I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings” or type in the URL wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
Thursday, August 27, 2009
THE POSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE
His father was a horse trainer who was constantly on the move from one race track to the other. Because of this, the boy’s schooling was always being interrupted. At one of the many schools in which he found himself, a high school teacher asked his class to write a paper outlining their goals for their life.
The young man took to the task with great gusto. He wrote of how he wanted some day to own a horse ranch. He drew pictures of the ranch, its rolling hills, and its mile after mile of whitened fences. He drew the plans for a magnificent home he would build on the highest point of his land. Here he would sit on his porch and look down upon it all. Finally, he turned in his paper.
When he got it back there was a great big red F scrawled across the first page. Along with the failing grade, was a notation from the teacher that he wished to talk with him.
The teacher laid it on the line. He told him he had given him an F because what he had written could not be considered goals but an impossible dream for a lad like him. “Your father is an immigrant. You haven’t even had a good education. You have no money. How in heavens name do you think you will ever be able to buy horses and breeding stock and pay stud fees? You haven’t a chance to make what you have written come true. Rewrite your paper more sensibly and I will consider giving you a better grade.
The young boy went home and talked with his father who simply replied, “It’s up to you, son, not the teacher. It’s up to you.” The young boy went back to school the next day and as he placed his unchanged paper in the hands of the teacher, he told him, “You keep the F. I’ll keep my dream.”
After having been graded F too often in your faith-life, being a better Christian, a better person, born again, refreshed, redeemed and regenerated, may seem to you an impossible dream. But you see, when our Lord is in the picture, the F we get when we fail at being better, doesn’t stand for failure.
He just won’t give up on us and He expects us not to give up on ourselves. He wants us to pick ourselves up, and with His help, give it another go. Because He knows that then it is a possible dream.
“All things are possible through he who believes.” Mark 9:23
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
The young man took to the task with great gusto. He wrote of how he wanted some day to own a horse ranch. He drew pictures of the ranch, its rolling hills, and its mile after mile of whitened fences. He drew the plans for a magnificent home he would build on the highest point of his land. Here he would sit on his porch and look down upon it all. Finally, he turned in his paper.
When he got it back there was a great big red F scrawled across the first page. Along with the failing grade, was a notation from the teacher that he wished to talk with him.
The teacher laid it on the line. He told him he had given him an F because what he had written could not be considered goals but an impossible dream for a lad like him. “Your father is an immigrant. You haven’t even had a good education. You have no money. How in heavens name do you think you will ever be able to buy horses and breeding stock and pay stud fees? You haven’t a chance to make what you have written come true. Rewrite your paper more sensibly and I will consider giving you a better grade.
The young boy went home and talked with his father who simply replied, “It’s up to you, son, not the teacher. It’s up to you.” The young boy went back to school the next day and as he placed his unchanged paper in the hands of the teacher, he told him, “You keep the F. I’ll keep my dream.”
After having been graded F too often in your faith-life, being a better Christian, a better person, born again, refreshed, redeemed and regenerated, may seem to you an impossible dream. But you see, when our Lord is in the picture, the F we get when we fail at being better, doesn’t stand for failure.
He just won’t give up on us and He expects us not to give up on ourselves. He wants us to pick ourselves up, and with His help, give it another go. Because He knows that then it is a possible dream.
“All things are possible through he who believes.” Mark 9:23
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
VANITY THY NAME IS FOOLISHNESS
One day a man telephoned a certain church and when the secretary come on the line said, “I want to speak to the Head Hog at the Trough!” Not sure that she had heard correctly the secretary replied, “Sir, if you mean our pastor, you should treat him with more respect.” At this the man came back, “Oh, I see. Well, I have $25,000 I was thinking of donating to the building fund.” There was a long pause and then she responded, “I think the big pig just walked in the door.”
Money can make fools of us all, and fools are seldom satisfying to the world or to themselves.
In the book of Ecclesiastes there is the story of a man who has gained it all; fame, power, wealth. And how does he describe the experience? “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Money can make fools of us all, and fools are seldom satisfying to the world or to themselves.
In the book of Ecclesiastes there is the story of a man who has gained it all; fame, power, wealth. And how does he describe the experience? “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
THE SATISFACTION OF DISSATISFACTION
The rock was solid; with a hardness that almost completely ignored the driving force of the powerful sledgehammer. Though the man was massive in size and strength all he could manage to do was break off tiny chips that scattered ’round about his feet.
Finally, in complete frustration, he threw down his sledgehammer and cried out, “Why must I spend my days hammering away at this rock? Why cannot I be rich and famous and mighty?”
As he spoke he heard the clattering of four horses, the rattle of a coach and a coachman who cried out, “Whoa there!” As the splendid carriage pulled up beside him, he heard a voice say, “Rejoice, thou art now famous. Thou art Emperor of the land.” And so he climbed up into its elegance and settled back in great ease, all the while thinking, I am now the most fortunate of men. There is none mightier than I.
All went well, until the road began to grow bumpier and bumpier and the sun to shine down with overbearing heat. As sweat poured off his brow, he began to ponder that really it was the sun that was mightier. A voice immediately said, “Then thou art now the sun.” And he instantly was. Again he was filled with exultation. He could not ask for anything more. He was the mightiest of the mighty.
Except that now clouds began to form and in so doing they blotted out the sun. For all his might and solar power, his rays could not pierce the clouds. He grew unsettled, impatient and even unhappier than he had ever been before, so the voice spoke again, “I hear your thoughts. You are now a cloud. You can cover the sky.”
He could not believe his good fortune. I am finally the mightiest of all the forces of nature, he thought. And so he outdid himself - he rained and rained and rained, with a little thunder and lightening thrown in for extra good measure. He could feel the power of it. He was finally happy.
But then, he noticed that the flood he had caused was approaching the rock that once he had tried to break up when he was only an insignificant man. And as he watched, the floodwaters threw themselves at the rock with everything they had in them, but the rock did not budge. Nor was any part of it washed away. And so he became very unhappy again.
“Behold, I hear your discontent,” spoke the voice. “Your problem is solved. You are now the rock.”
And he was. And he shouted for all the universe to hear, “I am mightier than anything you can name. Hallelujah!”
And then there came on the scene a man carrying a huge sledgehammer, and as he
swung it chunks began to fly in all directions.
“I know…. I know,” said the voice with resignation, “Rejoice, thou art a man again.”
A question - what is your personal river of discontent? Your neighbor has a Cadillac and you have only a Chevrolet? Your friend has a job that seems to pulse with challenge and excitement. For you, yours is a monotonous rut. Or you have no job at all. Or find retirement humdrum and boring.
“If I only had more money, or more opportunity, or a new beginning, or…well, I
don’t know what, but something different than what I do have, I could be happy.”
If the world listened in to your thoughts, is this what they would hear? Would even the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow really satisfy you for very long?
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14)
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Finally, in complete frustration, he threw down his sledgehammer and cried out, “Why must I spend my days hammering away at this rock? Why cannot I be rich and famous and mighty?”
As he spoke he heard the clattering of four horses, the rattle of a coach and a coachman who cried out, “Whoa there!” As the splendid carriage pulled up beside him, he heard a voice say, “Rejoice, thou art now famous. Thou art Emperor of the land.” And so he climbed up into its elegance and settled back in great ease, all the while thinking, I am now the most fortunate of men. There is none mightier than I.
All went well, until the road began to grow bumpier and bumpier and the sun to shine down with overbearing heat. As sweat poured off his brow, he began to ponder that really it was the sun that was mightier. A voice immediately said, “Then thou art now the sun.” And he instantly was. Again he was filled with exultation. He could not ask for anything more. He was the mightiest of the mighty.
Except that now clouds began to form and in so doing they blotted out the sun. For all his might and solar power, his rays could not pierce the clouds. He grew unsettled, impatient and even unhappier than he had ever been before, so the voice spoke again, “I hear your thoughts. You are now a cloud. You can cover the sky.”
He could not believe his good fortune. I am finally the mightiest of all the forces of nature, he thought. And so he outdid himself - he rained and rained and rained, with a little thunder and lightening thrown in for extra good measure. He could feel the power of it. He was finally happy.
But then, he noticed that the flood he had caused was approaching the rock that once he had tried to break up when he was only an insignificant man. And as he watched, the floodwaters threw themselves at the rock with everything they had in them, but the rock did not budge. Nor was any part of it washed away. And so he became very unhappy again.
“Behold, I hear your discontent,” spoke the voice. “Your problem is solved. You are now the rock.”
And he was. And he shouted for all the universe to hear, “I am mightier than anything you can name. Hallelujah!”
And then there came on the scene a man carrying a huge sledgehammer, and as he
swung it chunks began to fly in all directions.
“I know…. I know,” said the voice with resignation, “Rejoice, thou art a man again.”
A question - what is your personal river of discontent? Your neighbor has a Cadillac and you have only a Chevrolet? Your friend has a job that seems to pulse with challenge and excitement. For you, yours is a monotonous rut. Or you have no job at all. Or find retirement humdrum and boring.
“If I only had more money, or more opportunity, or a new beginning, or…well, I
don’t know what, but something different than what I do have, I could be happy.”
If the world listened in to your thoughts, is this what they would hear? Would even the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow really satisfy you for very long?
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14)
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Monday, August 24, 2009
FLY HIGH AND LOOK DOWN WITH STRENGTH
In 1982, after a hang gliding accident, when my paralyzed left arm hung limp and useless, I was not a happy camper. Indeed, I could have worn myself weary by berating myself for trying to be a bird one too many times.
Instead I prayed, “Lord, make my arm well, or help me learn a lesson from this accident. But most of all, Thy will be done.”
He chose to heal my arm. But even more, He did wonderful things for my psyche.
The power of prayer is truly amazing, though to Christians it certainly shouldn’t be. It has been demonstrated over and over that people recover from sickness faster when people pray for them.
And when we pray for ourselves, it is not selfishness, but rather simply asking our Father for help.
Even so, some Christians, still believe they are not good enough to be able to pray for help.
The Bible speaks of us flying high like an eagle, which is good if we do not forget that even an eagle needs a nest. Would you be stronger in dealing with suffering?
Then first find your nest. Or as the Bible gives directions, “Seek ye first the (nest that is called the) Kingdom of God.”
Instead I prayed, “Lord, make my arm well, or help me learn a lesson from this accident. But most of all, Thy will be done.”
He chose to heal my arm. But even more, He did wonderful things for my psyche.
The power of prayer is truly amazing, though to Christians it certainly shouldn’t be. It has been demonstrated over and over that people recover from sickness faster when people pray for them.
And when we pray for ourselves, it is not selfishness, but rather simply asking our Father for help.
Even so, some Christians, still believe they are not good enough to be able to pray for help.
The Bible speaks of us flying high like an eagle, which is good if we do not forget that even an eagle needs a nest. Would you be stronger in dealing with suffering?
Then first find your nest. Or as the Bible gives directions, “Seek ye first the (nest that is called the) Kingdom of God.”
Sunday, August 23, 2009
THE WORTH OF LIFE AND WHATS WORTH IN LIFE
In Ibsen’s book, “Emperor and Galilean”, there is a scene where Julian Caesar is standing on a hill overlooking the fields and farms that are part of his empire.
He gives a great sigh and speaking to himself says, “I look down on the earth, my earth, the Emperor’s earth which I have made without the Galilean. But what have I won? Men talk of my renown with cold admiration; but in their warm, believing hearts there sits enthroned the Carpenter’s Son. Where is he now? Has he been at work elsewhere since what happened at Golgotha? What if that at Golgotha, near Jerusalem, was but a wayside matter, a thing done, as it were, in passing, in a leisure hour. What if he still goes on and on and on, suffers, and dies and conquers again and again, from world to world? I wonder? Where is he now, the Galilean I conquered?”
And soon, thereafter, Julian, but one more of the Caesars, dies. And even before he is buried there is clamoring in the courtyard to divide the power he held so briefly. And Ibsen paints this scene: Julian is lying in state, his faithful servant, his one true friend, looks down on him and says, “Forgotten ere your hand is cold; And for this pitiful splendor you sold your immortal soul.”
He was born in 6 B.C. of a young woman named Mary, in an out-of-the-way place called Bethlehem. He grew up in a dusty little village named Nazareth. He belonged to a despised people under the rule of Rome, was denied the best education of his day and in his boyhood was taught the trade of a carpenter. For the first thirty years of his life he did nothing to distinguish himself. And then, one day, he put away his tools and began to preach. His whole ministry took place in an area half the size of the state of New Jersey.
Then! He began to make extravagant statements: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6)
“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9) “Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it.”
He forgave sins: “Be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2) “The Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.” (Luke 5:24)
He had no sins. One day he said to his accusers, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46)
Men worshipped him and he accepted this worship. “They that were in the boat worshipped him.” (Matthew 28:9)
And that is why we are here on earth - to worship Him…. to follow Him…. to become better than we would be if we did not gather together in His name….. to aspire to higher things and perspire for better things.
It’s a jungle out there sometimes. It is a world where too many strive to get all they can, and keep all they can and let the other fellow get by as best he can.
Because Christ was born and you have given your life to this Christ, you are called to be different
He gives a great sigh and speaking to himself says, “I look down on the earth, my earth, the Emperor’s earth which I have made without the Galilean. But what have I won? Men talk of my renown with cold admiration; but in their warm, believing hearts there sits enthroned the Carpenter’s Son. Where is he now? Has he been at work elsewhere since what happened at Golgotha? What if that at Golgotha, near Jerusalem, was but a wayside matter, a thing done, as it were, in passing, in a leisure hour. What if he still goes on and on and on, suffers, and dies and conquers again and again, from world to world? I wonder? Where is he now, the Galilean I conquered?”
And soon, thereafter, Julian, but one more of the Caesars, dies. And even before he is buried there is clamoring in the courtyard to divide the power he held so briefly. And Ibsen paints this scene: Julian is lying in state, his faithful servant, his one true friend, looks down on him and says, “Forgotten ere your hand is cold; And for this pitiful splendor you sold your immortal soul.”
He was born in 6 B.C. of a young woman named Mary, in an out-of-the-way place called Bethlehem. He grew up in a dusty little village named Nazareth. He belonged to a despised people under the rule of Rome, was denied the best education of his day and in his boyhood was taught the trade of a carpenter. For the first thirty years of his life he did nothing to distinguish himself. And then, one day, he put away his tools and began to preach. His whole ministry took place in an area half the size of the state of New Jersey.
Then! He began to make extravagant statements: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6)
“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9) “Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it.”
He forgave sins: “Be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2) “The Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.” (Luke 5:24)
He had no sins. One day he said to his accusers, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46)
Men worshipped him and he accepted this worship. “They that were in the boat worshipped him.” (Matthew 28:9)
And that is why we are here on earth - to worship Him…. to follow Him…. to become better than we would be if we did not gather together in His name….. to aspire to higher things and perspire for better things.
It’s a jungle out there sometimes. It is a world where too many strive to get all they can, and keep all they can and let the other fellow get by as best he can.
Because Christ was born and you have given your life to this Christ, you are called to be different
Saturday, August 22, 2009
FORGIVENESS THY NAME IS MERCY
A long time ago, in England, a little boy was desperately ill with diphtheria; his throat heavily choked with membrane and only a narrow chance to live. A tube was inserted to allow him to breathe and a nurse assigned to stay by his bedside and regularly clear the tube. Instead, the nurse fell asleep and when she awoke the tube was blocked and the little boy was dead.
The doctor raged, “Never will she practice nursing again.” He promptly sat down and wrote a vitriolic letter to the Medical Board asking for her prompt and complete dismissal from the nursing profession. Then he called her into his office and berated her for such blundering and inexcusable behavior.
“Please forgive me. Please give me another chance,” she pleaded.
He almost laughed in her face. But that night, he could not sleep. Something inside him kept saying, “Give her that second chance. Give her forgiveness.”
And so he did. And she went on to become the head of a large hospital and one of the most honored nurses in all of England.
“For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more.” Hebrews 8:12
The doctor raged, “Never will she practice nursing again.” He promptly sat down and wrote a vitriolic letter to the Medical Board asking for her prompt and complete dismissal from the nursing profession. Then he called her into his office and berated her for such blundering and inexcusable behavior.
“Please forgive me. Please give me another chance,” she pleaded.
He almost laughed in her face. But that night, he could not sleep. Something inside him kept saying, “Give her that second chance. Give her forgiveness.”
And so he did. And she went on to become the head of a large hospital and one of the most honored nurses in all of England.
“For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more.” Hebrews 8:12
Friday, August 21, 2009
JOINING HANDS RATHER THAN MAKING FISTS
She was such a sweet little girl, but she was lost, somewhere out in those lonely fields and forest she was lost. All day long they searched and felt such an emptiness when they could not find her.
The second day came, and it was so very cold so hope was receding, and by the end of that harrowing day, they still had not found her.
On the third day, someone suggested they all hold hands and walk as one body; a loving, caring, united body, and on that day they found her. She was dead, as by now you may well have imagined, for the temperature had dropped below zero. And when they found her, her mother could only repeat over and over again, “Why didn’t we join hands sooner.”
If in this life when all of us sometimes feel lost we would hold hands more often rather than push each other away, or try to go it alone, or just not want to be bothered…how much more of paradise and less of pain we would find?
“May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Jesus Christ…” Romans 15:5-3
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site? Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
The second day came, and it was so very cold so hope was receding, and by the end of that harrowing day, they still had not found her.
On the third day, someone suggested they all hold hands and walk as one body; a loving, caring, united body, and on that day they found her. She was dead, as by now you may well have imagined, for the temperature had dropped below zero. And when they found her, her mother could only repeat over and over again, “Why didn’t we join hands sooner.”
If in this life when all of us sometimes feel lost we would hold hands more often rather than push each other away, or try to go it alone, or just not want to be bothered…how much more of paradise and less of pain we would find?
“May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Jesus Christ…” Romans 15:5-3
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site? Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Thursday, August 20, 2009
HOPE
There was a child, only ten years old, and she had been terribly burned. As she lay on her hospital bed in agonizing pain, the doctors came to the decision she would not live. Then, her teacher came to call, bringing her books the class had been given to read, along with homework that she was to do as soon as she felt better. And to the amazement of her doctors she did get better. After a few weeks they found out why as she shared this thought with them, “They don’t bring books and homework to someone who is about to die.”
It was a message of hope and it changed the little girl’s life. And that is what Jesus is, or should be, to you and me. A message of hope. God didn’t give up on us. Why else would He send His Son? He believed and still believes in us.
“And now Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.” Psalm 39:7
It was a message of hope and it changed the little girl’s life. And that is what Jesus is, or should be, to you and me. A message of hope. God didn’t give up on us. Why else would He send His Son? He believed and still believes in us.
“And now Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.” Psalm 39:7
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
LOVE
His name was Tim, but it could have been John or Frank, or Jane or Mary because you see he was every little lonely boy and girl who has ever been. He was an orphan and his aunt, who had taken him in after his mother died, never failed to remind him of the sacrifices that she was making for him.
And then he made a friend; a woman who befriended him and just loved him, asking nothing in return. So one day, and it wasn’t her birthday or even Christmas, he brought her a gift just because he felt like it.
He explained that he had made the tiny little box all by himself. When she opened it there was nothing inside, at least nothing she could see.
Then Tim explained that what was inside was his love for her; his thanksgiving for who she was and what she meant to him. “My mother always said that you can’t see love but that you can feel it.” And with these words he smiled and went back out into a soft and swelling snow that had just begun to fall.
“Love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
And then he made a friend; a woman who befriended him and just loved him, asking nothing in return. So one day, and it wasn’t her birthday or even Christmas, he brought her a gift just because he felt like it.
He explained that he had made the tiny little box all by himself. When she opened it there was nothing inside, at least nothing she could see.
Then Tim explained that what was inside was his love for her; his thanksgiving for who she was and what she meant to him. “My mother always said that you can’t see love but that you can feel it.” And with these words he smiled and went back out into a soft and swelling snow that had just begun to fall.
“Love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
YOUR HANDS ARE HISTORY BOOKS
As legend tells it, many years ago in a certain church, on a very particular day, all the people were asked to bring great gifts to lay upon the altar. All had been told that the greatest gift would cause a miracle. That at that moment a heavenly choir would burst forth with song. And so they came, bringing boxes of gold, silver, jewels, and spices. All kind of wealth. A long line of hope and yet nothing happened. Silence. Unrelenting silence.
Then, slowly there came walking down the aisle a peasant girl. Her tattered clothes hung loose. Her pale fingers almost luminescent as she moved toward the towering piles of magnificent offerings. Kneeling, she reached forward and put down…. her hands. . . and left them there. For a long time she moved them not, offering them to God. They were all she had, and she gave them. Then softly, at first no louder than a whisper, came the sound of a celestial chorus, building to a crescendo. The very walls reverberated with angel voices of acclamation. For yes, her gift was the greatest, the most wondrous; the gift of self.
Someone once wrote, “God takes a hand wherever He can find it. Here, the hand of a mother to guide her child; there, the hand of a neighbor to be a friend. The hands of those who believe.”
Why such emphasis on service? Because service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Phillipians 2:4
Have you visited my other blog WYRICK’S WRITINGS
wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
Then, slowly there came walking down the aisle a peasant girl. Her tattered clothes hung loose. Her pale fingers almost luminescent as she moved toward the towering piles of magnificent offerings. Kneeling, she reached forward and put down…. her hands. . . and left them there. For a long time she moved them not, offering them to God. They were all she had, and she gave them. Then softly, at first no louder than a whisper, came the sound of a celestial chorus, building to a crescendo. The very walls reverberated with angel voices of acclamation. For yes, her gift was the greatest, the most wondrous; the gift of self.
Someone once wrote, “God takes a hand wherever He can find it. Here, the hand of a mother to guide her child; there, the hand of a neighbor to be a friend. The hands of those who believe.”
Why such emphasis on service? Because service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Phillipians 2:4
Have you visited my other blog WYRICK’S WRITINGS
wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
Monday, August 17, 2009
DONALD IS ALL OF US SOMETIMES
Remember Erma Bombeck? She wrote a piece one day about a little boy named Donald. I have a feeling he was a composite rather than a real person, but I think getting inside of Donald’s head is a good way to emphasize how foolishly we all can sometimes capture more worry bugs than we know what to do with. And, please forgive me, let them bug us.
Before his first day of school, six-year old Donald proved he had worrying down pat. His thoughts were as follows: My name is Donald. I don’t know anything. I have new underwear, a loose tooth, and I didn’t sleep much last night. What if a bell rings and a man yells, “Where do you belong?” and I don’t know? What if the trays in the cafeteria are too high for me to reach? What if my loose tooth comes out when we have our heads down and are supposed to be quiet? Am I supposed to bleed quietly? What if I splash water on my nametag and my name disappears and no one knows who I am?
Yes, without any teaching, Donald had already learned the art of worrying.
Did you know that enough fog to obscure seven blocks of downtown Miami, when condensed would only fill a medium sized glass with water? Have you ever stopped to think that, like Donald, we make our fears bigger than they deserve to be? Fall victim to a fog that confuses our perception of reality. What I’m saying to each of us is …. Plug into the Lord on a regular basis. Be so busy so often putting our hands in a praying position we find it impossible to spend much time wringing them.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Thanks for sharing this site with others.
Before his first day of school, six-year old Donald proved he had worrying down pat. His thoughts were as follows: My name is Donald. I don’t know anything. I have new underwear, a loose tooth, and I didn’t sleep much last night. What if a bell rings and a man yells, “Where do you belong?” and I don’t know? What if the trays in the cafeteria are too high for me to reach? What if my loose tooth comes out when we have our heads down and are supposed to be quiet? Am I supposed to bleed quietly? What if I splash water on my nametag and my name disappears and no one knows who I am?
Yes, without any teaching, Donald had already learned the art of worrying.
Did you know that enough fog to obscure seven blocks of downtown Miami, when condensed would only fill a medium sized glass with water? Have you ever stopped to think that, like Donald, we make our fears bigger than they deserve to be? Fall victim to a fog that confuses our perception of reality. What I’m saying to each of us is …. Plug into the Lord on a regular basis. Be so busy so often putting our hands in a praying position we find it impossible to spend much time wringing them.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Thanks for sharing this site with others.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
STAY YOUNG
A new, young Christian, for sometimes old-time-Christians lose their zeal… a new, young Christian once pressed his cause for Christ with a bit too much fervor. The man to whom he was speaking finally said, “Why don’t you just mind your own business?”
The young layman then more gently replied, “Perhaps I did come across too strong, but you see, ever since I became a Christian, you are my business.”
Charles Spurgeon, a well known Evangelist put it this way, “…if you aren’t lighting any fires maybe it is because you are not carrying any flame. One thing is for certain, when you talk about heaven let your face light up. When you talk about hell, your everyday face will do.”
Our forefathers were nomads. The horizon was not something blocked out by urban high-rises or suburban sprawl. The horizon was where they might be next week. Where they might hunt, or plant, or maybe stay a few short months or years before the western wanderlust got to them again. They lived in tents or makeshift shelters or slept beneath the stars. God’s voice spoke in the thunder, in the rippling streams, in the sound of cracking frost beneath their feet. God is – and when they said it they meant it because He was close to their five senses, which, of course, increased the sensitivity of their souls.
It is not easy to see God in the rivers and lakes that stink of dead fish, nor in the neon lights that blink progress through the smog. Nor in a society whose only monument is an asphalt road.
It is not easy to see God in the hunger and poverty on which we too often turn our backs, nor in the children we condemn to a lifetime of hatred. Nor where speed is king and heaven seems too slow and out of date.
It is not easy to see God in our mastery of warfare, in our skill at slaughter and conflagration.
But it is what we must do…believe in and pray to and vitalize the reality of the God who made us and did not forget us and never will.
Acts 17:28 "For in him we live, and move, and have our being…”
The young layman then more gently replied, “Perhaps I did come across too strong, but you see, ever since I became a Christian, you are my business.”
Charles Spurgeon, a well known Evangelist put it this way, “…if you aren’t lighting any fires maybe it is because you are not carrying any flame. One thing is for certain, when you talk about heaven let your face light up. When you talk about hell, your everyday face will do.”
Our forefathers were nomads. The horizon was not something blocked out by urban high-rises or suburban sprawl. The horizon was where they might be next week. Where they might hunt, or plant, or maybe stay a few short months or years before the western wanderlust got to them again. They lived in tents or makeshift shelters or slept beneath the stars. God’s voice spoke in the thunder, in the rippling streams, in the sound of cracking frost beneath their feet. God is – and when they said it they meant it because He was close to their five senses, which, of course, increased the sensitivity of their souls.
It is not easy to see God in the rivers and lakes that stink of dead fish, nor in the neon lights that blink progress through the smog. Nor in a society whose only monument is an asphalt road.
It is not easy to see God in the hunger and poverty on which we too often turn our backs, nor in the children we condemn to a lifetime of hatred. Nor where speed is king and heaven seems too slow and out of date.
It is not easy to see God in our mastery of warfare, in our skill at slaughter and conflagration.
But it is what we must do…believe in and pray to and vitalize the reality of the God who made us and did not forget us and never will.
Acts 17:28 "For in him we live, and move, and have our being…”
Saturday, August 15, 2009
COMMITMENT
It was 1948 when Irkutsk, a Russian Christian believer, received a 25-year sentence to a gulag in Siberia. After refusing to work on the Sabbath, he was ordered to stand in a 3 x 4 foot cell for 10 days with only water for nourishment.
For a year Irkutsk went through the same routine; in confinement for 10 days and out for four days. After a year, a general came to inspect the prison camp and found Irkutsk in solitary confinement.
When the general inquired about his confinement, the prisoner explained about the Sabbath. “I am a believer in God. A sign of my loyalty to Him is to rest on the Sabbath. However, I am prepared to work twice as much the day before in order to have the Sabbath off.”
The general took him at his word and Irkutsk was ordered to fill the reservoir with well water. The reservoir was large enough to supply water for the 1,000 prisoners. Prison officials provided him with an ox, and for 10 years he and that ox followed the same routine of working twice as fast the day before and resting on the Sabbath.
Later, Irkutsk was released for his outstanding work record, but the ox remained and assisted another prisoner as he transported water.
When the first Sabbath came, that ox lay quietly chewing his cud. Nothing would move the beast – neither shouting, pulling, threatening nor beating. Every Sabbath the same drama happened.
Finally the exasperated jailer told the prisoner, “You will never change the ox’s behavior. The Sabbath-keeper has made the ox into a Sabbath-keeper, and Sabbath-keepers are very, very stubborn!”
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a young Christian with old time Christian zeal.
For a year Irkutsk went through the same routine; in confinement for 10 days and out for four days. After a year, a general came to inspect the prison camp and found Irkutsk in solitary confinement.
When the general inquired about his confinement, the prisoner explained about the Sabbath. “I am a believer in God. A sign of my loyalty to Him is to rest on the Sabbath. However, I am prepared to work twice as much the day before in order to have the Sabbath off.”
The general took him at his word and Irkutsk was ordered to fill the reservoir with well water. The reservoir was large enough to supply water for the 1,000 prisoners. Prison officials provided him with an ox, and for 10 years he and that ox followed the same routine of working twice as fast the day before and resting on the Sabbath.
Later, Irkutsk was released for his outstanding work record, but the ox remained and assisted another prisoner as he transported water.
When the first Sabbath came, that ox lay quietly chewing his cud. Nothing would move the beast – neither shouting, pulling, threatening nor beating. Every Sabbath the same drama happened.
Finally the exasperated jailer told the prisoner, “You will never change the ox’s behavior. The Sabbath-keeper has made the ox into a Sabbath-keeper, and Sabbath-keepers are very, very stubborn!”
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a young Christian with old time Christian zeal.
Friday, August 14, 2009
GOD MADE YOU TO BE SPECIAL SO BE IT
The novelist Margaret Lee Runbeck tells how Christmas came early one year, in August to be exact, a goodly number of days before the official calendar date eh what? She writes,
“I knocked at the door…then I heard a dear, dark voice which all of us in this house called love, calling out from her window. ‘Jes one minute…wait’ll I get on mah wrapper. Who is you down there anyway, honey?’
“I chucked to myself,” Mrs. Runbeck writes. “Lillian didn’t know who it was, but she was sure whoever it was, was ‘honey.’
You see, it’s not that hard to do, the real Christmas season or just the Christmas spirit…come winter, summer, spring or fall…the 13th chapter of Corinthians come alive and not died down to a calendar.
It can and does come anytime you shout out at the world, “I don’t know who you are, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re honey. You may be acting like vinegar, raising Cain, causing war, making good people lonely and bitter with all your strife, but God made you to be honey, so I’m going to call you honey whether you are acting like it or not.”
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a gulag in Siberia and one of the inmates named Irkutsk; a very special person.
To visit my other blog Wyhrick’s Writings go to http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/
“I knocked at the door…then I heard a dear, dark voice which all of us in this house called love, calling out from her window. ‘Jes one minute…wait’ll I get on mah wrapper. Who is you down there anyway, honey?’
“I chucked to myself,” Mrs. Runbeck writes. “Lillian didn’t know who it was, but she was sure whoever it was, was ‘honey.’
You see, it’s not that hard to do, the real Christmas season or just the Christmas spirit…come winter, summer, spring or fall…the 13th chapter of Corinthians come alive and not died down to a calendar.
It can and does come anytime you shout out at the world, “I don’t know who you are, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re honey. You may be acting like vinegar, raising Cain, causing war, making good people lonely and bitter with all your strife, but God made you to be honey, so I’m going to call you honey whether you are acting like it or not.”
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a gulag in Siberia and one of the inmates named Irkutsk; a very special person.
To visit my other blog Wyhrick’s Writings go to http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 13, 2009
SHOW AND TELL
David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic, used to visit Haddington Parish Church every year when he was on vacation. On one such occasion a friend remarked, “Being the skeptic that you are David, you of course don’t believe all that stuff that old preacher was saying do you?”
“Perhaps not,” replied Hume.
“Then why do you go?” the man added.
“Because he believes it,” answered Hume.
When people hear you speak the words of Christ or Christ himself or your Christian faith- when they watch you act as a follower of Christ how much passion do they find in your faith? Do you reach out in your daily living with such powerful enthusiasm you enlighten and invigorate the belief system of those around you? Does it make a difference?
It's an old saying that has been around for over one hundred years. "If there was no faith in the world there would be no living. We couldn't even eat hash"
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a Christmas that came four months early.
Have you visited my other blog WYRICK’S WRITINGS?
“Perhaps not,” replied Hume.
“Then why do you go?” the man added.
“Because he believes it,” answered Hume.
When people hear you speak the words of Christ or Christ himself or your Christian faith- when they watch you act as a follower of Christ how much passion do they find in your faith? Do you reach out in your daily living with such powerful enthusiasm you enlighten and invigorate the belief system of those around you? Does it make a difference?
It's an old saying that has been around for over one hundred years. "If there was no faith in the world there would be no living. We couldn't even eat hash"
Deuteronomy 5:33 "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days ..."
Tomorrows story is about a Christmas that came four months early.
Have you visited my other blog WYRICK’S WRITINGS?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
THE POWER OF...
He was a teenager and seemed perfectly normal. He played sports, joined the Civil Air Patrol and was involved in a number of activities that caught and held his attention.
Then one day, he was introduced to a game called Dungeons and Dragons. It captured his imagination and with ever increasing interest he began to read of demons, witches, witchcraft, evil, Satan, Satanism, voodoo and other related topics. Then, the writings of Anton LeVey in the so-called “Satanic Bible” which preached that only the strong survive and only the ruthless attain the American Dream.
It was but a short journey from there to his making a pact with Satan. In his own blood he wrote, “I renounce God, I renounce Christ, I will serve only Satan. To my friends - love, to my enemies - death! Hail Satan!” And to prove his allegiance to Satan, he began breaking the Ten Commandments, one by one. Finally, the only one that he had not broken read, “You shall not kill.”
Soon he would have broken all ten.
After a ritual of lust with a satanic priest, he drove to a convenience store managed by a man who had insulted his friend’s girlfriend. As he walked through the door his hand held a .357 Magnum loaded with hollow point bullets. He fired three shots. The power of Satan had taken him over completely. The Bible and Christ he once had known, the faith he once had had, were now obliterated by the power St. Paul clearly states is our enemy.
Our teenager? As far as I know he is still on death row, or perhaps by now he has been executed. But not his soul. Not his life that changed as he founded in prison a group called Radical Teens for Christ. To any who would listen, his message, his change of heart and mind echoes on, “I have something now I never had when I was worshiping Satan…I have hope.”
Ezekiel 33:11 reads, “As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their evil ways and live.”
Tomorrows story is about a skeptic named Hume.
Then one day, he was introduced to a game called Dungeons and Dragons. It captured his imagination and with ever increasing interest he began to read of demons, witches, witchcraft, evil, Satan, Satanism, voodoo and other related topics. Then, the writings of Anton LeVey in the so-called “Satanic Bible” which preached that only the strong survive and only the ruthless attain the American Dream.
It was but a short journey from there to his making a pact with Satan. In his own blood he wrote, “I renounce God, I renounce Christ, I will serve only Satan. To my friends - love, to my enemies - death! Hail Satan!” And to prove his allegiance to Satan, he began breaking the Ten Commandments, one by one. Finally, the only one that he had not broken read, “You shall not kill.”
Soon he would have broken all ten.
After a ritual of lust with a satanic priest, he drove to a convenience store managed by a man who had insulted his friend’s girlfriend. As he walked through the door his hand held a .357 Magnum loaded with hollow point bullets. He fired three shots. The power of Satan had taken him over completely. The Bible and Christ he once had known, the faith he once had had, were now obliterated by the power St. Paul clearly states is our enemy.
Our teenager? As far as I know he is still on death row, or perhaps by now he has been executed. But not his soul. Not his life that changed as he founded in prison a group called Radical Teens for Christ. To any who would listen, his message, his change of heart and mind echoes on, “I have something now I never had when I was worshiping Satan…I have hope.”
Ezekiel 33:11 reads, “As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their evil ways and live.”
Tomorrows story is about a skeptic named Hume.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
IN THE NAME OF GOD STOP
His name was Telemachus and he often wondered why God wanted him in Rome. But he felt led by God to be there so there he was, and then one day he found out why. Swept along by a crowd he found himself in the Roman Coliseum where gladiators were murdering each other as a sport. Lions and tigers moved about adding to the gore and mayhem. The crowd roared its approval. Of course, they approved. It was an accepted norm. An accepted habit. And once something has the approval of the multitudes, well….
But Telemachus didn’t accept such behavior as a norm. He was sickened by it all. He knew it was a descrecration to the name of God, a living profanity and so he leapt over the wall that protected the crowd from the carnage. Rushing forward, he cried out, “In the name of God, stop.” It was the name of God he was using, but it certainly was not a profanity. “In the name of God, stop.” And the crowd began to laugh. They thought it was something new. They thought him a comedian, a clown, a buffoon, a prude.
“In the name of God, stop.” But they did not stop. And then with the roar of the crowd calling for his execution one of the gladiators obliged them; placed a sword where the little man’s heart beat with compassion, and ran him through.
It was now too late to save Telemachus, it was not too late to change public opinion. The foulness of it, the indecency of it all, the very stench of it finally reached those who had not known that on that day they would hear a man cry out in the midst of their fun, “In the name of God, stop.” But now, with his words echoing in their ears, they became terribly aware of the cruelty of this sport, and all those in attendance slowly began to leave.
It was the last time in recorded history that there was a gladiatorial contest in the Roman Coliseum.
Proverbs 9:10, 11 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Tomorrows story is about a teenager who started playing a game that started playing games with him.
And yes, thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
But Telemachus didn’t accept such behavior as a norm. He was sickened by it all. He knew it was a descrecration to the name of God, a living profanity and so he leapt over the wall that protected the crowd from the carnage. Rushing forward, he cried out, “In the name of God, stop.” It was the name of God he was using, but it certainly was not a profanity. “In the name of God, stop.” And the crowd began to laugh. They thought it was something new. They thought him a comedian, a clown, a buffoon, a prude.
“In the name of God, stop.” But they did not stop. And then with the roar of the crowd calling for his execution one of the gladiators obliged them; placed a sword where the little man’s heart beat with compassion, and ran him through.
It was now too late to save Telemachus, it was not too late to change public opinion. The foulness of it, the indecency of it all, the very stench of it finally reached those who had not known that on that day they would hear a man cry out in the midst of their fun, “In the name of God, stop.” But now, with his words echoing in their ears, they became terribly aware of the cruelty of this sport, and all those in attendance slowly began to leave.
It was the last time in recorded history that there was a gladiatorial contest in the Roman Coliseum.
Proverbs 9:10, 11 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Tomorrows story is about a teenager who started playing a game that started playing games with him.
And yes, thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
Monday, August 10, 2009
DON'T BE A STUMBLING BLOCK
Sitting on a busy sidewalk in New York City was a blind man with a lantern burning brightly. When asked why he simply replied, “I don’t want people to stumble over me.” As a Christian, if you ever use GD or Jesus Christ as a curse, and I hope you don’t, but if you ever do, do people stumble over you on the way to increasing their faith, because at least for that moment, you have let your light go out?
The third verse of the 6th chapter of Isaiah reads, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” It does not read, “Holy, holy, holy, are the men who so easily profane the Lord Almighty.”
In Ecclesiastes 5:2 there is the admonition, “Be not rash with thy mouth, …” When I was growing up in Virginia we had a phrase for those who were on-goingly profane, we called them “trash mouth.” Trash God? I don’t think so.
As you may have noted I am starting each devotional these days with a story and then briefly making a point. Tomorrows story is about a man named Telemachus.
The third verse of the 6th chapter of Isaiah reads, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” It does not read, “Holy, holy, holy, are the men who so easily profane the Lord Almighty.”
In Ecclesiastes 5:2 there is the admonition, “Be not rash with thy mouth, …” When I was growing up in Virginia we had a phrase for those who were on-goingly profane, we called them “trash mouth.” Trash God? I don’t think so.
As you may have noted I am starting each devotional these days with a story and then briefly making a point. Tomorrows story is about a man named Telemachus.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
TRUST GOD...HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING
Once upon a time, there was a couple who entered a beautiful antique store. There they examined a teacup that was the most beautiful teacup they had ever seen. And then a strange thing happened. It began to speak to them.
It said, “I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was only a miserable, ugly lump of red and clammy clay. But then my master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me and I yelled out, ‘Don’t do that. Let me alone.’ But he only smiled and gently said, ‘Not yet!’
“Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting so dizzy! I’m going to be sick! Please stop.’ But my master only nodded and said quietly, ‘Not yet.’
“As I continued to spin around he poked and prodded and bent me out of shape and then he put me in an oven. I had never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded on the door. ‘Help me! Get me out of here!’
When I thought I could not bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, it felt so good. But after I cooled, he picked me up again and brushed me and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. ‘Oh, please, please, quit!’ I cried. He only shook his head and answered, ‘Not yet!’
“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven. It was twice as hot and I thought I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I was convinced I would never make it. Just then the door opened and again I was placed on the shelf to cool and I wondered, What is he going to do to me next?
“An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself, you are now so beautiful.’ ”
And we are shaped, prodded, poked and cooked by life. But we are made in the image of God and we if believe in Him and trust in Him we do become beautiful.
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-3
It said, “I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was only a miserable, ugly lump of red and clammy clay. But then my master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me and I yelled out, ‘Don’t do that. Let me alone.’ But he only smiled and gently said, ‘Not yet!’
“Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting so dizzy! I’m going to be sick! Please stop.’ But my master only nodded and said quietly, ‘Not yet.’
“As I continued to spin around he poked and prodded and bent me out of shape and then he put me in an oven. I had never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded on the door. ‘Help me! Get me out of here!’
When I thought I could not bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, it felt so good. But after I cooled, he picked me up again and brushed me and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. ‘Oh, please, please, quit!’ I cried. He only shook his head and answered, ‘Not yet!’
“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven. It was twice as hot and I thought I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I was convinced I would never make it. Just then the door opened and again I was placed on the shelf to cool and I wondered, What is he going to do to me next?
“An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself, you are now so beautiful.’ ”
And we are shaped, prodded, poked and cooked by life. But we are made in the image of God and we if believe in Him and trust in Him we do become beautiful.
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-3
Saturday, August 8, 2009
WHAT IS TRUTH
The man was at confession and he said, “Father, I have stolen a rope.” And he told the truth. He only neglected to mention that there was a cow at the other end of that rope.
And Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” But why ask the question? It is a seldom thing when we do not know what truth is…very seldom, indeed.
A woman hired an author to write her biography. The author discovered that one of her grandfathers had died in the electric chair. He knew he could not leave this fact out of his writing but he was also aware she would want this fact couched in as elusive terms as possible. His description of the event was priceless. “Her grandfather occupied the chair of electricity in one of America’s most noted institutions. He was very much attached to his position and literally died in the harness.”
In World War II, Winston Churchill spelled it out so very well when explaining whether or not a political decision he had made could be trusted as a good decision. He was at least honest when he said, “I prefer to leave the judgment on that to history… especially as I propose to write that history myself.”
We do have to be careful, now don’t we? Interpreting truth in a manner that can make us right when deep down inside we know we may well be wrong. Are you always objective when it comes to moral choices or describing yourself to yourself? Or are you subjective? Which is another way of asking, “How often do you lie to yourself, make excuses when you don’t have a leg to stand on or try to justify the unjustifiable?”
"What is truth?" and when we ask the question we need to be in pursuit of it rather than being pursued by it.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
And Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” But why ask the question? It is a seldom thing when we do not know what truth is…very seldom, indeed.
A woman hired an author to write her biography. The author discovered that one of her grandfathers had died in the electric chair. He knew he could not leave this fact out of his writing but he was also aware she would want this fact couched in as elusive terms as possible. His description of the event was priceless. “Her grandfather occupied the chair of electricity in one of America’s most noted institutions. He was very much attached to his position and literally died in the harness.”
In World War II, Winston Churchill spelled it out so very well when explaining whether or not a political decision he had made could be trusted as a good decision. He was at least honest when he said, “I prefer to leave the judgment on that to history… especially as I propose to write that history myself.”
We do have to be careful, now don’t we? Interpreting truth in a manner that can make us right when deep down inside we know we may well be wrong. Are you always objective when it comes to moral choices or describing yourself to yourself? Or are you subjective? Which is another way of asking, “How often do you lie to yourself, make excuses when you don’t have a leg to stand on or try to justify the unjustifiable?”
"What is truth?" and when we ask the question we need to be in pursuit of it rather than being pursued by it.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
Friday, August 7, 2009
WHO ARE WHAT IS WINNING THE FIGHT FOR YOUR HEART
An old farmer living on the edge of a great dark forest points to the woods and says to his grandson, “There are wolves in that forest and I feel as if I have two of them fighting in my own heart.
One wolf is dishonest, sly and selfish, a wolf I cannot trust. The other wolf is honest, trustworthy and totally unselfish.”
“Which wolf will win the fight in your heart, grandpa?” asks the young boy.
“The one I feed,” comes back the reply, “The one I feed.”
There are times when life comes to a screeching halt, when the wolf that is being fed is the sly, dishonest, selfish one. They can be big times or little times but when liars and thieves are briefly in charge the world becomes a poor and shriveled place to live.
A quarter of a century ago, our son had to cancel his morning newspaper subscription because someone in his apartment complex stole it every morning. It was not earthshaking but then again it was, because without a high level of confidence in our fellowman, integrity dies and when integrity dies civilization dies.
Let us pray that the Spirit will be poured upon us from on high. When people stop listening to God’s Word, their life becomes ‘a desolate wasteland’ (Zechariah 7:11-14).
One wolf is dishonest, sly and selfish, a wolf I cannot trust. The other wolf is honest, trustworthy and totally unselfish.”
“Which wolf will win the fight in your heart, grandpa?” asks the young boy.
“The one I feed,” comes back the reply, “The one I feed.”
There are times when life comes to a screeching halt, when the wolf that is being fed is the sly, dishonest, selfish one. They can be big times or little times but when liars and thieves are briefly in charge the world becomes a poor and shriveled place to live.
A quarter of a century ago, our son had to cancel his morning newspaper subscription because someone in his apartment complex stole it every morning. It was not earthshaking but then again it was, because without a high level of confidence in our fellowman, integrity dies and when integrity dies civilization dies.
Let us pray that the Spirit will be poured upon us from on high. When people stop listening to God’s Word, their life becomes ‘a desolate wasteland’ (Zechariah 7:11-14).
Thursday, August 6, 2009
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME
Did you ever read the book entitled Tuesdays with Morrie? If you did, you hopefully have never forgotten it. It is about a little college professor named Morrie Schwartz who has been a favorite professor of a student, Mitch Albom. While Mitch is his student, he tries to teach him some ethics, some ways of thinking that lack the disease of selfishness in them. But Mitch is all about fame and money at any cost, and he doesn’t really pay much attention.
He becomes a sports writer and travels the world in the fast lane. Then one night, surfing the television channels, he chances upon Ted Koppel interviewing his old professor, now dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Mitch seeks out his old mentor and each Tuesday for the next several months pauses in his busy life to visit with the dying man. As they discuss the great questions of life each week he becomes increasingly aware that his old tutor, even as he is growing weaker, is still teaching, trying to lead him to take a close and honest look at himself.
One Tuesday, sportswriter-highly-successful-Mitch asks the question, “What happened to me?” And then he answers his own question, “The 80’s happened. Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened. I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it.”
It is so easy to do, the selling of honor and souls for a mess of pottage. Not intentionally. Actually signing a contract with a grinning devil looking on is not the way most people see themselves. But still it happens. A little lie here, a little lie there to others or self or God. A little shaving off of honesty, because dishonesty is more convenient – more profitable.
The sad truth is that anytime anyone lies to a friend or stranger love goes flying out the door or at the best it is injured some. Love and dishonesty do not go hand in hand. Dishonesty is a wound and love does not wound. Love heals. Dishonesty hurts. It is as simple as that.
Please consider sharing this site with a family member or friend. It is the way it grows.
Looking back and looking forward ‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name... You have done marvelous things’ (Isaiah 25:1).
He becomes a sports writer and travels the world in the fast lane. Then one night, surfing the television channels, he chances upon Ted Koppel interviewing his old professor, now dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Mitch seeks out his old mentor and each Tuesday for the next several months pauses in his busy life to visit with the dying man. As they discuss the great questions of life each week he becomes increasingly aware that his old tutor, even as he is growing weaker, is still teaching, trying to lead him to take a close and honest look at himself.
One Tuesday, sportswriter-highly-successful-Mitch asks the question, “What happened to me?” And then he answers his own question, “The 80’s happened. Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened. I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it.”
It is so easy to do, the selling of honor and souls for a mess of pottage. Not intentionally. Actually signing a contract with a grinning devil looking on is not the way most people see themselves. But still it happens. A little lie here, a little lie there to others or self or God. A little shaving off of honesty, because dishonesty is more convenient – more profitable.
The sad truth is that anytime anyone lies to a friend or stranger love goes flying out the door or at the best it is injured some. Love and dishonesty do not go hand in hand. Dishonesty is a wound and love does not wound. Love heals. Dishonesty hurts. It is as simple as that.
Please consider sharing this site with a family member or friend. It is the way it grows.
Looking back and looking forward ‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name... You have done marvelous things’ (Isaiah 25:1).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
HOW BIG IS GOD
Let me tell you a story about an imaginary conversation a little boy had with God.
“God, are you really there?”
“Sure am, Jimmy, what can I do for you?”
Jimmy hadn’t been expecting such an immediate response but he quickly recovered and asked, “Well, what is a million years like to you?”
God replied, “An easy question, Jimmy, but so you can understand my answer, let’s just say it is like a minute to me.”
Jimmy continued, “What is a million dollars like to you?”
“Oh,” answered back God, “A million dollars to me is like a penny.”
Jimmy had a moment of inspiration. Knowing how generous God was, He now asked, “Can I have a penny?’
“Sure,” God answered, “Just a minute.”
The bigness of God is difficult to understand because we are the created and He is the Creator. He made a manger take on a larger image than it ever had before. People have always been impressed by stars but then the Star of Bethlehem came into play and WOW! Before Jesus the cross was a thing of infamy. After the crucifixion its meaning was never the same again.
“God, are you really there?”
“Sure am, Jimmy, what can I do for you?”
Jimmy hadn’t been expecting such an immediate response but he quickly recovered and asked, “Well, what is a million years like to you?”
God replied, “An easy question, Jimmy, but so you can understand my answer, let’s just say it is like a minute to me.”
Jimmy continued, “What is a million dollars like to you?”
“Oh,” answered back God, “A million dollars to me is like a penny.”
Jimmy had a moment of inspiration. Knowing how generous God was, He now asked, “Can I have a penny?’
“Sure,” God answered, “Just a minute.”
The bigness of God is difficult to understand because we are the created and He is the Creator. He made a manger take on a larger image than it ever had before. People have always been impressed by stars but then the Star of Bethlehem came into play and WOW! Before Jesus the cross was a thing of infamy. After the crucifixion its meaning was never the same again.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
RE-EVALUAGE AND WHY
RE-EVALUATE AND WHY
It will date you, of course, but do you remember the cartoonist Al Capp and his cartoon strip Li’l Abner? Remember the character named Joe Pssst who carried around his own little rain cloud wherever he went?
The Shakespeare syndrome I call it. Remember Hamlet? He must have been a jolly companion to have around all day since the best description of life he could come up with was that it was, “stale, flat and unprofitable.”
Several decades ago, a scientific survey at the University of Wisconsin revealed that professors who had been teaching for 20 years were no better than some teaching only two or three years. But those who, every few years returned to college for refresher courses and to study new techniques, improved. Those who didn’t just stagnated. That’s why it is so important to put God on your calendar and keep Him there. Even a man or woman “born again” needs a daily rebirth, a daily re-evaluation of habits, a daily upgrading, a daily analysis of yesterday’s happenings. We can change for the better but not if we keep tripping over the same old errors.
It will date you, of course, but do you remember the cartoonist Al Capp and his cartoon strip Li’l Abner? Remember the character named Joe Pssst who carried around his own little rain cloud wherever he went?
The Shakespeare syndrome I call it. Remember Hamlet? He must have been a jolly companion to have around all day since the best description of life he could come up with was that it was, “stale, flat and unprofitable.”
Several decades ago, a scientific survey at the University of Wisconsin revealed that professors who had been teaching for 20 years were no better than some teaching only two or three years. But those who, every few years returned to college for refresher courses and to study new techniques, improved. Those who didn’t just stagnated. That’s why it is so important to put God on your calendar and keep Him there. Even a man or woman “born again” needs a daily rebirth, a daily re-evaluation of habits, a daily upgrading, a daily analysis of yesterday’s happenings. We can change for the better but not if we keep tripping over the same old errors.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
WHAT HOPE AND LOVE CAN DO
WHAT HOPE AND LOVE CAN DO
Her name was “Little Annie” and she was completely, overwhelmingly impossible-to-cure insane. So they put her in a tiny cage and left her there. Sometimes she would scream the whole night through. Often, if anyone entered her cage she would attack them like a wild animal.
Then a retired nurse heard about her and decided to try to get through to her. Each day she would carry her own lunch to just outside Little Annie’s cage and simply sit there and eat. She felt that her presence sent the message that she cared, that someone really cared. Then she began to leave a brownie close enough to the cage that Annie could reach it. Annie continued to completely ignore her, but the next day when she returned, the brownie would be gone.
Soon the doctors began to notice a change in Annie. They allowed her to be taken out of the cage and then to be transferred upstairs. She got better and then better still. Finally she was able to go home.
Love and first class, big-time hope had done its job.
Her name was “Little Annie” and she was completely, overwhelmingly impossible-to-cure insane. So they put her in a tiny cage and left her there. Sometimes she would scream the whole night through. Often, if anyone entered her cage she would attack them like a wild animal.
Then a retired nurse heard about her and decided to try to get through to her. Each day she would carry her own lunch to just outside Little Annie’s cage and simply sit there and eat. She felt that her presence sent the message that she cared, that someone really cared. Then she began to leave a brownie close enough to the cage that Annie could reach it. Annie continued to completely ignore her, but the next day when she returned, the brownie would be gone.
Soon the doctors began to notice a change in Annie. They allowed her to be taken out of the cage and then to be transferred upstairs. She got better and then better still. Finally she was able to go home.
Love and first class, big-time hope had done its job.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
MAKE THE ANGELS SING
If you have read the novel, Les Miserables, or seen the play, you may remember Jean Valjean spent 19 years in prison for stealing bread. And then almost earned a free pass back to jail for stealing silverware from a Bishop.
The only thing that saved him this time was that the Bishop felt the soul of Jean Valjean was worth more than the silver, so he forgave and refused to press charges. That act of mercy created a transformation – the thief was now forced to become the man the Bishop saw in him. Forced, by the power of forgiveness, to reconcile with God and humanity.
And yes, this is such a powerful gift you can give…to someone who feels they do not deserve your forgiveness or believes they do…either way...nothing will make the angels in heaven sing with more gusto than you a human being taking away the terrible weight of guilt from another human being.
A new Spiritual Vitamin every day. Thanks for joining the growing group of folk who visit this site every day.
The only thing that saved him this time was that the Bishop felt the soul of Jean Valjean was worth more than the silver, so he forgave and refused to press charges. That act of mercy created a transformation – the thief was now forced to become the man the Bishop saw in him. Forced, by the power of forgiveness, to reconcile with God and humanity.
And yes, this is such a powerful gift you can give…to someone who feels they do not deserve your forgiveness or believes they do…either way...nothing will make the angels in heaven sing with more gusto than you a human being taking away the terrible weight of guilt from another human being.
A new Spiritual Vitamin every day. Thanks for joining the growing group of folk who visit this site every day.
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