(These One A Days are added to each new day)
During World War II, a Spitfire pilot awoke one morning deciding he didn’t want to fight anymore. He knew that many of his comrades weren’t terribly enthused either about rushing into the wild blue yonder to be shot down and killed. But that had nothing to do with his decision. He wanted to stay alive and he didn’t care how he did it. So he devised a clever plot of self-preservation that would also get him declared a hero in the process.
He was a good pilot and so he was reasonably sure he could ditch his plane and survive. Therefore, during the next dogfight he simply put his plane in a dive, flattened out just before hitting the water and was soon safely floating in his life raft while death raged in the clouds above. Men were dying but he was safe. It had worked out exactly like he had planned it. Picked up by the French Resistance, for two days he was treated as one bigger than life. On the third day, he shot himself. He had been given the gift of Time and he blew it.
There are times in life when our decisions need heavenly help and guidance; the strength of heavenly wisdom and patience before leaping toward disaster.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go…” Psalm 32:8
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
ARE YOU GOD'S WIFE?
(These One A Days are added to each new day)
In New York City, on a very cold winter day, a little ten-year-old boy stood barefoot in front of a store window looking longingly at a pair of shoes. A woman approached and asked, “What are you looking at so earnestly?”
“I wasn’t just looking. I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.”
The lady reached down, took his little hand in hers and led him into the store. She then asked the store clerk to bring her a basin of water, soap and a towel, and half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. When this had been accomplished, she removed her gloves, knelt down and washed his cold little feet and then dried them with the towel. Placing a pair of socks on his feet she then bought him a pair of shoes.
As she turned to leave, she felt a tugging on her coat. With tears in his eyes the little boy asked, “Are you God’s Wife?”
Act the way you should in the market-place and people will know without having to ask that one thing is for sure, you are God’s child.
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
In New York City, on a very cold winter day, a little ten-year-old boy stood barefoot in front of a store window looking longingly at a pair of shoes. A woman approached and asked, “What are you looking at so earnestly?”
“I wasn’t just looking. I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.”
The lady reached down, took his little hand in hers and led him into the store. She then asked the store clerk to bring her a basin of water, soap and a towel, and half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. When this had been accomplished, she removed her gloves, knelt down and washed his cold little feet and then dried them with the towel. Placing a pair of socks on his feet she then bought him a pair of shoes.
As she turned to leave, she felt a tugging on her coat. With tears in his eyes the little boy asked, “Are you God’s Wife?”
Act the way you should in the market-place and people will know without having to ask that one thing is for sure, you are God’s child.
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Monday, September 28, 2009
HOW DID GOD'S INFLUENCE GET TO BE SUCH A BAD THING?
(These One A Days are added to each day)
In 1980, the Supreme Court in Kentucky denied the right to display the Ten Commandments in schools. And it gave the following reason why, “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the school children to read, meditate upon, perhaps even to venerate and obey, the Commandments.”
Children meditating and considering the possibility of having the Ten Commandments influence their lives. What a terrible threat to liberty. But to the humanist it is a threat, because humanism argues there is no such thing as right and wrong. It abhors the idea of absolutes. It supports moral anarchy. If it feels good then it must be okay, its followers argue.
For the greater part of our history, humanism didn’t stand a chance to survive. We were a nation that believed God was the source of what was right and what was wrong. Unfortunately, we are now becoming not one nation under God, but a nation without God.
Unfortunately, in the latter part of the 20th century and now into the 21st, more and more leaders readily accepted, and accept, the premise not just of the separation of “church and state” but the separation of “God and state.”
To those who support this premise of disaster, I remind that The Declaration of Independence contains five references to God:
God as supreme Lawmaker.
God as Creator for all men.
God as the Source of all rights.
God as the world’s supreme Judge.
God as our Protector on whom we can rely.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
In 1980, the Supreme Court in Kentucky denied the right to display the Ten Commandments in schools. And it gave the following reason why, “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the school children to read, meditate upon, perhaps even to venerate and obey, the Commandments.”
Children meditating and considering the possibility of having the Ten Commandments influence their lives. What a terrible threat to liberty. But to the humanist it is a threat, because humanism argues there is no such thing as right and wrong. It abhors the idea of absolutes. It supports moral anarchy. If it feels good then it must be okay, its followers argue.
For the greater part of our history, humanism didn’t stand a chance to survive. We were a nation that believed God was the source of what was right and what was wrong. Unfortunately, we are now becoming not one nation under God, but a nation without God.
Unfortunately, in the latter part of the 20th century and now into the 21st, more and more leaders readily accepted, and accept, the premise not just of the separation of “church and state” but the separation of “God and state.”
To those who support this premise of disaster, I remind that The Declaration of Independence contains five references to God:
God as supreme Lawmaker.
God as Creator for all men.
God as the Source of all rights.
God as the world’s supreme Judge.
God as our Protector on whom we can rely.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
CHRIST IN THE MARKETPLACE
(These One A Days are added to each new day)
The little boy who shined the shoes of a certain business man did so with such joy and efficiency that finally the businessman had to ask, “How is that you always work so hard, as if every shoe were a monument to perfection.” The reply left the man speech-less, “Mister, I’m a Christian and I try to shine every pair of shoes as if Jesus Christ were wearing them.”
When you sell, or type, or build or shop, or whatever you do out there in the world of commerce, do you treat the object of your actions as if they were Jesus Christ? I didn’t say, “Were they acting like it?” That’s not the point.
The point is that the marketplace is always in danger of suffering from a bad attack of greed whether there is a downturn or upturn in the economy. Spiritual malnutrition and moral blindness come easily when profits are at stake. If you have any doubt just look at the television ads that preach Greed with a capital G.
Nor are customers always without blame, for all too often they are rude and curt toward salespeople.
Christ in the marketplace? Well, for the understatement of the year, it sure would be nice.
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mannon. Luke 16:13
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
.
And, yes, we hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
The little boy who shined the shoes of a certain business man did so with such joy and efficiency that finally the businessman had to ask, “How is that you always work so hard, as if every shoe were a monument to perfection.” The reply left the man speech-less, “Mister, I’m a Christian and I try to shine every pair of shoes as if Jesus Christ were wearing them.”
When you sell, or type, or build or shop, or whatever you do out there in the world of commerce, do you treat the object of your actions as if they were Jesus Christ? I didn’t say, “Were they acting like it?” That’s not the point.
The point is that the marketplace is always in danger of suffering from a bad attack of greed whether there is a downturn or upturn in the economy. Spiritual malnutrition and moral blindness come easily when profits are at stake. If you have any doubt just look at the television ads that preach Greed with a capital G.
Nor are customers always without blame, for all too often they are rude and curt toward salespeople.
Christ in the marketplace? Well, for the understatement of the year, it sure would be nice.
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mannon. Luke 16:13
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
.
And, yes, we hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN...GO TELL IT ON THE PLAIN
(These One A Days are added to each day)
The following is an imagination story. I am certainly not aware that it happened, but it might have.
On the day of the Ascension to heaven, as Jesus moved past the Pearly Gates, He was met by the angel Gabriel. “How went it during your time on earth?” he asked the Master. “Poorly,” replied Jesus. “I preached the Love of God and they responded by nailing me to a cross.”
“Then what did you do to see that your message would be carried on?” asked Gabriel.
“I chose 12 Disciples and told them to spread the word of God’s love for all man-kind.”
“But what if they don’t?”
“Then there is no other way. But I know they will. Except for Judas, I know they will. I have no doubts.”
And so it is. Christ’s faith in us and our faith in Him. And a thousand plus a thousand centuries of men and women passing on the story of the birth of Christ.
You passing on the story to friends and strangers, or with fear and trepidation telling no one. Sharing with no one. Just keeping the wonder of it all for yourself.
Because Christ was born magnificence is only a prayer away, but not “if you live forever in the preface of the story without becoming involved.” (Charles H. Duthie of Edinburgh)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
The voice of the Master is as close as a meaningful prayer. The fact of His existence and the miracle of His birth and resurrection are as close as your waiting soul. It just depends on what you are listening for.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
The following is an imagination story. I am certainly not aware that it happened, but it might have.
On the day of the Ascension to heaven, as Jesus moved past the Pearly Gates, He was met by the angel Gabriel. “How went it during your time on earth?” he asked the Master. “Poorly,” replied Jesus. “I preached the Love of God and they responded by nailing me to a cross.”
“Then what did you do to see that your message would be carried on?” asked Gabriel.
“I chose 12 Disciples and told them to spread the word of God’s love for all man-kind.”
“But what if they don’t?”
“Then there is no other way. But I know they will. Except for Judas, I know they will. I have no doubts.”
And so it is. Christ’s faith in us and our faith in Him. And a thousand plus a thousand centuries of men and women passing on the story of the birth of Christ.
You passing on the story to friends and strangers, or with fear and trepidation telling no one. Sharing with no one. Just keeping the wonder of it all for yourself.
Because Christ was born magnificence is only a prayer away, but not “if you live forever in the preface of the story without becoming involved.” (Charles H. Duthie of Edinburgh)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
The voice of the Master is as close as a meaningful prayer. The fact of His existence and the miracle of His birth and resurrection are as close as your waiting soul. It just depends on what you are listening for.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Friday, September 25, 2009
SO WHAT IS NATURAL?
(These One A Days are added to each day)
One day a voice teacher was laboring with one of her worst students. When both were on the brink of despair, the student suddenly came out with a fantastic improvement.
“That’s it! That’s it!” cried the delighted teacher. “But that’s not my natural voice,” said the student. “Certainly it’s your natural voice. You mean it is not your usual voice. But you made the sound, didn’t you? It is as much your own natural voice as the one you have spoken with for most of your life. Your best voice is just as natural as your worst.”
I truly believe this is Christ’s message to anyone who has ever said, “I’m just not naturally religious.” I think at such times Christ must think to Himself; Ah, my child, your best self is as natural as your worst self. Your religious self is just as natural as your irreligious self. You simply have to choose which self you prefer. Which self you really want to be.
Choose ye this day who you will completely serve because it is the first day of the rest of your life.
“Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
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” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, we hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
One day a voice teacher was laboring with one of her worst students. When both were on the brink of despair, the student suddenly came out with a fantastic improvement.
“That’s it! That’s it!” cried the delighted teacher. “But that’s not my natural voice,” said the student. “Certainly it’s your natural voice. You mean it is not your usual voice. But you made the sound, didn’t you? It is as much your own natural voice as the one you have spoken with for most of your life. Your best voice is just as natural as your worst.”
I truly believe this is Christ’s message to anyone who has ever said, “I’m just not naturally religious.” I think at such times Christ must think to Himself; Ah, my child, your best self is as natural as your worst self. Your religious self is just as natural as your irreligious self. You simply have to choose which self you prefer. Which self you really want to be.
Choose ye this day who you will completely serve because it is the first day of the rest of your life.
“Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
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” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, we hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
IT'S ALL IN THE TIMING
(These One A Days are added to each day)
During the Korean War there was a terrible battle that happened at a place that came to be known as Heartbreak Hill. Men were dying and being wounded at a terrible rate. Not far from where a dozen men huddled in a foxhole a wounded marine cried out for help.
As bullet after bullet thudded into the ground around them, eleven of the men discussed whether it made sense to risk their lives to try and save him. The twelfth young man, rather than join in the discussion, began to stare intently at his watch. Even when the others asked him what he was doing, he remained silent. Then, all of a sudden he leapt from the foxhole and ran toward the wounded man. Miraculously he remained unscathed. Then lifting him up he retraced his steps back to the foxhole.
Later, as the wounded soldier lay recovering in a hospital room, he was visited by his hero. It was then the young soldier explained that what had seemed a foolish lack of common sense, or a tremendous amount of courage, was actually neither. “My mother told me that every day, at the exact time I ran to rescue you, she would be praying for me. I simply waited until my watch read that time and ran without any fear or concern.”
Some would not have run from the safety of the foxhole. They would have cried out, “God’s protection at such a moment is impossible.”
But read Luke 18:27 and Christ promises –Things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Or read in Proverbs (3:5-6) – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
And in Philippians (4:19) Paul writes – My God will supply all your needs.
II Timothy 1:7 tells us – For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
During the Korean War there was a terrible battle that happened at a place that came to be known as Heartbreak Hill. Men were dying and being wounded at a terrible rate. Not far from where a dozen men huddled in a foxhole a wounded marine cried out for help.
As bullet after bullet thudded into the ground around them, eleven of the men discussed whether it made sense to risk their lives to try and save him. The twelfth young man, rather than join in the discussion, began to stare intently at his watch. Even when the others asked him what he was doing, he remained silent. Then, all of a sudden he leapt from the foxhole and ran toward the wounded man. Miraculously he remained unscathed. Then lifting him up he retraced his steps back to the foxhole.
Later, as the wounded soldier lay recovering in a hospital room, he was visited by his hero. It was then the young soldier explained that what had seemed a foolish lack of common sense, or a tremendous amount of courage, was actually neither. “My mother told me that every day, at the exact time I ran to rescue you, she would be praying for me. I simply waited until my watch read that time and ran without any fear or concern.”
Some would not have run from the safety of the foxhole. They would have cried out, “God’s protection at such a moment is impossible.”
But read Luke 18:27 and Christ promises –Things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Or read in Proverbs (3:5-6) – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
And in Philippians (4:19) Paul writes – My God will supply all your needs.
II Timothy 1:7 tells us – For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
THE ONE GREAT GIFT OF ALL
(THESE ONE A DAYS ARE ADDED TO EACH DAY)
Once there was a little boy who was crippled by polio and had very low self-esteem. Each time his mother would leave him at Sunday School he would ask if he could wear her locket. “She thought I liked the locket,” he would often relate in later years. “It wasn’t that. I really didn’t like the locket, but since I felt I wasn’t worth enough for her to come back for, I knew she would come back for the locket.”
There are more people than I like to remember who have told me they don’t feel worthy to come to church. I then remind them that they have the right simply because they exist. That the church is not a country club for saints but a community of sinners and that’s why we all need God’s forgiveness.
“For you, O Lord are good and ready to forgive (our trespasses sending them away, letting them go completely and forever); and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Once there was a little boy who was crippled by polio and had very low self-esteem. Each time his mother would leave him at Sunday School he would ask if he could wear her locket. “She thought I liked the locket,” he would often relate in later years. “It wasn’t that. I really didn’t like the locket, but since I felt I wasn’t worth enough for her to come back for, I knew she would come back for the locket.”
There are more people than I like to remember who have told me they don’t feel worthy to come to church. I then remind them that they have the right simply because they exist. That the church is not a country club for saints but a community of sinners and that’s why we all need God’s forgiveness.
“For you, O Lord are good and ready to forgive (our trespasses sending them away, letting them go completely and forever); and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING FOR?
(These One A Days are added to each day)
One day in New York an old Indian was walking the crowded streets with a missionary who had brought him to this great city so he could compare it to the wilderness where he had always lived.
They had traveled no more than a few blocks when the old Indian suddenly stopped and exclaimed, “I hear a cricket.” “How is that possible with all this noise; cars honking, taxis squealing?” asked the missionary.
The old man did not answer but instead bent down and began to dig in leaves in a large cement planter. And there was the cricket.
Now he explained, “My ears are no different than yours. It simply depends on what you are listening for. Here let me show you what I mean.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change; a few nickels, some quarters and a single dime. Then he dropped them on the concrete. Every head within a block turned in his direction. “You see,” he continued, “it just depends on what you are listening for.”
“Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord….” Hosea 10:12
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
One day in New York an old Indian was walking the crowded streets with a missionary who had brought him to this great city so he could compare it to the wilderness where he had always lived.
They had traveled no more than a few blocks when the old Indian suddenly stopped and exclaimed, “I hear a cricket.” “How is that possible with all this noise; cars honking, taxis squealing?” asked the missionary.
The old man did not answer but instead bent down and began to dig in leaves in a large cement planter. And there was the cricket.
Now he explained, “My ears are no different than yours. It simply depends on what you are listening for. Here let me show you what I mean.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change; a few nickels, some quarters and a single dime. Then he dropped them on the concrete. Every head within a block turned in his direction. “You see,” he continued, “it just depends on what you are listening for.”
“Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord….” Hosea 10:12
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Monday, September 21, 2009
IT WAS GOD'S IDEA
(These One A Days are added to each day)
I talked with a man the other day who said he had been a member of his church for 28 years, but last year was the first time he had ever taken Christ home with him. He had invited the minister for dinner, had church officers meet in his living room, served the Young People on his patio, but never Christ…. never Christ.
Because Christ was born life down through the ages has become one series of miracles after the other. Discouraged folks have cheered up, sour folks have sweetened up, closed folks have opened up, gossipers have shut up, conflicted folks have made up, lukewarm folks have fired up and pew potatoes have stood up. (Rick Kirchoff, Memphis Methodist Annual Conference)
Once upon a time there was a birth in Bethlehem, and his name was Jesus and his timeless gift to man was an eternal guarantee of love and forgiveness. “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
The church was not our idea or any of our ancestor’s idea. It was God’s idea. “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus said this of the faith of Peter, and He says it to you and me
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
I talked with a man the other day who said he had been a member of his church for 28 years, but last year was the first time he had ever taken Christ home with him. He had invited the minister for dinner, had church officers meet in his living room, served the Young People on his patio, but never Christ…. never Christ.
Because Christ was born life down through the ages has become one series of miracles after the other. Discouraged folks have cheered up, sour folks have sweetened up, closed folks have opened up, gossipers have shut up, conflicted folks have made up, lukewarm folks have fired up and pew potatoes have stood up. (Rick Kirchoff, Memphis Methodist Annual Conference)
Once upon a time there was a birth in Bethlehem, and his name was Jesus and his timeless gift to man was an eternal guarantee of love and forgiveness. “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
The church was not our idea or any of our ancestor’s idea. It was God’s idea. “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus said this of the faith of Peter, and He says it to you and me
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
BECAUSE CHRIST WAS BORH
(These One A Days are added to each day)
One day in eastern Colorado, a man watched a little girl pull a small yellow wagon to the corner of a fence that paralleled the highway and the railroad. She climbed upon the wagon and anxiously scanned the horizon.
“What are you doing?” asked the man. “My little brother has infantile paralysis and he can’t stand without my help. And he loves trains…oh, how he loves trains.”
Just then, the hoarse, deep whistle of the streamliner, The City of Denver, could be heard in the distance. The little girl went into action.
Raising her little brother to a standing position against the solid fence in front of him she placed her head against the small of his back and held him there, his little head protruding just above the fence so he could see the approaching train. When the train had passed, she gently lowered him back down into the wagon.
“Honey,” the man exclaimed, “You didn’t get to see the train at all.” She looked at him with that look reserved for someone who just doesn’t understand, and said, “I saw it before he got sick.”
Because Christ was born little girls think of little brothers before themselves. And compassion is seen as a strength and not a weakness. And love is made more important than hate.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
One day in eastern Colorado, a man watched a little girl pull a small yellow wagon to the corner of a fence that paralleled the highway and the railroad. She climbed upon the wagon and anxiously scanned the horizon.
“What are you doing?” asked the man. “My little brother has infantile paralysis and he can’t stand without my help. And he loves trains…oh, how he loves trains.”
Just then, the hoarse, deep whistle of the streamliner, The City of Denver, could be heard in the distance. The little girl went into action.
Raising her little brother to a standing position against the solid fence in front of him she placed her head against the small of his back and held him there, his little head protruding just above the fence so he could see the approaching train. When the train had passed, she gently lowered him back down into the wagon.
“Honey,” the man exclaimed, “You didn’t get to see the train at all.” She looked at him with that look reserved for someone who just doesn’t understand, and said, “I saw it before he got sick.”
Because Christ was born little girls think of little brothers before themselves. And compassion is seen as a strength and not a weakness. And love is made more important than hate.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A FAITH THAT IS OVERFLOWING
(These One A Days are added to each new day)
During the most productive period of his life the preacher pastor John Wesley traveled on horseback 5,000 miles a years, preached fifteen sermons a week and looked every hostile and petty man square in the face and did not flinch. In his wide journeying, he carried a Bible, a change of linen, and the implements of his simple diet. So deep was his devotion, so complete his dedication and consecration, that it has been movingly said of him, “When at length he came to die, he left only a knife, a fork, two spoons… and the Methodist Church.”
William James put it well, “Give yourself to something that will outlast you.” And a Christian looked at me the other day and said, “I’ve stopped passing the buck and started bucking the line.”
Which is why it is worth our while to ask ourselves some questions. When people hear us speak, or watch our actions, let there be no doubt in their minds that we believe in the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. Let there be no doubt for all who observe our lives that we believe that happiness is not a thing of matter, but of mind; not a hillside full of gold, but a heart full of God.
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
During the most productive period of his life the preacher pastor John Wesley traveled on horseback 5,000 miles a years, preached fifteen sermons a week and looked every hostile and petty man square in the face and did not flinch. In his wide journeying, he carried a Bible, a change of linen, and the implements of his simple diet. So deep was his devotion, so complete his dedication and consecration, that it has been movingly said of him, “When at length he came to die, he left only a knife, a fork, two spoons… and the Methodist Church.”
William James put it well, “Give yourself to something that will outlast you.” And a Christian looked at me the other day and said, “I’ve stopped passing the buck and started bucking the line.”
Which is why it is worth our while to ask ourselves some questions. When people hear us speak, or watch our actions, let there be no doubt in their minds that we believe in the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. Let there be no doubt for all who observe our lives that we believe that happiness is not a thing of matter, but of mind; not a hillside full of gold, but a heart full of God.
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Friday, September 18, 2009
ROSES AND THORNS
(These thoughts are added to each new day)
If grieving is caused by what we no longer have, cannot thanksgiving for what we do still have be of help? There is much truth in the words, It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
James Barrie put it this way, “God gave us memories that we (might) have roses in December,”
Do you concentrate upon the roses or are you impaled upon the thorns?
Do you grieve because you have lost your health? Then let me tell you of a minister who weekly conducted a radio program that brought solace and good cheer to many listeners. Few knew that for 14 years he had been bedridden and was blind. Few knew that in his later years his body stiffened and finally froze to such a degree he could not move. All those who listened only knew that they heard messages of hope, words of wisdom, the voice of a radiant spirit that glowed with the eloquence of strength and caring.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.”
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
If grieving is caused by what we no longer have, cannot thanksgiving for what we do still have be of help? There is much truth in the words, It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
James Barrie put it this way, “God gave us memories that we (might) have roses in December,”
Do you concentrate upon the roses or are you impaled upon the thorns?
Do you grieve because you have lost your health? Then let me tell you of a minister who weekly conducted a radio program that brought solace and good cheer to many listeners. Few knew that for 14 years he had been bedridden and was blind. Few knew that in his later years his body stiffened and finally froze to such a degree he could not move. All those who listened only knew that they heard messages of hope, words of wisdom, the voice of a radiant spirit that glowed with the eloquence of strength and caring.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.”
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
AN EMOTIONAL EXTRAVAGANCE
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Dr. Robert H. Schuller in his book Love Or Loneliness, You Decide relates a radiant tale. It is about a drunken failure and the church that adopted him while he was still in jail. Of how they convinced him, by the practice of their love and concern that no one is beyond redemption. And then, backed up their words by giving him a job to clean up the church.
Dr. Schuller goes on to tell how he not only cleared away debris, cobwebs and dirt but also transformed the church’s engine room into a thing of beauty. He painted every nut, bolt and pipe, purple, red, green, blue, orange, lavender, pink - a virtual rainbow, and then the ceiling blue with stars. “It’s absolutely the most beautiful engine room in any place in the world!” reflects Dr. Schuller.
And the man’s explanation for so doing? “Because that’s the way I feel inside, since Jesus Christ came inside.”
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “If thy brother has sinned against you, thou doest have the right to sin against him twice over”
Or, “Love thy neighbor as thyself, unless thy neighbor has been difficult to get along with. Then, don’t worry about it, give as good as you just got. “
Or, “If a person is hard to get to know or understand, then thou dost not have to put out any extra effort. Thy Lord does not ask of you that which is too difficult.”
“Little children (and we are all children of God) let us not love (merely) in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity) 1 John 3:18
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Dr. Robert H. Schuller in his book Love Or Loneliness, You Decide relates a radiant tale. It is about a drunken failure and the church that adopted him while he was still in jail. Of how they convinced him, by the practice of their love and concern that no one is beyond redemption. And then, backed up their words by giving him a job to clean up the church.
Dr. Schuller goes on to tell how he not only cleared away debris, cobwebs and dirt but also transformed the church’s engine room into a thing of beauty. He painted every nut, bolt and pipe, purple, red, green, blue, orange, lavender, pink - a virtual rainbow, and then the ceiling blue with stars. “It’s absolutely the most beautiful engine room in any place in the world!” reflects Dr. Schuller.
And the man’s explanation for so doing? “Because that’s the way I feel inside, since Jesus Christ came inside.”
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “If thy brother has sinned against you, thou doest have the right to sin against him twice over”
Or, “Love thy neighbor as thyself, unless thy neighbor has been difficult to get along with. Then, don’t worry about it, give as good as you just got. “
Or, “If a person is hard to get to know or understand, then thou dost not have to put out any extra effort. Thy Lord does not ask of you that which is too difficult.”
“Little children (and we are all children of God) let us not love (merely) in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity) 1 John 3:18
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
GREATER LOVE THAN...
(These One A Days are added to each day)
In Michigan, just across the Indiana state- line, there is a little town called Wabemen. In Indian language it means White Pigeon. There is a fascinating story concerning this village and how it was almost destroyed.
It was established in the year 1830 by white settlers come to farm the rich land, and while trading with the Indians, converted some of them to Christianity. One in particular became completely devoted to the settlers.
Peace, however, is a fragile thing, and angered by both real and imagined wrongs, a number of Indians plotted to kill every man, woman and child. One who overheard their plans was the Indian who had come to care so much for his white friends.
Under cover of darkness, he slipped away and sprinted for sixty miles to warn them. Even for his savage strength, it was too much. Staggering into the town meeting house, he breathlessly warned them, and moments later dropped dead at their feet.
In the little village that was named after this Christian Indian there is a monument that reads Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.
He ran sixty miles to save them, at the cost of his existence. Will you walk six feet to forgive, at perhaps the cost of your precious ego? If your nose is in the air with too much pride your head should be at just the right angle to watch your Savior die. What now of your pride before His humility?
Life does that…calls out for courage and doing what is right and not taking the easy way. And to those who meet whatever challenge comes with the strength of the wise and the persistence of a good and godly life…the world is a little more a better place than a more bitter place.
And God in his heavens, I cannot prove it, but I think he must at such times laugh out loud.
“Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor (it never hurts anybody). Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.” Romans 13:10
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
In Michigan, just across the Indiana state- line, there is a little town called Wabemen. In Indian language it means White Pigeon. There is a fascinating story concerning this village and how it was almost destroyed.
It was established in the year 1830 by white settlers come to farm the rich land, and while trading with the Indians, converted some of them to Christianity. One in particular became completely devoted to the settlers.
Peace, however, is a fragile thing, and angered by both real and imagined wrongs, a number of Indians plotted to kill every man, woman and child. One who overheard their plans was the Indian who had come to care so much for his white friends.
Under cover of darkness, he slipped away and sprinted for sixty miles to warn them. Even for his savage strength, it was too much. Staggering into the town meeting house, he breathlessly warned them, and moments later dropped dead at their feet.
In the little village that was named after this Christian Indian there is a monument that reads Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.
He ran sixty miles to save them, at the cost of his existence. Will you walk six feet to forgive, at perhaps the cost of your precious ego? If your nose is in the air with too much pride your head should be at just the right angle to watch your Savior die. What now of your pride before His humility?
Life does that…calls out for courage and doing what is right and not taking the easy way. And to those who meet whatever challenge comes with the strength of the wise and the persistence of a good and godly life…the world is a little more a better place than a more bitter place.
And God in his heavens, I cannot prove it, but I think he must at such times laugh out loud.
“Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor (it never hurts anybody). Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.” Romans 13:10
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
WHY KEEP GOOD THOUGHTS A SECRET
(These One A Days are added to each day)
One summer, a young college student spent two and a half months working in a far western logging camp. When the superintendent had to leave camp for a few days, he was put in charge of a crew. But before the boss left the young man asked him, “What if the men refuse to follow my orders?” “Fire them!” he was told.
Immediately it was the young man’s plan to get rid of Tony the first time he gave him any trouble. That is until the superintendent continued, “I imagine you’re thinking of getting rid of Tony, if you get half a chance. I wouldn’t want that. I have been logging for 40 years and Tony is the most reliable worker I’ve ever had. I know he seems to do nothing but get on everybody’s nerves and is considered odd by some, but he comes to work first and leaves last. I’ve never had anyone so enthusiastic. And there hasn’t been an accident for eight years on the hills where he works."
The next day, when the young student began his reign as boss, the first thing he did was go to Tony. “Do you know I’m in charge here today?” Tony just stared and scowled. “I was going to fire you the first time you gave me any trouble, but I want you to know now that I’m not.”
And then he shared what the superintendent had said. When he finished, Tony dropped his axe and tears began to stream down his face. In his broken English Tony said, “Why he no tell me dat eight years ago?”
That day Tony worked harder than ever before – and he smiled! The next morning he told the temporary boss, “Last night, I tell Maria you the first foreman in deese country to do something but complain about me. The very first who ever say, ‘Good work, Tony,’ and it make Maria feel like Christmas.”
The young man went back to school after that summer and forgot about Tony. Then, twelve years later he met him again. He was now superintendent of railroad construction for one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how come he had moved to California and what had happened to him to have such success.
Tony replied, “If not for the way you talked to me that morning, I think maybe I would have killed myself one day. I mean, you gave me love when everyone else was giving me “no like.” Those few minutes changed my whole life.”
A minute. Have you got an agape minute to thank someone? To give them love rather than no like? To be patient with them even when you don’t feel patient toward them? To perhaps change their whole life? An agape minute to tell somebody what you sincerely like or appreciate about them? You say you’d have to look too hard and it wouldn’t be easy. Well, then look real hard even if it isn’t easy.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. ..1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
One summer, a young college student spent two and a half months working in a far western logging camp. When the superintendent had to leave camp for a few days, he was put in charge of a crew. But before the boss left the young man asked him, “What if the men refuse to follow my orders?” “Fire them!” he was told.
Immediately it was the young man’s plan to get rid of Tony the first time he gave him any trouble. That is until the superintendent continued, “I imagine you’re thinking of getting rid of Tony, if you get half a chance. I wouldn’t want that. I have been logging for 40 years and Tony is the most reliable worker I’ve ever had. I know he seems to do nothing but get on everybody’s nerves and is considered odd by some, but he comes to work first and leaves last. I’ve never had anyone so enthusiastic. And there hasn’t been an accident for eight years on the hills where he works."
The next day, when the young student began his reign as boss, the first thing he did was go to Tony. “Do you know I’m in charge here today?” Tony just stared and scowled. “I was going to fire you the first time you gave me any trouble, but I want you to know now that I’m not.”
And then he shared what the superintendent had said. When he finished, Tony dropped his axe and tears began to stream down his face. In his broken English Tony said, “Why he no tell me dat eight years ago?”
That day Tony worked harder than ever before – and he smiled! The next morning he told the temporary boss, “Last night, I tell Maria you the first foreman in deese country to do something but complain about me. The very first who ever say, ‘Good work, Tony,’ and it make Maria feel like Christmas.”
The young man went back to school after that summer and forgot about Tony. Then, twelve years later he met him again. He was now superintendent of railroad construction for one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how come he had moved to California and what had happened to him to have such success.
Tony replied, “If not for the way you talked to me that morning, I think maybe I would have killed myself one day. I mean, you gave me love when everyone else was giving me “no like.” Those few minutes changed my whole life.”
A minute. Have you got an agape minute to thank someone? To give them love rather than no like? To be patient with them even when you don’t feel patient toward them? To perhaps change their whole life? An agape minute to tell somebody what you sincerely like or appreciate about them? You say you’d have to look too hard and it wouldn’t be easy. Well, then look real hard even if it isn’t easy.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. ..1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Monday, September 14, 2009
AGAPE
(These One A Days are added to each day)
She was the town gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the morals of her tiny hamlet - the president of the one-member Every One Should Be Like Me Society.
Sticking her nose into other people’s business she felt was her clarion call. She wasn’t really happy unless she was unhappy.
She was constantly wondering how others could possibly think differently than she did. Her reasoning, of course, was impeccable, because after all she was always right and everyone else was always wrong. A woman with a mission.
Residents in her town became increasingly unappreciative of her activities, how at the drop of a gossipy opinion she could wreck a life or cause a schism, but they feared her enough to practice silence.
However, one day she made a big, big mistake. She chose to accuse a local man of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked outside the towns only bar one afternoon. George, a dedicated Christian and man of few words, never said a word in his own defense.
Rather later on that evening he just parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left it there over night. She never gossiped again.
When an individual is infused with agape they do not gossip. They do not grouse and gripe. Nor do they court any other aberration of the human spirit that is prone to hurt another person, for agape means love.
When an individual finally accepts agape for all it is worth, they do not make sucking on lemons a permanent mouth changing aberration.
“Love one another with brotherly affection (as members of one family) giving precedence and showing honor to one another.” Romans 12:10
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
She was the town gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the morals of her tiny hamlet - the president of the one-member Every One Should Be Like Me Society.
Sticking her nose into other people’s business she felt was her clarion call. She wasn’t really happy unless she was unhappy.
She was constantly wondering how others could possibly think differently than she did. Her reasoning, of course, was impeccable, because after all she was always right and everyone else was always wrong. A woman with a mission.
Residents in her town became increasingly unappreciative of her activities, how at the drop of a gossipy opinion she could wreck a life or cause a schism, but they feared her enough to practice silence.
However, one day she made a big, big mistake. She chose to accuse a local man of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked outside the towns only bar one afternoon. George, a dedicated Christian and man of few words, never said a word in his own defense.
Rather later on that evening he just parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left it there over night. She never gossiped again.
When an individual is infused with agape they do not gossip. They do not grouse and gripe. Nor do they court any other aberration of the human spirit that is prone to hurt another person, for agape means love.
When an individual finally accepts agape for all it is worth, they do not make sucking on lemons a permanent mouth changing aberration.
“Love one another with brotherly affection (as members of one family) giving precedence and showing honor to one another.” Romans 12:10
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
SIGHT AND INSIGHT
(These One A Days are changed daily)
Helen Keller was deaf, dumb and blind and in her book LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS she wrote, “For nearly six years I had no concepts whatever of nature or mind or death or God. I literally thought with my body. Without a single exception, my memories of that time are tactile. I know I was impelled like an animal to seek food and warmth. I remember crying, but not the grief that caused the tears; I kicked and because I recall it physically I know I was angry….but there is not one spark of emotion or rational thought in these distinct yet corporeal memories.
I was like an unconscious clod of earth. There was nothing in me except the instinct to eat and drink and sleep. My days were a blank without past, present or future, without hope or anticipation, without interest or joy.”
And then came Ann Sullivan. And the messages she laid out across Helen’s palm. And with this new found intellect came a hungering in her soul for an improvement of the intellect of her soul. She began to read the Bible and talk with ministers and pray, oh how she prayed. And something deeper than she could ever imagine began to stir within her. Still deaf and mute and blind, but now for the first time she could really see. A complete person with absolutely no blindness in her spirit.
“I am the light of the world,” said Christ and who better to understand what he meant than Helen Keller.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Helen Keller was deaf, dumb and blind and in her book LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS she wrote, “For nearly six years I had no concepts whatever of nature or mind or death or God. I literally thought with my body. Without a single exception, my memories of that time are tactile. I know I was impelled like an animal to seek food and warmth. I remember crying, but not the grief that caused the tears; I kicked and because I recall it physically I know I was angry….but there is not one spark of emotion or rational thought in these distinct yet corporeal memories.
I was like an unconscious clod of earth. There was nothing in me except the instinct to eat and drink and sleep. My days were a blank without past, present or future, without hope or anticipation, without interest or joy.”
And then came Ann Sullivan. And the messages she laid out across Helen’s palm. And with this new found intellect came a hungering in her soul for an improvement of the intellect of her soul. She began to read the Bible and talk with ministers and pray, oh how she prayed. And something deeper than she could ever imagine began to stir within her. Still deaf and mute and blind, but now for the first time she could really see. A complete person with absolutely no blindness in her spirit.
“I am the light of the world,” said Christ and who better to understand what he meant than Helen Keller.
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
And, yes, hope you make visiting this site a daily habit.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
TOO MUCH...TOO LITTLE?
(These One a Days are added to each day)
The book of Proverbs 15:16-17 says it so well, “Better a little with fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
A wise and ancient guru had a disciple who had come so far in wisdom and understanding that he decided to leave him on his own. His disciple lived quite simply in a tiny hut made of mud; sustained himself each morning after devotions by daily begging for bread and each evening washed his loincloth and hung it out to dry.
One morning, he went out to get his loin cloth and found that overnight rats had gnawed on it until only tattered shreds were left. He therefore begged from those around him for another loin cloth, and they gladly gave him one for this was a holy man.
But remember, he was wise as well as a holy man so he then did what common sense demanded. He got himself a cat.
But as often happens, one solution only serves up another problem. Now he needed milk for his cat. This became increasingly difficult to obtain so naturally he now acquired a cow. Ah, complications increased.
Now he needed fodder for the cow, so he decided to till and plant the ground around his hut. And soon he was so very, very busy tending cat, and cow, and crops that he had no time for contemplation.
Wisdom was soon served again. He hired servants to tend his farm and give him help in other ways. He began to wonder at some of his recent decisions but what else could he do?
Daily he was becoming more weary, for now there was so much to care for and worry about that he consulted himself in a question and answer time. What can I do? The answer that came was obvious. Obtain more wealth and let others work and worry for him. Soon he was the wealthiest man in the village.
At just about this time his guru was traveling in the region again and stopped by to see his disciple. He was overwhelmed by all the changes that had been made. The mud hut had been replaced by a well built home surrounded by so much land that the once little plot was now a vast estate. There were busy servants scurrying about. Everywhere a kind of buzz about the place.
The guru paused and then asked, “What is the meaning of all of this?”
“You won’t believe this, master,” came back the reply. “It was the only way I could keep my loincloth.”
What am I saying? Perhaps life as we know it is an Eden we have created, or is it by chance an Eden we have reworked until it is not so much an Eden any more. It isn’t that simple, but then maybe it is. Or as Thoreau once said, “We are happy in proportion to what we can learn to live without.” However, if no matter how much we have, we are never satisfied…now there is a different matter.
I can still remember as a child of the depression using my imagination to turn cardboard boxes into ships at sea. Back in the middle of November, several years ago, my wife and I sailed for five days on a luxurious ocean liner.
Was it better than the cardboard box of my youth? Certainly. Would I have preferred spending 5 days in a cardboard box rather than on a Caribbean Cruise? Hardly. But if I could never take a cruise again and not being able to ruined the rest of my remaining days, somehow I think I would be in trouble.
I guess what I am saying is that I hope that as we take that other cruise, the cruise of life and I want to continue to do so with overwhelming thanksgiving. That I constantly remember that nothing that I can buy becomes more important than what God has freely given me.
The book of Proverbs 15:16-17 says it so well, so allow me to repeat, “Better a little with fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
The book of Proverbs 15:16-17 says it so well, “Better a little with fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
A wise and ancient guru had a disciple who had come so far in wisdom and understanding that he decided to leave him on his own. His disciple lived quite simply in a tiny hut made of mud; sustained himself each morning after devotions by daily begging for bread and each evening washed his loincloth and hung it out to dry.
One morning, he went out to get his loin cloth and found that overnight rats had gnawed on it until only tattered shreds were left. He therefore begged from those around him for another loin cloth, and they gladly gave him one for this was a holy man.
But remember, he was wise as well as a holy man so he then did what common sense demanded. He got himself a cat.
But as often happens, one solution only serves up another problem. Now he needed milk for his cat. This became increasingly difficult to obtain so naturally he now acquired a cow. Ah, complications increased.
Now he needed fodder for the cow, so he decided to till and plant the ground around his hut. And soon he was so very, very busy tending cat, and cow, and crops that he had no time for contemplation.
Wisdom was soon served again. He hired servants to tend his farm and give him help in other ways. He began to wonder at some of his recent decisions but what else could he do?
Daily he was becoming more weary, for now there was so much to care for and worry about that he consulted himself in a question and answer time. What can I do? The answer that came was obvious. Obtain more wealth and let others work and worry for him. Soon he was the wealthiest man in the village.
At just about this time his guru was traveling in the region again and stopped by to see his disciple. He was overwhelmed by all the changes that had been made. The mud hut had been replaced by a well built home surrounded by so much land that the once little plot was now a vast estate. There were busy servants scurrying about. Everywhere a kind of buzz about the place.
The guru paused and then asked, “What is the meaning of all of this?”
“You won’t believe this, master,” came back the reply. “It was the only way I could keep my loincloth.”
What am I saying? Perhaps life as we know it is an Eden we have created, or is it by chance an Eden we have reworked until it is not so much an Eden any more. It isn’t that simple, but then maybe it is. Or as Thoreau once said, “We are happy in proportion to what we can learn to live without.” However, if no matter how much we have, we are never satisfied…now there is a different matter.
I can still remember as a child of the depression using my imagination to turn cardboard boxes into ships at sea. Back in the middle of November, several years ago, my wife and I sailed for five days on a luxurious ocean liner.
Was it better than the cardboard box of my youth? Certainly. Would I have preferred spending 5 days in a cardboard box rather than on a Caribbean Cruise? Hardly. But if I could never take a cruise again and not being able to ruined the rest of my remaining days, somehow I think I would be in trouble.
I guess what I am saying is that I hope that as we take that other cruise, the cruise of life and I want to continue to do so with overwhelming thanksgiving. That I constantly remember that nothing that I can buy becomes more important than what God has freely given me.
The book of Proverbs 15:16-17 says it so well, so allow me to repeat, “Better a little with fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
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”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
Friday, September 11, 2009
GOD WAS AND IS MY CO-PILOT
(These One A Days are added to each day)
I was taught how to fly by the chief pilot at the old Eastern Airlines and I paid close attention to what he said. To be a good pilot I had the advantage of following in the footsteps of the best.
And because he taught me so well I never felt anxiety in all the hours of flying that followed. Once I landed on a highway when a storm threatened to blow me out of the sky. Another time my motor quit on take off just as I reached the end of the runway with a forest in front of me. Another time I was forced to land at night in a driving rain, at an airport without runway lights.
Nor do I forget the short field with tall grass, high humidity and all of the ingredients that made getting air borne difficult and almost impossible. It is the same with I give you my word. I had no anxiety. My mentor had prepared me well.
And so it is with my pilot, Christ, who has taught me well and willingly takes over the control stick when I falter. And aids me in times when otherwise my anxieties might be overwhelming. What am I saying? I am saying that if God isn’t a habit, it is hard to get immediately in sync when suddenly you really need Him but you are badly out of practice.
What is it Paul says? “Work out your own salvation, for it is God that worketh in you.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to google and type in Neil Spiritual Vitamins.
And perhaps visit my other site? Go to Google Search and type in Wyrick’s Writings.
I was taught how to fly by the chief pilot at the old Eastern Airlines and I paid close attention to what he said. To be a good pilot I had the advantage of following in the footsteps of the best.
And because he taught me so well I never felt anxiety in all the hours of flying that followed. Once I landed on a highway when a storm threatened to blow me out of the sky. Another time my motor quit on take off just as I reached the end of the runway with a forest in front of me. Another time I was forced to land at night in a driving rain, at an airport without runway lights.
Nor do I forget the short field with tall grass, high humidity and all of the ingredients that made getting air borne difficult and almost impossible. It is the same with I give you my word. I had no anxiety. My mentor had prepared me well.
And so it is with my pilot, Christ, who has taught me well and willingly takes over the control stick when I falter. And aids me in times when otherwise my anxieties might be overwhelming. What am I saying? I am saying that if God isn’t a habit, it is hard to get immediately in sync when suddenly you really need Him but you are badly out of practice.
What is it Paul says? “Work out your own salvation, for it is God that worketh in you.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to google and type in Neil Spiritual Vitamins.
And perhaps visit my other site? Go to Google Search and type in Wyrick’s Writings.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
ONCE UPON A TIME...
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Once upon a time there was rich American and a poor little Mexican fisherman. One day they met and began to talk. The rich American was impressed with the quantity of fish the poor little Mexican had caught. “How long did it take you?” he asked.
“Not long,” came back the reply, “I have figured out a way to catch a great many fish in a very short time.”
The American became very excited. Dollar signs began to dance in front of his eyes. Here was an opportunity and he was not about to pass it by. But he was subtle so his first question was innocuous. “What do you do with the rest of your time?”
“Oh, I don’t rush to get up in the morning,” came back the reply. “I fish a little. I play with my children. I take a siesta with my wife each afternoon. I stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. It is a good life, senor.”
The wealthy American could keep quiet no longer. He interrupted, “Don’t you realize that if you worked harder you could have more. Maybe even be rich. I like you and I am willing to help you so you can buy a bigger boat. And then a fleet. And then become incorporated and employ other fishermen. Eventually, you might even own an international corporation and earn enough money to retire when still quite young.”
With a strange smile on his face the poor little Mexican looked at the rich American and asked a simple question, “What then, senor?”
“Why then, “ came back the enthusiastic reply, “You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you wouldn’t have to rush to get up in the morning, you could fish a little, play with your grandkids, take siestas with your wife every afternoon, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos……
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in Neil Spiritual Vitamins.
Once upon a time there was rich American and a poor little Mexican fisherman. One day they met and began to talk. The rich American was impressed with the quantity of fish the poor little Mexican had caught. “How long did it take you?” he asked.
“Not long,” came back the reply, “I have figured out a way to catch a great many fish in a very short time.”
The American became very excited. Dollar signs began to dance in front of his eyes. Here was an opportunity and he was not about to pass it by. But he was subtle so his first question was innocuous. “What do you do with the rest of your time?”
“Oh, I don’t rush to get up in the morning,” came back the reply. “I fish a little. I play with my children. I take a siesta with my wife each afternoon. I stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. It is a good life, senor.”
The wealthy American could keep quiet no longer. He interrupted, “Don’t you realize that if you worked harder you could have more. Maybe even be rich. I like you and I am willing to help you so you can buy a bigger boat. And then a fleet. And then become incorporated and employ other fishermen. Eventually, you might even own an international corporation and earn enough money to retire when still quite young.”
With a strange smile on his face the poor little Mexican looked at the rich American and asked a simple question, “What then, senor?”
“Why then, “ came back the enthusiastic reply, “You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you wouldn’t have to rush to get up in the morning, you could fish a little, play with your grandkids, take siestas with your wife every afternoon, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos……
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in Neil Spiritual Vitamins.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A NEED FOR GREED?
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Martin Tours was a very tired Roman soldier. They had been marching for what seemed like forever. As they trudged through a town a beggar on the side of the road began to beg for money. Martin had no money, but he was wearing an old tattered woolen cloak. Somehow he knew what he must do. So he took that cloak and with mighty strength tore it in two. He then wrapped it around the shoulders of the shivering beggar and went on his way.
That night when he went to sleep he had a great dream. In his dream he was surrounded by angels and a vision of heaven itself. Then, in the midst of all the angels, he saw Jesus—wearing an old tattered woolen cloak. An angel standing near Jesus turned to him and asked, “Why are you wearing that old tattered piece of wool?” “Oh,” replied Jesus, “My friend Martin gave it to me.”
Would you have peace? Then eliminate greed. Renounce this ongoing sickness that refuses to let you be satisfied. There is no way self indulgence and decent relationships can live together because greed always forces you to think of self first and others a distant second.
“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it..” reads Ecclesiastes 10:8. And that is what greed is. A deep, dark, hopeless pit that leads you to believe that bad is good because it pays so well.
In this pit, how to lie is taught and how it can speed the profit process sometimes. In this pit, contempt is taught so you cannot feel compassion and still practice greed the way it ought to be practiced. In this pit, you learn that nothing is as important as getting what you want, neither family, nor friends.
Greed is a sin, but in this pit you learn to think of it as a salvation. In this pit, you learn to be a fool and not recognize it.
Ever hear the phrase, “You are like the company you keep?” Well, in Corinthians 6:10 greedy people are lumped together with thieves and drunkards.
Paul speaks of greed in the same breath as wickedness, depravity and murder. (Romans 1:29) That’s certainly not much of a recommendation.
Paul also calls it idolatry. Wow! (Colossians 3:5)
So, yes, it can be said…Bible wise…that greed doesn’t come with any recommendation….no recommendation at all.
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”
And hopefully you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
Martin Tours was a very tired Roman soldier. They had been marching for what seemed like forever. As they trudged through a town a beggar on the side of the road began to beg for money. Martin had no money, but he was wearing an old tattered woolen cloak. Somehow he knew what he must do. So he took that cloak and with mighty strength tore it in two. He then wrapped it around the shoulders of the shivering beggar and went on his way.
That night when he went to sleep he had a great dream. In his dream he was surrounded by angels and a vision of heaven itself. Then, in the midst of all the angels, he saw Jesus—wearing an old tattered woolen cloak. An angel standing near Jesus turned to him and asked, “Why are you wearing that old tattered piece of wool?” “Oh,” replied Jesus, “My friend Martin gave it to me.”
Would you have peace? Then eliminate greed. Renounce this ongoing sickness that refuses to let you be satisfied. There is no way self indulgence and decent relationships can live together because greed always forces you to think of self first and others a distant second.
“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it..” reads Ecclesiastes 10:8. And that is what greed is. A deep, dark, hopeless pit that leads you to believe that bad is good because it pays so well.
In this pit, how to lie is taught and how it can speed the profit process sometimes. In this pit, contempt is taught so you cannot feel compassion and still practice greed the way it ought to be practiced. In this pit, you learn that nothing is as important as getting what you want, neither family, nor friends.
Greed is a sin, but in this pit you learn to think of it as a salvation. In this pit, you learn to be a fool and not recognize it.
Ever hear the phrase, “You are like the company you keep?” Well, in Corinthians 6:10 greedy people are lumped together with thieves and drunkards.
Paul speaks of greed in the same breath as wickedness, depravity and murder. (Romans 1:29) That’s certainly not much of a recommendation.
Paul also calls it idolatry. Wow! (Colossians 3:5)
So, yes, it can be said…Bible wise…that greed doesn’t come with any recommendation….no recommendation at all.
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”
And hopefully you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NOT FOR SALE
(These thoughts are added to each new day)
The man knew what he wanted and did not hesitate to ask. Indeed, his question, made such an impression on the preacher and the entire church staff, that it left them shaking their heads. Afterwards, all could have repeated his request, almost word for word.
Soon after entering the office door, he blandly stated, “I want to buy three dollars worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a warm cup of milk or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of Him to make me love the homeless, or pick strawberries or cut sugar cane or whatever crop with migrant workers. I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not the challenge of a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. This is a church so I can only believe you have it for sale. And could you make it quick? I only have thirty minutes, so can we get to it, I’m on my lunch break you know. (Rewrite of piece by Dr. Ronald W. Scates)
Somewhere along the line the poor, confused gentleman had missed the point that God’s love and forgiveness are not for sale, ever. That there is no dollar or influence limitation on His loving presence and power. That a donation of dollars will buy you nothing if you have not accepted the sacrificial price Christ paid for your sins and mine. That when it comes to what we owe, it narrows down to a matter of faith.
The Psalmist put it this way, “…as the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
That’s something more than just a theological statement. That’s an overpowering need. That’s saying, “With you, God, I am everything. Without you I am nothing.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
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”
A yes, hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
The man knew what he wanted and did not hesitate to ask. Indeed, his question, made such an impression on the preacher and the entire church staff, that it left them shaking their heads. Afterwards, all could have repeated his request, almost word for word.
Soon after entering the office door, he blandly stated, “I want to buy three dollars worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a warm cup of milk or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of Him to make me love the homeless, or pick strawberries or cut sugar cane or whatever crop with migrant workers. I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not the challenge of a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. This is a church so I can only believe you have it for sale. And could you make it quick? I only have thirty minutes, so can we get to it, I’m on my lunch break you know. (Rewrite of piece by Dr. Ronald W. Scates)
Somewhere along the line the poor, confused gentleman had missed the point that God’s love and forgiveness are not for sale, ever. That there is no dollar or influence limitation on His loving presence and power. That a donation of dollars will buy you nothing if you have not accepted the sacrificial price Christ paid for your sins and mine. That when it comes to what we owe, it narrows down to a matter of faith.
The Psalmist put it this way, “…as the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
That’s something more than just a theological statement. That’s an overpowering need. That’s saying, “With you, God, I am everything. Without you I am nothing.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
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”
A yes, hope you will make visiting this site a daily habit.
Monday, September 7, 2009
FOREVER IS FOREVER
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Perhaps one of the most amazing stories I know of concerning life after death was told by Dr. George C. Ritchie Jr., practicing physician in Richmond, Virginia where I went to seminary. Affidavits from both the attending doctor and nurse attest to the fact that on the morning of December 20, 1943, George C. Ritchie, then 19 and an army private, was pronounced dead.
Briefly, here are a few of the facts he relates concerning his experience. In his own words this is what happened. “I looked down at the bed I had just left. I stepped closer in the dim light, then drew back… I saw that the ring on the young man’s left hand was the Phi Gamma Delta ring I had worn for two years. The dead man was me… I was looking at myself… the body on that bed was mine. And I thought suddenly, this is what we human beings call death. This splitting up on one’s self.
It was the first time I had connected death with what had happened to me. In that most despairing moment, the little room began to fill with light, but there is no word in our language to describe brilliance that intense. I must try to find words, however, because incomprehensible as the experience was to my intellect, it has affected every moment of my life since.
The light that entered that room was Christ: I know because a thought was put deep within me, “You are in the presence of the Son of God.” I have called Him Light, but I could also have said Love for that room was flooded, pierced, illuminated, by the most total compassion I have ever felt. It was a presence so comforting, so joyous and all satisfying, that I wanted to lose myself forever in the wonder of it. But something else was present in that room. With the presence of Christ there had also entered every single episode of my entire life. There they were - every event and thought and conversation, as palpable as a series of pictures. There was no first or last event, but each one asked a single question, “What did you do with your time on earth?”
I looked anxiously among the scenes before me; school, home, scouting and the cross-country track team - a fairly typical boyhood, yet in the light of that presence it seemed a trivial and irrelevant existence. I searched my mind for good deeds. “Did you ever tell anyone about me?” came the question. “I didn’t have time to do much,” I answered. “I was planning to, then this happened. I’m too young to die.” “No one,” the thought was inexpressibly gentle, “is too young to die.”
And then I saw a city. It was only a moment’s vision. At the time I had not read the Book of Revelation, nor incidentally anything on the subject of life after death. But now I no longer seemed to be on earth, but immediately far away, out of relation to it. And I saw a city in which the walls, houses, and streets seemed to give off light, while moving among them were beings as blindly bright as the One who stood beside me. This was only a moment’s vision for the next instant the walls of the little room closed around me, the dazzling light faded and a strange sleep stole over me.
To this day, I cannot fully fathom why I was chosen to return to life. All I know is that when I woke up in the hospital bed in that little room, in the familiar world where I’d spent all my life, it was not a home-coming. The cry in my heart at that moment has been the cry of my life ever since; “Christ, show me Yourself, again.”
It was weeks before Pvt. Richie was well enough to leave the hospital. Today you can still read his hospital chart: Pvt. Richie died December 20, 1943, double pneumonia. His doctor affirmed he was dead for nine minutes and cannot explain why irreparable brain damage was not done.
Dr. Ritchie went on to become very active in youth work in Richmond, Virginia. In 1957, he founded the Christian Youth Corps of America. He describes his mission in this life-of-a-second-chance this way; “A world run by men who are run by God.” If he is still alive, he is in his eighties.
We are all living on borrowed time. We just don’t happen to know the size of the loan. “I am come that ye might have life.” (John 10:10) It is the source speaking. “Because I live, ye shall live, also.” It is the Alpha and the Omega speaking, “the Word made flesh” speaking. I, therefore, challenge you to stand before Jesus and say, “Today I live, but one day I will die, Lord, therefore ‘teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
Perhaps one of the most amazing stories I know of concerning life after death was told by Dr. George C. Ritchie Jr., practicing physician in Richmond, Virginia where I went to seminary. Affidavits from both the attending doctor and nurse attest to the fact that on the morning of December 20, 1943, George C. Ritchie, then 19 and an army private, was pronounced dead.
Briefly, here are a few of the facts he relates concerning his experience. In his own words this is what happened. “I looked down at the bed I had just left. I stepped closer in the dim light, then drew back… I saw that the ring on the young man’s left hand was the Phi Gamma Delta ring I had worn for two years. The dead man was me… I was looking at myself… the body on that bed was mine. And I thought suddenly, this is what we human beings call death. This splitting up on one’s self.
It was the first time I had connected death with what had happened to me. In that most despairing moment, the little room began to fill with light, but there is no word in our language to describe brilliance that intense. I must try to find words, however, because incomprehensible as the experience was to my intellect, it has affected every moment of my life since.
The light that entered that room was Christ: I know because a thought was put deep within me, “You are in the presence of the Son of God.” I have called Him Light, but I could also have said Love for that room was flooded, pierced, illuminated, by the most total compassion I have ever felt. It was a presence so comforting, so joyous and all satisfying, that I wanted to lose myself forever in the wonder of it. But something else was present in that room. With the presence of Christ there had also entered every single episode of my entire life. There they were - every event and thought and conversation, as palpable as a series of pictures. There was no first or last event, but each one asked a single question, “What did you do with your time on earth?”
I looked anxiously among the scenes before me; school, home, scouting and the cross-country track team - a fairly typical boyhood, yet in the light of that presence it seemed a trivial and irrelevant existence. I searched my mind for good deeds. “Did you ever tell anyone about me?” came the question. “I didn’t have time to do much,” I answered. “I was planning to, then this happened. I’m too young to die.” “No one,” the thought was inexpressibly gentle, “is too young to die.”
And then I saw a city. It was only a moment’s vision. At the time I had not read the Book of Revelation, nor incidentally anything on the subject of life after death. But now I no longer seemed to be on earth, but immediately far away, out of relation to it. And I saw a city in which the walls, houses, and streets seemed to give off light, while moving among them were beings as blindly bright as the One who stood beside me. This was only a moment’s vision for the next instant the walls of the little room closed around me, the dazzling light faded and a strange sleep stole over me.
To this day, I cannot fully fathom why I was chosen to return to life. All I know is that when I woke up in the hospital bed in that little room, in the familiar world where I’d spent all my life, it was not a home-coming. The cry in my heart at that moment has been the cry of my life ever since; “Christ, show me Yourself, again.”
It was weeks before Pvt. Richie was well enough to leave the hospital. Today you can still read his hospital chart: Pvt. Richie died December 20, 1943, double pneumonia. His doctor affirmed he was dead for nine minutes and cannot explain why irreparable brain damage was not done.
Dr. Ritchie went on to become very active in youth work in Richmond, Virginia. In 1957, he founded the Christian Youth Corps of America. He describes his mission in this life-of-a-second-chance this way; “A world run by men who are run by God.” If he is still alive, he is in his eighties.
We are all living on borrowed time. We just don’t happen to know the size of the loan. “I am come that ye might have life.” (John 10:10) It is the source speaking. “Because I live, ye shall live, also.” It is the Alpha and the Omega speaking, “the Word made flesh” speaking. I, therefore, challenge you to stand before Jesus and say, “Today I live, but one day I will die, Lord, therefore ‘teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom.”
Have you considered sharing this site with family and friends? Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
Sunday, September 6, 2009
LEARN NOT TO ALWAYS LEAN
(These One A Days are added to each day)
He sat before me – a forty-year-old who
looked sixty. He began to share, “I’ve been downsized. I was a top salesman and now I can’t sell a dollar bill for 50 cents. I’ve never been so miserable in my whole life.”
And as we talked, I found out his father had died when he was only seven. I learned how a loving mother had shielded him the rest of his childhood and adolescent years from all pain and hardship.
He told me that he had never been allowed to play any violent sport - “Mother was afraid I’d get hurt.” And as we talked he began to understand why he was filled with such grief and self-pity. He began to realize he had spent a lifetime expecting to be cared for - by his mother, by his family and later by his business.
Even expecting to being taken care of totally, completely by his God, without ever doing very much to help himself.
Before he left my office we read together Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This scripture that he had heard many times now shouted at his senses and he got the message. Daily he now repeats it and he always pauses over the first five words - I can do all things…. He has finally learned that having first knelt in prayer, he must also stand on his own two feet.
Thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
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”
Check back a number of days and catch up on your spiritual vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There are so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opportunity to impact on your attitude toward life.
He sat before me – a forty-year-old who
looked sixty. He began to share, “I’ve been downsized. I was a top salesman and now I can’t sell a dollar bill for 50 cents. I’ve never been so miserable in my whole life.”
And as we talked, I found out his father had died when he was only seven. I learned how a loving mother had shielded him the rest of his childhood and adolescent years from all pain and hardship.
He told me that he had never been allowed to play any violent sport - “Mother was afraid I’d get hurt.” And as we talked he began to understand why he was filled with such grief and self-pity. He began to realize he had spent a lifetime expecting to be cared for - by his mother, by his family and later by his business.
Even expecting to being taken care of totally, completely by his God, without ever doing very much to help himself.
Before he left my office we read together Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This scripture that he had heard many times now shouted at his senses and he got the message. Daily he now repeats it and he always pauses over the first five words - I can do all things…. He has finally learned that having first knelt in prayer, he must also stand on his own two feet.
Thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
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”
Check back a number of days and catch up on your spiritual vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There are so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opportunity to impact on your attitude toward life.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
A STRENGTH BEYOND COMPARE
(These One A Days are added to each day)
He sat before me – a forty-year-old who looked sixty. He began to share, “I’ve been downsized. I was a top salesman and now I can’t sell a dollar bill for 50 cents. I’ve never been so miserable in my whole life.”
And as we talked, I found out his father had died when he was only seven. I learned how a loving mother had shielded him the rest of his childhood and adolescent years from all pain and hardship.
He told me that he had never been allowed to play any violent sport - “Mother was afraid I’d get hurt.” And as we talked he began to understand why he was filled with such grief and self-pity.
He began to realize he had spent a lifetime expecting to be cared for - by his mother, by his family and later by his business. Even expecting to being taken care of totally, completely by his God, without ever doing very much to help himself.
Before he left my office we read together Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This scripture that he had heard many times now shouted at his senses and he got the message. Daily he now repeats it and he always pauses over the first five words - I can do all things…. He has finally learned that having first knelt in prayer, he must also stand on his own two feet.
Thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
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”
Hope you'll check back a number of days and catch up on your spiritual vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There are so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opportunity to impact on your attitude toward life.
He sat before me – a forty-year-old who looked sixty. He began to share, “I’ve been downsized. I was a top salesman and now I can’t sell a dollar bill for 50 cents. I’ve never been so miserable in my whole life.”
And as we talked, I found out his father had died when he was only seven. I learned how a loving mother had shielded him the rest of his childhood and adolescent years from all pain and hardship.
He told me that he had never been allowed to play any violent sport - “Mother was afraid I’d get hurt.” And as we talked he began to understand why he was filled with such grief and self-pity.
He began to realize he had spent a lifetime expecting to be cared for - by his mother, by his family and later by his business. Even expecting to being taken care of totally, completely by his God, without ever doing very much to help himself.
Before he left my office we read together Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This scripture that he had heard many times now shouted at his senses and he got the message. Daily he now repeats it and he always pauses over the first five words - I can do all things…. He has finally learned that having first knelt in prayer, he must also stand on his own two feet.
Thanks for sharing this site with family and friends.
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”
Hope you'll check back a number of days and catch up on your spiritual vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There are so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opportunity to impact on your attitude toward life.
Friday, September 4, 2009
HIS LAST CONVERT
(These One A Days are added to each day}
If I asked you what you think of when you hear the word Titanic you will most likely reply tragedy.
But there is a story behind that story. On the cold dark night when that mighty ocean liner hit an iceberg, there was on board a Scottish preacher named John Harper.
Just before the ship slipped beneath the sea he jumped overboard, throwing himself out as far as he could. Alone in the darkness, his life preserver holding him up, he felt himself slowly freezing to death. And then he saw a shadowy figure bobbing not far away.
“Are you prepared to meet your God?” weakly shouted the preacher.
“No,” came back the simple reply.
And they began to talk and share their desperate time together.
John Harper, much older than the other man, spoke of how he had no fear of death, how his knowledge of Christ was giving him such solace. At last he died and the young man floated on alone in the terrible silence.
A year later in a church on a Sunday morn, the same young man, who had been picked up at sea along with the body of the dead preacher, looked out over the congregation and said, “I am John Harper’s last convert.”
There is an old saying that reads, “Where God builds a church, the Devil builds a chapel.” And yes, the challenge to us is quite obvious.
Have a friend visit my LIFE IS NOT WHAT IT BUT WHAT YOU MAKE IT site. Have them go to Google and where it says “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
And, yes, if this site has met any of your needs just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.
If I asked you what you think of when you hear the word Titanic you will most likely reply tragedy.
But there is a story behind that story. On the cold dark night when that mighty ocean liner hit an iceberg, there was on board a Scottish preacher named John Harper.
Just before the ship slipped beneath the sea he jumped overboard, throwing himself out as far as he could. Alone in the darkness, his life preserver holding him up, he felt himself slowly freezing to death. And then he saw a shadowy figure bobbing not far away.
“Are you prepared to meet your God?” weakly shouted the preacher.
“No,” came back the simple reply.
And they began to talk and share their desperate time together.
John Harper, much older than the other man, spoke of how he had no fear of death, how his knowledge of Christ was giving him such solace. At last he died and the young man floated on alone in the terrible silence.
A year later in a church on a Sunday morn, the same young man, who had been picked up at sea along with the body of the dead preacher, looked out over the congregation and said, “I am John Harper’s last convert.”
There is an old saying that reads, “Where God builds a church, the Devil builds a chapel.” And yes, the challenge to us is quite obvious.
Have a friend visit my LIFE IS NOT WHAT IT BUT WHAT YOU MAKE IT site. Have them go to Google and where it says “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
And, yes, if this site has met any of your needs just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
NOT REALLY BLIND
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Helen Keller was deaf, dumb and blind, but she didn’t spend her life sitting alone in dark, doltish, dingy silence feeling sorry for herself. Did not burden herself by grieving for a life that might have been.
Rather she got up every morning and went out. Went out to where the birds were singing, and people were talking and the world was living, all of which she could neither hear nor see. Went out to pour the sweet perfume of noble thoughts on others and feel some of it splashing back upon herself.
Don’t misunderstand me, she wasn’t born with this wonderful attitude. In her youth she would literally flail at family and teachers, making loud almost animal-like sounds of frustration.
She was daily angry and allowed herself to be filled with hopelessness. Then one day, her teacher got through to her that there is more than one kind of blindness.
That, yes, there is physical blindness that cannot see light, but there is also spiritual, emotional blindness that will not search for light.
And so she decided to make the most of life and not the least, to look for the best and not the worst. She decided not to daily grieve over her misfortune, but instead deal with it with a multitude of positive actions minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day until she had lived out a lifetime of service.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
Have you considered sharing this site with a friend. eThen have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins” where it says google search.
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”
Helen Keller was deaf, dumb and blind, but she didn’t spend her life sitting alone in dark, doltish, dingy silence feeling sorry for herself. Did not burden herself by grieving for a life that might have been.
Rather she got up every morning and went out. Went out to where the birds were singing, and people were talking and the world was living, all of which she could neither hear nor see. Went out to pour the sweet perfume of noble thoughts on others and feel some of it splashing back upon herself.
Don’t misunderstand me, she wasn’t born with this wonderful attitude. In her youth she would literally flail at family and teachers, making loud almost animal-like sounds of frustration.
She was daily angry and allowed herself to be filled with hopelessness. Then one day, her teacher got through to her that there is more than one kind of blindness.
That, yes, there is physical blindness that cannot see light, but there is also spiritual, emotional blindness that will not search for light.
And so she decided to make the most of life and not the least, to look for the best and not the worst. She decided not to daily grieve over her misfortune, but instead deal with it with a multitude of positive actions minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day until she had lived out a lifetime of service.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
Have you considered sharing this site with a friend. eThen have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins” where it says google search.
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, September 2, 2009
CLAIM YOUR AIM
(These One A Days are added to each day)
There are those these days who say that sin is what one thinks it is forgetting that sin is what God thinks it is. And if we are to sin less, we must realize one does not slouch toward improvement. It is like getting in a boat and hoping it will float in the right direction to the right place.
“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on you…” Isaiah 26:3
Have you considered sharing this site with a friend. Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
Check back a number of days and catch up on your vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opporunity to impact up your attitude toward life.
There are those these days who say that sin is what one thinks it is forgetting that sin is what God thinks it is. And if we are to sin less, we must realize one does not slouch toward improvement. It is like getting in a boat and hoping it will float in the right direction to the right place.
“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on you…” Isaiah 26:3
Have you considered sharing this site with a friend. Just have them go to google and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”
Check back a number of days and catch up on your vitamins and then make this a daily habit. There so many inspiring stories about so many inspiring people waiting for the opporunity to impact up your attitude toward life.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
THE WINDOW
(These One A Days are added to each day)
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacations.
Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods. His hospital-room-world was broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside the window that his roommate described.
A park with a lovely lake with ducks and swans playing on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walking arm in arm amidst flowers of every color. An exciting view of the city skyline in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by so beautifully that although the other man couldn’t hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye.
Many days passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the man by the window had died peacefully in his sleep.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to accommodate his request and after making sure he was comfortable, left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. As he strained to turn to look out the window he saw nothing but a blank wall.
When the nurse returned he shared with her all that the man had described, and then asked her what could have compelled his deceased roommate to describe such wonderful things… that never really existed.
“Well, he was blind,” she replied, “but not blind to your needs. Perhaps he knew some-thing my mother taught me a long, long time ago. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7
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”
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacations.
Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods. His hospital-room-world was broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside the window that his roommate described.
A park with a lovely lake with ducks and swans playing on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walking arm in arm amidst flowers of every color. An exciting view of the city skyline in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by so beautifully that although the other man couldn’t hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye.
Many days passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the man by the window had died peacefully in his sleep.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to accommodate his request and after making sure he was comfortable, left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. As he strained to turn to look out the window he saw nothing but a blank wall.
When the nurse returned he shared with her all that the man had described, and then asked her what could have compelled his deceased roommate to describe such wonderful things… that never really existed.
“Well, he was blind,” she replied, “but not blind to your needs. Perhaps he knew some-thing my mother taught me a long, long time ago. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7
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”
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