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There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.
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We all have two eyes and yet when we look out upon the world we see it differently.
One may walk the path of a city park and see only beauty. A policeman who has made several arrest there may well see it in a different light.
And what both see...both are true.
Two men look at the same man....and one says "I see a fool" and the other say "I see a visionary."
And we see not just what we see but rather all the baggage of our yesterdays trailing behind...our memories shaping our prejudices or their lack.
And people look at the church and some see it as a moral compass the community desperately needs...and others see it as a sanctified busybody that keeps meddling in other people's business.
And some it as place that offers the "peace that passeth understanding" and others that he is simply the depository for a host of commandments that strangle any possibility of joy.
And I got to thinking...what of the commandments...would the world be better off without them...where if it feels good then do it and expect and receive society approval.
Like a football or baseball game with no rules defining what is a strike or a homerun or a touchdown or a first down or a completed pass or...
Or in a real life what was a gift and what was a theft...
It's been 70 years since the Chinese city of Shanghai was burning...but the following comments are more than comments about a single city. They are a comment about a thousand times a thousand cities over thousands of years of greed and selfishness and men writing their own rules when it benefits them.
Nevertheless these are the words that came out of that city in that far away time.
"Tonight Shanghai is burning
And we are dying too.
What bomb more surely mortal
than death inside of you?
For sure men die by shrapnel
and some go down in flames.
But most men perish inch by inch
in play at little games.
Time and we do treat differently in this seeing of things and this making of decisions and following through with actions. And one day the final "tick" and the final "tock" take place and we have used up our allotted deposit of time...and we have used it well or not well at all.
Indeed, the following never appeared in the classified section of any newspaper but perhaps it should have and more than once...
"Lost somewhere between sunrise and sunset. 60 golden minutes. Each filled with 60 diamond seconds. There is no reward, for they will never be found again."
++++++++++++++++++++++ QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS THURSDAY APRIL 5 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED "Who Are You? Whose Are You?"
This is an old quote, and a romantic one as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.”
QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS TUESDAY APRIL 3 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED
" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY TO BECOMING A MESS
James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
Someone once said: “A belief is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”
So what holds you, constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?
Quotes POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING THURSDAY MARCH 29th THOUGHTS ENTITLED WHO ARE YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
In a Peanuts cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.
“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.
And it’s your fault!”
Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
To which she declares, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more complicated.
Would you like to read the entire thought piece? Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S SITE
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Yes, God loves you the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
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Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN, CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER To Order and Read Neil's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GO TO amazon.com
QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book
STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
"Positive, powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."
Lt. Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is an extremely well written book that investigates what might be termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and Wild Thorn
"Wyrick has authored a wonderful examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian minister
"When it comes to invoking religion in support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's 'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety transcends politics."
Dr. Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"v. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history. Should have a wide readership."
James H. Smylie Professor of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
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