Sunday, May 27, 2012

THE LIBERTY TO BE WISE OR TO BE A FOOL


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       There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

       To Visit neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings click on the following (Here you will find selected sermons that he has preached during the last 58 years.)  Just click on the URL below


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Mind, body and soul and we are every day, 24/7 challenged to provide them with proper care and instruction to promote their health.

     I've lived long enough to know that writing the words above is far easier than doing something about them...but that does not mean I have the right to throw up my hands in defeat and do nothing.

            A farmer needed help and so he advertised in the local newspaper. After receiving a number of inquiries, he finally decided it was time to interview an applicant for the job.
     “Can you run a milking machine?” was his opening question.

     “Nope” came back the reply.
     “Can you drive a tractor?” The same negative answer returned.
     Other questions of like nature followed and it soon became obvious that this applicant was overwhelmed by inadequacy.
     “Well, what can you do?” was the farmer’s final question.

     “I can sleep while the wind blows.”
     For a moment the answer left the old farmer speechless and then intrigued. He could not explain it but for some reason he was going to hire this incompetent.
     “Everyone has to get his chance and maybe he is a quick learner,” the farmer thought to himself.
     Several days after the young man had come to work a tremendous storm hit the area and the farmer awoke to thunder and shutters flapping and rattling.

     As he went by the room of his new hired hand he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

     Mumbling to himself he angrily rushed out into the night to see for himself how much disaster had visited.
     First, he went toward the barn to check things out. It was locked tightly and anything that needed tying down was firmly protected.

     “Well,” I know one thing. I’ll bet he didn’t tent the tarpaulin over the straw pile.”
     But on observation it was securely tied and not a blade had gone rushed away by the wind.

     Wherever he went all had weathered the storm. Everything was properly prepared.
     And then he thought what the young man had said, “I can sleep while the wind blows.”
     In life sometimes the wind blows and storms emotional, financial or otherwise come crashing down. around us and that is when we need to have prepared ahead of time.

     How to handle bad days when they come?
     And certainly when we are dealing with matters of the soul.
     Well…preparation is as in all things the secret.

     Commitment and follow through, the habit of prayer power and Holy Spirit undergirding, so you can sleep while the wind blows.
     Certainly not sing Frank Sinatra’s song “I did it my way” and realize later we should have worked harder at doing it God’s way…

     The storms of life...what to do to prepare?
     Make worship a habit so even though the storm knows when it is coming and you don’t you are prepared when it does come.
     In short, we may not be able to stop a storm but we can prepare our person.
     Be thankful…even when the list is short…for thanksgiving enlarges the ability to endure.
     Remember the obvious…you are not the master of your fate or the captain of your soul. Proper priority is a must.
     Don’t distract yourself from God with poor listening. It is so easy to make our prayers commands rather than listening posts.
     How do you do this? Follow the 2 "S" rule.

     Scripture and solitude. And by such preparation you will…well let me tell you a story…it will do a better job of explaining myself than perhaps I am doing…
     Two men were chopping wood and one spent more time sitting down than the other…and who chopped the most wood?
     The man who spent more time sitting down.
     Because you see he spent more time sharpening his ax.

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      We welcome you to put some of these thoughts in your personal newsletter or on your churches newsletter or your blog...and we thank those of you who have put it on your Facebook page

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       "Wyrick's Writings" are selected sermons from those Neil has preached during the last 55 years

Click on the URL below to take you to them




      Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Sunday May 27th  Entitled BELIEVE YOUR BELIEFS, GIVE THEM SPIRTUAL MUSCLES

How can we keep our faith from being a weak and fruitless thing?  How can we not be foolish little men and women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager egos. 


        Well, first we must do more than just pray.  We must believe in our own prayers.

     Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Thursday May 10

SERMON TITLE...HOW TO LESSEN ANXIETY

Anxiety out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot forward.

     Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Thursday May 3

SERMON TITLE...HOW TO LESSEN ANXIETY

     It's an old joke, I went to the doctor and I said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.” And the doctor said, “Then don't do that.”

      How many things have you been anxious about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably going to create some problems for you?  And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your God, all of them would have said, “Don’t to that.” 

     Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted TUESDAY MAY 1

To buy into the community of accountability we have to realize that like bikers we are divided into two categories.  Those who have fallen and those who will fall for None of us are perfect.

       Think on it this way, some philosopher of old wrote it and it endures because there is so much truth in it… every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty

      Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Sunday April 29th....

One writer put it this way: “If we could see ourselves as God sees us, we would rise up and never be the same again.”

       TO GO TO "WYRICK'S WRITINGS" TO READ SELECTED SERMONS FROM OVER 50 YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY

CLICK ON THE URL BELOW


Some of the sermon titles posted recently


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Before you decide to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book itself)

Available on Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at many other sites

TO VIEW THE LINCOLN One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles Wesley

click on the following URL

http://www.speakerneil.com/

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BELOW ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS

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A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON SUNDAY APRIL 15. ENTITILED



       Two stores faced each other across a very busy street.  Their owners were in constant competition with each other.  One day, the owner of one store put out a sign that read – If you want it, we have it!

Almost immediately the other owner put out a sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!



A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON THURSDAY APRIL 13TH. ENTITILED

WHO ARE YOU?

NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?

       Who are you?  Whose are you?

You influence and are influenced according to the answer you give.     

Are you are the flavor of the month because you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what?  If so, consider being more independent in our thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.

It may be easier being someone's shadow but wouldn't you really rather be a sun. 



       QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS  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

                                        click on the following


          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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