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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
to read selected Sermons from
over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.++++++++++
Socrates wrote the following words centuries ago. They are timeless. "The wisest man is that one who tries to perfect himself, and the happiest man is that one who feels that at least to some degree he is succeeding."
And George
Washington looked out across the Potomac one fog filled morn and in a
meditative mood wrote, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the
weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.”
And in the same vein
these words in Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is
true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything
worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."
Why not? Why settle for lesser
ways of living? The Word of God
certainly supersedes in worth any words of man.
And
what is this word of God...it is like the ground beneath us. It is solid beneath our the feet of our soul
and it has substance to it.
Life? Life is two things. A challenge or a bribe.
If
you think it is a bribe then you must say, "Alright, what can i get out of
it? What's in it for me?"
Of
if you think it is a challenge, you must say, "What can I give?"
It
is a classic story so if you have heard it...forgive me...if you have
not...then I am indeed glad I now share it.
A young man one day decided he would confound a philosopher who lived
on the top of a cloud draped peak.
Climbing to the philosophers perpetual place of medication he put to him
the following.
"As
you can see, I have a bird in my hand and I have one question, 'Is he
alive?"
If
the philosopher said he was alive the young man planned to instantly crush the
bird to death.
If
he said he was dead the young would release him to fly free toward an awaiting
sky.
The
philosopher did not pause a moment before he gave his reply, "As you will
my son. As you will."
How
is your life? When do you bring it
death? When do you bring it life?
"As
you will. As you will."
The decisions we daily make are so very important...and they haunt us
or help us for such a long time afterwards.
Like
the sign at the beginning of a country road that read, "Be careful which
rut you chose...you'll be in it for the next 25 miles."
Breakfast
had been consumed and Jesus and his disciples were having an early morning
discourse. Pausing, Jesus turned to
Peter and asked,"Simon, son of Jonah, do you
love Me more than these?"
Not,
"Are you trying hard to obey my teachings?" No, for Jesus knew that
if he were loved that would come more naturally than not.
And so it is with you and me.
Not...how often do you go to church...not how often do you do good deeds
as against bad things...no...if you love the Lord...then all of these things
will fall more naturally in place.
When the Statue of Liberty was remodeled,
it was discovered that the entire inside support system had to be replaced. The
outside copper skin of the statue was okay; it only had to be cleaned. Rust and
corrosion had ruined the inner iron supports. If repairs had not been made, the
statue in 20 years would have fallen over. The iron supports were replaced with
stainless steel. Now it can withstand 125 mph winds.
The analogy is clear enough. God's
way and will gives stainless steel support to our immortal soul. When life's troubled winds blow hard we can
better endure.
Solomon wrote about those who ignore this wisdom. In Proverbs 1:7 you can read, " The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and
discipline."
Even a watch is right two times a
day...but we need to dream bigger dreams on the way
to living better lives...to be right an increasing number of times because we
have prayed at the foot of the throne of grace..."Thy will be done."
Commitment or compromise. That's what it always comes down to.
Commitment or compromise
+++++++++++++++
QUOTES BELOW ARE
FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGS...CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE... http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
(These
are selected sermons from over 50 years of ministry)
+++++++++++++++++++
CLICK ON www.go60.us IT WILL TAKE YOU A NEW WEBSITE FOR
SENIORS....click on "Voice" on the home
page and then on the list of authors click on Neil Wyrick
Recent
articles Rev. Wyrick has written for this web site are: REFLECTIONS
·
Here Comes Summer (July 2012)
·
Spring (May 2012)
·
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
(April 2012)
·
Wayward and Windy (April 2012)
Just
remember that “the pain of discipline will cost you pennies, whereas the pain
of regret will cost you millions.”
++++++++++++++++++
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.
+++++++++++++++++++
Anxiety
out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot
forward.
++++++++++++++++++
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 do that.”
++++++++++++++++++++
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 anything. 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
++++++++++++++++++++++
Some
of the sermon titles posted recently
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
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/
++++++++++++++++++++++
BELOW
ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS
++++++++++++++++++
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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
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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