Tuesday, September 18, 2012

ENDURANCE

These One A Days are added to daily.  A thank you to all of you who have gone back and read all of the posts since the beginning.
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       There are over 1100 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.

One day we went to a Civil War Re-enactment.  It was a fascinating experience.  In the process we talked to a young man who took part in the battle of Gettysburg.

      Part of the experience was imitating the 34 mile walk from Manchester to Gettysburg. He may have been doing it in the latter part of the 20th century but it was nevertheless like the original in many ways.

      It was hot and his feet were bloodied and many never finished the march. But the young man shared what he had learned from the march.  

      It is sometimes harder to march than it is to fight. The test of endurance is the long march. You have set out on a long march. You will meet many others who have gone part of the way and turned back. You will have by your side many others who are ready to quit and go back with you, if you will go with them. But always there are some who are going steadily forward and who have no idea of anything but enduring unto the end. "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matt. 10:22.)

       While it is good to have goals and speak of charging ahead to victory and overcoming a dozen odds to end up a mile ahead of any competition....sometimes just the strength of sustained endurance is a mark of courage, both physical and spiritual.

       In short, give credit to those who just hang in there.  With a weak smile but nevertheless a smile...with subdued complaint...steadfast, prayerful, quietly enduring pains we, if we have never had it...cannot really understand.

       The victory of staying even is what I am talking about...and it is no little victory.  It is certainly better than giving in to "sink" on the way to "sunk."

       It isn't easy if you or a loved one has been sick of mind or body or yes as we call it "sick of heart" to keep one's equilibrium.  It's wearying and fatigue itself makes cowards of us all as Vince Lombardi used to say.

       "Endurance is running even when you don't have legs." I don't know where the quote came from but it is a bright and shining light of learning.  A rainbow with muscles.  A God sent truth to all who will embrace it in their hearts, their minds, their souls.

              So what to do to stay on an even keel?  Much of the same things some people do to rise above the frey.  It all adds up to being the best we can and not feel we are in competition with someone who seems to have raised up to magnificent heights.

       What to do in the battle to keep from sinking lower? 

       Sometimes just getting some rest is a good beginning.  It is possible to push too much just as much as it is possible to push too little.

       This is hard for me to say for I am a "push harder" but I have reached the point in my life where backing off a bit, for a bit, really has proved beneficial.

       And in rebuilding, for just staying even is still a goal worthy to be achieved... it isn't always necessary to almost immediately climb back up to the top of a mountain after falling off a cliff...be patient...keep climbing...even if it is slower than you like...keep climbing...but be patient.

       Keep a clock record.  It will let you know when you have stopped resting from being weary and have started resting from rest.

       "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."(Is. 40:29-31)

       So spoke the above...that grand old prophet of endurance.

       Wellington used to speak of what he called "three o'clock in the morning" courage. What a man thinks, does, determines, when things are at their worst, makes or mars his future. Bitter disappointment, broken trust, the fading of cherished hopes, a sickness or problem that will not go away.

       And some endure and face the dawn rather than run from the darkness. And therein lies the strength or weakness of a stretched or shrunken soul.

       "Wait on the Lord"  Trust in His presence.  Have hope in His eternal will.  Measure your longings against his wisdom.  I cannot name the times I have been frustrated by that proverbial door being closed only to have a broader taller door open up as the blessing of heaven flowed through.

       Renewal.  That is what life is all about.  A rising from the ashes.  A victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.  A weakness turned into a strength.

       And sometimes a prayer such as the following.

       "Dear Lord, I stumble as I step.  I fall and have trouble rising to my knees let alone standing once again alone but unafraid.  But I persevere and pray that you will walk with me and comfort me in my keeping on keeping on." 

       I have prayed a prayer like this...oh yes...I have prayed it more than once.

       Do not be ashamed to be exhausted.  You are human.  Do not be ashamed when you fail.  It is the price we pay for being alive.  Be ashamed only when you give up instead of pray up.

       I have a glider rating and besides being an upbeat joy it taught me a spiritual lesson as well.  Outside of Elmira, New York where I got my glider rating there is a range of mountains with continuous updrafts and when you fly over those updrafts and attatch yourself to them you can motor less fly forever.

       So it is when you pray for and find the uplifiting power of the Holy Spirit.  Find them and you can fly forever, even up to and including the day of your death.

       Hang in there.  Sometimes you have to wait awhile but hang in there.

       In Florida, those updrafts I talked about in New York don't exist.  We have no mountains and some updrafts are so small in width you can fly right through them and hardly notice.

       They still work but it takes more effort.

       So it is with life.  Sometimes there are spiritual updrafts that are large and some that are not.  I do not question why.  I just know that either way they exist and I continue to pray to find them...and find them I do...

       I do not know you but I am cheering you on.  I am praying for you as I pray for every soul who has been beaten down once or more in this great wonderful adventure called life.  I pray for the both of us for prayer is our great wide super highway to the gates of heaven. I pray for our patience when healing is slow or not at all.  I pray for our patience to endure whatever it is that is trying to beat our endurance down or break it into a million pieces.  I pray for us because it is what our God wants us to do...keep the line open...

       In college I was a runner.  I passed people and I was passed by people.  And I learned lessons from both sides of the experience.  Sometimes when i finished a race my greatest victory was in finishing.

       So has it been with my life.  Some of my greatest victories have been from hanging in there, like Paul with finishing the race.

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If you want to enjoy the rainbow, be prepared to endure the storm.  (anonymous)

       "If you voluntarily quit in the face of adversity, you'll wonder about it for the rest of your life."  (former President Clinton)

       “A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.” (Helen Keller)

       "I've learnt in life that you will never soar like an eagle if you insist on surrounding yourself with chickens" (Marlo Cortes)

       Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs. (Malcom Stevenson Forbes)

       But let patience have perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:4)

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ANOTHER WAY TO SHARE THESE ONE A DAYS WITH FREIENDS...CLICK ON MORE AT TOP LEFT OF THIS BLOG PAGE AND  FROM THERE IT SHOULD BE EASY

       CHURCH BOOK CLUBS ARE USING REV. WYRICK'S 9TH BOOK "The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln."  If you would like to purchase it at a special price...
       It is available on amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and many other book sites.

     A new quote  (posted SEPT 5) below from Rev. Wyrick's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (read the rave reviews below the quote)

Many were quite willing to see him permanently gone, not just to Washington but from this earth. 

Hate letters assailed on a regular basis. 

Finally a plot to assassinate him in Baltimore was uncovered, and by repeatedly reminding him, “You can hardly be a good President if you are a dead President,” his friends were able to convince him to secretly depart Harrisburg. 

Accompanied by Alan Pinkerton and W. H. Laman in one lone car pulled by a single locomotive, no lights and telegraph lines cut, he came through Baltimore at 3:30 A.M. dressed in disguise. 

Many other lonely middle-of-the-night times lay ahead.

       "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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QUOTE BELOW IS FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGS

          There is no other organization in the world like the church.  It is a breed unto itself.  It is a congregation of sinners, not a country club for saints.  To become a member you have to profess your unworthiness. 

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE


      (These are selected sermons from over 50 years of ministry and as a worldwide evangelist Rev. Wyrick preached them all the United States and all over the world)

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            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.”

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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.

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

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        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.”

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        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.”

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        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.

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          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

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      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.

      

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