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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog. It is added to
daily.
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When I
say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not shouting "I am saved;"
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
That is why I chose this way.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I do not speak of this with pride;
But I am confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not trying to be strong;
I'm professing that I'm weak
and pray for strength to carry on.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not bragging of success;
I'm admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not claiming to be perfect;
My flaws are too visible
but, God believes I'm worth it.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I still feel the sting of pain;
I have my share of heartaches,
which is why I speak His name.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I do not wish to judge;
I have no authority,
I only know I'm loved!
I'm not shouting "I am saved;"
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
That is why I chose this way.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I do not speak of this with pride;
But I am confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not trying to be strong;
I'm professing that I'm weak
and pray for strength to carry on.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not bragging of success;
I'm admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I'm not claiming to be perfect;
My flaws are too visible
but, God believes I'm worth it.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I still feel the sting of pain;
I have my share of heartaches,
which is why I speak His name.
When I say..."I am a Christian,"
I do not wish to judge;
I have no authority,
I only know I'm loved!
Annonymous
Be Good and know God. It's that simple and it is not simple at all.
Why?
Because ...by faith we turn darkness into light, our mistakes into
stepping stones and death into victory.
Why? Because there is
nothing more tragic than for a man to come to the end of his life and realize
he has never really lived.
It does not take the wisdom of a prophet or the sagacity of a seer
to know that God is, was and ever more shall be.
All it takes is for you or me to reach a point where we are no
longer overcome by the wonder of creation and the creator...and then dead in
mind, heart and soul...feel the weight of nothingness bearing down.
A goodly time ago, someone
wrote, "If our leaders have deceived us it is because we have insisted on
being deceived."
What I believe the writer was saying was that we are sometimes
so morally and spiritually and intellectually confused we are more content when
we are fed confusion.
When men and women are
moral babies in diapers when the world needs men and women of God it can be
understood why our leaders are so dedicated to being politically correct.
We seem to have passed moral absolutes by...and turned tattle
tale grey into the accepted color for everyday living.
A question? Have you ever been so wrapped up in a moment
with God that horns on the street or jets roaring in the sky never made it
through. You were that engrossed.
That kind of intense
involvement can be dangerous...we both know that...we do indeed.
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers
began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found
a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the
base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird
with a stick. When he struck it,
three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety, but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live...
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge..." Psalms 91:4
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety, but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live...
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge..." Psalms 91:4
Why God? Why worship this God? Why work at trying and praying toward obeying
the wisdom and commandments of this God.
Because he made us and
loves us...it cannot be said more plainly than that.
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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.
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"Wyrick's
Writings" are selected sermons from those Neil has preached during the
last 55 years.
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings...
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...
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...
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...
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 ENTITLED
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 ENTITLED
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 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 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 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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