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THERE ARE THE WEAK AND THERE ARE THE STRONG AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING
When I consider commitment, I often think of Noah and the
God-ordered Ark. Of how challenging and
comforting it is to read of a man so committed to God he could ignore the ridicule
of his neighbors and keep on keeping on for a total of 120 years.
Without paralyzing pride to slow him down, nothing was too small
for him to do. He readily cut the
timbers, patiently crafted the planks, with honest fortitude chiseled the wood
and bored the holes, until finally one day he had constructed a massive
monument to the will of his Heavenly Father.
If he had given this 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high ship a
name, it would have had to be Commitment.
Now when it comes to a heavenly command to commitment it is
highly doubtful you will ever be asked to build an ark or anything near that
size as a giant monument. However, you
have already been commanded to make your life a monument. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
The pattern of the world is greed and mistrust and selfish ego; the
list goes on. But you, chosen by
yourself to be a Christian, you are called to make a new pattern. Not follow after the one that has held back
the world for so long a time. You chose
to commit…so wherever you are holding back, push forward. Wherever you are making excuses, create
drive.
I’m sure you all have your own mental description of what
commitment is, but have you ever considered that actually it is a
battlefield? A place where your best
self constantly battles your worst self?
Were I to ask you which self do you want to win, your answer would be
immediate and sincere. You would reply,
“I want that self that does not just talk victory to win. I do not want to be a victim of my own weak
and willy-nilly follow through in things I have committed myself to do. I have said, ‘Lord, here am I take me.’ That is what I want to do. That is who I want to be.”
Robert Browning put it well, “A man’s reach should exceed his
grasp.”
He got shot -
dead. And he was not surprised by
it. He had known it was coming, but he never backed down. Not long before it happened someone had asked
him how he handled the fear of knowing he might be attacked at any moment.
He simply replied, “I’m not afraid anymore…I’m not worried about
that…I’m not fearing any man.” And in
his famous speech that is so often quoted, he said, “Because I have been to the
mountain top. Like anybody I would like
to live a long life. Longevity has its
place. But I’m not concerned about
that. Now I just want to do God’s will. I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you
to know…I’m not worried about anything.
I’m not fearing anything. I’m not
fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the
glory and the coming of the Lord.”
I don’t even have to identify who I am talking about. We all know I was quoting Martin Luther
King. And that’s the way it is with
people who take commitment to special levels.
Tall and sun crowned above the crowd.
God’s moral giants rather than moral midgets. People remember them, oh, how they remember
them, and are greatly influenced by them.
And gladdened by them. And made
to devoutly wish there were more like them.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Wyrick's Writings" are selected sermons from those
Neil has preached.
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
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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