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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog. It is added to
daily.
Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
to read selected Sermons from
over 50 years of Rev.
Wyrick's ministry.
++++++++++
These things I command
you,
that ye love one another.
that ye love one another.
~ John 15:17
It is not how much you do, but how much Love you
put into the doing that matters.
put into the doing that matters.
~ Mother Teresa
"Be still and know that I am God." And it is the voice of God struggling to get
through to some folk whose spiritual defenses are alive and well.
And a too universal reply comes surging forward.
And the folk of whom I speak briefly reply for they must get
on with more important things.
"I don't want to be still. I can't be still. I must be up and doing and making more power
and success and wealth...for the more I have the happier I will be. The HAVES are HAPPY. The HAVE NOTS are not.
And history steps forward and beings to
speak of a man named Saul.
Saul of Tarsus. Member of a RICH family with the wealth of
power that followed along. Knew the
right people...knew the right strings to pull.
An Saul, leader Saul was a leader of the
persecution of Christians.
So, of course, Saul was happy?
But he wasn't. An emptiness that he couldn't explain overwhelmed.
And then came the experience on the road
to Damascus. And this meeting with Jesus
after a blinding light changed his life.
The persecutor of Christians became the
persecuted as a Christian.
He who had everything was reduced to
wandering the world never sure where his next mile was coming from.
What had happened? George Matheson gives the answer in the title
of hymn he wrote "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go."
Henry
Van Dyke describes this journey of so many...
With
eager heart and will on fire,
I sought to win my great desire,
"Peace shall be mine," I
said, but life
Grew bitter in the endless strife.
My
soul was weary, and my pride
was wounded deep. To heaven I cried
"God give me peace, or I must
die."
The dumb stars glittered no reply.
Broken
at last I bowed my head
Forgetting all myself and said;
"Whatever comes, His will be
done,"
And in that moment peace was won.
What are you living for? It is an ageless question with an ageless
answer...it must be if sense is to made of it all...GOD.
Christ
put it as simply as it could be put, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and all thy mind, and all thy soul...and thy neighbor as thyself."
And Paul realizing that a definition of love
was important and then some...and in the 13th chapter of Corinthians he wrote...
Love is very patient, very kind;
Love knows no jealousy;
Loves makes no parade,
Gives itself no airs, is
never rude,
Never selfish, never
irritated,
Never resentful;
Love is never glad when
others go wrong,
Love is never gladdened by
goodness, always slow to expose,
Always eager to believe
the best,
Always hopeful, always
patient."
(Moffett Translation)
It is not what you have but who you are.
Having things is not bad...it is only bad when THINGS have
you.
Ah now...Love of God and fellowman with Christian depth and
extension ...until the love is touched with a touch of the divine...therein
lies what we should seek and allow ourselves to be sought by.
And then we shall be like Dwight L Moody's Sunday school in
Chicago was.
Who was Dwight L. Moody...a great
evangelist who practiced what he preached.
...Once a little lad, one of 1500 ragged
little urchins who came from all over Chicago to Rev. Moody's Sunday school was
asked why he traveled so far when he was passing many Sunday schools along the
way...he responded..."Because they love me over there."
Do people seek you out because it is so obvious that you love
people and your God?
It is something they can't put their hand on...but they find in you
that which is divinely special...or if not ...do you seek out someone on a
regular basis because they
have something special that seems divinely special.
++++++++++++++++++++++
1 John 3:18 Little
children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides
and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a
second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
We are
all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end.
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli
Love does
not dominate; it cultivates.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Love
makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
++++++++++++++++
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)
+++++++++++++++++++
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 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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