Tuesday, September 22, 2015

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR US?

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. It is added to daily.
 
Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com to read selected Sermons from over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.

       "I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly."

       Consider these three keys to happiness: 1)Fret not--He loves you (John 13:1), 2)Faint not--He holds you (Psalm 139:10), 3)Fear not--He keeps you (Psalm 121:5).

       Alright...so there are some answers...which you already knew.

       So...if God wants us to be happy, content, fulfilled comfortable with our destiny and working at our best what then should we do?

       First off.  Be what too many claim they aren't.  You know the phrase, "I'm not religious."...because the Gallup poll has found what really shouldn't be surprising, 

       "spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being "very happy" than the least religiously committed people. An analysis of over 200 social studies contends that "high religiousness predicts a lower risk of depression and drug abuse and fewer suicide attempts, and more reports of satisfaction with sex life and a sense of well-being, and a review of 498 studies published in peer-reviewed journals concluded that a large majority of them showed a positive correlation between religious commitment and higher levels of perceived well-being and self-esteem and lower levels of hypertension, depression, and clinical delinquency.

       A question.  Is there a difference between fun and joy?

       Our nation was founded with happiness in mind. The Declaration of Independence reads, "We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

       We all pursue happiness.  No one arises each morn and prays for an unhappy day.

       But in the pursuit let it follow after an everyday reminder to yourself of all you already have.  For a grateful heart beats stronger and better than a bitter greedy one.

       And never forget...ungrateful people are never happy...NEVER!

       Something to do with pride and honest endeabor.  Something to be that is undergirded by what is right and righteous and proper. A God to worship and follow.  Of such is a joy beyond compare.

       Of course,, there are some who seem to think that the really good life is being a cow.  You know what I mean....a life of physical ease and freedom from all care.

       Where is happiness found?

       NOT IN WEALTH.—John B. Rockfeller, a Christian millionaire, said, 'I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week.' Broken in health, he employed an armed guard.

      W. H. Vanderbilt said 'The care of 200 million dollars is too great a load for any brain or back to bear. It is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.'

      John Jacob Astor left five million, but had been a martyr to dyspepsia and melancholy. He said, 'I am the most miserable man on earth.'

      Henry Ford, the automobile king, said, 'Work is the only pleasure. It is only work that keeps me alive and makes life worth living. I was happier when doing a mechanic's job.'

Andrew Carnegie, the multi-millionaire, said, 'Millionaires seldom smile.'

       There is no happiness in poverty either...but the wealth of the soul....therein is the kind of happiness that looks at the bank account...but looks at it second in line.

       The ole preacher looked out at his congregation and said, "If you are happy tell your face about it."  Many Christians don't ...which is why...when some people think of Christianity they picture a long list of "don'ts"  A long line of folk who they think are letting life pass them by if they don't pass religion by.

       So, if you are happy in your faith, "tell your face about it."  Make people want to have what you are showing.

       Accept and seek and find the truth that happiness is not so much a destination as an appreciation of the scenery of life that travels with you. 

       "I'm not religious" and those who say it mean "I am not in love with negatives and that is what you religious people are all about."

       And then there is the truth.

       First off...plug in again and again to Jesus words, "I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly."  The phrase can't be repeated too often.

       Secondly...repeat the above....AGAIN.

       God wants you happy but he doesn't want your list of how to happy to be a list of sins.  Now we are getting to the crux of the matter.

       You can steal and be happy with your new cash account but at what a price.  And is what you must become to be able to steal with no words from your conscience worth the cost?

       Name the sin.  Rate the happiness.  Filter it through the following.

       Is your being happy all about you?  Does it mean not thinking about others and their happiness?  Is happiness a togetherness thing that thinks of other people's happiness while thinking of the happiness of self?

       Is it giving or getting or both and to what degree?

       'In as much as you have done it unto the one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."

       Something is hard...a goal...a commandment...a ?

       ...so you quit...now the challenge is gone and you can relax...now you are happy.  Are you?  Always?  Is quitting always the answer to happiness?

       Have you forgiven anyone recently?  Someone you felt didn't deserve it but you did it anyway?  Did it give you a special joy...a special peace that passeth understanding...Jesus said for you to do it and you did it...well, now, there is happiness and joy in this Chrisitan regime now isn't there.

       Mercy?  Great to receive.  Even greater to give.

       When you die you die enveloped by the grace and love of God.  Fear of how you will die?  Possible.  Fear of death?  Not if you have gained the powerful message of the resurrection and hold it close.

       Would you have a peace that is greater than anything you can hold in your hand? Of course.  Thank you Lord.

       Are you generous rather than greedy?  Your answer is important for your answer will describe the kind of person you are living with.

       Do you trust in the Lord?  It sound like a preacher phrase.  In reality, it is basic to feeling good in this great adventure called life.  It really is.

       Do you follow God's word? It depends on your reading matter...God's word or....and to live with maxim's from eternities shelf of wisdom is a grand and glorious choice.

       And back to that vision thing again...if you continually say "I live for today.  I just don't think about tomorrow."  Then you are missing something that only someone with a vision can understand.

       Question.  Are you merciful or merciless, a practicer of brotherhood or a hateful bigot, full of anger or blessed with an ongoing prayerful desire to each day seek and find patience. 

       "I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly."  But if a life is burdened by one negative attitude or action after the other it is hard for those words of our Christ to come true...now isn't it.

       I have friends.  I like to be around my friends.  They make me happy.  "What a friend I have in Jesus."  I've sung it.  I believe it.  One likes to have friends around and talk to them (prayer).  They make one happy.

       In closing, to whoever you are reading this, I wish I had written the following.  I didn't but still " " I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
       I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
       I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
       I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
       I wish enough"Hellos" to get you through the final "Goodbye."

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The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.-- Unknown

       You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. -- Hebrews 1:9

       I think I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.— Booker T. Washington

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

 If Mary had not instigated another of her famous feuds the assassination might never have happened, at least at this time in this way. 

She had raised the ire of the wife of Ulysses S. Grant and so Julia Grant refused to attend the play at Ford Theater in her company. 

Had the General been present that evening, there might have been more guards. 

Instead, the Lincoln’s sat alone enjoying “Our American Cousin,” until John Wilkes Booth put a bullet in his head. 

It placed him in a coma and pushed the nation further toward chaos. 

The time was 10:15. 

       "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


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 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.


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