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.
"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."
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."
+++++++++
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.
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)
+++++++++++++++++++
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.”
++++++++++++++++++
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.
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