Tuesday, October 6, 2015

ALL IT TAKES IS TWENTY MINUTES OF COURAGE

These One A Days are added to daily. There are over 1100 stories and commentaries on this blog.
  
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              Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com to read selected Sermons from over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.

"All it takes is twenty minutes of courage." I lifted the line from a movie and as I heard it I almost wept for it defines so many lives lost and dreams dropped with no chance for failure or success.

       And that is the first point I would make.  We learn as much if not more from striking out than from hitting a home run.

       I hark back to my own baseball days when I could be relied on to get a hit 3 out of 9 times (good in baseball) and even more so when the game was on the line.

       And in remembering I can remember those glory moments when I came through for my teammates and those times when I did not.

       And what did I learn. 

       I learned that once you put your hand on the door you have no idea as to what is on the other side, but that win or lose one has to be keep opening the door.

       I also learned on looking back that there were times when failure was a friend...where success would have quite possibly have produced a fool...or consequences far worse than that.

       "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," said President Roosevelt and enough people lined up behind the idea to give it wings.

       Nor can be said that it is ever to late to follow a dream even if it leads to failure.  Why do that?  Because while the winning of a prize is wonderful what is truly wonderful is the opportunity to chase a dream.

       There now, I've said it twice in two different ways because it is a truth that has the shine of dazzle in it.

       God has a plan and I have a plan and I know who should be second in line when it comes to daily follow through.

       Opportunity comes dressed in many guises...we just have to pray to have the wisdom to chose wisely how we garb ourselves and why and when...if at all.

`     "Thy will be done."  The power of that prayer is monumental.

       What is God's ordained assignment for you?  Now there's a question isn't it.

       Let me tell you a story.

       In n 1955 I had been at my first pastorate for a little over a year.  No people could have greeted and worked with this young Seminary students than these four churches in Virginia.  I loved every minute of the challenge.  A city boy in a rural parish.  We were meant for each other.

       And then in the summer of that same year, seated around a campfire at a youth camp we preachers began to discuss what kind of a church we would like to have if it was the Lord's will.

       I began by saying, "I now have over 600 members in four churches and we are doing exciting things.  But what I would like to do is start from scratch.  Build a church from its beginning."

       When I came back to Brookneal, Virginia from this camp near Lynchburg there it was in my mailbox a letter that read, "Would you be interested in coming to Miami, Florida to start a new church?"

       The timing was mind boggling.  So was the fact that I had only been in my present pastorate a little over a year.  It was too soon.  I turned it down. 

       I sent a letter air mail special delivery and I turned it down.

       Actually, I prayed and prayed and prayed and still turned it down because it just did not seem right.

       Afterwards I did what I could never give a name to.  I prayed the following prayer, "Lord, I know I have turned down this opportunity to start a new church.  It is what I want to do but I have turned it down.  If, however, in your wisdom I get a second chance I will prayerfully consider it."

       It seemed a prayer out of sorts and yet in all truthfulness it seemed a prayer I had to pray.  I continued to pray...thinking to myself...why am I doing this...it is over...I've turned it down.  Be content.

       Three weeks later I got a call from Miami.   The chairman of Home Missions said, "We haven't heard from you.  We need to know whether you are going to accept or the challenge or should we look for someone else?"

       My second chance had come.  The church in Miami grew to just 800 members before I began to travel around the United States and the World as an evangelist.

       The air mail special delivery letter never did arrive.

       Dreams fulfilled still have bumps.  All is never completely smooth sailing.  Ask Joseph, Moses, Paul.  But a door unopened is a door to nowhere.

       In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.

       Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more.

       Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system.

       At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn.

       At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
       And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth."
       The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.
    

       I have seen the impossible take place so many times in so many lives when folk did not give up.  People, who were an 8-watt spiritual transmitter that just hung in there and did their job with agonizing slowness but with ongoing success.

       Enthusiasm has a short shelf life.  It is why so many are sprinters but not marathoners...but to the persistent and the patient the rewards are infinite.  If nothing more ...there is the gaining of moral strength from hanging in there...and that...that is indeed a reward in itself.   

       Choices have consequences for whatever reason they are made.  Driven by courage or cowardice or consensus opinion or by a strong faith or good reasoning or almost no reasoning at all...choices have consequences.

       And the consequences of no choice are often the worse. 

       Or as Deut.30:19... "I call on heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that you and your children may live."

       A life bolstered by and rooted in the words and commandments of the Lord...holding on and pushing forward and slogging toward defeat.  Two steps back for every step forward but still patiently persistently courageously not quitting.

        Of such is the world peopled by the best who have learned how sometimes to live with the worst.

       Want a role model for courageous hanging on.  Try old man Noah with 480 years under his belt.  Watch his response as he prepares to build a boat longer than a football field and five stories high.

       A big enough job if there were a local lumber store to help him with the cutting...but know there was the challenge...and he accepted it...and yes...he succeeded but in the process of building the ark he was building the man.

       It all comes down to the opening line of these thoughts ""All it takes is twenty minutes of courage."

       The courage to hang on when weariness weighs a thousand pounds.  The courage to hang in there when desperation and discouragement and depression come to call and shout out their miserable messages of defeat.  The courage to believe and act like one believes in the ultimate victory of our eternal God.

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QUOTES ON NOT GIVING UP

Galatians 6:9


English Standard Version (ESV)

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

       Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
- Josh Billings


       Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
- Newt Gingrich


       Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.
- William James


       How long should you try? Until.
- Jim Rohn


          ANOTHER WAY TO SHARE THESE ONE A DAYS WITH FRIENDS...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." 

       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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