CONSCIENCE…AT WHAT VOLUME

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Myself

I have to live with myself, and so

I want to be fit for myself to know,

I want to be able, as days go by,

Always to look myself straight in the eye;

I don't want to stand, with the setting sun,

And hate myself for the things I've done.

I don't want to keep on the closet shelf

A lot of secrets about myself,

And fool myself, as I come and go,

Into thinking that nobody else will know

The kind of a man I really am;

I don't want to dress up myself in sham.

I want to go out with my head erect,

I want to deserve all men's respect;

But here in the struggle for fame and pelf

I want to be able to like myself. I don't want to look at myself and know

That I'm bluster and bluff and empty show.

I can never hide myself from me;

I see what others may never see;

I know what others may never know,

I never can fool myself, and so,

Whatever happens, I want to be

Self-respecting and conscience free.

Unknown author

Wasting a life is not difficult. It comes easily to all of us at one time or the other. Judas had his price, thirty pieces of silver. And a modern day Judas sells his soul for a new important title at work or a raise in pay; a muting of morality and quite soon it becomes a “labor that does not satisfy.”

May I over simplify. It is God that makes a conscience live and sin that makes a conscience die.

THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

“A book superior in style and content)

Quote from book below

How spiritual was Lincoln? Well, look at how often he worked God into both his conversations and speeches. He was not the only President to mention prayers to the Almighty on a regular basis, but what is important is how comfortable he seemed in doing it. A single reminder of an isolated spiritual moment would make it impossible to build a case for spirituality. With Lincoln this is never a problem, for this giant of a man had a giant on-going sense of soul equal to his physical presence.

“I invite the people of the United States… to invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit…”3 It is well to remember that the man behind this national proclamation also wrote that he had a solemn oath registered in heaven to finish his work. But why not? This, after all, was a man who at Gettysburg, with Generals and other men of good counsel all around, still fell to his knees in prayer, and thereby, found “sweet comfort” 4 creeping into his soul.

A secular humanist will be less than happy with these observations because it reminds us that Abraham Lincoln was a man of moral absolutes. That he knew the difference between right and wrong and agonized over them. Anyone who has a love affair with anarchy has to be unhappy with a president who did not believe that if it feels good then it must be okay.

A Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”



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A FRIEND CALLED COURAGE

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"I often wish that I could lie down and sleep without waking. But I will fight it out if I can." So wrote one of the bravest, most inspiring men who ever lived, Sir Walter Scott. In his 56th year, failing in health, his wife dying of an incurable disease, Scott was in debt a half million dollars. A publishing firm he had invested in had collapsed.

 He might have taken bankruptcy, but shrank from the strain. From his creditors he asked only time. Thus began his race with death, a valiant effort to pay off the debt before he died.

To be able to write free from interruptions, Scott withdrew to a small rooming house in Edinburgh.
 He had left his dying wife, Charlotte behind in the country. "It withered my heart," he wrote in his diary, but his presence could avail her nothing now.

A few weeks later she died. After the funeral he wrote in his diary: "Were an enemy coming upon my house, would I not do my best to fight, although oppressed in spirits; and shall a similar despondency prevent me from mental exertion?

It shall not, by heaven!" With a tremendous exercise of will, he returned to the task, stifling his grief.

He turned out Woodstock, Count Robert of Paris, Castle Dangerous, and other works. Though twice stricken with paralysis, he labored steadily until the fall of 1832.

Then came a merciful miracle. Although his mental powers had left him, he died September 21, 1832, happy in the illusion that all his debts were paid.

(They were finally paid in 1847 with the sale of all his copyrights.) Thomas Carlyle was to write of him latter: "No sounder piece of British manhood was put together in the eighteenth century of time." 

A ship is safe in a protected harbor but that is not what ships are made for.

Sometimes courage is nothing more than saying “I will rise again tomorrow to try again.”

To never know defeat just proves you never courted victory.

     THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM       LINCOLN

                       

  “A book superior in style and content)

 

Quote from book below

How spiritual was Lincoln?  Well, look at how often he worked God into both his conversations and speeches.  He was not the only President to mention prayers to the Almighty on a regular basis, but what is important is how comfortable he seemed in doing it.  A single reminder of an isolated spiritual moment would make it impossible to build a case for spirituality.  With Lincoln this is never a problem, for this giant of a man had a giant on-going sense of soul equal to his physical presence.

         

        “I invite the people of the United States… to invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit…”³  It is well to remember that the man behind this national proclamation also wrote that he had a solemn oath registered in heaven to finish his work.  But why not?  This, after all, was a man who at Gettysburg, with Generals and other men of good  counsel all around, still fell to his knees in prayer, and thereby, found “sweet comfort” ⁴  creeping into his soul.

 

A secular humanist will be less than happy with these observations because it reminds us that Abraham Lincoln was a man of moral absolutes.  That he knew the difference between right and wrong and agonized over them.  Anyone who has a love affair with anarchy has to be unhappy with a president who did not believe that if it feels good then it must be okay.

 

A  Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9^TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”

 

Purchase from the author an autographed copy.

 

If you would like a short PERSONALIZED comment before the signature such as “To Mary”…or “happy birthday Mark” …or “Hope you enjoy reading this”…just enclose your wish along with a check for $10 (free shipping and handling) to:

 

And receive a bonus, Neil Poor Richard’s Almanack for the 20^th century (written as if Ben Franklin had come back to life in the 20^th century was making commentary on what he was seeing.)

 

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A THIEF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

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If you are not careful you will allow yourself to be reduced to nothing more than a mindless consumer… manipulated by Madison Avenue so that you will often not need what you are told you want because you have not allowed yourself to consider wanting what you need.

It is why the average American has a credit card debt of $6000 and half of all retirees have saved less than a quarter of what they will need in their retirement.

       

The marketplace is always in danger of suffering from a bad attack of greed whether there is a downturn or upturn in the economy.  Spiritual malnutrition and moral blindness come easily when profits are at stake.  If you have any doubt just look at the television ads that preach Greed with a capital G.

Fiscal responsibility really is a moral issue for when a family or family member spends and spends the family into bankruptcy it is as if a thief has stolen into the home in the middle of the night.

Proverbs 27:23-24

New International Version (NIV)

 ²³ Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
   give careful attention to your herds;
²⁴ for riches do not endure forever,
   and a crown is not secure for all generations.

THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

       “A book superior in style and  content)

Quote from book below

When ole Abe swore on the Bible to uphold the Constitution, the faith he brought with him helped him to honestly support the five references to God found in The Declaration of Independence: supreme Lawmaker, Creator, Source of certain unalienable rights, world’s supreme Judge, and Protector on whom we can rely.  It is not that an atheist or agnostic could not pay lip service to these, it is just that an obvious lack of enthusiasm would make its mark.

A  Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9^TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”

Purchase from the author an autographed copy.

 

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BELIEVE OUR BELIEFS

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Nikita Khrushchev once boasted that he would exhibit the last Soviet Christian on television by 1965. Khrushchev has since gone to give account of himself to the Judge of all mankind, and his deadline for the extinction of Christianity in Russia has also passed. Throughout history, so-called big men and little men have strutted across the stages of life defying God.

But as Psalm 145:13 promises, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations."

 

A prism of twenty-four hours can tell a great deal about an individual and when that individual identifies himself by saying, “Why were you searching for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” the spelling out process is monumental. 

Rebel with a cause?  He was certainly more than this; more than a typical teenager with delusions of grandeur.  He knew who He was and He succinctly stated it; without bravado, without arrogance.  It was His moment of personal identification. 

Announced by angels, pursued by wise men, He was heaven’s own in the midst of an earthly challenge.  Simply put, He was the Son of God and the whole world would come to know it and be influenced by it and changed by it.

Many, if not most, twelve year olds are not temple dwellers.  Church is somewhere on the back burner.  But for a few others, the sanctity of the sanctuary magnetizes them and they go on to be ministers.  Yet none acclaim, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” with the kind of authority this boy Jesus did.

It was not just what He was doing but who He was, and for the rest of his life He would be misunderstood.  It was something He had to start getting used to.

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) He asked Peter.  And it is quite likely He had asked the question before nor was He likely surprised by how many could not or would not want to understand Peter’s answer, “You are the messiah.” (Mark 8:29)

Jesus said it.  The world has heard it.  And yet, the number who hesitate before giving full force to this belief is far too many.  In short, having heard the facts we are all challenged to believe our beliefs; not with mincing little steps that move forward like a spiritual snail but with an ever increasing spiritual speed.  Giants of faith rather than midgets tiptoeing toward the truth.

I like the way the blind man who had been healed by Jesus reacted after being caught between the rock and the hard place.  All the leaders of the synagogue were giving him a hard time because he had sought help from who they regarded as the sinner Jesus.  Finally, when he had had enough and was thoroughly exasperated with their questions, he simply said the equivalent of “Enough already.”  The biblical account of his response reads, “I do not know whether he is a sinner.  One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”  (John 9:25)

  THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

         “A book superior in style and content)

 

Quote from book below

 

A  Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9^TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”

Why concern ourselves with spirituality as against the equivalent of a political science degree?  What real difference does it make that Christianity needs to be up front and center in the lives of our leaders?  Because the very freedoms and style of living we enjoy come as gifts from Christianity. 

 

Before Christ walked this earth and set up a new standard of humanity, life in the Greco-Roman world was cheap and expendable.  Killing of infants was readily accepted.  Child abandonment was commonplace. 

 

Abortions and suicides were widespread and legal.  Its corrupt belief system became the mother of chaos.  It is, therefore, little wonder Rome fell.  And America can fall just as easily if it forgets that religion can survive without freedom, but freedom cannot long survive without religion.

Purchase from the author an autographed copy.

 

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Send donation check to…

 

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BE AN AVIS CHRISTIAN: TRY HARDER

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When Gen. George C. Marshall took command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, he found the post in a generally run-down condition. Rather than issue orders for specific improvements, he simply got out his own paintbrushes, lawn equipment, etc., and went to work on his personal quarters. The other officers and men, first on his block, then throughout the post, did the same thing, and Fort Benning was brightened up. Leadership by example.

BE AN AVIS CHRISTIAN: TRY HARDER

     No doubt some people are too smart for their own good. They take arrogance to new heights, and because they have reached great heights of success, they figure anyone below them deserves any rudeness they receive.

     We can’t always be nice anymore than I could always get a hit when I played baseball or score a touchdown every time I ran the ball. 

Nevertheless, if I simply stood tall, dumb, and inactive, it was a guarantee I would never find success.  So it is in the world of niceness vs. nastiness: you won’t get better if you allow yourself to be satisfied with worse.

     One of the things I like about most Christians is that they are like Avis. They try harder. 

The Apostle Paul tells us that this is exactly what we have to do.  In his letter to the Ephesians, he says, “You were taught, in regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on a new self…”

     Do you trust God?  Or let me put it this way, can God trust you?  Can God trust you to put your best foot forward?  To read, remember, and try with all your strength to obey His commandments?  To stumble because you tripped up but not to lie there, rather to get up and try again? 

     Christianity is not just a religion to make people nicer—even secular humanism preaches that. Christianity is the door to heaven. 

 By believing, and living as Christ taught us to do, we plug into the power of the Holy Spirit so that we are electrified with something bigger than ourselves.  Such living, thereby, comes alive in a new and exciting way.  Christianity?  It is a cry to each of us to be Kingdom people; to blossom every day into more loving, caring individuals; to hold hands with the thought called miracle, and to give thanks that being born again actually begins to mean something.

     “If you lie down with dogs, you will rise up with fleas,” said ole Ben Franklin.  On the other hand, if you rise up daily with Christ by your side, you will rise up a better man or woman because you will feel eternity poking at your soul.

  THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM     LINCOLN

                         “A book superior in style and content)

 

Quote from book below

 

This book is more than just a march down memory lane.  It is certainly not a search-and-destroy mission as are some historical efforts.  It is really a questing for an understanding of the man able to write, “He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.”    “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”  “It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the over ruling power of God.”¹   “With malice toward none; with charity toward all; right, as God gives us to see the right…”² 

 

When a president continues to think and speak this way, often commenting on sin and mercy more like a preacher than a politician it is worth taking a second look.  When he called out for, “with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,” ² he did not just show humility.  Rather he asked for a national self-examination and that God might be at the center of such evaluation. 

A  Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9^TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”

 

Purchase from the author an autographed copy.

 

If you would like a short PERSONALIZED comment before the signature such as “To Mary”…or “happy birthday Mark” …or “Hope you enjoy reading this”…just enclose your wish along with a check for $10 (free shipping and handling) to:

 

And receive a bonus, Neil Poor Richard’sAlamanack for the 20^th century (written as if Ben Franklin had come back to life in the 20^th century was making commentary on what he was seeing.)

 

Send donation check to…

 

Pageantry Inc., The Church Without Walls”

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THE DESTINY OF LITTLE THINGS

             If you had not been born the world would not be the same.  It would be better or it would be worse, but not be the same.  In short, you have a destiny – but what kind?

            True, the destinies of some seem bigger than others.  Some fly around in outer space, or build great bridges or write great books or head great nations.  Others don’t even get their names in the newspaper, until they are listed in the obituary column.

            But how big is big?  And is bigger necessarily better?  Emerson once wrote, “The hero is no braver than an ordinary man.  He is just brave for five minute longer.”

            Saints are often not that much better than the ordinary individual, they are just better a little longer and a little more often.  One minute at a time, until that minute become an hour, and that hour becomes a day, and that day becomes a lifetime.

            Challenge yourself to be braver, better, wiser, more kind and compassionate - for just one extra minute a day.  Not all day.  Not from morn till night.  Just one minute more.  Then two minutes more and perhaps work up to three.  The power, the overwhelming power, of little things.

            Many argue, “If I can’t make big changes, I will make no changes at all.  If I cannot become perfect, I won’t even try to improve.”  And so, denying the destiny of little things, they become captive of the destiny of nothing.  (No thing.)

            One cynical philosopher musing on the matter wrote, “The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic and a terrible waste of time.” 

But he missed the point.  Because we do not achieve perfection does not mean we should not pursue excellence.

What must you do to have weeds in your yard?  Nothing.

      What must you do to have a house go to wreck and ruin?  Nothing.

What must you do to let a life go to wreck and ruin?  Nothing.

But, little by little the weeds can be removed.  Little by little a house can be renovated.  Little by little a life can be put back together again.  Little by little by little some people begin to understand the destiny of little things.

It is what being human is all about. The constant changing and re-arranging of who we are.  A little more listening to the conscience than talking back to the conscience.

     THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

     “A book superior in style and content)

A  Quote FROM Rev. Wyrick’s 9^TH BOOK “THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN”

 

During the days of his youth, this gentle giant did dally with Deism, but it must also be remembered that with passing years, spiritual wisdom took over. 

An ongoing controversy argues, he was not a Christian because he was never baptized or joined a church.  It seems only fair to let his own words defend him against any who would doubt his faith. 

In 1846, with typical honesty he said what was and what wasn’t.   “That I am not a member of any Christian church is true, but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular…”

It was not that he did not believe in Christ.  He said he would gladly join any church that would not overwhelm him with dogma.  So, it was not a cry against Christianity, but a cry against Christians who, with determined zeal, had split up into over three hundred recognized denominations.

Though six foot four and weighing one hundred eighty-four pounds, Abraham Lincoln was never too big for his long-legged britches. 

He was not overly impressed with himself, always impressed by the works of the Almighty.

 In his growing up he knew little of the thin two hundred square mile strip of civilization hugging the eastern coast.  He would, of course, live and die there one day, this man who would travel so far from the wilderness to Washington.

Would travel, but never alone, for his was a soul attuned to heaven.

P.S.  He was readying to join the church on the immediate Sunday after he was assassinated.  

 

Purchase from the author an autographed copy.

 

If you would like a short PERSONALIZED comment before the signature such as “To Mary”…or “happy birthday Mark” …or “Hope you enjoy reading this”…just enclose your wish along with a check for $10 (free shipping and handling) to:

 

And receive a bonus, Neil Poor Richard’sAlamanack for the 20^th century (written as if Ben Franklin had come back to life in the 20^th century was making commentary on what he was seeing.)

 

Send donation check to…

 

Pageantry Inc., The Church Without Walls”

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 Miami, Florida 33143