Would You Pass This Test?
Friday, July 2, 2010, 10:00 AM
One of my favorite stories is the one about Lt. John Blanchard who goes to the library and picks up a little book and someone wrote notes in the margin with feminine handwriting. Because he got so much more out of the notes she wrote in the margins, he found the name of the lady in the cover – Miss Hollis Mayhall, New York City, New York. He finds her address. He is then shipped off to war for 3 years.During those 36 months he wrote to her. And she wrote to him. They began to experience feelings of love. He asked her to send him a picture. She wouldn’t. She told him she did not want his love based on her physical appearance.
Finally, the war was over. They agreed to meet at Grand Central Station in New York City. She would wear a red rose in her lapel. He would carry the book.
When he arrived, a beautiful woman in a pale green dress with beautiful long blonde hair said, “Going my way, sailor?” He was going to go but didn’t. Then he saw Hollis Mayhall, a woman well past 40, plump, gray hair tucked under her hat, a red rose on her suit. He thought about going after the girl in the green suit who was walking away. But he remembered the words they shared. He went up and said, “Hi, I’m John Blanchard. You must be Miss Mayhall. Can I take you to dinner?” She said, “I don’t know what this is about but that lady in the green dress said if you should ask me to dinner, she would be in the restaurant across the street waiting for you. She said it is some kind of a test. John and Hollis have celebrated 50 years of marriage.
Love is a choice.
Service is a choice.
What are we supposed to do?
Love and serve.
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( 3.1 / 17 )God's Word Makes the Difference
Thursday, July 1, 2010, 08:50 AM
So many times in our lives we allow ourselves to get discouraged thinking that there's no way that we can make a difference in the lives of the so many people that are hurting around us! We feel that we won't know what to say or how to act and so we become partially paralyzed in our thoughts and words! We so terribly want to be able to say something or do something that would make a lasting impression on their lives! What do they need to hear? What can I say that would help? They need to know the hope that you have in Christ Jesus! They need to know that there is One who loves them with a perfect love and they need to know that He came and died for their sins! We MUST share our faith with anyone and everyone...that is what will make a difference in their lives! The gospel of Christ will transform the old to new, the sick to well, the wicked to the righteous, the lost to the found! He told us in His Word, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life, no one comes to the Father but through Me!" We MUST share the gospel and yet so many times we don't! I believe we allow the devil to place those thoughts of, "I don't know what to say or do," into our heads and thus we become paralyzed with fear! We don't have to fear or doubt because the Word of God will never return void!Look at it like this:
Hebrews 4:12 & 13 tells us..."The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
If I'm attacking you with a sword and you don't believe that what I have in my hands is a sword, does it really matter? If the sword is real it will slice. It will pierce. It will do its job. The same is true of God's Word. God is telling us that His Word will always do its job of cutting, convicting, and convincing the unbeliever, whether they believe the Bible is the Sword of the Lord or not. We can wield it with confidence because it is the Sword of the Lord and its words will not return void. It will accomplish its goal.
We don't have to worry about our words...allow God's Words to flow through you to touch the hearts and lives of those around you!
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( 2.9 / 19 )What Do You Say About Sin?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 09:22 AM
The late President Calvin Coolidge returned home from attending church early one Sunday afternoon. He met his wife, who was unable to attend with him, that morning; and, he sat down to eat dinner. His wife was interested in what the preacher spoke on in his sermon. Coolidge told her that he spoke on 'Sin.' She pressed him a little further, and asked, "Well, what did he say about sin?" And, being a man of few words, Coolidge responded, "I think he was against it!"In a day of soft diplomacy, and political correctness, straight talk is a rare commodity. Most statements are couched in diplomatic terms so as not to offend anyone. Words with sharp edges are rounded off and shaped to more easily fit the ears of the hearer. T. S. Eliot was correct when he said,
"We humans cannot bear very much reality!"
We live in a day when where we are more divided than at any time since the Reformation. We are divided over what is right and what is wrong. We are divided over what is good and what is bad. We are divided over what we should do and what we shouldn't do.
However, even more tragic is the fact that we have made the wrong thing the right thing, and the bad thing the good thing. No longer is there any thought of what we should do, our decisions are based on what we want to do. And, the modern day motto holds true, "If it feels good, do it!"
J. H. Jowett aptly summarized man and God's view of sin:
Man call is an accident; God calls it an abomination.
Man calls it a chance, God calls it a choice.
Man calls it a defect, God calls it a disease.
Man calls it an error, God calls it an enmity
Man calls it a fascination; God calls it a fatality.
Man calls it a luxury, God calls it a leprosy.
Man calls it a mistake, God calls it a madness.
Man calls it a trifle, God calls it a tragedy.
Man calls it a weakness, God calls it willfulness.
And, according to Proverbs 14: 9, God calls any man a 'fool' who looks at sin differently than He does. He is the fool who disgraces God.
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( 2.9 / 18 )Love One Another
Monday, June 28, 2010, 10:11 AM
One of the greatest autobiographies that I ever read is that of Dr. Paul Brand. Dr. Paul Brand was a leprosy specialists and one of the most renown and respected doctors in the world. He left his established career in the United States, and went to India to minister and give treatment to those of a leper colony. He went to those to whom no one else wanted to minister. And he loved them with every fiber of his being.
On one occasion, he was treating a young man, and during the exam, he placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The man began to weep uncontrollably. Dr. Brand asked the translator what he done to cause the man to weep. The translator explained it to Dr. Brand, by saying, "He is crying because you put your hand on his shoulder. Until you came here, no one had ever touched him and showed him love."
Someone has written:
"Love has a hem in its garment
That touches the very dust,
It comes down to the streets and lanes
And, because it can, it must.
Love cannot stay on the mountaintop
It must come down into the vale,
For love never comes to its fullness of mind, till it rests on the souls that fail!"
This type of love is the grandest theme of Holy scripture. However, more wonderful still is its far-reaching effect upon the human race. For, only eternity will reveal the countless number that has been won by love. Pagan powers, diabolical leaders, and satanic systems have been smitten whenever, and where ever the love of Christ has been lived. When every other measure has been exhausted, rest assured, love will break through and triumph. And, this is our responsibility to "one another." We are to "love one another" in a sacred manner, and in a shared manner. We are to "love one another" as God loves us.
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( 3 / 19 )Something to Think About
Friday, June 25, 2010, 10:59 AM
Every person approaches life with one of two basic attitudes: either optimism or pessimism. The basic difference is this: the optimist looks for the best in every situation; but the pessimist always looks for the worst. Let me illustrate the difference.A preacher and friend went hunting together on a regular basis. But this year, the preacher had a surprise for his friend. The preacher had bought this incredible dog that could walk on water. So, when the two hunters shot their ducks, the preacher turned to his dog and said, “Fetch.” The dog took out after the ducks, walking on top of the water! And then after he grabbed the ducks, the dog came back to the hunters, walking on top of the water, and dropped the ducks in front of them. The preacher turned to his friend and said, “What do you think about that?” The friend, totally unimpressed, said, “Some dog. Can’t even swim, can it?”
The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is not in the facts but in the way they look at the facts. The optimist looks at a dog walking on water and says, “That is one amazing dog!” The pessimist looks at that same dog and says, “Some dog. Can’t even swim.” The optimist always looks for the best. The pessimist always looks for the worst. As Christians, we should have an attitude like the optimist…think about it.
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