Treasure Chest

Treasure Chest

Friday, March 25, 2011

Poem by Anonymous - The Life that Counts

The life that counts must toil and fight;
Must hate the wrong and love the right;
Must stand for truth, by day, by night ---
This is the life that counts.

The life that counts must hopeful be;
In darkest night make melody;
Must wait the dawn on bended knee ---
This is the life that counts.

The life that counts must aim to rise
Above the earth to sunlit skies;
Must fix its gaze on Paradise ---
This is the life that counts.

The life that counts must helpful be;
The cares and needs of others see;
Must seek the slaves of sin to free ---
This is the life that counts.

The life that counts is linked with God;
And turns not from the cross --- the rod;
But walks with joy where Jesus trod ---
This is the life that counts.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Poem by Robert Browning - Pippa's Song


The year’s at the spring,
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven’
The hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven---
All’s right with the world! 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - Weather Vain


Charles Spurgeon, the noted English preacher of the Word, noticed that the weather vane on the roof of a farm building bore the phrase “God is Love” and was troubled. “Do you think God’s love is a changeable as that weather vane?” he asked the farmer.
            “You miss the point, sir,” replied the farmer. “It’s on the weather vane because no matter which way the wind is blowing, God is still love.”

Monday, March 21, 2011

Quote - Charles Hadden Spurgeon

RICH – Danger of the

            A HOLY woman was wont to say of the rich -----They are hemmed round with no common misery; they go down to hell without thinking of it, because their staircase thither is of gold and porphyry.”

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Quote - Charles Hadden Spurgeon

OBEYING GOD

            “I wish I could mind God as my little dog minds me,” said a little boy, looking thoughtfully on his shaggy friend; “He always looks so pleased to mind, and I don’t.” What a painful truth did this child speak! Shall the poor little dog thus readily obey his master, and we rebel against God, who is our Creator, and Preserver, our Father, Our Saviour, and the bountiful Giver of everything we love?  From the Christian Treasury.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Quote - Charles Hadden Spurgeon

HEAVENWARD

            My horse invariably comes home in less time than he makes the journey out. He pulls the carriage with a hearty good will when his face is towards home. Should not I also both suffer and labour the more joyously because my way lies towards heaven, and I am on pilgrimage to my Father’s house, my soul’s dear home and resting place?

Friday, March 18, 2011

Quote - Charles Hadden Spurgeon

GRATITUDE

            There is a very touching little story told of a poor woman with two children, who had not had a bed for them to lie upon, and scarcely any clothes to cover them. In the depth of winter they were nearly frozen, and the mother took the door of a cellar off the hinges, and set it up before the corner where they crouched down to sleep, that some of the draught and cold might be kept from them. One of the children whispered to her, when she complained of how badly off they were, “Mother, what those dear little children do who have no cellar door to put up in front of them?” Even there, you see, the little heart found cause for thankfulness.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Story - "Laps Have Limits" by Jeanne Sueger


           I was sitting at my desk preparing my lessons for the next day of teaching.  All of a sudden, a little ball of grey kitty fur sprang from the floor and landed in my lap.
            After a few seconds of turning and squirming, it settled itself into a comfortable position and turned on its purring motor.
            “Hello, Pigambio,” I said. (Pigambio means “ran fast.”)
            Very soon, another little ball of kitty-fur settled onto the chair next to us. Little by little, first one paw, then the other, then the back feet, and it, too, ventured onto my lap. This was “Mwoga” which means “Coward”. Not a very nice name, but Mwoga gets scared very easily.
            Soon Mwoga was trying to find space at the end of my knees. She had to climb up on Pigambio, making a double-decker. Pigambio squirmed to get out from under Mwoga and eventually slipped off. There was no lap space left!
            Unlike laps, God’s love doesn’t have any limits. He said: “Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden . . . “(Matt. 11:28) and “. . . him who comes to Me I will not cast out” (John 6:37). There is room in His love for all of us. When someone else comes in, there is still room.
            Another thing about laps is that when their owners stand up. The laps aren’t there any more. That’s not true of God. He is always there. He says: “I have love you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3)
            Isn’t it wonderful that we can jump up into God’s great lap of love, and know that there is always a place for us there?   

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - Bishop Edwin H. Hughes

When Bishop Edwin H. Hughes of the Methodist church was a young preacher, he served a rural parish in the middle west. One day, in his sermon, he said that we own nothing, it all belongs to God. After the service, a farmer took the preacher home for dinner, and after a sumptuous meal the two men walked out to see the acres of farm land. The farmer told how he and his wife started out without a dime from anyone, but working together possessed this farm. “If we don’t own this farm, who does?” was the farmer’s question to the preacher. The preacher replied kindly, “Ask me that question one hundred years from today.”

Monday, March 14, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - What Quilts are Made Off


Quilts are not just made of old rags found in the attic or cellar,
They are a tapestry of History and events.
They are, you might say, a type of photo album,
To be interpreted by only those who took part in living in those memories.
I didn’t realize this and never would have
except on one cold Sunday afternoon in February
the whole family had the same idea
to camp out in the living room.
All of the readily available quilts and blankets were quickly snatched up
So for my comforter, I went to the hall closet,
pulling out an old quilt, not knowing the amount of memories and history
that was so neatly folded into a square package.
I rolled up in it and laid down next to my 14 year old daughter
She looked at it and exclaimed, “That’s my old dress!
I remember wearing that one, I liked it so much.”
Before long, we were all picking out swatches.
Dresses, shirts and even blankets that brought back
all sorts of memories of the past.
Things I had forgotten or never knew.
Stories, from  a child’s point of view.
An unexpected time of remembrance.
A time to slip back into our past
and relive for a moment
the things that bonded us together as a family.
So are the threads that bond and sew a family together, like quilts!
Little snatches of rags, ripped and torn
and stitched with love will give a blanket of warmth
all the way to the heart.
by Ron Richter

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Poems by Annie Johnson Flint


When Thou Passest Through the Waters

“When thou passest through the waters”
Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it,
He the faithful God and true;
“When thou comest to the waters
Thou shalt not go down, BUT THROUGH.”

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
Bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation
Sweeping over heart and brain---
They shall never overflow us
For we know His Word is true;
All His ways and all His billows
He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,
Doubt’s insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us
Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us,
Praise the Lord, whose Word is true?
We shall not go down, or under,
For He saith, “thou passest THROUGH.”

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - I Will Be With You by J.R.M.


Isaiah 43:2   When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. . .

            God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming. He does not promise help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God’s hand is stretched out.
            Many people forget this, and are forever worrying about difficulties which they foresee in the future. They expect that god is going to make the way plain and open before them, miles and miles ahead; whereas He has promised to do it only step by step as they may need. You must get to the waters and into their floods before you can claim the promise. Many people dread death, and lament that they have no “dying grace.” Of course, they will not have dying grace when they are in good health, in the midst of life’s duties, with death far in advance. Why should they have it then? Grace for duty is what they need then, living grace; then dying grace when they come to die.  

Friday, March 11, 2011

Quote - Abraham Lincoln

I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through the Book. I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into Heaven and say there is no God.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Quote - Henry Ward Beecher

In a sad hour I have seen, though the window, mounted on a rail back of my house, one of those curious-eyed little sparrows.  And he was a better preacher to me than I am to you.  It was winter, and there was not guaranteed to it one day’s food, nor any protection, from any source in this world. It was wholly dependent upon its God.  And yet it sang, --- sang for its own hearing, and sang for my rebuke, saying to me, “Are ye not much more than I? And God thinks of me, and takes care of me.” How much there is in the voice of nature if we only knew how to interpret it?

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Quote - Helen Keller


I walk in the stillness of the night,
And my soul uttereth her gladness,
O Night, still, odorous Night, I love thee!
O wide, spacious Night, I love thee?
O steadfast, glorious Night!
I touch thee with my hands;
I lean against thy strength;
I am comforted.

O fathomless, soothing Night!
Thou art a balm in my restless spirit,
I nestle gratefully in thy bosom,
Dark, gracious mother!
Like a dove I rest in thy bosom.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - Have You Read the Book?

HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK?

            A college student noticed that one of his classmates had a Bible in his backpack.  He looked at him mockingly and said, “How could an intelligent person believe this book?” The Christian student replied, “Have you read it?” the other said, “I have no time to waste reading such an old book.”  The Christian student answered, “So without reading it you have come to the conclusion that the book is worthless?”

            How would you like to find out that your professor gave you a failing grade on a book report that was assigned to us this school year because he felt the report was worthless? Then when you asked him if he read it, he would tell you that he had no time to waste reading such reports.  Would that be the right way to judge your report?” the student answered, “Of course not!” His friend replied, “You have done the same thing unjustly concerning the Bible. Why don’t you read it through first before you make any judgment about this great book?”

            This Book is the Word of God. It reveals the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Stories and Anecdotes - Trustworthy

A church secretary was spending her summer vacation at the beach. She was sunning herself on the sand when a little boy, also in a swimming suit, came up to her and asked: “Say, Miss, do you believe in God?” She answered: “I certainly do. I believe in God with all my heart.” Then he asked: "Well, do you go to church every Sunday?” She said: "I certainly do.” Then he asked: “Do you read your Bible every day?” To which she replied: “Yes!” “Good,” he said, “Will you please hold my quarter? I’m going to take a swim.”

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Quote - Daniel Webster


If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will prosper. But if we and our posterity neglect the instructions and authority in this book, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overtake us and bury our glory in profound obscurity.   
  • This is the Book that inspired thousands of men and women to travel to a New World where they could live and worship God in freedom.
  • This is the Book our forefathers drew upon for the great principles included in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
  • This is the Book that the people of America --- in every walk of life --- have turned to for strength, for comfort and for guidance.
  • This is the Book that is in every court of this broad land, a reminder of America ’s ideal of freedom and justice for all.
  • This is the Book that its enemies burn --- the Book they smear and fear, because it proclaims the dignity of the individual and teaches that all men are created in the image of God.
  • America still needs the Bible!
  • We need courage to face today’s problems and divine wisdom to solve them, just as our forefathers did.
  • We need to renew the spirit of faith in the Book that is the foundation of our personal well-being, and cornerstone of our country’s greatness.
  • Let this Book revive in us the spirit of our fathers to face tomorrow unafraid.
  • Let us too turn to the Book that reveals the mind of God, His holiness, His love for lost sinners and His salvation through Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Quote - Calvin Coolidge


We do honor the stars and stripes as the emblem of our country and the symbol of all that our patriotism means.
We identify the flag with almost everything we hold dear on earth. It represents ur peace and security, our civil and political liberty, our freedom of religious worship, our family, our friends, our home. We see it in the great multitude of blessings of rights and privileges that make up our country.
But when we look at our flag and behold it emblazoned with all our rights, we must remember that it is equally a symbol of our duties. Every glory that we associate with it is the result of duty done. A yearly contemplation of our flag strengthens and purifies the national conscience.
Calvin Coolidge

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Quote - Presidents of the USA


It will be the purpose of my Administration to require the honest and faithful service of all executive officers, remembering that the offices were created, nor for the benefit of incumbents or their supporters, but for the service of the Government.
James A. Garfield

I enter on the trust to which I have been called by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor.
James Monroe

I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being who strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down.
Martin Van Buren

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world are so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.
~  Ronald Reagan

It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
Abraham Lincoln

I appear, my fellow citizens, in your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of religious obligation in the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called.
~ John Quincy Adams

As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

I ask the help of Almighty God in this service to my country to which you have called me.
Herbert Hoover