Anecdote - David Roper

Ps 118:24 - This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I was in a convenience store one day, standing in line behind a man paying for his groceries.  When he was finished the clerk sent him off with a cherry “Have a great day!”

To the clerk’s surprise (and mine) the man exploded in anger. “This is one of the worst days of my life,” he shouted. “How can I have a great day?” And with that he stormed out of the store.

I understand the man’s frustration; I too have had “bad” days over which I have no control. How can I have a great day. I ask myself, when it’s beyond my control? Then I remember these words: “This is the day the Lord has made.” (Psalm 118:24).

The Lord has made every day, and my Father will show Himself strong on my behalf today. He has control over everything in it --- even the hard things that will come my way. All events have been screened through His wisdom and love, and they are opportunities for me to grow in faith. “His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:1). “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear´ (Psalm 118:6).

Now, when people give me the parting admonition to have a great day, I reply, “That’s beyond my control, but I can be grateful for whatever comes my way, and rejoice --- for this is the day the Lord has made.”

Notable Notes and Relevant Quotes

Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us. --- Socrates

All you really need is the One who promised never to leave or forsake you --- the One who said: “Lo, I am with you always.” --- Joni Eareckson Tada

I claim the fulfillment of God’s promises, and rightly, but that is only the human side; the Divine side is that through the promises I recognize God’s claim on me. --- Oswald Chambers

Never spend your money before you have it. --- Thomas Jefferson

Forgiveness is the oil of relationships. --- Josh McDowell

Your home should reflect the personalities, passions, and priorities of those who live there. --- Terry Willits

Happy is the house that shelters a friend --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do not worry; eat three meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to you creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy; but, my friend, these I reckon will give you a good life. --- Abraham Lincoln

They do not love that do not show their love --- William Shakespeare

If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. --- Anne Bradstreet

We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts. --- A. W. Tozer

Sickness, thou may intrude; but I have a balsam ready --- God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me. --- Charles H. Spurgeon

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - The Day is Done

The day is done, and the darkness

            Falls from the wings of the Night,

As a feather is wafted downward

            From an eagle in its flight

And the night shall be filled with music

            And the cares that infest the day,

Shall fold their tents like the Arabs

            And silently steal away,

Quote - Victor Hugo

"Courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones; and  then when you have accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake."

Quote - Abraham Lincoln

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.  I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.  I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part will him when he goes wrong."

Poem by Heart Throbs, II - Being Content

As God leads, I am content

He will take care.

All things by His will are sent,

That I must bear,

To Him I take my fear,

My wishes, while I’m Here,

The way will all seem clear,

When I am “There.”

Thought-spir-ation by Willard Stull

Reading produces blessed thoughts. This week I read that Jesus sang.  It was right after the last supper, or Passover. “They sang a hymn and went out.”  It was the custom to sing after the Passover.  That is what Jesus and the disciples did. But the thought that came to me was that Jesus was on His way to the cross.  He knew it and yet He sang. What a way to face serious challenges or undesirable engagements. Singing I go . . . . Is that the way you meet your unpleasant conferences or appointments? If you can’t sing try thanksgiving.

Poem by John Paul Moore - Drinking From My Saucer

I’ve never made a fortune and it probably too late now.

But I don’t worry about that much I am happy anyhow.

And as I go along life’s way, I’m reaping better than I sowed.

I’m drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed.

I haven’t got a lot of riches, and sometimes the going’s tough

But I’ve got loved ones around me, and that makes me rich enough.

I thank God for His blessings, and the riches He’s bestowed

I’m drinking from my saucer, because my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong, my faith wore somewhat thin,

But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.

So God, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I’ve hoed.

I’m drinking from my saucer, because my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage when the way grows steep and rough

I’ll not ask for other blessings, I’m already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy, to help others bear their loads;

Then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer, because my cup has overflowed.

Thought-spir-ation: God is Listening and Answering

 You say: “It’s impossible.”

God says: Luke 18:27

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

You say: “I’m too tired.”

God says: Matthew 11:28-29

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. “

You say: “Nobody really loves me.”

God says: John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

You say: “I can’t go on.”

God says: 2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

You say: “I can’t figure things out.”

God says: Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

You say: ”I can’t do it.”

God says: Philippians  4:13

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength. “

You say: “It’s not worth it.”

God says: Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

You say: ”I can’t forgive myself.”

God says: 1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

You say: “I can’t manage.”

God says: Philippians 4:9

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.:

You say: “I am afraid.”

God says: 2 Timothy 1: 7

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

You say:”I’m always worried and frustrated.”

God says: 1 Peter 5:7

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. “

You say: “I don’t have enough faith.”

God says: Romans 12:3-4

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

You say: ”I’m not smart enough.”

God says: 1 Corinthians 1:30

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. “

You say: “I feel all alone.”

God says: Hebrews 13:5

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,”

Hymn by Fanny Crosby - O Wonderful Word

Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!

True wisdom its pages unfold;

And though we may read them a thousand times o’er,

They never, no never grow old.

Each line hath a treasure, each promise a pearl,

That all if they will may secure;

And we know that when time and the world pass away,

God’s Word shall for ever endure

Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!

The lamp that our Father above

So kindly has lighted to teach us the way

That leads to the arms of His love.

Its warnings, its counsels, are faithful and just;

Its judgments are perfect and pure

And we know that when time and the world pass away,

God’s Word shall for ever endure

Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!

Our only salvation is there;

It carries conviction down deep in the heart,

And shows us ourselves as we are.

It tells of a Saviour, and points to the cross,

Where pardon we now may secure;

For we know that when time and the world pass away,

God’s Word shall for ever endure.

Poem by Barbara C. Ryberg - Step by Step

He does not lead me year by year,

Nor even day by day,

But step by step my path unfolds,

My Lord directs my way.

Tomorrow’s plans I do not know,

I only know this minute;

But He will say, “This is the way,

By faith now walk ye in it.”

And I’m so glad that it is so;

Today’s enough to bear,

And when tomorrow comes, His grace

Shall far exceed its care.

What need to worry then, or fret?

That God, who gave His Son,

Holds all my moments in His hand,

And gives them one by one.

Poem by F.W. Davis - Let God Work it Out

Christian, are you often weary,

With the problems of the day?

Is your life a constant tangle,

As you travel life’s rugged way?

Take time out to be with Jesus

In the secret place of prayer,

For He knows the need and answer

To your every fear and care.

Are you often prone to worry

Over things that never come?

Do the shadows of the future,

Seem your life to overrun?

Disregard such futile worries,

And God’s Word no longer doubt;

Give your problems to the Master,

He knows how to work them out.

Poem by Elizabeth F. Guptill - His Offering

‘Twas a common congregation, not many rich or poor,

And they settled back in their places when the sermon of length was o’er.

It was a missionary sermon, and the pastor tried, indeed

To touch the hearts of his people for India ’s great need.

He asked for a large collection to send the precious Word,

And he raised the mute petition, “Touch their pocketbooks, O Lord!”

But “Twas only a begging sermon, one ears so many now!”

And a look of saddened patience stole o’er the preacher’s brow.

As they gave their dimes and nickels with a have-to-do-it air,

Instead of the look of helpful joy, God’s people ought to wear.

‘Way down in front, on the free seat, sat a shaggy little boy,

No mother’s pet and plaything, no father’s pride and joy.

Poor child! He had no mother, and he was a drunkard’s son,

Known to the congregation as “Drunken Lacy’s John.”

Of course, he had no offering, so the deacon passed him by.

“Let us ask a blessing on it,” said the pastor with a sigh.

“Oh wait,” said the barefoot laddie, as he started to his feet,

“And ask one on my offering, too the deacon passed my seat.”

So back went the good old deacon, and his face wore a friendly smile,

As he passed the box to the little lad, who was standing all the while.

“I haven’t much to give,” he said, but I’ll give Him all I can,

And I’ll go out to India and preach when I’m a man.”

And from his ragged pocket he drew his treasured pence,

And carefully he counted them ---- just twenty-seven cents!

“There, that is every bit I have!” said the shabby little lad.

“But I know that God’ll bless it, ‘cause I gave Him all I had!”

“Here, deacon, pass that box again!” called honest Farmer Dorr,

“We haven’t done the best we could, we want to give some more!”

And so the contribution box went round the church once more,

And dollars now went dropping in, where nickels dropped before.

Men all unused to giving, gave now, and softly smiled,

For now, they gave to Jesus, led by a little child.

And the pastor asked a blessing on a sum that made him glad,

And all because one little boy gave Jesus all he had!

Quote from the Washington Star - Fredrick Brown Harris

THE SWORD: PRICE OF FREEDOM

            In America , a man stood up in a free pulpit to preach. He quoted detached sentences from the Christ whose hand held the lash when his Father’s house was made a den of thieves, and whose eyes were often as a flame of fire.  The preacher declared that evil, no matter how diabolical, was never to be resisted with any physical weapons.  Rhetorically, he asked, “What has a sword ever accomplished worthwhile?”

            In a pew was a worshipper in whose heart was an aching void and in whose home was a Gold Star speaking of the valor of a young crusader who had marched forth with a righteous sword and had not come back. At the church door, following the service that worshipper said to the clergyman: “I can tell you one thing that the righteous sword has done.”

            “What?” asked the minister.

            Replied the listener with deep feeling: “The sword in the hands of those who have resisted militant evil has given you the right to stand here today and to proclaim your convictions without fear of being liquidated.”

                        Frederick Brown Harris, Chaplain,

                        U.S. Senate, in the Washington Star

Quote - Unknown (Alice Freeman Palmer)

“What shall I talk about ?”  Alice Freeman Palmer, one of the earlier presidents of Wellesley College , once asked the girls of a school in the slums of the city. One girl replied, “Tell us how to be happy.” “The tears rushed to my eyes,” wrote Mrs. Palmer, “and a lump came into my throat. Happy in such surroundings! Well” said I “I will give you my three rules for living happy, but mind, you must all promise to keep them for a week, and not skip a single day, for they won’t work if you skip one single day. The first is that you will commit something to memory every day, something good. It needn’t be much, three or four words will do, just a pretty little poem or Bible verse. . . . The second rule is, look for something pretty every day, and don’t skip a day or it won’t work. A leaf, a flower, a cloud, ---- you can all find something. My third rule is ---- no mind,  don’t skip a day ! ---- do something for somebody every day.”

Quote - George L. Perin

Whether in politics or religion, it is none of your business whether you are in the majority or in the minority. It is none of your concern whether your idea is too old or to new; whether you are ahead or behind the times. If what you teach is true, and the world is not with you, then so much the worse for the world.

Quote - Henry Ward Beecher

Shall a child cry when her mother takes it up at night out of a frightful dream? No The child seeks its mother’s bosom, and is at rest. Shall God’s great arm be round you, and shall the bosom of unfailing love be your supply, and shall you go moaning and crying as if you were orphans and were neglected? Oh, let the light of Christ’s love, the joy of His presence, the opening of the heavens so that you shall see Him as He is, redeem you from anxious care!

Poem by James J. Montague - His Mother

My mommie’s in a hospital; that’s where sick people stays

An’ she has been away from home, oh! such a lot of days!

Such dreadful long days, yes, they are, for me an’ little Ben

We can’t do nothin’ ‘cept to wish that she’d come home again.

But papa, he says he can’t tell. Our papa never cries;

But when we ask him that sometimes he winks an’ winks his eyes,

An’ hugs and kisses both of us, like mamma used to do,

He’s all growed up, but still I guess he wants our mamma, too.

Sometimes I wake right up at night, an’ I sit up an’ call

An’ think I hear my mamma’s steps a-comin’ down the hall.

When she was here at home, you know, she’d always come so quick.

An’ be so awful good to us if one of us was sick.

An’ sometimes she’d just stay all night, right here beside our bed,

And show us, when the sun comed up, how all the sky got red.

Because that God had painted it, an’ let the stars go’ way

And rest till almost time to shine, an’ then run out an play.

When I wake up like that at night an’ find she’ gone, I try

To keep the tears from comin’ out, but I have to cry.

My papa always comes right in, an he is dreadful good,

But somehow he can’t make me well, the way my mamma could.

He gives me medicine an’ things, an’ pats my cheeks, but she

Would understand just how I felt, ezackly same as me!

Of course I know she’ll come back soon, and then we’ll all be right.

But oh! I tell you what it is, I wisht she’d come tonight.

Anecdote by Unknown - It Works

A Christian student at a prestigious college met a student in his advanced Math classwho scoffed at the idea of anyone putting faith in the Bible. He said, “A good manybooks of the Bible have no name of the writers attached to them.  How can you have any confidence in a book whose authorship is so uncertain, and the subject of so much debate?”

“Who wrote the multiplication table?” asked the Christian. “I don’t know,” replied his classmate. “What a person you are,” exclaimed the Christian student, “you believe it and use it, and yet you don’t know who the author was.”

The infidel was hard put to find a reply. He recognized his difficulty, but thinking he saw a way out he said, “But the multiplication table works.

“Doubtless,” replied the Christian student, “and so does the Bible. It works.””

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Everyone, without exception, who has really trusted the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, can testify to the truth of this. It works.

Anecdote by Unknown - Jesus Died For . . .

JESUS DIED FOR

·        Good people, because they are too unclean to stand before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6);

·        Religious people, because they need the true righteousness from God (Philippians 3:9);

·        Wise people, because they are foolishly heading for Hellfire (Proverbs 14:12)

·        Spiritually dead people, because they are busy living in sin (Ephesians 2:1-10);

·        Nice people, because they fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23);

·        Lost people, because they try to find their way to Heaven (Luke 19:10);

And For

·        YOU, because He loves you so much, whoever you are (John 3:16).

Quote - Henry Van Dyke

Is there anything that pleases you more than to be trusted, --- to have even a little child took up into your face, and put out its hand to meet yours, and come to you confidingly? By as much as God is better than you are, by so much more does he love to be trusted . . . There is a hand stretched out to you, ---  a hand with a wound in the palm of it. Reach out the hand of your faith to clasp it, and cling to it, for without faith it is impossible to please God.