Pastoral Resources

Any one of the Bible’s six marks of false prophets is sufficient identification:

Through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1-4)

Their prophecies don’t come to pass (Dt. 18:20-22)

They contradict God’s Word (Is. 8:20)

They bear bad fruit (Mt. 7:18-20);

All men speak well of them (Lk. 6:26)

They deny that Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh (I Jn. 4:3).

A minister preached a sermon one evening and went home utterly discouraged. He felt that he was a failure in the ministry, though at the same time he was greatly burdened for the lost. Some time past midnight his doorbell rang, and the leader of the choir, who was known as a bit of a skeptic, came to him saying, "Doctor, I am in agony concerning my soul. Your sermon tonight has convicted me of my sin, and I must have help or I shall die." In a very short time he was rejoicing in Christ. When asked what it was in the sermon that had impressed him, he said, "It was not so much what you said as the way you said it. I could see by the look in your eye and by the very pathos in your voice that you were longing for men to be saved, and I could not resist your message."

Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel.

As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.

Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others.

My wife was grading a science test at home that she had given to her elementary-school class and was reading some of the results to me. The subject was “The Human Body,” and the first question was: “Name one of the major functions of the skin.”

One child wrote: “To keep people who look at you from throwing up.”

There's no doubt that slander hurts. There's only a single letter's difference between "words" and "swords." Slanders are like flies; they light upon our sores where they know they will hurt the most. Sir Francis Bacon expressed a profound truth when he said, "The worthiest persons are frequently attacked by slanders, as we generally find it to be the best fruit which the birds will peck at."

During the time of slavery, a slave was preaching with great power. His master heard of it, and sent for him, and said: “I understand you are preaching?”

“Yes,” said the slave.

“Well, now,” said the master, “I will give you all the time you need, and I want you to prepare a sermon on the Ten Commandments, and to bear down especially on stealing, because there is a great deal of stealing on the plantation.”

The slave’s countenance fell at once. He said he wouldn’t like to do that; there wasn’t the warmth in that subject there was in others.

I have noticed that people are satisfied when you preach about the sins of the patriarchs, but they don’t like it when you touch upon the sins of today.

In 1212 a French shepherd boy by the name of Steven claimed that Jesus had appeared to him disguised as a pilgrim. Supposedly, Jesus instructed him to take a letter to the king of France. This poor, misguided boy told everyone he saw about what he thought he had encountered. Before long he had gathered a large following of more than thirty thousand children who accompanied him on his pilgrimage. As Philip Schaff records it, when asked where they were going, they replied, “We go to God, and seek for the holy cross beyond the sea.” They reached Marseilles, but the waves did not part and let them go through dry-shod as they expected.

It was at Marseilles that tragedy occurred. The children met two men, Hugo Ferreus and William Porcus. The men claimed to be so impressed with the calling of the children that they offered to transport them across the Mediterranean in seven ships without charge. What the children didn’t know was that the two men were slave traders. The children boarded the ships and the journey began, but instead of setting sail for the Holy Land they set course for North Africa, “where they were sold as slaves in the Muslim markets that did a large business in the buying and selling of human being. Few if any returned. None ever reached the Holy Land.” Two cunning men enjoyed enormous financial profits simply because they were willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands of children.

Paul uses a powerful image when he pictures one’s relationship either to sin or to obedience as slavery (Rom. 6:16). The Roman Empire was heavily dependent on slaves to take care of its hard labor and menial tasks. In fact, many of Paul’s Roman recipients may have been slaves, since perhaps half the population or more were under servitude by one historian’s estimate.

Slaves were taken from the many nations that Rome conquered. Those assigned to the empire’s widespread construction projects or to its mines had a hard lot. Fed a subsistence diet, they were worked to exhaustion. Injuries and disease were common, and once they were too sick to work, or in rare cases too old, they were abandoned.

Household slaves, however, enjoyed better conditions. Nearly every Roman home owned at least two or three servants, and some had hundreds. They assisted the women in maintaining their homes and raising their children. Slaves with occupational expertise proved particularly valuable in the workplace, and some businesses were entirely dependent on these imported, cheap laborers.

Slavery existed long before the Romans, of course. The Bible records several different forms of slavery in ancient times: domestic slavery, as illustrated by Hagar (Gen. 16:1); state slavery, as illustrated by the Israelites under Egypt (Ex. 5:6-19; 13:3); and temple slavery, as illustrated by the slaves of the Levites for temple service (Num. 31:25-47; Josh. 9:21-17).

Curiously, the Bible does not directly condemn slavery as an institution, though it contains warnings about the practice of slavery (Amos 1:6-9; Rev. 18:13). The Old Testament Law did regulate Israel’s treatment of slaves (Ex. 21; Deut. 15). Repeatedly, the people were instructed not to rule over a fellow Israelite harshly (Lev. 25:39; Deut. 15:14). If a master beat a slave or harmed him, the law provided that the slave could go free (Ex. 21:26-27); and the killing of a slave called for a penalty (Ex. 21:20).

In the New Testament, slaves were advised to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; Titus 2:9). Paul appealed to Philemon to receive back Onesimus, a runaway slave who became a Christian and therefore a brother (see the Introduction to Philemon). This was an illustration that in Christ, social distinctions such as slavery no longer apply (Ga. 3:28; Col. 3:11). Elsewhere Paul counseled believing slaves to seek freedom if they could (1 Cor. 7:21).

Under Jewish law, no Hebrew was to be the permanent slave of another Hebrew (Ex. 21:2; Lev. 25:37-43; Deut. 15:12). If a slave desired to continue with his master, he would have a mark made in the ear to signify that he had chosen to remain a slave (Ex. 21:5-6). A slave could also buy his freedom, or another person could buy his freedom for him (Lev. 25:47-49).

Among the Romans, an owner could free a slave outright, or the slave could purchase his freedom by paying his owner. Freedom could also be arranged if ownership was transferred to a god. The slave could then receive his freedom in return for contracting his services. He would continue with his master, but now as a free man.

Perhaps Paul had that sort of arrangement in mind when he described the moral choice of which master one would obey—sin or righteousness (Rom. 6:16). For as believers, we have been freed from sin, and in fact are now owned by God. We are now free to serve God. Yet we still have a choice to serve either sin or God. In light of the realities of slavery, it’s worth considering: Which master are you serving? Which one is likely to treat you better?

A man with an axe was attacked by a vicious dog, and in defending himself had to kill the animal. The owner was furious and asked the man how he dared kill his dog. The man replied that if he had not killed it, the dog would have torn him to pieces. "Well," said the owner, "why did you hit with the blade? Why didn't you just hit it with the handle?" "I would have," replied the man, "if it had tried to bite me with its tail." So, when I have to deal with sin, some people say, "Why don't you go about it more diplomatically? Why don't you choose less offensive words to describe it?" I answer, "I would, if it would bite me with its tail, but as long as it deals roughly with me, I will deal roughly with it; any kind of weapon that will help to slay the monster, I'm going to feel free to use."

At a pastor's conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire.

That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day's drive and couldn't help himself. But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing.

On the last night the man's wife came up and apologized for her husband's inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.

"How can I get crowds to attend my services?" asked a young preacher of John Wesley. Replied Wesley, "Get on fire and people will come out to see you burn." It is pathetic that we have so many sleepy preachers and noiseless sermons. Henry Ward Beecher used to say, "If a man sleeps under my preaching, I do not send a boy to wake him up, but I feel that a boy had better come and wake me up." We need resounding preaching and testifying so everybody can hear and some by the grace of God may heed.

When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I’d place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: Leave slide rules here. If I didn’t do that, I’d find someone reaching for his slide rule. Then he’d be on his feet saying, “Boss, you can’t do it.”

Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. “What a fitting illustration all this makes!” said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: “Slightly Soiled—Greatly Reduced in Price.” “That’s it exactly,” he continued. “We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a coarse book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.” Yes, continual slight deviations from the path of right may greatly reduce our usefulness to God and to our fellowman. In fact, these little secret sins can weaken our character so that when we face a moral crisis, we cannot stand the test. As a result, we go down in spiritual defeat because we have been careless about little sins.

After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left.

Closer examination showed that is was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s be very careful to guard our purity. —H.G.B.

Bits and Pieces, December 13, 1990

Slippery ice—very thin; pretty girl—tumbled in; saw a fellow—on the bank; gave a shriek—then she sank; boy on hand—heard her shout; jumped right in—pulled her out; now he’s hers—very nice; but first she had—to break the ice.

This past year, the Chicago Tribune published an interesting series on the Seven Deadly Sins. While the author wrote from a strictly secular perspective, her essays clearly illustrate the insidious ways these sins creep into our lives. In her essay titled “Sloth, the Seventh Deadly Sin, Keeps You From Becoming the Person You Could Be,” author Regina Barreca addressed the sin of sloth (or laziness):

Sloth is insidious. It whispers that you might as well do it tomorrow, that nobody will know if you cut corners here and there to save yourself some trouble, that the world will be the same in a hundred years no matter what you do, so why do anything? Sloth says, ‘Don’t strain yourself,’ ‘What’s the big hurry?’ and ‘Just give me five more minutes.’

Sloth hits the snooze alarm, hits the remote control and hits the road when the going gets tough . . . Sloth cheats on exams, drinks straight from the milk carton and leaves exactly two sheets on the toilet roll so that it will have to be replaced by the next poor soul who finds out too late that the remaining paper is nothing more than a mirage.

Sloth does slightly less than the right thing. It doesn’t bother returning something to the lost-and-found, but pockets it instead; it doesn’t tell the clerk he has undercharged. Sloth has never written a thank-you note, sent a birthday card on time or entertained angels. All of this simply takes too much effort.

Director Billy Wilder was asked how he liked a new film. “To give you an idea,” he said, “the film started at eight o’clock. I looked at my watch at midnight—and it was only 8:15.”

In Florida, small black flies that swarm in the spring and fall can be a nuisance to motorists. We were about to head north and were grateful for a friend’s suggestion that we spread a coating of petroleum jelly on the front of the car to make it easier to flush the bugs off with water. I felt a little foolish but I did it. In a small town in Georgia, we pulled into a service station and asked the attendant to check the oil. He tried to lift the hood, but his hands kept slipping.

“What ya got on your car, mister?” he called out.

“Vaseline,” I said. Before I could explain further, he responded,

“Whatza matter? Ya got a tight garage?”

A small businessman, who had emigrated to this country, kept his accounts payable in a cigar box, his accounts receivable on a spindle, and his cash in the cash register.

“I don’t see how you can run your business this way,” said his son. “How do you know what your profits are.”

“Son,” replied the businessman, “when I got off the boat, I had only 36 cents and the pants I was wearing. Today your sister is an art teacher, your brother is a doctor, and you are an accountant. I have a car, a house, and a good business.

Everything is paid for.

“Just add it all up, subtract 36 cents and the pants, and there’s your profit.”

Behavioral studies show that if 2% of a homogeneous group are strongly dedicated to a given cause, that small minority can eventually move the whole.

The U.S. News and World Report, commenting on a delay in the space shuttle Columbia’s second flight, pointed out that little things have often been the cause of big difficulties in the space program. The reason for the postponement was a clogged hydraulic-system filter. Officials reported that the 5 quarts of oil needed for a change was worth only about $25. Yet the setback cost American taxpayers approximately $3 million a day. On another occasion, a costly satellite was lost because a punctuation mark was omitted from its computer program. And the cause for aborting an Apollo 13 moon landing in 1970 was a short circuit caused by a piece of wire worth about 50 cents.

He may dress like a skid-row bum and smell like a dead rat, but Andy Smulian is a hit among London businessmen plagued by those who won’t pay their bills.

Employed by the London-Manhattan Debt Collection Agency, the 20-years-old youth will stumble into a deadbeat’s office for $65 and raise a stink until the freeloader pays up. “The receptionists do most of my work for me,” says smelly Smulian. “I hear them tell their bosses, ‘If you’re not going to write a check, you’d better find yourself another secretary.’”

Though the enterprising young man has generally been successful with his debt-collecting efforts, he has recently been taken to court because of his villainous stench. But he insists he is not to be sneezed at and is sure the London magistrate will rule in his favor. “The law doesn’t define when a smell becomes offensive,” he says with confidence.

But who is he to talk? Afflicted with permanently blocked sinuses, he can’t smell a thing.

Holiday Inn, when looking for 500 people to fill positions for a new facility, interviewed 5,000 candidates. The hotel managers interviewing these people excluded all candidates who smiled fewer than four times during the interview. This applied to people competing for jobs in all categories.

Holiday Inn, when looking for 500 people to fill positions for a new facility, interviewed 5,000 candidates.

The hotel managers interviewing these people excluded all candidates who smiled fewer than four times during the interview. This applied to people competing for jobs in all categories.

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a rough hut and put his few possessions in it. But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; he was stung with grief.

Early the next day, though, a ship drew near the island and rescued him.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked the crew.

“We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

Though it may not seem so now, your present difficulty may be instrumental to your future happiness.

75% to 85% of smokers would like to kick the habit.

Forty million Americans have already beaten their addictions.

Eamon De Valera was an Irish statesman who served three times as prime minister of Ireland and subsequently as her president. After the Easter rebellion of 1916, De Valera was sentenced to penal servitude. While traveling to prison, he took out his pipe and was about to light it when he stopped suddenly and said, “I will not let them deprive me of this pleasure in jail!” He immediately threw away the pipe and from that day on he never smoked again.

There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired:

“Where do you come from?”

“I come from heaven!” replied the swan.

“And where is heaven?” asked the crane.

“Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! have you never heard of heaven?”

And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane. Finally the crane asked:

“Are there any snails there?”

“Snails!” repeated the swan; “No! Of course there are not.”

“Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I want snails!”

This fable has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home, has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been forfeited for snails!

When Gilbert Frankau was producing a play, he sent to a theatrical agency for a young man to play the leading part. After the screen test, Gilbert Frankau telephoned his agent. "This man," he said, "will never do. He cannot act, and he never will be able to act, and you had better advise him to look for some other profession before he starves. By the way, tell me his name again so that I can cross him off my list." The actor's name was Ronald Colman, who became one of the most famous actors the screen has ever known.

An English duke, annoyed by the slow service at his London club, called a waiter over and harrumphed, “Do you know who I am?”

The waiter replied coolly, “No, sir, I do not. But I shall make inquiries and inform you directly.”

Play A Charlie Brown Christmas 7:04-7:44 . Snoopy is decorating his doghouse for Christmas to Charlie Brown's chagrin. This segment introduces the concept of preparing our hearts for Christmas

A man went to see his doctor for advice about being cured of snoring. The doctor asked, “Does your snoring disturb your wife?”

The patient replied, “Does it disturb my wife? Why it disturbs the entire congregation.”

Just getting out of the driveway was a major feat during last year’s snow and ice storms. One co-worker was relating how he used his seven-year-old son’s baseball bat to smash the slick coat of ice on his driveway. He got cold and went inside for a cup of coffee before attempting to clear the car. Several minutes later, his son, who had been outside with him, came in.

“Dad,” he said, “I got the ice off the car.”

“How did you do that?” his father asked.

“Same way you did,” the boy shrugged, “with the baseball bat.”

Contributed by Janine Jaquet Biden

A U.S. Air Force transport plane with its captain and 5 crew members was flying over Alaska in the mid-50s when they entered an unusually fierce snowstorm. The navigator contacted an air base only to be told that he had veered several hundred miles off course. Correct coordinates were given to the navigator, who continued to insist that his own calculations could not be that far off. Soon the plane ran low on fuel. The six men decided to abandon the plane and parachute to safety, but because of the -70 degree Fahrenheit temperature and winds that gusted to 50 mph, they were all frozen within minutes of hitting the ground. A friend of mine was part of the rescue team that discovered and retrieved the bodies 3 days later. As a result of the navigator’s pride, 5 other people went to their deaths. Proverbs 12:15 tells us that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” The results may not always be so dramatic, but we must all be careful to seek the counsel of God and wise individuals before making decisions of lasting significance.

The early Methodist evangelist, George Whitefield, was one of America's most effective preachers, who won thousands to Christ. He was vigorously opposed by Charles Chauncy, pastor of Boston's famous First Church.

Rev. Chauncy objected to the idea of instantaneous conversions and to the emotional excitement caused by Whitefield's ministry.

In 1744, on Whitefield's second visit to Boston, the two met. Rev. Chauncy said, "So you have returned, have you?" "Yes," replied the evangelist, "in the service of the Lord." "I am sorry to hear it," Rev. Chauncy said bluntly. "So is the devil," retorted Whitefield.

The devil hates any preacher who fearlessly and effectively sounds the gospel trumpet.

The last days of British statesman and colonial leader Cecil Rhodes were marked by grave disappointment. He died from heart disease at a time when he was beset by personal scandals and discredited by unwise political decisions.

Lewis Mitchel, who as at Rhodes’s bedside in his cottage near Cape Town, South Africa heard the dying man murmur, “So little done, so much to do.” Yet there’s more than this to the story of Cecil Rhodes. He migrated to South Africa from Britain for health reasons. It was there that Rhodes made a vast fortune in gold and diamond mining. Even though he died feeling he had much more to do, he has left a lasting legacy because he used part of his fortune to endow the famous Rhodes scholarship program.

The last days of British statesman and colonial leader Cecil Rhodes were marked by grave disappointment. He died from heart disease at a time when he was beset by personal scandals and discredited by unwise political decisions. Lewis Mitchel, who was at Rhodes’s bedside in his cottage near Cape Town, South Africa heard the dying man murmur, “So little done, so much to do.”

Yet there’s more than this to the story of Cecil Rhodes. He migrated to South Africa from Britain for health reasons. It was there that Rhodes made a vast fortune in gold and diamond mining. Even though he died feeling he had much more to do, he has left a lasting legacy because he used part of his fortune to endow the famous Rhodes scholarship program.

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isa 40:30-31 NIV).

An eagle knows when the storm is approaching long before it breaks. It will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, it is soaring above it.

The eagle doesn't escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rides on the winds that bring the storm.

Isaiah compares people to eagles. He says, in the words of God, that we are blessed with that gift from God that enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weight us down, it is the way we handle them.

For thousands of years the eagle has been respected for its grandeur. When you observe its flight, its great wing span, and the power of its claws, it is inspiring, to say the least. In Pro 30:18-19, Solomon says, "There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not. The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the mist of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid." The eagle does not travel in flocks nor do they conduct themselves irresponsibly. Strong of heart and solitary, they represent qualities we admire.

The eagle mates for life and returns each year to the same nest, making necessary repairs and additions. He takes his role to provide for his family and protect them from danger, and teaches the little eaglets to fly. With all this: responsibility, liberty, beauty, stability, and a lot more admirable traits of the eagle's makeup and such qualities, we agree with Solomon's view that it is nothing short of wonderful. The eagle is committed to that which he is destined to do, without concern for what is below him.

I would that we all were committed to our obligation of teaching and preaching the gospel as the eagle is committed to soaring in the heavens of God. If we could soar as the eagle without regards to the little petty issues of this life and do those things Jesus would have us to, we could have so much rest and contentment in doing those things that are required. We only have a few years to spend on this little planet, few are the ones who decide to ignore the average and fight against the pull of the mediocre magnet. Let's face it. It's tough! As the motto goes, "It's hard to soar like an eagle when I'm surrounded by so many turkeys." "Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spread them as we should" (Psa 90:12).

1. Follows evangelism, is a consequence of evangelism (faith issues in love, good works are a vital evidence of salvation).

2. Precedes evangelism, is a bridge to communicating the gospel

3. Accompanies evangelism

Who says doctrine doesn’t have social effects? Try this from a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal:

“Iran must have the wildest drivers in the Middle East. It is a country of fatalists who believe that all accidents are preordained by Allah. Thus highway safety is really in higher hands and not of concern to mere motorists. Judged by the accident rate in Iran, it would seem to be a vengeful deity indeed.”

Almost every age has had its social outcasts, people barred from normal society whether through physical illness or national origin. One person who stepped across these barriers in India was pioneer missionary Mary Reed. Already working in India, Mary visited a leper colony and was deeply moved by the people’s plight.

Later Mary contracted leprosy herself and went to work with the lepers, eager to tell them that she knew firsthand their pain and trauma. She became head of the leper colony she had visited, and in the years following many were saved and a church built. Mary retired at the age of eighty-four after many years of faithful service to these social outcasts.

Leonard Syme, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley, indicates the importance of social ties and social support systems in relationship to mortality and disease rates. He points to Japan as being number one in the world with respect to health and then discusses the close social, cultural, and traditional ties in that country as the reason. He believes that the more social ties, the better the health and the lower the death rate. Conversely, he indicates that the more isolated the person, the poorer the health and the higher the death rate. Social ties are good preventative medicine for physical problems and for mental-emotional-behavior problems.

There’s a story about a proud young man who came to Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to the muscular philosopher and said, “O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge.”

Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, “What do you want?”

“Knowledge, O wise Socrates,” said the young man with a smile.

Socrates put his strong hands on the man’s shoulders and pushed him under. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. “What do you want?” he asked again.

“Wisdom,” the young man sputtered, “O great and wise Socrates.”

Socrates crunched him under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. “What do you want, young man?”

Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, “Knowledge, O wise and wonderful …”

Socrates jammed him under again Forty seconds passed. Fifty. “What do you want?”

“Air!” he screeched. “I need air!”

“When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge.”

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach it offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride—common table salt—the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we’re able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

The story has been told about several famous preachers, but it actually happened to Joseph Parker, minister of the City Temple in London. An old lady waited on Parker in his vestry after a service to thank him for the help she received from his sermons.

“You do throw such wonderful light on the Bible, doctor,” she said. “Do you know that until this morning, I had always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were man and wife

A missionary in Jamaica was once questioning some little boys on the meaning of Mat_5:5 and asked, "Who are the meek?" A boy answered, "Those who give soft answers to rough questions." We shall do well to remember this child's definition. The one who has wisdom in his head and heart does not need to shout at others. Wisdom speaks softly and persuasively, instead of impelling and forcing. Through the use of our tongues people will know whether we are wise or not. As that great theologian, Charles Hodge, said, "The doctrines of grace humble a man without degrading him and exalt him without inflating him."

One of President Abraham Lincoln's associates scolded him rather severely for being soft on his enemies. "Why do you insist on trying to make friends of them?" he chided. "You should be trying to destroy them."

To which Lincoln replied gently, "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?" In speaking of those who were his enemies during the Civil War, Lincoln is reported to have said, "Insane as it may seem, I hold malice toward none of them. I have neither the time nor the energy in this life to hold that kind of resentment."

In April 1667, English poet John Milton signed an agreement with Samuel Simmons, a London publisher, by which he sold the copyright of Paradise Lost for five pounds, plus five pounds for the sale of each of three subsequent editions, an edition comprising 1,500 copies. Milton received a second five pounds in April 1669, making a grand total of 10 pounds to the author of England’s greatest epic. After his death, Milton’s widow Elizabeth sold all remaining rights for eight pounds to Simmons, who became perpetual copyright owner. It’s hard to imagine someone selling something of such great value for so little

A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men, who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw boots at him.

So it went on the next night and the next, and finally the young man went and told the chaplain what had taken place, and asked what he should do.

“Well,” said the chaplain, “you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much right to the barracks as you have. It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don’t provoke them.”

For weeks after the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one day he met him, and asked—“By the way, did you take my advice?”

“I did, for two or three nights.”

“How did it work?”

“Well,” said the young man, “I felt like a whipped hound and the third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed.”

“Well,” asked the chaplain, “How did that work?”

The young soldier answered: “We have a prayer meeting there now every night, and three have been converted, and we are praying for the rest.”

Oh, friends, I am so tired of weak Christianity. Let us be out and out for Christ; let us give no uncertain sound. If the world wants to call us fools, let them to it. It is only a little while; the crowning day is coming. Thank God for the privilege we have of confessing Christ.

The Little Sisters of the Poor were going from door to door in a French city, soliciting alms for old people. One nun called at the house of a rich free-thinker who said he would give 1000 francs if she would have a glass of champagne with him. It was an embarrassing situation for the nun, and she hesitated. But the hesitation was short—after all, 1000 francs meant many loaves of bread.

A servant brought the bottle and poured, and the brave little nun emptied the glass. And then she said, “And now, sir, another glass, please, at the same price.” She got it.

One can acquire everything in solitude—except character.

May the Christmas cheer remind you of Him who said, "Be of good cheer."

May the Christmas bell remind you of the glorious proclamation of His birth.

May the Christmas carols remind you of the song the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest."

May the Christmas season remind you in every way of Jesus Christ your King.

Don't visit: worship.

Don't hurry away: speak and be spoken to.

Don't dodge the preacher: show yourself friendly.

Don't dodge the collection plate: contribute what you are able.

Don't sit in the end of the pew: move over.

Don't stare blankly while others sing: join in.

Don't wait for an introduction: introduce yourself.

Don't criticize: remember your own frailties.

Don't monopolize your hymn book: be neighborly.

Don't stay away from church because you have company: bring them with you.

Don't stay away from church because the church is not perfect: how lonely you would feel in a perfect church.

After a preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given a higher place than he had. “I don’t understand,” he complained to St. Peter. “I devoted my entire life to my congregation.” “Our policy is to reward results,” explained St. Peter. “Now what happened , Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?” The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep. “Exactly, “ said St. Peter. “And when people rode in this man’s taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed.”

Openness is essentially the willingness to grow, a distaste for ruts, eagerly standing on top-toe for a better view of what tomorrow brings. A man once bought a new radio, brought it home, placed it on the refrigerator, plugged it in, turned it to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry), and then pulled all the knobs off! He had already tuned in all he ever wanted or expected to hear. Some marriages are “rutted” and rather dreary because either or both partners have yielded to the tyranny of the inevitable, “what has been will still be.” Stay open to newness. Stay open to change.

Your child’s journey from 4 to 14 is very short. Christian parents need to put God into each day during this impressionable time.

As a father of five foster children and a preschool teacher for 10 years, I’m convinced that the following practices—instilled early—can teach children to hold onto God during the difficult adolescent period:

1. Hang a picture of Christ in each child’s bedroom. Children are often quicker to respond to pictures than to words.

2. Teach your child how to pray. By the time a child is 5, he should be able to speak one-sentence prayers with a parent. By the time he’s 6, he should be looking for answers to his prayers. But avoid correcting a child’s prayers. They are between him and God.

3. Bless your child each morning. If you want to see sudden dramatic improvement in your family and young children, try this. I admit it sounds formal, but it’s been a miracle for many. Place one hand on the shoulder or head and repeat a blessing from Scripture, such as one of the following: “May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26) or “May God strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith” (Eph. 3:16). You can also choose your own words. The spirit of the blessing impresses even the youngest children. Giving a blessing can also renew a parent’s heart.

4. Take short walks. Get outside to God’s world as much as possible. You can identify trees, capture bugs and look at scenery. Let creation declare the glory of God.

5. Purchase Scripture cards from your Christian bookstore and leave them on the kitchen table. Reading from God’s Word as part of the mealtime prayer is a great way to remind the family of God’s presence.

6. Display your child’s Sunday school lesson. Letting a youngster’s efforts die a painful death on the car floor can leave hurt feelings.

Of course, none of these efforts is a guarantee that your daughter or son will know God. But incorporating some of these ideas will be a daily reminder of His presence and love.

by Charles White

1. The distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate in baseball—60 feet, 6 inches—stands today because someone back in 1893 misread an order for measuring 60’0” as 60’6”!

2. The “front” of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., faces away from the main part of the city instead of toward it because architect Pierre L’Enfant mistakenly thought the city would develop eastward, not westward!

I was once criticized by a student who disapproved of some of the books I have written because in them I quoted from different translations. “The King James Version is the only Bible,” he told me. “It’s the only authorized Word of God!”

When he had calmed down, I asked him to answer three questions for me: What was the Word of God before 1611 when the King James Version was published? What is the Word of God on the mission fields where people cannot read English? Who authorized the King James Version to be the Word of God?

Of course, he saw the plight he was in. If some person or group authorized a translation to be the Word of God, then that person or group would have a higher authority than the Bible itself. And it is inconceivable that the great saints and martyrs from Pentecost to 1611 did not have the Word of God. It is even more inconceivable that our missionaries, who dedicate their lives to the translation and distribution of the Bible, are wasting their time on publications that are not the Word of God.

My student friend’s prejudices were showing, but when I confronted him with truth, he refused to budge. I can only pray for him ask God to open his eyes.

Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.

William Poteet wrote in The Pentecostal Minister how in 1903 the Russian Czar noticed a sentry posted for no apparent reason on the Kremlin grounds. Upon inquiry, he discovered that in 1776 Catherine the Great found there the first flower of spring. “Post a sentry here,” she commanded, “so that no one tramples that flower under foot!” Some traditions die hard.

When a Calvinist says that all things happen according to the predestination of God, he speaks the truth, and I am willing to be called a Calvinist. But when an Arminian says that when a man sins, the sin is his own, and that if he continues in sin, and perishes, his eternal damnation will lie entirely at his own door, I believe that he speaks the truth, though I am not willing to be called an Arminian. The fact is, there is some truth in both these systems of theology.

When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die.

First, somebody told it,

Then the room couldn’t hold it,

So the busy tongues rolled it

Till they got it outside.

Then the crowd came across it,

And never once lost it,

But tossed it and tossed it,

Till it grew long and wide.

This lie brought forth others,

Dark sisters and brothers,

And fathers and mothers—

A terrible crew.

And while headlong they hurried,

The people they flurried,

And troubled and worried,

As lies always do.

And so evil-bodied,

This monster lay goaded,

Till at last it exploded

In smoke and in shame.

Then from mud and from mire

The pieces flew higher,

And hit the sad victim

And killed a good name.

Years ago, after a celebrated international career on the stage, the world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz became a professor of music at UCLA. When someone asked him why he had left the glamour of performing to become a teacher, Heifetz answered, “Violin-playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on; otherwise it is lost.” Then he went on to say, “I remember my old violin professor in Russia. He said that (if I worked hard enough) someday I would be good enough to teach.”

Kitty Genovese was the young woman who was murdered in a New York residential section while at least 38 neighbors watched from their windows. During the course of the 30-minute assault, no one even telephoned the police.

Recent studies have uncovered some surprising facts about these people. Interviews revealed that they were not totally indifferent as many had suspected. The main reason nobody did anything was that each person thought someone else would take the initiative to get help.

A hungry, scantily clothed little boy was crying pathetically. "I'm cold, I'm hungry!" he whimpered. A stranger approached him and asked, "Do you believe that God can take care of you?" "Yes," replied the starving little boy with assurance. "Why, then does He not send someone to bring you warm clothing and some food?" "I know, sir, that He asked someone to do it, but I guess this somebody has forgotten it."

The day was long, the burden I had borne

Seemed heavier than I could longer bear,

And then it lifted—but I did not know

Someone had knelt in prayer;

Had taken me to God that very hour,

And asked the easing of the load, and He

In infinite compassion had stepped down

And taken it from me.

Teenage prostitutes, during interviews in a San Francisco study, were asked: “Is there anything you needed most and couldn’t get?” Their response, invariably preceded by sadness and tears was unanimous: “What I needed most was someone to listen to me. Someone who cared enough to listen to me.”

A young man came out of the Ozark Mountains in his early manhood with the firm purpose of making a fortune in gold. Gold became his god, and putting it first, he won it. He came to be worth millions. Then the crash came, and he was reduced to utter poverty. His reason tottered and fell along with his fortune.

One day a policeman found Eads Bridge gazing down into the waters of the Mississippi. He ordered him to move on. “Let me alone,” he answered, “I’m trying to think. There is something better than gold, but I have forgotten what it is.” They placed him in an institution for the insane. They knew that a man who could forget that was not himself.

- Clovis Chappell

When John Todd, a nineteenth-century clergyman, was six years old, both his parents died. A kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry. Later, this aunt became seriously ill, and in distress she wrote Todd a letter. Would death mean the end of everything, or could she hope for something beyond? Here, condensed from The Autobiography of John Todd, is the letter he sent in reply:

“It is now thirty-five years since I, as a boy of six, was left quite alone in the world. You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother to me. I have never forgotten the day I made the long journey to your house. I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent your servant, Caesar, to fetch me.

“I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on your horse and clinging tight to Caesar, I rode off to my new home. Night fell before we finished the journey, and I became lonely and afraid. ‘Do you think she’ll go to bed before we get there?’ I asked Caesar. ‘Oh no!’ he said reassuringly, ‘She’ll stay up for you. When we get out o’ these here woods, you’ll see her candle shinin’ in the window.’

“Presently we did ride out into the clearing, and there, sure enough, was your candle. I remember you were waiting at the door, that you put your arms close about me—a tired and bewildered little boy. You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove. After supper you took me to my new room, heard me say my prayers, and then sat beside me till I fell asleep.

“Some day soon God will send for you, to take you to a new home. Don’t fear the summons, the strange journey, or the messenger of death. God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough to do for me so many years ago. At the end of the road you will find love and a welcome awaiting, and you will be safe in God’s care.”

Vernon Grounds

Be like the Christian policeman who prayed at prayer meeting, "O Lord, put something in our faces as we walk about, that people in trouble may see and so be led to seek our help." How does your face and mine look to those who may be seeking help?

"Bad will be the day," said Phillips Brooks, "for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is still, in spite of all, the child of God."

Many things we don’t know about hell. But Jesus and the new Testament writers used every image in their power to tell us that hell is real, it’s terrible, it’s something to be feared, and something to avoid. In his description of the last judgment, Jesus taught that some would go to eternal punishment, some to eternal life (Matt. 25:46). In other words, hell will be as real and as lasting as heaven.

The horror of hell is not physical pain. After all, the Bible tells us hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41), and they’re not physical beings. Rather the fire and outer darkness and the thirst depict spiritual separation from God, moral remorse, the consciousness that one deserves what he’s getting.

Hell is disintegration—the eternal loss of being a real person. In hell the mathematician who lived for his science can’t add two and two. The concert pianist who worshiped himself through his art can’t play a simple scale. The man who lived for sex goes on in eternal lust, with no body to exploit. The woman who made a god out of fashion has a thousand dresses but no mirror! Hell is eternal desire—eternally unfulfilled.

But there’s another side. G. K. Chesterton once remarked, “Hell is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human personality.” Hell, a compliment? Yes, because God is saying to us, “You are significant. I take you seriously. Choose to reject me—choose hell if you will. I will let you go.”

The heart must have something to cling to—and never, by its voluntary consent, will the heart so detach itself from all its attachments that there shall not be one remaining object that can draw its attention or solicit its affections. The love of the world cannot be removed by a mere demonstration of the world’s worthlessness. The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection. We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our hearts than to keep in our hearts the love of God.

- Thomas Chalmers