Part 2
"The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop:
At a late or an early hour.
To lose one's wealth is sad indeed;
To lose one's health is more;
To lose one's 'soul' is such a loss
That no man can restore.
The present only is ours to live,
Love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in tomorrow,
For the clock may then be still."
*****
"So if we have a gift to give, let us give with our whole
heart. To our enemy forgiveness, to our friend faithfulness, to our children a
good example, to our parents deference, to one's wife respectful and
sympathising love, to one's husband devotedness, to all men benevolence, to
wrong no quarter, to God one's whole heart in reverential and supreme
obedience."
*****
"You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I
around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they
got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And
most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big
question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better
by change" (Jim Rohn).
*****
"It isn't the times you have failed in your task,
It's the times you have tried that will tell.
It's how you rose up after falling that counts,
Not the number of times that you fell."
*****
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you
desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you
the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you
grow.
Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you
opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your
strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable
lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means
you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also
thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can
become your blessings.
*****
"Our duty is not to see through one another, but to see one
another through."
*****
America The Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
*****
"Action is eloquence" (William Shakespeare).
*****
"There are four types of men in this world:
- The man who knows, and knows that he knows; he
is wise, so consult him.
- The man who knows, but
doesn't know that he knows; help him not forget what he
knows.
- The man who knows not, and knows that he
knows not; teach him.
- Finally, there is the man
who knows not but pretends that he knows; he is a fool, so avoid him" (Ibn
Gabirol).
*****
"God rarely gives you a sign that you are on the right track,
until after you have stepped out on faith!
"Because that's what faith is... believing in God's power,
believing in His Word, believing every promise that He has made! In His Wisdom,
God knows that it doesn't build your faith if He gives you a written road map
for each and every thing you do. He wants you to believe in Him, not in signs,
or wonders, or yourself.
"He wants you to step out on faith alone... knowing that He is
there, with you, always" (MT).
*****
"The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be:
But when he got well, a wolf once more was he" (Walter
Brower).
*****
"I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than
win in a cause that will some day lose!" (Woodrow Wilson).
*****
"Zeal is that pure and heavenly flame
The fire of love supplies;
While that which often bears the name
Is self in a disguise.
"True zeal is merciful and mild,
Can pity and forebear:
The false is headstrong, fierce and wild,
And breathes revenge and war.
"While zeal for truth the Christian warms,
He knows the worth of peace,
But self contends for names and forms,
Its party to increase."
(John Newton)
*****
She bent the twig
Towards home,
Toward simple pleasures
And a firelight's glow;
She bent the twig
Toward Truth
And courage for the paths
Where Truth must go;
She bent the twig
Toward Love
To lift the hearts of those
Who only plod;
And when the tempest raged
Her tree stood firm -- for, gently,
She had bent the twig
Toward God.
*****
"I hold it for a most infallible rule in the exposition of
Scripture, that when a literal construction will stand, the furthest from the
letter is commonly the worst" (Hooker).
*****
"We need to remember that when gathered before the Table we
are in the presence of Yahweh, and we should aim to keep that well in mind. When
Moses was in the desert, he was told to 'take off his shoes for the ground on
which he stood was holy ground' -- made such by the presence of the angel.
Therefore, the Memorial Meetings should not be denigrated to mere social
gatherings, but should be elevated into solemn occasions of worship in which the
greatest reverence is observed in conscious realization of the presence of
Yahweh. Proper dress, decorum, mental preparation and so forth will help elevate
the meetings and transform them into wonderful uplifting meetings with our God"
(HPM).
*****
Let Go and Let God
As children bring their broken toys,
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams -- to God,
Because He was my Friend.
But then, instead of leaving
Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How can you be so slow?"
"My child," He said, "What could I do?
You never did let go."
*****
"Joy is not in what we own... it is in what we are."
*****
"Always speak the truth and you’ll never be concerned
about your memory."
*****
"What is right is right even when no one else is doing it.
What is wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it."
*****
"People of integrity are honorable and upright in all
actions."
*****
"A friendship that can be bought isn't worth the
price."
*****
"If you want to know how to live your life, think about what
you would like people to say about you after you die...then live your life
backwards."
*****
"There is no right way to do a wrong thing."
*****
"Integrity gives a person strength, but not always
popularity."
*****
Sam Houston was a drunk and a carouser; he was also a
fascinating orator, a brilliant politican and a great general -- he led the
fight for Texas independence and then worked to bring Texas into the United
States. He was also a man of tremendous courage, and great wit and
self-deprecating humor. When, late in life, he was baptized, he remarked first
of all that, if his sins were indeed all washed away, he feared for all the fish
downstream when the huge numbers of sins reached them! Thereafter, and for the
last years of his life, he devoted a large portion of his income to charitable
purposes, telling anyone who asked that, when he was baptized, his wallet was
baptized also!
*****
"Silence is the highest wisdom of a fool as speech is the
greatest trial of a wise man. If thou wouldst be known as wise, let thy words
show thee so; if thou doubt thy words, let thy silence feign thee so. It is not
a greater point of wisdom to discover knowledge than to hide ignorance"
(Quarles).
*****
"I have borne the name of Christadelphian for forty years, and
upon the significance of that title a few words may be useful. It came into
existence when it was necessary to distinguish the brethren from other so-called
Christians. Ever since, that name has stood for the One Faith and for separation
from the present evil world in its religious, social and political
aspects.
" 'Brethren in Christ', a high and noble calling, an
honourable name! Has it lost its meaning since it first came into being? The
Ecclesia at Sardis had a "name" that it lived, but it was dead. They called
themselves Brethren in Christ, and they had a high reputation, but in Christ's
estimation they were like the Pharisees, 'whited sepulchres', outwardly
beautiful, but inwardly full of dead men's bones. Should the salt lose its
savour; should the name Christadelphian ever become a misnomer; should it come
to be borne by a people who have become false to the Truth it signifies, lax,
latitudinarian and worldly, it might become necessary for a 'few names' who have
lived up to the Name to repudiate a title which they once rightly gloried
in.
"Brethren! remember our proud and exalted appellation; see
that it never becomes tarnished, dishonoured, meaningless. It is the fact that
is important; not a name. If we call ourselves Christadelphians, then let us be
Brethren of Christ in that we hold his Truth unimpaired, and follow his example
of holiness."
JM Evans
*****
"Lying is a terrible vice; it testifies that one despises God,
but fears men" (Michel Montaigne).
*****
I remember a brother who typically spoke of "breaking bread
and wine" (without the "drinking" inserted). He also had a bit of a Texas
accent... sort of a nasal twang (yes, it occurs in rare instances!); so it came
out as:
"Every Sunday Christadelphians get together to break bread
and... WHINE!"
Which led to (what I thought was the very reasonable)
observation: "But don't they have houses to WHINE in? Do they have to get
together with all their brothers and sisters for such a purpose?"
Speaking of whining: the preacher greeted one of his brothers:
"Brother, how are you this morning?" To which the response came, "All right,
under the circumstances..." The preacher replied, "Now what is a believer doing
UNDER the circumstances?"
*****
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the
ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the
people you can, as long as ever you can" (John Wesley).
*****
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take
without forgetting" (Elizabeth Bibesco).
*****
"This world is a bridge; the wise man passes over it, but he
does not build his house on it!"
*****
"Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the
most are the things you will do the best" (Marva Collins). "Excellence is the
gradual result of always striving to do better" (Pat Riley).
*****
"As iron put into the fire loseth its rust and becometh
clearly red-hot, so he that wholly turneth himself unto God puts off all
slothfulness, and is transformed into a new man" (Thomas a' Kempis).
*****
"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. The
Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of
the Church; the Greek language, having reigned for centuries over philosophy,
became the vehicle of Christian literature and ritual; the Greek mysteries
passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other pagan cultures
contributed to the syncretist result. From Egypt came the ideas of a divine
trinity... Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world"
(Will Durant, "Caesar and Christ" 595).
*****
"We ought not to make any conditions of our brethren's
acceptance with us but such as God has made the conditions of their acceptance
with him" (Henry).
*****
Deposit God's word in your memory bank, and you will draw
interest for life!
*****
- You cannot control the length of your life, but
you can control its width and depth.
- You cannot
control the contour of your countenance, but you can control its
expression.
- You cannot control the other person's
opportunities, but you can grasp your own.
- You
cannot control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere which
surrounds you.
- You cannot control the distance
that your head shall be above ground, but you can control the height of the
contents of your mind.
- You cannot control the
other person's faults, but you can see to it that you yourself do not develop or
harbor provoking propensities.
- Why worry about
things you cannot control. Get busy controlling the things that depend on
you.
*****
"Notice the difference between what happens when a man says to
himself, 'I have failed three times,' and what happens when he says, 'I am a
failure' " (SI Hayakawa, 1906-1992).
*****
It's not how many hours you put in, but how much you put into
the hours. The best preparation for tomorrow is the proper use of
today.
*****
"To storm a breach,
Conduct an embassy,
Govern a people,
These are brilliant actions.
To scold, laugh, and deal gently with one's family and oneself
--
That is something rarer, more difficult, and less noted in the
world" (Montaigne).
*****
"Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of
pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much" (Erastus Wiman).
*****
THE ALPHABET
Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain,
Continue in thanksgiving;
Do not begin to blame.
Even when the times are hard,
Fierce winds are bound to blow;
God is forever able;
Hold on to what you know.
Imagine life without His love --
Joy would cease to be.
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee.
Move out of "Camp Complaining".
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone.
Quit looking at the future.
Redeem the time at hand.
Start every day with worship;
To "thank" is a command.
Until we see Him coming,
Victorious in the sky,
We'll run the race with gratitude,
Xalting God most high.
Yes, there'll be good times; and yes, some will be bad,
but...
Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!
*****
"He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that
gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good
admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other"
(Francis Bacon).
*****
Overhead projector: a teaching aid which has become a great
labour-saving device. It takes material which is clear and transparent and then
ensures that it goes over everyone's head. Theologians used to take years to
learn to do this.
*****
"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without
sorrow, sun without rain. But He did promise strength for the day, comfort for
the tears, and light for the way."
*****
"Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that
principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through
all the darkest valleys you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of
a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So will you
learn things in adversity that you would never have discovered without trouble.
There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper" (Og Mandino,
1923-1996).
*****
"Heat and animosity, contest and conflict, may sharpen the
wits, although they rarely do; they never strengthen the understanding, clear
the perspicacity, guide the judgment, or improve the heart" (Walter Savage
Landor, 1775-1864).
*****
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life: "A fight
is going on inside me," he says to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is
between two wolves. One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority and ego. The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth,
compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every
other person too."
The grandson thinks about this for a minute and then asks his
grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replies, "The one you feed."
*****
Be not thou weary in the Master's cause,
Let not thy courage fail nor hope grow dim;
He worketh hitherto without a pause.
Rejoice in fellowship of toil with him.
Be not thou weary, for the work is great,
And time is short, the laborers are few;
Soon, soon to all will close the vineyard gate.
Do well and truly what thou hast to do.
Be not thou weary, slacken not thy zeal,
Sow broadcast, for the harvest comes at length;
E'en now thy Master doth himself reveal.
Look thou to him for all the needed strength.
Be not thou weary, the reward is sure,
Great is the recompense, if great the strife;
And he that doth unto the end endure,
Shall from the Lord receive the crown of life.
*****
William Tyndale, first translated the Bible from Hebrew and
Greek into English, making a Bible for the common people. In 1535 he was
betrayed by a friend, taken prisoner to the castle of Vilford, and continued to
work on his translation. He was unable to finish his work because he was
sentenced to die a heretic’s death: strangulation and burning at the
stake. On October 6, 1536 he cried out his last words, "Lord, open the king of
England's eyes!" and then he died. His prayer was answered within a year.
*****
"In the Biblical view of things, a deeper knowledge of God
brings with it massive improvement in the other areas mentioned: purity,
integrity, evangelistic effectiveness, better study of scripture, improved
private and corporate worship, and much more. But if we seek these things
without passionately desiring a deeper knowledge of God, we are selfishly
running after God's blessings without running after Him. We are worse than the
man who wants his wife's services -- someone to come home to, someone to cook
and clean, someone to sleep with -- without ever making the effort to really
know and love his wife and discover what she wants and needs; we are worse than
such a man, I say, because God is more than any wife, more than the best of
wives: He is perfect in His love, He has made us for Himself, and we are
answerable to Him" (DA Carson).
*****
Slogans:
- "The best vitamin for a Christian is
B-1."
- "Don't give up. Moses was also a basket
case."
- "Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your
Bible."
- "It's hard to stumble when you're down
on your knees."
- "What part of 'THOU SHALT NOT...'
don't you understand?"
- "A clear conscience makes
a soft pillow."
- "Forbidden fruit creates many
jams."
- "To belittle is to be
little."
- "Don't let the shortcomings of others
bring out the shortcomings in you."
- "God answers
all of His knee-mail."
*****
The train pulls into the small town, and a man gets off. He
approaches the old fellow sitting at the station, and says to him, "I'm thinking
of moving to this town. Can you tell me: what kind of people live here?" The old
fellow thinks for a moment, and then asks, "What kind of people lived in the
town you came from?" The man, without hesitation, says, "Oh! They were a
wretched lot -- they were liars, and hypocrites, and wicked, wicked people. I
was so happy to get away from them." The old man replies, "You'd better get
right back on the train then, because that's the sort of people you'll find
around here too."
The next day another train pulls into town, and another man
gets off. Approaching the same old fellow, he says, "I'm thinking of staying in
this town. Can you tell me what kind of people live here?" To which comes the
response: "What kind of people lived in the town you came from?" This man says,
"They were fine people -- kind and generous, and neighborly... I was very sorry
that circumstances forced me to leave." The old man smiles and replies, "In that
case, welcome to our fair town... that's just the kind of people you'll find
here!"
*****
"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide
upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always
difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map
out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage
that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women
to win them" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
*****
In Christ we have:
- A love that can never be
fathomed.
- A life that can never
die.
- A righteousness that can never be
tarnished.
- A peace that can never be
understood.
- A rest that can never be
disturbed.
- A joy that can never be
diminished.
- A hope that can never be
disappointed.
- A glory that can never be
clouded.
- A light that can never be
darkened.
- A purity that can never be
defiled.
- A beauty that can never be
marred.
- A wisdom that can never be
baffled.
- Resources that can never be
exhausted.
