I wonder if He grew impatient as He awaited word from His Father that now He might proceed. Surely it was a difficult thing for Jesus of Nazareth to work day by day in the carpentry shop, while daily He could see the suffering, the pain, the torment His people were living through, dying through, while He did nothing more than watch and pray. Watch and pray! How many times did He petition His Father, how many times did He take His request to the...more
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting things "in order," she contacted her pastor for him to come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite...more
Fact: As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% to the flying range than if each bird flew alone.Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier when they are traveling on the thrust of one another.Fact: Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back in formation to take advantage of the "lifting power" of the bird immediately in front.Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go.Fact: When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at point position.Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership -- interdependent with each other.Fact: The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.Lesson: We need to be sure our honking from behind is encouraging, not something less helpful.Fact: When a goose gets sick or wounded, two geese drop out of formation and follow him down...more
"I want you to know that I haven't always looked like this.You see, there was a time when I was just clay. The Master came and He pounded me, and He pounded me so long and so hard. I said, "Let me alone; LET ME ALONE!" And He looked at me and He smiled and said, "Not yet."Then the pounding was finished. He took me and put me on the wheel. And the...more
A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.Days...more
Pastor Joe Wright of Kansas was asked to lead the Kansas State Senate in prayer.They were expecting the usual formal prayer to open the session but that is not what happened. The pastor used the moment as a confessional and prophetic opportunity. As he prayed there were some senators who got up and walked out but Paul Harvey got a hold of the prayer and read it on his program; he got more requests for copies of it than any other thing he had ever done. Heres what he prayed:"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. We have shot...more
Red roses were her favorites, her name was also Rose.And every year her husband sent them, tied with pretty bows.The year he died, the roses were delivered to her door.The card said, "Be my Valentine", like all the years before.Each year he sent her...more
Tony Campolo tells the story of a black Baptist preacher in the inner city of Philadelphia who preached a sermon Tony says he'll never forget. Tony preached first. He was "hot," so "hot" he says, that he even stopped and listened to himself. He sat...more
Every night, the young mother rocked her young 3 year old daughter to sleep and each night the same conversation took place between mother and daughter.The young mother would first tell a story, then say a prayer for her daughter, and finally hum a...more
A traditional American FolktaleLong ago in the far away land of Palestine, three trees stood on a hillside overlooking a seaport town.Each three had great hopes and dreams of what it would be when fully grown. The first tree boasted that it's lumber...more
A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below.One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the...more
An adventurous youth was hiking through the German forest when he saw a dark opening in a cliff indicating a deep cave. With the excitement of adventure, the youth decided to go exploring. He carefully made his way into the opening and not too far...more