THE ONES WHO NEVER GAVE THANKS

An honest farmer was asked to dine with a gentleman & there asked a blessing at table as he was accustomed to do at home.

His host said jeeringly, "That is old-fashioned; it is not customary nowadays for well-educated people to pray at table."

The farmer answered that with him it was customary, but that some of his household never prayed over their food.

"Ah, then," said the gentleman, "They are sensible & enlightened. Who are they?"

The farmer answered, "They are my pigs." - Christian Herald.

“The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises & thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God & sleep to God & work to God & talk to God, do all to His glory & praise.” - Richard Sibbes.

Psa 150:6 (JPS): “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Hallelujah.”

OVERCOMING

Once upon a time a farmer owned an old mule that tripped & fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' & was unable to figure out how to bring up the old animal.

It grieved him that he could not pull the animal out - he'd been a good worker around the farm & though the farmer sympathized with the mule, he called his neighbors together & told them what had happened...& had them help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well & quietly put him out of his misery.

At first, the old mule was puzzled, but as the farmer & his neighbors continued shoveling & the dirt hit his back, he had a thought. He ought to shake off the dirt & step up. And he did just that. "Shake it off & step up...shake it off & step up...shake it off & step up!"

Even though he took painful blows of dirt & fought panic, he just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF & STEPPING UP! It wasn't long before the old mule, stepped up & over the lip of that well. What could have buried him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. (tripod.com)

Jas 1:2-4 (GNB) My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Interview with Billy Graham's Daughter

The interview took place on CBS's "The Early Show" on the Thursday morning after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Jane Clayson conducted the interview with Anne Graham Lotz, a daughter of the Rev. Billy Graham.

According to the transcript of the broadcast, Clayson asked, "I've heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this happen? To that, you say?"

Lotz replied, "I say God is also angry when He sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God & said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace.

And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national & political life, our public life, removing His hand of blessing & protection.

We need to turn to God first of all & say, God, we're sorry we have treated you this way & we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you.

We have ‘In God we trust’ on our coins, we need to practice it." (truthorfiction.com)

God said: “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2Ch 7:14 ASV)

WHAT GOD DOES - According To An Eight-Year Old

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA. USA. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'Explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done so well.

Explanation of God:

'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.'

'Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.'

'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.'

'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did.’

'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!’

‘Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'

'But... you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And that’s why I believe in God.'

(Contributed by Pastor Betty Wong) (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

“Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” – Jesus Christ (Mar 10:15).





Danny Dutton

                                      

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

The date, July 20, 1969, will forever be known as the day the USA put the first man on the moon. What most people do not know is the date also marks when Edwin Buzz Aldrin celebrated the first & only Lord’s Supper on the moon, a fact the U.S. government refused to make public at the time.

Inside the lunar module, just hours before stepping onto the moon for the first time, Aldrin radioed Houston Space Center Mission Control. He asked for a few moments of silence “to invite each person listening in, wherever & whomever they may be, to pause for a moment & contemplate the events of the past few hours, & to GIVE THANKS in his or her own way.”

(At that point, NASA had decided to blackout the broadcast of the communion service.)

In that moment of silence that followed, Aldrin silently read a passage from the book of John (15:5 RSV) that he had written out on a 3×5 card: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, & I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

Then he took out the miniature chalice & bread & wine from his personal allowance pouch. “I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me,” he told Guideposts magazine in 1970.

“In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly & gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, & the first food eaten there, were communion elements.”

Neil Armstrong, the other astronaut onboard, did not participate.

(Elizabeth Dias, writer-reporter in TIME's Washington bureau - time.com)

Don’t forget to THANK GOD even if you are over the moon!

Former American President George W. Bush's Testimony:

Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted by Rev Billy Graham. One evening my dad asked Billy to answer questions from a big group of family gathered for the weekend. He sat by the fire & talked. And what he said sparked a change in my heart. I don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of his example. The Lord was so clearly reflected in his gentle & loving demeanor.

The next day we walked & talked & I knew I was in the presence of a great man. He was like a magnet; I felt drawn to seek something different. He didn't lecture admonish; he shared warmth & concern. Billy Graham didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved.

It was the beginning of a change in my life. I had always been a "religious" person, had regularly attended church, even taught Sunday school & served as an altar boy. But that weekend my faith took on a new meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I would commit my heart to Jesus Christ.

I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life changing powers of faith. (Godlikeproductions.com)

2Co 5:17 (GW): “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.”

SPECIAL BUT NOT SPOILED

Family counselor John Rosemond asks, "Is your child special . . . the most exceptional person in the world?" He answers, "Of course—to you!"

Rosemond says that letting your child know he's special to you is healthy, but no child should grow up thinking he's more special than others. "That child," he warns, "is likely to think he's also deserving of special things & special privileges." He'll easily "justify outbursts of hurtful anger, selfishness & jealousy." How can we counteract this danger?

Christian parents, if they are grounded in the Scriptures, are equipped to get the right balance.

First, they can affirm their children without showing favoritism by telling them that they are unique creations of God (Psalm 139:13-16).

Second, they can teach their sons & daughters that sin, the great equalizer, is in every individual & that they too need Christ's saving grace (Rom 3:23).

Parents who impart these perspectives are well on their way to fulfilling the Apostle Paul's instruction for child rearing: “Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.” (Eph 6:4 CEV). Children with this upbringing are more likely to grow up feeling special without being spoiled. - Joanie Yoder.

“Spoiled children are given what they want; wise parents give them what they need.” (preceptaustin.org).

POWER OF PRAISE

(Boy Sang Gospel Song Until Kidnapper Released Him)

This is an inspirational story about Willie Myrick who was allegedly abducted by an unknown man in Atlanta, USA. The boy sang a Gospel song non-stop for three hours, which irritated his kidnapper so much that he eventually released him.

According to an April 18, 2014, article by the New York Daily News, an unknown man used cash to lure young Myrick close enough to grab & force the boy into his vehicle on the evening of March 31.

During his close to 3 hour ordeal, Myrick repeatedly sang "Every Praise," a Gospel song by Hezekiah Walker, a song he learned in Sunday school.

While he was singing, Willie said his kidnapper yelled expletives at him. "He told me, shut up &%#* boy," said Willie. He, however, kept singing until his kidnapper got tired.

The kidnapper opened the car door, released Myrick & warned him not to tell anyone. That was one order that Myrick refused to obey & he has been telling the world about the incident since his release.

When Hezekiah Walker got news of this, he flew from New York to meet with Myrick & his church family at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in southwest Atlanta to celebrate the boy's 10th birthday.

Walker received a standing ovation when he gave a hug to Willie as the boy cried as he met his favorite singer. The article said that everybody present joined in the singing of "the life-saving song together as tears rolled down Myrick's cheeks." (Christianpost.com & truthorfiction.com)

"Every Praise" (Lyrics)

Every praise is to our God.
Every word of worship with one accord
Every praise every praise is to our God.

Sing hallelujah to our God
Glory hallelujah is due our God
Every praise every praise is to our God.

God, my Savior
God, my Healer
God, my Deliverer
Yes He is, yes He is.

2Ch 20:22 (CEV): "As soon as they began singing, the LORD confused the enemy camp."

BOLDNESS

Peter Cartwright was a 19th century circuit riding preacher whose convictions were as tough as the man himself. Nobody could or would accuse Cartwright of compromise.

As a matter of fact, history tells us that one Sunday morning just before he was to preach, Cartwright was told that President Andrew Jackson (1767 – 1845; seventh President of USA) was in the congregation. He was warned to be careful of what he said in light of the President in the place.

Cartwright stood up. "I understand President Jackson is here. I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent."

Needless to say, the church people were shocked. However, Jackson was delighted at the boldness of the man.

After the service, he shook hands with Cartwright & said, "Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world." (tripod.com)

Jud 7:3 (GW): Announce to the troops, 'Whoever is scared or frightened should leave Mount Gilead and go back home.' So 22,000 men went back home, and 10,000 were left.

This implies that God cannot use fearful people.

Hence, 2Tim 1:7 (ISV) says: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline.”

BEN HUR

If you were born after 1950, you might not know the story of Ben Hur. This classic book written by a Civil War general, Lew Wallace, in 1899, was turned into a movie starring Carleton Heston, which won the Academy Award for best movie in 1959.

(It won a record 11 Academy Awards & 3 Golden Globe Awards. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. A remake is scheduled to be released in February 2016).

It is a towering story, deeply moving & an exquisite portrayal of the power, grace & love of Jesus.

When Lew Wallace set out to study the life of Christ, he was not a Christian. In fact, writing a story such as Ben Hur was the farthest thing from his mind.

Wallace was against Christianity & determined he would study the life of Christ so thoroughly & then write so convincingly, that he would be able to kill the story of Christ.

He wanted to prove that Jesus, if He had lived, was not God, but merely a man, that He never rose from the death & that Christianity was a hoax.

So he studied. This great & enormous subject drew him further & further into his research until the evidence overwhelmed him. He dropped to his knees & cried out to Jesus to be his Savior & Lord.

Then, instead of writing a book to prove to the world that Jesus was not God, he wrote Ben Hur, to try to prove to the world that Jesus is God. (‘Jesus, Knowing Our Savior’ by Max Anders)

Jer 31:3 (NLT): Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

The Ultimate Thief

Arthur Barry was described by Time magazine as "the slickest second-story man in the East," truly one of the most famous jewel thieves of all time.

In his years of crime, he committed as many as 150 burglaries & stole jewels valued between $5 and $10 million.

Like most people who engage in a life of crime, he was eventually caught, convicted & served 25 years in prison for his crimes. Following his release, he worked as a counterman in a roadside restaurant on the East Coast for $50 a week.

A newspaper reporter found him & interviewed him about his life. After telling about the thrilling episodes of his life, he came to the conclusion of the interview saying, "I am not good at morals. But early in my life, I was intelligent & clever & I got along well with people. I think I could have made something of my life, but I didn't.

So when you write the story of my life, when you tell people about all the burglaries, don't leave out the biggest one of all... Don't just tell them I robbed Jesse Livermore, the Wall Street baron or the cousin of the king of England.

You tell them Arthur Barry robbed Arthur Barry." 

(Lewis Timberlake-aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

Gal 6:7 (GNB): “Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.”

HONOR

When I saw Sadhu Sundar Singh in Europe, he had completed a tour around the world. People asked him, doesn’t it do harm, you’re getting so much honor?"

The Sadhu's answer was: "No. The donkey went into Jerusalem, and they put garments on the ground before him. He was not proud. He knew it was not done to honor him, but for Jesus, who was sitting on his back. When people honor me, I know it is not me, but the Lord, who does the job." - Corrie Ten Boom.

“God is not looking for extraordinary characters as His instruments, but He is looking for humble instruments through whom He can be honored throughout the ages.” - A.B. Simpson.

1Ti 1:17 (CEV): “I pray that honor and glory will always be given to the only God, who lives forever and is the invisible and eternal King! Amen.”

“If I had only one sermon to preach it would be a sermon against pride.” - G.K. Chesterton.

An encouraging word from Dr Ravi Zacharias…

The following story probably stirs my own confidence in the power of God's Word and His sovereignty more than any other.

I was ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of my interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I returned home.

We did not know if our paths would ever cross again. Seventeen years later, I received a telephone call. "Brother Ravi?" the man asked. Immediately I recognized Hien's voice, and he soon told me his story.

Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals and the Christian faith.

He was restricted to communist propaganda in French or Vietnamese, and the daily deluge of Marx and Engels began to take its toll. "Maybe," he thought, "I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe the West has deceived me." So Hien determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith.

The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. As he cleaned out a tin can overflowing with toilet paper, his eye caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper.

He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, "Romans, Chapter 8." Trembling, he began to read, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him….for I am convinced that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Hien wept. He knew His Bible, and knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender. He cried out to God, asking forgiveness, for this was to have been the first day that he would not pray. Evidently God had other plans. What his tormentors were using for refuse—the Scriptures—could not be more treasured to Hien.

After finding the Scripture, Hien asked the commander if he could clean the latrines regularly, because he discovered that some official was using a Bible as toilet paper. Each day Hien picked up a portion of Scripture, cleaned it off, and added it to his collection of nightly reading.

The day came when, through an equally providential set of circumstances, Hien was released from prison. He promptly began to make plans to leave the country and to construct a boat for the escape of him and fifty-three others.

All was going according to plan until days before their departure. Four Vietcong knocked on Hien's door and said they had heard of his escape. He denied it and they left. Hien felt relieved, but at the same time disappointed with himself. He made a promise to God—fervently hoping that God would not take him up on it—that if the Vietcong returned, he would tell them the truth.

He was thoroughly shaken when only a few hours before they were to set sail, the four men returned. When questioned again, Hien confessed the truth. To Hien's astonishment, the men leaned forward and in hushed tones, asked if they could go with him!

In an utterly incredible escape plan, all fifty-eight of them found themselves on the high seas, suddenly engulfed by a violent storm. Hien cried out to God, "Did you bring us here to die?" He said to me, "Brother Ravi, if it were not for the sailing ability of those four Vietcong, we would not have made it." They arrived safely in Thailand, and years later Hien arrived on American soil where today he is a businessman.

How fittingly do the words of the eighteenth-century poet William Cowper capture what God did in Hien's life:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour:
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Keep on Praying and Never Give Up

I was called at 10 o’clock one night to pray for a young person given up by the doctor who was dying of infection of lungs. As I looked, I saw that unless God undertook it was impossible for her to live.

I turned to the mother & said, “Well, mother, you will have to go to bed.”

She said, “Oh, I have not had my clothes off for three weeks.”

I said to the daughters, “You will have to go to bed,” but they did not want to go. It was the same with the son.

I put on my overcoat & said, “Good-bye, I’m off.”

They said, “Oh, don’t leave us.” I said, “I can do nothing here.”

They said, “Oh, if you will stop, we will all go to bed.”

I knew that God would move nothing in an atmosphere of mere natural sympathy & unbelief.

They all went to bed and I stayed & that was surely a time as I knelt by that bed face to face with death & with the devil. But God can change the hardest situation & make you know that He is almighty.

Then the fight came. I prayed from 11 to 3:30 in the morning. I saw the glimmering light on the face of the sufferer & saw her pass away.

The devil said, “Now you are done for. You have come from Bradford & the girl has died on your hands.”

I said, “It can’t be. God did not send me here for nothing. This is a time to change strength.”

I remembered that passage which said, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” (Luke 18:1).

Death had taken place but I knew that my God was all-powerful & He that had split the Red Sea is just the same today.

I looked at the window & at that moment the face of Jesus appeared. It seemed as though a million rays of light were coming from His face. As He looked at the one who had just passed away, the color came back to the face. She rolled over & fell asleep. Then I had a glorious time.

In the morning she woke early, put on a dressing gown & walked to the piano. She started to play & to sing a wonderful song. The mother & the sisters & the brother had all come down to listen. The Lord had undertaken. A miracle had been wrought.

I am thanking God for difficult cases. The Lord has called us into heart union with Himself. He wants us to have one heart & one Spirit with Him & to do what He Himself loved to do. The lungs were gone but the Lord restored lungs that were perfectly sound. (‘Ever Increasing Faith’ - Smith Wigglesworth)

Changed Lives Show the Truth of Christ

In his book ‘Has Christianity Failed You?’ Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of His resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes:

During the course of nearly 40 years, I have traveled to virtually every continent and seen or heard some of the most amazing testimonies of God's intervention in the most extreme circumstances.

I have seen hardened criminals touched by the message of Jesus Christ and their hearts turned toward good in a way that no amount or rehabilitation could have accomplished.

I have seen ardent followers of radical belief systems turned from being violent, brutal terrorists to becoming mild, tenderhearted followers of Jesus Christ.

I have seen nations where the gospel, banned and silenced by governments, has nevertheless conquered the ethos and mind-set of an entire culture.

2Co 5:17 (GW): “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.”

THE BREAD OF LIFE

It is told of Sadhu Sundar Singh that many years ago he was distributing Gospels in the Central Provinces of India and he came to some non-Christians on the railway train and offered a man a copy of John's Gospel.

The man took it, tore it in pieces in anger and threw the pieces out of the window. That seemed the end, but it so happened, in the Providence of God, there was a man anxiously seeking for truth, walking along the line that very day and he picked up as he walked along a little bit of paper and looked at it and the words on it in his own language were 'the Bread of Life'.

He did not know what it meant; but he enquired among his friends and one of them said: 'I can tell you; it is out of the Christian book. You must not read it or you will be defiled.' The man thought for a moment and then said: 'I want to read the book that contains that beautiful phrase': and he bought a copy of the New Testament.

He was shown where the sentence occurred-our Lord's words 'I am the Bread of Life'; and as he studied the gospel, the light flooded into his heart, he came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he became a preacher of the gospel in the Central Provinces of India.

That little bit of paper through God's Spirit was indeed the ‘Bread of life’ to him, satisfying his deepest need. - John A. Patten.

John 6:35 (ESV): Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”