Monday, July 31, 2017

THE SECOND COMING



While the last Prince of Wales was on a visit to the Midlands, he went into a certain workingman's home.

Next day, the workingman told his mates sadly: "I never expected him, nor did my wife. The house was untidy & I hadn't washed. We shall never forgive ourselves. If we had known he was coming, we should have been ready for him."

The Prince of Peace is coming again, in power, to this earth of ours & we know not the day or the hour. The one question for all is, "Are we ready to meet Him?"

- Intermediate Young People (moreillustrations.com)

Lord Jesus said: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” (Rev 22:12 NKJV)

“The man who gets ahead is the man who works while others sleep.” -  Jack Hyles.         

Sunday, July 30, 2017

DISCOVERY OF A DISTURBED SOUL



A proud boy from a noble home in the Punjab entered a mission school but flared into open rebellion on being compelled to read the Christian Scriptures.

Rather than receive religious instruction under compulsion, he left the school & became ringleader of a hostile gang which threw stones at the preacher. His final protest was publicly to burn copies of the Gospel.

Then a miracle began & his mind was so disturbed that he determined, a few days later, that unless he could find some answer to his problems, he would take his own life.

That night he found Christ, became His bond-slave & found in Him the answer to all his problems. He gave the rest of his life to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in India & then ventured into Tibet with the same glorious Gospel. From there he never returned.

That man was Sadhu Sundar Singh          

- (moreillustrations.com)

Jn 8: 31-32 (Phillips): So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you are faithful to what I have said, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!”

“There is no greater discovery than seeing God as the author of your destiny.”-  Ravi Zacharias.

Friday, July 28, 2017

TEMPTATION



Two drunkards were saved.

One said the inclination of drink was taken completely from him. He could do business in a bar room & not desire a drink.

The other said, "Not a day has passed since my submission to God that I have not wanted a drink; but God has kept me from yielding."

God deals differently with his children. In one case He may remove the temptation, in another He may leave the temptation & give grace to overcome it.

Where there is daily trusting Christ to keep you out of sin, there is daily victory, no matter what your particular temptation may be.

- The Gospel Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

“One of the best results of temptation is that it shows us what is in our hearts.” -  A.B. Simpson.

1 Cor 10:13 (ESV): “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

“If we didn't have to stand against temptation, we'd never know our own spiritual strength.” -  Joyce Meyer.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

FOR JESUS’ SAKE



"One night when my wife was at prayer meeting I began to grow very miserable. I did not know what the matter with me was, but finally retired before my wife came home.

In the morning I could eat no breakfast & went to the office. I told my clerks they could take a holiday & I shut myself in the office. I kept growing more & more miserable & finally got down & asked God to forgive my sins.

I did not say 'for Jesus' sake,' for I was a Unitarian (who believe that Jesus was a mere human-being) & I did not believe in the Atonement.

I kept praying, `God, forgive my sins'; but no answer came.

At last in desperation I cried, `O God, for Christ's sake, forgive my sins,' and I found peace at once."

This man had no access to God until he came in the name of Christ, but when he came thus, he was answered at once.

- Sunday School Times. (moreillustrations.com) 

“To see how Christ was prophesied and described therein, consider and mark, how that the lamb must be without spot or blemish; and so was Christ only of all mankind, in the sight of God and of His law.” -  William Tyndale.

Acts 4:12 (NLV): “There is no way to be saved from the punishment of sin through anyone else. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved.”

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

TRUE SALVATION



There was in a certain village, a very mean man who sold wood to his neighbors & who always took advantage of them by cutting his logs a few inches under the required four feet.

One day the report was circulated that the woodchopper had been saved. Nobody believed the report, for they all declared that he was beyond being reached.

One man, however, slipped quietly out of the grocery store where the ‘transformation’ was being discussed & soon came back running in excitement & shouted: "It's so! He has been!"

They all asked: "How do you know?"

"Why, I have been over & measured the wood that he cut yesterday. It is good four feet long!"

That testimony convinced the crowd.

This is, to be sure, a very homely incident, but it brings out the important truth that the person who accepts Christ must first of all become a new man - his new faith must make a difference in his life.

- Rufus M. Jones (moreillustrations.com)

2 Cor 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.”

“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” -  John Henry Newman.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

GOD’S LOVE FOR US



A noted preacher was invited to preach away from home one weekend. Arriving at the station he stood with his suitcase waiting for someone to claim him.

A motor drew up & the driver asked, "Are you Mr. Brown?"

"Yes," he answered, whereupon his luggage was placed in the car which was immediately driven away. He was wondering what to do next, when another & more handsome car drew up to his side.

"Mr. Brown, I think?" observed the gentleman who was driving.

"Yes. But someone else has just asked me that & gone off with my luggage!"

"Oh, that was a servant of mine. I sent him for your luggage, but I've come for you myself."

The Lord Himself will come for His people. Even an angel would not do.

- Christian Herald, London. (moreillustrations.com)

“And since I’m going away to prepare a place for you, I’ll come back again and welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.” – Lord Jesus (John 14:3 ISV)

“On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.” -  C.S. Lewis.

Monday, July 24, 2017

WORD ACCOMPLISHES GOD’S PURPOSE



In an address delivered at the centennial celebration of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, in 1884, Dr. William Speer told of a man, Luke Short, who died in New England at the age of 116.

When over a century old, this man was saved by remembering a sermon which he had heard century before in England on the text “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be kept from being with Christ. The Lord is coming soon!” (I Cor 16:22 NLV).

As we hear today the voices of century ago echoing within the walls of this church, let us pray that the message they bring to us shall not be without profit & inspiration.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Isa 55:11 (GW): “My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. It will not come back to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.”

“An honest heart is open to the Word.” -  A.W. Pink.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

"MESSIAH IS COMING SOON"



William Bernard writes as follows:

"While in Java we called on a Chinese lady who held a good position. She told us that not very long before, she heard the sound of an unfamiliar voice while in her own home one day. No speaker was visible, but the message was clear & unmistakable. It was in her language - 'Messiah is coming!'

She was a Christian; however the name 'Messiah' she had never heard before. Thinking that she was being advised that a visitor was coming to call on her, she began to think of the entertainment of the coming guest.

Again, however, she heard the voice, this time saying, 'Messiah is coming soon.'

Perplexed, she went to a Christian friend & asked who Messiah was. She was informed that the Messiah was Jesus Christ.

Thus God gave to this Chinese lady in her own home in that far-away island the Second Advent message, 'Messiah is coming soon.'"

- (moreillustrations.com)

“Remember, I am coming soon! God will bless everyone who pays attention to the message of this book.” – Lord Jesus Christ. (Rev 22:7 CEV)

Friday, July 21, 2017

GOD’S PROMISES



In 1985, for the first time in more than 50 years, Congress authorized the issue of official US government gold coins.

Beginning in 1986 these new coins came on the market. Each of these American Eagles, as they are known, is guaranteed by the US Mint to contain the stated amount of pure 22 karat gold.

They come in 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, and 1-ounce sizes & buyers from around the world trust these coins because they trust the promises of the United States government that the coins are what they claim to be.

When it comes to Scripture, we have something far more reliable than the guarantee of a government - we have the promises of Almighty God that His Word is perfect & pure.

- (ministry127.com)

Ps 12:6 (GNT): “The promises of the Lord can be trusted; they are as genuine as silver refined seven times in the furnace.”

“If you are a child of God, know that every promise in the Bible is yours. The Bible is a gold mine, waiting for someone to take out its riches.” Lee Roberson.


Thursday, July 20, 2017

SELF-CONTROL



If a man sleeps & nods, even for a second of time, when he is at the wheel of an automobile, the automobile will be wrecked.

If when a plane is taking off or landing, the pilot loses control, even for the fraction of a second, the wreck of the plane & the death of the passengers will be the result.

It is not otherwise with a man's life.

A moment's carelessness, a moment's loss of self-control, may wreck his happiness & lay him in the dust.

- (moreillustrations.com)

2 Tim 1:7 (NET): “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

“Character is made by many acts. It may be lost by a single act.” – Author unknown.

Pro 16:32 (NLT): “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.”

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

HONOR



It is said that Napoleon once lost control of his horse & a private jumping into the path of the horse took control of it.

Napoleon then said, “Thank you, Captain.”

With that one word Napoleon promoted the soldier from the rank of private to captain, but it was because that soldier put his general first.

Likewise, God promises to honor His servants.

Source: Billy Sunday, the Man and His Message, William T. Ellis (ministry127.com)

Js 4:10 (NLT): “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

“Every Christian bears Christ's name; live as an honor to His name.” -  Woodrow Kroll.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

AMAZINGLY GENEROUS WILL



When 67-year-old carpenter Russell Herman died in 1994, his will included a staggering set of bequests.

Included in his plan for distribution was more than 2 billion dollars for the City of East St. Louis, another billion and a half for the State of Illinois, two and a half billion for the national forest system & to top off the list, Herman left 6 trillion dollars to the government to help pay off the national debt.

That sounds amazingly generous, but there was a small problem - Herman’s only asset when he died was a 1983 Oldsmobile car.

He made grand pronouncements, but there was no real generosity involved. His promises were meaningless because there was nothing to back them up.

Source: Chicago Tribune, (ministry127.com)

1 John 3:18 (NOG): “Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.”

“You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” -  Amy Carmichael.

Monday, July 17, 2017

SACRIFICIAL AND SECRET DEEDS



A group of churches was raising a fund of $30,000 to finance missionary projects in Africa & South America.

A little church whose members lost nearly all their property in a terrible dam disaster sent a check for $209. 

The secretary of the missionary society sponsoring the work was reproached for accepting the gift: "Doesn't it hurt your conscience to take money from people so `hard up'?"

The secretary replied, "Did the Lord tell the widow to come back and take her two mites out of the treasury box?"

- Sunday School Times. (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 6:3-4 (NET): “But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.”

“Christian giving is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation. -  John Stott.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

PROPER PRIORITIES



A lady was standing in front of a casino when she was approached by a desperate looking man, “Please!” the man begged frantically, “Could you possibly spare $500. My wife is very sick & I really need the money to take her to the doctor & to buy her the medicine she needs.”

The lady looked at him suspiciously & said, “If I give you $500, how do I know you won’t just go into a casino & gamble it all away?”

The man quickly responded, “Oh no, I wouldn’t do that! I’ve got gambling money!”

- (ministry127.com)

“Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity.” -  Brother Lawrence.          

Lord Jesus said: “And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:29 GNT)

Friday, July 14, 2017

TURNED MILLIONAIRE OVERNIGHT



In West Texas is a famous oil-field known as the Yates Pool. During the Depression, this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Ira Yates.

Mr. Yates was not able to make enough money on his ranching operation to pay the principal & interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.

With little money for clothes or food, his family like many others had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep, he wondered how he would be able to pay his bills.

Then a seismograph crew from an oil company came into the area & told Mr. Yates that there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well & he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 ft they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many of the later wells were more than twice as large. 30 years after the first well was drilled, all the wells still had the potential of pumping 125,000 barrels of oil a day.

And Mr. Yates owned it all! The day he purchased the property he received the oil & mineral rights, yet he was living on government assistance.

A multi-millionaire living in poverty!

The problem? He did not know the oil was there. He owned it, but he did not know it!

Jesus Christ came so that you might have life, full & meaningful. Yet, many people are not aware of all that is theirs even though it's right at their fingertips.

Lord Jesus said in John 10:10... "I have come that they may have life, and that they might have it abundantly."

Don't just sit on it. Live it!

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

“When you become satisfied with God, however, everything else so loses its charm that He can give it to you without harm.” -  A.B. Simpson.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

CONTENT VERSUS GRUMBLE




A traveler seeing a lone shepherd asked him what weather it would be.

"It will be," answered the shepherd, "what weather pleases me."

When asked for an explanation, he said, "Sir, it shall be whatever weather pleases God; and what weather pleases God pleases me."

How much more content we would all be, if we were more conscious of the fact that all things are directed by our heavenly Father for our final good.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“To be always in a thankful state of heart before God is not to be considered a high plane of spirituality but rather the normal attitude of one who believes that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose.’" -  William Law.

Num 11:1 (GNT): “The people began to complain to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry and sent fire on the people. It burned among them and destroyed one end of the camp.”

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

SLAVERY



On the night of the liberation of the Jamaica slaves in 1838, a coffin was made & a grave was dug. Into that coffin they crowded all the various relics of their previous bondage & sorrow.

The whips, the torture irons, the branding irons, fragments of the treadmill, the handcuffs - they placed in the coffin & screwed down the lid.

At the stroke of midnight the coffin was lowered into its grave & then the whole of that mob of thousands celebrated their redemption from slavery by singing the Doxology!

It is a picture of the Christian's buried past.

- The Daum. (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 7:23 (CEV): “God paid a great price for you. So don’t become slaves of anyone else.”

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.” – Jack Welch.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

PROVIDENCE



George Whitefield, greatest of all preachers, employed as a drawer in the Bell Inn, was unable to get along with his brother's wife; and that led him to give up his employment & go to Bristol, and then, step by step, to Oxford & then to his apostolic career in the ministry.

Whitefield used to say that the difference he had with his brother's wife was God's way of forcing him out of the public business & calling him “from drawing wine for drunkards to draw water out of the wells of Salvation for the refreshment of his spiritual Israel."

- (moreillustrations.com)

“A providence is shaping our ends; a plan is developing in our lives; a supreme and loving Being is making all things work together for good.” -  F.B. Meyer.

Rom 8:28 (ICB): “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people God called, because that was his plan.”

Monday, July 10, 2017

TRUST IN THE LORD



"Why did papa have appendicitis and have to pay the doctor a thousand dollars, Mama?"

"It was God's will, dear."

"And was it because God was mad at papa or pleased with the doctor?"

- Life (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 20:24 (TLB): “Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?”

“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” -  Corrie Ten Boom.

Pro 3:5-6 (ISV): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Sunday, July 9, 2017

DREAM TRUE



Shortly before the death of Senator Matthew Stanley Quay - not only one of the most powerful politicians that the American system has produced, but a man of genius - he was visited by Senator Beveridge from Indiana, a much younger man, opposed to many of the policies of Quay, but with great admiration for Quay's personality.

Frail & weak, Quay sat by the window in his apartment. As Beveridge rose to go, Quay, looking out of the window, said to him:

"In a few months I shall be dead & the papers will say, 'Matt Quay, boss, is dead.' Had I lived my life differently they would say, 'Death of Matt Quay, statesman.' Take warning by me, young man."

Then, he wrote the words "Dream true," and gave it to Beveridge as a parting gift.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 10:7 (CEV): “Good people are remembered long after they are gone, but the wicked are soon forgotten.”

“If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” -  Zig Ziglar.

Friday, July 7, 2017

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY



An Arab sheik once gave a banquet for his son & invited his friends to share his hospitality. His one request was that each guest bring a small skin of wine as his contribution to the feast.

On the appointed day when the skins were emptied, it was found, to the mortification of host & guest alike, that all contained water. Each guest had reasoned that, since everyone else would bring wine, he might be able to make a substitution & not be detected.

A temptation against which every Christian who occupies a place of trust should be on his guard is the temptation to minimize his individual responsibility. It is this attitude that is responsible for much of the disappointment in the church.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up.” - John C. Maxwell.

Js 3:13 (GNT): “Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.”

Thursday, July 6, 2017

GOD'S MERCY



There is an old story about a lady who went to a photographer to have her picture taken. She was apprehensive about the picture, wanting her best side facing the camera & everything just right.

She said to the photographer, “Now, do me justice!”

The photographer took a look at her face & said, “Ma’am, pardon me for saying this, but you don’t need justice, you need mercy!”

If any of us got what we deserved, we would be condemned to Hell.

- (ministry127.com)

Ps 103:10 (TLV): “He has not treated us according to our sins, or repaid us according to our iniquities.”

“The more affected we are with our misery, the fitter for Christ's mercy.” -  Thomas Manto.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

WHERE IS YOUR HEART ?



In Kansas City, during the great Gipsy Smith revival years ago, an old preacher came into the room where the Gipsy was sitting after the service. Thousands were being blessed & hundreds saved.

The older minister placed his hands upon the evangelist's head & felt about it. “I am trying to find the secret of your success,” he said.

“Too high! Too high! My friend, you are too high,” Gipsy said. “The secret of whatever success God has given me is not up there but down here,” and he placed his hand upon his heart.

- Dr. John R. Rice (moreillustrations.com)

“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.” -  A.W. Tozer.

Mat 15:8 (GNT): “These people,” says God, “honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.”

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

COMPASSION



Dwight Morrow, the father of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, once held a dinner party to which Calvin Coolidge had been invited.

After Coolidge left, Morrow told the remaining guests that Coolidge would make a good president. The others disagreed. They felt Coolidge was too quiet, that he lacked color & personality. No one would like him, they said.

Anne, then age six, spoke up: “I like him.” Then she displayed a finger with a small bandage around it. “He was the only one at the party who asked about my sore finger.”

“And that’s why he would make a good president,” added Morrow.

Source: Just for Today, James Keller (ministry127.com)

“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” -  Albert Schweitzer.

1 Pet 3:8 (NIV): “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

Monday, July 3, 2017

DOING GOOD


John Keble used to say, "When you are quite despondent, the best way is to go out and do something kind to somebody."

This is a medicine that never fails to cure. To test it, try it.

Your visit to the sick, the bereaved, the disheartened & the lonely, will kindle fires of love & hope upon your own desolate hearth.

Christ was faithful & cheerful & one reason was that He "went about doing good."

Imprison yourself with your sorrow & life will be a gloomy bondage.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Acts 10:38 (LEB): “Jesus of Nazareth - how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.”


Sunday, July 2, 2017

LIFE – FOR A LOOK!



An unknown man preached one Sunday to a few people in a Methodist Chapel in the South of England one snowy day.

Among them was a boy of fifteen years, driven in by the snowstorm. 'Look unto Me and be ye saved' was the text.

“Young man!” he said, “You look miserable. Only look!”

The young man looked & was saved & received eternal life.

He was Charles Haddon Spurgeon; later came to be known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’.

Isa 45:22 (KJV): “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

- (moreillustrations.com)

If you look up into His face and say, "Yes, Lord, whatever it costs," at that moment He'll flood your life with His presence and power. -  Alan Redpath.