Tuesday, October 31, 2017

GOD’S ALL-SUFFICIENCY



One of Spurgeon's quaint sayings was: "If there were an ant at the door of your granary begging for help, it wouldn't ruin you to give him a grain of your wheat. You are but a tiny insect at the door of God's all-sufficiency."

If a great king should issue an order that your needs should be supplied as long as you might live, you would cease to worry, for here is one who has authority & resources in plenty. How much more should the promises of the King of kings stop our worrying!

His promises are so many bonds that may be cashed in the day of the be¬liever's need. Our only concern needs to be that our rights to the promises may be cleared up, for it is sad when one stands with the King's promises in hand & fears to face the Cashier with them.

- Living Links.(moreillustrations.com)

Ps 84:11 (NIV): “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

“Your faith level is determined by your obedience level.” -  Jack Hyles.

Monday, October 30, 2017

RICHES



The great Agassiz was devoting time & talent to a poorly paid but absorbing line of scientific study, when he received a message from a college president offering him what seemed a generous amount of money to come & deliver a course of lectures on Natural History.

His characteristic reply was rather startling, but might well be stamped on the hearts of all God's stewards:

"I cannot afford to waste my time making money.”

- Courtesy Moody Monthly. (moreillustrations.com)

Luke 16:13 (ERV): “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one master and love the other. Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money at the same time.”

“You must keep all earthy treasures out of your heart, and let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart.” -  Charles Spurgeon.

“There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.” -  Billy Graham.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

JUDGMENT



While on a walk one day, I was surprised to see a man hoeing his garden while sitting in a chair. 

"What laziness!" I thought.

But suddenly I saw, leaning against his chair, a pair of crutches. The man was at work despite his handicap.

The lesson I learned about snap judgments that day has stayed with me for years now: the crosses people bear are seldom in plain sight.

- Annette Ashe, Guideposts (moreillustrations.com)

John 7:24 (NIV): “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

“We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” -  Henry Ward Beecher.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

HELPING THE POOR



If you want to be rich, give; if you want to be poor, grasp! 
If you want abundance, scatter; if you want to be needy, hoard!

“A man there was and they called him mad:
The more he gave, the more he had.” – ‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ John Bunyan.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 6:2 (CEB): “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get.”

“Let the lips of the poor be the trumpet of thy gift, lest in seeking applause, thou lose thy reward.” -  Francis Quarles.

Pro 19:17 (GNT): “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.”

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

STEWARDSHIP



“All too often we regard stewardship simply as a matter of our giving to God, but this aspect is secondary. Before we can give, we must possess & before we possess we must receive.

Therefore, stewardship is, in the first place, receiving God’s good & bounteous gifts. And once received, those gifts are not to be used solely for our own good.

They must also be used for the benefit of others & ultimately for the glory of God the giver. The steward needs an open hand to receive from God & then an active hand to give to God & to others.

- Murray J. Harris (ministry127.com)

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill.

Col 3:23 (CSB): “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.”

“The happiest people on earth are the people who have discovered the joy of giving.” - Unknown.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

STATUS IN HEAVEN



A lady was bringing her plants into the house in the autumn. Some had hardly grown at all - they had made no progress & produced no bloom. They had just lived & that was about all.

Others had done well - grown strong & beautiful & repaid her care by abundant blossoms.

The former were taken in & saved from perishing, but had obscure places, with little regard or use - just saved & that was all - while those which had used their powers & opportunities were taken to grace the parlors & windows of the house & given missions of beauty & power.

So it is with people in God's garden & house, some are just saved, "so as by fire"; they "hardly enter in."
But those who live lives of loving service to God & humanity have an abundant entrance into the joy of the Lord.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Mark 4:20 (ERV):  “And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”

“There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.” -  Charles Spurgeon.

Monday, October 23, 2017

"WELL DONE!"



A short time ago, one of our blind soldiers was playing the piano in the convalescent ward of a London hospital.

Presently some visitors entered the room, but he was used to such interruptions & played on, filling the long ward with lovely melody.

When the music ceased, a gentleman walked over to the piano & said, "Well done, my friend!"

The surprised soldier, thinking it was one of his comrades, swung round on his stool & with a smile said, "And who are you?"

Quick as a flash & as startling, came the reply, "Your King!"

In an instant the man was on his feet with his hand at salute, his whole being instinct with pleasure at the honor accorded him by the royal word of praise.

- The Sunday Strand. (moreillustrations.com)             

John 5:44 (ERV): “You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?”
                                

Sunday, October 22, 2017

WHEN WE HAVEN’T MUCH TO SHOW



There is a very human story told of a commercial traveler who presented himself before his chief after finishing his round.

Taking the very small batch of orders in his hand, the manager looked at the man & said, "And is this all you've done?"

In reply the man looked steadily at his employer & said, "No, sir, it isn't all I've done, but I'm afraid it is all I can show."

In our work for God it is often when we toil hardest that we can show the least tangible result. But if there has been the earnest endeavor to serve Christ, we may be sure that He knows all about it & will reward us accordingly.

- United Methodist. (moreillustrations.com)

Rev 22:12 (CEB): “Look! I’m coming soon. My reward is with me, to repay all people as their actions deserve.”

“The supreme test of service is this: For whom am I doing this? Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all....If we are doing this for Christ, we shall not care for human reward or even recognition. - A.T. Pierson.

Friday, October 20, 2017

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY



"Yours must be a very responsible position," said a traveler to a switchman who had charge of the switches where five lines converge.

"Yes," was the reply, "but it is as nothing compared to yours as a Christian."

- Christian Herald. (moreillustrations.com)         

“Many say they can't get God's guidance, when they really mean they wish He would show them an easier way.” -  Winkie Pratney.

“What the Lord wants is that you shall go about the business to which He sets you, not asking for an easy post, nor grumbling at a hard one.” -  Catherine Booth.

Gal 6:4-5 (MSG): “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

Thursday, October 19, 2017

GOD’S WORD



A skeptic in London recently, in speaking of the Bible, said that it was quite impossible in these days to believe in any book whose authority was unknown.

A Christian asked if the compiler of the multiplication table was known.

“No!” he answered.

“Then, of course, you do not believe in it.”

“Oh yes,” was the skeptic’s reply “I believe in it because it works well.”

“So does the Bible,” was the rejoinder.

The skeptic had no answer to that.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 30:5 (GW): “All of God’s words has proven to be true. He is a shield to those who come to him for protection.”

"The best evidence of the Bible's being the Word of God is to be found between its covers. It proves itself." - Charles Hodge.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

YOUR GREATEST TREASURE?



When one of our sons, a boy then of six or seven, attending school in Great Britain for the first time, came home saying he had to write a short essay on `My greatest treasure', we wondered which of his treasured possessions he would choose to write about.

When he showed us his completed composition, we were delighted to find that his first sentence was 'My greatest treasure is my Holy Bible.'

- A.N. (moreillustrations.com)

Lk 12:34 (NCV): “Your heart will be where your treasure is.”

“If our principal treasure be as we profess, in things spiritual and heavenly, and woe unto us if it be not so! on them will our affections, and consequently our desires and thoughts, be principally fixed.” -  John Owen.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

THE ROYAL LAW



The coronation of King George VI was the first to be broadcast to the world by radio.

What a magnificent testimony to the Bible was heard at that point in the Westminster Abbey service when the crystal-clear voice of the Archbishop of Canterbury rang out with these words:

"Our gracious King, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing this world affords. Here is wisdom; this is the royal law; these are the living oracles of God."

- Bible Society Record.(moreillustrations.com)

“One way to get comfort is to plead the promise of God in prayer, show Him His handwriting; God is tender of His Word.” -  Thomas Manton.

Isa 62:6 (GNT): “On your walls, Jerusalem, I have placed sentries; they must never be silent day or night. They must remind the Lord of his promises and never let him forget them.”

Monday, October 16, 2017

THE EASIER WAY



There are two ways of traveling on the Continent.

In the first, you do everything for yourself. You obtain your ticket, look after your luggage, get your seat in the carriage, ask at least three porters whether you are right; and if you have an imperfect knowledge of the language, you have constantly an uneasy sense that perhaps you are wrong. 

There is another method of foreign travel.

You employ a Tourist Agency, which obtains your tickets, sees to your comfort, gives you precise directions, provides you, where necessary, with a conductor & at every terminus waits to greet you. 

And in this we have a good illustration of the easier way of traveling to Heaven. Be at rest in the indwelling & in working of the Holy Spirit. Only see that He is not grieved & He will see to all else.

- King's Business, F. B. Meyer. (moreillustrations.com)

Ep 4:30 (WE): “Do nothing that makes the Holy Spirit feel sad. He is the mark God has put on you until the day you will belong to God altogether.”

"Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” - Corrie Ten Boom.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM



One night I read an account of the scenes around Catherine Booth as she lay in her coffin at Congress Hall:

How the poorest of the poor felt she was specially theirs in death as in life.

How ministers & members of Parliament & half-starved children of the slums were alike eager for a last look upon the face they loved.

Lost girls turned from her side & begged to be taken to some home where they could begin a new life.

"That woman lived for me," a poor drunkard cried in anguish. They drew him aside; and down on his knees, he accepted pardon & promised that her God should be his.

Three men knelt together at the head of the coffin & poured out their penitence to God & went out of the hall saved.

Another said, "I've come 60 miles to see her again. She was the means of saving my two boys."

What a thrilling testimony to one who had the "qualities of a Christian!"

- The King's Business. (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 22:1 (NLT): “Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.”

“A good name is what is given you by others and that which has been earned by you.” -  Jack Hyles.

Friday, October 13, 2017

WORTH FOLLOWING



There is a pleasing story of how the father of Matthew Henry the commentator won his bride. He was a Presbyterian minister, she, an only daughter & the heiress of a considerable fortune.

Her father objected. "You see," he said to his daughter, "he may be a perfect gentleman, a brilliant scholar & an excellent preacher; but he is a stranger & we do not even know where he comes from!"

"True," replied the girl, "but we know where he is going & I should like to go with him."

Do others have confidence in us because they know we are led of God?

- Sunday School Chronicle. (moreillustrations.com)

“A good conscience and a good confidence go together.” -  Thomas Brooks.

1 Tim 4:12 (RSV): “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

“Nobody knows about your integrity, your sincerity, your talent or your good will unless you give out samples in action.” - Weekly Animator.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

MEANING OF COMFORT



A missionary translator, laboring amongst a tribe in the mountains of Mexico, found it hard to get the right word for 'comfort'.

One day his helper asked for a week's leave, and explained that his uncle had died & he wanted some days off to visit his bereaved aunt 'to help her heart around the corner'.

That was just the expression the missionary needed.

- (moreillustrations.com)

John 14:16 (KJV): “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”

“If I am walking along the street with a very disfiguring hole in the back of my dress, of which I am in ignorance, it is certainly a very great comfort to me to have a kind friend who will tell me of it. And similarly it is indeed a comfort to know that there is always abiding with me a divine, all-seeing Comforter, who will reprove me for all my faults, and will not let me go on in a fatal unconsciousness of them.” -  Hannah Whitall Smith.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

GIVE YOURSELF TO OBEY GOD’S GUIDANCE



A young man was eager to grow in His Christian life.

He got a piece of paper & made a list of all the things he would do for God. He wrote down the things he would give up, the places he would go to minister & the areas of ministry he would enter.

He was excited. He took that list to the church & put it on the altar. He thought he would feel joy, but instead he felt empty.

So he went home & started adding to his list. He wrote down more things he would do & wouldn’t do. He took the longer list & put it on the altar, but still he felt nothing.

He went to a wise, old pastor, told him the situation & asked for help. The pastor said, “Take a blank sheet of paper. Sign your name at the bottom. Put that on the altar.”

The young man did & then peace came to his heart.

-‘The Pulling Down of Strongholds’, R.B. Ouellette (ministry127.com)

Jer 10:23 (TLB): “O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course.”

“God does not will He should follow what man has initiated. Other than following God's direction, we have no right to direct Him. We have no ability to offer but to obey God's guidance.” -  Watchman Nee.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THE TIE OF LOVE



One day, one of the gigantic eagles of Scotland carried away a sleeping infant. The whole village pursued it, but the eagle soon perched itself upon a lofty crag & everyone despaired of the child's life.

A sailor tried to climb the ascent, but he was obliged to give up the attempt. A robust Highlander, accustomed to hill climbing, tried but was forced to return.

At last a poor peasant woman came forward & putting her feet on one shelf of the rock, then a second, then a third, she rose to the very top of the cliff.

While the hearts of those below were trembling, she came down step by step, until amid the shouts of the villagers, she stood at the bottom of the rock with the child on her bosom.

Why did that woman succeed when the strong sailor & the practiced Highlander failed?

Because between her & the babe there was a tie; that woman was the mother of the babe. Let there be that tie of love of Christ and to souls then greater wonders will be accomplished.

-The King's Business. (moreillustrations.com)

“For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” – Paul (1 Cor 10:33 NIV)

Monday, October 9, 2017

GENEROUS SPIRIT



A miner worked very hard every day in the mines for a living. The overseer of the mine said to him one day:

"Thomas, I've got an easier post for you, where there is not much hard work & where you will get better wages. Will you accept it?"

Most men would have jumped at such an offer. But what did this noble fellow do? He said to the overseer:

"Captain, there's our poor brother Tregony: he has a sickly body & not able to do hard work as I can. I am afraid his work will shorten his life & then what will his poor family do? Won't you please let him have this easier post? I can go on working as I have done."

The overseer was wonderfully pleased with Thomas's generous spirit.

- Gospel Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

Gal 6:2 (MOUNCE): “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden for anyone else.” - Charles Dickens.

Sunday, October 8, 2017

SERVANT LEADER



The late Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, was visiting Taiwan on one of his overseas trips.

During the visit he hiked with a Taiwanese pastor back into one of the mountain villages to meet with some of the national Christians.

The roads & trails were wet, and their shoes became very muddy.  Later, someone asked this Taiwanese pastor what he remembered most about Dawson Trotman.

Without hesitation the man replied, “He cleaned my shoes.”

- (ministry127.com)

John 13:5 (ICB): “Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

Luke 14:11 (NIV): “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

“Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility.” - Jonathan Edwards.           

Friday, October 6, 2017

THE BONDAGE OF ALCOHOL



Have you heard the story of Waylon Prendergast? The man from Tampa, Florida, had been out drinking when he decided to rob a house on his way home.

The drunken man forced his way into a house, filled a suitcase he found there with the valuables he discovered & made his way to the living room.

In his stupor he decided it would be a good idea to set a fire to cover his tracks, so he ignited a blaze before making his way out the back door.

Thinking he was home free, he continued on to his house - only to find 3 fire trucks parked outside fighting the blaze he had set to cover his theft from his own home.

The Bible describes alcoholic drinks as being deceitful for a reason.

None of those people who now realize they have a problem with it intended to become alcoholics or dependent on their next drink to make it through the day. But that is where the end of the path they set out on leads.

- Herald Sun (ministry127.com)

“The ravages of drink are greater than those of war, pestilence, and famine combined.” - William Gladstone.

Ps 3:8 (NIV): “From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.”

Thursday, October 5, 2017

NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITY



Four things come not back - the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.

- Survey Bulletin (moreillustrations.com)

“Let's help people get on board with what God wants to give them, but what we don't want is the process. Everyone wants the product.” -  Chip Ingram.

Isa 59: 15-16 (GNV): “…The LORD has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice.  He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory.”

“The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.” -  Billy Graham.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

THE BITTER END OF SIN



Mel Trotter, the famous rescue mission worker, was the son of a bartender who “drank as much as he served.” Trotter followed in his father’s footsteps, losing job after job because of his addiction to drinking.

Each time he lost a job, he promised to reform & start doing better, but each time he failed.

After the death of his baby son, Trotter made his way to Chicago where he intended to drown himself in Lake Michigan.

He had sold his shoes to get money for another drink & was walking barefoot through the snow toward his death when he went inside the Pacific Garden Mission & was saved.

For the next 40 years, Trotter did everything he could to help those like himself who had fallen prey to the deceptively alluring temptations of sin.

Satan’s advertising is never realistic. He paints beautiful pictures of immediate pleasure, ignoring the real consequences that its participants must endure.

If the beer companies ran ads filled with crashed cars, paralyzed drinkers & the tiny caskets of babies killed by drunk drivers, it would not help them sell their product. So they focus on the beginning rather than the ending.

But no matter how beautiful the temptation appears, it is only a mask for the reality that sin always ends in pain, heartbreak & judgment.

As Bible says:  “…sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:15).

Source: ‘Man with a Mission: Mel Trotter and His Legacy for the Rescue Mission Movement’, Leona Hertel (ministry127.com)

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

UNSELFISHNESS



Bishop Thoburn was one of the world's greatest missionaries & served over 50 years in India & the Far East.

But the world does not know so well that his brother stayed at home & worked & saved to send him through school & to get him ready for his life work.

That brother, like Peter's brother Andrew, did not become famous. He stayed back on the farm & made his brother famous, as Andrew helped Peter, who became the great leader.

If they could not do great things, they could help others close to them to do them.

- Pilgrim Sunday School Quarterly. (moreillustrations.com)

Phi 2:4 (GW): “Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.”

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” -  Isaac Newton.

Monday, October 2, 2017

PRAYER



Some 500 years ago in London, a number of poor men were praying for liberty to read the Bible. On the spot where that prayer meeting was held stand the buildings of the Bible Society today.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Lord Jesus said: “So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.”  (Mk 11:24 NCV)

“If you are stranger to prayer you are stranger to power.” -  Billy Sunday.

“Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.” -  Billy Graham.           

Sunday, October 1, 2017

REBELLION



The story is told about the father of a vacationing family who came across a large sign that read, “Road Closed. Do Not Enter.”

The man proceeded around the sign because he was confident it would save them time. His wife was resistant to the adventure, but there was no turning back for this persistent road warrior.

After a few miles of successful navigation, he began to boast about his gift of discernment. His proud smile was quickly replaced with humble sweat when the road led to a washed-out bridge.

He turned the car around & retraced his tracks to the main road. When they arrived at the original warning sign he was greeted by large letters on the back of the sign “Welcome back, stupid!”

Sometimes we can have utmost confidence in ourselves to figure out issues or fix problems, but we let ourselves down. Confidence is only as good as the object it’s placed in. 

When going through life, the wise person places their confidence in an unchanging, all-powerful God.

- (ministry127.com)

"Sometimes Satan provokes us to harden our spirit. It can become stiff, unyielding, narrow and selfish. Such a spirit cannot work with God nor can it do His will.” -  Watchman Nee.

Pro 9:12 (GNT): “You are the one who will profit if you have wisdom, and if you reject it, you are the one who will suffer.”