MAKING A DREAM COME TRUE

A Scotch boy by the name of Alexander Duff had a dream in which, in a chariot of great glory, God drew near to him where he lay meditating on a hillside & calling to him said:

"Come up, hither; I have work for thee to do."

That vision never faded from his memory. He went to Grammar school & to St. Andrews University, where a missionary society was formed among the students, Duff becoming its first librarian.

In 1829, he went out to India as the first missionary from the Scottish church. He was a real pioneer. He opened a school in Calcutta & later helped to establish a medical college there.

If you have a dream of doing great service for God, try to make it come true as Alexander Duff made his dream come true.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Job 33:15 (GNT): “At night when people are asleep, God speaks in dreams and visions.”

“The vision of the Divine Presence ever takes the form which our circumstances most require.” -  Alexander MacLaren.

FENCES!

On June 28, 2008, Asia LeeShawn Ferguson went over two fences & entered a restricted area in Six Flags Over Georgia. The 17 yr-old was hit & killed by the Batman roller coaster.

It is not known why Ferguson climbed the fences & his father said, “Nobody knows but my son & the Lord.”

Many people try to climb the fences their authority has placed around them, and they enter forbidden territory. It should not be a surprise to them when they get hurt.

Source: Chicago Tribune (ministry127.com)

Job 1:10 (GW): “Haven’t you put a protective fence around him, his home, and everything he has?”

Ecc 10:8 (TLV): “whoever breaks through a fence may be bitten by a snake.”

“These days its not just that the line between right and wrong has been made unclear, today Christians are being asked by our culture today to erase the lines and move the fences, and if that were not bad enough, we are being asked to join in the celebration cry by those who have thrown off the restraints religion had imposed upon them. It is not just that they ask we accept, but they now demand of us to celebrate it too.” -  Ravi Zacharias.

HEAVENLY VISION

In his book The Wilson Era, Josephus Daniels, secretary of the navy under Wilson, relates how he once asked Andrew Carnegie what was the secret of his remarkable success.

Carnegie replied, "I owe it all to my flashes."

Mystified, Daniels said, "What do you mean by 'flashes'?"

"All my life," replied Carnegie, "I woke up early in the morning & always there came into my mind with the waking a flash telling me what to do that day & if I followed those flashes, I always succeeded."

"You mean," said Daniels, "that you have heavenly visions & like the man in the Scriptures you were not disobedient to your visions?"

"Call it that if you like," answered Carnegie, "or call it flashes; but it was the following of those silent directions which brought me the success you say I have achieved."

Whatever may be said about the flashes, when they come, happy is the man who, like Paul, is obedient to the heavenly vision.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 29:1 (MEV): “Where there is no vision, the people perish;”

ARE YOU A LEADER OR A BOSS?

The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.

The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.

The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.

The boss says “I;” the leader, “We.”

The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.

The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.

The boss says “Go;” the leader says “Let’s go!”

- H. Gordon Selfridge (ministry127.com)

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” - John C. Maxwell.

“The chief occupational hazard of leadership is pride.” -  John Stott.

Tit 1:7 (GNT): “For since a church leader is in charge of God's work, he should be without fault. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for money.”

CROSS OF CHRIST

Winston Churchill paid a great tribute to the young men of the Royal Air Force, who mounted up with wings as eagles and with their sheltering wings guarded the land they love.

He said, "Never in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few."

But when we think of the cross of Christ, and Him who died on it, what we say is this: "Never in the history of the universe has mankind owed so much to one."

- (moreillustrations.com)

Col 2: 14 (ICB):  “We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. That debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross.”

“He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.” – Author Unknown.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS MONEY

A man once came to visit Robert Hall, the famous English preacher, to take some exception to a statement the preacher had made in his sermon. Hall saw that the man was in the bondage of love of money.

Hall took a half sovereign (coin) out of his pocket & opening the Bible, pointed to the word "God."

"Can you see that word?" he said to the man.

"Certainly, I can see it."

Then Hall laid the half sovereign over the word. "Can you see it now?" he asked.

There was no need for the man to answer. It was an unforgettable sermon:

Money, the love of it, can hide from the soul of man even the face of God.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.” -  G.K. Chesterton.

Heb 13:5 (NIV): Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.” -  Billy Graham.

HELPING OTHERS

A man was making his way over the mountains through a terrible snow storm. He gradually got weaker & weaker, until at last he stumbled & fell.

He said to himself, "This is the end. I shall never be found!" He was too weak to rise, but as he fell, his hand struck the body of another man who had fallen in the same place.

This first man was unconscious & the man who had just fallen rose to his knees & bending over began to rub his hands & face, until by & by the man's eyes opened.

He had saved another's life, but he had also saved himself, for the exercise had kept the life in his own body.

Thus, when you have a passion for souls, when you go seeking the lost, when you lift the burdens of others, your own vision of Jesus is clearer, your own hope of eternity is stronger, your own assurance of salvation is greater.

- J. Wilbur Chapman. (moreillustrations.com)

“In helping others, we help ourselves.” -  Woodrow Kroll.

Pro 11:25 (GNT): “Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped.”