QUARRELSOME

The applicant for the position of cook explained to the lady why she had left her last place:

"To tell the truth, mam, I just couldn't stand the way the master and the mistress were always quarreling."

"That must have been unpleasant," the lady agreed.

"Yes, mam," the cook declared, "they were at it all the time. When it wasn't me and him, it was me and her."

- (moreillustrations.com)

Rom 12:18 (BBE): "As far as it is possible for you be at peace with all men."

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace." - Albert Schweitzer.

PROMISE

Abraham Lincoln was well known for total abstinence from alcohol. According to one well known story, he was once offered a drink by a colonel in the military.

Lincoln responded by telling the man that when his mother was on her deathbed, she had summoned him as a nine year old boy & asked for his promise that he would never take a drink.

He then said, “I promised my mother that I never would & up to this hour, I’ve kept this promise! Would you advise me to break that promise?”

The colonel replied, “No, Mr. Lincoln, I wouldn’t have you do it for the world. It was one of the best promises you ever made. I would give a thousand dollars today if I had made my mother a promise like that & had kept it, as you have done.”

(Source: Abraham Lincoln: The Man and His Faith, George Owen)

Ps 15: 1 & 4 (GNT): “LORD, who may enter your Temple? Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill? … Those who always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.”

“God’s promises are all on condition of humble obedience.” – Ellen G White.

HE IS ABLE TO KEEP

The Sunday School Times told, not long ago, about a drunkard, very conscious of his weakness & helplessness, who was urged to "Sign the Pledge and keep it."

"But," cried the distressed man, "I do not want something to keep; I need something to keep me!"

Soon after that, thank God, he found the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, of whom it is written, "He is able to keep."

- Gospel Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

2 Tim 1:12 (DRA): “… For I know whom I have believed, and I am certain that HE IS ABLE TO KEEP that which I have committed unto him...”

Lord Jesus said: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do NOTHING without me.” (Jn 15:5 GNT)

PURPOSE OF LIVING

“Today, some Christians are content to merely exist until they die. They don't want to risk anything, to believe God, to grow or mature. They refuse to believe his Word, and have become hardened in their unbelief. Now they're living just to die.” -  David Wilkerson.

But the Bible says: “Our only goal is to always please the Lord, whether we are living here in this body or there with him. We must all stand before Christ to be judged. Everyone will get what they should. They will be paid for whatever they did - good or bad - when they lived in this earthly body.” (2 Cor 5:9-10 ERV)

“Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.” - C.T. Studd.

HAPPY HOME

“Patience, forbearance, kindness, forgiveness - these are essentials in every household; and they can come only through much prayer & supplication at the throne of grace.” - Judge C. C. Featherstone.

"Home is where the heart is, In dwellings great or small; And a home lighted by love, Is the dearest home of all." - Mabel Beals.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 27:8 (TLB): “A man who strays from home is like a bird that wanders from its nest.”

LISTENING

Good listening has been described as an art; now it is a rapidly growing profession.

The busy offices of social workers, our school counselors, personnel managers, and marriage consultants are filled with troubled people, in desperate need of listeners, talking out their problems.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.” -  Andrew Murray.

1 Cor 13:4-5 (PHILLIPS): “This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience - it looks for a way of being constructive… Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage…”

A SOLID FOUNDATION

Mormons say that the angel Moroni ‘visited’ Joseph Smith & completed the compilation & writing of the Book of Mormon.

He told Joseph Smith where to find golden plates buried near his family home. He then translated what was written on those plates (the Book of Mormon).

Eleven men are said to have seen the plates & three of them were relatives of Joseph Smith.

In contrast, Christianity is not built on a faulty foundation. It was built on a solid foundation, not from superstition.

Jesus Christ was seen of hundreds & lived among us. The Apostles were eyewitnesses of His life!

- (ministry127.com)

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” – Paul (Gal 1:8 NIV)

“There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.” - Charles Kingsley.