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.           

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.”

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.

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)

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.

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.           

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.”