The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the
mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson.
Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen
table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson
who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way
he could.
One day the grandson asked, 'Papa, I try to read the Bible
just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do
understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good
does reading the Bible do?' The Grandfather quietly turned
from putting coal in the stove and said, 'Take this old
wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a
basket of water.'
The boy did as he was told, even though all the water
leaked out be fore he could get back to the house. The
grandfather laughed and said, 'You will have to move a little
faster next time,' and sent him back to the river with the
basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again
the old wicker basket was empty before he returned home.
out of breath, he told his grandfather th at it was 'impossible
to carry water in a basket,' and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a
basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard
enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted
to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could,
the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy
scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his
grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said,
'See Papa, it's useless!'
'So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at the basket.'
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized
that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old wicker
coal basket, it was clean.
'Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will
change you from the inside out.'
Moral of the wicker basket story: Take time to read a portion of
God's word each day; it will affect you for good even if you don't
retain a word.
Thought for Today: Gods Love is like the ocean, you can see its
beginnings but not its end.
I really like this story because I don't retain things too well
anymore...old age may have something to do with it but I
just figure my brain just gets overloaded! God isn't concerned
about your brain anyway, He's more concerned about your heart.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Coldness Toward Spouse
This Week's Funny
An old man was lying on his deathbed. He had only hours to live when he suddenly smelled chocolate chip cookies. He loved chocolate chip cookies more than anything in the world.
With his last bit of energy he pulled himself out of bed, struggled across the floor to the stairs, and headed down the stairs into the kitchen. There his wife was baking those aromatic cookies.
As he reached for one—SMACK! He felt a slap across the back of his hand. His wife scolded, "Leave those alone; they're for the funeral!"
—Earliest known source: Tamara Norden, Shorewood, WI, on Prairie Home Companion web site, Fifth Annual Joke Show, (4-1-00); submitted by Brett Kays
Visit PreachingToday.com for more illustrations and preaching resources.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Shopping Plan
TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH
In the frozen foods department of our local grocery store, I noticed a man shopping with his son.
As I walked by, he checked something off his list, and I heard him whisper conspiratorially to the child;
"You know, if we really mess this up, we'll never have to do it again."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
In the frozen foods department of our local grocery store, I noticed a man shopping with his son.
As I walked by, he checked something off his list, and I heard him whisper conspiratorially to the child;
"You know, if we really mess this up, we'll never have to do it again."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Monday, June 15, 2009
Preacher's Best Years
This is an old joke but one of the best Preacher jokes ever!
TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH
A preacher, who shall we say was "humor impaired," attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry.
Among the speakers were many well known and dynamic speakers. One such boldly approached the pulpit and, gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!" The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "And that woman was my mother!"
The crowd burst into laughter and delivered the rest of his talk, which went over quite well.
The next week, the pastor decided he'd give this humor thing a try, and use that joke in his sermon. As he surely approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him.
Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!"
The congregation inhaled half the air in the room.
After standing there for almost 10 seconds in the stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out, "...and I can't remember who she was!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH
A preacher, who shall we say was "humor impaired," attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry.
Among the speakers were many well known and dynamic speakers. One such boldly approached the pulpit and, gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!" The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "And that woman was my mother!"
The crowd burst into laughter and delivered the rest of his talk, which went over quite well.
The next week, the pastor decided he'd give this humor thing a try, and use that joke in his sermon. As he surely approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him.
Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!"
The congregation inhaled half the air in the room.
After standing there for almost 10 seconds in the stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out, "...and I can't remember who she was!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Rewiring
TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH
Because our former small-town parish was not a wealthy one, our pastor was dependent on parishioners for upkeep and maintenance of the church.
Once he asked my husband, Sam, to rewire the confessionals. The only way to reach the wiring was to enter the attic above the altar and crawl over the ceiling by balancing on the rafters.
Concerned for my husband's safety, I waited in a pew.
Unbeknownst to me, some parishioners were congregating in the vestibule. They paid little attention to me, probably assuming I was praying.
Worried about my husband, I looked up toward the ceiling and yelled, "Sam, Sam, are you up there? Did you make it okay?"
There was quite an outburst from the vestibule when Sam's hearty voice echoed down, "Yes, I made it up here just fine!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Because our former small-town parish was not a wealthy one, our pastor was dependent on parishioners for upkeep and maintenance of the church.
Once he asked my husband, Sam, to rewire the confessionals. The only way to reach the wiring was to enter the attic above the altar and crawl over the ceiling by balancing on the rafters.
Concerned for my husband's safety, I waited in a pew.
Unbeknownst to me, some parishioners were congregating in the vestibule. They paid little attention to me, probably assuming I was praying.
Worried about my husband, I looked up toward the ceiling and yelled, "Sam, Sam, are you up there? Did you make it okay?"
There was quite an outburst from the vestibule when Sam's hearty voice echoed down, "Yes, I made it up here just fine!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Friday, June 12, 2009
Now is Passing
From one of Albert Eienstein Books
While people keep waiting and waiting for something big to happen in life, the “now” is passing them by. Do you know how fast a “now” passes? At the rate of 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light. So no matter how much you love and enjoy a particular “now”, that's how fast it becomes a “was”. That “now” is never coming back, and that “was” turns into some”going to be”. So if you don̓?t learn from the “was's”, you're going to have bad “going to be's”. Which completes the cycle by bringing in had “now's”. Thus, the only time you can switch around from a negative to a postive is in the “now”. Because you have to do it now. You can't just think of doing it now because it rapidly becomes a “was” and it's too late. And “going to be”,is you may do it and you may not. So if you do it now, you know it's done and you've got it. If you have a good “now”, you have a good “was”, which leads to a good “going to be”. In other words, by taking advantage of a “now”, you have a good “was”, from which you can learn and change your whole cycle of life.
That's why I never used the word “if” anymore, because an "if" is a never “was”.
Hermanu Minkowski
Physics Teacher
While people keep waiting and waiting for something big to happen in life, the “now” is passing them by. Do you know how fast a “now” passes? At the rate of 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light. So no matter how much you love and enjoy a particular “now”, that's how fast it becomes a “was”. That “now” is never coming back, and that “was” turns into some”going to be”. So if you don̓?t learn from the “was's”, you're going to have bad “going to be's”. Which completes the cycle by bringing in had “now's”. Thus, the only time you can switch around from a negative to a postive is in the “now”. Because you have to do it now. You can't just think of doing it now because it rapidly becomes a “was” and it's too late. And “going to be”,is you may do it and you may not. So if you do it now, you know it's done and you've got it. If you have a good “now”, you have a good “was”, which leads to a good “going to be”. In other words, by taking advantage of a “now”, you have a good “was”, from which you can learn and change your whole cycle of life.
That's why I never used the word “if” anymore, because an "if" is a never “was”.
Hermanu Minkowski
Physics Teacher
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH
| If you are an animal lover please visit the link at the bottom of the post. *Hand Dryers* My pastor friend put sanitary hot air hand dryers in the rest rooms at his church and after two weeks took them out. I asked him why and he confessed that they worked fine but when he went in there he saw a sign that read, "For a sample of this week's sermon, push the button." *Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!* http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh |
| EYE LAUGH "Cat and Dog Agents" http://www.cybersalt.org/g06.php?id=120 |
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Masquerade of Innocence
This Week's Funny
A woman was working one night in a Honeybaked Ham store. The store was equipped with security cameras, and she was watching the small, black-and-white monitors when she saw a woman come in the store, walk down the handicapped ramp, and go between two shelves. To the clerk's amazement, this woman grabbed a ham off the shelf and stuffed it up her dress. With the ham wedged between her thighs, the woman waddled toward the door.
The clerk was stunned and wondered what she should do. Should she yell out? Follow the woman?
Just then, the ham dropped out from between the woman's legs. It hit the metal handicapped ramp with a loud bang, and then rolled and clanged to the bottom.
The thief didn't miss a beat. She quickly turned her head and yelled out, "Who threw that ham at me? Who threw that ham at me?" Then she ran out of the store.
—Kevin A. Miller, vice president, Christianity Today International
Visit PreachingToday.com for more illustrations and preaching resources.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Cat Sitting
One night while I was cat-sitting my daughter's indoor feline, it escaped outside. When it failed to return the following morning, I found the beast clinging to a branch about 30 feet up in a spindly tree. Unable to lure it down, I called the fire department.
"We don't do that anymore," the woman dispatcher said. When I persisted, she was polite but firm. "The cat will come down when it gets hungry enough."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?" she said.
Two hours later the cat was back, looking for breakfast.
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
"We don't do that anymore," the woman dispatcher said. When I persisted, she was polite but firm. "The cat will come down when it gets hungry enough."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?" she said.
Two hours later the cat was back, looking for breakfast.
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Three-Year Argument
The monks at a remote monastery deep in the woods followed a rigid vow of silence. Their vow could only be broken once a year—on Christmas—by one monk. That monk could speak only one sentence. One Christmas, Brother Thomas had his turn to speak and said, "I love the delightful mashed potatoes we have every year with the Christmas roast!" Then he sat down. Silence ensued for 365 days.
The next Christmas, Brother Michael got his turn and said, "I think the mashed potatoes are lumpy, and I truly despise them!" Once again, silence ensued for 365 days.
The following Christmas, Brother Paul rose and said, "I am fed up with this constant bickering!"
—Strive to Humor daily e-mail list (12-19-01); submitted by Doug Diehl, San Antonio, Texas
Visit PreachingToday.com for more illustrations and preaching resources
Monday, June 01, 2009
Meditation:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on
those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has
dawned.
-- Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
_______________________________________________________________
Quotation:
Visit, I beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation with thy
mercy, and me with thy grace and salvation. Let thy holy
angels pitch their tents round about and dwell here, that no
illusion of the night may abuse me, the spirits of darkness
may not come near to hurt me, no evil or sad accident oppress
me; and let the eternal Spirit of the Father dwell in my soul
and body, filling every corner of my heart with light and
grace. Let no deed of darkness overtake me; and let thy
blessing, most blessed God, be upon me for ever, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), Holy Living [1650]
See the book at http://cqod.com/r/rs074
those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has
dawned.
-- Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
_______________________________________________________________
Quotation:
Visit, I beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation with thy
mercy, and me with thy grace and salvation. Let thy holy
angels pitch their tents round about and dwell here, that no
illusion of the night may abuse me, the spirits of darkness
may not come near to hurt me, no evil or sad accident oppress
me; and let the eternal Spirit of the Father dwell in my soul
and body, filling every corner of my heart with light and
grace. Let no deed of darkness overtake me; and let thy
blessing, most blessed God, be upon me for ever, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), Holy Living [1650]
See the book at http://cqod.com/r/rs074
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Beef Prices
It's a summer holiday weekend and a man walks into a butcher shop which has a sign in the window saying "Ground Sirloin: 29 cents per pound" The man says, "I'm having a cookout this weekend. I'd like 5 pounds of your ground sirloin, please."
The butcher shakes his head and says, "Sorry. I'm all out."
The man, disappointed goes down the street to another butcher shop and asks, "How much is your ground sirloin?"
The proprietor replies, "It's $3.29 per pound."
"Three twenty nine!?!" exclaimed the customer. "Just up the street he sells it for 29 cents!"
The butcher smiles calmly at the gentleman and asks, "Does he have any?"
"No. He's out of it right now."
"Well," says the butcher. "When I don't have any, I can sell it for 19 cents per pound!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Christian Quotation of the Day
May 26, 2009
Feast of Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605
Meditation:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received the message with great
eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what
Paul said was true.
-- Acts 17:11 (NIV)
_______________________________________________________________
Quotation:
I am verily persuaded that the Lord has more Truth yet to
break forth out of His holy Word. For my part, I cannot
sufficiently bewail the Condition of the Reformed Churches,
who are come to a Period in Religion and will go at present no
farther than the instruments of their Reformation. The
Lutheran can't be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; and the
Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that
great man of God, who yet saw not all things... I beseech you,
remember, 'tis an Article of your Church Covenant, that you be
ready to receive whatever Truth shall be made known to you
from the written Word of God.
... John Robinson (1576?-1625) [1620], quoted in The
History of the Puritans, or Protestant Noncomformists,
Daniel Neal, Harper, 1844, vol. 1, p. 269
See the book at http://cqod.com/r/rs068
Feast of Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605
Meditation:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received the message with great
eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what
Paul said was true.
-- Acts 17:11 (NIV)
_______________________________________________________________
Quotation:
I am verily persuaded that the Lord has more Truth yet to
break forth out of His holy Word. For my part, I cannot
sufficiently bewail the Condition of the Reformed Churches,
who are come to a Period in Religion and will go at present no
farther than the instruments of their Reformation. The
Lutheran can't be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; and the
Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that
great man of God, who yet saw not all things... I beseech you,
remember, 'tis an Article of your Church Covenant, that you be
ready to receive whatever Truth shall be made known to you
from the written Word of God.
... John Robinson (1576?-1625) [1620], quoted in The
History of the Puritans, or Protestant Noncomformists,
Daniel Neal, Harper, 1844, vol. 1, p. 269
See the book at http://cqod.com/r/rs068
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Front Pew
We have just returned from a two week church building job in Hallitsville, TX and am catching up on email. The following humor piece is one of the emails.
*The Front Pew*
An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps.
"Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.
"The front row please," she answered.
"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."
"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired.
"No," he said.
"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No," she said.
"Good," he answered, "Let me show you the front pew."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
*The Front Pew*
An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps.
"Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.
"The front row please," she answered.
"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."
"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired.
"No," he said.
"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No," she said.
"Good," he answered, "Let me show you the front pew."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Let him dig
An old man and woman were married for many years, even though they hated
each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be
heard deep into the night.
The old man would shout, 'When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the
grave and come back and haunt you for the re st of your life!' Neighbours
feared him. They believed he practiced black magic, because of the many
strange occurrences that took place in their neighbourhood. The old man
liked the fact that he was feared. To everyone's relief, he died of a
heart attack when he was 98..
His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went
straight to the local bar and began to party, as if there was no
tomorrow..
Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, 'Aren't you afraid that
he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back
to haunt you for the rest of your life?'
The wife put down her drink and said, 'Let him dig. I had him buried
upside down......'
each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be
heard deep into the night.
The old man would shout, 'When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the
grave and come back and haunt you for the re st of your life!' Neighbours
feared him. They believed he practiced black magic, because of the many
strange occurrences that took place in their neighbourhood. The old man
liked the fact that he was feared. To everyone's relief, he died of a
heart attack when he was 98..
His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went
straight to the local bar and began to party, as if there was no
tomorrow..
Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, 'Aren't you afraid that
he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back
to haunt you for the rest of your life?'
The wife put down her drink and said, 'Let him dig. I had him buried
upside down......'
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Thanks
If we pause to think, we'll have cause to thank.
God's highest gift should awaken man's deepest gratitude.
Thanksgiving is a duty before it's a feeling.
He who forgets the language of gratitude is not likely to be on speaking terms with God.
Hem your blessings with gratitude lest they unravel.
Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks.
Gratitude shouldn't be an occasional incident but a continuous attitude.
A thankful heart enjoys blessings twice--when they're received and when they're remembered.
If you wish your merit to be known, acknowledge that of others.
Think sometimes of all that you have instead of wishing for what you don't.
If you are not thankful for what you got, it is doubtful if you'll be thankful for what you will get.
God is found in two places--one of his dwellings is heaven, and the other is in the meek and hankful heart.
It is better to appreciate things you don't have than to have things you don't appreciate.
An ungrateful person is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they came from.
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all other virtues.
We are the objects of God's grace; let him be the object of our gratitude.
Thanksgiving is memory of the heart.
Thank you may be written in small letters but is a capital idea.
If you can't be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.
If Christians praised God more, the world would doubt him less.
Appreciation and praise are the lubrication that makes life more enjoyable to us and others.
Thanksgiving is good, but thanksliving is better.
God's giving deserves our thanksgiving.
It is a bad moment for an atheist when he feels grateful--whom does he thank?
Joy thrives in the soul of thanksgiving.
Thanking the Lord in adversity changes burdens into blessings.
I grumbled because I had to get up every morning--until one morning I couldn't get up.
Thanking God for our blessings extends them--failing to thank him will soon end them.
Appreciation is one of the rarest but one of the most beautiful virtues.
No matter how high a man may rise, he must have someone to look up to.
He who is not grateful for the good things he has would not be happy with what he wishes he had.
Anything scarce is valuable--thanks is an example.
It is better to say thank you and not mean it, than to mean it and never say it.
Thankfulness is the soil in which joy thrives.
If a man needs praise--give it to him. He cannot read his tombstone.
-- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).
God's highest gift should awaken man's deepest gratitude.
Thanksgiving is a duty before it's a feeling.
He who forgets the language of gratitude is not likely to be on speaking terms with God.
Hem your blessings with gratitude lest they unravel.
Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks.
Gratitude shouldn't be an occasional incident but a continuous attitude.
A thankful heart enjoys blessings twice--when they're received and when they're remembered.
If you wish your merit to be known, acknowledge that of others.
Think sometimes of all that you have instead of wishing for what you don't.
If you are not thankful for what you got, it is doubtful if you'll be thankful for what you will get.
God is found in two places--one of his dwellings is heaven, and the other is in the meek and hankful heart.
It is better to appreciate things you don't have than to have things you don't appreciate.
An ungrateful person is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they came from.
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all other virtues.
We are the objects of God's grace; let him be the object of our gratitude.
Thanksgiving is memory of the heart.
Thank you may be written in small letters but is a capital idea.
If you can't be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.
If Christians praised God more, the world would doubt him less.
Appreciation and praise are the lubrication that makes life more enjoyable to us and others.
Thanksgiving is good, but thanksliving is better.
God's giving deserves our thanksgiving.
It is a bad moment for an atheist when he feels grateful--whom does he thank?
Joy thrives in the soul of thanksgiving.
Thanking the Lord in adversity changes burdens into blessings.
I grumbled because I had to get up every morning--until one morning I couldn't get up.
Thanking God for our blessings extends them--failing to thank him will soon end them.
Appreciation is one of the rarest but one of the most beautiful virtues.
No matter how high a man may rise, he must have someone to look up to.
He who is not grateful for the good things he has would not be happy with what he wishes he had.
Anything scarce is valuable--thanks is an example.
It is better to say thank you and not mean it, than to mean it and never say it.
Thankfulness is the soil in which joy thrives.
If a man needs praise--give it to him. He cannot read his tombstone.
-- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).
Monday, May 04, 2009
Where Love Reigns
WHERE LOVE REIGNS
BY H.A. IRONSIDE
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”1—If God is loved supremely, no one will violate anything that He has commanded. This covers particularly the first Table of the Law, which sets forth man’s duty to God.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”2—This originally came from Leviticus 19:18 and covers all of the second Table, for “love worketh no ill to his neighbor.”3
Where love reigns, all else will be as it should be, for no one who truly loves God and his or her neighbor will intentionally wrong either God or neighbor4 All the Law and the prophets hang upon these two Commandments cited by Jesus, for every sin that we commit is either a wrong done to God Himself or to our fellow men. The salvation provided for us is first an atonement to meet all our sins, and second a regeneration to enable us to love God and our neighbor so as to cease from sin.
We have become alienated from God through the Fall. When we are born again by the Word and the Holy Spirit, we receive eternal life. The very nature of this new life is love, and therefore love becomes the controlling principle of the life of the person walking with Christ. Walking not after the flesh but after the Holy Spirit, the righteousness of the Law comes to fulfillment5, and we find it as easy to love God and our neighbor as it was easy before to live in selfishness and ill will toward others. A new power dominates us. This is the positive evidence of the new birth in Christ.6
(1) Deuteronomy 6:5, KJV; Matthew 22:37, KJV. (2) Leviticus 19:18, KJV;
Matthew 22:39, KJV. (3) Romans 13:10, KJV. (4) Matthew 7:12. (5) Romans
8:4. (6) 1 John 3:14; 1 John 5:1—2.
Above from “Foundations for Life” a Billy Graham Library Collection, Copyright 2001 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
BY H.A. IRONSIDE
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”1—If God is loved supremely, no one will violate anything that He has commanded. This covers particularly the first Table of the Law, which sets forth man’s duty to God.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”2—This originally came from Leviticus 19:18 and covers all of the second Table, for “love worketh no ill to his neighbor.”3
Where love reigns, all else will be as it should be, for no one who truly loves God and his or her neighbor will intentionally wrong either God or neighbor4 All the Law and the prophets hang upon these two Commandments cited by Jesus, for every sin that we commit is either a wrong done to God Himself or to our fellow men. The salvation provided for us is first an atonement to meet all our sins, and second a regeneration to enable us to love God and our neighbor so as to cease from sin.
We have become alienated from God through the Fall. When we are born again by the Word and the Holy Spirit, we receive eternal life. The very nature of this new life is love, and therefore love becomes the controlling principle of the life of the person walking with Christ. Walking not after the flesh but after the Holy Spirit, the righteousness of the Law comes to fulfillment5, and we find it as easy to love God and our neighbor as it was easy before to live in selfishness and ill will toward others. A new power dominates us. This is the positive evidence of the new birth in Christ.6
(1) Deuteronomy 6:5, KJV; Matthew 22:37, KJV. (2) Leviticus 19:18, KJV;
Matthew 22:39, KJV. (3) Romans 13:10, KJV. (4) Matthew 7:12. (5) Romans
8:4. (6) 1 John 3:14; 1 John 5:1—2.
Above from “Foundations for Life” a Billy Graham Library Collection, Copyright 2001 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Celibacy
Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Walter and his wife, Ann, listened to the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.'
He then addressed the men, 'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?'
Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently, and whispered, 'Gold Medal-All-purpose, isn't it?'
And thus began Walter's life of celibacy.
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Walter and his wife, Ann, listened to the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.'
He then addressed the men, 'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?'
Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently, and whispered, 'Gold Medal-All-purpose, isn't it?'
And thus began Walter's life of celibacy.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
An Additional Poster
My wife, Patty, has joined me on this Blog. Our profile is changed and as time goes on she will be posting from time to time.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Doctor's Orders
| TODAY'S CLEAN LAUGH Doctor: "I see you're over a month late for your appointment. Don't you know that nervous disorders require prompt and regular attention? What's your excuse?" Patient: "I was just following your orders, Doc." Doctor: "Following my orders? What are you talking about? I gave you no such order." Patient: "You told me to avoid people who irritate me." *Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!* http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh |
| EYE LAUGH "Unattended Children" http://www.cybersalt.org/g06.php?id=52 |
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