Grace Musing

December 1st, 2019

 

Sermons in a Second –
  * Gossip – There’s so much dirty linen in our own house needing to be washed that none of us need to take in our neighbour’s washing. – Charles H. Spurgeon
  * When the law becomes negotiable, civilization utterly collapses. – anon
  * “It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” – Joseph Joubert
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  The Christian’s Safety Deposit Box –
  Proverbs 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. “Bishop Hall writes—‘We will need to lay up (treasure), (but) where should we rather repose it, than in the Christian’s treasury? The poor man’s hand is the treasury of Christ. All my superfluity shall there be hoarded up, where I know it will be safely kept (by the Lord), and surely returned me.’ – Charles Bridges
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The Greatest Miracle of Christ? –Archbishop Leighton
  Justin Martyr, when asked what was Christ’s greatest miracle, named His great patience in great trials. An affront, then, is a test. It will show whether we have patience or not. It will reveal if we are a slave to the passion of our anger. The way of the world is to get even with people and to repay one insult with another insult. But the Christian way is not to trade insults, but rather to repay an insult with a blessing. It is to (God’s) glory to overlook an offense. Man is so warped in his judgment that to overlook an offense is seen to be an act of a fool or a weak person. But, it is his glory to forgive an offender. It must be so because it is acting in the same way as God acts. What a motive this gives us! “Let it pass for a kind of sheepishness to be meek. It is a likeness to him who was a ‘sheep before His shearers, not opening His mouth” Isa. 53:7. It is a portion of His spirit.
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–Deacon True Sez –
  Well, I heard it sung again, you know, that pop song most folks reckon is a hymn, but it ain’t. It was at a funeral, and about 99¾ percent of the crowd thought that song they played, “You Raise Me Up!” was a Christian hymn. Sorry to poke a hole in your balloon, brother, but it’s just a worldly pop song that sounds more religious than the tuneless, meaningless tripe being performed to entertain goats in most churches these days. How do I know about this song? Our preacher provokes us to discern composers and their music just like 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” My, oh my, what surprises are in store for you if you do a bit of Sherlock Holmes work! A friend was at a church where “You Raise Me Up” was used as a worship hymn, and was so surprised that they sang it. I dug around and found over 3,000,000 webpages about the song, including many on its origin and lyrics. The fact is, “You Raise Me Up” has no Christian roots at all, yet churches lightly use it as a hymn. No. it is an inspirational secular song with a clear melody that sticks in your mind. That alone is so distinctly different from the mindless and tuneless CCM drivel performed in most churches.The words of “You Raise Me Up” sound almost religious, but they are not from the Bible, or from sound theology, nor were they written by a Christian composer. It is an example of “crossover music” which “New Wave” churches, Emergent churches, feel are useable and acceptable to use in worship, even though the message has nothing whatsoever to do with God or Jesus, salvation, or the Christian life. Did I hear somebody say, “Ho-Hum”? Well, before you roll over and go back to sleep, let me remind you that real godly music always was and still is written by godly men, not worldly, long haired, man pleasing, pot smokin’, hypocritical entertainers who mooch millions off gullible religious suckers to support their lavish and worldly lifestyles.
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QC’s Are Amateurs! – Pastor Buddy
  One of our preachers recently used as his text 1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” He set me thinking how perfectly our Lord Jesus Christ represents me before the Judge of all the earth! He knows me through and through. He remembers my frame, that I am but dust. He knows the terrible antinomy of the two laws that fight for supremacy in me, the law of sin and death, fighting against the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. He knows that I rest in His finished work of propitiation, completed entirely upon His cross by his one sacrifice for sins forever, and evidenced in His resurrection. He is at one and the same time, my great High Priest and the Lamb of God Who took my sins away. He has done the work of redemption so perfectly that He needs not stand or kneel before a throne of Justice and Judgment to plead for my soul! That plea was presented once and for all for me when He ascended to the Father on my behalf, and now He is seated at the Father’s right hand! His work is done! Glory to God in the highest! Under the Australian legal system men often hire a lawyer who is so qualified in his understanding of the laws of our land that he is called a “Queen’s Counsel”. He has such a knowledge of jurisprudence and protocol, of precedent, of criminal procedure, of courts and punishments, of laws and magistrates, that he is highly esteemed among men. But when we compare them to our Advocate, the Lord Jesus, QC’s are amateur
 

Grace Musings

November 24th, 2019

 

Sermons in a Second –
* Family prayer (if the truth were known), “Oh, MegaScreen TV, Greatest of the Mass Media, thank you for elevating emotion, reducing thought, and stifling imagination.” BW
* If you want the Lord to open doors for you you’ll have to turn loose of the doorknob.
*Far better that [children] should cry under healthful correction, than that parents should afterwards cry under the bitter fruit to themselves and children, of neglected discipline. CB
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Deacon True Sez –
  When I was just a little kid at church, Mum would set me beside my grandma while she took sis to the nursery. Granny was an old fashioned Baptist who’d shout “Amen”, “Hallelujah”, “Praise the Lord”! One Sunday the preacher was preachin” hammer and tong against worldliness. He was thunderin’ against jazz, an’ beer joints an’ dancin’ and gamblin’ an’ movies and Granny got so stirred up she was holdin’ on to the pew in front, wavin’ her handkerchief and shoutin’ up a storm. I was watchin’ the preacher with one eye and Granny with t’other eye and all of a sudden she scooted back in the pew and went quiet. I was so surprised that I asked her if she was ok. She gave me a look that woulda killed that bullfrog I had in my pocket if he’d seen it, shook her head at me, crossed her arms, and sat there silent till we went home. I asked her, “What’s the matter, Granny?” She said, “That preacherman was doing good till he went to preachin’ against dipping snuff. That’s when he done quit preachin’ and went to meddlin’” I thunk on that for some days till one day I saw her spit in her purse. Of course, I sneaked a peek and spied a little round tin with Copenhagen Snuff writ on it. Alongside was a little jam tin with a dark brown stain in the bottom. That explained why Granny went so quiet that day.
 I read a quote that made me think of Granny’s response. “Having a pastor that holds you accountable to the righteousness of Christ and corrects you when you’re in need of biblical balance is neither controlling nor abusive.”
 Us deacons often stand at the door and speak to folks as they leave. Some of them are happy and a few are not. They’re just about “breathin’ out threatenin’s and slaughter” over somethin’ they heard in the sermon. You can see it in their faces and the way they walk. They are the ones that say “Amen” when our preacher exposes others’ sins, but get in a huff when he mentions theirs. So I been learnin’ to do two things. First, to say, “Oh me!” when it’s my toes, and then say “Amen” because they needed steppin’ on.
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Possums in the Roof –
  It happened in Cooeetown over in Western Australia. For some reason the district was overrun by possums. It got so bad that every house, every business, every shed, every barn, and every church had possums in the roof. Traps were set, bounties were offered, dogs were trained, and possums were relocated. But it just got worse, especially in the churches. Solutions were debated at the ministers fraternal, but no consensus was reached. They all went back to their church boards and here is what they decided:
  * The Catholics begged the Pope for a decree and he excommunicated all possums in the parish. Sadly, since they couldn’t read they bred more possums and ignored his decree.
  * The Anglicans voted to promote same sex marriage for possums, but they brought in their cousins from South Australia and crowded the new bishop out of the rectory.
  * The Presbyterians convened in session and determined that, since they are already in residence in their church, then possums must be predestined to live and breed in the attic.
  * The Uniting Church read through their articles of ecumenical inclusivism and discovered that possums have equality and are eligible for tenancy in all Uniting Churches.
  * The Lutherans decided that, since the possums outnumber the congregation, they should be permitted to stay, and the members should move in with the Mormons.
  * The Hillsong “church” said they hadn’t heard any possums, and if they did they would just turn up the amplification on their guitars and hire another half dozen drummers.
  * The Baptists were the only ones who were successful in ridding their church of possums.They baptized all the possums they could catch, made them members, and required them to tithe, and haven’t seen one possum in six months. – B. Ferraro
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Do We Ignore the Main Lesson in the Parable? – Pastor Buddy Smith
  Charles Dickens said the parable of the prodigal son was the greatest story ever told, but he erred in two ways. 1) That honour belongs to the Gospel, the story of God’s way of saving lost men, and 2) The main lesson in the parable has to do with Jesus reproving the scribes and Pharisees for their murmuring. They didn’t like the way He received sinners. So He spoke the parable to them. The parable contrasts the joy of God with the bitterness of the Pharisees. We tend to read the parable and see only the joy of the shepherd bringing home his sheep, the woman finding the lost coin, and the father welcoming home his wandering son, but we ignore the elder brother and his pride, his anger, his stubbornness, his bitterness,and his refusal to rejoice with His family. We must take note how the parable begins and how it ends. You would be surprised who is bitter. The elder brother and his friends are found all around the world, but not to rejoice with God over the way He saves the lost.
 

Grace Musings

November 10th, 2019

 

 

Sermons in a Second –

* Do we foolish mortals suppose we can kill time without injuring eternity? – Anon

* The clock of Eternity is wound by the hand of the Almighty. ~James Basford

*When told the reason for Daylight Savings time the old Indian said, “Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.” ~Anon

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Death Meets The Master –(from a sermon by John Jasper)

 

Father Time met Pale King Death

Sittin’ by a tomb.

“Hello, old friend. I guess you’re here

To seal somebody’s doom.”

 

“You might say that,“sly Death replied –

A smile slid up his face.

“Inside repose that Jesus man

Who said He’d save the race.

 

“And you, Time, why you stoppin’ here?

Don’t you have things to do?”

“I come each day to draw the veil

And let the mornin’ through.

 

“Say, why you watchin’ jus’ one grave

With all your vast domain?

Looks like you’d be out ramblin’ ‘round

An’ smitin’ folks with pain.”

 

“Oh, this one’s somethin’ special,

He challenged me they say

.Said He’d rest here just three days

Then stir and walk away.

 

“Now I’m the Conqueror you know,

They don’t talk up to me.

When I step in to cut’em down

It’s for eternity.”

 

“I sure can testify to that,”

Responded Father Time,

“I ain’t seen one shake off the dust

Since you been in your prime.
 
 

“Well, I’ve got other things to do,

I must be on my way.

I’ll see you when I come back by

To make another day.”

 

So whiskered Time went up the hill

To bid the sun to rise,

And left Death standin’ by the tomb

Lookin’ strong and wise.

 

Next day, Time ambled by again,

“An how are things?” he queried.

“Kinda quiet,” Death replied,

“I’m startin’ to be wearied.”

 

“Won’t be here when you come by

About this time tomorrow.

I’m anxious to be on my way

To spread some grief an’ sorrow.”

 

Now Father Time was quite surprised

When he came back to see

Death a-quiverin’ on the rock

In frightful agony!

 

His eyes were set;his throat was marked;

His clothes in disarray.

It wasn’t difficult to see:

Old Death had had his day.

 

“What happened Death?” asked Father Time,

“What makes you look so bad?

I’ve never seen you shake this way

Or seem so scared and sad.”

 

Death pulled himself up on a rock

Lookin’ sick and humble.

Hung his head an’ wrung his hands,

Then Time could hear him mumble.

 

“Was sittin’ here before the dawn,

About to take a stroll,

When all at once this whole wide world

Began to reel and roll.”

 

“That rollin’ stone jumped off the door

An’ skipped on down the hill.

Then everything grew dark and quiet,

Seemed like the world stood still.”

 

“I saw Him standin’ in the door –

He didn’t move or speak,

Just looked at me an’ all at once

I felt so tired and weak.”

 

“He came and got a hold on me

An’ threw me to the ground.

Put His foot here on my neck,

Then took my keys and crown.”

 

“Two angels came to talk with Him,

They glistened like the sun.

He said, “The plan’s all finished now,

Redemption’s work is done.”

 

An’ as they passed the garden gate

I hear Him say, just then,

He’s setting free my captives,

And givin’ gifts to men.”

 

Time and Death met once again

Off yonder by the gate.

“It’s good to see you,” said old Time,

“I’ve wondered ‘bout your fate.”

 

“Oh, I’m a lowly servant now,

There’s little time to roam,

I just push open this old gate,

And help the saints get home!”

 

Grace Musings

November 3rd, 2019

Sermons in a Second –
* Many books inform us, but only one transforms us! Read your Bible every day.
* You will generally notice that when the believer gets near to God, tastes the unseen joys and eats the bread that was made in Heaven, all the feasts of earth, all its amusements, and all its glories seem very flat, stale and unprofitable. – Charles Spurgeon
* Do not consider that adverse circumstances are a proof that you have missed your road; for they may be evidences that you are in the good old way, since the path of believers is seldom without trial. – Charles Spurgeon
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Deacon True Sez –

Our nephew “Georgie boy” dropped in for a visit last week. He goes to one of them there “Megachurches” over in Dallas. So we asked him what it’s like, though we already knew a few things from what our preacher has told us. He said what he likes best is the loud music, and that nobody ever goes home feelin’ guilty or that they are sinners in need of savin’. Which led into him sayin’ that us old “traditional” churches have got way too many rules. “There needs to be lots more ‘freedom and flexibility’, on most everything.” He got pretty fired up about this and carried on like a porkchop. Me and ma just sat still and heard him outwithout sayin’ a word. I reckon it took him most of two hours to get it out of his system and head off to bed. Next mornin’ we was standin’ on the front porch shakin’ hands goodbye when I said, “You’re prob’ly right about us old timers bein’ too strict and havin’ too many rules. I’m havin’ a cup of coffee with the mayor this mornin’. Maybe I could put your idears

to him so we take down the stop signs in town, and if he’s agreeable, we could pull down the speed limit signs, and maybe we could even do without our one stoplight. And it would save the county a lot of money if we took down the road signs giving directions how to get to the next town and how far it is. You know, I reckon we might even liven things up if we put up signs that say, ‘Since we ain’t racist, folks, you can drive on whichever side of the road you like in our town.’ After all, in other places they drive on t’other side of the road. We prob’ly shouldn’t change things too quick, though. Maybe we could let trucks try drivin’ on the otherside of the road for six months and see how it goes, and if it works out alright, then we can all start drivin’ on whichever side we want to. Of course, there will always be some old fashioned folks that are set in their ways and just can’t change……” He blinked half a dozen times and looked at me sort of funny for a full minute, without saying anything, just got in his car and drove off. I did notice though he was drivin’ on the traditional side of the road.
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Should We Preach the Ten Commandments? –
“I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law. Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [its most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ. they will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore, the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place. The Law cuts into the core of evil, it reveals the seat of the malady and informs us that the leprosy lies deep within. They must be slain by the Law before they can be made alive by the gospel.”  CHS
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                        A Thanksgiving
 
For all Thy blessings given there are many to thank Thee, Lord,
But for the gifts withholden I fain would add my word.
 
For good things I desired that barred me from the best,
The peace at the price of honour, the sloth of a shameful rest;
 
The poisonous sweets I longed for to my hungering heart denied,
The staff that broke and failed me when I walked in the way of pride;
 
The tinsel joys withheld that so content might still be mine,
The help refused that might have made me loose my hand from Thine
 
The light withdrawn that I might not see the dangers of my way;
For what Thou hast not given, I thank Thee, Lord today.
 
Annie Johnson Flint
 

Grace Musings

October 27th, 2019

Sermons in a Second –
* One hand washes the other hand and both wash the face – ancient Jewish proverb
* To be filled, a cup must first be emptied, and then turned right side up. So must I. – Anon
* You have not lived today until you have done some good thing for someone who can never repay you. – John Bunyan
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So Who Was It That Said the Bible Has Nothing to Say About Prophecy? –
“The Bible contains 8,362 predictive verses about 737 different matters.” For church-age saints, the most important one is the Rapture of the saints,—I Cor. 15:51-58. This, the next Scripturally prophesied event, is the coming of the Lord in the air for His saints, for whom saints should eagerly live—I John 3:1-3 and expectantly look—Heb. 9:28. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
You Sons of Zeruiah Are Too Hard For Me! –
  2Sam. 3:39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. So said the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), in reference to certain men of the sword in his day. And are not we, brethren, men of the sword? And is it not possible that we, many times, are “too hard” for our King, the Greater Son of David? Oh, how we must grieve Him by our determination to be right, as far as we understand the right. Was not Abner worthy of death? Did he not kill their brother, Asahel? Were they not the lawful avengers of blood? But where is the Spirit of Him who delights in mercy? (Micah 7:18) Do we need to hear again (and maybe again) – “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” (Matt.9:13)? Mercy first and foremost, and then if needs be, and only if needs be, the sword. May our Great and Gracious God help us to closely follow Him who is “rich in mercy” (Eph.2:4). Remember “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matt.5:7 – A.J. McClure
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Deacon True Sez-
  I got called in for jury duty last week. I was there early so I sat in on a shoplifting case. Sam R_____’s mother in law was being tried for stealin’ a can of peaches. Poor old Sam is henpecked from three directions, his wife, his daughter, and his mother in law. He used to come to our church, him, his wife and their daughter. He was real short and his wife was so tall she towered over him. He sat at the end of the pew with his arm over the top of his head like he was protecting himself from a thump on his head if he said “Amen” without permission. So, out of curiosity I sat in on Sam’s mother in law’s court case. It seems the old lady was caught red handed eating a can of peaches she’d pinched from the grocery store and was taken straight to court. Sam and his missus showed up just in time to hear the judge ask the accused, “Did you steal that can of peaches?” The old woman replied, “Yep! The price was too much to pay so I just took ’em!” “And are you sorry for taking them?” the judge queried. “Not particularly,” said the old woman. “How many peaches were left in the can?” the judge asked the bailiff. “She’d almost emptied the can by the time we arrested her, your honour, so there were only three peaches left in it.” “Well, then, I find you guilty of stealing and sentence you to three days in the county jail.” The judge raised the gavel to rap the bench and dismiss the court. At which point Sam glanced up at his wife, swallowed, cleared his throat, and spoke up, saying, “Your honour, she also stole a can of peas!” Well, you shoulda heard the judge tryin’ to get order in the courtroom.
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New Technology for Reading –
   ANNOUNCING the new Built-in Orderly Organised Knowledge devise, otherwise known as the BOOK; no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use that even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disk. Here’s how it works: each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. By using both sides of each sheet, manufacturers are able to cut costs in half. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The Browse feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Most come with an ‘index’ feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval. Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is the entertainment wave of the future, and many new titles are expected soon. Due to the surge in popularity of this programming tool, the manufacturers are making available the Portable Erasable-Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language stylus (PENCIL). This innovative recording device makes it possible to transfer the information from the BOOK to separate locations for further reference, as well as highlighting portions of text in the BOOK.
 

Grace Musings

October 20th, 2019

Sermons in a Second –
* Bro. John Allen told me some Yankee wisdom when he was here. It went like this, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. “ Sounds good to me.
* The truths that I know best I have learned on my knees. I never know a thing well, till it is burned into my heart by prayer. – John Bunyan
* Whatever contradicts the Word of God should be instantly resisted as diabolical. JB 
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How Big is God?
A boy asked his dad, “How Big is God?” His dad looked up in the sky and saw an airliner descending to land at the airport. He said, “How big is that airplane, son?” “Oh, it is very small. I can hardly see it.” His dad said, “Come with me,” and he took him to the airport. As they arrived, the airliner landed and taxied right up to the terminal close to the boy and his dad. “Now, my son, how large is the airplane we saw up high in the sky?” “Wow, dad, it’s huge! I never knew how big it really is!” Then his dad told him, “That’s the way it is with God. His size depends on how near you are to Him or how far you are from Him. The closer you get, the greater He becomes.” – contributed by DeWalt

 

 

 

 

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________    The Pathway to Contentment – by Bro. Andrew
  All around me were the dirtiest grey streets of Partick (Glasgow). Litter blew across the cobblestones. The September air was already raw. Before I had gone five blocks I was accosted twice by beggars. I gave them all the money I had in my pocket and watched as they moved without pretence toward the nearest pub. I knew that these drifters, begging in the streets of Glasgow slums, would receive a better income than the missionaries-in-training at the top of the hill.
  I could not understand why this bothered me so. Was I greedy? I didn’t think so. We had always been poor, and I had never worried about it. What was it then?
  And suddenly, walking back up the hill toward the school, I had my answer.
  The question was not one of money at all. What I was worried about was a relationship. At the chocolate factory I trusted Mr. Ringers to pay me in full and on time. Surely, I said to myself, if an ordinary factory worker could be financially secure, so could one of God’s workers.
  I turned through the gate at the school. Above me was a reminder “Have Faith in God”.
  That was it! It wasn’t that I needed the security of a certain amount of money, it was that I needed the security of a relationship.
  I walked up the crunchy pebble walk feeling more and more certain that I was on the verge of something exciting. The school was asleep and quiet. I tiptoed upstairs and sat by the bedroom window looking over Glasgow. If I were going to give my life as a servant of the King, I had to know that King. What was He like? In what way could I trust Him? In the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? Or could I trust Him as a living leader, as a very present commander in battle? The question was central. Because if He were a King in name only, I would rather go back to the chocolate factory. I would remain a Christian, but I would know that my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion.
  Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that he communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle.
  And somehow, sitting there in the moonlight that September night in Glasgow, I knew that my probing into God’s nature was going to begin with the issue of money. That night I knelt in front of the window and made a covenant with him. “Lord,” I said, “I need to know if I can trust you in practical things. I thank you for letting me earn the fees for the first semester. I ask you now to supply the rest of them. If I have to be so much as a day late in paying I shall know that I am supposed to go back to the chocolate factory.”
  It was a childish prayer, petulant and demanding. But then I was still a child in the Christian life. The remarkable thing is that God honoured my prayer.
      – Excerpted from “God’s Smuggler”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________     Deacon True Sez –
  “One of our church members ain’t never been late for work in her 38 years of working at the canning factory. Nosireeeee Bob! Not once! So it puzzles me how she can be 20 minutes late to church every Sunday! I wonder if she just wants to make a grand entrance so folks can see her in all her finery? I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout buying her a new alarm clock and sending it to her in the mail. Or maybe just calling out to her when she walks in late, “Good afternoon, Bessie!” Maybe it’s true what Pastor said, that punctuality has to do with priorities.
 
 
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Grace Musings

October 13th, 2019

Sermons in a Second –
* The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself. – CHS
*If people really see that Christ has removed the fear of punishment from them by taking it into Himself, they won’t do whatever they want, they’ll do whatever He wants.– JB
* What God says is best, is best, though all the men in the world are against it. – JB _______________________________________________________________________________________________________                                                 
                                         THE PROOF OF GOD IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
“Proof of God in the Palm of Your Hand,”The Real Truth, Dec. 20, 2009: “Sir Isaac Newton once said, ‘In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.’ …
In his book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr. Paul Brand, one of the foremost hand surgeons in the world, testifies to the wonder—the miracle—of the human body. Dr. Brand explained that although many people think that fat serves no significant purpose, it does on the hand. ‘Underneath the skin in the palm of the hand lie globules of fat with the look and consistency of tapioca pudding. Fat globules, so soft as to be almost fluid, cannot hold their own shape, and so they are surrounded by interwoven fibrils of collagen, like balloons caught in a supporting rope net…where stress occurs, such as on the palm of the hand, fat is tightly gathered and enveloped by fibrous tissue in a design resembling fine Belgian lace.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  When you grasp a hammer in the palm of your hand, each ‘cluster of fat cells changes its shape in response to the pressure. It yields but cannot be pushed aside because of the firm collagen fibers around it. The resulting tissue, constantly shifting and quivering, becomes compliant, fitting its shape and its stress points to the precise shape of the handle of the hammer. Engineers nearly shout when they analyze this amazing property, for they cannot design a material that so perfectly balances elasticity with viscosity.’ The skin of the hand is also well suited to the task of gripping and handling different kinds of objects. Dr. Brand wrote, ‘If my skin tissue had been made harder, I might insensitively crush a goblet of fine crystal as I hold it in my hand; if softer, it would not allow a firm grip.’ … Another remarkable feature of a normal hand is its sensitivity. Dr. Brand states, ‘A normal hand can distinguish between a smooth plane of glass and one etched with lines only 1/2500 of an inch deep.’ The fingertips have the ability to detect a difference of just three milligrams. How extraordinary it is that the hand should be so well-suited for its purpose through all of these amazing features and abilities. Was this the product of chance or the creation of God?” – excerpted from Craig Beidler
 
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How Would Baptists Change a Light Bulb? (Tongue in cheek) –
  At a recent World Council of Churches conference, the moderator invited pastors from all the denominations present to come to the platform to answer a deep theological question, “How do pastors in your denomination change a light bulb?” The answers were as follows: The Presbyterian pastor – “If the lights go out in our churches, we say it is predestined for us to sit in the dark.” The Charismatic pastor – “We wait till it cools off and then lay hands on it for it to be healed.” The Uniting Church Bishop – “We gather around it and have communion, sing Kumbaya, and close our eyes till we grow to love the darkness.” The megachurch worship leader – “We wait for the weekly mailout from Joel Osteen to get advice.” The Christian Science pastor – “If the congregation all smile at it in perfect unity, the new light bulb will be inspired to screw itself in.” A Unitarian Pastor – ”We don’t believe light bulbs actually burn out as there is no such thing as darkness. All is sweetness and light.” The Roman Catholic Archbishop – “The traditions of the church fathers require that we replace all burnt out light bulbs with candles.” The Mormon elder “We look for Joseph Smith’s seer stones so we can find the light fixture.” The Jehovah’s Witness Elder -“We haven’t sold enough Watchtower magazines this year to buy a replacement light bulb.” A Hillsong Worship leader replied, “Those with iPhones use them to light the stage so the show can go on.” The Anglican archbishop – “We are meeting with the Pope next week to work out a price for buying candles from them.” The Lutheran Pastor – “We are joining with the Anglicans and Catholics next week to share their candles.” The Seventh Day Adventist Pastor – “We have to wait until Sunday to change them it since it is the Sabbath today.” The Jewish Rabbi who attended as an observer – “We can sell you light bulbs for a discount if you buy them by the truckload and pay for shipping.” The Muslim Imam replied, “Don’t buy any light bulbs from Zionists. We Palestinians have a new light bomb that ISIS will deliver via a Syrian refugee as soon as the UN sends us some more travel funds.” And the Baptist pastor? He replied, “Change? Waddya mean change?”- Anon
 
 
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Grace Musings

September 29th, 2019

 
 
Sermons in a Second
 * If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot. – John Bunyan
* “I prayed for Faith, and thought that some day Faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But Faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, ‘Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God’. I had closed my Bible, and prayed for Faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since. ” D. L. Moody
* If my life is fruitless, it doesn’t matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn’t matter who criticizes me. – John Bunyan ______________________________________________________________________________  ________________________________                                                      Can The Preacher Get in God’s Way? –
It was late, only time for one more visit. We turned up Carico Road and, seeing a light in a house, we knocked at the door. When we introduced ourselves the owner said he had been expecting us. He told us he was saved, but was badly backslidden, and just last night the Lord woke him up and told him if he didn’t quit drinking He would kill him. He promised to be in church the next Sunday, and he was, with his wife and daughter. That first Sunday Joe responded to the invitation and repented of his beer drinking. A week or two later his daughter called on the Lord for salvation. His wife, Virginia, told us she wanted to be saved too, but didn’t understand how. She responded to every invitation, Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. We read with her and prayed for her and pleaded with her, and she cried buckets of tears, but no salvation! I think we wore all the tar off the Romans Road three times, all to no avail. Week after week Virginia struggled and groaned and begged us to help her get saved. We prayed and preached and enlisted prayer partners, and Virginia was still lost. Months passed and still she yearned after salvation and it seemed as far away as ever. We feared she would give it up as a lost cause. What could we do more? We searched about our own hearts and prayed more. Was there some failing in us that was holding her back? And then an unusual thing happened. It was a Thursday. The night before, we prayed with Virginia after prayer meeting until 10:30, and she had no peace. We promised to visit her Thursday to pray and read with her. But early in the morning our dear old landlady was at our door, asking us to help her burn off a dead pasture she wanted to reseed. It would only take an hour, she said. So we went. And then the wind shifted and the fire got away from us.We fought it all day, and finally about dark, exhausted, we beat out the last sparks. There was no phone to let her know we couldn’t come. We’d just go on Friday. But the Lord had other plans. Early Friday morning the landlady was knocking at our door. The fire had broken out again. We fought it all day and finally beat it out about dark. So we said, “We’ll go see Virginia Saturday.” Again the Lord intervened. We were hardly out of bed when therewas a knock at our door and who was there but out friends who had driven an hour to spend the day with us. It just seemed that there was a roadblock every day to keep us from going to see her. Sunday morning at church we apologised to Virginia for not keeping our promise.She accepted our apology with a smile, in fact she looked so much happier that we asked her how she was doing. She happily said, “Really good. I waited all day Thursday for you to come and then all day Friday I waited for you, and when you didn’t come by the afternoon, I just gave up on you coming, and asked the Lord to save me. And He did!” The truth dawned on us. She had been trusting in us instead of Christ, as though in some way we could help to save her. And the Lord, in all His wisdom, used a grass fire and unexpected friends to take us out of the way. He pulled away all her props so there was no one else to trust but Christ. We began to learn one of the most important of all lessons. It is truly the work of the Spirit of God to save the lost. Only He can convict and convert the sinner, and only He can confirm the saints. We must not try to do His work. Oh, we can, we must tell the gospel to the lost, but with great restraint, humble restraint, never encouraging the needy sinner to put his faith in a mere man. Only Jesus can save the lost.
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Deacon True Sez –
Our preacher and his wife went away to see their grandkids for Christmas, and old Bro. Blankenship filled the pulpit. He don’t preach too bad, but, boy howdy, is he long winded! I wuz carryin’ a pillow out to the pickup just in case, but Ma caught me and made me put it back on the bed. I needn’t have worried. One of them Carlin boys had sneaked a real loud alarm clock in the church and had it set for 12 o’clock straight up. And then they hid it in the bottom of the piano. Well, when it went off, the preacher wound down pretty quick and we went home ’bout the usual time. Of course, it wasn’t the clock that stopped him. It was the whole church laughin’. I asked Ma if I could take our alarm clock for tonight’s meetin’ just in case old sister Carter decided to tell that thirty minute testimony about the time she got gout in her big toe. Ma presented some pretty strong arguments agin’ the proposition, so I left it at home 

Grace Musings

April 21st, 2019

Sermons in a Second –

  • The great cause of neglecting the Scriptures is not want of time, but want of heart, some idol taking the place of Christ. – R. C. Chapman
  • To forgive without scolding, even by manner or look, is a high exercise of grace – it is imitation of Christ. – R. C. Chapman

      * Humility is the secret of fellowship, and pride the secret of division. R. C. Chapman

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Did I Hear Someone Say, “Nobody Doubts Darwin?”

“Well, nobody qualified, anyway. Certainly no scientists!”… There is one problem, they’re forgetting Fred Williams’ and Bob Enyart’s ever-growing meta-list of highly-educated Darwin doubters, including many thousands of Ph.D.s, scientists, and professors! They have reported on the hundreds of astronomers, astrophysicists and cosmologists who doubt the Big Bang. (See rsr.org/doubters#bb). So welcome to Real Science Radio’s List of Scholars Doubting Darwin!

These Scientists have gone out of their way to declare their doubt about Darwin include the: – 100 Ph.D.s listed at Australia’s creation.com – 200 scientists with master’s degrees or Ph.D.s listed over at AiG – 300 medical doctors at Physicians & Surgeons for Scientific Integrity – 500 Ph.D. scientists at the Korean Association of Creation Research – 600 advanced degreed scientists at the Creation Research Society – 1,000 scientists who signified their opposition at DissentFromDarwin.org – 3,000 scientists and professors (most of whom hold a Ph.D. in some field of science) who reject secular Darwinism to varying degrees as named online by Dr. Jerry Bergman

PLUS:

– 30,000 U.S. public high school biology teachers who do not endorse Darwinism in class – 100,000 college professors in the U.S. alone who, according to Harvard researchers, agree that “intelligent design IS a serious scientific alternative to the Darwinian theory of evolution.” – 570,000 medical doctors in the U.S., specialists in applied science, say God brought about or directly created humans, as reported by the prestigious Louis Finkelstein Institute. Significantly, 60% of U.S. medical doctors reject the secular Darwinist explanation for our existence, … agreeing that either God initiated and guided the process that led to human life or that God specially created us human beings.

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When Tolerance is Sin – By William MacDonald

 

Tolerance can be a virtue, but it can also betray an inexcusable weakness of character. We admire the person who tolerates differences where no great issue is at stake. He allows for a variety of preferences, methods and unimportant viewpoints. He would rather be killed for a sheep than for a lamb.

But there is another tolerance that is despicable. This is the willingness to remain silent when God’s name is blasphemed or when Christ is dishonoured. It is the treachery of silence when truth is on the scaffold. It is the unwillingness to speak out against evil. Tolerance that condones deceit and unrighteousness is sin.

Those who think that Jesus was always tolerant should read Matthew 23, a denunciation of hypocrisy. This passage proves forever that our Lord was capable of scathing indignation at the pretence of religious leaders. Or they should read Revelation 2:20 where He condemned the church in Thyatira for tolerating a woman teacher named Jezebel.

Paul too was intolerant of evil. He even mentioned names, something that is considered unacceptable in evangelical circles today. He delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:20). He didn’t hesitate to single out Hymenaeus and Philetus as false teachers (2 Timothy 2:17) and he denounced Alexander the coppersmith by name for his evil behaviour (2 Timothy 4:14). John also had the courage to name Diotrephes as one who loved to have the pre-eminence (3 John 9).

It seems that the church today has lost its capacity for godly intolerance.
 
As Robert G Lee said ‘We live in a world of invertebrate theology, jellyfish morality, seesaw religion, India rubber convictions, somersault philosophy that tells us what we already know in words which we do not understand’.
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““Now, as always, God discloses Himself to “babes” and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must get down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.” – A. W. Tozer

Grace Musings

November 4, 2018

 
Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes –
* A Social Gospel that provides beans and bacon for the bellies and broadcloth for the backs of the poor, but gives them no saving gospel sends obese men in tuxedos to Hell for eternity. – B. Ferraro
● “Let me never become a slave to crowds.” – A.W. Tozer
* “The Church did the most when it was the least like the world.” – G. Campbell Morgan
● “At any point in Eternity, we can rightly say, ‘This is just the beginning.’ How wonderful this will
be for those who are with Christ. How unimaginably dreadful for those who are not.” – Ravenhill
● A wise woman understands that for her to become a Proverbs 31 woman- she cannot skip chapters 1-30. – Suzi Crocket
● Isn’t it strange that most teenagers can operate any electronic device on earth, but have little or no understanding of a lawn mower or vacuum cleaner. – Anon.
 
Which of the Twelve Disciples Would the World Recommend to the Ministry?
Some years ago I read a satire, a spoof of the choosing of the disciples. We who know Christ as Lord and Saviour would never agree with this wicked old world’s evaluation of the men Jesus chose to train and commission to preach the gospel.
Here is how the world sees religious leaders. You may find it interesting to read their conclusions:
“ Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for
managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our
battery of tests. We have run the results through our computer, and also arranged
personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude
consultant.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background,
education and vocational aptitude. They do not seem to have a team concept so we
recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial
ability and proven capability.
We also observe that Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of
temper. Andrew is eager, but has no qualities of leadership. The two brothers,
James and John, are volatile, sometimes angry, and place personal interest above
company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to
undermine morale. Matthew reportedly left his post as tax collector without notice
and is acquainted with many lower class people in Capernaum; Simon Zelotes
definitely has radical leanings. We think one candidate, however, shows great
potential. He shows ability, resourcefulness, and has contacts in high places. He is
highly motivated and ambitious. We recommend Judas Iscariot to hold the office of
financial consultant. “ – ProBigIsBest Employment Agency
 
How different is the Lord Jesus’ way of enlisting men. He calls to Himself the least likely of men,
poor wretched sinners like you and me, preaches the saving gospel to us, washes us in His precious blood, and does a life-long work of sanctification in us, teaching us, and using us while we are in training and proving to the world that all the Glory belongs to God!
God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick, but the stick must be in His hand!
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”…the LORD …took off their chariot wheels…” – Exodus 14:24,25
 
God immobilised six hundred of Pharaoh’s chariots! The war machine of the mightiest nation on
earth, stopped dead in its tracks, just like that! And then He drowned Pharaoh’s entire army!
 
It is one of God’s lessons in history. Whenever little men build their high towers, or field their armies against Jerusalem, or boast of the Babylons they build, or write laws to exterminate God’s chosen people, or imprison His prophets, or rip His Word in shreds, or slay all the infants, or behead a John Baptist, or betray the Lord Jesus, or crucify the Lord of Glory, or exile an apostle, or close their borders to missionaries, or legislate perversion, or marry a man to a man, or blaspheme the God who gives them air to breathe…… whenever men reject God and flaunt their rebellion against Him…THE WHEELS FALL OFF!
 
Every once in a while I hear of plans afoot to do some great harm to one of God’s children.
Someone sends them an epistle of hate or posts their spite on social media, but they do themselves great harm because the wheels always fall off.
 
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness
is of me, saith the LORD.
One of my favorite Bible heroes is Daniel. Again and again the Devil sent his chariots out to
damage or destroy him and his friends. Food offered to idols, death threats, a fiery furnace, caged (and possibly starving?) lions, none of these troubled Daniel or his friends! They knew before ever they were led to Babylon that “the Lord will take the wheels off” every chariot that comes against us in war. No weapon that is formed against thee…….. the wheels fall off.”
Amen! – Bro. Smith
 

Grace Musings

October 14, 2018

 

 

Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes –
* Someone once asked Dr. Vance Havner how he became a Baptist and he reportedly replied: “Someone just happened to carelessly leave a copy of the N.T. around, and I just happened to carefully read it!”
* The reason some folks don’t believe in missions is that the brand of religion they have isn’t worth propagating.
* “People do not love unpalatable truths, and when they have the alternative of listening to soothing assurance, moving eloquence, pleasing illustrations, and entertaining anecdotes, they not unnaturally avoid them and withdraw as far as they can from the scathing rebukes of the prophet” F. C. Jennings
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“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him [Psa_2:12]. The late Dr. George Gill used to say, “ ‘Kiss the Son’ is the Old Testament way of saying, ‘… Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …’ (Act_16:31).” Do you remember who kissed Him? At Jesus’ betrayal Judas said, “I’ll identify him for you by kissing Him.” Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, wherefore art thou come? …” (Mat_26:50). He knew why Judas kissed Him. Let me suggest that Jesus meant this, “Judas, you have just kissed Me and fulfilled prophecy. Now you are free to turn and accept Me, free to turn that kiss of betrayal into a kiss of acceptance. You can do that, Judas. You are a free moral agent.” And the Spirit of God says, “Kiss the Son. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” My friend, the Spirit of God today is in the world saying to mankind, “Kiss the Son before it is   too late. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late.” J. Vernon Magee ______________________________________________________________________________
The Spirit of Lawlessness in Modern Culture – “Plato, when he wrote The Republic, spent one paragraph on economics, and forty pages on music. One of his contemporaries, Damon of Athens, wrote, ‘let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.’ There is no artform that shapes the thoughts of men like music does. I wonder how many Christians ever take time to listen to the lyrics of popular music? And if the lyrics are too loud, too profane, or too confusing to decipher, do we ever listen to their words? The lawlessness of western culture is so clearly expressed in what they say. For example:   “I’m free to do what I want any old time” (Rolling Stones, 1965). “It’s my life and I’ll do what I want/ It’s my mind, and I’ll think what I want” (The   Animals, 1965).
*“You got to go where you want to go/ do what you want to do” (Mamas and Papas,   1966).   “It’s your thing/ do what you want to do” (Isley Brothers, 1969).   “We don’t need no thought control” (Pink Floyd, “Another Brick in the Wall,” 1979). “I’m gonna do it my way. … I want to make my own decision … I want to be the one in   control…” (Janet Jackson, “Control,” 1986).   “Nothing’s forbidden and nothing’s taboo when two are in love” (Prince, “When Two   Are in Love,” 1988).   “… the only rules you should live by [are] rules made up by you” (Pennywise, “Rules,”   1991).   “So what we get drunk/ So what we smoke weed … Living young and wild and free”   (“Young, Wild and Free,” Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa, 2011).   “We can do what we want; we can live as we choose” (Paul McCartney, “New,” 2013). When men everywhere are rebelling against the Lord Jesus and saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” and the nations agree to say, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” should not the Lord’s people turn away from the wicked and bow to the Lord Jesus in obedience?
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How Important Is It For Parents to Teach Their Children a Biblical Worldview? A little girl sought advice from her dad, “Our teacher asked the class if we believed that the moon is made out of green cheese? What should I say?” Her dad smiled and said, “I expect the teacher wants you to figure it out for yourself so I’m not going to give you the answer.” Later that day he felt guilty about his answer so when she came home, he offered to answer her question. She replied, “It’s too late now. We had to give our answer this morning.” Her dad stammered, “What did you tell her?” The little girl had a thoughtful look on her face, “ I told the teacher that the moon was positively NOT made out of green cheese!” And when she asked me how I could be so sure, I said, “The moon was made on the fourth day of Creation and cows were not made until the sixth day. Therefore, there was no milk to make cheese out of, so the moon could not be made out of any kind of cheese!” What a wise and discerning answer! Our children face challenges to their faith every day of their lives. The barbed arrows of the Devil’s lies are aimed at their minds everywhere they turn. What a blessing that this little girl had learned the proper order for the biblical days of creation and had the faith to defeat one of the fiery darts of the Devil.
 
We must teach our children the Word of God and then show them how to reason by what they read in the Bible!

 

Grace Musings

October 7, 2018

 

Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes –
* One thing a pulpit committee has to learn when they are searching for a new pastor is that there is a world of difference between preachers who are appointed by men and preachers who are anointed by God.
* A young pastor, fresh out of Bible college, was trying to draw the multitudes into his church. One week he advertised that he would preach the next Sunday on “Why President Kennedy Was Assasinated!” and the church was filled with people. So he told them that he would preach the following week on “Who God Judged on 9/11!” Again the crowds flocked into the church. Week after week he announced a blockbuster title for the next week’s sermon, and the people filled the church to overflowing. Finally, he realized one Saturday that he couldn’t think of an exciting, firecracker subject to draw his hearers back the next Sunday morning. So he went to his old pastor to ask for advice, “How can I find a sermon topic that will get people to come to hear me preach?” The old preacher looked at him over his glasses for a full minute before replying. “Son,” he said, “If you are going to depend on the excitement generated by the media when an earthquake hits, or a world war is started, or somebody famous dies, I guess you’ll have just go out and make it happen yourself……. But of course, you could just preach the old time gospel. Jesus said that if we lift Him up, He will draw all men to Him. It always comes down to whether you want to draw them to hear you preach or to draw them to trust in Him.” – selected
* Oh, to have one’s soul as a field under heavenly cultivation. No wilderness, but a garden of the Lord, walled around by grace. Planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, guarded by divine power. One’s soul thus favoured is prepared to yield fruit to the glory of God. – Charles Spurgeon ________________________________________________________________________________
How Are We To Love One Another? – It is a great question to ponder. So many of the Lord’s people suppose that the lustful offerings of Hollywood teach us how to love others. A. W. Tozer once said he would rather have the gangster Al Capone give lessons on morality than to have Hollywood show us the difference between right and wrong. Jesus said in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” That’s simple, isn’t it? We are to love each other like Jesus loved His disciples. If we read the gospels with seeing eyes we will discern three great truths about the love of Christ for His disciples. 1) He became a servant to everyone He met. “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. … but I am among you as he that serveth.” John 13:13 & Luke 22:27 2) He served them sacrificially and at great cost. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: … Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” 1 John 3:16 & John 15:13 3) He served them without any thought of repayment or reward. “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:13-14 Ah yes, that clarifies things for me. If I will love my wife, my children, my neighbour, my brethren, my enemies, and the lost, I need only to follow the example of Christ. The love of God does not give them truckloads of teddy bears, of Valentine’s Day cards, or boxes of chocolates, nor do I need to hug and smooch everybody I meet in order to show love to them. I must go back to the perfect pattern for loving people, my dear Lord Jesus Christ! And I must ask Him to shed it abroad in my heart by His Spirit (Romans 5:5) and to grow it in me by His Spirit (Gal. 5:22). I will never be able to love others like He loves me if I try to do it in my own strength. – Pastor Undimmed By False Accusations – I Corinthians 13:7b ‘…[Charity] believeth all things…’ You did not understand exactly what your friend meant when he said or did such-and-such. But because you love him, you are willing to put the best construction on his words and motives. Your sin- tainted mind may even glimpse all kinds of conclusions and inferences, but you sweep them all aside, and bring them all into subjection to Christ. Your friend gives a reason for his actions or words, and you wonder whether to believe him. Seeing that you have no sound reason to doubt his sterling character, you choose to believe what he says. Are you not grateful for those who have believed the best about you, and refused to entertain an evil eye? Do you not value those who have driven away a backbiting tongue on your behalf? Blessed be those whose faces are undimmed by evil assumptions, and who demonstrate an unfaltering trust toward good men. Theirs is true religion, and not a fly-by-night appearance only. – Pastor James West ________________________________________________________________________________
Miracles Follow the Plow – I have noticed that the power of God always hovers over our frontiers. Note the effect of this truth upon the local church where plentiful fruit was once the regular and expected thing. Now there is little or no fruit. The power of God seems to be in abeyance. What is the trouble? God has not changed, nor His purpose for the church. No, the church has become fallow. It has now come to accept an easier way of life, it has become a school instead of a barracks. Its members are students, not soldiers. Its security is its deadliest foe. The only way to power is to come out of hiding and take the path of obedience.The church that fears the plow writes its own epitaph: the church that uses the plow walks in the way of revival. – Excerpted from Miracles Follow the Plow, by A.W. Tozer

Grace Musings

September 30, 2018

 

 

Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Love for my neighbour often begins with the words, “I apologize.” – Anon.
  • The best thing about silence is the difficulty of it becoming gossip. – selected
  • The long term survival of a politician depends for the most part on his ability to persuade

voters to think that he gave them what he promised them in the last election. – selected

  • A warning for the greedy: God can shovel it out the back door with a spoon faster than you

can shovel it in the front door with a bulldozer. – Missionary Marvin Matthews

  • In cold weather one good turn gets most of the blanket. – Deacon True

The Wisdom of Being Able to Change My Mind – by Pastor Buddy Smith Two men I admire are Wilbur and Orville Wright, who are credited with inventing the first powered airplane. They owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, and for several years had been trying to copy the flights of birds. They built gliders and shipped them to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where they assembled them on the sand dunes and tried to get them to fly. They’d drag them up Kill Devil Hill, then one of them would sit between the wings while two others would lift the spindly glider and run down the hill into the wind and release it for a short hop. By 1901 they’d   added a twelve horsepower engine and mounted the Wright Flyer (as they called it) on a catapult and it flew just over 40 metres. The wingspan of most airliners is longer than that. Their engineering feats are impressive. They tested wing shapes on the handlebars of a bicycle to see how they would perform, they built their own windtunnel for more testing, they designed their own propellors (which were later evaluated by experts and proven to be the best possible shape) ! But do you know what was the greatest thing they ever learned? They learned the wisdom of being able to change their minds! One biographer described their disagreements, over the theory of flight, the design and construction of their Flyer, trim, controls, improvements, etc! They would argue, Orville and Wilbur, and do their best to persuade each other to agree with the opposing viewpoint. They would argue all day and up into the night, and go to bed poles apart. BUT they would often wake up in the morning, each of them, convinced that the other was right and he was wrong! And so the arguments would begin all over again. Until they came to agree with total accord. Now, we may doubt that this method was expedient, but it was actually very astute. It meant that, by the time they built the Flyer and tested it at Kitty Hawk, they had evaluated almost every aspect of the plane sufficiently that it flew, and flew again, and flew again. I admire them because they knew how to think, but they knew how to have their thoughts tested, and how to test the thoughts of their peers. Each one of them could handle the destruction of their cherished ideas because they appreciated better ideas, and then proceeded to tear down those better ideas to make room for excellent ideas. And that process required changing their minds. Finally, when their ideas were demolished and discarded and rebuilt until they could do no more, they flipped a coin to see who would pilot the Flyer this time, and who would prime the engine and flip the prop, and trip the catapult to launch the plane when his brother called out, “Let her fly!” It flew and we fly today because Wilbur and Orville Wright had learned the wisdom of changing their minds. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: Proverbs 1:5 The Meekness of George Whitfield – He showed himself to be a meek man on many occasions. In his early days so many people came to hear him that many of the local clergy banned him from their pulpits. Some pastors named him from the pulpit and roared against him while he sat in the congregation. Some who had been converted under Whitfield’s preaching were so offended that they walked out of the church, and Whitfield preached against their actions. When one of his admirers wanted to cut the salary of his minister for criticising Whitfield, he composed a sermon on loving one’s enemies and his friend repented. Those sermons are acts of meekness. When an enemy printed a pamphlet against him, he took it upstairs, knelt by his bed , and prayed hard for the author. Whitfield’s meekness won where beligerence failed. Whitfield received a scathing rebuke from one of his critics, who chastised him for an offence. Whitfield graciously replied, “I thank you for speaking to me about this matter, but I must tell you that I know much worse things about myself than what you have written.” We must never think of this blessed fruit of the Spirit without remembering the third Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5 There is contained in this verse a grand truth. The meek man yields up his rights to God and is content with God’s providence, even if that providence brings the censure of evil men. He finds that he inherits much more than they take from him. Do the wicked pant after the dust on the head of the poor (Amos 2:7)? Let them have it. God offers the earth to the meek man. Will Saul deny David the honours he promised? God has better honours for him if he will learn meekness. Will Nebuchadnezzar deny Daniel and his friends the luxuries of the king’s court in Jerusalem? Then give them up, lads, for God has bigger things in store. Will the rulers of the synagogue cast out the man who was born blind, but now can see? It is no great loss, for the Saviour will find him and welcome him into a better fellowship. So we must ask ourselves, “Do I desire, do I long for and yearn earnestly that the Spirit of God will grow in the parched desert of my heart the meekness that will mark me as belonging to Jesus Christ?” It is mine for the asking. – Excerpted from Arnold Dallimore’s biography of Whitfield

Grace Musings

September 23, 2018

 

 

Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes – * Life is about 10% what happens to me and about 90% how I react to it. – selected * The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. – selected * You say men are skeptical where Jesus is concerned. I’ll tell you when they are skeptical–when they see a caricature of Jesus in you and me. – Evangelist Gipsy Smith * I wonder what would happen if the preacher stopped in the middle of his sermon next Sunday morning and said, “Have you paid your debts this week? – Evangelist Gypsy Smith If The Lord is Willing – Pastor Buddy Smith Two old farmers knew each other pretty well. They’d often lean on a fence post and talk about the weather and the price of spuds. One day Tom was plowing up close to the fence and saw Ollie leading his milk cow down the road on a rope. Tom pulled his old mule to a halt, and called out, “Mornin’ Ollie, Where you takin’ old Flower?” Ollie looked up at Tom in the paddock, “She ain’t  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

been giving much milk lately so I’m taking her down to town to sell her to the butcher. Might get five dollars for her.” Tom liked to stir Ollie up so he said, “You mean, if the Lord is willing, you’re gonna sell her, don’t you?” “Now hold on there, Tom, she’s my cow and I can sell her if I want to. It don’t make no difference if the Lord is willin’ or not, I’m gonna sell my cow!” And with that, he set off for town. Tom plowed another round, and to his surprise, there was Ollie walking home with his rope, but without Flower. “Hey, Ollie, did you sell her already? That was quick.” Ollie shook his head no, “There was three fellows layin’ for me just around the bend and they beat me up and stole my cow.” Tom asked, “Well, what you gonna do now?” Ollie looked at his rope, rubbed a sore spot on his chin, and said, “I reckon I’ll go home and chop some firewood for Ma, if the Lord is willing.” James 4:13-15 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. ____________________________________________________________________________ Reverse Gossip – excerpted from an article in Pastor’s files 40 years ago – Blake was so angry at Eddie for beating him at golf that he didn’t speak to him for a month. That hurt Eddie’s feelings, especially after Blake’s salesman won a fat contract that Eddie had bid on. He thought his bid was sure to get the job. It went downhill from there. They stopped having coffee on Fridays, and then their wives dropped out of the church bowling team. Their kids stopped having sleepovers. They started sitting on opposite sides of the auditorium, then Blake resigned from the deacon board, and Eddie quit the choir. Their pastor was so burdened over the rift between them that he feared the church might lose both families, and dreaded who would go with them. Well, that was before old Bro. Cecil set out to be a peacemaker and get them back on good terms. He knew how to get close to just about anybody and win them over to the Lord’s side of every issue. He used what he called “reverse gossip”. One day he rang Eddie at work and offered to buy his lunch and Eddie agreed. Cec was twenty years older than Eddie, and was his Sunday School teacher when he was a teenager. Eddie had a real soft spot for Cec. They talked about old times, and Eddie’s kids, and Cec’s grandkids, and their preacher’s sermons, and then before they parted, Cec put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder and softly said, “It seems like maybe you and Blake aren’t as close as you used to be. I’m sorry to see that. No matter what has come between you, you’d have to admit that he’s really doing a good job raising those kids of his, wouldn’t you?” Eddie was moved by Cec’s appeal, and admitted, “Yeh, he loves his family and the kids are turning out well.” Two days later Cec rang Blake and asked if he could spare a few minutes to give him some advice on renovating his house. They had served as deacons together for several years and Blake admired Cec’s tenderhearted approach. Well, you guessed it, they ended up spending the entire morning together and having lunch. Cec’s fishing stories made Blake laugh more than he had in months. As they walked to their cars, Cec turned and shook Blake’s hand saying, “Blake, we’re really good friends. I don’t want to meddle, but it seems to me that you and Eddie aren’t as close as you used to be. I’m sorry to see that. No matter what has come between you, you’d have to admit that he has a great gift for teaching the Bible, wouldn’t you?” Blake looked down for a moment, and then at Cec and said, “Yeah, he is probably the best teacher in the church, apart from our pastor. I wish I could teach like him.” Cec replied, “That’s true. He’s a blessing. You know what he said about you the other day? He said you and Mary sure are doing a good job raising your kids for the Lord.” He left Blake standing in the parking lot, thinking about Eddie’s place in his life and in the church. Cec dropped by on Saturday at Eddie’s house to return a book, and as he was leaving he said, “Say, Eddie, you know what Blake said about you the other day? He said you sure are a good Bible teacher, and that he wishes he could teach as well as you.” Eddie looked at Cec with tears in his eyes, and nodded his head. *************** Funny thing, but somebody told Pastor that they saw Blake and Eddie having coffee together and that they took their families to the lake for a BBQ that afternoon. Bro. Cecil looked pretty happy at church the next day. – Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Grace Musings

September 16, 2018

 

 

__ Notable Quotes and Quotable Notes – The Sweetest Sayings in the World: * I love you! * Sleep till noon! * It’s quitting time! * You’ve lost weight!

* Dinner is served!
* Keep the change!
* This church is really clean! (Thanks for making this last one possible!)
* Have you noticed that the second baby is not nearly as breakable as the first? – selected
* A preacher came up with a way to stop the arguments at the church board meetings. He made each one of the elders put twenty dollars on the table, and if anybody raises his voice he has to give his money to the person he is speaking to. – selected * Shakespeare, da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio, or looked at a television. They had loneliness and that was when the creative juices flowed.
 
Deacon True Sez – Our little country church was having problems with mice. At the business meeting several ideas were discussed, but the best one came from old Bro. Stone. He moved that we vote every church mouse into the membership. When asked why, he replied, “Well, that way we won’t see them but twice a year, Christmas and Easter, and think of all the money we’ll save on cheese.” The motion was seconded, unanimously voted in and we ain’t seen one mouse since. “Though I Don’t Like the Crew, I won’t sink the ship. In fact, in time of storm, I’ll do my best to save it.You see, we’re all in this craft and must sink or swim together.” – by Daniel DeFoe, author of Robinson Crusoe Comment from an angry viewer – “I’ve watched TV grow from infancy to adultery!” Warning! This conversation is being recorded! – Pastor Buddy Smith During the series of Wednesday night studies on Bible characters one of our men spoke on Jephthah and his foolish vow. He called the sermon “Be Careful What You Say!” It was a sledgehammer blow, a sermon with teeth, and it chewed on me for several days. I decided to print up some little cards with the words, “Warning! This conversation is being recorded!” on one side, and on the other side, “Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Sadly, not many people enjoyed receiving them and nobody asked for a pile to give to friends and family! Wonder why? We don’t often think of giving an account for our idle words, but when the books are opened at the Judgment Seat of Christ and we see our works tested by fire, surely our words will be tested as well. I tell our folks that Malanda, where we live, is the Gossip Capital of the World! I have to restrain my old nature every week from plastering a big banner across the welcome sign at both edges of town, a banner that proclaims the truth to all the world that Malanda has that terrible distinction. Other towns may have the Giant Pineapple, or the Giant Gumboot, but our town has the Big Mouth! I was so stirred about this that I searched out how many verses in the Bible deal with our words, our lips, our tongue, with talebearing, slander, backbiting, etc., and found more than a thousand verses. Then I worked my way through them and listed more than a hundred that make good preaching texts. I then printed them out with a letter to all our preachers asking them to preach on godly speech for several months. Well, we’ve started. And most of us are wearing pretty large bandages to cover the wounds of the Sword! Almost sixty years ago, I was a teenager in a good church. Our pastor was a strong preacher, and the church grew through people coming to Christ. My parents served as youth leaders. We had an air force base nearby with several airmen attending church. One night we had a youth activity at our house with twenty or thirty young people showing up. An airman lugged in a big reel to reel tape recorder, found a place to stash it, placed the microphone to pick up all the noise (?), and set it going. We headed out the door for a scavenger hunt, and then disaster struck! You see, he had put the recorder in a corner behind the couch where my mother and the pastor’s wife sat down to visit while they waited for us to return. Neither of them knew that every word they said was being recorded. When we returned the airman yelled out, “Oh no! I left the recorder running!” He reached over the couch between Mum and the pastor’s wife, turned it off, and rewound the tape, not knowing what had been recorded. It wasn’t until the meeting was over and everyone had left that my mum burst out laughing, with her hand over her mouth. Dad, my sis, and I were puzzled what could be so funny. Finally, Mum told us. She said that when the young chap revealed that he’d left the recorder on, our pastor’s wife’s face turned as red as a stoplight! She had been telling all the latest gossip on everbody in the church, and it was recorded, every word! We had a chuckle over it, and promptly forgot about it. But God doesn’t forget! He records it, even the idle words! So Take Warning! This conversation is being recorded!
 

Grace Notes August 5, 2018

 

 

From Our Pastor –

We welcome our visitors today and invite you to worship with us again next Sunday.

It is our privilege to have missionaries Alex and Elisabeth Holowaty as our guests today. Bro. Alex will speak this morning. This evening he will speak and give an audiovisual presentation of their ministry in Argentina. Please do plan on coming. Also, Susan said that there will be a morning tea for our ladies at church 9 AM Tuesday morning and Mrs. Holowaty will give her testimony.

Pastor and Susan want to thank every one who prayed for us regarding Pastor’s surgery. Please do remember to pray for Wendy and Arthur Cassimatis as her cancer is now in her eye and will require further surgery and treatment. Pray for Cam and Lauren as they are returning home from Katherine this week. The Dagans fly into Cairns on Friday and Bro. Chris will preach next Sunday morning. The Himsworths are due home this week so pray for safe travel for them and for Sheila’s health.

Grace Singers practice for the OzCare program is at 4 PM and choir practice is at 5 PM today. ______________________________________________________________________________

Deacon True Sez,

Me and Ma wuz in the grocery store t’other day to grab a loaf of bread. The checkout line has a big red sign, “SIX ITEMS EXPRESS LANE”. Yep, you guessed it, there was a shopper with her nose in the air, completely ignoring the sign, with a trolley piled halfway to the roof with all sorts of stuff. You oughta seen ma’s face when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked sweetly, “So which six items would you like to purchase?” 

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The Roman Catholic Fable

A pretty maid, a Protestant, was to a Catholic wed;

To love all Bible truths and tales, quite early she’d been bred,

It sorely grieved her husband’s heart that she would not comply,

And join the Mother Church of Rome and heretics deny.

So day by day he flattered her, but still she saw no good

Would ever come from bowing down to idols made of wood.

The Mass, the host, the miracles, were made but to deceive;

And transubstantiation, too, she’d never dare believe.

He went to see his clergyman and told him his sad tale.

“My wife is an unbeliever, sir; you can perhaps prevail;

For all your Romish miracles my wife has strong aversion,

To really work a miracle might lead her to conversion.”

The priest went with the gentleman — he thought to gain a prize.

He said “I will convert her, sir, and open both her eyes.”

So when they came into the house, the husband loudly cried,

“The priest has come to dine with us!” “He’s welcome” she replied.

And when, at last, the meal was o’er, the priest at once began,

To teach his hostess all about the sinful state of man:

The greatness of our Saviour’s love, which Christians can’t deny.

To give Himself a sacrifice and for our sins to die.

“I will return tomorrow, lass, prepare some bread and wine;

The sacramental miracle will stop your soul’s decline.”

“I’ll bake the bread, ” the lady said. “You may” he did reply.

“And when you’ve seen this miracle, convinced you’ll be, say I.”

The priest did come accordingly, the bread and wine did bless.

The lady asked, “Sir, is it changed?”

The priest answered, “Yes”. It’s changed from common bread and wine to truly flesh and blood; Begorra, lass, this power of mine has changed it into God!”

So having blessed the bread and wine, to eat they did prepare.

The lady said unto the priest, “I warn you to take care”,

For half an ounce of arsenic was mixed right in the batter,

But since you have its nature changed, it cannot really matter.”

The priest was struck real dumb — he looked as pale as death.

The bread and wine fell from his hands and he did gasp for breath.

“Bring me my horse!” the priest cried. “This is a cursed home!”

The lady replied, “Begone: t’is you who shares the curse of Rome.”

The husband, too, he sat surprised, and not a word did say.

At length he spoke, “My dear, ” said he, “the priest has run away;

To gulp such mummery and tripe, I’m not for sure, quite able;

I’ll go with you and renounce this Roman Catholic fable.”

The Missionary Who Wouldn’t Give Up! –

Many years ago a missionary told us of his ministry of tract distribution to sailors. Ships docked at the wharves from all over the world. One day he boarded a freighter and met an officer from India and told him of Christ. He had never heard of eternal life, nor had he ever met a Christian. My friend told him of Bakht Singh, the Indian evangelist, a Sikh by birth, converted to Christ in Canada, and used greatly by God in India. The ship’s officer showed interest in reading the life of Bakht Singh so my friend promised to find a tract that told his lifestory and send it to him at the next port the ship landed. Would you believe that, by the time the tract came and was sent on, the ship had sailed, and it was forwarded to the next port, and the nex, and the next, …until it finally caught up with the ship, and the sailor read it and was converted to Christ. He then wrote to our friend and told him of his salvation. Oh, you ask, “Who was the missionary who wouldn’t give up?” It was the little tract that followed the needy sinner around the world until it finally caught up with him, and showed him the way to Heaven.

Grace Notes
July 22nd, 2018


Grace Notes
 From Our Pastor  –
   We welcome our visitors today and invite you to worship with us again next Sunday.

    We are privileged to have Alex and Elisabeth Holowaty, missionaries to  Argentina to speak at GBC in two weeks’ time, on the 6thof August. He will speak in both services and present their ministry in the evening service. Please do mark your calendars and plan on attending.

    Our missionaries to PNG, the Dagans, will be returning for a short furlough on the 10thof August. We need someone to take their vehicle down to the airport that afternoon so they have wheels. If you are interested in serving the Lord’s servants, please let pastor know.

    Pastor is scheduled for surgery on a foot the 31stof this month and would appreciate your prayers for it to go well, and so I can be more mobile than I have been. Please keep in mind that Youth Camp will be here before we know it. The dates are September 24-28. Camp forms will be posted on the church website shortly. If you would like to help with cooking (cakes and biscuits, etc.)

   Grace Singers practice is at 4 PM and Choir practice will be at 5 PM. 

Ladies meeting is Tuesday night at 7 PM here at church.
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  Quotable Notes and Notable Quotes –
   * The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, or rush here seeking for sunshine, or there to find rain.
No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, the right fruit is
found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.  – Hudson Taylor.
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  Deacon True Sez-  If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
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Therapy For the Funny Bone   –
    (Charles Spurgeon was criticised for his judicious use of humour in the pulpit. His reply? He said, “You ought to hear the ones I don’t tell you!” – Ed.)
    A Baptist church member was shipwrecked for several years on a desert island. One day, he saw a ship sailing by and lit a big fire in hopes the captain would see it and send a boat ashore to rescue him. Sure enough, a lifeboat was soon rowed ashore and the poor old, skin and bones, bearded fellow was rescued. As he was being rowed out to the ship, the first mate asked him, “Are you the only one on the island?” “Yes, the only one,” he replied. “Well, why are there three grass huts?”  “Oh, well, you see the one on the left is my house, and the one on the right is my church.” “Ok,” the mate said, “But what about the one in the middle?” “Oh, that’s church I used to go to.”    (He would have to be a Baptist, don’t you reckon? – Ed.) 
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Fundraising Letters From Missionaries and Pastors’ Replies to Them – Dear Pa$tor Flintheart, I am $eeking engagement$ for fund rai$ing for our mi$$ion$ team’$ trip in $eptember. It i$ our de$ire to lead a group of $oulwinner$ to the de$perately needy field of the $un$hine Coa$t in Queen$land. Our worker$ 
are all graduate$ of the Mi$$iology $peciali$t$ $tudies cour$e taught by Pa$tor $am Money$pinner, who head$ up the $outhern Bapti$t $eminary in
$owbelly, Mi$$i$$ippi. We are pre$ently $tirring the $aints to $upplicate, $trive, and $upport thi$ worthy project $o that we can $torm the gate$ of Hell, and $eek to $ave $ouls in one of $atan’$ $tronghold$. In order for u$ to be $ucce$$ful we are a$king pa$tor$ and churche$ to $upport u$ and $tand 
with u$ in thi$ worthy $oul $aving project. If you can fit u$ into your $chedule, plea$e give me a call on _______________.           $igned,  Rev. $ydney Grabbuck$, Mi$$ionary to the up and out $inner$ on the $un$hine Coa$t.

      Dear Missionary Grabbucks, We appreciate the NOble project your kNOwledgeable team is undertaking. I have heard that the overheated ecoNOmy of that part of the state is a large part of their igNOrance and igNOble behaviour. The casiNOs have put an astroNOmical financial burdeN On the poor 
dowNtrOdden workiNg class peOple living there. UNfOrtunately, we have NO dates available in September. In fact, the earliest available date is in NOvember, 2025.We thaNk yOu for NOtifying us. If you are iN Our area, be sure to phoNe Our uNlisted church phOne number. Like I always say, Be ye warmed and filled,
                                           SigNed, PastOr NOel FliNtstOne, NO Way Baptist Church
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       Does God Exist ? A man went into a barbershop for a hair cut. As the barber worked, they talked about many things.
But when he mentioned God, the barber said: “I don’t believe God exists.” “Why do you say that?” asked the customer.
“Well, you just have to look around you to see that there is no God. Tell me, if God existed, would there be sick people?
Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, would there be suffering or pain? A loving God  would never allow
such things.” The customer thought for a moment, and remained silent. When the barber was finished the customer paid
and left. Outside the shop he saw a man with long, stringy, dirty hair and a shaggy, untrimmed beard. He was dirty and unkempt.
The man quickly turned back and entered the barber shop again, and said to the barber, “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. ”I am a barber, and I just cut your hair!” “No!  Barbers don’t exist!”
Then, taking the barber by the arm he led him out the door and pointed to the man with shaggy hair, saying, “Barbers don’t exist!
If they did, there wouldm’t be men with dirty, long hair and shaggy beards, like him!” The barber replied,“Ah, but barbers DO exist!
He is that way because he will not come to me.” “Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God DOES exist! Bad things
happen when people will not go to Him and ask Him for help. That’s exactly why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.
God does exist, but men will not come to Him!” –