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Coffee
On The Shore
I spent the last ten days in a
place I refer to as paradise. It's down along
the beach in South Carolina. What with the sand,
the surf, and over 100 golf courses nearby. I
figure it is probably as close to paradise as
I'll ever find here on earth anyway. One particular
day last week I took my coffee and headed down
to the beach. It was a beautiful day, sun shining
brightly and the water was just beautiful. I sat
there on the beach sipping my coffee watching
this little boy playing in the surf. He couldn't
have been any older than four or five. He was
out there in the surf challenging the waves next
to his father. Standing there steadfast, feet
firmly planted in the sand as the waves broke
on top of him.
The waves knocked him around a
little bit but he seemed determined not to fall
down no matter how big the waves were. Suddenly
a very large wave washed toward shore. Fearing
he'd be knocked down he reached out and grabbed
onto his father's hand. His father held his hand
tightly until the wave finished breaking over
the little boy. The little guy never did fall
and he stood there again with his feet planted
firmly awaiting the next wave. As I sat there
I took another sip of coffee and thought about
what I had just seen. I thought about how it was
so much like us in our Christian walk.
How there are times when no matter
how steadfast we seem to be standing. The seas
can get a little rough the temptations to sin
grow. It is times like these that all we need
to do is reach out and grab onto Our Heavenly
Father's hand. And he will guide us through the
rough seas, leaving us standing steadfast once
again.
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Success Is
Easy, But So Is Neglect
People often ask me how I became
successful in that six years period of time while
many of the people I knew did not. The answer
is simple: The things I found to be easy to do,
they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy
to set the goals that could change my life. They
found it easy not to. I found it easy to read
the books that could affect my thinking and my
ideas. They found that easy not to. I found it
easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and
to get around other successful people. They said
it probably really wouldn't matter. If I had to
sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy
to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years
later, I'm a millionaire and they are all still
blaming the economy, the government, and company
policies, yet they neglected to do the basic,
easy things. In fact, the primary reason most
people are not doing as well as they could and
should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
It is not the lack of money -
banks are full of money. It is not the lack of
opportunity - America, and much of the Free World,
continues to offer the most unprecedented and
abundant opportunities in the last six thousand
years of recorded history. It is not the lack
of books - libraries are full of books - and they
are free! It is not the schools - the classrooms
are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers,
leaders, counselors and advisors. Everything we
would ever need to become rich and powerful and
sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason
that so few take advantage of all that we have
is, simply neglect.
Neglect is like an infection.
Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire
system of disciplines and eventually lead to a
complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled
and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we
should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads
to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence
diminishes, so does the level of our activity.
And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably
decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude
begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the
slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence
diminishes even more and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when
given the choice of "easy to" and "easy
not to," you do not neglect to do the simple,
basic, "easy," but potentially life-changing
activities and disciplines.
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Deciding
How To Live
There was once a young man who,
in his youth, professed his desire to become a
great writer. When asked to define "great"
he said, "I want to write stuff that the
whole world will read, stuff that people will
react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that
will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"
He now works for a software company, writing error
messages.
Those beautiful dreams we have
for the rest of our lives too often don't materialize.
And, again too often, we look back dissatisfied
with the direction we took or the place we finally
reached.
Frederick Buechner, in his book
THE HUNGERING DARK (New York: Seabury Press,1968),
talks about looking back at high school yearbooks.
He plays a sad game, remembering what all his
classmates hoped and dreamed of becoming. "In
my class, as in any class, at any school,"
he says, "there were students who had a real
flair, a real talent, for something. Maybe it
was for writing or acting or sports. Maybe it
was an interest and a joy in working with people.
Sometimes it was just their capacity for being
so alive that made you more alive to be with them.
Yet now, a good many years later, I have the feeling
that more than just a few of them are spending
their lives at work in which none of these gifts
is being used. This is the sadness of the game."
Matt Lamb could have been one
of those people. Until 1987, Matt owned and ran
his own funeral home in Chicago. But that year,
a doctor told Matt that he had a fatal disease.
So he closed up the funeral home and pursued his
true passion, painting. Soon, Matt's art drew
national attention. He became quite successful.
Only after Matt had found success in his dream
career did doctors discover that they had misdiagnosed
him. He wasn't going to die after all.
A misdiagnosis may have saved
him from a life of meaninglessness. Not that owning
one's own small business is in any way unworthy,
but it simply was not Matt's true passion. In
his heart, he wanted to paint, and he would never
be truly happy until he pursued that dream, wherever
it finally led him.
What does it take to move us to
follow our passions? Must we face a crisis before
we step off the safe, known path onto the unknown
trail of adventure we've dreamed of following
all our lives? Singer Joan Baez reminds us: "You
don't get to choose how you're going to die or
when. You can only decide how you're going to
live." That decision is too important to
put off another day.
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Four To
Save Forty
This true story dates back to
the time when North Korea and South Korea were
engaged in a big conflict. As a result Christian
preachers were targeted by the Communists. In
such a tense situation a group of forty activists
kidnapped a preacher, his wife and two children.
They took them to the outskirts of the city. They
forced the preacher to deny Christ and that he
will no longer preach that Christ is Lord. But
the preacher refused. They threatened him saying
that they will bury him, his wife and children
alive. But the preacher did not budge. As if to
prove that they were serious, they started digging
a hole right in front of them. But they could
not get a word out of him. This aroused their
anger and they placed the four of them in the
hole. Now they began playing on his emotions.
" Because of your stubbornness
your innocent children are going to die in right
in front of your own eyes. Deny Christ and we
shall leave you ". But the preacher did not
relent. Finally they started filling up the hole.
Still the preacher remained unmoved. The hole
was filled up gradually and now the children were
about to be covered. Slowly the preacher started
getting shaky. He was torn between emotions. The
cries of his little children moved him. But realizing
this the preacher's wife told him, "Within
a little while we shall all be with our Lord forever.
Be bold and do not give up."
These words encouraged him and
he did not relent. As a result all of them were
buried alive. The news of this tragedy shocked
many. The Christians of South Korea were shaken.
" Why did God allow this to happen?. The
preacher preached about Christ. He was killed.
What wrong did his wife and children do?"
These were the questions that rent the air. The
preachers were confused and found it difficult
to answer these questions.
Years rolled by. This was the
time of the great revival in South Korea. This
was the time when the renowned preacher Paul Yongi
Cho was the pastor of the biggest congregation
in the world. One day during the service a man
rose up and told the surprised audience that he
was one among the forty persons who buried the
preacher and his family and he proceeded to explain
the details of the gory incident. He said that
he was moved by the courage and conviction of
the preacher who did not deny Christ even at the
point of death. He had wanted to know who that
Jesus was and in the process he had been convicted
and had accepted Christ as his Savior. Moreover
all the forty involved in that incident had at
some point in their lives been saved and were
members of Paul Yongi Cho's church. It took many
years to understand why God had permitted that
incident. God had used the death of those four
people save forty more!
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What Is The Bible?
"This book contains:
the mind of God,
the state of man,
the way of salvation,
the doom of sinners and
the happiness of believers.
Its doctrines are holy,
its precepts are binding,
its histories are true, and
its decisions are immutable.
Read it to be wise,
believe it to be safe, and
practice it to be holy.
It contains
light to direct you,
food to support you and
comfort to cheer you.
It is
the traveler's map,
the pilgrim's staff,
the pilot's compass,
the soldier's sword, and
the Christian's character.
Here
Paradise is restored,
heaven opened, and
the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand object,
our good its design, and
the glory of God its end.
It should
fill the memory,
rule the heart, and
guide the feet.
Read it
slowly,
frequently, and
prayerfully.
It is
a mine of wealth,
a Paradise of glory, and
a river of pleasure.
It is
given you in life,
will be opened in the judgment, and
will be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility,
will reward the greatest labor, and
will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents"
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Is A
Business Tithe Possible?
Many men who founded some of today's
great companies were godly men who were faithful
tithers.
* Henry P. Crowell, founder of
Quaker Oats, so moved by a sermon by Dwight L.
Moody, made a remarkable commitment to the Lord.
I can't be a preacher, but I can be a good businessman.
If you will make me money, I will use it in your
service. He gave far beyond the tithe for 40 years.
* William Colgate ran away from
home at age 17. He tithed the first dollar he
made as an employee, soon was made partner of
the company, and ultimately owned Colgate Palmolive
Company His giving grew from 20% to 30% to 40%
and finally he was giving all of his income.
* R. G. LeTourneau, creator and
manufacturer of giant earth-moving machinery,
by the end of his career, reversed the percentages
and gave God 90% and retained 10%. Other successful
tithers were J. L. Kraft of Kraft Cheese Company,
Wallace Johnson, founder of Holiday Inns, and
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
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Do It Anyway
While we have opportunity, let
us do good to all men, and especially to those
who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
After I had driven home the point that nobody
or nothing can keep us from being what God wants
us to be, one of my students gave me this nugget
of truth from an unknown author.
People are unreasonable, illogical
and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse
you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will
win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be
forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you
vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building
may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help, but may
attack you if you help them. Help people anyway.
Lord, I purpose today not to listen
to my detractors or look to the left or the right,
but to stay on the clear, sure path You have set
before me.
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