HAS IT POSSESSED YOU?

"That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests." - Andrew Jackson

Encounter

When noted Bible scholar James M. Gray was a young Bible teacher he became deeply impressed by the peace and spiritual poise of a friend with whom he often talked. Since Gray wanted that same stability, he asked his companion the secret of his confident bearing and positive outlook. "It all started through reading Ephesians," said the man. Gray was surprised by this simple response. He had read Ephesians many times but had never experienced the same strength he saw in his friend. Noticing Fray's puzzled look, the man explained. "On one occasion, when I was on a short vacation, I took a pocket edition of Ephesians with me. Lying down one afternoon, I read all six chapters.

WOMEN, SAVE OUR MEN

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BUTTERFLY OR BEE?

"That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests." - Andrew Jackson

According to James Hamilton, there are two kinds of Bible readers - those who skim the surface and those who dig deep. He describes them by comparing them to two common insects. He writes, "One is remarkable for its imposing plumage, which shows in the sunbeams like the dust of gems; as you watch its jaunty gyrations over the fields and its minuet dance from flower to flower, you cannot help admiring its graceful activity, for it is plainly getting over a great deal of ground. "But in the same field there is another worker, whose brown vest and businesslike, straightforward flight may not have arrested your eye. His fluttering neighbor darts down here and there, and sips elegantly wherever he can find a drop of ready nectar; but this dingy plodder makes a point of alighting everywhere, and wherever he alights he either finds honey or makes it. If the flower-cup be deep, he goes down to the bottom; if its dragon- mouth be shut, he thrusts its lips asunder; and if the nectar be peculiar, he explores all about till he discovers it...His rival of the painted

THE ANTIDOTE

"It is impossible to righteously govern the world without God and the Bible." - George Washington

 

If it were possible, it would be alarming to realize that we all walk around, with a question mark on our heads. Some question marks, are bigger and more conspicuous than some other people's. We all have important questions that require urgent answers.

A circuit riding preacher entered one church building with his young son, and dropped a coin into the offering box in the back. Not many came that Sunday, and those who did didn't seem too excited about what was said. After the service, the preacher and son walked to the back, and he emptied the box. Out fell one coin. The young boy said, "Dad, if you'd have put more in, you'd have gotten more out!"

The great preacher Alexander White, when he was too old to mount the pulpit, would rise every morning to prepare a sermon, even though he never preached them. He did so

READ, THEN STUDY IT

"Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today - if only we would read and believe." - Ronald Reagan 

 Martin Luther said, "I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb--study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings."

When John G. Mitchell, was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington, he heard Dr. G. Campbell Morgan preach. The man knew his text, and young Mitchell was impressed. In fact, he asked the visiting Bible teacher how he

IT'S ALL YOU NEED

"Never let good books take the place of the Bible. Drink from the Well, not from the streams that flow from the Well." - Amy Carmichael

Andrew Jackson said, "That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests." Charles Dickens, the great literary icon added, "The N.T. is the very best book that was or ever will be known in the world." Another great personality George Washington posited, "It is impossible to righteously govern the world without God and the Bible." Yet Ronald Reagan had this to say, "Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today - if only we would read and believe."

John T. Spach, narrates in Reader's Digest. When a son left for his freshman year at Duke University, his parents gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began sending them letters asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible - but he still needed money. When he came home for a semester break, his parents

ALEXANDER ROSTOVZEZ

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." - Galileo Galilei 

Transformation

There is unquantifiable power in the Word of God to transform anything - situation or personality. It is true that many people have questioned - and are still questioning - it's power, but the truth is doubting it's power doesn't strip it of it's power.

Many years ago in a Moscow theater, matinee idol Alexander Rostovzev was converted while playing the role of Jesus in a sacrilegious play entitled Christ in a Tuxedo. He was supposed to read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount, remove his gown, and cry out, "Give me my tuxedo and top hat!" But as he read the words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted," he began to tremble. Instead of following the script, he kept reading from Matthew 5, ignoring the coughs, calls, and foot-stamping of his fellow actors. Finally,

PETER, OR THE ELEVEN

"Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night." - Zig Ziglar 

Which?

Someone said, "Fall seven times, stand up eight." Do you know that failing, is not ALWAYS failure, because failure is not the opposite of success, it's a part of success. You'll never know what possibilities lie in front of you, until you try - step out in faith - not minding the possibility of failing.

The decision to succeed involves a choice between risk and comfort. To be a follower of Jesus, we must chose to renounce comfort as the ultimate value of our lives: we’re built to enjoy comfort. Truth is, water walkers master failure. Failure is not an event, but a judgment about an event. It's not something that happens to us, or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes. Do you think Peter failed? In a way he did. His doubts were stronger than his faith. 'He saw the wind.' He took his eyes off of where they should have been. He sank. He failed.

THE MISSING PIECE

"Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain

We tend to focus on some of the long list of 'other' things we're commanded to do, but not on the command to rest from all of our doing? It's hard to say which of the two we fail at most miserably, our doing or our resting. It's a verifiable fact that nothing is complete without Jesus. He is the "Author" and the "Completer," the "Beginning" and the "Ending." Everything exists because of Him, and everything is missing something without Him: the thing that supplies true meaning and purpose to all things. This applies to everything.

"Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death," seems like a gross and bizarre overreaction on God's part. In what universe does this punishment fit this crime? It makes

IT'S GRADUAL

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable..." - Martin Luther 

It's Gradual

To cut down a tree, you you do it, one strike after another. Each strike in themselves won't bring down the tree, but you cut the tree without each individual strike. Being transformed, is a gradual process of one step today, and another strike tomorrow and before long you're a completely different person - good or bad - be patient.

One of the most dramatic examples of the Bible's divine ability to transform men and women involved the famous mutiny on the "Bounty." Following their rebellion against the notorious Captain Bligh, nine mutineers...found their way to Pitcairn Island, a tiny dot in the South Pacific...Ten years later, drinking and fighting had left only one man alive - John Adams. Eleven women and 23 children made up the rest of the Island's population...But the rest of the story is even more remarkable. About this time, Adams came across the "Bounty's" Bible in the bottom of an old chest. He began to read it, and the divine power of God's Word reached into the heart of that hardened murderer...and changed his life forever...He began to teach the children from the Bible until every person on the island

BENEFIT OF INSUFFICIENCE

"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises." - Samuel Butler 

BOI

The common excuse as to why we aren't succeeding, is that of how much we lack: many of us cite 'lack' as a major hindrance, but I beg to differ.

Noted Bible teacher E. Schuyler English told of Michael Billester, a Bible distributor who visited a small hamlet in Poland shortly before World War II. Billester gave a Bible to a villager, who was converted by reading it. The new believer then passed the Book on to others. The cycle of conversions and sharing continued until 200 people had become believers through that one Bible. When Billester returned in 1940, this group of Christians met together for a worship service in which he was to preach the Word. He normally asked for testimonies, but this time he suggested that several in the audience recite verses of Scripture. One man stood and said, "Perhaps we have misunderstood. Did you mean verses or chapters?" These villagers had not memorized a few select verses of the Bible but whole chapters and books. Thirteen people knew Matthew, Luke, and half of

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

"One rare and exceptional deed is worth far more than a thousand commonplace ones." - Saint Ignatius

In Christianity, you are either hot or your cold. You're either black or white. There are no shades of grey, else you'll become a casualty. As a child of God, how much exceptional deed are you doing that shows your allegiance? Are you a serious, die-hard, committed Christian or you're a laid back, seasonal church -goer?

Jack Kuhatschek, in Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible narrates the following story. While studying in the Holy Lands, a seminary professor of mine met a man who claimed to have memorized the Old Testament - in Hebrew! Needless to say, the astonished professor asked for a demonstration. A few days later they sat together in the man's home. "Where shall we begin?" asked the man. "Psalm 1," replied my professor, who was an avid student of the Psalms. Beginning with Psalm 1:1, the man began to recite from memory, while my professor followed along in his Hebrew Bible. For two hours the man continued word for word without a mistake as the professor sat in stunned silence. When the demonstration was over, my

YOU DIDN'T LOSE ALL

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." - Og Mandino 

YDLA

Many times in life we go through issues, and we assume that we have been so badly dealt with, that life has left us, in the boxing ring bereft of anything useful. Usually, at such times most people give up on life because it seems as if nothing's left on which to hope, or survive.

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book 'The Wonders of the Word of God.' The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyes as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as

THE BIBLE X

"The Christian's Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes." - Mark Twain

A theological student whom later I knew as a senior friend had committed himself to starting his ministry in the north of England when he received a very attractive invitation to join a teaching institution in South Wales instead. He did not feel able to withdraw from his commitments, but one day he read in Isaiah 43:6 (Authorized Version), "I will say to the north, Give up", and concluded that this was God telling him that he would be providentially released from his promise and so set free to accept the second invitation. No such thing happened, however, so he went north after all wondering what had gone wrong. Then he reread Isaiah 43:6 and noticed that it continued, "...and to the south, Do not withhold." At this point it dawned on him that he had been finding meaning in the text that was never really there. Instead, the concerns which he brought to his reading of the text had governed his interpretation of it.

At the height of her fame, Marla Maples spoke of her religious roots. She believed in the Bible, she told interviewers, then added the disclaimer, "but you can't always take [it]

THE BIBLE VIII

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - Unknown 

Pollster George Gallup Jr. has long referred to America as a "nation of biblical illiterates." Only four in 10 Americans know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. A majority of citizens cannot name the four Gospels of the New Testament. Only three in 10 teenagers know why Easter is celebrated. Two-thirds of Americans believe there are few, if any, absolute principles to direct human behaviour. A new poll by the Barna Research Group suggests that religious illiteracy has increased. For example, three out of four Americans (and nearly half of "born-again" Christians) believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves." George Barna argues that self-reliance is not only not scriptural, but that it contradicts revelation. Only God determines a person's destiny, the pollster notes. To believe otherwise "exposes our false theological cornerstone - that we are the center of things, that it is up to us to determine our destiny, and that God is merely our assistant..."

The story actually happened to Joseph Parker, minister of the City Temple in London. An old lady waited on Parker in his vestry after a service to thank him for the help she received from his sermons. "You do throw such wonderful light on the Bible, doctor," she said. "Do you know that until this morning, I had always thought that Sodom and

THE BIBLE V

"A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase." - Traditional

Letter and Spirit

Gipsy Smith told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had "gone through it several times." "Let it go through you once," replied Smith, "then you will tell a different story!" What a statement. Beyond having the Bible in your hand, do not only go through 'the Word of the Spirit,' but also allow 'The Spirit of the Word' to permeate every fibre of your being.

He was one of the greatest rulers in African history and the creator of modern Ethiopia. Born in 1844, he was captured during an enemy raid and held prisoner for 10 years. Escaping, Menelik II declared himself head of the province of Shewa. He began conquering neighboring kingdoms and developed them into modern Ethiopia with himself as emperor. When Italy tried to take over Ethiopia Menekil's army met and crushed the Italians

THE BIBLE IV

"I was never out of my Bible." - John Bunyan

Ticket

It was John Wesley, who said "I am a man of one Book." and Timothy Dwight added that, "The Bible is a window in this prison-world, through which we may look into eternity." Many times, I have said that, "Life is a boxing ring...and a very good striker." It will be, in my opinion, foolhardy to live in this boxing ring called life, without regularly consulting life's manual.

It seemed that famed scientist, Albert Einstein had more trouble finding his way home from work, than he did finding the key to atomic power. One evening as he sat deep in thought aboard the train that brought him home each night, the porter approached to collect his ticket. Einstein rummaged around in his coat, through his pockets, in his shirt, and everywhere else he could think of, growing alarmed at his inability to find the ticket. "That's okay, Dr. Einstein," said the porter. "I know you ride this train every day. I can collect tomorrow." "That's fine for you, young man," Einstein replied,

THE BIBLE III

"A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase." - Traditional

THE BIBLE

George Muller, known for his strong faith, confided. "The first 3 years after conversion, I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight!" John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, testified, "Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions; pray and read, and read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from man."

Any good manufacturer - whatsoever the product - understands the importance of an instruction manual, for his product. This is because he wouldn't be there with the customer to explain how to operate his product. In all cases, good manufacturers leave a 'contact' number or email, or some extra information through which they can be reached, should the customer have any issues understanding any part of the manual accompanying