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For illustrations on this page, click titles:
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Blessed Indeed!
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“Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely girl, I envied her:
She seemed so happy. And I wish I were as fair.
And then, suddenly,she rose to leave,
and I saw her hobble down the aisle,
She had one leg and wore a crutch,
But as she passed, a smile.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two legs,
I am blessed indeed. The world is mine!
Later, walking down the street,
I saw a man with eyes of blue.
But he just stood and watched the others play.
So, I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, sir?"
But he looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew he could not hear.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears,
I am blessed indeed. The world is mine!
And later, I stopped to buy some sweets,
The lad who sold them had such charm,
I talked with him. If I were late, it would do no harm.
But as I turned to go, he said to me,
" I thank you sir. You've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you."
" You see," he said, " I am blind."
Oh God forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes,
I am blessed indeed. The world is mine!
With legs to take me where I want to go,
With ears to hear the things I need to know,
With eyes to watch that radiant sunset glow.
Oh God, forgive me whine,
I AM BLESSED INDEED!
THE WORLD IS MINE! - Author Unknown
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Through It All!
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"I've had many tears and sorrows;
I've had questions for tomorrow;
There have been times I didn't know right from wrong;
But in every situation God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong.
I thank God for the mountains,
I thank Him for the valleys;
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through;
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know that He could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do.
Through it all, through it all
Oh, I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all. Through it all.
Oh, I've learned to depend upon His Word."
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It Is Better Farther On!
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Never stop believing, the best is yet to come!
"Hark! A voice from Eden stealing
Such as but to angels known,
Hope its song of cheer is singing
' It is better farther on!'
Hope is singing, still is singing
Softly in an undertone
Singing as if God had taught it,
'It is better farther on!'
Night and day it sings the same song,
Sings it when I sit alone;
Sings it so the heart may hear it,
'It is better farther on!' "
The Best Is Yet To Be!
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Second Chance
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"If we could have a second chance
To live the days once more
And rectify mistakes we've made --
To even up the score.
If we could have a second choice
To use the knowledge gained --
Perhaps we might become at last
As fine as God ordained.
But though we can't retrace our steps,
However stands the score,
Tomorrow brings another chance
For us to try once more."
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His Mistake
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To get his wealth
He spent his health,
He turned around and spent his wealth
To get his health again.
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Do Better Now, My Child!
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An unknown poet has captured the spirit
that we need to have before our God:
He came to my desk with quivering lip; the lesson was done.
“Have you a new leaf for me, dear teacher?
I have spoiled this one!”
I took his leaf, all soiled and blotted
And gave him a new one, all unspotted.
Then into his tired heart I smiled:
'”Do better now, my child.”
I went to the throne with trembling heart;
The year was done.
“Have you a new year for me, dear Master?
I have spoiled this one!”'
He took my year, all soiled and blotted
And gave me a new one, all unspotted,
Then into my tired heart, He smiled:
'”Do better now, my child!”
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Looking For The Limp!
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An old Irish prayer says this:
"May those who love us, love us;
And those who don't love us
May God turn their hearts;
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping."
The legalist is always looking for limp in someone to determine their spirituality.
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Selfish To Want To Live
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Living...And Dying
The Saturday afternoon football game was going full blast on TV.
But Gordon Clinard wasn't watching the game.
He was absorbed in something he was writing at his desk.
He showed what he was writing to his wife, and she read the poem.
She said, "I wish you didn't feel so depressed."
He replied, "I'm not depressed nor morbid as you think.
It is simply that I hear God telling me it's almost time to come home."
Ten days later letter H. Gordon Clinard died in an automobile accident.
He had expected that death would eventually come as a result of a heart condition that he had since the age of 14.
He had rheumatic fever.
In 1971 he had open heart surgery.
The doctors told him that it was not a cure; it would only give him a little more time.
The words of the poem, "Living... and Dying," reflect the triumphant courage and faith of this brilliant teacher,
leader, and author.
Gordon Clinard was my professor of preaching at Southwestern Baptist theological seminary.
Here is the poem:
“It is selfish to want to live
When you are not as alive as you used to be
When ambitions and dreams
Exceed the strength of your grasp.
It is selfish to want to live
When those you love are burdened by your care
Or made sad because of your moods.
It is selfish to want to live
When life has grown bitter to your taste,
Not because you no longer love to live,
But because you are no longer up to the race.
It is selfish to want to live
When each morning brings new rounds of pain,
When the joy of friends and the thrill of tomorrow
Seems beyond you because of your limited pace.
It is selfish to want to live
When God seems about to whisper, "Now,"
How foolish of us to dread death
When He has promised to be near!
It is selfish to want to live
In a useless "house," whatever the span,
When He has said there is a better one
"Not made with hands."
It is selfish to want to live
Clinging to life's waning joys,
When to be with Him is the sheer rapture of life
As it was meant to be.”
But:
“It is selfish to want to die
When it seems to be easier way,
When we do not recall how He lived, even in sorrow,
Each day to His best.
It is selfish to want to die
Because you have to face pain and weakness;
For many have been the contributions
Made by those who were ill.
It is selfish to want to die
And brave the fear of the unknown,
Rather than face up to your handicap
And use it as a crutch.
It is selfish to want to die
Because things are not as they used to be.
The brave have always turned from yesterday
To face the challenge of today.
It is selfish to want to die
When one of life's chores you can do is undone,
When one word you can say for Him
Is silent in your throat.
In short... it is selfish to want to die
Until He is ready;
For all of life is in His hands – the dark days
As well as the days beset with light.
And, if man will let us, we shall join Him
In dignity when He wills.”
– Adapted from Proclaim Magazine
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Pass It On!
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“It only takes a spark to get a fire going.
And soon all those around can warmup in its glowing;
That’s how it is with God’s love:
Once you’ve experienced it you spread His love to everyone;
You want to pass it on.
I’ll shout it from the mountaintop,
I want my world to know,
The Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on.”
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God Was In The Foxhole!
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Some one received a Christmas card from a bank which was entitled, "And God Was There!"
It was written by an unidentified soldier just before his death.
"You see, God. They told me You didn't exist,
And like a fool, I believed all this.
Last night from a shell hole I saw your sky.
I figured right then they'd told me a lie...
Well, I have to go now, God, goodbye;
Strange, since I met You,I'm not afraid to die!"
Yes, God was there!
And God is here now!
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No Hands, But Ours!
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Larry Gilbert tells of a little church yard in France where a beautiful statue of Jesus with outstretched arms once stood.
During World War II, a bomb struck nearby and broke the statue to pieces.
When the fighting had passed the village, members of the little church set about to find the pieces of the statue
and to reconstruct it.
As they patiently set about their task, even the scars seemed to add to its beauty in their eyes.
But, to their dismay, the fragile hands had been pulverized.
"A Christ without hands is no Christ at all!" someone said sadly.
Indeed, we want Christ’s tender, ministering hands outstretched to us!
So someone suggested that they try to get a new statue.
Then another person in the group came up with the idea that prevailed.
He suggested that a brass plaque be attached to the statue’s base that would read: "I have no hands but yours."
Years later someone saw that statue and its inscription and wrote these lines:
“I have no hands but your hands to do my work today.
I have no feet but your feet to lead men on the way.
I have no tongues but your tongue to tell men how I died.
I have no help but your help to bring men to God’s side.”
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