Sunday, September 29, 2013
PAIN AND PROBLEMS (3rd in Series)
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I believe these things not with a blind faith
that will not ask questions, but with a strong faith that admits I will never
have all the answers.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
WHAT IS COMMITMENT?
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Commitment
requires four definite steps; Confession, Contrition, Reparation and
Amendment.
Confession says, “I have sinned.”
Contrition says, “I
am sorry.”
Reparation says, “I will try to right the wrong.”
And
Amendment says, “I will let yesterday’s sin teach me for a better
tomorrow.”
Commitment says “What I am demands God as He is; nothing else will
do.”
Alstair McLean wrote that if we could hold to God’s promises with
one-fiftieth of the faith we profess, we would shout with a song of triumph, cry
with the wind and march as one, shoulder to shoulder, and friend to
friend.
***********************************************
To view an abundance of unusual
stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL
VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
***********************************************
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
RUST ON MY SOUL (24th episode in series)
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TO
SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST
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AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A FRIEND”
For
Neil's "One a Day Your Spiritual Vitamins"
click
on the following URL
**************************************************************
RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally)
************************
INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)
In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step. ************************************************************
(What matters is not what tomorrow brings but what you bring to tomorrow or as one philosopher put it, “Achievement is in the soul of man and not in his circumstances.”) ********************************************************************
Evening
I wonder how many times, when I was a boy, I squeezed between our hedge and the garage, leaped forward into the overgrown field behind, and raced for the forest. In late afternoon, pockets of deep darkness and heavy foliage would swallow up my tiny frame.
Once inside it was quiet and I would walk Indian-soft, animal sounds occasionally broke the stillness and then I could smell it, the stagnant stench of low tide, the mud all shriveled up and ready for sucking at my toes.
Tall swamp grass stretched up to the forest edge. It was labyrinth of criss-cross paths where my friends and I often prowled. It was a place of snakes, the deep-throated slurp of frogs, and sure-footed squirrels bounding from branch to branch against the sky.
It was a place for little boys to act brave and be scared all at the same time.
It’s not that much different now. Our confidence is still so easily dispelled: an extra layer of fat, a barrage of pimples, a bald spot shining in the sun, any one of those will do it. Someone says, “Good morning” and with a paranoia that surprise us we wonder all day about the tone of voice that was used. We pride ourselves on our candor and our ability to absorb candor from others until someone disagrees with us and we are shattered.
There is a little boy hiding behind each of our manly facades and that little boy is so easily hurt.
No, it’s not that different now. Sometimes business smells, too, and moral shriveling sucks at our souls, and the labyrinth of decisions crisscrosses and confuses. In this adult jungle big boys can act brave and be scared all at the same time, too.
Evening
Am I any better for writing all this down? Countless millions just live life without delving into it too deeply. What is there in me that finds some special therapy in putting tags on problems?
Has this all been a prayer, even though I did not begin these musings with a “Dear Lord” nor end them with an “Amen”? What is a prayer, anyway, but a spelling out of what God already sees? When I admit I have more than I can handle, am I halfway in a prayer?
Evening
I have just about decided that it is not how far I go in life that really counts, but in what direction. Is then my dissatisfaction not because I have not achieved all my goals, but rather that in achieving them I have grown dissatisfied with the scenery.
Am I where I planned to be but too well aware that some of the detours have worn me out? “Straight arrow” they once called me in long-ago yesteryears, but now I lie, and cheat and legally steal.
I have greased the paths with rationalization, intent on making the slide toward cynicism easier for my conscience. It’s not just the big lies but also the “exaggerations” that, piled atop each other, make it a mountain.
************************************************************************
TO BE CONTINUED ************************************************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/ ************************************************************************
INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)
In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step. ************************************************************
(What matters is not what tomorrow brings but what you bring to tomorrow or as one philosopher put it, “Achievement is in the soul of man and not in his circumstances.”) ********************************************************************
Evening
I wonder how many times, when I was a boy, I squeezed between our hedge and the garage, leaped forward into the overgrown field behind, and raced for the forest. In late afternoon, pockets of deep darkness and heavy foliage would swallow up my tiny frame.
Once inside it was quiet and I would walk Indian-soft, animal sounds occasionally broke the stillness and then I could smell it, the stagnant stench of low tide, the mud all shriveled up and ready for sucking at my toes.
Tall swamp grass stretched up to the forest edge. It was labyrinth of criss-cross paths where my friends and I often prowled. It was a place of snakes, the deep-throated slurp of frogs, and sure-footed squirrels bounding from branch to branch against the sky.
It was a place for little boys to act brave and be scared all at the same time.
It’s not that much different now. Our confidence is still so easily dispelled: an extra layer of fat, a barrage of pimples, a bald spot shining in the sun, any one of those will do it. Someone says, “Good morning” and with a paranoia that surprise us we wonder all day about the tone of voice that was used. We pride ourselves on our candor and our ability to absorb candor from others until someone disagrees with us and we are shattered.
There is a little boy hiding behind each of our manly facades and that little boy is so easily hurt.
No, it’s not that different now. Sometimes business smells, too, and moral shriveling sucks at our souls, and the labyrinth of decisions crisscrosses and confuses. In this adult jungle big boys can act brave and be scared all at the same time, too.
Evening
Am I any better for writing all this down? Countless millions just live life without delving into it too deeply. What is there in me that finds some special therapy in putting tags on problems?
Has this all been a prayer, even though I did not begin these musings with a “Dear Lord” nor end them with an “Amen”? What is a prayer, anyway, but a spelling out of what God already sees? When I admit I have more than I can handle, am I halfway in a prayer?
Evening
I have just about decided that it is not how far I go in life that really counts, but in what direction. Is then my dissatisfaction not because I have not achieved all my goals, but rather that in achieving them I have grown dissatisfied with the scenery.
Am I where I planned to be but too well aware that some of the detours have worn me out? “Straight arrow” they once called me in long-ago yesteryears, but now I lie, and cheat and legally steal.
I have greased the paths with rationalization, intent on making the slide toward cynicism easier for my conscience. It’s not just the big lies but also the “exaggerations” that, piled atop each other, make it a mountain.
************************************************************************
TO BE CONTINUED ************************************************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/ ************************************************************************
Sunday, September 22, 2013
PAIN AND PROBLEMS (2nd in Series)
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There are only so many things you can do if the world gives you too much disgust.
You can fight and find spice in battle.
You can try to understand it and accept the fact that there are some parts of the universe you will never understand.
You can retreat; pack up your phobias, close your doors, shut out the world and act as if becoming a hermit is really a solution.
You can retreat from life and mock its architect.
You can say God made a mistake when He made this world.
You can climb in a psychological or spiritual shell and say that because there is some ugliness, nothing is lovely or worthy of love.
But…what does Jesus teach?
It certainly isn’t escapism.
He says, “Yes, there is darkness…so go be a light.”
“Yes, there are the spiritually depraved, now YOU…go out and hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Just because things are bad is no excuse for you to go and make them worse.
The Apostle Paul, searching for an answer wrote, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God…which is in Christ Jesus.”
Emerson said it, “All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.”
There are only so many things you can do if the world gives you too much disgust.
You can fight and find spice in battle.
You can try to understand it and accept the fact that there are some parts of the universe you will never understand.
You can retreat; pack up your phobias, close your doors, shut out the world and act as if becoming a hermit is really a solution.
You can retreat from life and mock its architect.
You can say God made a mistake when He made this world.
You can climb in a psychological or spiritual shell and say that because there is some ugliness, nothing is lovely or worthy of love.
But…what does Jesus teach?
It certainly isn’t escapism.
He says, “Yes, there is darkness…so go be a light.”
“Yes, there are the spiritually depraved, now YOU…go out and hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Just because things are bad is no excuse for you to go and make them worse.
The Apostle Paul, searching for an answer wrote, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God…which is in Christ Jesus.”
Emerson said it, “All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.”
A great writer, thinker, philosopher John Oxeham wrote:
“Not for one single day
Can I discern my way.
But this I surely know…
Who gives the day,
Will show the way,
So I securely go.”
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To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
********************************************************
Thursday, September 19, 2013
FOR EVERY AILMENT UNDER THE SUN
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An old Mother Goose rhyme speaks to pain,
problem and the anxiety it causes.
“For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy or there is none; if there
be one, try to find it; if there be none, never mind it.”
The great French philosopher, Montaigne,
speaking to both the ryhme and life wrote "My life has been full of
terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
The Apostle Paul who was no stranger to troubles wrote, “Forget those things
which are behind you and press forward to those things which are before.”
In short, there is nothing more foolish
than to go through life dragging our fears behind us. Not learning from them
but rather being paralyzed by them.
We either make yesterday a teacher or it becomes a tyrant.
Somewhere between the bum who never things about tomorrow and the ulcer-ridden
executive who does nothing else is a balance.
Everyone of us has sought and are still seeking a better way to live and a
braver way to die. Some do a better job than others but nevertheless a stumble
is better than no step at all.
To view an abundance of unusual
stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
*************************************************
TO SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A FRIEND”
For Neil's "One a Day Your Spiritual
Vitamins"
click on the following URL
****************************************************
An old Mother Goose rhyme speaks to pain, problem and the anxiety it causes.
“For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy or there is none; if there be one, try to find it; if there be none, never mind it.”
The great French philosopher, Montaigne, speaking to both the ryhme and life wrote "My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
The Apostle Paul who was no stranger to troubles wrote, “Forget those things which are behind you and press forward to those things which are before.”
In short, there is nothing more foolish than to go through life dragging our fears behind us. Not learning from them but rather being paralyzed by them.
We either make yesterday a teacher or it becomes a tyrant.
Somewhere between the bum who never things about tomorrow and the ulcer-ridden executive who does nothing else is a balance.
Everyone of us has sought and are still seeking a better way to live and a braver way to die. Some do a better job than others but nevertheless a stumble is better than no step at all.
An old Mother Goose rhyme speaks to pain, problem and the anxiety it causes.
“For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy or there is none; if there be one, try to find it; if there be none, never mind it.”
The great French philosopher, Montaigne, speaking to both the ryhme and life wrote "My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
The Apostle Paul who was no stranger to troubles wrote, “Forget those things which are behind you and press forward to those things which are before.”
In short, there is nothing more foolish than to go through life dragging our fears behind us. Not learning from them but rather being paralyzed by them.
We either make yesterday a teacher or it becomes a tyrant.
Somewhere between the bum who never things about tomorrow and the ulcer-ridden executive who does nothing else is a balance.
Everyone of us has sought and are still seeking a better way to live and a braver way to die. Some do a better job than others but nevertheless a stumble is better than no step at all.
What
to do to make things better? Well, in the weeks that follow i will have one
theme that continues to arise...and that is...while we cannot always control
what happens we can control how we handle the happenings.
*********************************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
*************************************************
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*
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
RUST ON MY SOUL (23rd episode in series)
TO
SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A
FRIEND”
***********************************************
RUST
ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed
Internationally)
**********************************************
INTRODUCTION
(Repeated for those new to the series)
In an old loose leaf notebook,
Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his
inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every
day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The
journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a
step.
Midmorning
Margaret, my secretary, acts this morning as if
someone left her psyche out in the rain overnight. But then, my disposition
hasn’t been anything to brag about recently, either.
What’s wrong with
us?
Why for all these years have we mushed along toward civilized
madness? If creature comforts were all that we needed having them should make us
happy all the time.
Nancy and I have developed a talent for complaint.
The more we have the less we’re satisfied. I can’t believe that’s a mathematical
law. Does misery love wealth and poverty with equal
vigor?
Evening
It’s a night for writing. A storm rages outside the
rain beats against the windows and the wind blows in restless gusts, bending low
the trees on our hill. It is as if they are in prayer to ease their turmoil. A
strange word picture for a man who seldom prays. Is it my soul questing or mere
coincidence?
The electricity has been off for half an hour. I hope it
will come back on soon. Too much darkness for too long causes more than
frustration; it becomes frightening. When did I first start the slow but steady
darkening of my soul? And why have I now reached a point where I cry out for
light to find my way home? To see beyond an external home. I mean, if I am not
careful I’ll be singing hymns.
Why do I rebel when I start to get
religious? Even here in this diary, where no one else would know? Is there a
difference between religion and finding God?
All that has happened in a
power outage and I’m starting to prach a sermon to this congregation of
one.
I’m no atheist; I never have been. I’ve never the inclination to
completely reject God. I’m more of a religious drifter, content with handouts. I
look at the riches of heaven from afar, but I’m afraid of the responsibilities
that go with them.
Afternoon
The turbulence came from the west and
moved on to the east; this morning the sun shimmered on a wet dawn and the air
was clear. A storm and a new bright dawn are never far away from each other. Is
this me?
A storm always looking for a bright new dawn?
I got a
promotion this morning. Another human being gave me a prize and the praise was
pure joy. For awhile I didn’t think of my troubles, or my pains, or my
weariness. They didn’t change, but for a short time I did.
When I am
overcome by a storm of fear do I more easily cast off pretense? When the sky is
blue, and there is money in my bank account, and at least more has been right in
my day than wrong, do I let a little too much arrogance filter
through?
When I have “the world by the tail” am I less likely to concern
myself with its Omnipotent
Architect?
***********************************************
TO
BE CONTINUED ***********************************************
To
view an abundance of unusual stories
by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A
DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
*********************************************
This
novel can be purchased on amazon.com
**********************************************
Friday, September 13, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
WHAT IS YOUR CREED?
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Everyone has a creed or creeds and all of
them are not so very good. They are secret creeds and they are not shouted from
the mountain top but they nevertheless are the creeds thousands live by.
Creeds such as…
I believe in a God who sent me the pleasure of back-biting and gossip.
I believe in a God who sent me the joy of nagging my husband or wife or child.
I believe in a God who sent me the feeling of superiority so I can lord it over
those who are not as good as me.
And these creeds put a smile on the face of arrogance and bring a chuckle alive
from the mouth of ego and the world shrivels a little and dies a little and
weeps a great deal when it happens.
******************************************
To view an abundance of unusual
stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com
*****************************************
TO SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST CLICK AT THE
BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A FRIEND”
For Neil's "One a Day Your Spiritual
Vitamins" click on the following URL
****************************************
Everyone has a creed or creeds and all of them are not so very good. They are secret creeds and they are not shouted from the mountain top but they nevertheless are the creeds thousands live by.
Creeds such as…
I believe in a God who sent me the pleasure of back-biting and gossip.
I believe in a God who sent me the joy of nagging my husband or wife or child.
I believe in a God who sent me the feeling of superiority so I can lord it over those who are not as good as me.
And these creeds put a smile on the face of arrogance and bring a chuckle alive from the mouth of ego and the world shrivels a little and dies a little and weeps a great deal when it happens.
Everyone has a creed or creeds and all of them are not so very good. They are secret creeds and they are not shouted from the mountain top but they nevertheless are the creeds thousands live by.
Creeds such as…
I believe in a God who sent me the pleasure of back-biting and gossip.
I believe in a God who sent me the joy of nagging my husband or wife or child.
I believe in a God who sent me the feeling of superiority so I can lord it over those who are not as good as me.
And these creeds put a smile on the face of arrogance and bring a chuckle alive from the mouth of ego and the world shrivels a little and dies a little and weeps a great deal when it happens.
******************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com
*****************************************
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
LEISURE, WHAT TO DO WITH IT…WHAT IT DOES TO US
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I watched a child playing the other day and he was so busy and his
sister equally so. All that energy expended in the sheer joy of living and I
thought how idleness is only good when it takes place after a host of doing.
It is why when someone says to me that they are about
to retire I first congratulate them and then ask the question, “What are you
retiring to?”
What purpose indeed? What goal that
enlivens the waking up process. As beautiful as a sunrise or a sunset is it is
not enough unless some of the time in between is filled with doing.
They put together a psychological test recently and
took two groups of people. One group volunteered to carry a package a goodly
distance and a second group was told they had to carry the package the same
distance.
Where it was voluntary or by demand…the group
that got up and got going was happier and more content afterwards than the group
that sat idly by.
The mood of idleness is negative.
The great psychologist William James put it well when
he wrote, “Neither the nature nor the amount of our work is accountable for the
frequency and severity of our breakdowns. But their cause lies, rather in that
absurd feeling of hurry and having no time, in breathlessness and tension and
anxiety.”
In short, sometimes we need to let our clocks
run down.
Sometimes we need to get so engrossed in a
game we are playing, a book we are reading, or a job we are completing we don’t
care what time it is.
Again, retire to what!
It’s using time like we appreciate and admire
it.
********************************************
To
view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A
DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
********************************************
Sunday, September 8, 2013
RUST ON MY SOUL (22nd episode in series)
******************************************
If you would like to share this blog with a friend, go to the bottom and click on TELL A FRIEND
If you would like to share this blog with a friend, go to the bottom and click on TELL A FRIEND
RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally)
******************************************
INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)
In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.
Evening
I survive in a perpetual traffic jam. I endure the cacophony of noise that assaults me from the city streets. I grimace and growl at pedestrians as they grimace and growl back at me.
In early pioneer days if a man missed a stagecoach he just settled back and waited a couple of days for the next one. Today a man gets upset if he misses one section of a revolving door.
I fight a losing battle with panic. It surges up and tightens every muscle in my body. It makes me wide eyed at two A.M. I lie in bed with a frantic prayer and a rapidly beating heart. Will it step its churning of my life blood before I learn how to live?
Morning
“Get off my back!” It wasn’t an original comment neither was Billy’s red face nor the door slammed hard and loud. I had watched the same scene on television more than once. Bu then people are never original when it comes to problems. There are only so many ways to foul up a life.
“You knew he was smoking pot!” Nancy shouted.
“You didn’t have to sit there in shocked silence and finally come out with the inane statement, “You know you’re ruining your health.” There were tears in her eyes as she turned to stare out the window.She was right. I have suspected Billy’s sullen silence was more than inability to talk about his sister’s departure. But what am I supposed to say? What words can make a difference to him?
A daughter, already run away, gone for almost a month. Now a son unruly in revolt. Why will not our children be parented? We read the books on child psychology. We protected their egos. We tried to let them know we cared by letter them be free and unrestrained.It hasn’t been a paradise around here, but neither is it an Eden out there. Connie’s seventeen going on twenty-seven and her self-image is a picture painted by bravado. R-rated movies and too much of the unearned “good life.”
She was never sweet sixteen. Indeed, from the first time as a baby she threw a tantrum and got her way, it’s been all downhill.
Connie, will you ever come back? And if you do, what will our conversation be like?
********************************************
TO BE CONTINUED ********************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
********************************************
Thursday, September 5, 2013
SOME THOUGHTS ON VANITY
*********************************************************************
These thoughts are added to each Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
************************ *********************************************
If you would like to share this blog with a friend, go to the bottom and click on TELL A FRIEND
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They had given up wealth, position, time, community ties.
They had sacrificed and now they had become pompous in their sacrifice
Thinking, that at the very least they deserved some reward, they asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
And then they waited.
Each one hopeful that Jesus would say, “You are the greatest, Peter your fire and enthusiasm has endeared you above all others.’
Matthew waiting to hear Him say, “You are the greatest, your logical mind has placed you head and shoulders above this rough-hewn lot.”
Thomas waited to hear, “You are the greatest, for your searching questions have shown your honest desire to understand.”
Each of the twelve waited to hear Jesus say, “You are the greatest. I love you the most. I care what happens to you above all the rest. I cannot thank you enough.”
But Christ, as often Christ did, answered that question in a way that would teach a lesson.
He called a little child unto Him.
A comely, dark-eyed youngster still with a heart pure and clear.
A creature from the miracle of creation.
A being not yet old enough to be marred by petty jealousies hurts and imagined wrongs.
And cradling that little child in His arms, He said, “Verily I say unto you, except you be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Vanity puts a chip on the shoulder a hole in the head and a thorn in the side.
Vanity will neither accept criticism or learn from it.
The truly vain when they pray remind God of their credentials.
It is unlikely they will say it in a prayer but the thought does sometimes still reside in their thoughts, “Look closely Lord and I am sure you will find my name written in gold on the pages of heaven.”
These thoughts are added to each Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
************************ *********************************************
If you would like to share this blog with a friend, go to the bottom and click on TELL A FRIEND
******************************************************
They had given up wealth, position, time, community ties.
They had sacrificed and now they had become pompous in their sacrifice
Thinking, that at the very least they deserved some reward, they asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
And then they waited.
Each one hopeful that Jesus would say, “You are the greatest, Peter your fire and enthusiasm has endeared you above all others.’
Matthew waiting to hear Him say, “You are the greatest, your logical mind has placed you head and shoulders above this rough-hewn lot.”
Thomas waited to hear, “You are the greatest, for your searching questions have shown your honest desire to understand.”
Each of the twelve waited to hear Jesus say, “You are the greatest. I love you the most. I care what happens to you above all the rest. I cannot thank you enough.”
But Christ, as often Christ did, answered that question in a way that would teach a lesson.
He called a little child unto Him.
A comely, dark-eyed youngster still with a heart pure and clear.
A creature from the miracle of creation.
A being not yet old enough to be marred by petty jealousies hurts and imagined wrongs.
And cradling that little child in His arms, He said, “Verily I say unto you, except you be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Vanity puts a chip on the shoulder a hole in the head and a thorn in the side.
Vanity will neither accept criticism or learn from it.
The truly vain when they pray remind God of their credentials.
It is unlikely they will say it in a prayer but the thought does sometimes still reside in their thoughts, “Look closely Lord and I am sure you will find my name written in gold on the pages of heaven.”
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Job 15:31 - Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompense.
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To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/ ***********************************************************
To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/ ***********************************************************
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
THE WHITE BRIGHT LIGHT OF HOPE
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Hope
is faith in perpetual motion.
It is a man preparing to play a song on a
violin with only one string.
Hope is an antidote for fear.
Hope is
blind to the imperfections of a moment but hope is what makes rainbows out of
storms.
Hope is in love with shine rather than shadow.
Hope has a love
affair going with
gratitude.
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"Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (ROM
12:12).
*******************************************
To
view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A
DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
********************************************
Sunday, September 1, 2013
RUST ON MY SOUL (21ST episode in series)
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If you would like to purchase this book go to amazon.com and type in RUST ON MY SOUL. *****************************************
RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally) *****************************************
If you would like to share this blog with a friend, go to the bottom and click on TELL A FRIEND
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If you would like to purchase this book go to amazon.com and type in RUST ON MY SOUL. *****************************************
RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally) *****************************************
INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)
In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.
Evening
I’m not really so much angry at the world as confused.
Why have we let humanity get so dog-eared? Crime has made me no longer responsive to trust.
Welfare, since it is impossible to tell the needy from the listless, causes us to disgustedly assign the title “bum” to everyone who isn’t working And politicians are probably no better or worse than they ever were, but victim to the myopic eye of television focusing on them with never-ending klieg lights and questions.
Very modern Nancy and all too modern Tom, all of us and any of us suffer from information overload.
We are no better prepared to deal with our own living rooms than man ever was, except that now, prepared or not, the whole world has entered our living room.
Evening
Immanuel Kant said that two things filled him with unutterable awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.
What is moral law? What about my values? Good, bad or indifferent, they’re what I live by.
I hope I’m not completely for sale to the highest bidder. If God offered me a million dollars for my devotion, is that the only way He’d get it”
The thought makes me sick.
Late night
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? More than once I’ve wondered if I am but one of million of lost children of a forgetful Father.
Where have you gone out there? Have you gone to minister to a better, more obedient, more worthy set of children? Have we had our chance and muffed it?
Afternoon
The minister this morning was ill prepared to preach and I was unprepared to listen. So as I sat looking at the pulpit, my mind wandered, and I found myself wondering what it would be like of God came down and delivered the weekly sermon.
Would He speak of love or would He severely admonish us? Would He look like Saliman’s :Head of Christ”? Would He have angels on either side all bright and shinning?
On the other hand, if John the Baptist came in his sackcloth and ashes I’m sure we’d all be so shocked at his appearance that we’d miss his message.
Did God make a mistake when He gave us so much that was good for free? Maybe in the beginning He should have created price tags as well as beauty. Maybe we’d lie down in green pastures and walk beside still waters if it were two dollars for the walk and a dollar for the still waters and only two-fifty if we took them both as a package deal.
Maybe Adam and Eve would have appreciated the Garden of Eden more if they’d had to make mortgage payments to keep their tenancy.
But maybe just maybe, there are price tags and we just have problems finding the right currency.
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To view an abundance of unusual stories by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/ *********************************************
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