Head-dibs

"Ideal" is what you wish you were (fame is a vapor); "Reputation" is what people say you are (popularity is an accident); "Character" is what you are. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) told the story of a Muslim veiled prophet who was a great teacher and was considered to be a light among the people. He wore the veil, he said, because his countenance was so glorious none could bear the sight of his face. But, eventually the veil decayed and fell away revealing nothing hut an ugly old man. Stevenson stressed that, “however high the truths the preacher taught, and however skillfully he might excuse the blemishes of character, the time comes when the veil falls away, and a man is seen by people as he really is." Think of what this means for those in ministry. Charles Spurgeon wrote in his "Lectures to My Students:" "Traveling one day on a train from Perth to Edenburgh, on a sudden we came to a dead stop, because a very small screw in on...

"I regard myself as an optimist. An optimist is a person who knows exactly how sad a place the world can be. A pessimist is one who is forever finding out." (Peter Ustinov, 1921 - 2004)

When a Backpacker puts a pack on his back for an all day hike he can carry it one of two ways: either with his shoulder straps (placing the weight on his shoulders and back); or, with his hips (placing the weight on the lower part of his body). If he uses the first way, his shoulders bear all the weight and he tires out easily and quickly because his shoulders aren’t built to carry that weight. But if he uses his hips to bear the weight he can go all day without suffering greatly. The key is how he carries the load. The same is true for the Christian: when carrying a load, he should be concerned with "how" it is carried and not the "why" or for "how long."

Online Evangelists Tap Millions Looking for God - ABC News Shared via AddThis

"Everything has that mysterious 'something' nowadays, whether washing powder or gasoline or vitamin pills or shaving cream or tooth paste-- everything has that new added element that no other brand has. This magic X has a wonderful unpronounceable name not yet in any dictionary. We smile, but thousands of gullible mortals will buy truckloads of the hokum and find it no better than something else they fell for months ago.” (Vance Havner, 1901 - 1986)

By Jody Barr COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - With protests in Iran reaching a fever pitch, many Americans are watching the situation with curious eyes. Columbia International University's Dr. Warren Larson spent 25 years of his life in the Middle East. He now teaches Muslim studies in Columbia. Larson says all Americans can relate to the demonstrators filling the streets in Iran. "What they're saying is down with the dictator," said Dr. Larson. Read the rest of the article and view the video at http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?s=10574972 .

Cher ami, j’aimerais vous poser une question, en fait, la plus importante de votre vie. Votre bonheur ou votre perte, pour toute l’éternité, dépend de votre réponse. Voici la question: “Etes-vous sauvé ? Etes-vous sûr d’aller au ciel à votre mort?” Je ne vous demande pas si vous êtes membre d’église, mais si vous êtes sauvé. Il ne s’agit pas non plus de savoir si vous êtes bon, mais si vous êtes sauvé. En effet, personne ne peut obtenir les bénédictions de Dieu ou même aller au ciel sans être préalablement sauvé. Jésus a dit à Nicodème dans l’évangile selon Jean, au chapitre 3 et au verset 7 : “ Il faut que vous naissiez de nouveau ”. Dieu nous donne dans sa parole, la Bible, le SEUL plan de salut qui ait jamais existé; ce plan est simple et vous pouvez être sauvé dès aujourd’hui. Le Simple Plan de Salut de Dieu

A horse can’t pull while kicking, This fact we merely mention, And he can’t kick while pulling, Which is our chief contention. Let us imitate the good horse, And lead a life that’s fitting; Just pull an honest load, and then There will be no time for kicking. (Anonymous)

Read about it here , pray like crazy, then get out there and preach sin, righteousness, judgment and repentance by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Didja hear the one about the little boy who went into great distress when he heard his sister was going to have a baby? His problem? "I don't know if I can wait nine months to find out if I am an an aunt or an uncle!"

A man is judged fairly well by his choice between a light burden or a strong back. " And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope ." (Romans 5:3-4)

" The Final Week of Daniel and the Centerpiece of History " My thoughts on Daniel 9 from Oct. 7, 2008

The Buck Hatch Library is NOW OPEN! Best known for his seminars on marriage, the family and parenting, James M. “Buck” Hatch, served Columbia International University (CIU) as teacher, counselor and administrator for almost 40 years. A pioneer in the field of biblical counseling, Hatch taught and counseled not from a platform of strength, but from his own experience of brokenness and pain.

David is a passionate believer in Jesus Christ with big dreams to help fulfill the Great Commission. In his younger days, he briefly braved the foreign mission field during a short-term trip, boldly sharing his faith. But now, he's an average office worker with a newborn baby and a new mortgage. During a meeting at work recently, he was asked to stand up and share something positive. "Just last night, I reached 12 people with the Gospel message ," exclaimed David. "My computer is distributing the Bible to people in Brazil, Germany, and all over the world. People are downloading the Audio Bible in their own language while I'm standing here talking to you, and some are hearing about Jesus for the first time." David's story is not uncommon. Many believers desire to do great things for the Lord , but just don't know how. His story took a dramatic turn after a virtual visit to FaithComesByHearing.com . While there, he downloaded his free Audio Bible and ...

"To believe is to be 'in one mind' about accepting something as true; to disbelieve is to be 'in one mind' about rejecting it. To doubt is to waver between the two, to believe and disbelieve at once and so be 'in two minds'." (Os Guinness, from his book, "In Two Minds")

There are at least two sides to every question, just as there are two sides to a sheet of flypaper--it makes a big difference to the fly which side he chooses.

An open mind is priceless only when it's owner has the courage to make a final decision, which in turn, closes the mind after all sides of the question have been viewed and considered. Remember: compromise is changing the question to fit an answer.

" Future Things, Past Things ." My thoughts on Daniel 8 from Sept. 27, 2008

"Creation Moments Responds to the Latest 'Missing Link' in Human Evolution." "It is now May and Creation Moments has been wondering when – during this Darwin’s bicentenary year – some startling new fossil discovery would be announced confirming Darwin’s Theory. Well, the announcement is a bit late – Darwin’s birthday was February 12. And, to put it mildly, the discovery is not at all spectacular. It’s a skeleton of a lemur monkey a mere 21 inches long, but half of that is the tail. It is claimed to be 47 million years old, and it was found in two parts by an amateur fossil hunter in Germany in 1983. The fossil female monkey, squashed as flat as a beer mat, was cleaned and set in polyester resin, then hung on a wealthy private collector’s wall like a Picasso painting until 2006. She then came into the hands of a private dealer, Thomas Perner, who took her to the Hamburg Fossil and Mineral Fair in Germany. It was there, in the murky world of fossil-trading, t...

Doug Whitley as C.H. Spurgeon

Evangelical Group Banned From Tulsa Housing Projects, Chapter Leader Says - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com Posted using ShareThis

In the year 1818, the King of Huachine, one of the South Sea Islands, became a Christian. He discovered a plot among his fellow natives to seize him and other converts and burn them to death. He organized a band to attack the plotters, captured them unawares and then set a feast before them. This unexpected kindness surprised the savages, who burned their idols and became Christians. (From the Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations)

"The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians but a school for the education of imperfect ones." (Henry Ward Beecher, 1813 - 1887)

Obama promises Arabs Jerusalem will be theirs Official: President said Palestinian state with holy city capital 'in American interest' Shared via AddThis

"Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the centre of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round. Remember: the man who fights one more round is never whipped." (James J. Corbett, heavyweight boxing champion from 1892 to 1897)

" The Beasts of Daniel's Vision ." My thoughts on Daniel 7 from Sept. 25, 2008

When Goliath came to the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, “He’s so big we can never kill him!” When David saw him, he thought, “He’s so big, I can’t miss!” Now THAT's seeing from God's perspective!

1) "Redemption Through His Blood." Listen to the message, or read the transcript and use the study guide for Ephesians 1:6-10. 2) "Divine Promises Guaranteed." Listen to the message, or read the transcript and use the study guide for Ephesians 1:11-14

"Any temptation that comes to us is not unique. Others have endured it and others have come through it. A friend tells how he was once driving Lightfoot, the great Bishop of Durham, in a horse carriage along a very narrow mountain road in Norway. It got so narrow that there were only inches between the wheels of the carriage and the cliffs on one side and the precipice on the other. He suggested in the end that Lightfoot would be safer to get out and walk. Lightfoot surveyed the situation and then said, 'other carriages must have taken this road. Drive on.'" (William Barclay, in commentary on Corinthians)

Stunned. That's the only word that can describe my reaction the first time I read through Revelation. As a junior-high school boy, the imagination was fertile and the curiosity insatiable. There may have been a book or two around the house that received a measure of consultation as my mind tried to absorb the imagery, action and statements of the Revelation, but that was not enough. Once I was so overwhelmed by the six and seventh chapters that I called my pastor, made an appointment and rode my bike the short few miles to the church so I could sit down with him to perhaps gain even a small measure of understanding. I've been dwelling on this ever since, and have by no means concluded my contemplations. These two chapters of Revelation have been the object of much consideration and debate. Many of the problems solve themselves when we reconsider "how" the book is to be read--and our Western way of reading will not help. Everything described in these chapters po...