July 29

THE ABCs OF GOD'S SALVATION
A = All have sinned.
B = Behold he Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
C = Come to Christ for peace, pardon, and eternal life.

THE HEART OF THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father....The Paternity of God
Who art in heaven...The Place of God
Hallowed be Thy name....The PRAISE of God
Thy kingdom come....The PURPOSE of God
Thy will be done....The PLAN of God
Give us bread....The PROVISION of God
Forgive us our debts....The PARDON of God
Lead us not into temptation....The POWER of God
Deliver us from the evil one....The PROTECTION of God --Elmer L. Towns
How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

Here is one of the very best pieces of information on Global Warming that I have ever seen. The information is in the form of a test. It is very interesting. You should take the time to visit the site and take the 10 question test. Very informational! Gives the context of global warming in a geologic, and long term historical context.
http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/GlobWarmTest/start.html

I’d play the lottery if they let me pick the balls.

"What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are." - C.S. Lewis

Sometime this year (2007) humanity will reach a significant demographic achievement. For the first time in history more people will live in cities than in rural areas. By 2030 more than 60 percent of humanity will live in cities. - Source: The United Nations

"My greatest fear is not falling away from God. It isn't losing my marriage or reverting back to drugs. My greatest fear is that I should ever lose the hand of God on my life. Without his touch, everything I would do, as Solomon said, would be 'vanity of vanities!'" - Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor (Bethany House, 2007)

An older couple was asking for a room with a king, queen or double bed. The clerk apologized and said that the only rooms available had twin beds.
Disappointed, the man remarked, "I don't know. We've been sharing the same bed for 44 years."
"Could you possibly put them close together?" the wife asked.
Several people nearby smiled, and someone commented, "How romantic."
Then the woman finished her request with, "Because if he snores, I want him close enough to be able to punch him."

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else" - Charles Dickens
~~
I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.
The world is moved along, not only by the might shovels of its heros, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." - Helen Keller
~~
"True greatness, true leadership, is achieved not by reducing men to one's service, but by giving oneself in selfless service to them." - Author Unknown
~~
The world measures greatness by money, or eloquence, or intellectual skill, or even by prowess on the field of battle. But here is the Lord's standard: "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:4 - J.H. Jowett
~~
The beginning of greatness is to be little,
The increase of greatness is to be less,
And the perfectino of greatness is to be nothing. - Author Unknown
~~
"The world's idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving. The less there is of you, the more the light shines through."
~~~~~
"Truth is always strong, no matter how weak it looks; and falsehood is always weak, no matter how strong it looks." -- Phillips Brooks
~~~~~
-Why are there no father-in-law jokes?
- Can a rabbit have a bad hare day?
- Why are all the "do-it-yourself" books written by more than one person?
- If you marry someone you met online, should you exchange passwords instead of vows?
- Why do we celebrate America's Independence Day with fireworks made in China?
- If a police interrogator took enough college courses, could he get a third degree?
- Would it be a waste of time to throw away your watch?
- Why do I back up my computer? Why can't I back it down?
- What happens to all the daylight we save?
- Do plumbers go home tired every day because their work is so draining?
~~~~~
A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor's office.
After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, "your husband is suffering from a very severe stress disorder. if you don't do the following, your husband will surely die.
"Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant at all times. For lunch make him a nutritious meal. For dinner prepare an especially nice meal for him. Don't burden him with chores. Don't discuss your problems with him--it will only make the stress worse. And most importantly, no nagging. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely."
On the way home, the husband asked his wife, "what did the doctor say?"
"He said you're going to die," she replied.

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." -- Holmes

"If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders" – Abigail Van Buren

"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." -- Anais Nin

"How was your blind date?" a college student asked her roommate.
"Terrible!" the roommate answered. "He showed up in his 1932 Rolls Royce."
"Wow! That's a very expensive car. What's so bad about that?"
"He was the original owner."

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today." -- Chinese proverb

"Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality." -- Les Brown

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge." -- Daniel J. Boorstin

"The easiest thing in the world is to be you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position." -- Dr. Leo Buscaglia

"The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post." -- L. Thomas Holdcroft

David Jeremiah points out that, "Christian leaders who appear on secular television talk shows are often asked whether they believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. If the answer is 'Yes, Jesus is the only way,' the interviewer often paints the Christian as intolerant, arrogant, narrow-minded, out-dated, and fanatical.
"But if the interviewer were talking to a physician who had made a medical breakthrough for a terrible disease, would he say, 'Doctor, how intolerant to think this is the only cure for this disease.' If he were talking to a mathematician about the multiplication table, would he say, 'Professor, how can you be so arrogant as to believe that three times three always equals nine? '"

"Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so our lives matter, so the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it."

Lance Briggs during the offseason after the Chicago Bears offered him $7.2 million to occupy 16 of his Sundays playing football: "I've played my last snap for them. I'll never play another down for Chicago again." He signed with the Bears on Wednesday for $7.2 million.

"If genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, I wind up sharing elevators with a lot of bright people." - Unknown

Why don't you ever see the headline: "PSYCHIC WINS LOTTERY"?

Be as patient with others as God has been with you.
Enthusiasm for Christ is contagious -- has anyone caught it from you?
Those who walk with God won't run from people's needs.
When you find yourself far from God, remember it is not He that moved.
When God calls 'Time', the game is over. Which exit will you take?
Experts made the Titanic. Amateurs made the ark.
God doesn't need great men. Great men need God.
Visitors aren't just welcome. They are expected.
Give your troubles to God. He's up all night anyway.
You learn to walk by starting on your knees.
God answers knee mail.


The Joy of Life
The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.

Football players at the high school were stealing the practice jerseys, so the coach ordered a set with "Property of Central High School" emblazoned on them.
When the thefts continued, he ordered a new batch that had the imprint "Stolen From Central High School." But the jerseys still kept disappearing.
The larceny finally stopped after he changed the wording to "Central High School 4th String."

A mother sent her fifth grade boy up to bed. In a few minutes she went to make sure that he was getting in bed. When she stuck her head into his room, she saw that he was kneeling beside his bed in prayer. Pausing to listen to his prayers, she heard her son praying over and over again. "Let it be Tokyo! Please dear God, let it be Tokyo!"
When he finished his prayers, she asked him, "What did you mean, 'Let it be Tokyo'?"
"Oh," the boy said with embarrassment, "we had our geography exam today and I was praying that God would make Tokyo the capital of France."
Prayer is not a magical means by which we get God to do what we want. Prayer is an inner openness to God which allows his divine power to be released in us. Ultimately, the power of prayer is not that we succeed in changing God, but that God succeeds in changing us.

Has it really come to this? In order to get Americans to care about a Presidential debate, debate organizers felt it was necessary to ask candidates the difficult questions in snowman form and in horrible song form. Apparently, we have become so apathetic we can't simply listen to a moderator ask the questions anymore, we have to watch some schmuck from East Nowhere asking questions in a chicken suit. Is the ability to post a video clip online really this important? It's a sad state of affairs, ladies and gentlemen.

An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"
The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I'll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!'"

"Alter your attitude and you can alter your life."

"You can't risk what you don't have and you can't have what you won't risk for."

"Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." -- Stevie Wonder


The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn't ask for directions.

One hour of eternity, one moment with the Lord, will make us utterly forget a lifetime of desolations. --Horatio Bonar

- "A pedestrian is a person who should be seen and not hurt."
- "Customers who think the waiter is rude, should see the manager."
- "Sorry to needle you. We need your blood."
- On a college president's door: "Closed--If it's something important, see the custodian."
- Municipal golf course sign: "Please don't find lost balls until they stop rolling.
- New Jersey tourist sign: "Come to beautiful Atlantic City and see the bored walk."
- Sign in a nut shop: "No credit cards here. Strictly cashew and carry.
- By some bananas in a fruit store: "Please don't tear us apart. We grew up together.
- In a barbershop window: "Cutting out for lunch."
- What's the difference between a dry cleaner and a lawyer? If the dry cleaner loses your suit, he'll pay you. If the lawyer loses your suit, you'll still get taken to the cleaners.
- I don't know why they make you wear your hair so short in the Navy. I thought Captains didn't like crew cuts.
- Two podiatrists opened their new practices across the street from each other. They were arch enemies.
- My wife is sick. She got a little buggy, then she got a little hoarse. We're calling it the Amish Flu.
- "I used to own a Rolls-Kinardly," I boasted to a friend. "What kind of car is that?" he asked. "The kind of car that Rolls down one hill and Kinardly get up the next."
- I bought a new clothes iron. It's magnetic. It's supposed to make my clothes attractive.
- We have pretty good health insurance. You could say I'm ill at ease.


Biblical Bumper Stickers

Adam: "You are what you eat."

Eve: "At least he doesn't compare me to his mother."

Abraham: "I'm goin' not knowin'. "

Noah: "Honk if you believe in treading water."

Moses: "From a basket case to the promised land."

Elizah: "When Jezebel ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

Balaam: "My second donkey talks!"

At the Sinai desert: "Winding road next 40 years"

At the Red Sea: "Caution! Subject to sudden flooding"

July 22

All of us have wondered at times why God doesn't do more to fix our problems. But our human eyes often fail to see that God isn't rushing to change our circumstances because he is concerned with a much more serious problem--our character. While you struggle with the woes of this world, God's main occupation is preparing you for the world to come. The focus of what God is doing in your life takes place in you, not around you. -- Andy Stanley, "Like A Rock"

"Worry looks around, sorry looks back, Faith looks up."

No doubt it sounds strange, but in order to love God with all your strength, you have to admit that you are weak and that your strength is limited. By doing this, you acknowledge God as the true source of your strength, and that in your weakness, he is strong. You become strong as you become totally dependent upon him, allowing his strength to work through you. God doesn’t ask you to take steps of faith alone; he is with you in every step, filling you with a grace-charged strength. God only asks you to take one step of faith at a time.

Sweatshirt with Pigpen from Charlie Brown on it with the saying: “The world needs messy people ... Otherwise the neat people would take over.”

If we are willing to take hours on end to learn to play a piano, or operate a computer, or fly an airplane, it is sheer nonsense for us to imagine that we can learn the high art of getting guidance through communion with the Lord without being willing to set aside time for it. It is no accident that the Bible speaks of prayer as a form of waiting on God. --Paul S. Rees

The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, "Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!" Bubba replied, "Did you see who it was? "The young man answered, "I couldn't tell , but I got the license number.

When we stand in the middle of a lifestorm, it seems as if the storm has become our way of life. We cannot see a way out. We are unable to chart a course back to smoother waters. We feel defeated--and broken. Will that brokenness produce a cynicism that will keep us forever in the mire of "if only" thinking? Or will we yield up that brokenness to the resources of One who calms the winds and the waves, heals the brokenhearted, and forgives the most grievous of sins? The choice is ours. --Verdell Davis, "Riches Stored in Secret Places"

There are two types of chaos: the chaos of creativity vs. the chaos of over-creation and incompletion. Which one best describes you? —Leslie Boyer, “Managing Chaos,”

If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.
Only 14 percent of evangelicals in the United States believe poverty is something that churches should take the lead in addressing. That's still more than triple the rate of the average population (4 percent). - Source: Barna.org (June, 2007)

"Being a Christian doesn't mean hovering above the ugliness of life. It means we are given the weapons necessary to face wickedness with the hope of creating something good in its place." - Paul Coughlin, No More Jellyfish, Chickens, or Wimps

"The God-life cannot be domesticated or used – it can only be entered into on its own terms. Holiness does not make God smaller so that he can be used in convenient and manageable projects; it makes us larger so that God can give out life through us, extravagantly, spontaneously. The holy is an interior fire, a passion for living in and for God, a capacity for exuberance in the presence of God." - Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

Police excuse angry computer user for outburst BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations. Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday. Officers found the street and pavement covered in electronic parts and discovered who the culprit was. Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer.
"Who hasn't felt like doing that?" said a police spokesman.
While escaping any official sanction the man was made to clear up the debris.

Americans spent more last year on bottled water than on iPods and movie tickets -- a whopping $15 billion.

If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.

Eating beef ' is less green than driving'
Producing 2.2lb of beef generates as much greenhouse gas as driving a car non-stop for three hours, it was claimed yesterday. Japanese scientists used a range of data to calculate the environmental impact of a single purchase of beef. Taking into account all the processes involved, they said, four average sized steaks generated greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 80.25lb of carbon dioxide.
This also consumed 169 megajoules of energy.
That means that 2.2lb of beef is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which have the same effect as the carbon dioxide released by an ordinary car travelling at 50 miles per hour for 155 miles, a journey lasting three hours. The amount of energy consumed would light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days.

FEEL USELESS AND HOPELESS?
Ever feel like the world is a tuxedo - and you're a pair of brown shoes? Just remember, you're in good company
NOAH was a drunk
ABRAHAM was too old
ISAAC was a daydreamer
JACOB was a liar
GIDEON was afraid
JONAH ran from God
ZACCHAEUS was too small
TIMOTHY was too young
JOHN the BAPTIST was called "crazy"
And all of them, and each of us, is forgiven by God in Christ Jesus! Look out world, here we come!

When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through. --Corrie Ten Boom

Can't remember life before mobiles? Chances are you'll also struggle to recall your home phone number and family birthdays.
According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.
A quarter of those polled said they couldn't remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn't recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.
The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.
Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.
"People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory," said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.

"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again." -- Stephen Grellet

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." -- Frank A. Clark

"What is harder than rock, or softer than water? Yet soft water hollows out hard rock. Persevere." -- Ovid, Roman poet

"The person rowing the boat seldom has time to rock it." -- Author Unknown


From “A Woman’s Journey to the Heart of God
“We have explored how Mary of Bethany was intent on abiding with the Lord and how her service overflowed from it. Because she sat at His feet, she expressed her love for Him. She depicts the abiding servant. Martha represents the busy servant. She loved the Lord, but in her serving, she became anxious and bothered. She was not at REST. Everything she did was in some sense a chore, and chores can easily become burdens. Since her identity came from her service, she had little time to sit at the feet of Jesus. She had stepped out of her Lord’s yoke.

If we are consistently joined to the Lord, we will seek His guidance before accepting any additions to our schedule or any commitments to serve. His desire is to give us rest and burdens that are light. This doesn’t mean that we are not busy, but it does mean that in our God-directed busyness, His strength and grace are with us. When our service is the will of God, we have His power to do what He gives us to do. We experience His refreshment in the process of our work that is done for Him.

Where do you suppose Jesus wanted Martha the day He visited her home - in the kitchen, or at His feet? I think He desired her to be at His feet. If Martha had as much as a crust of bread and a fish or two, then they were in good shape for a meal. The Lord was there, and He provides all that we need, including rest.”

Oswald Chambers says:
“Beware of any work for God which enables you to evade concentration on Him. A great many Christian workers worship their work. The one concern of a worker should be concentration on God, and this will mean that all the other margins of life, mental, moral, and spiritual, are free with the freedom of a child! A worker without this solemn dominant note of concentration on God is apt to get his work on his neck; there is no margin of body, mind or spirit free, consequently he becomes spent out and crushed. There is no freedom, no delight in life; nerves, mind and heart are so crushingly burdened that God’s blessing cannot rest.”

Watchman Nee says in his piece, “Treasure in a Vessel.”
“All the worry and fret of God’s children would end if their eyes were opened to see the greatness of the treasure hid in their hearts. Do you know there are resources enough in your own heart to meet the demand of every circumstance in which you will ever find yourself? Do you know there is power enough to move the city in which you live? Do you know there is power enough to shake the universe? Let me tell you once more - I say it with the utmost reverence: You who have been born again of the Spirit of God - you carry God in your heart!

Do you realize what happened at your conversion? God came into your heart and made it His temple. In Solomon’s days, God dwelt in a temple made of stone; today He dwells in a temple composed of living believers. When we really see that God has made our hearts His dwelling place, what a deep reverence will come over our lives! Has it really come home to you that wherever you go you carry with you the Holy Spirit of God? You do not just carry your Bible with you, or even much good teaching about God, but God Himself!

Why is it that some of God’s children live victorious lives while others are in a state of constant defeat? (my note: why are some Marys and some Marthas?!) The difference is not accounted for by the presence or absence of the Spirit (for He dwells in the heart of every child of God) but by this, that some recognize His indwelling and others do not. Some recognize the divine ownership of their lives while others are still their own masters. True revelation of the fact of the Spirit’s indwelling will revolutionize the life of any Christian.

Revelation is the first step to holiness, and consecration the second. A day comes in our lives, as definite as the day of our conversion, when we give up all right to ourselves and submit to the ABSOLUTE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST.”

CHRIST IN ME - the hope of glory!!


WORDS OF WISDOM
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." -- Albert Einstein

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph." -- Haile Selassie

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -- Calvin Coolidge

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." -- Abraham Lincoln


THE DEVIL'S BEATITUDES
If the devil were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:
1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians--they are my best workers.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked--I can use them.
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church--they are my missionaries.
4. Blessed are the troublemakers--they shall be called my children.
5. Blessed are the complainers--I'm all ears to them.
6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes--for they get nothing out of his sermons.
7. Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church--for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip--for they shall cause strife and division that please me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended--for they will soon get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work--for they are my helpers.
11. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister--for he shall be with me forever.
12. Blessed are you who, when you read this, think it's about other people and not yourself--I've got you too

July 15

"Golf is harder than baseball. In golf, you have to play your foul balls."

If you don't go to work for the Lord because you are afraid of making mistakes, you will probably make the greatest mistake of your life--that of doing nothing. --D. L. Moody

In 1999, Catherine Ryan Hyde wrote a novel called "Pay It Forward" (later turned into a movie). It starts with a teacher's assignment to "Think of an idea for world change and put it into action " Trevor, the 12-year-old hero, comes up with an idea. If he does something "real good" for three people and asks in return that instead of them "paying him back," they
"pay it forward" by doing a good deed for three other people, who are in turn asked to pay it forward, the math quickly shows that he could change the world.

• What's So Funny?
As one gets older, it may be harder to "get" or understand jokes. Researchers at Washington University found that older adults — because they have "greater difficulty with cognitive flexibility, abstract reasoning and short-term memory — also have greater difficulty with tests of humor comprehension," reports the Associated Press. Findings — which were published this month in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society — revealed that the younger adults did six percent better on verbal jokes and 14 percent better on the comic portion [of their tests] than did older participants.

"God must have had a lot of confidence in you to put you on the planet at just this time. It was his sovereign decision to insert you onto planet earth during a time of huge transition. It takes incredible faith to lead during hinge points of history." - Reggie McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003)

"Why do bad things happen? I don't know. Why did Jamie die? I don't know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me, and I know he has a plan – whether it makes sense to me or not. Rather than asking why, I'm asking what. What can I learn from this? What can I do for God's glory and to help others?" - Tony Dungy, talking about his son's 2005 death in Quiet Strength (Tyndale House, 2007)

The estimated cost of all of the parts of the iPhone cost $200. The average cost for the newest technological gadget to create consumer feeding frenzy is $499. - Source: Time magazine (July 16, 2007)

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." - Amy Carmichael

The question is not “Who is my neighbor?” but “Am I a neighbor?” In other words, the burden of proof does not lie with another as to whether or not he is a neighbor in order to quality for my love. The question is, “Am I a neighbor to any and all, especially to those who are needy?” —Richard C. Halverson.

All the blessings we enjoy are divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors. —John Calvin.

"Real leaders come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. But they all have a few things in common:
"They are never so big that they can't bend down to help someone else.
"They are never so wise that they don't remember who taught them.
"They are never so gifted that they won't share their skills with others.
"They are never so fearless that they don't play by the rules and live by the law.
"They are never such big winners that they forget what it feels like to lose."

THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY
This is the most important day in your life.
Because this is the day that you are now living.
If your life is headed in an undesirable direction,
this is the day you can change it.
If there are dreams you are longing to fulfill,
this is the day you can follow them.
This day, right now,
is the day when you can put to use all the knowledge,
experience and wisdom you've accumulated.
On this very day,
you can do the things you've been meaning to do
and connect with the people you've been meaning to see.
On this day, you have a world full of choices.
On this day, there are more possibilities than ever before.
Of all the days you've ever lived, and of all the days to come,
this is the one special day that now matters the most.
For it is on this very day that you can now think
and speak and act and love and live.
Give yourself a quiet, peaceful moment,
and grasp the immense value
that is now yours on this very day.
Then step forward and fill it with beautiful life.


Bernie and Esther were not the most religious Jews and in fact they really only went to Temple once a year. As they were leaving the Temple, the Rabbi said, "Bernie, it sure would be nice to see you and Esther here more than once a year!"
"I know," replied Bernie, "but at least we keep the Ten Commandments."
"That's great," the Rabbi said. "I'm glad to hear that you keep the Commandments."
"Yep," Bernie said proudly, "Esther keeps six of them and I keep the other four."

Someone has observed that Knowledge is exploding at such a rate--more than 2000 pages a minute--that even Einstein couldn't keep up. In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished. Campus Life, Feb, 1979

The essential act of prayer is not the bending of God's will to ours . . .but the bending of our will to His. The proper outline of a Christian's prayer is not "Please do for me what I want," but "Please do in me, with me, and through me what You want." -- William Temple

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread." --Mother Teresa

- "Suspicion often creates what it suspects." - C.S. Lewis

- "If your dreams turn to dust... vacuum." - Unknown

"Jesus loves you as you are, and not as you should be; because you will never be as you 'should be.'" --Brennan Manning

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement.
The FIRST patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week.
The SECOND sees his family doctor after waiting 3 weeks for an appointment, then waits 8 weeks to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another week and finally has his surgery scheduled for a month from then. Why the different treatment for the two patients?
The FIRST is a Golden Retriever.
The SECOND is a Senior Citizen.
Next time take me to a vet!

A priest and a pastor from the local churches were standing by the road, pounding a sign into the ground, that read: "The End is Near! Turn Yourself Around Now... Before It's Too Late!
As a car sped past them, the driver yelled, "Leave us alone, you Religious Nuts!"
From the curve they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The priest turned to the pastor and asked, "Do you think the sign should just say Bridge Out?"

Definition of vacation: A two-week-long experience where money and time race against each other until both are totally exhausted.


* In the four major US professional sports, (Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey), there are only seven teams whose nicknames do not end with an "S:" Basketball: The Miami Heat, The Utah Jazz, The Orlando Magic. Baseball: The Boston Red Sox, The Chicago White Sox. Hockey: The Colorado Avalanche, The Tampa Bay Lightning. Football: None.

* In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." On July 20, 1969, a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Gaylord Perry hit his first, and only, home run. Take Me Home

A police car pulls up in front of grandma Bessie's house, and grandpa Morris gets out. The polite policeman explained that this elderly gentleman said that he was lost in the park and couldn't find his way home.
"Oh Morris", said grandma, "You've been going to that park for over 30 years! How could you get lost?"
Leaning close to grandma, so that the policeman couldn't hear, Morris whispered, "I wasn't lost. I was just too tired to walk home."

Remember, the lesser of two evils is still evil.

According to the US Government people have tried nearly 28,000 different ways to lose weight... ...I personally have tried 27, 648 of'em.

* "Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works; evil works do not make a wicked man, but a wicked man does evil works."

Liberty and freedom -- two beautiful words that describe the reality of my life in Christ. I don't have to do good works; I get to do them.--Dave Goetz,

July 15, 2007

Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of
1. the Roman Empire, has attributed the fall of the Empire to:
1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion--faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Edward Gibbon.


200 Years?
Ancient democracies wane under the selfishness of human hearts. "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complacency to apathy;
from apathy to dependency;
from dependency back to bondage.
General Quote. Alexander Fraser Tytler is said to be the author of this quote and lived at the end of the eighteenth century. "The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic" is said to be the book he never wrote a book with this title.



Ours is the only country in the world where people pay $200,000 for a house and then leave it for two weeks every summer to sleep in a tent.
Research shows that 80 percent of non-Christians worldwide don't know any Christians. Pastor James Emery White believes that stat exposes the heart of our cultural crisis. We've been called to influence the world around us, but we've often simply retreated into our own Christian subculture.
"When we seek out that which is lost, we are loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and valuing people as God values them. If we as the Church keep this as our core focus and mission, we will never become an empty building or mere tourist attraction. We will be so occupied and fulfilled with doing what the Church was placed on this earth to do – taking what is inside the Church out into a broken world – that our doors will never close. The lost will be drawn to us because of our open arms and our loving, safe environment. - Christina Caine, Stop Acting Like a Christian, Just Be One (Regal, 2007)

According to USA Today, more than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or have been addicted to alcohol. That includes 42 percent of men and 19 percent of women. - Source: USA Today

"We spend our lives on the run: we get up by the clock, eat and sleep by the clock, get up again, go to work - and then we retire. And what do they give us? A clock." - Dave Allen

We build too many walls and not enough bridges. Isaac Newton quote

Dumb and Dumber Has Become American Norm
Most Americans are dumber than dirt when it comes to health. Some startling statistics that may point to the reason for this epidemic of dumb-and-dumber-itis:
+ 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives
+ 80 percent of American families did not buy or read a book last year
+ 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years
Meanwhile, people in the United States spend an average of four hours in front of the TV each day and three hours listening to the radio -- both sources that contain little or no real information that can truly benefit your life.
Obviously, most of you reading this are not in this category and do actively read, so you're not part of the problem. However, as we work toward creating a paradigm shift in people's consciousness about health and well-being, we clearly have our work cut out for us.
With almost no one searching for, reading, and critically analyzing information, it's no wonder that only 11 percent of Americans know the daily amount of calories they should be eating -- especially when you consider the vast amounts of disinformation being thrown at all of us by advertisers every day, as well as the pseudo-science being spread by the many bought-and-paid for organizations which are nothing more than fronts for corporations.
Drug companies, as only one of many examples, spend literally billions of dollars each year on direct-to-consumer TV advertising (the U.S. being one of only two countries in the world where this is legal) because they know that it works.
When most people see a drug being advertised on TV, they have no other sources of information to let them know that they are being sold an ineffective and dangerous product. Given that situation, it's no surprise that 2/3 of doctor visits resulted in a drug being prescribed, and spending for prescription drugs is the fastest-growing category of health care expenditures.
Yes we have a long row to hoe in educating our friends and relatives about the truth so at least they can make informed choices and not continue to be brainwashed by the drug cartels.
If we are to thrive as a society, encourage your kids to read, read often, and discuss what's been read to encourage free and independent thought.


Here is a prayer:
O, Lord, we pray for peace and safety in Iraq.
We pray for our servicemen and women who struggle daily to represent the best of this country in the face of danger and threat.
We pray for the diplomats who struggle to resolve ancient and new conflicts.
We pray for the families who seek to protect their children from harm.
We pray for the children who are watching and living in violence and terror.
We pray for Your guidance in the coming days.
Lord, we pray for healing in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East.
Help us to be mindful that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary. Let us cherish these sentiments, and extend this influence still more widely; in the full conviction, that that is the happiest society which partakes in the highest degree of the mild and peaceable spirit of Christianity. --Daniel Webster
(Commenting on Romans 8:28) You may have heard the story of that eminent martyr who was wont always to say, "All things work together for good." When he was seized by the officers of Queen Mary, to be taken to the stake to be burned, he was treated so roughly on the road that he broke his leg, and they jeeringly said, "All things work together for good, do they? How will your broken leg work for your good." "I don’t know," said he, "how it will, but for my good I know it will work, and you shall see it so." Strange to say, it proved true that it was for his good; for being delayed a day or so on the road through his lameness, he just arrived in London in time enough to hear that Elizabeth was proclaimed queen, and so he escaped the stake by his broken leg. He turned round upon the men who carried him, as they thought, to his death, and said to them, "Now will you believe that
all things work together for good?" --Charles Spurgeon


One of the Secrets to Success
Andrew Tobias, the financial author put it this way. Go down any day to the waterfront, and you will find a crowd of unhappy people. Someone will be having trouble getting the motor on their yacht to crank. Someone else will be scraping barnacles. Another will be repainting. Things just don't make you happy. Property brings problems. It is like an alligator that takes a bite out of your pocket every time you turn around. Don't be burdened by too many material things. As you go through life, one of the secrets of success is to travel light. Unknown


Real Evangelism
If we are going to be effective in reaching people for Christ we are going to have to start showing people that we really care. Evangelism and missions must be relational in nature. There is no record of Jesus walking up to someone out of the clear blue sky and saying: I am the Messiah and then him beginning to show his care for them. No, he showed his care for them first and then he revealed himself to them.
A story is told about a man who was on a luxury liner and suddenly he falls overboard. He can't swim and in desperation he begins calling for help. Now it just so happens that there were several would be rescuers on deck who witnessed the incident.
The first man was a MORALIST. When he saw the man fall overboard he immediately reached into his briefcase and pulled out a book on how to swim. He now tossed it to him and he yelled: Now brother, you read that and just follow the instructions and you will be alright.
The man next to him happened to be a IDEALIST. When he saw the man fall overboard he immediately jumped into the water and began swimming all around the drowning man saying: Now just watch me swim. Do as I do and you will be alright.
The person next to him happened to be a member of the INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH. He looked upon the drowning man's plight with deep concern. He yelled out: Now, just hold on friend. Help is on the way. We are going to establish a committee and dialogue your problem. And then, if we have come up with the proper financing, we will resolve your dilemma.
The next man on deck happened to be a representative of the school of POSITIVE THINKING. He yelled out to the drowning man: "Friend, this situation is not nearly as bad as you think. Think dry!"
The next man on board happened to be a REVIVALIST. By this time the drowning man was going down for the third time and desperately began waving his arm. Seeing that, the revivalist yelled out: Yes brother, I see that hand, is there another? Is there another?
And finally, the last man on deck, was a REALIST. He immediately plunged into the water, at the risk of his own life, and pulled the victim to safety.
My friends, the harvest is plentiful, but the WORKERS are few. We need realist in the church willing plunge into the water and go to work.

Evangelism
An executive hirer, a "head-hunter" who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, "When I get an executive that I'm trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed. Then, when I think I've got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, "What's your purpose in life?" It's amazing how top executives fall apart at that question.
"Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all disarmed, with my feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then I leaned up and said, 'What's your purpose in life, Bob?' And he said, without blinking an eye, 'To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.' For the first time in my career I was speechless." Josh McDowell

Biblical Passages Are Like Rental cars
Biblical passages are, in some ways, like a fleet of rental cars. Some get driven a lot, some are less popular. Some are easy to handle, others take more skill and experience to manage. Almost all of them get abused by their drivers.
If today’s gospel text were a rental car, it would be a great big SUV with a lot of miles on it. One look at it, and you would know that this one has hauled a lot of people’s baggage over the years. Big and unwieldy, it tends to go off in other directions regardless of where you are steering it.


The Grahams' Unexpected Hospitality
Former televangelist Jim Baker speaks of events that occurred immediately after his release from prison:
When I was transferred to my last prison, Franklin [Graham] said he wanted to help me out when I got out-with a job, a house to live in, and a car. It was my fifth Christmas in prison. I thought it over and said, "Franklin, you can't do this. It will hurt you. The Grahams don't need my baggage." He looked at me and he said, "Jim, you were my friend in the past and you are my friend now. If anyone doesn't like it, I'm looking for a fight."
So when I got out of prison the Grahams sponsored me and paid for a house for me to live in and gave me a car to drive. The first Sunday out, Ruth Graham called the halfway house I was living in at the Salvation Army and asked permission for me to go to the Montreat Presbyterian Church with her that Sunday morning. When I got there, the pastor welcomed me and sat me with the Graham family. There were like two whole rows of them - I think every Graham aunt and uncle and cousin was there. The organ began playing and the place was full except for a seat next to me. Then the doors opened and in walked Ruth Graham. She walked down that aisle and sat next to inmate 07407-058. I had only been out of prison 48 hours, but she told the world that morning that Jim Bakker was her friend.
Afterwards, she had me up to their cabin for dinner. When she asked me for my addresses, I pulled this envelope out of my pocket to look for them. In prison you're not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked, "Don't you have a wallet?" And I said, "Well, yeah, this is my wallet." After five years of brainwashing in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She walked into the other room and came back and said, "Here's one of Billy's wallets. He doesn't need it. You can have it."

Time to Be a Hero
On January 13, 1982, when Air Florida's Flight 90 crashed on takeoff and fell into the icy waters of the Potomac River, Martin Skutnik, age 28, saw the plane go down. He stood with other spectators on the riverbank watching a woman who had survived the crash and was struggling to swim in the cold water. Skutnik plunged into the river and rescued her. He had never taken a life saving course, but he saved the woman's life. He probably didn't use the proper form or technique when he swam to the woman's side, at least as professional swim instructors would teach it. He may not have followed the Red Cross Lifesaving Manual in the method he used to grab the woman and bring her back to the safety of the shore. At that time, Skutnik was a general office worker. He had a wife and two children and lived in a rented town house. He became a national hero on that fateful day by risking his life to rescue that drowning woman.
Most of us don’t have the occasion to be a hero. The extraordinary acts of courage are normally done by extraordinary people. When it comes to the more difficult challenges in life we are accustomed to turning those challenges over to the experts. This has become the trend in the Church. More and more, congregations are leaving the work of the church to paid staff rather than lay volunteers. Keith Wagner, It Takes Guts

One of the best letters of reference ever received at the University of Alabama Medical School, according to the Director of Admissions, came from an old mountaineer. The letter read
I know'd this kid from the day he was born. He played with my kids, helped me with the chores. I don't know if he has sense enough to make it in medical school, but I know he will be the kind of man I'd like to come here to take care of me and my folks. (Don Shelby, Final Evaluations)
Isn't that beautiful? And it hints at what I am saying. We can be so at one with Christ that Christ will live and act through us.


The Shoes
My alarm went off-it was Sunday again;
I was tired-it was my one day to sleep in. But the guilt I'd have felt the
rest of the day Would have been too much, so I'd go; I'd pray.
I showered and shaved, adjusted suit and tie,
Got there and swung into a pew just in time.
Bowing my head in humble prayer
Before I closed my eyes,
I saw that the shoe of the man next to me
Was touching my own and I sighed.
With plenty of room on either side, I thought, "why do our soles have to touch?"
It bothered me so; he was glued to my shoe, But it didn't seem to bother him much.
Then the prayer began: "Heavenly Father," someone said-
But I thought, "Does this man with the shoes have no pride?"
They were dusty, worn, scratched end to end.
What's worse, there were holes on the side!
"Thank You for blessings," the prayer went on.
The shoe man said a quiet "amen."
I tried to focus on the prayer,
But my thoughts were on his shoes again.
Aren't we supposed to look our best when walking through that door?
"Well, this certainly isn't it," I thought, Glancing toward the floor.
Then the prayer ended and songs of praise began.
The shoe man was loud, sounding proud as he sang.
He lifted the rafters; his hands raised high;
The Lord surely heard his voice from the sky.
Then the offering was passed; what I threw in was steep.
The shoe man reached into his pockets, so deep,
And I tried to see what he pulled out to put in,
Then I heard a soft "clink," as when silver hits tin.
The sermon bored me to tears-And no lie-
It was the same for the shoe man,
For tears fell from his eyes.
At the end of the service, as is custom here,
We must greet the visitors and show them good cheer.
But I was moved inside to want to meet this man, So after the closing, I shook his hand.
He was old, his skin dark, his hair a mess.
I thanked him for coming, for being our guest,
He said, "My name's Charlie, glad to meet you, my friend,"
And there were tears in his eyes-but he had a wide grin.
"Let me explain," he said, wiping his eyes.
"I've been coming for months, and you're the first to say, "Hi."
"I know I don't look like all the rest, But I always try to look my best."
"I polish my shoes before my long walk,
But by the time I get here they're as dirty as chalk."
My heart fell to my knees, but I held back my tears,
He continued, "And I must apologize for sitting so near."
"But I know when I get here, I must look a sight.
And I thought . . . if I touched you, our souls might unite."
I was silent for a moment knowing anything I said
Would pale in comparison, so I spoke from my heart not my head.
"Oh, you've touched me," I said. "And taught me, in part,
That the best of a man is what's in his heart."
The rest, I thought, this man will never know.
How thankful I am that he touched my soul!

July 8

Christian motto: I'm going to Heaven, having a great time doing it, and want to take as many with me as possible.

"What can I do today that I would be proud to look back on at the end of my life?" -- Unknown

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs--jolted by every pebble in the road." -- Henry Ward Beecher

A New Kingdom Coming
John Wycliffe had a vision of a Bible in the common English tongue. But dogmatists anchored to the past killed him for it. John Huss dreamed a dream of a responsible Christian life guided by the scriptures. Traditionalists burned him at the stake. Martin Luther was awakened to a new reality of God's grace -- an awakening not shared by contemporaries profiting from the status quo. Consequently, he was hunted for years for revealing an exciting and preferable future. A kingdom was coming and the powers of the past could not prevail against it.
What is the difference between a nicely dressed man on a tricycle and a poorly dressed man on a bicycle? A tire.


"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are." -- Thomas Dreier

"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it's on ... a football field, in an army or in an office." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved." -- Helen Keller

"Without personal growth the best we can achieve is infantile relationships." -- Terry George

If you hold your thumb at arms length toward the sky, there are more than 250,000 galaxies behind the space of you thumbnail.

"One kid leading another kid to the foot of the cross for a life-changing encounter with Jesus is one of the most prolific and effective means of evangelism in the nation."
- George Barna

"Don't tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." - George Patton

"We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein

He who made us also remade us. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Shoes As Gandhi stepped aboard a train one day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions, Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did so, Gandhi smiled. "The poor man who finds the shoes lying on the track," he replied, "will now have a pair he can use."

God will Never......
The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you.
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.


In the days of America’s infancy, Alexis de Tocquerville wrote: “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and ample rivers, and it was not there; in the fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

The president of the College of New Jersey, the Reverend John Witherspoon (Presbyterian), was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.
He is too much forgotten in our history books: John Witherspoon had a far-reaching influence on democracy. He had personally taught several of the signers of the document, and nine of them were graduates of the little college over which he presided at Princeton.
When he took up his pen to put his name to the document, Witherspoon declared: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, a spark. We perceive it now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery. That noble instrument upon the table, that insures immortality to its author, should be subscribed this very morning by every pen in this house. He that will not respond to its accents, and strain every nerve to carry into effect its provisions, is unworthy of the name of free man. For my own part, of property I have some; of reputation, more. That reputation is staked, that property is pledged on the issue of this contest; and although these gray hairs must soon descend into the sepulcher, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country."

FREEDOM “THOUGHTS”
**Christianity and patriotism have much in common. It is significant to note that:
Our patriotic hymn, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," was written by a Baptist clergyman, Samuel Francis Smith.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy.
The words, "In God We Trust," carried on all of our coins, are traced to the efforts of the Rev. W. R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. His letter of concern, addressed to the Hon. S. P Chase, was dated November 13, 1861. Seven days later Mr. Chase wrote to James Pollock, Director of the U.S. Mint as follows:
"No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. Will you cause a device to be prepared without delay with a motto expressing in the finest and tersest words possible, this national recognition."


Freedom — what is it? How far does it go? And what are we free from? As we gather to worship on this July 4, we are reminded that long before there was a United States or any country or states, there was and is Almighty God. It is the freedom we have in Him that allows all other things to exist and be what they are. What is this freedom? The prison bars of our sin have been opened by Christ, and we are forgiven and free to live the life of a child of God. Any other life is still in prison and that is what we need to tell our world today! Those who live in Christ are not tyrants, they are not law-breakers. Instead they are ready to share the love, mercy, grace, and compassion of Jesus to make their home, their community, and their country a better place in which to live!

Today is a celebration of freedom! In Christ we are free from the bondage of sin and live under the blessings of God and His unending mercy and grace. As Americans, we are free from tyranny and oppression, given certain unalienable rights as citizens of the United States. As we gather to celebrate these freedoms, we must never lose sight of the fact that America IS you and me! We are a line of people who have willingly paid the price to preserve and protect our nation’s freedom. We have been blessed as no other nation on earth. Yet we must be cautious of our pride in such accomplishments for our trust must not and cannot rest in our own strength. One of our greatest freedom fighters, President Abraham Lincoln, said over a century ago that it was the duty of nations and individuals to “recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proved by all history, that those nations only are blessed who God is the Lord.”

**Freedom comes by filling your mind with God's thoughts. -- Erwin W. Lutzer (1941- )
**Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. -- William Penn (1644-1718)
**Proclaim liberty throughout all the inhabitants thereof. -- -Leviticus 25:10, inscription on the Liberty Bell at Philadelphia
**The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
**The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom. -- Horace Greeley (1811-1872)

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." -- Lou Holtz