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A Stranger Came By The Other Day With An Offer ... PRO
Contributed by Larry Brincefield on Aug 21, 2003 (message contributor)
A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off that he was crazy. He was a city type. You could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked.
He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had a funny idea of beauty. Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there’s been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun’s beat down on that ole’ barn till all the paint’s gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.
That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he’s building down the road. He said you couldn’t get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun...only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
It came to me then. We’re a lot like that, you and I. Only it’s on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure, we turn silver gray, too... and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He’s doing. And as the years pass He’s busy using the hard wealth of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons, to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how...
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An American Missionary Was Traveling Across Korea ... PRO
Contributed by George Rennau on Aug 25, 2003
An American missionary was traveling across Korea by train. At a busy station an old man boarded and sat across from Him. The man was Korean and he addressed the American in his native tongue. The Missionary responded in the only Korean phrase that he knew which was "I DON’T UNDERSTAND". A ...read more
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The Bible Tells The Story Of Absalom. He Was ... PRO
Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 28, 2005
The Bible tells the story of Absalom. He was the son of King David — Israel’s greatest king. Through a series of circumstances, Absalom began to despise his father and made plans to become king in his father’s place. He surreptitiously sowed seeds of division and rebellion in his father’s ...read more
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Jim Cymbala Stated This About Unlocking God's ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 9, 2005
Jim Cymbala stated this about unlocking God’s blessing from his book Break Through Prayer: According to Scripture, God’s blessing can rest on both men and women, because with God there is no gender bias. His blessing can rest on a family, a child, or even unborn offspring. It can prosper a local ...read more
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The Political Convention Was In Chaos. Each ... PRO
Contributed by George Rennau on Aug 25, 2003
The political convention was in chaos. Each delegation wanted something different. Some favored states rights, others wanted a stronger central government. Larger states wanted greater representation, and small states wanted an equal voice. Debate dragged on and on. Finally the committee ...read more
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Whenever I'm Tempted To Whine About The Demands ...
Contributed by Curtis Deming on Apr 16, 2005
Whenever I’m tempted to whine about the demands of leadership, I think of the story of Timothy. He had just heard Paul deliver the report of the Jerusalem Council that circumcision was unnecessary for Gentile converts. Yet Paul circumcised Timothy to avoid offending the Jews in the area. Timothy ...read more
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