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First The Stones; Then The Mountain!" 1 ... PRO
Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 26, 2005 (message contributor)
“First The Stones; Then The Mountain!” 1 Corinthians 9:24-28 Key verse(s) 6:“Therefore I do not run as a man aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.”
One thing I have learned is that one of the primary reasons for accepting defeat too soon is that some of us, myself included, tend to preoccupy ourselves with the whole picture long before we really need to. Those of us who are predisposed to take in the broad picture too readily are the ones who, upon walking into a room that needs painting, paintbrush in hand, stop to look at every nook and cranny that must be painted. Before you know it the job that was really quite manageable in the first place becomes a demon, possessed of the ability to both intimidate and discourage all at once. The task becomes bigger than the one who tasks and the task becomes the taskmaster rather than we. Instead of seeing the “small stones” laying around that could easily be picked up and removed, we wrap our arms immediately upon the nearest “boulder” only to discover that it won’t budge. If we had taken the time and possessed the patience to remove the small stones upon which it rested, it is quite likely that it would have rolled away without much labor at all.
Sometimes, when we are taking in the whole, drab picture and we find ourselves discouraged, we need to rely on the courage of others to lift us up and dispel our fears. I ran across this beautiful story years ago and, to this day, it has always been a source of encouragement for me when everything seems to be going wrong and I just want to quit. “One man who was ousted from his profession for an indiscretion took work as a hod carrier simply to put bread on the table. He was suddenly plunged into a drastically different world; instead of going to an office each day, he was hauling loads of concrete block up to the fifth level of a construction site. Gone was the piped-in music in the corridors; now he had to endure blaring transistors. Profanity shot through the air, especially from the foreman, whose primary tactics were whining and intimidation; ‘For––sake, you––, can’t you do anything right? Near the end of the third week, the new employee felt he could take no more. ‘I’ll work till break time this morning,’ he told himself, ‘and then that’s it. I’m going home.’ He’d already been the butt of more than one joke when his lack of experience caused him to do something foolish. The stories were retold constantly thereafter. ‘I just can’t handle any more of this.’ A while later, he decided to finish out the morning and then leave at lunchtime.
Shortly before noon, the foreman came around with paychecks....
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The Church Is Like Noah's Ark: The Stench Inside ... PRO
Contributed by Lynn Floyd on Jul 29, 2003
“The church is like Noah’s ark: The stench inside would be unbearable if it weren’t for the storm outside. It’s true—sometimes we stink and the world is stormy. But as imperfect as we are on this side of heaven, the miracle is that God in fact chooses to ...read more
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In 1829 A Man Named George Wilson Was Arrested ...
Contributed by Bruce Willis on Dec 29, 2006
In 1829 a man named George Wilson was arrested for robbery and murder in a US mail heist. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. Some friends intervened on his behalf and were able to obtain his pardon from President Andrew Jackson. But when told of this, Wilson refused it ...read more
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Howard Hendricks Tells Of A Mentor Who Changed ... PRO
Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 14, 2004
Howard Hendricks tells of a mentor who changed his life in his book Iron sharpens Iron. Howard was from a broken family, and said, "I could have lived, died and gone to hell without anyone bothering to care." However, a man named Walt from a tiny church in his neighborhood cared about reaching nine ...read more
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