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A Man Found A Cocoon Of The ...
Contributed by Timothy Brown on Feb 7, 2010 (message contributor)
Illustration: A man found a cocoon of the emperor moth and took it home to watch it emerge. One day a small opening appeared, and for several hours the moth struggled but couldn't seem to force its body past a certain point. Deciding something was wrong, the man took scissors and snipped the remaining bit of cocoon. The moth emerged easily, its body large and swollen, the wings small and shriveled. He expected that in a few hours the wings would spread out in their natural beauty, but they did not. Instead of developing into a creature free to fly, the moth spent its life dragging around a swollen body and shriveled wings. The constricting cocoon and the struggle necessary to pass through the tiny opening are God's way of forcing fluid from the body into the wings. The "merciful" snip was, in reality, cruel. Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need. (Beth Landers)
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A Sunday School Teacher Asked His Class, "If I ... PRO
Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Dec 9, 2004
A Sunday School teacher asked his class, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?” “NO!” the children all answered. “If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that ...read more
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You And I Have Within Ourselves The Resources ...
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Nov 1, 2004
You and I have within ourselves the resources for achieving amazing things if we do not allow our problems to overwhelm us. You may know the story of a young Hungarian athlete in the 1952 Olympics who won a gold medal with his ability to shoot a pistol. His right hand and eye coordination were so ...read more
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D. An Old Violin Player Explained Why His ... PRO
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Nov 1, 2004
d. An old violin player explained why his violin had such quality. It was made from a certain kind of European tree, but not all of these trees would do. "The trees in the forest, sheltered by their neighbors, will not do," he said. "Fine violins come from lonely trees that grows on the ...read more
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Joshua Harris- Lust Is Always A Desire For ...
Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 20, 2005
1. Joshua Harris- Lust is always a desire for the forbidden. Though lust longs for an object or a person, ultimately this object is not its prize; its goal is the very act of desiring. The result is that lust can never be ...read more
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A Man Thought That By Being Baptised He Could ... PRO
Contributed by Stephen Wright on May 7, 2005
A man thought that by being baptised he could find salvation. A friend of his tried hard to explain that this was not so. But this man insisted that, as water would purify the body, so water consecrated by a minister or priest would purify the soul. Finally the friend used an illustration. "Suppose ...read more
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