Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 3, 2008
Not of Works
Grace, triumphant in the throne,
Scorns a rival, reigns alone;
Come and bow beneath her sway!
Cast your idol works away!
Works of man, when made his plea,
Never shall accepted be;
Fruits of pride (vain-glorious worm!)
Are the best he can perform.
Self, the god his soul
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 19, 2008
Many people are physiologically sensitive to chocolate. Certain of the larger benzene compounds present in chocolate are resisted by their bodies through an allergic reaction. Depending on the individual, this reaction may range from very mild, producing a minor skin rash, to very severe, producing
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 19, 2008
Identification with Christ
The story has been told of a girl who was the daughter of one of the royal families of Europe, but had a big nose that in her eyes destroyed her beauty and resulted in her seeing herself as an ugly person. Finally her family hired a famous plastic surgeon to change the
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 14, 2008
6588 I Thank Thee
O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,
With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop—
The bitter and the sweet.
I praise Thee for the desert road,
And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,
And all Thy grace denied.
I thank Thee for both smile and
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 14, 2008
Always Had an Uplifting Prayer
Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, “Certainly the preacher won’t think of
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 14, 2008
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In the first half of the 17th century, Germany was in the midst of wars and famine and pestilence. In the city of Eilenburg lived a pastor by the name of Martin Rinkart.
During one especially oppressive period, Rinkart conducted up to 50 funerals a day as a plague swept through the town and as the
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 21, 2008
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Since some of the best illustrations are what not to do, I offer a few tips on How to Turn a Disagreement into a Feud:
1. Be sure to develop and maintain a fear of conflict, letting your own feelings build up so you are in an explosive frame of mind.
2. If you must state your concerns, be as vague
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 21, 2008
A Domino a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. A popular way of playing with dominos is lining them up end to end and knocking them over. This domino effect is fun to watch when handling the physical tiles but, if it occurs metaphorically in worldwide financial
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 21, 2008
Church history is replete of individuals who saw the importance of fearing God and not other individuals. Following in the footsteps of Paul, John Chrysostom had a period of isolation in the mountains near Antioch in A.D. 373. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he learned that
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 14, 2008
Running For Dinner Or For Life
The reason you do what you do is all important. There is an old fable about a dog that boasted of his ability as a runner. One day he chased a rabbit and failed to catch it. The other dogs ridiculed him on account of his previous boasting. His reply was, "You must
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 14, 2008
How Badly Do You Want It?
In pursuing a righteous goal, Les Brown said: "If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time, your peace, and your sleep for it … if all that you dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 14, 2008
Salman Rushdie, is an author who had a fatawah, or Islamic death edict, put on his life several years ago for writing a book critical of Islam called Satanic Verses. In another book he wrote entitled Imaginary Homelands he notes one of the family traditions of his home:
“In our house, whenever
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 8, 2008
John R. W. Stott writes: “Now a man in that mental and emotional state is in no mood to change his mind, or even to have it changed for him by men. … Only God could reach him-and God did!”
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 8, 2008
John Brown commented that, beginning with the Damascus Road encounter, Christ took Paul under His own immediate tutoring. It was essential for the Lord to establish Paul’s independence as an apostle.
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 8, 2008
In our own day the dramatic turnaround in the life of such a person as Charles Colson can only be explained by a divine intervention from above. While many were at first wary of Colson’s “born-again” experience, no objective observer, not even his detractors, can gainsay the sincerity of his
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 23, 2008
“In a market-driven age we are accustomed to think of every church having a special niche, of every visitor as a prospective customer, and every aspect of worship designed to satisfy the consumers. Paul was reminding the Galatians that the gospel was not a product to be peddled on the marketplace
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 23, 2008
APPROVAL OF THE MASTER
A young man once studied violin under a world-renowned master. Eventually the time came for the student’s first recital. Following each selection, despite the cheers of the crowd, the performer seemed dissatisfied.
Even after the last number, with the shouts louder than
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 23, 2008
“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that point attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 18, 2008
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"We are not to be dazzled, as many people are, by the person, gifts or office of teachers in the church. They may come to us with great dignity, authority and scholarship. They may be bishops or archbishops, university professors or even the pope himself. But if they bring a gospel other than the
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Aug 18, 2008
“The outward person of the messenger does not validate his message; rather, the nature of the message validates the messenger.” (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible
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