Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 9, 2009
Without exception, everyone of them is a perversion of something which is in itself good. Immorality, impurity, licentiousness are perversions of the sexual instinct which is in itself a lovely thing and a part of love. Idolatry is a perversion of worship, and was begun as an aid to worship.
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 15, 2009
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR MINISTRY
What qualifies someone for a task? There is a story of the testing of a candidate for missions work:
One snowy morning at 5:00 A.M., a missionary candidate rang the bell at a missionary examiner’s home. Ushered into the office, he sat three hours past his appointment
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 15, 2009
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WORKS VS. FRUIT
A machine in a factory works and turns out a product, but it could never manufacture "fruit." Fruit must grow out of life, and, in the case of the believer, it is the life of the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). When you think of "works," you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil; when you
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 15, 2009
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FRUIT DISTRIBUTION
The Spirit's provision of fruit might be compared to a man standing on a ladder in an orchard, picking the fruit and dropping it into a basket held by a helper below. No matter how much fruit is picked and dropped, the helper
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 29, 2009
C. S. Lewis said that “the devil laughs when he sees us overcome by pride: “He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride… For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 29, 2009
Mountain Climbers Help Each Other
In May 1953, two men became the first in history to climb to the top of Mt. Everest; Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper and explorer, and his Sherpa guide from Nepal, Tenzing Norgay. They reached the summit together and attained instant international
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 6, 2009
O Lord, how shall I meet Thee,
How welcome Thee aright?
Thy people long to greet Thee,
My Hope, my heart’s Delight!
Oh, kindle, Lord most holy,
Thy lamp within my breast
To do in spirit lowly
All that may please Thee best.
Thy Zion strews before Thee
Green boughs and fairest palms,
And I, too, will
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 13, 2009
The noted historian and Oxford professor Thomas Arnold wrote:
"The evidence for our Lord’s life and death and resurrection may be, and often has been, shown to be satisfactory; it is good according to the common rules for distinguishing good evidence from bad. Thousands and tens of thousands of
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 20, 2009
Comedian and actor Chris Farley, of Saturday Night Live fame, was found dead in his downtown Chicago apartment on December 18, 1997. The Cook County medical examiner’s office later reported that he died of an opiate and cocaine overdose (James Barron, “Chris Farley, 33, a Versatile Comedian-Actor,”
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 20, 2009
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WILLIAM CAREY AND HIS CROP
William Carey arrived in India in 1793 with a burden to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who had never heard the name.
For seven years he proclaimed the gospel message faithfully week after week, month after month, with not a single native of India converted
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 20, 2009
ON HELPING YOUR BROTHER
Every poor and distressed man had a claim on me for pity, and, if I can afford it, for active exertion and (financial) relief. But a poor Christian has a far stronger claim on my feelings, my labors, and my property. He is my brother, equally interested as myself in the
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 4, 2009
C.S. Lewis said:
"Humans are very seldom either totally sincere or totally hypocritical. Their moods change, their motives are mixed, and they are often themselves quite mistaken as to what their motives are."
(As quoted in: Barton, Bruce B.:
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 4, 2009
Hypocrisy is like a pin. It is pointed in one direction, and yet is headed in another.
(Michael P. Green: 1500 Illustrations for Biblical
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 4, 2009
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JOSEPH STALIN
Despite the mind-numbing brutality of the Joseph Stalin regime in the Soviet Union, his propaganda machine did its job well. Many Russians hailed him as a hero and a savior, including a young school girl who was chosen to greet Stalin on one occasion.
Years later, this woman
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 18, 2009
When a man is saved, the world says goodbye to him, and he says goodbye to the world. He is spoiled as far as the world is concerned because he is no longer interested in its fleeting pleasures; the world has lost its attraction for him, because he has found One who completely satisfies.
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 18, 2009
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THE WONDROUS CROSS
Gal. 6:14 inspired Isaac Watts to compose one of modern Christendom’s favorite hymns. While preparing for a communion service in 1707, Isaac Watts wrote this deeply moving and very personal expression of gratitude for the amazing love that the death of Christ on the cross
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 31, 2009
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Under Or Above Circumstances
There is a story of a lady who was severely depressed by a series of disheartening events. When asked how she was weathering the storm of adversity, she answered, “Quite well, under the circumstances.” “Sister,” he replied kindly yet firmly, “you’ll never make it that
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 31, 2009
No House Without Sorrow
Among the parables that Chinese teachers use is the story of a woman who lost an only son. She was grief-stricken out of all reason. She made her sorrow a wailing wall. Finally she went to a wise old philosopher. He said to her, “I will give you back your son if you will
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Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 31, 2009
Oswald Chambers said: “The majority of us begin with the bigger problems outside and forget the one inside. A man has to learn ‘the plague of his own heart’ before his own
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LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING: THE BUCKET LIST
A couple of years ago my wife and I saw a movie entitled “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Both men discovered that they had incurable diseases and wound up being roommates in the hospital. They became good friends and ended
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