Topic(s): Church, Faith

Church attendance is infected with a malaise of conditional loyalty which has produced an army of ecclesiastical hitchhikers. The hitchhiker's thumb says, "You buy the car, pay for repairs and upkeep and insurance, fill the car with gas--and I'll ride with you. But if you have an accident, you are on your own! And I'll probably sue." So it is with the credo of some church attenders: "You go to the meetings and support the programs, you grapple with the issues and do the work for the church and pay the bills—and I'll come along for the ride. But if things do not suit me, I'll criticize and complain and probably bail out. My thumb is always out for a better ride" -R. Kent Hughes

“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” - Nehemiah 4:6

Quotes of Note

Topic(s): Wisdom

• The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not. - C.S. Lewis
• All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put the past together again. So let's remember; don't try to saw sawdust. - Dale Carnegie
• An optimist is a fellow who believes a housefly is looking for a way to get out.
• Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts. - Coleman Cox
• One thing is true, people are certainly getting stronger. Ten years ago it took two people to carry ten dollars worth of groceries. Today, a child can do it. - Ronald Reagan
• The injuries we do and those we suffer are seldom weighed on the same scales. - Aesop
• Examine the contents, not the bottle. - The Talmud
• A fox should not be the jury at a goose's trial. - Thomas Fuller

“Think on good things…” - Phil. 4:8

Do A Good Deed… And Pass It On!

Topic(s): Encouragement, Love

Joe was driving home one evening on a two-lane country road. Ever since the factory closed, he’d been looking for work, and with winter coming on, the chill had finally hit home. Work, in this small Midwestern community, was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking.

This was a lonely road but Joe knew it so well that he could almost drive it with his eyes closed. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. Suddenly, he came upon an old lady stranded on the roadside. He pulled his Pontiac in front of her Mercedes and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe.”

All she had was a flat tire. Joe wasted no time changing it, though he skinned his knuckles a time or two and got dirty in the process. After he finished, she rolled down her window to thank him. Joe just smiled and said, “I’m glad I could be of service, ma’am.”

She asked him how much she owed him. “Nothing.” Joe never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and plenty had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she wanted to repay him, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed. Then Joe added, “And think of me.”

The lady got back on the road and headed for home. A few miles down the road she saw a small café and went inside to grab a bite and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. The waitress had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet the whole day couldn’t erase. She noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she didn’t seem to let the stress and strain change her attitude. The older lady wondered how some who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.

The lady finished her meal, and handed the waitress a hundred-dollar bill. When she went to get change she slipped out the door and was gone when the waitress returned. She noticed the lady had written something on a napkin. Tears came to her eyes when she read it, “You don’t owe me a thing. I’ve been there too. Someone once helped me out the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here’s what you do. Don’t let the chain of love end with you.”

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill and people to serve, so she went back to work. That night when she got home and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed the help? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.

She knew how worried her husband was. Yet, as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered sweetly into his ear, “Everything is going to be all right. I love you Joe.”