Quotes to Ponder

[David Mauldin]

"More tears have been shed as the result of answered prayers then unanswered"

                                                                                          Truman Capote


                                                 This quote appears at the end of "Capote" A great film!!!!

[Uncle Buck]

"Open Letter to Jane Ordinary"
Dear Jane:
     I am writing to help you shake this feeling of uselessness that has overtaken you. Several times you've said that you don't see how Christ can possibly use you. The church must bear part of the responsibility for making you feel as you do. I have in mind the success-story mentality of the church. Our church periodicals tell the story of John J. Moneybags who uses his influential position to witness for Christ. At the church youth banquet, we have a testimony from All-American football star, Ox Kickoffsky, who commands the respect of his teammates when he witnesses for Christ. We are led to think that if you don't have the leverage of stardom or a big position in the business world, you might as well keep your mouth shut. Nobody cares what Christ has done for you.
     We've forgotten an elementary fact about Christian witness, something that should encourage you: God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise. He has chosen what the world calls weak to shame the strong. He has chosen things of little strength and of small repute, yes, and even things which have no real existence to explode the pretensions of the things that are, that no man may boast in the presence of God.
     When Jesus Christ chose His disciples, He didn't choose Olympic champs or Roman senators. He chose simple people like you. Some were fishermen, one was a political extremist, another was a publican, a nobody in that society. But these men turned the Roman world upside down for Christ. How did they do it? Through their popularity? They had none. Their position? They had none. Their power was the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
     Jane, don't forget that we still need the ordinary in the hands of Christ to turn the world upside down.

     –Letter from a pastor in Arlington, Virginia, published in a church bulletin

[Joe Sperling]

"What one starts, one must complete. The man who begins and does
not finish is no better than


---Oswald P. Olsen, from his unfinished memoirs

[Uncle Buck]

Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us:
Ye call Me Master and obey Me not.
Ye call Me Light and see Me not.
Ye call Me Way and walk Me not.
Ye call Me Life and choose Me not.
Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not.
Ye call Me Fair and love Me not.
Ye call Me Rich and ask me not.
Ye call Me Eternal and seek Me not.
Ye call Me Noble and serve Me not.
Ye call Me Gracious and trust Me not.
Ye call Me Might and honor Me not.
Ye call Me Just and fear Me not.
If I condemn you, blame Me not.
     –Inscription on the cathedral in Lübeck, Germany

[Uncle Buck]

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with th! e level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

[Uncle Buck]

When You Read the Bible Through

I supposed I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal, hit or miss,
Now a bit of John or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah,
Certain psalms (the twenty-third),
Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs,
Yes, I thought I knew the Word!
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.
You who like to play at Bible,
Dip and dabble, here and there,
Just before you kneel, aweary,
And yawn through a hurried prayer;
You who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book–
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude impatient look–
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through!
     –Amos R. Wells

[Uncle Buck]

To John,
I try to remember the things that are precious to you, and I'd give you money if that would do. But money won't do it, that's not your way. Your money's been for givin' away. Now if you precede me and go to your grave, and the angels knock the clouds about when Jesus comes to save, I'll be standing there to rise with you and go up as you do. And I'll always love you, you'll always be mine. Forever and always, till the end of time. Till the mountains split open with the weight of the sun. We'll rise up together....as one.

 

So I'll let my hair down 'cause that's the way you like it. And I'll keep myself neat and nice for you, and I'll have good food on your table, and I will keep your house in order. And I'll always love you and you'll always be mine. Forever and always, till the end of time. Till the mountains split open with the weight of the sun. We'll rise up together....as one.

 

And I'll pray for you, for your wisdom and understanding and your charity. And even if you've been wrong, and I've known it, you've always been right, because that's God's order. And I'll always love you and you'll always be mine. Forever and always, till the end of time. Till the mountains split open with the weight of the sun. We'll rise up together....as one.

 

And I will smile for you and I'll be kind, and I'll love your babies just as I have loved mine. And when I could give you nothing, God blessed me and gave you a son. And I'll always love you and you'll always be mine. Forever and always, till the end of time. Till the mountains split open with the weight of the sun. We'll rise up together....as one.

 

June Carter Cash

[Uncle Buck]

Sometime, Somewhere

Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered.
Her feet were firmly planted on the rock.
Amid the wildest storm she stands undaunted.
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer
And cries, It shall be done sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted.
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done.
The work began when your first prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you will see, sometime, somewhere.
     –Ophelia Guyon Browning

[Uncle Buck]

When I quit this mortal shore
And wander 'round this earth no more,
Don't weep, don't sigh, don't sob.
Maybe I've struck a better job.
And don't go and buy a large bouquet
In which you'll find it hard to pay.
Don't mope around and feel all blue.
I may be better off than you.
If you've got roses, bless your soul,
Just pin one on my button hole
While I'm alive and here today,
Don't wait until I've gone away.
     –Author unknown

[Uncle Buck]

"Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense."

Col. 2:8, J. B. Phillips translation

[Uncle Buck]

BILLY GRAHAM: IN MY OPINION
A harmless lie? There's no such thing.

Q. When is it wrong to tell a lie, and when is it OK to shade the truth a little? I admit I don't always tell the truth but it's usually about things that don't make any difference.

A.  A lie might not seem important to us -- but in God's eyes there is no such thing as a harmless lie. In the Old Testament, one of the Ten Commandments declares, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). The New Testament says, "Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor" (Ephesians 4:25).
Why is this? Let me answer by asking you another question: Have you ever asked yourself why you lie -- even when it seems unimportant? One reason may be to build yourself up in the eyes of others -- to make yourself seem more important, for example, or to get them to like you. Or perhaps you lie to get yourself out of some difficulty -- a difficulty you've gotten into because you failed to do something you should have done.
But whatever the reason, have you ever asked yourself what really happens when other people realize you're lying to them? The answer is obvious. Instead of thinking well of you, they look down on you and realize you can't be trusted. Instead of winning their love and respect, you end up with their scorn. The Bible says, "What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar" (Proverbs 19:22).
Begin a new life today

[Uncle Buck]

"Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Romans 8:38-39

[Uncle Buck]

Reach out to Him.
He'll be there and He'll see you through.
He will help you grin as you rest in Him.
He will help you speak when you're feeling weak.
He will strengthen you when there's work to do.
He will cast out fear as you persevere.
He will direct your day as you continue to pray.
Reflect on the battle that was won.
You're dead to sin, alive to win.
Let's claim the victory.
Christ Jesus set us free to proclaim
His wondrous story
And give Him all the glory.
     –Author unknown

[Uncle Buck]

"The Lord has more truth yet to break forth from His Holy Word…Luther and Calvin were great shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not the whole counsel of God…Be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written Word of God."
     –Pastor at Leyden to the Pilgrims when they sailed to America

THE CONQUERORS
 
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One lived and died for self; one died for you and me;
The Greek died on a throne; the Jew died on a cross;
One's life a triumph seemed; the other but a loss.
One led vast armies forth; the other walked alone.
One shed a whole world's blood; the other gave His own.
One won the world in life and lost it all in death;
The other lost His life to win the whole world's faith.
 
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One died in Babylon, and one on Calvary.
One gained all for himself; and one Himself He gave,
One conquered every throne; the other every grave.
The one made himself God, the God made Himself less,
The one lived but to blast, the other but to bless.
When died the Greek, forever fell his throne of swords;
But Jesus died to live forever Lord of lords.
 
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
The Greek made all men slaves; the Jew made all men free.
One built a throne on blood; the other built on love.
The one was born of earth; the other from above.
One won all this earth, to lose all earth and heaven.
The other gave up all, that all to Him be given.
The Greek forever died; the Jew forever lives.
He loses all who gets, and wins all things who gives.
 
     –Charles Ross Weede

 

[Uncle Buck]

HIGHER EDUCATION                                   
                                                                             
I don't have a Ph.D., or credits from Purdue,
But, I have learned a lot in life as I've been passing through.
I have a course of study, perhaps of it you've heard.
A Book known as the Bible, God's own Holy Word.
It teaches how God sent His Son, redeeming sinful man.
In Him believe, by faith receive; not, "Do the best you can."
You'll never need a credit card, because salvation's free.
Accept Christ as your Saviour. How happy you will be.
I'm in my last semester, and I can hardly wait
To wear my brand new cap and gown at Baccalaureate.
When on my graduation day I leave this world of strife,
I'll read on my diploma, "Received Eternal Life!"

     –Author unknown