The Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

_{–Charles H. Spurgeon}

But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man! _{Job 11:12 (ESV)}

ESV, The ESV Study Bible (Hardcover)

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The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest. It makes me lie down only when exhausted. It leads me into deep depression. It hounds my soul. It leads me in circles of frenzy, for activities sake. Even though I run frantically from task to task, I will never get it all done, For my ideal is with me. Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me. They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule. They anoint my head with migraines, My in-basket overflows. Surely fatigue and time pressures shall follow me All the days of my life. And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration Forever

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What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” -Joseph Addison

A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength. _{Prov 17:22 (GW)}

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• Young men soon give, and soon forget, affronts; old age is slow in both.

There is a Garden of the Soul,
Where God plants loving seeds
That faith and grace will nourish
Into blooms of loving deeds.

Within this Garden of the Soul
Fruits of the Spirit grow;
And they produce new seeds of love
Which you and I can sow.
—Peggy Ferrell,
Prayers and Poems

“Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!” Mark 4:3-9 (GW)

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• It rose again, like Lazarus

Mark 16:15-16 (GW)

1188 North Valley Road was where my early childhood backyard was located. We were the first family to move into this development and my family owned the corner lot and the one behind it.

Having both building lots meant lots of BIG BACK YARD space for baseball, football, a swimming pool, picnics, golf, and wintertime sledding. Our yard could accommodate all the neighbors from the entire neighborhood and still leave room for people to play in the adjacent lot. We had a Big BACK YARD!

After getting my first bicycle my big back yard got even bigger because now I could ride throughout the neighborhood and play in other people’s back yards. As I got older and was able to drive, towns and cities were in reach from my back yard. With today’s modern transportation on any given day we can travel from our back yards to other states and cities and even other countries. Planes, trains and automobiles have taken the place of that Schwinn bicycle of my childhood.

With the advent of the internet the whole world is now accessible from my kitchen table. I can speak to anyone anywhere in the world in nano seconds. Truly our back yards have gotten really, really big.

From a control room in Houston Texas NASA can play in the big back yard of space. They have launched space crafts into outer space and even landed a remote controlled land rover on Mars. Voyagers 1 and 2 are speeding towards the ends of our galaxy in rapid pace.

Satellites orbit the earth and send back images and sound waves which we can receive via satellite receivers on earth. These satellites can tell us pinpoint accuracy where we are in the world by GPS positioning. Radio and television programs can even be broadcast world wide.

As technologies have changed throughout the course of my lifetime some things have still remained the same. One of those constants is the commission from God to the church to go into His big back yard and proclaim the gospel to everyone. We can no longer just look at our physical address as our back yard.

With the availability of web casting, chat rooms, instant messaging, and email the whole world is in reach of any individual or church congregation. Radio, television and now GodTube have all become instruments from which we can spread the gospel into God’s big back yard.

I do not own physical real estate but I do stake several claims in cyberspace. Our church has an address on the World wide web as well. The Christian witness can be accessible 24 hours a day thanks to the modern day internet. As a church and as a congregation we should be reaching out in every way possible into God’s big back yard in an effort to spread the gospel of the kingdom to all peoples.

To think it all started with 1 man (Jesus) who told 12 others about the kingdom of God and now we have been entrusted with that same message to proclaim from our own back yards into God’s big back yard. We all have a circle of influence, all of our lives intersect other’s lives, and as a result we are required to look out for our neighbors by sharing the same joy of salvation with them which we have received. Are you being a good neighbor? Are we as a congregation doing everything we can to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus Christ? How big is our BIG BACK YARD really?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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Former California Governor Ronald Wilson Reagan and later President of the United States saw professional politicians as an enemy of the state. Today’s politicians may have never worked the farm but they sure are giving away the farm. The current climate of Washington Politics makes one wonder if the home of the brave and the land of the free is being sold out beneath our feet by the very ones who are supposed to be watching out for our interests.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.Prov 29:2 (NKJV)

The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: ’He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God.2 Sam 23:3 (NKJV)

Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.Isaiah 1:23 (NKJV)

Some people never seem motivated to
participate, but are just content
watch while others do the work.

They are called “Speck Taters”.

Some people never do anything to help,
but are gifted at finding fault with
the way others do the work.

They are called “Comment Taters”.

Some people are very bossy and like to tell others what to do, but don’t want to soil their own hands. They are called “Dick Taters”.

Some people are always looking to cause problems by asking others to agree with them. It is too hot or too cold, too sour or too sweet. They are called “Agie Taters”.

There are those who say they will help, but somehow just never get around to actually doing the promised help. They are called “Hezzie Taters”.

Some people can put up a front and pretend to be someone they are not. They are called “Emma Taters”.

They are called “Sweet Taters”.

This week’s Tail Feather is brought to you by Patty Wysong. I got so inspired when I read this short devotional I had to share her insight with my readers I pray you are all as blessed as I was.

You got to stick your neck out sometimes to get to where God wants you to be. Holding up in your shell makes you an easy target for the enemy to come along and well you’ll get the picture. Now on with this week’s Tail Feather.

Image via Wikipedia

Turtle Crossing by Patty Wysong

It’s the time of year when the turtles come out and we often see them crossing the road.  Just the other day there was a little box turtle three-quarters the way across the road and he was just sitting there, hiding in his shell.  He was so close to safety, but he couldn’t know that with his head pulled in like it was.

So many times I do the same thing.  I get three-quarters the way through the hard time or problem and then pull into my shell in an attempt to forget what’s going on, or to protect myself from perceived danger.  All I’m actually doing is making myself sit in the situation longer, and leaving myself in a place where I’m more likely to be run over.

If that little box turtle would just come out of his shell and get back to walking, he’d have a better chance of making it across the road safely than he does all pulled into his shell.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”  2 Timothy 4:7

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com <a href=”http://www.faithwriters.com“>CHRISTIAN WRITERS</a>

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 (ESV)

Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of that time, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”Matt 4:2-3 (GW)

Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms in the world and their glory. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this if you will bow down and worship me.” Matt 4:8-9 (GW)

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job 2:7-9 (ESV)

Be careful, brothers and sisters, that none of you ever develop a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Encourage each other every day while you have the opportunity. If you do this, none of you will be deceived by sin and become stubborn. Hebrews 3:12-13 (GW)

The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I (Jesus) came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. John 10:10 (ASV)