Quotable Quotes for the wise

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies."
-- St. Augustine

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
William James

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

I am grateful that I am not as judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.- Anonymous Factnetter

[Anonymous (152.163.253.102)]

Have you now been reduced to quotes SS? How about quoting from Carl on Friday night? Weren't you there? Did you amen "another gospel?" Three long-time faithful families have left over that messsage. Final straw. So what about you?? Are you going to stand up and do the right thing or just join the forum with worthy quotes for your unworthy cause??

Just wondering what you are really made of SS? Were you moved with conviction after spending a week in Baltimore?

[Sam (24.131.172.186)]

You can observe a lot by just watching."
-- Yogi Berra's Law

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

152,
that was for you.

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

"As a matter of cosmic history, it has always been easier to destroy than to create."
Mr. Spock
Star Trek 2


"The wise speak only of what they know."
Gandalf
Lord of the Rings

"There seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere."
Buzz Lightyear
Toy Story

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you.
--Spanish Proverb

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
--Ethiopian Proverb

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

This one is for RJ -

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth. Benjamin Disraeli

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth, the persistent refusal to analyze the causes of happenings. Dorothy Thompson

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

Children say that people are hung sometimes for speaking the truth. Joan of Arc

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory. Leonardo Da Vinci

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

When in doubt, tell the truth. Mark Twain

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. Pierre Abelard

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. THE BIBLE John 8:32 NKJV

[Cara (64.12.117.20)]

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;

the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.

Plato

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

Is it raining? Is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a-blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing,
So the danger must be growing.
Are the fires of Hell a-glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes, the danger must be growing,
For the rowers keep on rowing,
And they're certainly not showing,
Any signs that they are slowing.
Willy Wonka

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Great movie! anon B!!!

[RJ (141.154.186.91)]

Who has blinded thee to truth
Has robbed thee of light. Thy blood
flows not freely within thine heart.
For the leaderthief has forsaken his light
And thine also, for Truth alone shines
The path to God, the path to Light.
He who steals thy light is decieved
By pride. His need is to rule thee, to
lead thee upon his own path, lit only
by the shadow of light once known.
Seek truth without his shadows, for he
is truly decieved by pride to harm thee.

copyright R J Fernalld 2002-4

[Louise Connolly (24.128.24.65)]

One of the most extreme teachings relative to questioning Stevens is found on tape #1350, Presumption vs. Speaking to the Rock, "If you have a close friend that evaluates anybody in delegated authority I'll guarantee you that if it's done with any consistency you'll be weak and sick and die within the future months (I Cor. 11:26-31)."

[Louise Connolly (24.128.24.65)]

Oops, forgot to put the name of the person quoted. That would be Carl Stevens.

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness."
--Chinese Proverb

schnargley@yahoo.com

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They're there every night, they see it done every night, they see how it should be done every night, but they can't do it themselves.

-Brendan Behan--Quoted by Gyles Brandreth in *Theatrical Disasters*

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like the cheapjack1s wares. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

D Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship, 1937

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Let God be true and every man a liar.

The Bible

[muskyrose (152.163.253.102)]

Many people know so little about what is beyond their short range of experience. They look within themselves and find nothing! Therefore they conclude that there is nothing outside themselves either. ~~ Helen Keller

Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each others welfare, social justice can never be attained.
~~~ Helen Keller~~

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

musky ,
Helen Keller was the greatest. Thanks.

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

If they can see you love them, you can say anything to them.

"I preached as never sure to preach again,
And as a dying man to dying men."

--Richard Baxter

http://www.ravenhill.org/baxter.htm

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 06:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The real problems, with GGWO as I see it are:

- lack of accountability in leadership
- lack of fiscal transparency and accountability
- over-emphasis on personality and not enough on Christ.
- mistreatment of dissenters and ex-members.

The problems I see with many who leave embittered are.

-unforgiveness, even after years of having left (Time does NOT heal, forgiveness does.)
- blaming others for your own decisions.
- blaming others for your own dysfuntionalism.
- desire for vengeance. they wil not be satisfied until GGWO is a pile of ashes.

POSTED BY SAM SPADE ORIGINALLY

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

The Who
We Won't Get Fooled Again

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Can't you find something EDIFYING to post, "Cordell Jim Faucett Walker?"

You pick a worldly song?????????
Go back to writing your GGWO/TBS diary and spare the rest of us here ok?
you don't have to thank me, you're welcome.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

My, my aren't we a bit testy.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Time to take your medicine.

[Bob Brinton (141.154.186.144)]

Thanks Cordell, he's just upset that worldly songs can be more accurate than the teachings of his fearless leader. Bob

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

The cynic is his own worst enemy. It requires far less skill to run a wrecking company than it does to be an architect."
-- U.S. Andersen

[Cara (64.12.117.20)]

The Lord is my pace-setter; I shall not rush.
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness
Which restore my serenity.
He leads me in the way of efficiency
Through calmness of mind
And His guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things
To accomplish each day,
I will not fret.

His presence is here.
His timelessness,
His all-importance,
Will keep me in balance.
He prepares refeshment and renewal in the midst of activity
By anointing my mind with the oil of tranquillity.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,
For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord
And dwell in His house forever.

Psalm 23 (Japanese Version)

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

Beautiful Cara

[MuskyRose (205.188.117.20)]

The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched; they must be felt with the heart~~ Helen Keller


What I am looking for is not "out there" it is in me.
~~ Helen Keller

[Anon B (205.188.117.20)]

My personal favorite.

On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[Incognitus B (205.188.117.20)]

For Cordell and Skeet:

Animo tantum bene cernimus. Quae plurimi sunt, oculis cerni non possunt.

[Cara (205.188.117.20)]

Every man's life is a fairy tale,
written by God's fingers.

Hans Christian Anderson

[JD Skeet (205.188.117.20)]

You can only see things clearly with your heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

[JD Skeet (205.188.117.20)]

I've been biting my tongue regarding the bumpersticker philosophy going on in this thread, so don't push me with the Latin....

[Anonymous (141.154.186.91)]

Cogito ergo spud. - I think, therefore I yam

[Anon B (205.188.117.20)]

Love it.

[RJ (141.154.186.91)]

God asks...

Isiah 58...

[6] Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
[7] Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
[8] Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
[9] Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
[10] And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
[11] And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
[12] And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
****

Long ago when I was first introduced to salvation, these words found me and they have been my "call" for 25 years. These are the words that drew me, the words still that comfort me and order my path. I cannot bring them to mind without knowing the breath of God warming me.

Roberta

[Tweedledee (69.53.59.250)]

Doobeedoobeedoo--
Sinatra

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

What did you do, wake up this morning and say, "Today, I'm going to ruin a man's life"?
-Jack Colton
Romancing the Stone

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

To what man's life are you referring? Alan Lang's?

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Naw, think it through. Hmmmm? give up?

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Take your own advice. Think it through - without the conditioned responses.

[Bob Brinton (151.203.163.233)]

Roberta, I love that passage from Isaiah. It reads like a trumpet call for this board. Bob

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

To Anonymous (205.188.117.20)
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:16 am,

Just like a true cultist. You make it all my fault! Pick on my actions and try to make me feel ...sniff...like I'm not good enough because I don't believe or think the way you do. Every time I have an independent thought you smash it and my character down.
You question my critical thinking abilities and free will-apart from any appeal to informed judgment. Who knows, pretty soon you’ll use coercive psychological influence to get me to think the way you do.

[Cara (152.163.253.102)]

Determine the thing that can and shall be done and then find the way.

Abraham Lincoln


It has been determined by a few that the practice of habitual abuse by TBS/GGWO must be stopped. The GG defenders can rail and malign, attempt to silence and discredit. They are quite good at it, as they follow the "determined" on to factnet.. they had years to practice.

But we, the "determined ones," have found the way.

We cannot be hindered any longer (much to their dismay!)

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Well miss smarty pants, "Cara"

You will be the ones who are hindered. Just wait and see. You may be seemingly "determined"
but the last laugh? It is Gods...and His wrath is going to be poured out on you.

HA HA HA HA HA

And, I'm not a troll either, I'm one of your own!

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

68.33 @ 9:30 am

Your reaction to the suggestion to employ independent thought appears disproportionate.

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Roberta,
I stayed awake last night meditating on Isa 58 after being reminded of it here. Thank you.

As a result, I am going on another fast for the entire church of Christ and the sad state of evangelicalism here in the States particularly - the rampant sin of divorce in the church, the lack of prayer and accountability, and the biting and devouring so common in the church as this board and your own attitude and actions so sadly exemplifies.

[muskyrose (64.12.117.20)]

Isn't it amazing to learn that Roberta is so all powerful that she can bring sam to his knees in prayer?
I wonder what attitude? What actions? The actions of asking questions? Seeking answers? From her accusers, who, by the way, have failed to answered her questions. Why is it wrong to want people to know that someone cares? That someone can give them information where to go if they have been abused. Why is that wrong sam? What is wrong with passing on numbers?

What is it you are so afraid of? What nerve did she hit? She had to have hit a big one to be attacked like this so badly. Especially by fellow CHRISTIANS. Hows that for a kicker! It isn't by unbelievers it's by brothers and sisters in CHRIST. Makes you feel real good doesn't it? To know that you are ministering God's grace and mercy towards another sister in Christ.

I'm glad you're meditating and fasting. I'm sure you will exemplify God's heart. 1John 4:16

>>>>>>>>>--Bonnie

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Bonnie,
No, I have not suddenly joined some strange female-deity cult. The credit belongs to the Word of God, alone, as it always has.

The actions of Roberta and her attitudes are evident and need no repeating and she is as answerable to them as are leaders in GGWO who have abused their position.

You ask what scares me.....Christians biting, devouring each other, and trying to destroy ministries of God...of course all in the name of God (or "the children.") It scares me to see so many wounded, embittered, neutralized Christians taken out of action. It scares me to see so many divorces, broken friendships, broken fractured churches. It scares me to see such a cavalier attitude towrads sin and such lack of brokenness and prayer amogst Christians.

This has been my prayer of today:

" Oh God,
I've heard what our ancestors say about you,
and I'm stopped in my tracks,
down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
Work among us as you worked among them!
And as you bring judgment,
as you surely must,
please remember mercy."
(Hab 3;1-2 from The Message version)

[Anonymous (65.125.30.98)]

Me thinkest the lady doth protest too much!

Shakespeare

POB

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

(And yes I know all about him. It is still a good quote.)

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I
know I'm not dumb ... and I'm also not blonde."-- Dolly
Parton

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter."

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist."

[Bob Brinton (141.154.144.225)]

Hey Sam Spade, Having you go before God in prayer and fasting for the Church as a whole is more important to me than having you come to agree with me or Roberta or anyone else. All our answers as to what we should be and where we are to fit in His plans are to be found in Him; not in the application of the Word through our own understanding. Go for all He has for you to be, and may He bless you in the way. Love, Bob

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"You could look it up."
Casey Stengel

"Snakes...why does it always have to be snakes?"
Indiana Jones

"Badges? We don't got no badges. We don't have to show you no stinkin' badges."
Gold Hat in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre
(on any page of quotes this is mandatory)

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

why are these people staying in that cult? find a good church

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword.

Oscar Wilde (The Ballad of Reading Gaol).

[Anon B (152.163.253.102)]

In this case it would be the Sword of the Spirit.

[muskyrose (64.12.117.20)]

Never bend your head. Always hold it high, look the world straight in the eye. ~ Helen Keller

Sorry ss. Don't buy your explaination. Hiding behind the scriptures in not an excuse for not answering questions. It is a deflection of the truth. A way of changing the subject. You have still not answered Roberta's questions concerning your attack on her. Nor have you honestly answered my questions. Key word here is HONESTLY.
She had to have hit a nerve with you some how or you would not be going after her like this. You would not be defaming her. Spreading rumors, lies, etc about her if she hadn't struck a nerve.
So, again my question to you is..What are you afraid of? What is it you want to stay hidden?

I don't know you. I have no idea who you are. But I gotta tell you, my instincts tell me your covering up something and your scared so your lashing out. And ss, I'm usually right on the money with these things. I've prayed and prayed and everytime the Holy Spirit keeps bringing back to the same thing...cover up.

>>>>>>>>>---------Bonnie

[Truly, Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Bonnie, I have clarified the issue with Roberta on her thread and have asked her forgiveness.

Otherwise, my post still stands, and that is my heart attitude and goal.

[muskyrose (64.12.117.20)]

ok, haven't been to the other thread as of yet but I will check it out and see if your apology is worthy.

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Mankind. That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps it is fate that today is the fourth of July and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist! And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"
The President
Independence Day

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Dylan Thomas

[Jack Brown (70.16.15.2)]

"Our Redemption is this new Birth; if this is not done, or doing in us, we are still unredeemed. And though the Saviour of the World is come, He is not come in us, He is not received by us, is a Stranger to us, is not ours, if his Life is not within us. His life is not, cannot be within us, but so far as the Spirit of the World, Self-love, Self-esteem, and Self-seeking, are renounced, and driven out of us."

William Law
Spirit of Prayer

[muskyrose (64.12.117.20)]

"When I'm caught between 2 evils I'll take the one I've never tried. "

~~ Mae West~~ in Klondike Annie~~

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

"I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty."

Nancy Reagan

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

You've got to stand for something
Or you're gonna fall for anything
John Mellencamp

Most of the song was crap but this line was good.

[Neil Carrick (24.88.43.233)]

Outwitted

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!

Edwin Markham ( the Pastor Poet)

[Anonymous (24.88.43.233)]

If you wanta to kiss the sky you better learn how to pray! Onnnn Your knees boy!

Bono (U2 Fame)

[Anonymous (24.88.43.233)]

This is by far my favorite modern secular song, especially the last verse!:

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
Only to be with you
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
But yes I'm still running.
You broke the bonds
You loosened the chains
You carried the cross
And my shame
And my shame
You know I believed it
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for


Bono

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

If two angels were sent down from heaven--- one I conduct an empire, and the other to sweep the street---they would feel no inclination to change employments.

Issac Newton

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. -- Helen Keller

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

This is here for the Anon Brief, who has mail (and the skeeter)
The four states of man:

Posse peccare
Non posse non peccare
Posse non peccare
Non posse peccare

attributed to Augustine

[Sam Spade (24.131.172.186)]

Father: All men betray. all men lose heart.
Robert the Bruce: But I don't want to lose heart! I want to believe!...like he does! I never want to be on the losing side agian.

Wallace: All men die. Few men live.

-from 'Braveheart'

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

To dwell above
with saints we love,
Oh, that will be glory.
But to dwell below
with saints we know,
Well, that's another story.

[Anon B (205.188.117.20)]

The four states of man:

1. Posse peccare - Able to sin

2. Non Posse non peccare - Not able not to sin

3. Posse non peccare - Able not to sin

4. Non posse peccare - Not able to sin

[Bob Brinton (141.154.144.225)]

One of the moral diseases we communicate to one another in society comes from huddling together in the pale light of an insufficient answer to a question we were afraid to ask. (Thomas Merton)

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

"If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so."

Steven Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

Bob...that is one of my all time favorite quotes.

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

He who angers you, controls you.

[Anonymous (152.163.253.102)]

...The choice usually presented to Christians is not between Jesus and Barabbas. No one wants to appear an obvious murderer. The choice to be careful about is between Jesus and Caiaphas. And Caiaphas can fool us. He is a very "religious" man.

The spirit of Caiaphas lives on in every century of religious bureaucrats who confidently condemn good people who have broken bad religious laws. Always for good reason of course: for the good of the temple; for the good of the church. How many sincere people have been banished from the Christian community by religious power brokers as numb in spirit as Caiaphas.

The deadening spirit of hypocrisy lives on in prelates and politicians who want to look good but not be good....

Brennan Manning; The Ragamuffin Gospel

[Anonymous (152.163.253.102)]

Eugene Kennedy writes: "The devil dwells in the urge to control rather than liberate the human soul. One can hardly live in these closing years of the twentieth century without realizing how the forces of control have gathered... We stand by a dark forest through which fearful religious leaders would force us to pass in single file through their exclusive pathway of righteousness. They want to intimidate us, make us afraid and hand over our souls to them once more. Jesus saw such shadowed forces as the corrupters of the essential nature of religion of His time. They are no less so all these centuries later."

[Cara (152.163.253.102)]

The way we are with each other is the truest test of our faith. How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street, how I respond to the interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my revernce for life than the anti-abortion sticker on the bumper of my car....

Brennan Manning; The Ragamuffin Gospel

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

I loved that book The Ragamuffin Gospel...maybe I'll give it a re-read.

[Cara (152.163.253.102)]

Brennan Manning has a way of cutting to the core of my soul and re-aligning me with my Savior's heart and my purpose on this earth.


From Chapter 7, Paste Jewelry and Sawdust Hot Dogs


....Honesty brings an end to pretense through candid acknowledgment of our own fragile humanity. It is always unpleasant, and usually painful, and that is why I am not very good at it. But to stand in truth before God and one another has the unique reward. It is the reward which a sense of reality always brings. I know something extremely precious. I am in touch with myself as I am. My tendency to play pseudo-messiah is torpedoed.
To the extent that I reject my ragamuffin identity, I turn away from God, the community and myself. I become a man obsessed by illusion, a man of false power and fearful weakness, unable to think, act or love....

[Anonymous (24.88.43.233)]

Anybody who quotes Brennan Manning deserves a standing ovation.

I had a major change of viewpoint with my theology after reading his books. It was interestingly enough the music of Rich Mullins that got me to Manning.

Manning is by far one of the best Christian sages.

Neil

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Whats the difference between a wife and a girlfriend at GGWO?

About 20 pounds

[Anonymous (24.88.43.233)]

Faith arises from the personal experiace of Jesus as Lord.

Hope is reliance on the promise of Jesus, acompanied by the expectation of fullfillment.

Trust is the winsomw edding of faith and hope.

....
Faith + Hope = Trust

From Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning.

[Cara (152.163.253.102)]

Yes, myself also.. I met Brennan through Rich Mullin's music and Erik Sundquist's counseling.

I, in turn, gave Rich Mullins music and biography to a searching, God-loving, young man living a few steps out of pace with His Lord. He returned to Him after his encounter with Rich Mullins... and is now engaged to the daughter of a dear friend and fellow dissident!

Isn't the flow of God's nature and plan through all his weak children astounding to observe??

[Anonymous (24.88.43.233)]

Cara http://www.factnet.org/discus/clipart/happy.gif

I found some interesting similarities in people sometimes who have shared in some of the experiances I have.

Rich Mullins was one of my hero's and his death was very hard for me. I remember picking up the Christianity Today about his death in Barnes & Nobles in Bel Air.

I think people must have thought I was crazy. I was sitting there in the magazine section weaping.

Two years after I entered GGWO I had an argument with my father in law about Rich's music because it at times is considered Christian Rock. The next morning Pastor Paul got up and sang one of his songs.

My introduction to Rich Mullins came via a friend who had worked with me in bars. He got saved and ended up becoming a minister. Friends who were the most antiGod people would hear my friend sing the version of "Ready For the Storm" rewrote and beg to know more about this subject matter. Amazing what a song can do that words often cannot.

I often will be driving down the road and will flip through the chanels and hit a Christian radio station to hear a song from Rich. I find my soul moved to a different place.

Rich was not just a singer. His work ended up starting churches, and orphan homes for native americans and south americans.

The song I post here is my personal favorite. It expresses those things C. S. Lewis called beyond nature. It is expresses what my heart clings to in this life.


Neil

If I Stand

There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

There's more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's
When her baby's at her side

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegence
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

My 6 year old daughter goes to sleep listening to Mullins "Creed" almost every night--and she loves "Awesome God" too.

"And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man"

[Cara (149.174.164.83)]

We must never allow the authority of books, institutions or leaders to replace the authority of knowing Jesus Christ personally and directly. When religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited.

Brennan Manning,Chapter 2, Magnificant Monotony
The Ragamuffin Gospel

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

"Woe to the unfaithful pastor; woe to the negligent steward; woe to the betrayer of sacred interests; woe to them that call evil good and good evil-to all such be woe; not only the woe of outward judgment—-divine and inexorable-but that, if may be, still keener, sadder woe of self-contempt and self-damnation. With such sorrow no stranger may intermeddle. The lesson to ourselves would seem to be this-Do not regard divine judgment merely as measure for measure in relation to your sin-that is to say, so much penalty for so much guilt. It is more than that-it is a quickening of the man into holy resentment against himself, an arming of the conscience against the whole life, a subjective controversy which will not be lulled into unrighteous peace, but will rage wrathfully and implacably until there shall come repentance to life or remorse to death."

Joseph Parker

[Anonymous (152.163.253.102)]

May those that love us, love us.

And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.

If He can't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles.

So we will know them by their limping!


Irish Prayer

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us. I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity. I would like rich treasures of mercy. I would like cheerfulness to preside over all. I would like Jesus to be present. I would like the three Mary's of illustrious renown to be with us. I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts. I would like myself to be a rent payer to the Lord; that I should suffer distress, that he would bestow a good blessing upon me. I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings. I would like to be watching Heaven's family drinking it through all eternity."

Saint Brigid

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

And Harvey's Bristol Cream would be nice too.

[Anon B (205.188.117.20)]

One of my favourites, Anon 152.

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

I smell the blood of an Englishman! Harvey's? Never! Only Bailey's or Brennan's will do!


Up the long ladder and down the short roof, To hell with King Billy and God bless the pope, if that doesn't do, we'll tear them in two and send them to hell with their red, white and blue!

Clancy Brothers

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Harvey a brit,yes. Sherry is from Spain.

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

How about some Hobgoblin or Riggwelter. Or a bottle of Samichlaus Bier, brewed once a year only on December 6th. 14%, guys. Bob

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

Hypocrites ..repent

[Anonymous (149.174.164.83)]

Oh lighten up 69!

The hypocrites are all the "secret drinkers" who preach against it but imbide themselves.

Hypocrites say one thing and do another.

[lee (65.96.56.161)]

'There's something bigger here than you or me'

Spiderman

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

sin is sin

[lee (65.96.56.161)]

'time for a beer'

lee leonard

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Yes sin is sin and drinking alcohol is not. One more error taught from GG.

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

The other "doctrine" Carl oft time talked about was sex. I knew long before I saw the bigger picture he was "not right in the head" with that one! How dare he dictate what I can or cannot do in my own marriage bed!

Carl was everywhere present. In my liquor closet and in my bedroom. Of course that explains the later doctrine of why he would be standing right next to me at the bema seat! Why not? He was everywhere else!

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

The Bible says absolutely nothing about oral sex.

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Drinking alcohol may not be a sin per se, but drunkenness is. Ephesians 5:18 says "be not drunk with wine wherein is dissipation" and Galatians 5:21 names drunkenness as one of the practices of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God. How about Proverbs 23:29-35, that pretty much sums up God's thoughts on drinking too much wine

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

Anon.64.12, No one here is advising drunkeness; and some are better to not drink at all. Moderation is the key. You can have too much chocolate, too much orange juice, too much (surprise) study. God has a personal balance that's right for you. One standard does not fit everyone. We walk by faith in the Spirit, not by charts. This isn't meant to be reactionary to your post. I'm taking in your point. Bob

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Bob,
But too much orange juice or chocolate or study does not have the effects that too much wine does (which is why you don't see bars with people studying, or teenagers partying on orange juice). There are no verses warning against those things. And God has one standard for everyone on drunkenness...don't do it. We live by every Word of God, not our own personal standards.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Song of Solomon:

"I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me" (7:10); "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave" (8:6).

Glad heart
Shiny face
Strong heart
Good sex in marriage =
GOOD

[Lori Argenzio (151.196.138.47)]

"For those of you who talk about me, thanks for making me the center of your world"

I don't know who said but I love this quote http://www.factnet.org/discus/clipart/happy.gif

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

When did it become Christian to despise the material gifts of God?

[JD Skeet (152.163.253.102)]

"which is why you don't see bars with people studying"

Apparently, you did not go to law school.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Nor did they study the Reformation in England which began in the White Horse Tavern, where godly men studied the scriptures as taught by the "heretic of Wittenberg" over some good grog.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

"Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles... We are beggars: this is true."
Martin Luther's last known written words

" Luther was certainly a theologian of the middle-ages. He was an earthy man who enjoyed his beer, and was bold and often totally without tact in the blunt truth he vehemently preached."
from "Greatsite"

"What good fortune for Martin Luther, the famous Reformer, that the woman he married, a former nun, was also a qualified brewer. Katharina von Bora learnt brewing in the convent but at home the skill was reserved for private pleasure.

Martin Luther enthused about her brewing skills, for instance in one of his letters " to my sweetheart, Katharina Lutherin von Bora and Zulsdorf, may she send him a bottle of her beer to him whenever she can."
Steigl breweries marketing

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Pr 5:18-19
Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.
As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

Thank you, Cordell. I'm rather enjoying this. Bob

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Good stuff this doctrine, huh,Bob?

[JD Skeet (152.163.253.102)]

Seem that I remeber that the Supreme Court used to bail from the basement of the Capitol building to meet in local taverns...

Don't encourage him, Bob. He's making me blush...

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Kinda like the thought of your parents having sex, skeeter?

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

My grown kids would like to think my wife and I have separate rooms.

[Anonymous (141.154.144.33)]

Fundamentalism includes beer? Cool.

[JD Skeet (152.163.253.102)]

I am scarred for life now, thanks curmudgeon.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

No, fundamentalism excludes beer and is mainly abstinent. Some evangelicals like beer. Most Reformed folks enjoy a beer.

Three great truths:

1. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognise Protestant theology.

2. Protestants don't recognise the Pope as the head of the church.

3. Baptists don't recognise each other at the liquor store.

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

That was sent to me by a former TBS pastor. He is now free.

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

So...Beakers won't raise a beaker of beer, but will Reformers swill rum?

What was it that they used to say at TBS? Something about wine bibbers....only sometimes it came out "wine bibblers", and I always had to suppress a giggle.

[SS (24.131.172.186)]

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses,
You've been out riding fences for so long now.
Oh you're a hard one,
but I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
will hurt you somehow.

Desperado, you know you ain't gettin' younger,
Your pain and your hunger are drivin' you home.
And freedom, O freedom,
well that's just some people talkin',
Your prison is walkin'
through this world all alone.

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may ne rainin'
But there's a rainbow above you
You'd better let somebody love you
Before it's too late.

The Eagles, 'Desperado" (1973)

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

All of us are in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Oscar Wilde

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

I thought Casey Kazem said that.

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

I used to listen to Casey back in 1971; but after I became aware that the purpose of AM radio was to keep me from hearing the best music; I started listening to albums rather than the radio. I spent several years listening mainly to Jethro Tull ,Yes, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer (not John). Bob

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

No, that was from the gay Irish guy!

[Bob Brinton (141.154.165.67)]

Hey man, I'm goin' to bed. I'm planning on going to an Assemblies service in the morning (It's 10:57 now), and my wife's gonna go wit me. Write to youse guys tamarrah. Bob

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

tamarrah is a 'nother day.

[Tweedledee (12.34.239.243)]

The Bing Song
Verse
Binga banga bong bong,
Bonga banga bing,
Love in the universe,
Love on a string.

Chorus
Bing, bing, bing bing bong
Do, do, the bing bing bong

Lyrics in the Eurovision song contest
Love the silly people

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

So, Peter, you've become a pirate.

Wendy Darling
Hook

[Anonymous (149.174.164.83)]

Wade Johnson and I loveeeee Hook

[Jack Brown (141.157.80.10)]

"If you were to ask me, What is the Apostasy of these last Times, or whence is all the Degeneracy of the present Christian Church? I should place it all in a worldly Spirit. If here you see open Wickedness, there only Forms of Godliness; if here superficial Holiness, political Piety, crafty Prudence, there haughty Sanctity, partial Zeal, envious Orthodoxy; if almost everywhere you see a Jewish Blindness, and Hardness of Heart, and the Church trading with the Gospel, as visibly, as the old Jews bought and sold Beasts in their Temple; all these are only so many Forms and proper Fruits of the worldly Spirit. This is the great Net, with which the Devil becomes a Fisher of Men; and be assured of this, my Friend, that every Son of Man is in this Net, till through and by the Spirit of Christ, he breaks out of it."

William Law
The Spirit of Prayer

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

You need a mother very, very badly!
Maggie
Hook

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Belief gets in the way of learning

Jeremy Collier

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

Belief gets in the way of learning

Jeremy Collier

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Inigo Montoya
The Princess Bride

[Jack Brown (141.157.75.93)]

"A Christ not in us is a Christ not ours."

William Law

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

“If you must make a choice between heresy and schism,always choose heresy.”


Peter James Lee, one of the sixty Episcopal bishops who voted to approve the appointment of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire.

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

I honestly think you ought to calm down; take a stress pill and think things over.

HAL
2001 A Space Odyssey

[Cara (149.174.164.83)]

Always do right.
This will gratify some,
and astonish the rest.

Mark Twain

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Complaining is good for you as long as you're not complaining to the person you're complaining about.

Lynn Johnston (1947 - ), For Better or For Worse, 11-06-03

[nonotone (24.211.177.206)]

I've had _ALL_ I can stans and I can't stans no more ...

Popeye

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.

Donald H. Rumsfeld (1932 - ), Secretary of Defense

[Anonymous (209.6.151.215)]

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
GOD

[Cordell (66.90.181.249)]

Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then...
Bob Seger

[Anonymous (149.174.164.83)]

Against the wind
I'm still running against the wind
I'm older now but still running against the wind

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

some are blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine

[JD Skeet (64.12.117.20)]

A Mighty Wind is Blowing You and Me...

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

there she blows

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it

Winston Churchill

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner:

"Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time."

When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."

[Jim Faucett (66.90.181.249)]

The will of man is like an ass, it will be ridden by God or by the devil.
Attributed to Martin Luther

[Anonymous (67.249.214.222)]

"...just say these verses five times to yourself and you will know who is and isn't going to hell."

Attributed to Carl H. Stevens, Jr.

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

"You didn't think you could have grace all the time, did you?"

Carl Stevens speaking to Cindy Rankin during the infamous Friday night of convention message

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

"Before Pastor Schebelli comes up here to tell you how he killed 5 men in his church last week..."

Carl Stevens prefacing his strange remarks Friday night Convention 2004

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Ok...I am crazy.

Roberta
Tuesday July 6

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

FORGIVE

[Anonymous (64.12.117.20)]

Three women-angels appeared during my deathbed experience. One gave me a whole chapter on church attendance. I will go into later in great detail all the angels told me.

Carl H. Stevens, 2004

(we are still waiting)

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

It's a "Jump to Conclusions Mat"! You see, you have this mat, with different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO!

Tom Smykowski
Office Space

[Anonymous (209.6.151.215)]

Forgive_- That's a mighty big word for such a small man, and I don't know if I can

Rebecca Lynn Howard - country music star

[Anonymous (67.249.230.6)]

Don't "ASSUME" anything...

...it makes an "ASS" out of "U" and "ME".

Author Unknown

[Tim Ewert (66.167.39.105)]

The Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

[Cara (152.163.253.102)]

Never try to teach a pig to sing,
It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

Mark Twain

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Are you trying to develop a sense of humor or am I going deaf?

Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

[Anonymous (152.163.253.102)]

68.33 Indie,

Maybe you are the pig, annoyed?

Mark

[Mother Patrice (12.77.54.150)]

"There's a sucker born every minute" - Barnum

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Who is this person that speaks to me as though I needed his advice?

Longshanks
Braveheart

[Anonymous (68.33.60.157)]

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all.

John Greenleaf Whittier

[Anonymous (67.243.135.53)]

"...not tonight dear...I have a headache!"

Bawbawa

"...want some of my pain pills honey?"

Cawl

[Anonymous (172.138.232.218)]

"God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him." Hudson Taylor

[Anonymous (12.183.1.162)]

sometimes your the windshield,sometimes your the bug.

[Anonymous (205.188.117.20)]

It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt

[Vincenzo (12.183.1.163)]

Do you know why Itilian guys wear gold chains?

[Rocco (12.183.1.163)]

Yeah,so they know where to stop shaving.

[Anonymous (67.243.133.206)]

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

Lyrics from the Rogers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music.

[Anonymous (172.141.79.29)]

"The road less travelled is the one to God's throne"

Unknown

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them. -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

[JD Skeet (64.12.117.20)]

"We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still."

-- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859.

[A.Crowley (12.183.1.168)]

Yes there are two paths you can go by but in the long run,theres still time to change the road your on

[rOBERTA (141.154.144.33)]

"There is this difference between happiness and wisdom: he that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool."

Charles Caleb Colton

[JF (66.90.181.249)]

"Quien es?"

Alleged to have the last words of Billy the Kid just prior to being shot dead in the dark by Pat Garrett.

[Jack Brown (151.196.141.197)]

Most men withstand the test of adversity but, if you want to find out about a man's character, give him power.

[Anonymous (207.156.7.90)]

"Teamwork: A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction."

http://www.despair.com/teamwork.html

[Anonymous (63.27.19.162)]

Jean Paul Sarte gone a muck!

"I think therefore I am...

...I think?"

[rj (141.154.144.33)]

"cognito ergo spud"

I think therefore I yam...

[rj (141.154.144.33)]

Whether one is Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is proof that you are or not fully His. We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don't know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to; therefor, who are we to condemn anybody?

Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

[Anonymous (141.154.144.33)]

"Why don't they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff."

Steven Wright.

[Anonymous (69.242.21.100)]

thou shall have NO other gods ...
hinduism buddhism mormonism islam all have thier own gods(idols)

[Anonymous (63.27.88.74)]

"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

Jesus Christ

[Nic (64.12.117.20)]

The best way to promote union is to promote truth. It will not do for us to be all united together by yielding to one another's mistakes. We are to love each other in Christ, but we are not to be so united that we are not able to see each other's faults, and especially not able to see our own. No, purge the house of God, and then shall good and blessed times dawn on us.

Charles Spurgeon

[Bob Brinton (151.203.161.112)]

I agree with that quote Nic, but sometimes our own faults cause us to perceive things as faults in others which are not. And even if the Bible is inerrant, our own perceptions of what it means and how it is to be applied are not. We are still frail human flesh, in need of the Spirit's light and guidance. Do you pray over the Word, or do you just go with what is immediately apparent in it? I'm assuming you do pray over it.

[Roberta (141.154.144.33)]

"Whether one is Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is proof that you are or not fully His. We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don't know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to; therefor, who are we to condemn anybody?"

Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

Before I became a Christian I knew other gods, other lifestyles like most of us did and saw the world differently than I did afterward. Mother Theresa urges us to be careful not to judge another's life for we do not know where or how God is revealing himself to others. We cannot know how the Father is wooing the person, or if the person is open to it or not. We don't know what circumstances are in God's will for a person whose heart may be in the process of preparing to recieve Him no matter their race or creed, therefore we must trust that God is in charge. It is a faith walk, loving people of all kinds, knowing that God has a plan for them...it may incude us, or it may not. But God is in control and everyone's life, at one time or another is given opportunity to be face to face with His reality.

If we judge the outward appearance of another's life, be they Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or agnostic, we may possibly be a stumbling block to what God may be trying to reveal to them about Himself. Tolerance doesn't mean leaving them to their own devises, it means having faith the God is in control, and we must not judge God, God's plan or the people He may be working in unbeknownst to us. He loves them, as we must, by faith if by no other way.

This is what Mother Theresa is saying in these few words. "We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don't know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to;" The point is, we do not know, we should not judge or say hurtful words to them. God may have planted a seed, God may have come in secret, God may have a good work already started that our harsh words might hinder.

We don't know and we must have faith that God is able to save, in His way, those he will save.

Mother Theresa knew this and I think it is very good advice...no one wants to hinder God's plan for others.

[Anonymous (68.82.183.197)]

do something Satan doesn't want you to do tonight....PRAY

[Lori (141.157.83.195)]

<FONT COLOR="ff0000">"There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak..."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there, son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply.

"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.

"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?"

"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"

"How much?" the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit. Then the pastor began to tell this story:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.

"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"

"How much?" He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."

Jesus said, "DONE!"

Then He paid the price.</FONT>

Received this in an email today, thought I would share it. http://www.factnet.org/discus/clipart/happy.gif

[Anonymous (66.167.239.125)]

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy

[RJ (151.203.163.174)]

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
-Mother Theresa

[Anonymous (24.58.114.87)]

A quote from Wise "Ye'd have ta be a damn fool or an idiot!"

[Anonymous (209.103.235.184)]

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." Douglas Adams

[Nancy C (172.162.161.75)]

"Those who teach by their doctrine must teach by their life, or else they pull down with one hand what they build up with the other." Matthew Henry

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot

[Anonymous (69.44.61.48)]

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not, thus handicapped.

[Anon B (64.12.117.20)]

The Lord waits for us daily to translate into action, as we should, his holy teachings. - from the Rule of Saint Benedict

[Anonymous (63.27.71.162)]

"Lord, open our eyes, that we may see you in our brothers and sisters. Lord, open our ears, that we may hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened the oppressed. Lord, open our hearts, that we may love each other as you love us. Renew in us your spirit Lord, free us and make us one." Mother Teresa

[Anonymous (63.27.71.162)]

"Whoever smelt is dealt it!"

[Anonymous (63.27.71.162)]

Why doesn't Carl Stevens sink in the water?

Because **** floats.

Anonymous