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The Timothy Report website now features a sermon archive, as well as brief articles that can be used for pastor’s columns or filler items in a newsletter.
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Welcome to THE TIMOTHY REPORT for July 19, 2004
“To assist, encourage, enable and equip”
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NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF Jesus
(Note: the following was sent in by Timothy Report subscriber [and the pianist at my church!] Millicent Ledbetter—thanks, Millicent!)
One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.
It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.
As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past.
As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this:
"My fiancée's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin." "Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?"
The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Too often, even as Christians we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters.
Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.
What can wash away my sins? ... Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:23
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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HE NEVER LEAVES OUR SIDE
William Frey, retired Episcopal bishop from Colorado, told this story:
When I was young, I volunteered to read to a student named John who was blind. One day I asked him, "How did you lose your sight?"
"A chemical explosion," John said, "at the age of thirteen."
"How did that make you feel?" I said.
"Life was over. I felt helpless. I hated God," John responded. "For the first six months I did nothing to improve my lot in life. I ate all my meals alone. One day my father entered my room and said, 'John, winter's coming and the storm windows need to be up—that's your job. I want those hung by the time I get back this evening or else!'
"Then he turned, walked out of the room, and slammed the door. I got so angry. I thought, Who does he think I am? I'm blind! I was so angry I decided to do it. I felt my way to the garage, found the windows, located the necessary tools, found the ladder, all the while muttering under my breath, 'I'll show them. I'll fall, then they'll have a blind and paralyzed son!'"
John continued, "I got the windows up. I found out later that never at any moment was my father more than four or five feet away from my side."
Source: William Frey, sermon delivered at Beeson Divinity School, Birmingham, Alabama (July 2003)
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM
You have a healthy self-esteem if ...
--You have a sense of humor.
--You are open to new ideas and experiences.
--You project an attitude of flexibility and inventiveness.
--You preserve harmony and dignity under stress.
--You speak and move with ease and spontaneity.
--You are comfortable giving and receiving compliments and affection.
--You can speak honestly about accomplishments and shortcomings.
--Nathaniel Branden, adapted from the Hope Health Letter (March 1995). Marriage Partnership, Vol. 12, no. 3.
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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DAILY CREATION
A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, Do it again; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, Do it again, to the sun; and every evening, Do it again, to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
--Gilbert Keith G. K. Chesterton
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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THE MIRROR
The other day, I happened by chance,
As I passed by a mirror, to give it a glance.
And I wondered who that old man could be,
Who, with mouth wide open, was looking at me.
His bald head was sprinkled with a little gray fuzz,
And he wasn't al all handsome (like I always wuz).
He looked like a sack of mismated parts,
Put together without aid of instruction or charts.
And, while I know that my shoulders don't slump.
This person's were misshapen in one ugly hump.
Now, if that was my image, I can only say,
They don't make mirrors like they did in my day.
--John T. West Jr.
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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THE FRAGMENTS OF LIFE
The following story is found in Max Lucado's book “In The Eye of the Storm.”
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before.
People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. "This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?"
The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse. One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."
The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"
The people contested, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse."
The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don't know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"
The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn't, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.
After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him.
Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."
The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?
“Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don't."
“Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.
The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.
"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever."
The old man spoke again. "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."
It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured.
Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their
sons again.
"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."
The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."
The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life's mishaps and disappointments are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life's storms until we know the whole story.
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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HUMOR: YOU’RE A PANE
An area pastor tells of his first Sunday in the new parish and presenting the children's message. Seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called of God to help make up the whole picture of life (the life of the community of the faithful). Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture.
And then he said, "You see each one of you is a little pane." And then pointing to each child, "You're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And..." It took a few moments before he realize why everyone was laughing so hard.
"He" is the Rev. Charles Fitzgerald, Wesley United Methodist Church, Tyrone, PA
-- Dr. Dennis Reedy, Christ United Methodist Church, Tyrone, PA
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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PIERCING THE DARKNESS
A small man can see when it is growing dark…but he cannot see beyond the darkness. He does not know how to put a sunbeam into his picture. A great man pierces the darkness and sees the glory of a hidden dawn.
--Charles E. Jefferson
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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POWER OF GOD
The amazing thing about the power of God is that it can be exhibited both in the tenderness of a flower and the savage intensity of the sea. Power doesn’t have to be all bravado and bluster; nor need it be only tenderness and light. That’s part of the mystery of the power of God.
--Thomas Kinkade
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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SURRENDER TO GOD
We must offer ourselves to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry ourselves about what God may choose to paint on it, but at each moment, feel only the stroke of His brush.
--Jean Pierre de Caussade
(NOTE: Take the last phrase of the above quote to use as a title for a message on God’s work in our lives: “The Stroke of His Brush.”)
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
July 19, 2004)
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