THIS WEEK’S GRAPHICS
The first is based on the hymn “Count Your Blessings” while the second is from the text of “Lux Aeterna,” a work for chorus and chamber orchestra, by James Sclater. When I heard this line, it gripped me, and would not let go. Here is the wording of it:
“My darkness is no challenge to the Father’s light.”
The graphics are free for use in your non-profit organization’s publications, and can be downloaded at www.timothyreport.com
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Welcome to THE TIMOTHY REPORT for May 10, 2004
“To assist, encourage, enable and equip”
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THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR A COMMITTEE MEETING
On a freezing winter day in December 1987 three children were playing on the icy surface of a Vermont pond when the ice gave way under their combined weight. The two girls pulled themselves out, but four-year-old Zeke flailed helplessly in the water, clinging to a broken chunk of ice. Suddenly, their 80-pound dog let out a series of barks and plunged into the frigid water. She snagged Zeke's coat securely in her teeth and pulled the terrified youngster toward the bank and into shallow water, where he could stand. The dog then turned and offered her tail to Zeke. The boy grabbed it and was towed to safety.
There are times when believers find themselves in a spot similar to Zeke's. When a fellow soldier is down on the battlefield, it's not time for a committee meeting. We need to plunge in and help pull him to safety.
--from Norman Lawrence’s “A Dose of Inspiration,” adoseofinspiration-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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IT WOULD HELP TO GET ALL THE FACTS FIRST
An old fellow came into the hospital truly on death's door due to an infected gallbladder. The surgeon who removed the gallbladder was adamant that his patients be up and walking in the hall the day after surgery, to help prevent blood clots forming in the leg veins. The nurses walked the patient in the hall as ordered, and after the third day the nurse told how he complained bitterly each time they did. The surgeon told them to keep walking him.
After a week, the patient was ready to go. His family came to pick him up and thanked the surgeon profusely for what he had done for their father. The surgeon was pleased and appreciated the thanks, but told them that it was really a simple operation and they had been lucky to get him in time. "But doctor, you don't understand," they said, "Dad hasn't walked in over a year!"
NOTE: in our ministries—indeed, in our very lives—it helps to gather all the facts available before making decisions. It is important that we understand as much as we possibly can about a particular situation before jumping off into something we will regret later.
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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HE MEANS US!
Despite God's assurance that He's absolutely crazy about us, most of us can't believe He means US. But God's Word is full of your identity and position as a believer in Jesus Christ. Here are a few examples:
You are:
Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
Precious to God (Isaiah 43:4)
Cared about since your conception (Isaiah 46:3)
God's child (John 1:12)
Jesus' friend (John 15:15)
Chosen by Jesus (John 15:16)
Loved dearly by God (John 16:27)
Free from condemnation (Romans 8:1)
A temple - a dwelling place - of God's Spirit
(1 Corinthians 3:16)
Redeemed and forgiven for all your sins
(Colossians 1:14)
You, too, are somebody - somebody worth the sacrifice of what was most precious to God: His only Son. God may be the only person you'll ever know who loves you unconditionally, but once that truth sinks in, God's opinion becomes the only one that really matters.
--Verla Gillmor
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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CHRISTIAN ONE-LINERS
"Don't let your worries get the best of you, remember, Moses started out as a basket case"
Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited - until you try to sit in their pews.
Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.
It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.
When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.
Opportunity may knock once, but temptation leans on the bell.
If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
To make a long story short, don't tell it.
Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
NOTE: This would be a good introduction to a study on the Proverbs, which incidentally, are the greatest one-liners ever heard!
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 3, 2004)
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DANCING WITH GOD
God wants us to adore Him, dance with Him, eat, drink, and sing with Him in the experience of His awesome, glorious love. The mystery of His desire is that an eternal, infinite, holy, and utterly self-fulfilling Being wants us—and He is willing to go to any lengths whatsoever to disrupt, arouse, and stop us from pursuing any lover other than Himself. He is willing to go to the extreme of bearing our anger—and even more, pouring out His anger on His beloved Son, Being of His own Being. Through His unfathomable desire for us and His paradoxical methods of wooing us, He reveals His goodness.
--Dan Allender and Tremper Longman
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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OVERWHELMED BY CREATION
One day in Hyde Park, London, author Frank Sheed was speaking about the remarkable order and design of the universe, when a heckler shouted, 'Even I could make a better universe than your God!' Unruffled, Sheed replied, 'I won't ask you to do that today, but would you mind making a rabbit just to establish credibility?' Know what? If the earth was as small as the moon, its gravitation couldn't sustain our needs. On the other hand, if it were as large as Jupiter, its extreme gravitation would make human movement almost impossible. If we were as close to the sun as Venus, the heat would be unbearable; if we were as far away as Mars, every region would experience snow and ice nightly. If the oceans were half their size, we'd get only 25% of our present rainfall. If they were one-eighth larger, annual precipitation would increase 400% turning the earth into a vast, uninhabitable swamp. Water solidifies at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But if the oceans were subject to that thaw, the amount of thawing in the Polar Regions wouldn't balance out and we'd all end up encased in ice. To prevent this catastrophe, God put salt in the sea to alter its freezing point. Not a bad day's work!
David said, 'How many are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You made them all. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live' (Psalm 104:24-33 NIV). If God's workmanship wouldn't make you want to stop and praise Him, what would?
-- Bob Gass
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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PUPPY SIZE
"She keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the woman told the volunteer.
"What is it she keeps asking for?" she asked
"Puppy size!"
"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."
"I know...we have seen most of them," the Mom said in frustration. Just then the young child came walking into the office, "Well, did you find one?"
"No, not this time," she said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?" The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.
"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.
The young child took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I bet we'll find one this weekend, " the child said.
Over the next few days both Mom and Dad had long conversations with her.
They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration. "We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.
Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning.
By now the young child knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, Mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. The young girl walked slowly from cage to cage kneeling periodically to take a closer look.
One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one." She was at the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. "Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"
"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held the last few weeks," Mom said.
"No not size---sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed." she said. "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sighs!"
The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.
"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"
Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear.
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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CHRIST LIKE A RIVER
Christ is like a river that is continually flowing. There are always fresh supplies of water coming from the fountain-head, so that a man may live by it and be supplied with water all his life. So Christ is an ever-flowing fountain; He is continually supplying His people, and the fountain is not spent. They who live upon Christ may have fresh supplies from Him for all eternity; they may have an increase of blessedness that is new, and new still, and which never will come to an end.
--Jonathan Edwards
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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ANSWERS TO PRAYER
We forget that God sometimes has to say “No.” We pray to Him as our Heavenly Father, and like wise human fathers, He often says, “No,” not from whim or caprice, but from wisdom, from love, and from knowing what is best for us.
--Peter Marshall
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Nearly everytime Jesus is mentioned in the Scriptures as being at the right hand of God, He is sitting. Nearly everytime. But there is one instance, and only one that I can find, where Jesus is seen standing on the right hand of God. What significance is that, and how can it encourage and comfort us when a loved one has died?
Always on the search for another story or illustration? Ever hesitate to use any particular story because you've used it too many times already?
Here's a solution! "Funeral Ideas and Illustrations" contains more than 100 stories, poems, and quotations for use in funerals or in Bible studies or sermons on death.
The items found in this collection come from a wide variety of sources. There may be some stories and/or poems you've used for years, and there are some you've never seen before. Some of the sermon outlines and messages are original material. And it's only $5.
In this collection, you will find:
--A sermon specifically designed for the Thanksgiving Season
--A poem written by a wife and son of a relatively young man who passed away.
--What a man wrote after losing three children to death
--Which hymn encouraged Daniel Webster in his final hours
--What Golda Meir said when asked if Israel would allow Nikita Kruschev's body to be buried in Israel
--An encouraging poem which is great to use in a funeral when a grieving spouse is left behind.
--A portion of a letter a Godly woman left behind for her family to read after she had gone on to be with the Lord.
--Mary Pickford's wonderful analogy of death
--Cardinal Joseph Bernardin's viewpoint of his own approaching death
--The word early Christians used to describe the place where they placed the bodies of loved ones when they died--a comforting, encouraging thought!
Visit http://www.timothyreport.com/funeral.html to view sample illustrations and to learn how to get your copy.
(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com
May 10, 2004)
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