THIS WEEK’S GRAPHIC
Reads “Alpha & Omega, First and Last, Beginning and End.” There is a BONUS graphic on the same page, which reads, “Fill My Cup, Lord.” ALSO, there is a graphic which will remain up for a period of time for you to use to remind your people to VOTE! Any of the graphics appearing on the website are absolutely 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 September 6, 2004
“To assist, encourage, enable and equip”
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GOOD ADVICE
H. Jackson Brown, Jr., compiled and created over 500 axioms of counsel and personal observation that he hoped would provide a road map for his college-bound son. Here are a few that seem particularly appropriate for pastors, as well.
1. Compliment three people every day.
3. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
7. Look people in the eye.
8. Say “thank you” a lot.
9. Say “please” a lot.
16. Be the first to say, “Hello.”
17. Live beneath your means.
20. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
33. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
40. Never refuse homemade brownies.
43. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.
54. Surprise loved ones with little unexpected gifts.
59. Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
60. Admit your mistakes.
94. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who’ll never find out.
97. Always have something beautiful in sight, even if it’s just a daisy in a jelly glass.
128. Remember people’s names.
158. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
173. Be kinder than necessary.
197. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
198. Feed a stranger’s expired parking meter.
221. Don’t major in minor things.
347. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
361. Never eat the last cookie.
511. Call your mother.
(Taken from “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” copyright 1991 by H. Jackson Brown. Published by Rutledge Hill Press, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. This list and introductory paragraph published in “Pastor to Pastor,” a newsletter from Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 1993.)
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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NEW IDEAS, SUCCESS AND DISCIPLESHIP
Walt Disney was said to have asked ten people what they thought of a new idea. If they were unanimous in their rejection of the idea, he would begin to work on it immediately. Why? Because he knew most people were opposed to change. They were against new ideas and he dared to be different. Walt Disney dared to adventure and his success grew out of his spirit of adventure.
In your position of leadership in your church, do you allow what others think determine what you will do? What you will preach? Whom you will visit? What you think or how you behave? Do you think for yourself? Do you stand on your own two feet? Do you seek God’s leadership and guidance, and follow Him, even if what He says is the exact opposite of what others believe you should do?
Come to think of it, it takes a whole lot of courage to be a faithful, loyal, devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet that is exactly the kind of follower He’s looking for.
--Rocky Henriques
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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CHURCH BUDGET
It is the time of year when many churches are considering their budgets for the coming fiscal year. Here is a brief outline I put together several years ago when the church I served was in the midst of discussing its budget:
What our church budget says about our church:
1. It tells where our priorities are.
2. It tells whether or not we take seriously the Great Commission.
3. It reveals whether or not we are bold in our faith.
4. It tells how our church is organized and how it operates.
5. It tells where our heart really is.
6. It tells who we are, what we are, and where we are going as a church.
--Rocky Henriques
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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BE SURE TO VOTE!
When we withhold our influence and participation, we yield by default to those who promote immoral and destructive policies.
--James Dobson
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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THREE KINDS OF GIVERS
Some witty person once said: "There are three kinds of givers--the flint, the sponge, and the honey comb." To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it, and then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you squeeze the more you will get. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness. Some people are stingy and hard; they give nothing away if they can help it. Others are good-natured; they yield to pressure, and the more they are pressed the more they will give. A few delight in giving, without being asked at all; and of these the Bible says: "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver."
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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CHURCH ATTENDANCE
If the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true, a lot of people certainly must love their church!
A man was bragging about his lack of church attendance. He said, "The only two times I have been to church was to be sprinkled with water and to be sprinkled with rice."
Another man spoke up and said, "Well, there's another time coming up, and that's when you are going to be sprinkled with dirt!" Death will not make lack of church attendance so funny.
--Robert L. Tollison
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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FORGIVENESS
The story is told of an old gentleman who had gone to the store to buy a bag of potatoes. On his way home, a man picked him up and gave him a ride. The old gentleman sat on the front seat of the car, holding the bag of potatoes on his lap. The driver said, "Why don't you put those potatoes down in the floorboard. There's no need for you to hold them in your lap." The old gentleman replied, "Oh, I wouldn't think of doing that. You were good enough to give me a ride; the least I can do is carry these potatoes."
Entirely too many Christians have prayed for forgiveness and, according to the Scriptures, have received it; but they still carry around a burden of guilt. If God has so graciously forgiven us, shouldn't we forgive ourselves and put down our burden?
--Bill Chitwood
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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HATE OR FORGIVNESS?
George Harrison at one time was the pastor of First Baptist Church (National Baptist Convention), Waco, Texas. When George was 14 years old, he washed dishes at a seafood restaurant. One night the dishwasher broke, and the owner made George wash the dishes by hand. The lye-based soap ate away the outer layer of skin on George's hands. It took five weeks for his hands to heal. The owner neither apologized nor helped George with medical expenses. George vowed to return one day to give the owner a piece of his mind.
Twenty-three years later George met the owner at his restaurant. The owner recognized George and said he had heard that George was a Christian and a pastor and asked him to pray for his ailing feet. Instead of blasting the owner for his callousness 23 years earlier, George replied, "It would be a privilege to pray for you." At that moment compassion replaced the hate and desire for revenge in George's heart. He wrote: "I knelt down on my knees at that crowded restaurant and prayed for him. I realized that hate is a waste of time, for with humans a positive change of heart is impossible, but with God all things are possible.''
--Keith Durso
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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TRIALS
Pebble Beach is a lovely area that typifies the advantages of friction. Ceaseless waves thunder ashore and dash the beach. The pounding waves toss and grind together. They dash against the rugged cliffs. This action goes on year after year. The result is round, polished stones that are collected by tourists as ornaments.
Near Pebble Beach is a quiet cove. In this cove lie numerous stones that have been sheltered by the cliff, but they are unwanted. They have been spared the pounding waves, and they have remained rough and unpolished.
When testing times come, we may be buffeted about, but the rough edges are knocked off our lives. The friction of this can cause wonderful features to be brought to the surface in our lives. Believers who understand the friction of trials will be able to face life's tough times.
-Adapted from Nelson L. Price, Supreme Happiness (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979) pp. 31-32
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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SPLASHING IN A MUD PUDDLE
A few months ago I was taking my usual route on my morning walk when I came upon a simple scene with telling application. Four ducks were splashing in a mud puddle in the sidewalk while a large, pristine pond was just over a small hill. I stopped in my tracks and stared. I felt like God was saying to me, “Beth, that’s my church. My blood-bought, Spirit-promised church splashing in a mud puddle with a sea of living waters within her reach. Just on the other side.”
--Beth Moore, in her new book, “Believing God” (B&H, 2004).
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, September 6, 2004)
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