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Welcome to THE TIMOTHY REPORT for February 14, 2005
“To assist, encourage, enable and equip”
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THIS WEEK’S GRAPHIC
Reads, “To God be the Glory, Great things He hath done!”
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THE GREAT SPECKLED PEW SNOOZER
The Great Speckled Pew Snoozer is a member of a very large and variegated family of birds that you can find on any given Sunday at any given church. A docile easily domesticated breed, they take readily to captivity and settle down contentedly in any suitable sanctuary. Once they are perched for the service, they surrender to some primeval instinct and immediately drop off to sleep. This characteristic is not readily noticeable for, unlike many birds, Pew Snoozers can sleep without putting their heads under their wings. These birds are very faithful members, loyal to the flock and wouldn’t miss church for anything. They can’t afford to lose all that sleep!
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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WORSHIP
Worship is the soul searching for its counterpart. It is a thirsty land crying out for rain. It is a candle in the act of being kindled. It is a drop in quest of the ocean. It is a man listening through a tornado for a Still Small Voice. It is the voice in the night calling for help. It is a sheep lost in the wilderness, pleading for rescue by the Good Shepherd. It is the same sheep nestling in the arms of the Rescuer. It is the Prodigal Son returning to his Father. It is a soul standing in awe before the mystery of the Universe. It is a poet enthralled by the beauty of a sunrise. It is a workman pausing for a moment to listen to a strain of music. It is a hungry heart seeking for love. It is Time flowing into Eternity. It is my little self engulfed in the Big Self of God! It is man climbing the altar stairs to God.
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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SERVICE
Many times you can find a valuable lesson in cartoons. I remember one cartoon where the different panels in it showed a musician preparing to play in a concert, leaving home dressed in his tuxedo, riding to the auditorium, taking his place among the other musicians of the symphony orchestra, and then patiently waiting till the conductor pointed to him. On signal from the maestro he raised a triangle and struck a single note. That was the sum of his playing. He went to a lot of trouble to strike that note but it was vital to the performance of the piece. He was ready and in the right place at the right time and he did his job well.
May we always exhibit that kind of dedication to serving Christ and others, no matter how small the task appears.
--Rocky Henriques
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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GOOD ADVICE FOR PASTORS
I beg you, do not look upon [this parish] as a steppingstone, but rather say: Here I shall stay as long as it pleases God; if it be his will, until I die. Look upon every child, your confirmands, every member of the congregation as if you will have to give account for every soul on the day of the Lord Jesus. Every day commit all these human souls from the worst and the weakest of hands, namely, your own, into the best and strongest of hands. Then you will be able to carry on your ministry not only without care but also with joy overflowing and joyful hope.
-- Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 4.
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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THINGS NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
I had an extended tour of duty in Okinawa in 1958 and was unable to bring my wife and children with me. After I had been overseas eight months, I received a letter from my seven-year-old son. "Dear Dad," he wrote. "I guess Mom has told you we've got a new pop named John." I was relieved to learn he had made a spelling error. He was referring to the recently named Pope John XXIII.
--Contributed to "Humor In Uniform" by T. Kelley
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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A RESOURCE YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
The website for Recovery Options Network, Inc., proclaims that it is a collection of “Christ-centered resources for pastors and families dealing with substance abuse.” A sub-heading reads, “Empowering the church to minister effectively to those seeking recovery.” The home page lists a toll free number, through which one can reach a crisis response counselor. I personally have not called them and have not made use of any of the resources. I am merely passing it along as a possible resource you may find valuable.
http://www.tryroni.com/default.asp
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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HYPOCRISY
The woman is beside herself, screaming in frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection. As she is still in mid-rant she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the barrel of a gun held by a very serious looking policeman.
The policeman tells her to shut off her car while keeping both hands in sight. She complies, speechless at what is happening. After she shuts off the engine, the policeman orders her to exit her car with her hands up.
She gets out of the car and he orders her to turn and place her hands on her car. She turns, places her hands on the car roof and quickly is cuffed and hustled into the patrol car. She is too bewildered by the chain of events to ask any questions and is driven to the police station where she is fingerprinted, photographed, searched, booked and placed in a cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door for her. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the original officer is waiting with her personal effects.
He hands her the bag containing her things, and says, "I'm really sorry for this mistake. But you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, making obscene gestures, and cussing a blue streak at the car in front of you, and then I noticed the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "What Would Jesus Do" and "Follow Me to Sunday School" bumper stickers, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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FORGIVENESS
The ultimate proof of total forgiveness takes place when we sincerely petition the Father to let those who have hurts us off the hook -- even if they have hurt not only us, but also those close to us.
-- R.T. Kendall in "Total Forgiveness"
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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THE GIFT OF THE BREEZE
I remember growing up in the South, in "cotton country," in the summer, before air conditioning became something almost every home had. Several of those summers I spent working on my uncle's cotton farm, down in the Mississippi delta, just outside of my birthplace, Cleveland, Mississippi. It was hot work, hard work, bringing in a cotton crop. It still is, but technology has made it a lot easier than it was back then.
When the crop had been tended for another day, the weeds chopped from between the cotton plants, in the evening everyone would gather on the front porch. We would rock and talk and laugh in a futile attempt to escape the ever-present heat and humidity. And sometimes, on a really good day, the leaves of the trees would begin to rustle. And the conversation would die down, and everyone would just sit back and enjoy the summer breeze, the gift of the breeze. We didn't know where it came from. We didn't know where it was going. But we knew it was there, because we could feel it.
--Johnny Dean, in "The More I Understand, The Less I Know"
NOTE: Now go read the third chapter of John, and pay attention to verse eight.
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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BEING A WITNESS
"To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, or even stirring people up, but in being a living mystery; it means to live in such a way that one's life would not make sense if God did not exist."
--Dorothy Day
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE COURSE?
For years, the opening of "The Wide World of Sports" television program illustrated "the agony of defeat" with a painful ending to an attempted ski jump. The skier appeared in good form as he headed down the jump, but then, for no apparent reason, he tumbled head over heels off the side of the jump, bouncing off the supporting structure.
What viewers didn't know was that he chose to fall rather than finish the jump. Why? As he explained later, the jump surface had become too fast, and midway down the ramp, he realized if he completed the jump, he would land on the level ground, beyond the safe sloping landing area, which could have been fatal.
As it was, the skier suffered no more than a headache from the tumble. To change one's course in life can be a dramatic and sometimes painful undertaking, but change is better than a fatal landing at the end.
--Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, Baker, p. 15.
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, February 14, 2005)
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