Beautiful Thoughts
Contents
from Loan
| Lust of flesh | Love to serve | |||
| Greed of money | Instead of these, may God shange us to: | Promote peace | ||
| Hate of humility | Share joy |
- Feeding children, and taking them out for fun is easy. But teaching children to know and to follow in righteousness is hard.
More encouragement from Billy Graham
- Our world is obsessed with success, but how does God define success? Success in God's eyes is faithfulness to His calling.
- Work is not only earning a living. Work gives us a sense of purpose and worth and opportunity for companionship.
- The time to prepare for life's disappointments and hurts is in advance.
- Pleasures are the things that appeal to our flesh and to our lust. But joy is something else. Joy runs deep.
- ... A man taking a drink, a drink taking a drink, and drink taking the man.
- God's forgiveness is not just a casual statement. It is the complete blotting out of all dirt and degradation of past, present, and future.
- All around you are people whose lives are filled with trouble and sorrow, and they need your compassion and encouragement.
- The evangelist's ministry is a fight, not a frolic.
- Fear can banish faith, but faith can banish fear.
Lessons of failures
- Don't be bound by the past and its failures, but don't forget its lessons either. -- Billy Graham
Do It Anyway
- People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
- If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
- If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
- If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
- What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
- If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
- The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
- Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
- In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
Thought of the day
- Our pastor said, "God did not call us to be successful, but to be faithful, truthful, and loving."
- If we aren't following God with all our hearts when life is difficult, then we won't do any better following Him when life is easy.
- People are as happy as they make their minds up to be -- Abraham Lincoln
- If you love your work, you'll never have to work a day in your life -- Thomas Edison
For Those in Authority
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Saviour. - I Timothy 2:1-3, NIV
O Almighty God ... turn, we pray, the hearts of all peoples and their rulers, that by the power of Your Holy Spirit peace may be established among the nations on the foundation of justice, righteousness and truth; through Him who was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to Himself, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (1) -- William Temple
Our Father and our God, we praise You for Your goodness to our nation, giving us blessings far beyond what we deserve. Yet we know all is not right with America. We deeply need moral and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems we face. Convict us of sin. Help us to turn to you in repentance and faith. Set our feet on the path of Your righteousness and peace. We pray today for our nation's leaders. Give them wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it. ... This we pray in Your holy Name. Amen. (2) -- Billy Graham
We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. ... Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves ... to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. (3) -- Abraham Lincoln
- Footnotes
- From "A prayer for Peace among Nations," by William Temple published 1941 in a supplement to "A Manual of Prayers for War-Time."
- From Billy Graham's prayer on the National Day of Prayer, May 3rd, 2001
- From Abraham Lincoln's proclamation appointing a National Fast Day, March 30, 1863.
See also
What we see as a tragedy, God sees as a great oppurtunity. As the apparent security offered by comfort and consumption vanishes, people are more open to seeking for spiritual truth.
When things are down ... Look up. Economic crisis. Fear of the Future. Sickness. Loss of the loved one. No one is exempt from trouble. How can we find strength and peace in the midst of such challenges?
