THE ONE YEAR ILLUSTRATIONS CLUB

The teacher was explaining to the class that even though mammals, like whales have very large bodies and stomachs they have little throats therefore making it impossible to swallow a human. Little Johnnie answered, "that's not correct because Jonah was swallowed by a whale."  The teacher answered, "that's just a fable and this scientific fact just proves it's a fable".  Little Johnnie answered, "it's not a fable, it's in the Bible therefore it's true, Jonah, was swallowed by a whale! "You can believe that if you want, but it's not true, it's just a fable like many other stories in the Bible", the teacher replied.  "I'll just have to ask Jonah when I get to Heaven if it's true then", Johnnie replied.  "What if Jonah went to Hell?" , the teacher asked.  "Then you ask him!," Johnnie replied

Ever heard of “Flagpole sitting”, of course you have! Well, at the height of his fame, in 1930, the greatest Flagpole-Sitter of all, “Shipwreck Kelly”, claimed he had spent a total of 20,613 hours in cloudland. History records that he sat perched atop flagpoles on tall buildings enduring 14,000 hours of rain and sleet, 210 hours in temperatures below freezing, 47 hours in snowstorms. How long did he do this for? Shipwreck Kelly climbed poles for more than 20 years!

It was not that King Henry VIII   had a change of conscience regarding publishing the Bible in English. His motives were more sinister… but the Lord sometimes uses the evil intentions of men to bring about His glory. King Henry VIII had in fact, requested that the Pope permit him to divorce his wife and marry his mistress. The Pope refused. King Henry responded by marrying his mistress anyway, (later having two of his many wives executed), and thumbing his nose at the Pope by renouncing Roman Catholicism, taking England out from under Rome’s religious control, and declaring himself as the reigning head of State to also be the new head of the Church. This new branch of the Christian Church, neither Roman Catholic nor truly Protestant, became known as the Anglican Church or the Church of England. King Henry acted essentially as its “Pope”. His first act was to further defy the wishes of  Rome  by funding the printing of the scriptures in English… the first legal English Bi...

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.  Gary Thomas,  Christian Times , October 3, 1994, p. 26.

In the Province of Quebec, Canada, they instituted “The Good Samaritan Law”.  The Law states that you will be charged with a felony, if a crime took place in front of you and you idly stood by and did nothing to prevent it. It’s the “Law” that punishes those who could have done something, but didn’t.  Say for example a woman on the subway is robbed of her purse or beat and it is proven you stood by and did nothing, you will be charged for doing nothing. The Law that punishes for doing nothing, interesting law! Many Christians spend a whole lot of time focusing on sins of “commission” but rarely give thought to sins of “omission”.  The idea here is that sin or wrong doing is not just about things we do that we shouldn't it’s about things we should have done, but didn't do and God says and now the Quebec Government says, “you’re guilty” either way.

Pastor Mitchell started noticing a phenomena happening around him and the fellowship. Men were beginning to take their shoes off when praying. Some thought it was in reference to the scripture where Moses, in God’s presence was told to “take off your sandals, this is Holy ground”.   Pastor Mitchell must have come to the revelation that when in God's presence (prayer) "take off your shoes".   Unbeknownst to many, the reason Pastor Mitchell took off his shoes, is because he often kneels when he prays and over repetition, it cause the point of the shoe to bend and then leaves a permanent crease in the shoe, ruining a good pair of shoes, thence, it might be best just to take them off.   Point being, w e can have some misconstrued ideas of what being a disciple is. Often doing what we’re doing not even knowing why; thinking that because we mimic the mentor, we are become like the mentor or have the character of that man.   While there is some outward manifestations of...

One night I had a wondrous dream, One set of footprints there was seen, The footprints of my precious Lord, But mine were not along the shore. But then some stranger prints appeared, And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?" Those prints are large and round and neat, "But Lord, they are too big for feet."   "My child," He said in somber tones, "For miles I carried you alone. I challenged you to walk in faith, But you refused and made me wait."   "You disobeyed, you would not grow, The walk of faith, you would not know, So I got tired, I got fed up, And there I dropped you on your butt." "Because in life, there comes a time, When one must fight, and one must climb, When one must rise and take a stand, Or leave their butt prints in the sand.

About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.        In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?      Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.        They had a vision to travel 300...

Back in 1931, Irving Thalberg of MGM decided he wanted to buy the film rights to Tarzan, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. So Thalberg sent Sam Marx to negotiate with Burroughs, telling Marx not to spend more than $100,000, an extraordinarily large sum in those days. Marx contacted Burroughs and asked how much he wanted for the film rights. "$100,000," said Burroughs. When Marx offered him $25,000, Burroughs walked out of the meeting. However, Marx and Burroughs continued to negotiate throughout the summer. Burroughs eventually settled for $40,000. After signing the contract, Burroughs admitted that he had wanted MGM and Thalberg to make the picture so badly, they could have had it for nothing if they had insisted. "Mr. Burroughs," replied Marx, "If you had held out, you would have gotten $100,000!"

Are you worried?   If you are, not to worry ( pun intended) you’re not alone! Two out of three Americans lose sleep at night thinking about their finances, according to a CreditCards.com survey released Thursday. Some 65% of those polled say they toss and turn in bed thanks to money worries. The most common concern was the cost of health care and insurance, which kept 38% of participants awake into the night. The recent political theater surrounding Obamacare and its potential Republican replacement seems to have played a large roll in shaping that unease, as only 29% reported being worried about health care a year ago. Anxiety over retirement came in a close second, with 37% of respondents fretting over their golden years. Educational expenses, which weighed most heavily on millennials for obvious reasons, kept 34% of respondents up, while worries about paying rent or making mortgage payments affected 26%.

Every evening, I turn my worries over to God. I figure He's going to be up all night anyway. Mary C. Crowley, Be Somebody.

For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared and worried constantly they would be robbed and they would find a burglar in their home. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he id find a burglar. "Good evening," said the man of the house.  "I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you!"

"When you have had a taste of excellence, you cannot go back to mediocrity" Maximillian Degenerez

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, arguable the most famous CEO that ever lived; was married 3 times and said, “in life there is a sacrifice for everything; you can have everything, but you can’t have it all at the same time. Be thankful for what you have because there is a price for everything you do and if you don’t pay for it via time and energy, your kids will. Question is, what are you sacrificing for your success?

"We don't want to be out of touch with the way society is going," says NBC's Angela Bromstad. "At the same time, you have to be careful what you put on air." Says  Doug Herzog , president of MTV Networks entertainment group: "The line moves every day, so you got to move with it. You can't put the genie back in the bottle."

When you go to a doctor for your annual check-up, he or she will often begin to poke, prod, and press various places, all the while asking, "Does this hurt? How about this?" If you cry out in pain, one of two things has happened. Either the doctor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity. Or, more likely, there's something wrong, and the doctor will say, "We'd better do some more tests. It's not supposed to hurt there!" So it is when pastors preach on financial responsibility, and certain members cry out in discomfort, criticizing the message and the messenger. Either the pastor has pushed too hard. Or perhaps there's something wrong. In that case, I say, "My friend, we're in need of the Great Physician because it's not supposed to hurt there." Ben Rogers.

When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once remarked to his mother, "Momma, you can't be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I've tried!"

LaPLACE ,  La.   A fight over church leadership and finances spilled out of the pulpit and on to YouTube in  LaPlace . The fight at the St. Michael Baptist Church was caught on camera and later uploaded to the Internet. "It's a disgrace. It's uncalled for," parishioner Vanessa Jones said. Members said the fight was the result of a dispute that started with questions about the church's finances. "I think they have a lot of preachers using the church for personal gain," parishioner Albert Robertson said. "We asked questions regarding finances and it was told to us that, 'If you don't like what I'm giving you, go back where you came from,'" parishioner Edna Robertson said. Jones said those that did raise questions were put out of the church. She said the decision affected 49 people. The distraught parishioner said her family helped found the church at its first location in  Kenner . "I know they are turned over in their g...

They say this is the busiest generation that ever lived. Today's average adult functions at the same pace of a corporate CEO of 20 years ago. We have schedules for schedules, the day is filled with multi-tasking and there is rarely any down time. And work is more stressful, more demanding than ever before. We are producing more productivity at work with less employees. Families are further apart yet we are still maintaining contact through added travel. Road trips are constant, sporting events never ending, games, fund raising and tournaments. Everything work, family and church event seems to be mandatory, pressure to attend the extravaganza, hyped up birthday parties for 5 year olds, never seems to end. Bar-mitzvah, kindergarten graduation parties, that seem like post graduate school celebrations. The pre-bridal shower to the real bridal shower to the wedding shower to the wedding practice to the wedding ceremony to the baby shower to the welcoming home shower. The staff parties ...

An expert is someone widely recognized as a  reliable  source. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive  knowledge  or  ability  based on research, experience, or occupation; and in a particular area of study. Experts are called in for advice on their respective subject, but they do not always agree on the particulars of a field of study. An expert can be believed, by virtue of  credential ,  training ,  education ,  profession ,  publication  or  experience , to have special knowledge of a subject beyond that of the average person. Experts have a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field. In specific fields, the definition of expert is well established by consensus and therefore it is not always necessary for individuals to have a professional or academic  qualification  for them to be accepted as an expert, but rather on many accounts, it is more...

One of Wycliffe’s followers, John Hus, actively promoted Wycliffe’s ideas: that people should be permitted to read the Bible in their own language, and they should oppose the tyranny of the Roman church that threatened anyone possessing a non-Latin Bible with execution. Hus was burned at the stake in~1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, “ in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed. ” Almost exactly 100 years later, in~1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention (a list of 95 issues of heretical theology and crimes of the Roman Catholic Church) into the church door at Wittenberg. The prophecy of Hus had come true! Martin Luther went on to be the first person to translate and publish the Bible in the commonly-spoken dialect of the German people; a translation more appealing than previous German Biblical translations. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that in th...

God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye.  C.S. Lewis, Studies in Theology

It was the first Sunday for the new preacher that had recently arrived at the eagerly awaiting church. The members greatly anticipated to hear the Preacher’s first sermon. After the service many of the parishioners came to the Preacher and commended him, “well done Pastor”, “excellent sermon”,  “wonderful message from the Lord Reverend”, said another. The following Sunday the new Preacher preached the same sermon and the congregation just smiled gracefully, “wonderful sermon Pastor, “wonderful Word of the Lord”. The third Sunday, the young Preacher preached the same sermon, but this time he received no comments. Being concerned and knowing the young preacher was young and inexperienced; a few concerned people in the church got together and gathered a few sermons together from some books and the internet. Embarrassed for the young and inexperienced Pastor they gently told him that they understood he probably did not have more than one sermon so they graciously presented him with a ...

After 13 hours of site visits and meetings in four different states, you think Thomas G. Stemberg would be peaked, indeed, the 54 year old founder of the Staples Office Supply Chain lets out a quiet grunt as he carries his suitcase up a flight of stairs to a Gaithersburg, MD. Hotel Suite, but tuckered out? Stemberg, his shirt half tucked in, is just getting started. He apologizes for his tardiness to two executives from “Olly Shoes”, a children’s shoe store chain Stemberg co-founded in 2001. Still Chairman of Staples, Stemberg cut his workweek there in half, to 50 hours, after finally anointing a Chief Executive in February 2002. But he’s still making good on his vow to visit every story around the world (1,200 down, 300 to go).  We can look at this man’s life and criticize him for giving his life and soul for Business and money, but one thing we cannot criticize Thomas Stemberg for is giving any less than 110% to what he believes in. Question is, what do you believe in and how mu...

On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. set out to win actress Jodie Foster's heart. As "the greatest love offering in the history of the world," the 25-year-old attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton hotel. The bullet malfunctioned and failed to explode on impact, seriously wounding but not killing Reagan.  The youngest of three children, Hinckley was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on May 29, 1955. The family moved several times, first to Texas, then to Colorado. Like Reagan's mother, Hinckley's mother also belonged to the Disciples of Christ; his father became a born-again Christian in 1977. A well-adjusted, privileged child, as a teenager Hinckley became withdrawn and obsessed with public figures, including John Lennon. In 1976 Hinckley left home for Hollywood, hoping to become a famous songwriter.  In Hollywood, Hinckley saw Martin Scorsese's film "Taxi Driver" at least 15 times. A confirmed loner, he apparently identified ...

When you go to a doctor for your annual check-up, he or she will often begin to poke, prod, and press various places, all the while asking, "Does this hurt? How about this?" If you cry out in pain, one of two things has happened. Either the doctor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity. Or, more likely, there's something wrong, and the doctor will say, "We'd better do some more tests. It's not supposed to hurt there!" So it is when pastors preach on financial responsibility, and certain members cry out in discomfort, criticizing the message and the messenger. Either the pastor has pushed too hard. Or perhaps there's something wrong. In that case, I say, "My friend, we're in need of the Great Physician because it's not supposed to hurt there." Ben Rogers.

     A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a besetting sin about which she was worried. When she saw him, she said, "Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control. Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation. None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?"      The pastor laughed out loud and said, "Mary, that's not a sin, why that's just a mistake, you're far from the prettiest woman, not even close, don't worry about it!"      Mary responded, "Pastor I have just become aware of a 2nd besetting sin which I cannot control." the Pastor asked, " oh yeah and what is that?" The young lady responded, "hatred, hatred for you" and stormed out of his office"

W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he'd promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, "I don't see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you'd have no problem tithing $4.00."

Someone has calculated how a typical lifespan of 70 years is spent. Here is the estimate: Sleep................23 years...........32.9% Work.................16 years...........22.8% TV....................8 years...........11.4% Eating................6 years............8.6% Travel................6 years............8.6% Leisure.............4.5 years............6.5% Illness...............4 years............5.7% Dressing..............2 years............2.8% Religion............0.5 years............0.7% Total................70 years............100% Eternity will be for a quadrillion years times a quadrillion years and somehow, the average American expects to make Heaven their eternal abode with a .7% investment while they were on earth. We are expecting to spend a quadrillion years in eternity for .5 years of our life invested in God's Kingdom on earth. Somehow, the math does not seem right. We spend more time dressing than in the things of God, but yet...

An interesting map is on display in the  British   Museum  in  London . It's an old mariner's chart,  drawn in 1525 , outlining the North American coastline and adjacent waters. The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored ( Mayflower landed in 1620 ) . He wrote: "Here be giants," "Here be fiery scorpions," and "Here be dragons." Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s. Scratching out the fearful inscriptions, he wrote these words across the map: "Here is God."