Dr. Paul Chappell

We are to work while we wait for the rapture. A gardener for a large estate in northern Italy was conducting a visitor through the castle and the beautiful, well-groomed grounds. As the visitor had lunch with the gardener and his wife, he commended them for the beautiful way they were keeping the gardens. He asked, “By the way, when was the last time the owner was here?

“About ten years ago.” The gardener replied.

The visitor asked, “Then why do you keep the gardens in such an immaculate, lovely manner?”

Farmer Jack watched two men park their county truck on the side of the road. One man got out and dug a hole, then moved a few feet and dug another. The other man followed, filling in each hole.

The farmer called, “What’s going on with all the digging?”

“We work for the county,” one of the men said.

“I see that, but one of you is digging a hole and the other is filling it. You’re just wasting my tax money.”

When the Klingler’s were going on an extended vacation, they asked their nine-year-old neighbor, Mike, about taking care of the family dog. They explained that the job would require feeding, watering, grooming, walking, and spending plenty of time playing with the dog while giving her lots of love. After covering the job description, they asked what the job would be worth to him. The little boy replied, “I’ll give you ten bucks.”

Source: Unknown

A young man decided to take private boxing lessons. He found a boxing coach at a nearby gym who agreed to give him twenty-six weekly sessions. As part of his instruction, the young man was required to spar with other aspiring boxers at the gym.

After the first session, he was sore and swollen. He didn't realize that it would be this difficult. The battered youth had some questions for his coach.

“You say there are twenty-six lessons in this course?”

“That's right,” answered the teacher.

“And the rest of them are going to be like today?”

Express Personal Services, an employment company based in Oklahoma City, has provided temporary help for some rather unique jobs. They've placed workers to chase deer off an airport runway for $8 an hour, or pour thousands of cans of rancid beverage down a drain for $6 an hour.

Winston Churchill exemplified integrity and respect in the face of opposition. During his last year in office, he attended an official ceremony. Two gentlemen that were seated several rows behind him began whispering, “That's Winston Churchill. They say he is getting senile. They say he should step aside and leave the running of the nation to more dynamic and capable men.” When the ceremony was over, Churchill turned to the men and said, “Gentlemen, they also say he is deaf!”—Vital Speeches, Barbara Hatcher

Clark Clifford shares this reminiscence of his former boss, President Harry Truman: Every morning at 8:30 the president would have a staff meeting. One day the mail clerk brought in a lavender envelope with a regal wax seal and flowing purple ribbons. Upon opening it, the President found a letter from King Saud of Saudi Arabia, whose salutation began, “Your Magnificence, Your Magnificence,” Truman subsequently sent a message to the United Nations supporting the admission of 100,000 Jews into Palestine. Soon afterward he received a second letter from King Saud. This

In his old age, President James Madison suffered from many ailments and took a variety of medicines. It is said that a longtime friend from a nearby county sent him a box of vegetable pills, one of his own home remedies, asking to be informed if they brought relief. In time he received one of those gracious and carefully worded letters for which Madison was noted. It went something like this, “My dear friend, I thank you very much for the box of pills. I have taken them all, and while I cannot say I am better since taking them, it is quite possible that I might have

The Gospel of John introduces Jesus as the “Word.” In Stanislas Dehaene’s book about the human brain, Reading in the Brain, he notes that the average adult English reader has 50,000 or more words stored in their mental dictionaries. In a fraction of a second the brain matches the word being read with the memorized meaning of that word. The Apostle John wasn’t privy to Dehaene’s research, yet he still seemed to understand that though there are many words, there is only one Word that translates to eternal life.—Source, Houston Chronicle

A young father wanted to read a magazine but he was being bothered by his little daughter, Vanessa. Finally, he tore a page out of his magazine on which was printed a map of the world. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Vanessa, and said, “Go into the other room and put this back together for me.” After a few minutes, Vanessa returned and handed him the map correctly fitted together. The father was astonished and asked how she had finished so quickly. “Oh,” she said, “On the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus.

Medical authorities determine a person to be "alive" if there is either a detectable heartbeat or brain-wave activity. With that in mind, it is eye-opening for some to realize that unborn children have detectable heartbeats at eighteen days (two and one-half weeks) after conception and detectable brain-wave activity forty days (a little over five and one-half weeks) after conception. What is so shocking is that essentially 100% of all abortions occur after the seventh week of pregnancy.—Sanctity of Life, Word Publishers

Would you consider abortion in the following four situations ?

1. There's a preacher and wife who are very, very, poor. They already have fourteen kids. Now the wife finds out she's pregnant with the fifteenth. They're living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending she get an abortion?

A professor in a college ethics class presented a problem to his students. He said, "A man has syphilis and his wife tuberculosis. They have had four children: one has died, the other three have what is considered to be a terminal illness. The mother is pregnant. What do you recommend?" After spirited discussion, the majority of the class voted that the mother should abort the child.

"Fine," said the professor, "You've just killed Beethoven!"

Source: The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll

A worried woman sought the help of her gynecologist in securing an abortion. She explained that she was desperate because she already had a child that was not yet one. The doctor thought for a moment and then suggested what he believed to be a better alternative. He noted his plan would be healthier for her body and make her life less stressful. He then blurted out, “If we’re going to kill one child, let’s kill the baby you already have.

One out of every three babies conceived in America is aborted. There are 1.6 million abortions reported in this country every year, meaning that over 40 million abortions have taken place since abortion was legalized in 1973.

Source: Unknown

A torn and ragged one-dollar bill discovered that it was about to be retired from circulation. As it slowly moved along the conveyor belt to the shredder, it became acquainted and struck up a conversation with a fifty-dollar bill that was meeting the same fate.

The fifty began reminiscing about its travels all over the country. Life has been good," the fifty exclaimed. "Why, I've been to Las Vegas, the finest restaurants in New York, political fund raisers, and I just returned from a cruise on the Caribbean."

In Rebuilding Your Broken World, Gordon MacDonald suggests twenty-six questions to help develop accountability and invite feedback. If we desire to grow, we should submit our selves to a spiritual mentor and answer these questions honestly.

1. How is your relationship with God right now?

2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week?

3. What has God said to you in this reading?

4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days?

5. What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself?

A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:

1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
5. (Tie) Sexual lust
6. Envy
7. Gluttony
8. Lying

Source: Discipleship Journal

Worship has a positive impact on teenagers, according to a study that tries to determine religion's role in adolescents' lives.

A survey of thousands of 12th-graders nationwide has found that teens who attend worship and rate religion as important have positive self-images, are optimistic, and enjoy school.

Strawberries are my favorite fruit. I even love strawberry plants, for once they preached a powerful sermon to me which I've never forgotten. I was on my hands and knees in my garden pulling weeds, when suddenly I noticed something I had seen hundreds of times before but never caught the lesson. It was the "runners" on the berry plants. From the main vine a number of slender shoots extend like arms in all directions. They are thin, green stems creeping along the ground, being pushed out by that mysterious power in the mother plant.