Illustrations

“The Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure which cost an immense amount of money and labor. When it was finished, it appeared impregnable. But the enemy breached it. Not by breaking it down or going around it. They did it by bribing the gatekeepers.”—Harry Emerson Fosdick

Source: The Minister's Manual, 2008 edition, Lee McGlone

While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, the police officer was interrupted by a little girl. She asked if he was a policeman, and he nodded while continuing with his report. She then explained how her mother told her that if she ever needed help she should ask a policeman. She asked, “Is that right?”  The officer replied, “Yes, that's right.” The kindergartener then pointed at her shoe and tenderly asked, “Would you please tie my shoe?”

Source: In Other Words

“Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills.”—John Brown

Some Christians are like:

1. Wheelbarrows–must be pushed
2. Canoes–need paddling
3. Kites–must be kept on a string
4. Footballs–can’t tell where they will bounce next
5. Balloons–full of wind ready to blow up
6. Trailers–must be pulled
7. Lights–go on and off
8. Kittens–content when petted

But some are like the North Star—there when you need them, dependable, and loyal.

Source: Unknown

During a recent visit to Israel, my attention was drawn to a dirt lot, somewhere in the middle of the Judean region. The lot was filled with what looked like rough pieces of wood lying in disorganized piles. I assumed that they were lumberyard rejects, and inquired of their purpose. Our guide explained that they were actually olive trees. To my amazement, he began to explain that these stumps would be planted and watered. Soon this abandoned field would be a beautiful grove of olive trees. He shared with us how durable the olive tree is and how it is used in these three ways:

In the 1880s a young man who was an earnest Christian found employment in a pawnshop. Although he disliked the work, he did it faithfully as unto the Lord until a more desirable opportunity opened for him. To prepare himself for a life of Christian service, he wrote on a scrap of paper the following resolutions: “I do promise God that I will rise early every morning to have a few minutes—not less than five—in private prayer.

A door-to-door salesman from a publishing house asked a lady if she owned a copy of the Bible. "I certainly do!" she replied with some pride. To his next question, did she read it regularly, she responded, "Oh, yes!" and sent her little daughter to get the Bible from the table drawer. As she showed it to the salesman, her spectacles fell from between the pages. Without thinking, she exclaimed, "Oh, here are my glasses! I've been looking for these for 3 years!"

Source: Unknown

In 1973, a horse named Secretariat became a legend in his time. Not only did Secretariat win the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, but he did it with an unprecedented performance. At the Belmont Stakes, he not only won the race by 31 lengths, but he set new records along the way as he went faster with each phase of the run. For one-and-one-half miles, that famous thoroughbred ran faster every second. Secretariat was accelerating at such an incredible pace that his trainer noted if the race had been extended another lap, his heart would have literally exploded.

The two most intellectually astute years for children are age four and age seventeen. At four they know all of the questions, and at seventeen they know all of the answers.

Source: Pulpit Helps, June, 2008

Monarch butterflies are a celebrated species that automatically capture attention with their brilliant beauty. Each fall, these butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to Angangueo, Mexico. Amazingly, they all congregate at the top of the same mountain each year with phenomenal punctuality around the first of November. They are so dense that you can actually hear the noise of their wings flapping when they take off to fly, and the trees literally bend from their cumulative weight.