Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Pride of Riches

The moth looks like such a harmless creature. In its pearly white color it hovers about without sound at twilight, or in our dark rooms and especially in our closets where our woolen clothes are kept. It is not impertinent like the robust flies of the summer. It does not have the sting of a mosquito. It does not sound in our ears the shrill notes of the cricket. It does not nibble and gnaw like the mouse and rat, nor, as roaches do, indecently overrun our food. It is most fair, silent, and apparently harmless. Yet every housewife springs after it with electric haste. It is a dreaded pest, not for what it is but for what it does. Once a garment is moth-eaten, it is almost impossible to repair it.

How true this is in the case of the proud rich.

Once one begins to suffer the sickness of pride of riches, the cure is very difficult. Let us beware, for, once the moths have done their work upon us, there is hardly any hope. Let us remember, also, that the moth does its work secretly, without our realizing it; so does the pride of riches. We may be proud of the things we wear and possess without ever realizing it. How stealthily the moths work; pride of the soul even more so.

Meaningless

In my early 20s I was introduced to Harold Hart, whose Wall Street investing had made him a millionaire. One evening I visited Mr. Hart to do a deal.

When I arrived I found him resting in his favorite chair, with servants waiting on him hand and foot. I sat there waiting as he stared blankly into space.

Finally he muttered, “You know, nature has played a great hoax on man. You work all your life, go through an endless number of struggles, play all the petty little games, and if you’re lucky you finally make it to the top. Well I made it a long time ago, and you know what? It doesn’t mean a thing. Nature’s made a fool of man and the biggest fool of all is me. Here I sit, in poor health, exhausted from years of playing the game, well aware that time is running out, and I keep asking myself, ‘Now what, genius? What’s your next brilliant move going to be?’ All that time I spent worrying, maneuvering—it was meaningless. Life is nothing but a big hoax. We think we’re so important, but the truth is, we’re nothing.”

—Robert Ringer, Looking Out for 1 (Fawcett, 1985), quoted in Men of Integrity, Vol. 4, no. 3.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - October 23 2007

By the time most people have made up their mind, opportunity passed them by.

A wise man makes more opportunities than he finds.

When opportunities knock, you have to get up and answer the door.

No one knows what he can do until he tries.

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seed of today.

Buy the Book of Zingers by Croft Pentz Here

Thursday, October 18, 2007

THE DEACON AND THE DRIFTER

THE DEACON AND THE DRIFTER

There was a bare-footed big-city drifter named George. He had wild hair and was wearing tattered pants and an over-sized, food-stained t-shirt ...

One Sunday morning, as he ambled past a big, beautiful Church in the heart of the city, he decided to go in. The Church was full, and the sermon was about to begin.

George found no seat, and no one moved to try to make room for him. And so, having walked all the way to the front without finding a seat, he squatted down on the floor, in front of the pulpit. The people were incredulous, but did nothing. Then, the preacher noticed the Churchs elderly Deacon slowly making his way down the aisle toward George. There was a certain elegance about the well-dressed Deacon and, even though he was walking with a cane, he had a confident, authoritative air about him.

Everyone was saying to themselves, more or less, You cant blame that elderly model of correctness for what hes going to do, or say, to that impudent, irreverent young man!

It took a while for the old Deacon to reach the young man, and the Church was in breathless silence other than the click of the old mans cane. The Deacon arrived at Georges spot and dropped his cane to the floor. Then, with great difficulty, he lowered himself to sit on the floor next to George, guaranteeing that for the rest of the service George would not sit alone.

Everyone was choked up with emotion. And when the preacher finally gained control, he said, What Im about to preach you may never remember. But what you have just seen, you will never forget.

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Peter Goulding, in his book, The Young Minister, weaves into the pages of his plot a hermit who, on the outside, seems to have rejected society. As the story unfolds it can be seen that though he rejects society and the family of humanity, he is very dependent upon it. At one point, his large library is mentioned with no thought for the fact that without his fellow human beings this library would not have been a possibility. There was an implied dependence without even thinking about it. The hermit's very existence is dependent upon the society which he chooses to reject.

--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 125.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - October 18 2007

Repentance means not only a heart broken for sin but from sin.

Many people in mending their ways use very thin threads.

Repentance is not only saying, “I’m sorry.” It is also saying, “I’m through.”

Some so-called penitential crying is only hypocritical lying.

Buy the Book of Zingers by Croft Pentz Here

Monday, October 15, 2007

Power of Temptation

The tuna were running for the first time in 47 years, only 30 miles off Cape Cod. And they were biting! Last fall all you needed to catch one was a sharp hook and some bait. And the rewards for doing so were substantial. Rumor had it that Japanese buyers would pay $50,000 for a nice bluefin!

That's why many would-be fishermen ignored Coast Guard warnings and headed out to sea in small boats. But what these new fishermen didn't realize was the problem is not catching a tuna—the problem comes after they're caught.

On September 23, the Christi Anne, a 19-foot boat, capsized while doing battle with a tuna. That same day the 27-foot boat Basic Instinct suffered the same fate, while Official Business, a 28-footer, was swamped after it hooked onto a 600-pound tuna. The tuna pulled it under water.

These fishermen underestimated the power of the fish they were trying to catch. That is what temptation does to us. It takes us by surprise. It looks manageable on the surface. Only after we hook into it do we discover its strength.

—Edwards, Kent. Taken from Boston Globe, (10/2/99), quoted in Leadership Journal, “To Illustrate Plus,” Spring 2000, Vol. 21, No. 2, p. 69.

See: Proverbs 14:12; James 1:13-15; 2 Peter 3:8-15

Keep Temptation Out of Your Freezer

I love butter pecan ice cream. I had to tell my wife, “Don’t buy any more butter pecan ice cream, because if you bring it home I’m going to eat it.” I’m not going to let butter pecan ice cream go bad in my freezer. I’m going to eat it. I know. So if I know that’s my weakness, I don’t buy it. You can buy Rocky Road. I won’t eat that. But don’t buy what I like, put it in the freezer, and expect me not to eat it.

If you make sin available and it’s the sin you enjoy, you’re going to be in trouble. We get into trouble because we go places we have no business going. The Holy Spirit warns us. He tries to keep us out of trouble, but we go anyway.

—D.Z. Cofield, “How to Triumph over Temptations,” Preaching Today, Tape 181.

See: Deuteronomy 7:25; Proverbs 4:14; 1 Corinthians 8:9-13; Ephesians 4:27-32.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - October 15 2007

If God bolts the door, do not climb through the window.

No one can be caught in places he does not visit.

You are not tempted because you are evil; you are tempted because you are human.

When you meet temptation, turn to the right.

Buy the Book of Zingers by Croft Pentz Here

Thursday, October 11, 2007

The Sleeping Organist

Hannah, country church organist for many years, had taken to falling asleep during the sermon. As she was loved by all, this fault was easily overlooked. Besides, the position of the organ at the east end of the platform kept her pretty much away from the congregation’s normal line of vision.

One Sunday as the sermon was building to a climax, the minister swung his arm forcefully and cried: “Look to the East!” The congregation, following his gesture, gasped and then chuckled softly. There sat Hannah, head back and mouth open, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. The minister regained his composure and concluded his message with equal poise. Hannah awoke at her usual time and played the closing hymn, forever unaware of what had happened.

—Albert Savignana, Jr. Edwardsville, PA. Christian Reader, “Lite Fare.”

Reading the humorous story above reminds of a very funny video clip from the Mr. Bean series on his trip to church. I recommend you do not "try this at church", especially during Pastors Appreciation Month. Check it out below:


Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Shake It Off and Step Up

The parable is told of an old dog that fell into a farmer’s well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.

When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical. But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on the dog that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. This he did blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed, the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! It was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him—all because of the way he handled his adversity.

If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us! Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the biblical ways to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves.

—Bruce Shelley, from “To Illustrate Plus,” Leadership, Vol 20, No. 4.

See: Psalms 85:6; Philippians 4:4; James 1:2-4

Confidence in a Crisis

Green Bay Packers’ head coach Mike Holmgren looks back at a heartbreaking moment, when he was cut from the New York Jets as backup quarterback to Joe Namath, that directed him to a bigger plan.

“I had committed my life to Jesus Christ when I was 11, but in my pursuit to make a name for myself in football, I left God next to my dust-covered Bible. But after getting cut from the Jets, I pulled out my Bible and found comfort in a verse I had memorized in Sunday school: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths’ (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“I asked Jesus Christ to take control again. My priorities in life are faith, family, and football—in that order.”

—Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 2.

See: Psalms 31:10: Isaiah 26:3-4: Daniel 6:1-23.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - October 10, 2007

You will never offend a person by returning a smile.

I would sooner wear a phony smile than a sincere frown.

Blessed is the man who can laugh at himself because he'll never cease to be amused.

No smile is as beautiful as the one that struggles through tears.

A cheerful countenance has a lot of face value.

Buy the Book of Zingers by Croft Pentz Here

Friday, October 5, 2007

Spiritual Sight

The hymnwriter Fanny Crosby gave us more than 6,000 gospel songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of six weeks, she never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, “I think it is great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!”


One of Miss Crosby’s hymns was so personal that for years she kept it to herself. Kenneth Osbeck, author of several books on hymnology, says its revelation to the public came about this way: “One day at a Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, Miss Crosby was asked by D. L. Moody to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated, then quietly rose and said, ‘There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul’s poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.’ She then recited while many wept, ‘Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story—saved by grace!’” At the age of 95, Fanny Crosby passed into glory and saw the face of Jesus.


That’s the sure hope of every child of God!

A Choice Each Day

Charles Swindoll said: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.”

Insight For Living - Chuck Swindoll

Zingers by Croft Pentz - October 5 2007

You should not only smile from "ear to ear" but from "year to year."

A smile adds face value.

Never be afraid to be gracious--look what a little polish can do for scuffed shoes.

A smile is a curve that can set a lot of things straight.

A smile is a very inexpensive way to improve your looks.

Buy the Book by Croft Pentz Here