WORK FOR GOD

7458 Sermon-Listening

Too many churchgoers tend to regard sermon-listening as an end in itself, says lay evangelist Howard E. Butt, Jr., so much so that sermon-listening may actually be one of America’s greatest sins.

At historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., Butt rebuked sermon-listening as an “escape.” “God wants transformation from listening into living,” he affirmed.

7459 Maybe Even A Barkeeper

Translating the Bible into new languages can mushroom and diversify. Wycliffe Bible Translators has now expanded to the point where it needs not only linguists but also doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, mechanics, printers, artists, accountants, radio technicians, agronomists, and a wide assortment of secretarial and administrative help.

“Virtually anyone but the barkeeper can be used,” says Wycliffe head Cameron Townsend. “And if he gets converted, we’d even like a second look at him.”

—Christianity Today

7460 Oklahoma Couple’s Ministry

The voices of many leading American preachers are being heard today in small towns and villages—thanks to the efforts of an Oklahoma City couple. Five years ago Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hoefle took up tape recordings as a hobby. Now they head a non-profit enterprise known as Spiritual Recordings Unlimited, which has sent 250 miles of tape-recorded sermons to every state and several foreign countries. They travel around the country recording addresses at conventions and other meetings. The Hoefles recently were appointed official recorders of International Christian Leadership.

7461 TV: “Bible For The Deaf”

One of the most unusual telecasts is “The Bible For the Deaf” in Columbia, South Carolina. It is a Bible lesson designed for those with hearing loss, and broadcasts for a half hour on Saturday. The program offers a complete church service with Bible readings, hymns, and a sermon. The cameras are not only on the minister and musicians; they also follow an expert who translates the service into sign language. The program has drawn much praise not only from the deaf but also from others who appreciate a ministry to a particular human need.

7462 Preacher Rubbing It In

The young preacher thrilled his congregation with his first sermon—a challenge to “gird their loins” for Christian service and living. Then, to their dismay, he preached the same sermon the following Sunday. When he confronted them with the same ringing message on the third Sunday, his flock felt something must be done.

“Don’t you have more than just one sermon?” blurted a spokesman to the pastor.

“Oh, yes,” he said quietly, “I have quite a number. But you haven’t done anything about the first one yet!”

7463 Time To Mop

Once the eminent philosopher John Dewey found his son in the bathroom. The floor was flooded. The professor began thinking, trying to understand the situation. After working a few minutes the son said, “Dad, this is not the time to philosophize. It is time to mop.”

7464 Lincoln To Borrow Army

At one time during the American Civil War, Gen. George B. McClellan, then in command of the Union forces, was conducting a waiting campaign. He was so careful to avoid mistakes that little headway was evident. President Lincoln thereupon wrote him a letter: “My dear McClellan: If you don’t want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for a while. Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.”

7465 What Have You Done Since?

In 1897 Dr. Grenfell was in Boston. Mr. Moody was holding meetings in Tremont Temple at the time. Dr. Grenfell sought him out at his hotel—the first time they had ever met—and told Mr. Moody he owed his conversion to him 14 years before.

“What have you been doing since?” was Mr. Moody’s immediate question.

—Current Anecdotes

7466 General Booth’s Zeal

A few years ago it was announced that General Booth, of the Salvation Army, was losing his sight, and that his days of usefulness were over. After many weeks’ seclusion this Christian hero of fourscore years appeared having had one eye removed and possessing only imperfect vision with the other. To an audience of over 4,000 in London, he spoke for an hour and a half. “I want to do more for humanity,” he said, “and I want to do a great deal more for Jesus. There are thousands of poor, wretched, suffering and sinning people crying out to us for help, and I want to do something for them.”

—The Congregationalist

7467 No Honor Before Action

General Ira C. Eaker, wartime chief of the Army Air Force Bomber Command in Europe, was given a dinner to honor him and his staff soon after their arrival in England. Chief speaker of the occasion was the mayor of the village where Eaker’s headquarters were located, who proceeded to speak at considerable length on the virtues of the Americans and the debt England owed them. Then he called on General Eaker for a few words.

Eaker arose, cleared his throat a couple of times in embarrassment, and said humbly: “Until we’ve done some fighting, I’m not going to do any talking. When we’re gone I hope you’ll be glad we came.” With that he sat down to thunderous applause that lasted for minutes on end!

—J. B. Dennis

7468 “Mad” Anthony Slams Door

Theodore Roosevelt called Anthony Wayne, Brigadier General at 34, “the greatest field general America ever produced.” Wayne was better known as “Mad Anthony.”

With the British encamped at Germantown, George Washington held one of his inevitable councils of war. Wayne was all for attacking without delay, but most of the other officers sat around the table offering innumerable excuses for holding back. When all the dissenting votes were in, Washington turned to Wayne, sitting quietly in a corner, reading a book. “What would you say, General?”

Wayne slammed the book shut, then rose slowly to his feet, glaring defiance at the group of distinguished officers, “I’d say nothing, Sir. I’d fight.”

—American Mercury

7469 Serving Two Husbands

Someone has illustrated love as the fulfilling of the law in this way: A woman was married to a man whom she did not love. He made her get up every morning at five o’clock, cook his breakfast, and serve it at six o’clock sharp. He made her wait on him, and was exacting in his demands on her time. Her life was made miserable trying to satisfy the requests of her husband. Finally he died.

After a few years she married again. This time she married a man whom she really loved. One day while clearing out some old papers, she came across the strict set of rules her former husband had written out for her to obey. Carefully she read them over. “Get up at five. Serve breakfast at six sharp.” On and on she read.

Then she stopped and thought, and realized that she was fulfilling every single one of his demands, but she had not realized it because this time she was doing it for love’s sake. So it is not difficult to serve the Lord Jesus when we really love Him.

—Sunday School Superintendent

7470 Faithful In Little Things

I remember hearing of a man’s dream in which he imagined that when he died he was taken by the angels to a beautiful temple. After admiring it for a time he discovered that one little stone was left out. He said to the angel, “What is this stone left out for?”

The angel replied, “That was left out for you; but you wanted to do great things, and so there was no room left for you.” He was startled and awoke, and resolved that he would become a worker for God, and that man always worked faithfully after that.

—Moody

7471 Deacon Was A Laborer

When Dr. John Watson was a child, he loved to see the procession of deacons at the administration of the Lord’s Supper, and one old man with very white hair and a meek, reverent face especially interested him. One day he was walking on the road and passed a man breaking stones. The white hair caught his attention, and he looked back and recognized the deacon who had carried the cup.

Full of curiosity and surprise, he told his father the strange tale. His father explained to him that the reason why the old man held so high a place in the church was that although he was one of the poorest men in all the town, he was one of the holiest. “James,” he said, “breaks stones for a living, but he knows more about God than any person I have ever met.”

—J. A. Clark

7472 Hebrew Tenses

In Hebrew, there are only two tenses—completed (perfect) or incompleted (imperfect). There are no such tenses as past, present, and future.

What is most important is if the thing is done—whether it was done yesterday, today, etc.

7473 Beginning That First Drop

Abraham Lincoln used to remark that he could get any number of men who are “willing to shed their last drop of blood.” but he found it difficult to get men to shed their first drop to make a beginning. Don’t talk about what you will do for Jesus by and by. Just begin now to love Him, serve Him, and follow where He may lead.

7474 Go On With Music

When Richter was conducting a rehearsal in Vienna of Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony, the composer happened to be sitting in the back of the hall, enraptured to hear his rarely played work. Suddenly the conductor came to a place in the manuscript score that was difficult to decipher but where the orchestra was working up to an impassioned climax.

Richter paused, turned to the composer and called out, “F or F sharp in that chord?”

Bruckner leaped to his feet, his face shining with excitement and pleasure, and cried, “Anything you like, Herr Kapellmeister, anything you like! But go on! Go on!”

7475 Soldiers Degraded To Citizens

Alexander, otherwise called Severus, degraded a legion of his army by depriving them of their arms and dismissing them from his service. One of the severest threats he could use towards them was, “I shall no longer style you soldiers, but citizens.” To be allowed to serve was looked upon as honour enough, to be dismissed from duty was counted as infamy.

—Walter Baxendale

7476 Fight, Not Criticize

During the war between Alexander the Great and Darius, King of Persia, a soldier in the army of the latter thought to ingratiate himself with Memnon, the Persian general, by uttering the fiercest invectives against Alexander. Memnon gently struck the fellow with the spear, and answered, “Friend, I pay you to fight against Alexander, not to revile him.”

7477 What Is Work

One can strain until one is exhausted at trying to lift a heavy trunk and still not receive credit for doing any work by scientific standards. On the other hand, if one lifts a feather one inch off the ground you have “worked.” Scientifically, “work” includes two factors—force and movement. It is measured in foot-pounds—lifting one pound one foot is the basic unit. Unless the trunk is moved, there is no work accomplished, regardless of the exertion involved.

7478 Needed: Third-Class Passengers

In the days of the stagecoach, a man undertook a journey. He was informed that there were first, second, and third-class passengers. However, all the seats on the coach looked alike to him, so he purchased a third-class ticket. All went well for a time and the man was congratulating himself upon having saved some money.

Presently they came to the foot of a very steep hill, when the driver stopped the horses and shouted. “First-class passengers, keep your seats, second class get out and walk, third-class get out and push behind. “

What we need in the Kingdom work is third-class passengers. Those who will push! Not first-class, who are contented to sit and look on while the others are working, not second-class passengers who are willing to walk away when real work comes; but third-class passengers who are willing to bear “the burden and heat of the day.”

7479 Edison Goes Through Storeroom

Once Thomas A. Edison was seeking a solvent for hard rubber. Other scientists were also engaged in the same effort. Whereas they were seeking the solution to their problem through theory and formula, Edison proceeded along a more direct route. He went to his impressive and remarkably complete storeroom of chemicals where he immersed a small fragment of hard rubber in a vial of each one of these many chemicals. The number was enormous but he stuck to it and eventually found his solvent.

7480 Epigram On Work for God

•     Work as if you were to live 100 years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.

—Benjamin Franklin

•     The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention!

—The Bible Friend