Make Up Your Mind<\/b><\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you. – E. Stanley Jones<\/p>\n
Preaching Resources, Spring 1996, p. 71.<\/p>\n
What Kind of Flower?<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of flower is that in your buttonhole?\u201d a fellow asked his friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy, that\u2019s a chrysanthemum,\u201d answered the friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like a rose to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you\u2019re wrong. It\u2019s a chrysanthemum,\u201d insisted the friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpell it,\u201d the fellow said.<\/p>\n
\u201cK-r-i-s-, no it\u2019s K-h-r-y-, no it must be C-r-i-s-…By golly, you\u2019re right. It is a rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Winston K. Pendleton, 2121 Funny Stories and How to Tell Them (Bethany)<\/p>\n
Handicaped Camper<\/b><\/p>\n
Sociology professor Anthony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened in a Christian junior high camp where he served. One of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object of heartless ridicule. When he would ask a question, the boys would deliberately answer in a halting, mimicking way. <\/p>\n
One night his cabin group chose him to lead the devotions before the entire camp. It was one more effort to have some \u201cfun\u201d at his expense. Unashamedly the spastic boy stood up, and in his strained, slurred manner\u2014each word coming with enormous effort\u2014he said simple, \u201cJesus loves me\u2014and I love Jesus!\u201d That was all. <\/p>\n
Conviction fell upon those junior-highers. Many began to cry. Revival gripped the camp. Years afterward, Campolo still meets men in the ministry who came to Christ because of that testimony. <\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, April 1, 1993<\/p>\n
Battle Is Your Calling<\/b><\/p>\n
When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith. – Abraham Kuyper<\/p>\n
Source Unknown<\/p>\n
Fiddler on the Roof<\/b><\/p>\n
Tevye, the Jewish dairy farmer in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, lives with his wife and five daughters in czarist Russia. Change is taking place all around him and the new patterns are nowhere more obvious to Tevye than in the relationship between the sexes. First, one of his daughters announces that she and a young tailor have pledged themselves to each other, even though Tevye had already promised her to the village butcher, a widower. Initially Tevye will not hear of his daughter\u2019s plans, but he finally has an argument with himself and decides to give in to the young lovers\u2019 wishes. A second daughter also chooses the man she wants to marry: an idealist revolutionary. Tevye is rather fond of him, and, after another argument with himself, he again concedes to the changing times.<\/p>\n
A while later, Tevye\u2019s third daughter wishes to marry. She has fallen in love with a young Gentile. This violates Tevye\u2019s deepest religious convictions: it is unthinkable that one of his daughters would marry outside the faith. Once again, he has an argument with himself. He knows that his daughter is deeply in love, and he does not want her to be unhappy. Still, he cannot deny his convictions. \u201cHow can I turn my back on my faith, my people?\u201d he asks himself. \u201cIf I try and bend that far, I\u2019ll break!\u201d Tevye pauses and begins a response: \u201cOn the other hand…\u201d He pauses again, and then he shouts: \u201cNo! There is no other hand!\u201d <\/p>\n
Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, pp.123\u2013124<\/p>\n
An Open Mind<\/b><\/p>\n
An open mind, in questions that are not ultimate, is useful. But an open mind about ultimate foundations either of Theoretical or Practical reason is idiocy. If a man\u2019s mind is open on these things, let his mouth at least be shut. <\/p>\n
C.S. Lewis, quoted in Credenda Agenda, Volume 4\/Number 5, p. 16<\/p>\n
Conviction versus Preference<\/b><\/p>\n
Difference between a conviction and a preference, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. A preference is a very strong belief, held with great strength. You can give your entire life in a full-time way to the service of the preference, and can also give your entire material wealth in the name of the belief. You can also energetically proselytize others to your preference. You can also want to teach this belief to your children, and the Supreme court may still rule that it is a preference. A preference is a strong belief, but a belief that you will change under the right circumstances. Circumstances such as: 1) peer pressure; if your beliefs are such that other people stand with you before you will stand, your beliefs are preferences, not convictions, 2) family pressure, 3) lawsuits, 4) jail, 5) threat of death; would you die for your beliefs? A conviction is a belief that you will not change. Why? A man believes that his God requires it of him. Preferences aren\u2019t protected by the constitution. Convictions are. A conviction is not something that you discover, it is something that you purpose in your heart (cf. Daniel 1, 2\u20133). Convictions on the inside will always show up on the outside, in a person\u2019s lifestyle. To violate a conviction would be a sin. <\/p>\n
David C. Gibbs, Jr. Christian Law Association, P.O. Box 30290, Cleveland, Ohio 44130<\/p>\n
High School Rap Session <\/b><\/p>\n
I was once conducting a rap session with high school teenagers. I told them that they could ask me any question on any subject, and I would try and answer it. Their questions were typical of ones I had received in similar sessions scores of times before. As the session drew to a close, one girl toward the back, who had not said anything, raised her hand. I nodded, and she said, \u201cThe Bible says God loves everybody. Then it says that God sends people to hell. How can a loving God do that?\u201d <\/p>\n
I gave her my answer, and she came back to me with arguments. I answered her arguments, and she answered my answers. The conversation quickly degenerated into an argument. I did not convince her, nor did she convince me. After a few more questions I dismissed the session. After the session I approached her and said, \u201cI owe you an apology. I really should not have allowed our discussion to become so argumentative.\u201d Then I asked, \u201cMay I share something with you?\u201d She said, \u201cYes.\u201d So I took her through a basic presentation of the gospel. When I got to Romans 3:23 and suggested that all of us were sinners she began to cry. It was then that this high school senior admitted she had been having an affair with a married man. The one thing she needed was forgiveness. When I finished the presentation of the gospel, she trusted Christ. The reason she did not believe in hell was because she was going there. In her heart she knew she had sinned. Her conscience condemned her, but rather than face the fact of her guilt, she simply denied any future judgment or future hell. <\/p>\n
Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, p. 163<\/p>\n
Macready the Actor<\/b><\/p>\n
There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: \u201cI wish you would explain to me something.\u201d \u201cWell, what is it? I don\u2019t know that I can explain anything to a preacher.\u201d \u201cWhat is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all.\u201d Macready\u2019s answer was this: \u201cThis is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.\u201d <\/p>\n
G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 36<\/p>\n
Courage of their Convictions<\/b><\/p>\n
I am tired of hearing about men with the \u201ccourage of their convictions.\u201d Nero and Caligula and Attila and Hitler had the courage of their convictions\u2014but not one had the courage to examine his convictions, or to change them, which is the true test of character. <\/p>\n
Sydney Harris in Bits and Pieces, Oct. 1991<\/p>\n
Misplaced Humility<\/b><\/p>\n
What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. <\/p>\n
G.K. Chesterton, in Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 65.<\/p>\n
Against All the World<\/b><\/p>\n
Athanasius, early bishop of Alexandria, stoutly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being. Hounded through five exiles, he was finally summoned before emperor Theodosius, who demanded he cease his opposition to Arius. The emperor reproved him and asked, \u201cDo you not realize that all the world is against you?\u201d Athanasius quickly answered, \u201cThen I am against all the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source Unknown<\/p>\n
An Open Mind is Nothing<\/b><\/p>\n
Merely having an open mind is nothing; the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid. – G.K. Chesterton<\/p>\n
Source Unknown<\/p>\n
Elijah Lovejoy (clergyman)<\/b><\/p>\n
That great American hero, editor, school teacher, and Presbyterian clergyman Elijah Lovejoy left the pulpit and returned to the press in order to be sure his words reached more people. The Civil War might have been averted and a peaceful emancipation of slaves achieved had there been more like him. After observing one lynching, Lovejoy was committed forever to fighting uncompromisingly the awful sin of slavery. Mob action was brought against him time after time; neither this nor many threats and attempts on his life deterred him. Repeated destruction of his presses did not stop him. \u201cIf by compromise is meant that I should cease from my duty, I cannot make it. I fear God more that I fear man. Crush me if you will, but I shall die at my post…\u201d And he did, four days later, at the hands of another mob. No one of the ruffians was prosecuted or indicted or punished in any way for this murder. (Some of Lovejoy\u2019s defenders were prosecuted! One of the mob assassins was later elected mayor of Alton!) However, note this: One young man was around who was deeply moved by the Lovejoy martyrdom. He had just been elected to the Illinois legislature. His name was Abraham Lincoln. <\/p>\n
Paul Simon, \u201cElijah Lovejoy,\u201d Presbyterian Life, 18:13 (November 1, 1965), quoted in K. Mennenger, Whatever Became of Sin, p. 210<\/p>\n
He Believes What He Preaches<\/b><\/p>\n
David Hume, 18th century British philosopher who rejected historic Christianity, once met a friend hurrying along a London street and asked where he was going. The friend said he was off to hear George Whitfield preach. \u201cBut surely you don\u2019t believe what Whitfield preaches do you?\u201d \u201cNo, I don\u2019t, but he does.\u201d <\/p>\n
J.R.W. Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 270<\/p>\n
Professional Golfer<\/b><\/p>\n
A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. After the round was over, one of the other pros on the tour asked, \u201cHey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham?\u201d The pro said with disgust, \u201cI don\u2019t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!\u201d With that he headed for the practice tee. His friend followed, and after the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, he asked, \u201cWas Billy a little rough on you out there?\u201d The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, \u201cNo, he didn\u2019t even mention religion.\u201d Astonishingly, Billy Graham had said nothing about God, Jesus, or religion, yet the pro stomped away after the game accusing Billy of trying to ram religion down his throat. <\/p>\n
R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Make Up Your Mind If you don\u2019t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you. – E. Stanley Jones Preaching Resources, Spring 1996, p. 71. What Kind of Flower? \u201cWhat kind of flower is that in your buttonhole?\u201d a fellow asked his friend. \u201cWhy, that\u2019s a chrysanthemum,\u201d answered the friend. \u201cIt looks like … Continue reading “Conviction”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}