Like Daddy

By Glenn Wagoner

I took my little laddie once,

And drew him to my knee,

And whispered to my little lad,

"Do you want to be like me?"

"Like Daddy," said my little lad,

"I'm gonna be like you."

I bowed my head in humbleness,

And suddenly I knew.

If my small boy would be like me,

There's one thing I must do,

The steps I take, the things I say

Had better all ring true.

As in the night I lay awake

While my wee lad slept on,

His words reechoed through my mind

Like some old haunting song.

"Like Daddy," that's the thought we need

To help to keep us straight,

Upon the way we fathers walk

Depends our children's fate.

Source:

Pulpit Helps, date unknown.

My Dad

He couldn't speak before a crowd;
   He couldn't teach a class;
But when he came to Sunday School
   Be brought the folks en masse.

He couldn't sing to save his life,
   In public couldn't pray;
But always his jalopy was just
   Crammed on each Lord's day.

And although he couldn't sing,
   Nor teach, nor lead in prayer,
He listened well, he had a smile,
   And he was always there.
With all the others whom he brought
   Who lived both far and near -
And God's work prospered, for
   I had a consecrated dad.

Source:
The weekly bulletin for the Park Avenue Church of Christ, Memphis, TN, June 21, 1987, p. 1.

Needed: Distance Runners

By Joe R. Barnett

    In 1951, Gil Dodds broke the record for the fastest mile ever run on an indoor track. Gil had some handicaps. For one thing, he couldn't develop that burst of sprint speed at the end of the race. He said, "In place of the sprint God gave me stamina." He had the capacity to run consistently from beginning to end.
    Run with perseverance!
    There's the need. Distance runners. Those who won't drop out. When their legs turn to jelly and they're gasping for breath they keep plugging.

Source:
The Holly Springs Herald, weekly bulletin of Fant Avenue Church of Christ in Holly Springs, MS, Jan. 28, 1987, p. 4.

Not Too Short

By David A. Sargent

    In 2008, a group of students from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, TN, traveled to the Dominican Republic for a Spring Break mission trip. The group conducted a Vacation Bible School program at a children’s home in Bobita.
    After their final day of work at the children’s home, team members spent some time relaxing at the beach.  Then tragedy struck … Shane Ruiz, 19, and two other students were walking along the beach in knee-deep water when they were hit by a large wave.  Shane was swept out into the ocean by a strong undertow. Team members and Dominicans on the beach spent the next three hours attempting to rescue Shane, but were unable to reach him. **
    Dr. Ralph Gilmore, Bible professor at F-HU, relayed these events to the chapel assembly at the Faulkner University Lectureship in Montgomery, AL.  With great emotion, he told how that as many desperately sought to save Shane, “their arms were just too short to save him.”  They could not reach him.
    Dr. Gilmore quoted Isaiah 59:1-2 – “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
    The reality is that because of our sins, WE are separated from God and lost.  The undertow of sin is too strong for us to save ourselves.  Even our friends and loved ones can’t save us.  Thus we are doomed.
    “But the arm of the Lord is not too short to save!”  God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to save us from our sins (John 3:16).  In order to save us, Jesus gave His life for us.  He died on the cross to rescue us from sin (Ephesians 1:7).  He was the only One who could save us, for He was and is the sinless Son of God!
    God WILL save those who will: place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4).
    That’s why.... Shane and his Christian co-workers were in the Dominican Republic during that Spring Break in 2008: to tell those who were lost in sin that God’s arm is not too short to save!
     That’s the Good News (the Gospel) for us, too!  No matter how deeply we have sunk into sin, God’s arm is not too short to save us.  We must simply reach out to His extended hand through our trusting obedience.
     Won’t YOU?

Source:
David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

Pig!

By Steve Higginbotham

    The story is told of a man who was returning home from work one day and as he neared his home, a neighbor lady approached him in an oncoming car, stretched her head out the driver’s window, looked him square in the eyes, and yelled, “pig!”  Taken back by this woman’s rude comment, and having a bad day, this man instinctively replied, but yelling back at her, “You old Heifer!”  Feeling a sense of satisfaction, he rounded the corner, and there in the middle of the road was standing a large pig.
    Rather than hurling an insult at him, this man’s neighbor was trying to warn him of impending danger.  But he was guilty of thinking the worse; speaking before thinking.  Consequently he found himself in a rather embarrassing position for which he later had to apologize.
    Friends, have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?  Have you ever incorrectly judged another person’s actions, words, or thoughts?  Each day we live, we ought to appreciate even more the inspired words of James who said, “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” (James 1:19).

Source:
Steve Higginbotham preaches for the Karns Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://www.karnschurch.org [Copyright © 2012, Steve Higginbotham.  Permission is granted to copy these articles.]

Remember the Scars

By Alan Smith

    John Gordon was a respected general for the South in the Civil War.  After the war, he was running for the United States Senate, but a man who had served under him in the war, angry over some political incident, was determined to see him defeated.  Everyone knew this man would fight Gordon's bid to become a senator.
    During the convention, he angrily stamped down the aisle with his anti-Gordon vote in hand.  As he saw Gordon sitting on the platform, he noticed how his once handsome face was disfigured with the scars of battle -- marks of his willingness to suffer and bleed for a cause he believed in.
    The old soldier was stricken with remorse.  Overcome with emotion, he exclaimed, "It's no use; I can't do it.  Here's my vote for John Gordon." Then, turning to the general, he said, "Forgive me, General.  I had forgotten the scars."
    What a difference it makes in our lives when we remember the scars!  With so many things to distract us, we don't often take time each day to reflect on what Jesus went through on the cross for us.  But, when we are tempted to stray, it is a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice that has the power to draw us back to him.
    "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
    May I encourage you this morning to take a moment to pause and "remember the scars".
    Have a great day!

- Alan Smith, author of the popular "Thought For Today," and minister for the Fayetteville Church of Christ in Fayetteville, NC, may be contacted at alansmith.servant@gmail.com

Thanks For What Is Of Greater Value

By Robert Boardman

    There is a story of a young man who proposed marriage to a young woman. He gave her an expensive, beautiful diamond ring enclosed in an attractive blue velvet box. The following day after their engagement, the young woman said, "How can I ever thank you enough for the beautiful blue velvet box? I love it and will always cherish it1" How do you think her beloved felt?
    A ludicrous story? Yet, except that it aptly illustrates the care and attention we humans give in this life to our body and physical well being - which is like the blue velvet box. We spend about ninety-nine percent of our resources and time on something that will return to dust. And we neglect the gift of the diamond, which is our living, eternal soul. We fail to thank God for such a priceless gift, purchased for us by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Source:
Pulpit Helps, date unknown.