These are quotes which stood out to me, possibly for use in a sermon someday. Their presence here does not mean I agree with them, it merely shows that I might want to reference them later. The default view is five random selections. Use the tag list on the right to view all quotes relevant to that theme.
It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the problem.
Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
A few years ago, it was my privilege to speak on the campus
of Toccoa Falls Bible College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
My host led me along a lovely walkway to the famed
Toccoa Falls, some 186 feet of plunging water. Beautiful...
And, on one night, deadly! Early in the morning of November
6, 1977, a dam just above the falls suddenly ruptured and
in a little over 15 minutes an entire 40-acre lake poured over
the falls at speeds up to 150 miles per hour, flooding the
canyon below.
It wiped out a college dorm, a trailer park for married
students and several college personnel residences. 39
students, children and college leaders drowned in those
awful moments.
The tragic story became headline news across the nation.
Our president at that time was Carter, whose wife rushed
to the campus to help. TV kept a constant watch on the
story. A visiting reporter asked Professor Gerald McGraw
how he could ever vindicate God in the eyes of his students
after such a disaster.
The lanky McGraw replied quietly, "The question has never
come up."
At the memorial service, Dr. Ken Opperman, then president
of the college, preached from Colossians 1:27, "Christ in
you, the hope of Glory. He concluded, "For a Christian, the
most important thing is a relationship with Christ, so that
whether we live or die, we glorify Christ."
Then the huge crowd stood to sing at the conclusion.
"Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed; finding
as He promised, perfect peace and rest."
Paul wrote to Titus that Christians are peculiar people.
Peculiar how? In the way we respond to outside stimuli. In
the way we react to tragedy. In the way we deal with
disaster and death. For us, to live is Christ Jesus! He is our
constant hope.
Imagine standing out in the freezing cold for months on end, neither eating nor drinking, all for the sake of protecting your child. You are surrounded by other fathers in the same situation, with little room to even move. But move you do--in the most democratic fashion. Emperor Penguins--at 70 pounds, the largest of 18 species--are one of the most attentive fathers in the animal kingdom. Their involvement in the parenting process is one of total commitment.
Each winter, these penguins gather in huge colonies on the pack ice of the Antarctic seas. After pairing, the female deposits a single egg and immediately returns to sea, where she can eat to replenish her energy. Meanwhile, her partner incubates the egg on his feet, where it is protected by a flap of skin and feathers. For the next 64 days he braves--in total darkness--one of the coldest periods of the year in one of the coldest climates of the world, where temperatures can plunge to -80° F. And all the while he fasts.
To help cope with the cold, thousands of these birds move in close to each other, forming a large circle. Since the center of the group is much warmer, you would think that every penguin would fight to be there. But emperor etiquette dictates that no penguin advance himself at the expense of another.
What looks like a stationary group is actually a slowly revolving spiral. This constant shifting formation allows each father--all the while protecting that single precious egg--some time in the cozy center, as well as at the frigid edge. By the time the chick hatches the seasonal ice has broken up, and the mother soon relieves her partner. Once he is fed and rested, the father rejoins his partner in caring for their newborn.
In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi,
junior, what are you up to?"
"I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the
rabbit.
"Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!"
"Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the
rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied
expression on his face.
Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?"
"I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits
devour wolves."
"Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?"
"Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes
out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw.
Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody
should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting
next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox.
The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important --
it's your PhD advisor that really counts.