?In the comic, “Motley’s Crew” a young man tells his father, “Hey Dad, I just signed up to audit a class in philosophy over at
the college.”
The father replies, “Whaddaya mean ‘audit’?”
The son replies “When you audit, you get to hang around, but you can’t participate and you don’t get any credit.”
After a moment or two, the father said, “So that’s what’s happening to me…I’m auditing life.”
Funny, but the truth is that no one gets to just audit life.


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During World War II one of the churches that was destroyed was St. Mark’s in Frankfort, Germany. When the roof collapsed a statue of Christ was buried in the ruins. After the war, people were cleaning up the site and discovered the statue of Christ. The problem was the hands had been broken off and were destroyed. The leaders of the church determined that they would place the statue in a prominent location without the hands. The reason was that it would be a stark reminder that we are the hands of Christ in this world.


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No Vacancy Here!

When the slow-moving clerk in a small store was not around one morning a customer asked the owner’s young son, “Where’s Eddie? Is he sick?” Nope, he ain’t workin’ here no more,” was the reply. “Do you have anyone in mind for the vacancy?” inquired the customer. “Nope! Eddie didn’t leave no vacancy!” We smile, but the statement which characterized Eddie applies equally to many in the church today. In serving Christ they are so weak and colorless that if they left the community their absence would scarcely be noticed.


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It was Dwight Moody who said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, by the grace of God, I will do.” With that simple commitment, God used him to bring revival to England and America.


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David Jeremiah points out that, “The Dead Sea is so salty it contains no fish or plant life. Why? There are absolutely no outlets! A great volume of water pours into it, but nothing flows out. Many inlets plus no outlets equals a dead sea.

“This law of nature may also be applied to the child of God. If others meet your needs, but you do not meet theirs, you do not have an outlet. This explains why many believers are so unfruitful and lacking in spiritual vitality. It’s possible for some people to attend Bible conferences, listen to religious broadcasts, study the Scriptures, and continually take in the Word as it is preached, and yet seem lifeless and unproductive in their Christian lives. They have several inlets but no outlets, like the Dead Sea. To be vibrant and useful believers, we must “give out” in service to others! Galatians 5:13-14 says, “Through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.

“Pray that Jesus will allow you the great joy and privilege of providing a steady stream of living water to those that you come in contact with every day.” (Turning Point DailyDevotional, 8/5/03)


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“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found a way to serve.”

Albert Schweitzer

 


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An eleventh century German king, Henry III, grew tired of ruling. He applied to a monastery to spend the rest of his life in quiet contemplation. The prior asked if he, a king, could live out a vow of complete obedience. “I will,” said the king. “Then you are accepted. Your first duty is to return to your throne and serve faithfully where God has placed you.”

(Turning Point Daily Devotional, 10/22/03)

 


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A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office. After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, “Your husband is suffering from a major disease, complicated by great stress. If you don’t do the following your husband will surely die.

“Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, and make sure he is in a good mood. For lunch, make him a nutritious meal. For dinner, prepare an especially nice meal for him. Don’t burden him with chores, as he probably had a hard day. Don’t discuss your problems with him. It will only make his stress worse. Try to satisfy his every whim. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely.”

On the way home, the husband asked his wife, “What did the doctor say?”

She replied, “He says you’re going to die.”


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A well-dressed European woman was on safari in Africa. The group stopped briefly at a hospital for lepers. The heat was intense, the flies buzzing. She noticed a nurse bending down in the dirt, tending to the pus-filled sores of a leper.

With disdain the woman remarked, “Why, I wouldn’t do that for all the money in the world!”

The nurse quietly replied, “Neither would I.”

(Donald L. Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations)


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Years ago when the Salvation Army celebrated its 100th anniversary, their
journal, The War Cry, wrote of the founding of the organization and its
founder, General William Booth. This significant sentence described him:
“William Booth, a king among men, so long as men count service a badge of royalty.” Certainly Jesus counted service a badge of royalty.
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,” He
said (Matthew 20:26).


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Phil J. Quigley is the chairman and CEO of a very large corporation, Pacific
Telesis. But you will often find him in California classrooms. His company has
spent 100 million dollars to wire California classrooms to the information
superhighway. He goes to the schools talks not just with administrators and
teacher, but with students in the fourth and fifth grades. He has personally
helped to wire the schools so they can be on the Internet. Quigley has not
forgotten his truck driver father who encouraged him get a good education. He
remembers working as a janitor to work his way through university. He sees that
one should invest more than money in helping others. One should invest oneself.


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If you are in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, a little
after seven o’clock in the morning, you will see a 75-year-old man with a
plastic grocery bag. If you follow him for his two-mile walk you will see him
picking up the trash the people have littered the streets with the night
before. You will find it hard to believe that the volunteer litter gatherer is
one of the most widely read columnists in America, James J. Kilpatrick. His
column is in scores of newspapers. He is considered an authority on the English
language. He is financially secure. But he does not think it beneath him to
clean up the streets of his beloved city. How often people of lesser stature
will not bend down to do the work that needs to be done.


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