The late Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, was visiting Taiwan on one of his overseas trips. During the visit he hiked with a Taiwanese pastor back into one of the mountain villages to meet with some of the national Christians. The roads and trails were wet, and their shoes became very muddy. Later, someone asked this Taiwanese pastor what he remembered most about Dawson Trotman. Without hesitation the man replied, “He cleaned my shoes.”
Dr. Paul Chappell
The Gospel of John introduces Jesus as “the Word.” In Stanislas Dehaene’s book about the human brain, Reading In The Brain, he notes that the average English adult reader has 50,000 or more words stored in his mental dictionary. In a fraction of a second the brain matches the word being read with the memorized meaning of that word. The Apostle wasn’t privy to Dehaene’s research, yet he still seemed to understand that though there are many words, there is only one Word that translates to eternal life.
Source: In Other Words
The National Sleep Foundation says that about 70 million Americans operate on inadequate sleep at any given time. This fatigue results in a tremendous loss of productivity both on the job and at home. The average worker spends more than an hour per day doing nothing for their employer and costing American businesses over $4 billion a day.
Source: In Other Words
Your work is an expression of the image of God in you, and it's worth thinking about how your work reflects His character. Work as simple as cleaning out a closet reflects the God who makes order out of chaos. Holding a stop sign for children to cross the road creates an environment of safety that reflects the God who protects. The person who flips burgers is providing food, which is something that God does. A father or mother who nurtures a child reflects the love, patience, and perseverance of God.
On May, 19th, 1780, in Hartford, Connecticut. The sky went from blue to gray at noon. Shortly thereafter the sky was so dark that men believed the end of the universe had come and fell to their knees begging for a final blessing. The House of Representatives was meeting, and many representatives asked for the meeting to be adjourned immediately. The Speaker of the House, Colonel Davenport, rose to his feet and silenced the men with these words, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment.
The sign in the store window read: NO HELP WANTED. As two men passed by, one said to the other, “You should apply—you'd be great.” Or maybe you heard about the guy who said, “I never like to drink coffee on the job because then I toss and turn at my desk all day.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
A young man who had been hired by the personnel department of a large supermarket chain reported to work at one of the stores. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, handed him a broom and said, “Your first job will be to sweep out the store.”
“But,” the young man said, “I’m a college graduate.”
“I’m sorry,” the manager said, “I didn’t know that. Here, give me the broom and I’ll show you how.”
Source: Unknown
Stephen Barnes was a proponent of conventional leadership thinking that challenges people to make mistakes as they stretch themselves to improve. Apparently Stephen's boss didn't share his views. The CEO stepped into Stephen's office and bluntly said, “It's all right to be wrong, Barnes, just as long as you don't do it on company time.”
Source: In Other Words
Adam’s wife was quite a talker and seldom stayed on the phone for less than an hour. One day he was surprised when he heard her hang up after just twenty-five minutes so he went into see if there was problem. When he expressed concern, Irene cheerfully explained, “Oh, no, everything is fine. I just dialed the wrong number.”
Source: Houston Chronicle
A sign in a bank lobby reads: “Please note that this bank is installing new drive-through teller machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles. Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts. After months of careful research, male and female procedures have been developed. Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender.”
In 2004, Dove commissioned a study that interviewed women around the globe asking them what they thought about beauty. Only 2% of the women described themselves as beautiful. A companion article quoted Angelina Jolie as saying, “I struggle with low-self esteem all the time. I think everyone does. I have so much wrong with me, it's unbelievable.”
Source: In Other Words
Justin the Martyr was executed for his faith around A.D. 165. His writings and leadership helped shape and influence countless believers. He has given the oldest non-biblical description of Christian worship we have. He wrote, “On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits.
Debbie's family means everything to her. Her son and cute little daughter play sports, take music lessons, and attend a private school. Debbie spends every waking moment of every day caring for her kids. Often she goes through an entire day without having time for her husband which makes him fell neglected. If he feels neglected how does God feel? She lives through her children; they are like false gods in her life.
Source: Unknown
Janice is very proud of her home. She spends hours each day cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting. It makes her feel good when visitors comment what a beautiful home she has. But her children resent her compulsive cleanliness. They never invite their friends to come over because Janice is so paranoid about messing up the carpet. Janice has distorted the home that God has provided as a place of shelter and comfort, and has made it a shrine unto itself. She spends far more time working on her home than she does on Bible study, prayer, etc.
Source: Unknown
A truck driver stopped at a truck stop and ordered a cheeseburger. As he was ready to eat, a motorcycle gang pulled up. One of the gang members insulted him and ate his cheeseburger. The truck driver walked out out of the truck stop. A gang member said to the waitress, “He's not much of a man, is he?” She said, “He's not much of a driver either. He just backed his 18 wheeler over 6 motorcycles.”
Source: Unknown
A Sunday school teacher was telling the story of the rich man and Lazarus. She said that Lazarus sat outside the rich man's gate covered with sores and begging for food. And that the rich man passed Lazarus without even seeing him. But when they both died Lazarus went to Heaven, while the rich man found himself in hell, which the teacher described most graphically. When she had finished, she asked the children, “Now which would you rather be—the rich man or Lazarus?” One little fellow answered, “I would like to be the rich man until I die and then Lazarus afterwards.”
“Murmuring is an outward manifestation of an inward lawlessness and rebellion against a holy God.”—Unknown