Thought For the Week

Dear Friends, It's been a while since I offered you some thoughts by one of my all-time favorites -- Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892). The pens of some writers put out a best-selling book and then fade. Others might put out two of three. Still others are popular for a time, but their writings lose relevance over time. Spurgeon is different. He offers us a seemingly endless source of timeless spiritual inspiration and encouragement even to this day. The following 25 quotes are simply a small sampling of the wise guidance he still has to offer. Enjoy.   "One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat, than try to get to heaven on good works." "With heights of joy in serving my Master I am very familiar. But into the very depths of despair -- such an inward sinking that I cannot describe -- I have likewise sunk. Yet I do know that my Redeemer lives, that the battle is sure, and that the victory is safe." "Whenever God means to make a ...

Greetings Friends, Today I offer you a blog post by Vaneetha Rendall Risner entitled, "Embrace the Life You Have." It's longer than most of my posts, but please don't let that deter you -- it is worth reading. It's about coming to grips with where we are in life as opposed to where we may have thought we would be when we dreamed of what out life would be like years ago. Most of you will be able to relate. Some will be helped immensely by it. So, despite our cultural desire to have an impactful message we can skim through in two or three small paragraphs, this one is a bit longer -- 8 to be precise. Good advice is like that. It often requires a bit more space. Give it a chance, you'll likely be glad you did! Enjoy. Embrace the Life You Have We are moving. Cleaning out boxes from the attic has left me more unsettled and emotional than I ever anticipated. As I open each crate, I vividly remember the way life used to be — the hobbies I us...

Dear Friends, As a pastor who has always had a burden for the persecuted church, I have made it my aim to try and keep up with persecution around the globe. In fact, the first Christian book I ever read after my conversion to Christ at 23 was Richard Wurmband’s autobiography “Tortured for Christ” which chronicles the 14 years of torture and abuse he suffered in a prison camp in Communist Romania because of his faith in Jesus. For me, it was a life-altering read and I have given away many copies in the 40 years since then. The iron curtain has long since collapsed, and the world scene has changed immensely, but one thing has not – the persecution of Christians around the globe. Actually, the sad news is that it has increased to the point that watch-dog groups recently declared that Christians are now the most persecuted group of people in the world. After his release in 1965, Wurmbrand started and organization called: The Voice of the Martyrs. Its aim is to...

Dear Friends, This morning I was cleaning some papers out of my Bible, and on one particular folded piece of scrap paper were some notes. Thoughts I had apparently once scribbled down as I was thinking of the word "legacy." I thought I would pass them on for you to consider as we all enter into this New Year (actually this new decade)! Enjoy. Leaving Behind A Legacy "Someone once asked a group I was in: "What would you hope someone would write about you on your tombstone? And what will you resolve to do (what will you choose to refrain from doing) so that it might be the words you would one day hope they would write?" We could ask the same in other ways. What might you hope people will say about you at your funeral? What will you leave behind when you are gone? Will the world be any better (your family, friends and acquaintances) for your having been a part of their lives? What "legacy...

Dear Friends, I guess that since it's New Years Eve I should start by wishing you a Happy New Year! In fact, since it is New Years Eve, I started out earlier looking for a prayer to send out that would express what I would want for us all this upcoming year. Unfortunately I could not find one that said exactly what I hoped it would say, so I ended up writing one myself. I know my thoughts are usually taken from the books of others, but this one is from me personally to you. It's my prayer for all of us in the upcoming year. May His blessings rest upon you. A New Year's Prayer Merciful God - Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - we pause on this last day of December to give you thanks for so graciously sustaining us through yet another year. Forgive us that like little children hoping to receive even more gifts, we are so prone at times like this to forget to simply offer you thanks for all the countless blessin...

Dear Friends, Advent greetings to you all! Today I offer you a "thought" that centers around one who was not welcomed. It parallels a distinct theme in the Christmas story which most all of you know well. Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem only to discover there was no room for them in the Inn. Later they had to flee for their lives, as refugees, to the land of Egypt. And it didn't end there. John recounts it as an ongoing theme of Jesus later ministry as well: 'Though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him..." (John 1:10-11). The following selection comes to you from Molly Hare, an associate campus outreach worker at Clemson University. She works with the CCO (The Coalition for Christian Outreach), a Christian ministry that reaches out on college campuses across the U.S. Matthew West, our pastor of outreach, is a CCO staff-person reaching out at the local Bucks Com...