Another Moody story:
“I was once preaching in Chicago, and a woman who was nearly out of her mind came to me. You know there are some people who mock at religious meetings, and say that religion drives people mad. It is sin that drives people mad. It is the want of Christ that sinks people into despair.
This was the woman’s story:
She had a family of children. One of her neighbors had died, and her husband had brought home a little child. She said, “I don’t want the child,” but her husband said, “You must take it and look after it.” She said she had enough to do with her own, and she told her husband to take that child away. But he would not. She confessed that she tried to starve the child, but it lingered on. One night it cried all night; I suppose it wanted food. At last she took the clothes and threw them over the child and smothered it. No one saw her; no one knew anything about it. The child was buried. Years had passed away, and she said:
“I hear the voice of that child day and night. It has driven me nearly mad.”
No one saw the act; but God saw it, and this retribution followed it. History is full of these things.”
Guilt will destroy us. Take your guilt to the cross and find God’s peace.
Tags: guilt, madness, Moody, murder
Dwight L. Moody also told this interesting story:
“I heard of a boy who stole a cannon-ball from a navy-yard. He watched his opportunity, sneaked into the yard, and secured it. But when he had it, he hardly knew what to do with it. It was heavy, and too large to conceal in his pocket, so he had to put it under his hat. When he got home with it, he dared not show it to his parents, because it would have led at once to his detection. He said in later years it was the last thing he ever stole.”
When I was a boy, some friends of mine talked me into joining them in breaking into a house. We obtained a hammer, screwdriver and crowbar and walked across the street and around behind the house, trying to gain access through a back window. The house was empty, so there was nothing to steal. It was broad daylight and my friend’s father saw us going across the street, so he followed us.
He grounded his son and sent our other friend and I home. I was the oldest of the three, so he assumed I was the instigator. I was forbidden to play with my friend or visit in his home. Although that was years ago and I have since officiated at both of my friend’s parents’ funerals, to this very day I carry a shame for being identified in that act.
Tell us about your experience with stealing or with guilt.
Tags: guilt, Moody, sin, stealing, temptation
Dwight L. Moody, the great Chicago evangelist of the 1880s & 90s, used this illustration:
“A steamboat was stranded in the Mississippi River and the captain could not get her off. Eventually a hard-looking fellow came on board, and said, “Captain, I understand you want a pilot to take you out of this difficulty?”
The captain said, “Are you a pilot?” “Well, they call me one,” he replied.
“Do you know where the snags and sand-bars are?” “No, sir,” came the reply.
“Well, how do you expect to take me out of here if you don’t know where the snags and sand-bars are?”
“I know where they ain’t!” was the reply.”
Moody concluded: “Beware of temptations. “Lead us not into temptation,” our Lord taught us to pray; and again he said, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” We are weak and sinful by nature, and it is a good deal better for us to pray for deliverance rather than to run into temptation and then pray for the strength to resist.”
I say that’s good counsel. What do you say in response to the story?
Tags: Moody, safety, stranded, temptation
A little boy was standing in an old-fashioned country store by the candy counter. The storekeeper had watched him for some time, and finally the clerk came down the aisle and said to him, “Trying to steal some candy, eh?”
To this question the little boy answered, “No, I’m trying not to steal it.”
Have we noticed that the longer we examine temptation, the more powerful it becomes in our life, and the more guilty we appear. There is an old saying that goes, “Look, but don’t touch.” The problem is, how do you look, and look again, and not touch the temptation you’re looking at. Its like a man looking at internet pornography but not lusting in his heart. It cannot be done.
The longer I allow temptation to be dangled in front of my eyes, the more powerful the urge to succumb. The obvious answer for the little boy is to run away fast.
Paul wrote to Timothy: “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and goodness” (1 Timothy 6:11).
Tell us how you learned about the power of temptation and how you overcame.
Tags: run away, stealing, temptation
I’m told that when I was a toddler, my mother, just home from the hospital with my newborn sister, heard the blare of a semi’s air-horn out front. When she looked out the front window, she saw me running down Main St. (US 6) in Butler. The semi-tractor was following behind, blaring that air-horn for all he was worth. Mom abandoned her baby and ran to my rescue. Is it any wonder I have phobias in my life?
How has your mother rescued you in a tough spot?
Tags: fear, Mother's Day
Last night I attended the National Day of Prayer Rally at the Butler Elementary School. I was assigned to lead a prayer for the military. Many other ministers and dignitaries were also invited to lead prayer for other civic and religious themes, so it was a community event.
I shared that our military has always been about transporting freedom and democracy to other cultures. Many lives have been sacrificed to carry that message overseas. We need to pray for our brave men and women in uniform that they will be protected, vigilant, and successful in their efforts to uproot evil and tyranny.
The death of Osama bin Laden, which we hail as a victory, does not make the world a safer place. Others will rise up to take his place. Vengeance has already been threatened, and will surely be attempted. The world will never be a truly safer place until Jesus Christ comes back, which is imminent.
Take one minute right now and pray for our military. God bless the USA.
Tags: military, patriotism, prayer
The big news right now is whether or not to release the gruesome photograph of Osama Bin Laden with a bullet hole in his forehead. Many Americans seem to think it will make us feel better if we see him mutilated a little since his plan mutilated so many on 9-11, and there are radical Muslims who are saying Bin Laden is still hiding out there someplace and the US is lying. On the other hand, there are those who believe such a humiliating photo would incite retaliation from radical militants around the world, making us look even more like bullies, since Bin Laden was confirmed unarmed when he was killed.
This is an awesome opportunity for us Americans to reflect on our values. After World War 2, the US and our allies pumped millions of dollars into Germany and Japan to rebuild the infrastructure of those nations, until they both became major competitors in the world marketplace. That’s the way Americans do things. When we go to war, we destroy our enemy. When we make peace, we bless our enemy.
What do you think the US government should do with those photographs of Osama Bin Laden, and why?
Tags: enemy, World War II