Eric Liddell was the athlete from Scotland who refused to run on a Sunday in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. In a later race that week he won a gold medal and set a world record in the 400 meters. His dramatic story was told in the award-winning film, Chariots of Fire.
But Hollywood should have made a sequel, Chariots of Fire II, to tell the rest of the story. Eric Liddell gave up athletic fame to serve in China under the London Missionary Society, from 1925 to 1945. The last few years of his life were spent as a Japanese prisoner of war in North China. During his captivity he often supervised the children who were confined in prison with him. "Uncle Eric," as the children called him, organized recreation, sports, and athletic meets. He taught them Scripture lessons and his favorite hymn, "Be Still My Soul." He served the older prisoners by teaching, visiting the sick, and helping keep order in the camp. At the age of 43, he died of a brain tumor just a few months before the prisoners were liberated, and he was buried in a tiny cemetery inside the camp. David Mitchell wrote, "I remember being part of the honor guard made up of children from the Chefoo and Weihsien schools. None of us will ever forget this man who was totally committed to putting God first, a man whose humble life combined muscular Christianity with radiant godliness." Eric Liddell was faithful unto death.
We may never be called upon to serve while confined by enemies in a prison camp, but we are serving in a world where the enemy, satan, wants to be in control. We are surrounded by an atmosphere of moral decay, as Cal Thomas noted in his book, The Death of Ethics in America. Thomas urged a return to the standards that will make the country ethically strong again. He emphasized basing those standards on biblical principles.
But no matter what the rest of the world is doing, Christians must be faithful. A. W. Tozer wrote, "When will Christians learn that to love righteousness it is necessary to hate sin? that to accept Christ it is necessary to reject self? that to follow the good way we must flee from evil? that a friend of the world is an enemy of God?"
In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul compares the Christian life to running a race in order to receive a crown that will last forever. He wrote, "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (I Corinthians 9:27).
The legendary P. H. Welshimer preached regularly for 62 years, with 56 of those years at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio. His biographer noted that Mr. Welshimer often recalled words from the sermon preached by President Zollar of Hiram College, when Welshimer and several other graduates were ordained: "Young men, as you go into communities to save souls, remember that you, too, have a soul to save. Don’t do anything to lose it."
The refrain of a contemporary Christian song challenges Christians to remember their responsibilities to themselves and others in words that carry this idea: May those who come behind us find us faithful.
Dr. Dennis Anderson said, "You cannot see faith, but you can see the footprints of the faithful." We must leave behind "faithful footprints" for others to follow. —Dana Eynon
Pulpit Gems
Classroom
Jewels
Music
Nuggets
Treasure
Chest
Kaban
ng Kayamanan
There aren’t nearly enough crutches in the world for all the lame excuses. --Copied
A Moscow school teacher asked her students to do at least one good deed everyday. The next day the dialogue between her and the students went like this: "Michael, what good deed did you do yesterday?"
"I helped a little old lady cross the street."
"Very good!"
"Sergei, what good deed did you do yesterday?"
"I helped Michael help a little old lady cross the street."
"Uh huh!"
"Anatoly, what good deed did you do yesterday?"
"I helped Sergei help Michael help a little old lady cross the street."
"And why did it take three of you to get the old lady across the street?"
Together the boys replied, "Because the little old lady didn’t want to cross the street!"
That’s the problem which a lot of us encounter. How do we get people to do things they don’t want to do? The three boys used muscle, but there is a better way.
1. Try to put yourself in the position of the one you wish to influence. There may be valid reasons for not doing the very thing you want done. Putting yourself in the shoes of the other person may convince you that what you want done isn’t that important.
2. Ask, "What motive is there for doing something?" God expects the very best from His children. Paul wrote, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24). –Harold Sala
Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another. —George Eliot
A brilliant Swedish Engineer and inventor produced the formula for dynamite in 1867, and later introduced the first smokeless powder. He became very wealthy and controlled a score of factories around the world that manufactured explosives.
When the inventor’s brother died, the newspaper mistakenly printed the inventor’s obituary. When he read it, he realized that he would be remembered only for inventing materials used for war and destruction. He decided to change that perception by dedicating most of his vast fortune to establish prizes for people who contributed to the benefit of mankind. The man was Alfred Nobel, and the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Today the name Nobel is associated with peace, not war.
No doubt all of us have positive and negative aspects in our lives. But as long as our actual obituaries haven’t been published, we have time to change!
Jesus commended the Philadelphians for using what strength they had for his glory (See Revelation 3:7-13). He urged repentance when he wrote to the Laodiceans about their evil deeds. What would Jesus say in a letter to you? (See Revelation 3:14-22).
Perhaps it’s time to recall a chorus that became popular many years ago. The words by J. Edwin Orr are based on Psalms 139:23:
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from ev’ry sin and set me free.
—Dana Eynon
Repentance is a change of heart, not an opinion. —Eternity
A story from a small town newspaper carried the headline: "Preacher Quits Sports." In the article, a minister gave twelve reasons why he had stopped attending athletic contests. Here they are:
1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
2. The people sitting near me didn’t seem to be very friendly.
3. The games are scheduled when I want to do other things.
4. The seats are too hard and not comfortable.
5. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
6. I don’t want to take my children, because I want them to choose for
8. The band played some songs that I didn’t know.
9. The coach never came to call on me.
10. The referee made a decision with which I disagreed.
These would be ridiculous excuses to quit
attending sports events. They are even more ridiculous reasons for not
meeting with the church. The Bible assumes that the Lord’s people will
be together on the Lords Day. If you are a student, you go to school. If
you are an employee, you go to work. If you belong to a sports team, you
go to practices and games. Likewise, if you belong to the church, you assemble
and worship with the church. –C.
Barry McCarthy
Si David Seabury sa kaniyang aklat na The Art of Selflessness, ay nagbigay ng anim na paraan na makatutulong sa paglutas ng ating mga suliranin
Una, harapin mo ang suliranin. Ayon sa Banal na Kasulatan: "Huwag kang matakot, sapagka’t Ako’y suma-saiyo; huwag kang manglupaypay sapagka’t Ako’y iyong Dios; Aking palalakasin ka; oo, Aking tutulungan ka; oo, Aking aalalayan ka ng kanang kamay ng aking katuwiran" (Isaias 41:10).
Ikalawa, suriin mo ang puno’t dulo ng iyong suliranin. Kung may dapat kang iwasto, sikapin mong magawa ito. Kung dapat kang magbago, gawin mo.
Ikatlo, itanim mo sa isip na mahalaga ang ngayon. Sinabi ni Albert J. Nimeth, "On the ‘Great Clock of Time,’ there is but one word — ‘Now.’"
Ikaapat, gumawa ka ng mga paraan na makatutulong sa ikalulutas ng suliranin. Gumawa ng balangkas ng mga isasagawang hakbang.
Ikalima, humingi ng patnubay ng Panginoon pagkatapos na mabuo ang mga balak na kalutasan sa suliranin. Idalangin ang lahat ng mga taong kasangkot.
Ikaanim, limutin na ang suliranin at ayusin ang sarili at ang mga naghihintay na gawain. Simulan ang mga bagong balak, bagong libangan, at iba pa.
Napakaganda ng payo ni David Seabury. Gayunman, higit sa lahat ng paraan sa paglutas ng suliranin ay maka-bubuting alalahanin natin ang salita ni Apostol Pedro na, "Ipagkatiwala ninyo sa Kanya ang inyong mga kabalisahan sapagka’t Siya ang kumukupkop sa inyo." (I Pedro 5:7, Mabuting Balita Biblia) —B. Castillo
