GOD OF HOPE

J Davis Illingworth

February 6, 2016

If serving is below you, leadership is beyond you. (Anonymous) When some people are given positions of leadership, it seems to go to their head. They become proud, arrogant, and demanding. Everyone is to serve their needs and follow their directions. More effective...

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February 5, 2016

Is it not by the courage always to do the right thing that the fires of hell shall be put out? (James Smith Bush, Episcopal clergyman) The Bible says, “If anyone . . . knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). So, we know we...

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February 4, 2016

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material . . . but rather a legacy of character and faith. (Billy Graham, noted evangelist) Many folks are working hard to build an estate, accumulating wealth they can pass...

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February 3, 2016

The end depends upon the beginning. (Phillips Academy motto) But, the philosopher Plato said, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Actually, they’re both right. Every writer knows that getting his work off to a good start is important; otherwise, he...

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February 2, 2016

You [live] a lifestyle of generosity and that eliminates the need for charity (Kirk Moyer, inner city aid worker) The needs of the suffering and unfortunate in our world are overwhelming. A multitude of charity organizations are working hard to alleviate hardships,...

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February 1, 2016

Live less out of habit and more out of intent. (Author unknown) There is a valuable principle in this simple statement. We do so much merely out of habit. “We’ve always done it that way,” we say. Tradition can be good, but blindly following the habits of the past may...

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January 31, 2016

When we are thankful for what we have, we find we have more and more for which to be thankful. (J Davis Illingworth, Sr, Presbyterian minister) When we are dissatisfied with life, it blinds us to the good things that we have. On the other hand, when we are grateful...

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January 30, 2016

Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be. (Clementine Paddleford, 20th century American writer) It’s probably just as true of young boys as of young girls that they are often wishing for something—a Christmas gift, a new friend, or just that...

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January 29, 2016

Each individual is accountable for his actions. (Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States) We’re living in a time when personal accountability has virtually vanished. We’re inclined, it seems, to blame someone else or our circumstances for our mistakes. It...

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January 28, 2016

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you might make one. (Elbert Hubbard, 19th -20th century American writer and philosopher) How many times have you hesitated to start a project because you were afraid you might make a mistake?...

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Do the Trees Have Ears?

By: Lynda Shadel I don’t know how you treat your pets, but both my husband and I often think and speak for our dogs. I wonder how close we come to really understanding what our dogs are thinking.   When I walk in the woods, I do a lot of talking—some to the dogs,...

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January 27, 2016

Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends. (Harper Lee, American novelist) There is that similarity between those two terms, of course, but there is a huge difference, too. Prejudice is the result of...

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