Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Share and enjoy your treasures instead of keeping them hidden away. (Robert Herskovitz)

Have you seen the TV program “Hoarders”? It’s amazing what some people keep as if it were valuable treasure. Others pack away their keepsakes, saving them for … who knows what? If something is of personal worth and value to you, it would likely interest someone else, too. So, share it. Then, both you and they can enjoy your treasure.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share (1 Timothy 6:18).

STOP AND THINK – When you forgive, anxiety gets better; depression gets better. You have more hope. (Everett Worthington, psychologist and professor)

Many people today seem to be anxious. And that often leads to depression. Worthington suggests that one of the causes of anxiety may be an unforgiving spirit. Someone has been hurt so deeply that he or she simply can’t get over it and can’t forgive the offender. Learning to forgive will relieve the anxiety, avoid depression, and restore lost hope.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other (Ephesians 4:32).For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:14).

STOP AND THINK – If you are not ready today, you will be less ready tomorrow. (Publius Ovidius Naso [Ovid], 1^st century B.C. Roman poet)

We often put off doing today what we think we’re not quite ready for. That’s a wise decision if you haven’t made proper preparations that will mean success is less likely. But, too often, it’s not the lack of preparation so much as the fear of inability or of failure that keeps us from moving on. Take courage, prepare, and work hard.

Anyone . . . must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:28).

STOP AND THINK – The garden of the heart must be tended with great care. (William Wilberforce, 18^th-19^th English politician and anti-slavery leader)

Wilberforce understood that it’s what is inside a person that determines what he does. He also said, “Life is confusing. What was to be our highest pursuit is lost as our hearts and minds become consumed by lesser issues.” Outside influences can affect one’s heart and mind, so we need to recognize that what is essential is a heart of integrity.

As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. (Proverbs 27:19)

STOP AND THINK – It is only utterly impossible until someone actually does it. (Kenneth J. Brown, author)

We sometimes face circumstances that seem impossible to overcome. But if we take a look at all the “things” around us that were once thought impossible, we should be encouraged to move forward expectantly. Iphones, computers, spacecraft—all of these were once only imagined, but they are realities today. Take hope. Attack your dreams with courage.

Jesus: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

STOP AND THINK – Pessimists need a good kick in the can’ts. (Church signboard)

Pessimists predict outcomes that are negative even though they might hope for the better. If things work out, they’re happy. If they don’t, they’ll content themselves in the fact that their predictions were right. But that’s not a happy way to live, is it? In spite of how we might feel, we need to take a positive outlook and work hard for better results.

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18).

STOP AND THINK – Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. (Marilyn Monroe, late American actress)

Monroe would probably not be thought of as a deep thinker or philosopher, but this statement is meaningful. Disappointments in life often leave us shattered and hopeless. What we had yearned for didn’t work out; out plans fell apart. But many could testify that such failure sometimes provided an opportunity to pursue and achieve something of even greater value.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

STOP AND THINK – You have never met a mere mortal…each person is either an immortal horror or everlasting splendor. (C. S. Lewis, 20^th century British Christian apologist)

Everyone in the mass of people you may see is immortal. He or she may be a splendid example of the highest virtues of humanity. Others are tragic examples of lives poorly lived. But, in either case the Bible says they were created in the “image of God,” so they have inestimable value, and we should try to help them live as true children of God.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them (Genesis 1:27).

STOP AND THINK – Talk not of wasted affection; affection never was wasted. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19^th century American poet and educator)

Someone has said, “To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose the next best.” Perhaps Longfellow would agree. No one likes to lose, but, as in sports, playing well even in a losing cause can be fun and bring a sense of fulfillment. We never lose when we show affection, when we care for someone. Such caring is always good.

[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:7, 8).

STOP AND THINK – None of us is as smart as all of us! (Japanese Proverb)

No matter how much knowledge and experience one person may have, he or she can’t know everything. So, the simple Japanese proverb, quoted by many writers, is profound. The more input we can have from intelligent colleagues who, perhaps, have training in areas we don’t, the better the result from our mutual endeavors.

The wise listen to advice . . . Wisdom is found in those who take advice . . . Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 12:15; 19:20; 15:22).

STOP AND THINK – Anger may be handled wrongly in either one of two ways: blowing up and clamming up. (Jay E. Adams, Christian author and counselor)

Do you ever get mad? How do you respond in situations that make you angry? Some of us just clam up, as Adams suggests. We just don’t want to talk about it, and we’re certainly not going to share our problem with anyone else. Others of us vent our anger and strike out at those around us. Neither response is healthy, of course. Better to learn self control.

In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry (Ephesians 4:26).

STOP AND THINK – It is the best and truest friend who honestly tells us the truth about ourselves even when he knows we shall not like it. (R. C. H. Lenski, German-American Lutheran scholar & author)

Not many people take criticism well. It hurts when someone points out our faults and mistakes. Often, it’s a close friend who lovingly corrects us. False friends are the ones who hide such truth from us and do so in order to remain in our favor. But a true friend tells us what we need to hear because it’s for our own good. Thank God for such good friends!

A friend loves at all times . . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother . . . Wounds from a friend can be trusted (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 27:6).