Funny Friday

Throwback Thursday: Early 1980's

Sparky and  the original Sam

Early 1980's

Yep, that's me hamming it up on my parent's sofa in Titusville, Florida. The original Sam (Miniature Schnauzer) sleeps beneath the coffee table. He was a sweet dog. The photo was snapped by then new husband. This past August 11th we've been together for 36 years. Bless him, he always is my biggest fan.

In the beginning it seemed like we where broke most of the time. Thank goodness we where young and full of energy! And thanks to a booming economy with President Reagan, hard work, frugal living and God's blessings, prosperity graced our home. Even with all the work the world was still fun though. I have memories of dinner parties with friends, SCUBA diving, motorcycling, dancing, traveling, fishing, hunting, and so forth. Life is quieter now but I wouldn't trade a day of any of it for all the money in Fort Knox.

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Paul, the Pattern -- His Conversion

Paul, the Pattern -- His Conversion 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

Printer Friendly Version

No conversion in sacred history is given so much attention as that of St. Paul. Besides the many references to it, we find three detailed accounts of it in the book of Acts. As Saul of Tarsus, the learned Pharisee, he had led his nation and the world in rebellion against God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Luke says: “As for Saul, he made havock of the church” (Acts 8:3). The believers at Damascus feared Saul’s presence among them, saying: “Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem?” (Acts 9:21). Paul himself later testified: “Many of the saints did I shut up in prison…and when they were put to death, I gave my voice [vote] against them” (Acts 26:10). “…beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it [laid it waste]” (Gal.1:13).

There must have been an important reason why God saved this rebel leader. Clearly it was that He might make Paul, not only the herald, but the living example of “the exceeding riches of His grace” to sinners. Paul himself said:

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord…for…putting me into the ministry; who was before A BLASPHEMER, AND A PERSECUTOR, AND INJURIOUS: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. AND THE GRACE OF OUR LORD WAS EXCEEDING ABUNDANT….This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS, OF WHOM I AM CHIEF. HOWBEIT FOR THIS CAUSE I OBTAINED MERCY, THAT IN ME FIRST JESUS CHRIST MIGHT SHOW FORTH ALL LONGSUFFERING, FOR A PATTERN TO THEM WHICH SHOULD HEREAFTER BELIEVE ON HIM TO LIFE EVERLASTING” (I Tim.1:12-16).

---

To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

A Week Of Vicissitudes

This week has been a roller coaster ride for me personally and financially for the country. The Dow Jones fell almost 1,000 points. Since I do watch the markets pretty closely, and listen to the real experts, this was not unexpected, but startling nonetheless. Thank Heavens we’re not in the market anymore. However, I am aware that whether by accident or design many millions of ordinary citizens have their 401K’s tied to the market. My heart-felt prayers are with them all. Oil is almost $40 a gallon. A plus for the Average Joe but it’s devastating for the American Oil Industry. This is not a good thing as there are many, many jobs tied to the oil industry. It’s kind of a Catch 22 situation for the world in general.

In personal matters this was a week of high’s and low’s. High because I'm excited about finally finishing the house remodel started last year. And low because this part of the remodel has gone from simple to complex. I’ve learned to never, ever, in-no-way use our local Lowe’s for installations. This is the third attempt at using them for various installations and each time the subcontractors have either been inept, scary or unreliable. I cancelled the whole deal. Then on the return trip from Waycross, we stopped at a carpet installation store in Blackshear and contracted with them. The new carpeting should arrive in about a week or so. The only down side is before they can install it, we have to remove all the furniture, old carpeting, padding and clean the floor. That’s going to be a job! I pray my body and patience holds out.

And I pray your week has been a happy one.

*h/t to Cormus at the CB 1100 Forum for the $64 word this week. :)