It Is High Time To Wake Out Of Sleep

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Can’t you hear the alarm ringing?

Romans 13:11-12

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

The Old Man And The Empty Chair

A man’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father.

When the minister arrived he found the man lying in bed with on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his impendingvisit.

I guess you were expecting me,” he said.

“No, who are you?”, said the father.

“I’m the new minister at your church,” he replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you

knew I was going to show up.”

“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the minister shut the door. “I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the preacher talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.

I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.

Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and, in faith, see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because He promised; ‘I’ll be with you always.’ Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’

“So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey.

Then he prayed with him and returned to the church building.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

Did he die in peace?” he asked.

“Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death.

Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?”

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, “I wish we all could go that!

Also Check Out Sermons on You Tube under Brother Dale Cantrell And Please Subscribe:

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Building Take Skill, Tearing Down None https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521429154/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VFDQ92GAZA0HBQ9C53DP

Also Check Out Sermons at http://www.freeholiness.net under Bro Dale Cantrell 

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Start Your Day Off Right Series 1/31

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Here is some food for your Daily Bread!

1/31– Start Your Day Off Right Series

Quote:

1/31–Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid.

Story:

APPLAUSE

Recently my wife and I sat charmed at an outdoor performance by young Suzuki violin students. After the concert, an instructor spoke briefly on how children as young as two, three and four years old are taught to play violin. The first thing the children learn, he said, is a proper stance. And the second thing the children learn–even before they pick up the violin–is how to take a bow. “If the children just play the violin and stop, people may forget to show their appreciation,” the instructor said.

But when the children bow, the audience invariably applauds. And applause is the best motivator we’ve found to make children feel good about performing and want to do it well.”

Adults love applause too. Being affirmed makes us feel wonderful. If you want to rekindle or keep the flame of love glowing in your marriage through the years, try showing and expressing your appreciation for your mate. Put some applause in your marriage and watch love grow.

Scripture:

Proverbs 10:19-21

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin:

but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

The tongue of the just is as choice silver:

the heart of the wicked is little worth.

The lips of the righteous feed many: people $

but fools die for want of wisdom.

Humor:

An old bachelor was diagnosed with a terminal disease and given six months to live. The doctor advised, “I recommend that you marry a woman with six kids, move to Oklahoma, and buy 100 hogs to raise.”

The patient asked, “Doc, will that make me happy and live longer?” The doctor replied, “I doubt it, but it will be the longest six months of your life.” All of us have our definition of happiness. So does the Bible!

God Does Not Love A False Witness That Speaketh Lies

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Proverbs 6:16-19

These six things doth the LORD hate:

yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud look, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,

feet that be swift in running to mischief,

A false witness that speaketh lies,

and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Who Is In Your Top Five Of Uncommon Men

UNCOMMEN Leaders: Who’s in Your Five?

Leadership guru Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

An old mobile marketing campaign asked, “Who’s in your five?”

It’s common for guys in their 20’s can rattle off names quickly. On their wedding day, you’ll find their five flanking them. But it doesn’t take long for those five to start fading from the picture. It’s natural to lose friends over time. People change. People move. All too often, few take their place.

We become known more by our titles, our accomplishments, or our kids. Increasingly we are known as “the boss,” “the guy who built that company, “runs in those triathlons,” or “Johnny’s dad.”

We become known by what we do more than who we are. In an article titled, “The Friendship Crisis,” The Washington Post recently quoted from an American Sociological Review stating “that the number of close friends for adults is declining, with the modal number of close friendship in 1985 being three, while in 2004 the modal number was zero.

The percentage of adults who report having no close friends at all has increased from 36 percent in 1985 to 53.4 percent by 2004.”

An ancient Proverb says, “An isolated man seeks out his own desires (or can be translated: destruction), he breaks out against all sound judgement.”

Isolated men create chaos. Their names litter the headlines, our prisons, and our neighborhoods. Men who shoot up movie theaters, live a double life, or simply escape to a virtual world after work.

Back in 1965, Martin Luther King Jr said, “What we are facing today is the fact that through our scientific and technological genius we’ve made of this world a neighborhood.

And now through our moral and ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood.”

Leadership can be lonely, but you don’t have to go it alone.

Guys in your five ask you the tough questions. They challenge you to risk. They give you permission to be who you are. They value you for who you are more than what you do.

So it begs the question, “Who’s in your five?” And if you are struggling to lift up more than one or two fingers, it’s time to build your brotherhood.

Schedule a lunch or virtual coffee with them. Reconnect. Be challenged. Watch your leadership deepen.

Be UNCOMMEN.

Also Check Out Sermons On You Tube Under Dale Cantrell And Please Subscribe:

Check Out Books By J D Canter in Amazon And Kindle:

Building Take Skill, Tearing Down None https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521429154/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3GDS00NST48AR3V66Y0A

Also Check Out Sermons at http://www.freeholiness.net under Bro Dale Cantrell 

Check out http://www.encourager98.weebly.com too

What If You Die Before You Wake?

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If you should die…

If I should die before I wake. That is a children’s bedtime prayer that I used to say when I was growing up. In turn, I taught it to my children. I believe that in its simplicity, it is one of the greatest of old time prayers. Next to the Lord’s prayer in Matthew six it is so powerful. I was saying it to my little boy who was about four or five years or so one night. My little girl about two years old was lying in a little bed next to him. She had never acted like she was paying any attention to our nightly ritual. That night as I started to leave the room she indicated she wanted to repeat her prayers. I began with now to lay me down to sleep. I would pause and she would repeat what I just said. Then we got down to the part where we said if I should die before I awake. She didn’t repeat that line but opened her eyes and said what? I really didn’t know how to respond but I managed to say never mind I’ll tell you later. How do you explain the concept of death to someone for the first time. I don’t recall how I realized the reality and meaning of death. I took care of the fear of death over forty years ago. I do not fear death today, but I do fear getting to death and have never really lived. I do fear getting to the end of my life and dying with my song, sermon, and love still in me.”