For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again—.Proverbs 24:16   You can fail without being a failure. The fact is, you can’t succeed without failing. Those who have experienced the greatest success have also failed.   When Thomas Edison was trying to invent the light bulb he tried 700 things that failed. A friend said to him,”Mr. Edison, you have failed 700 times. Why don’t you quit?” Edison replied,”I have not failed 700 time; I discovered 700 things that won’t work.” It’s no wonder that he is responsible for more than 1,000 inventions. He refused to let failures stop him. That’s the attitude we all need.   Dr. Bob Jones used to say, “Make chariot wheels out of your failures and ride them to success.” That’s good advice! We aren’t a failute because we fail. We are a failure when we stop trying. Think about it—we learn from our failures and that enables us to succeed. None of us learned the alphabet on our first try. Neither did we learn to ride a bicyle on our first attempt–we fell, we got bumps and bruises, and we got up and tried again and again, until we finally learned how to do it. That’s a good lesson for life.   Everybody fails, but only the failures quit trying. Regardless of how you have failed, get up, brush yourself off, learn from your failure and try again. Don’t be discouraged by your failures, they are the stuff that that success is made of. As Winston Churchill said,”Never give up!”  —H.D.S

And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.—Luke 10:41-42   It really happened. A Navy jet fighter plane shot itself down! While testing a new cannon mounted on its wing, the plane ran into a shell it had fired a few seconds earlier. The problem was that the plane was flying at supersonic speed while the shell was subsonic. The result was that the plane destroyed itself in a collision with what it had launched.   Back in the Ozarks folks often say, “I’m so busy I meet myself coming and going.” The fact is, sometimes our pace of life is too fast for our own good. If we aren’t careful we can be destroyed by the very things we’re trying to do.Some way we’ve got it in our head that more is always better. We try to cram as much as possible into every day. We tend to feel we have failed unless we complete everything on uur check list. We get frustrated when we don’t accomplish all that we planned to do. That can lead to a lot of problems, including broken health. Maybe we need to keep a shorter list. Sometimes it might be best to throw the list away!   We often accomplish more by doing less. Our spiritual growth is often stunted by getting caught up in a whirlwind of activities. Our fast-paced lifestyle makes us “a jack of all trades and a master of none.” We go so fast that the very project we launch destroys us. That’s not smart! Don’t shoot yourself down by trying to do so much that you fail to accomplish God’s mission for your life. The price is too high! (H.D.S.)

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:19

Pastor Harold Springstead was driving along, on his way to preach at a little country church, when he felt a sudden vibration. A tire had gone flat. As the 78-year-old pastor maneuvered his car to a stop, a trucker pulled up behind him. A young man jumped out, assessed the situation, and cheerfully changed the tire. Pastor Springstead got to the service in plenty of time, and it was not until later that he realized his car didn’t even have a jack!

It was a minor problem. He was a retired faithful servant of God. It was a tiny congregation. We might think God would be too busy with larger and more important needs than to be concerned about a flat tire. But His promise to provide for the needs of His people covers little things as well as big ones. —

Think back over the past few days. Has the Lord taken care of some minor needs in your life? Has He solved some nagging problem? Thank Him! As today unfolds, remember that He provides the little things too. –D C Egner (Our Daily Bread)

If God sees the sparrow’s fall,
Paints the lilies, short and tall,
Gives the skies their azure hue,
Will He not then care for you? –Anon.

Nothing is too great for God to accomplish,
nothing to small for His attention

Just as Israel was a nation promised by God, I believe that God Almighty has ordained and established and blessed this great nation we know as America.

America was born in the hearts of men and women who trusted in God and who believed that this nation was the fulfillment of his plan on earth. And America, like Israel, was founded upon biblical principles and the Judeo-Christian ethic.

Now today, there are those who say that America was founded as a secular nation by humanists. My friends, this is simply not true! The men and the women who began this great nation were people of faith.

The blessings that you and I enjoy in America have been possible because our founders professed to be one nation under God.

President James Madison said, “We have staked the future of government… and the future of all our political institutions on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.”

But unfortunately, our country is gradually and systematically being seduced to abandon the Word of God. It is an absolute exercise in futility to pass tougher laws, to build more prisons, and to provide better education and police protection when we are intent on excluding God from our lives.

You and I must realize that without God we are finished as a nation.

On this Memorial Day, I want you to remember that America is great not because we are stronger or smarter than other nations. No. America’s greatness is the lone result of God’s gracious blessing! Period.

Give thanks to God for all who built this nation on the foundation of his word, and for those who have given their lives to defend her. Then purpose in your heart to live in obedience to God that we may remain one nation under God! (By Jack Graham)

AMERICA‘S GREATNESS IS THE LONE RESULT OF GOD’S GRACIOUS BLESSING!

On Memorial Day in the United States, thousands of people visit cemeteries and monuments to remember and honor their loved ones. They ponder a name carved in stone and recall the person for whom it stands.

This kind of reflection on the lives of those who have gone before us can encourage us to evaluate the way we are living today. When people hear our name, do they think of someone who is faithfully living for Christ?

King Solomon observed: “The memory of the righteous is blessed” (Proverbs 10:7). “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (22:1). “A good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

A solid reputation and loving relationships are high achievements. Honesty, integrity, and generosity in life are more valuable than the most expensive funeral. Perfume fades, but the aroma of our lives lingers on.

By our attitudes and actions, we are creating the memories that will be associated with our names in life and in death. Today we have an opportunity to renew our commitment to Christ and to the making of a good name-a name that honors Him and encourages those we love for years to come.

Do you have a good name?  – David C. McCasland

This is the wish I always make,
The prayer I always pray:
Lord, may my life help other lives
It touches by the way. -Anon.

The memory of a faithful life speaks more eloquently than words.

From Our Daily Bread