Browse By Topic 
G Good Works
Bishop Roy Nichols tells about growing up in a charismatic black church. He says that there was always a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of shouting and jumping. But Nichols said that his mother once told him, "It isn't so much how high you jump but what you do when you come down." Jesus likewise said that the ones who'll see the kingdom of heaven are not necessarily all the ones who cry out "Lord, Lord," but those who do the will of the heavenly Father.
Topics/Tags: Obedience; Good Works
President Clinton organized a Volunteer Summit for the last week of April 1997. The Philadelphia gathering was a time to encourage all Americans to give of their time and energy by doing volunteer work in their communities. Hundreds of pledges were made that week to improve the lives of the 15 million disadvantaged children in our country. But, as former President Bush pointed out at the end of the summit, event like this are "fine, a lot of glitz ... but what matters is what you do."
What matters is that attorney Gary St Peters left the summit to go back to his home in Providence, R.I., and set up safe havens for children to spend their afternoon hours. And that hundreds like him returned to their homes and set out to work. That's why headlines proclaimed the day after: "Volunteer Summit Is Over, Now the Hard Work Begins."
We have much work to do. It's not enough to gather in our "summit meetings" in the sanctuary or in the Sunday School classroom. What matters is what we do once we get face-to-face with people who have needs that must be met.
Source: Pine Bluff Commercial, 4/30/97, p. 8C
Topics/Tags: Good Works
"Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin
Source: Microsoft Bookshelf '96
Topics/Tags: Good Works
You never will be saved by works; but let us tell you most solemnly that you never will be saved without works.
— T. L. CUYLER
Source: SAGE Digital Library
Topics/Tags: Good Works; Activity; Salvation, conditions of
"Give, and it shall be given unto you . . ."
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day,while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of."
And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
Someone once said, what goes around comes around. Jesus said it another way: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom."
Source: unknown
Topics/Tags: Good Works; Reward; Compassion; Kindness
A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.
Saint Peter addresses the guy: "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?" The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi-driver, of Noo Yawk City."
Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi-driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
The taxi-driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last forty-three years."
Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi-driver and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."
Source: unknown
Topics/Tags: Heaven; Good Works; Preaching; Prayer
"Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her—an act that was generally unheard-of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. He noticed that she seemed to be in an awfully big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away.
Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:
Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.
—Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole
Topics/Tags: Kindness; Compassion; Reward; Good Works
The World has been professionally evaluating us the last few decades and the report is not good.
In the 1950s a study of 2,000 Episcopalians showed no connection between church involvement and charitable acts.
In a 1975 study of college students, religion played no part in their willingness to volunteer to help retarded children.
In 1984 a researcher interviewed over 700 people. She said she expected to find religious folks more involved in helping their neighbors and working in community organizations. Surprise.
A 1989 study of people who rescued Jews from the Nazis found that religious people were no more willing to help than were the nonreligious.
The study that troubles me most is a clever experiment published in 1973. Researchers found that most seminary students on their way to an appointment walked right past a man slumped over and groaning in a doorway. Some of the students were on their way to give a talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Let's hope there's something wrong with the methods these researchers used -- some loophole through which we can squeeze.
But just in case there isn't, perhaps as we study Luke, the Gospel that spotlights compassion, there would be no harm in concentrating a little harder than usual on what Jesus says about loving our neighbor.
Source: Stever Miller, Editor, Illustrated bible Life, Introduction, March-May 1992 Edition
Topics/Tags: Charity; Compassion; Hardened hearts; Good Works
To really enjoy Christianity, one must first have it and then use it.
Topics/Tags: Christianity; Action; Salvation; Good Works
Satan is perfectly willing for a person to confess Christianity, so long as he or she does not practice it!
Topics/Tags: Confession; Action; Good Works; Christianity
Browse By Topic G Good Works