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WITandWISDOM(tm) - August 2, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - J. K. Rowling Source: Inspire, http://www.inspirelist.com/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: George Muller has to be one of the most fascinating Christians of the 19th century. Why? Because on ALL occasions, he followed God's Word, the Bible above any human organizations, even above the denominational teachings of his church. One of the things, however, that really served to set him apart as a memorable man of faith was his convictions concerning finances. Very early in his career, George Muller became convicted that, as a man of God, a modern day disciple, he should not be receiving a fixed salary from anyone. Citing the apostles of the early church for his example, who didn't draw a regular salary but simply put their trust in the Lord to provide for all their needs, George Muller made a two-fold resolution: 1) To put his trust solely on the Lord Jesus Christ for all of his financial needs; and 2) To tell no one of his needs but God Himself. He was the pastor of a Teignmouth congregation in England at the time, and on October 30, 1830, he made the memorable announcement to his church that he would no longer accept regular wages from them. He listed the following reasons: 1. To receive a salary at that time, one had to generally collect pew rents. George Muller stated that this was contrary to the very essence of James 2:1-6. 2. A pew rent, or any requested offering, could easily become a burden to a follower of Christ. A pastor should at no time "lay the smallest straw" in the way of a member's spiritual progress. 3. A fixed salary could easily become a snare to a minister, in that he works for his salary instead of doing God's will. George Muller then requested that a special box be placed in the chapel, and he told his congregation that anyone who felt compelled to contribute to his ministry could do so, according to his own personal convictions. He then repeated his resolve to never again ask, "not even my beloved brethren and sisters, to help me...For unconsciously I had been led to trust in an arm of flesh, going to man instead of going to the Lord at once." Never once, however, did George Muller regret his decision. At the end of his first year of living on faith, this twenty-six year old preacher wrote: "Now the truth is whilst...we have not had even as much as a single penny left, or so as to have the last bread on the table, and not as much money as was needed to buy another loaf, yet never have we had to sit down to a meal without our good Lord having provided nourishing food for us. I am bound to state this, and I do it with pleasure... If I had to choose this day again as to the way of living, the Lord giving me grace, I would not choose differently." George Muller told the following story as an example of how God never failed to come through for them on time: There was one morning when he discovered that he barely had eight shillings (about two US dollars) left. How could he support his orphanages? Pay his bills? Put food on his table? As was his habit, he shared his concerns with God, claiming the promises found in the Bible. Then he and his wife literally sat and waited upon the Lord. There was a sudden knock at the door, and George Muller opened it to find a lady, a total stranger, standing there. "Do you want money?" She blurted out. George hesitated. Then he told her that he couldn't answer her question, for this was something between him and God alone. "But God told me to give you this money," she insisted, and she handed him two guineas! Three years after his decision, George reported receiving $3700. This was $2800 more than if he had received a regular salary. He concluded: "I never have asked anyone for anything; but, by the help of the Lord, I have been enabled at all times to bring my wants to Him, and he graciously supplied them all." Source: Illustrator, http://www.answers2prayer.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Signs You're Getting Too Old To Drive You think an SUV might be too small to be safe. It takes more than four minutes to get out of your car. When backing into a parking spot, you just back up until you hear something. It scares you to drive the speed limit. The only thing you pass on the road anymore is the Amish. You use cruise control because your leg fell asleep. You use cruise control at 25 mph. You inquired if the dealership could install magnifying glass for the windshield. Your turn signal has been on since 2003. Your bumper sticker endorses Eisenhower. When the police pull you over, they're surprised to find out you're sober. Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Abraham was reading an article out loud to his wife. "Did you know that women use about 30,000 words a day, whereas men only use 15,000 words?" Sadie replies, "The reason has to be because a woman has to say everything twice." Abraham turns to Sadie and asks, "What?" Source: Cybersalt Digest, http://www.cybersalt.org/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: By Sharon Cohen, AP National Writer Sat Jul 30, 2:42 PM ET Salem, S.D. - Even when the rain pelts the prairie, the soil thickens to mud and the pungent smell of cattle lingers in the air, Marvin Miller thinks this is the perfect place to be a pioneer. The location is good, the people are friendly and, Miller says, open to new ideas. And Miller has one very bold idea: He wants to build a new town where there is none, a community that would be carved out of the farm fields and draw hundreds of people from across the nation — maybe even the world. What would set this town apart is it would be home to deaf and hard-of-hearing people who want to live together. They'd raise their families here, send their kids to school and share a common language: sign language. Police and politicians would sign, so would teachers and shopkeepers. Miller says people who are deaf, as he is, often are isolated and frustrated by a hearing world that wields the power that shapes their lives. By forming a town, he says, they'd have the unity and political clout they're lacking now. "This will allow us to make decisions on what happens to us as a whole," he says through a sign-language interpreter. "Don't like something? It's up to us to make the change. Today we can't do that. The whole point ... is to create a choice that we currently do not have." Miller has a name for his town: Laurent, for Laurent Clerc, a French educator who co-founded the first deaf school in America. He has a reservation list, too: About 125 families, from New York to California, along with a few from foreign countries have signed up. Most are deaf or have deaf relatives, but everyone is welcome. For move of the story visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050730/ap_on_re_us/a_town_for_the_deaf_1 Submitted by Kiri Hyatt