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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>How Much to Spend on The Poor?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
What happened
at Jesus' anointing in Bethany has plagued the followers of Jesus from
then until now. How much do we spend on ourselves and how much do we
give to missions? Couldn't we do more good by giving all this money to
the poor instead of spending it on, say, a new building?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
In partial
response to this question, my mind goes back to an experience of William
Willimon, chaplain at Duke University. Willimon tells of the time the
faculty of Duke was discussing a proposal to renovate the seminary
chapel. They had received a modest proposal from the architect. But,
would the chapel be renovated? No. "With all the poverty and hunger in
the world," said one faculty member, "how can we as Christians justify
spending $50,000 to pretty-up our chapel?" Of course, this person failed
to offer similar objections when faculty salaries were raised each
year, (a figure that collectively exceeds $50,000) nor does he question
the morality of the luxurious faculty lounge. Obviously the man was
posturing, just as Judas was posturing. Even so, the problem is tough.
How much should we give to others and how much should we reserve for
ourselves? <br>
<br>
Richard Meyer, Break a Vase</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>____________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>When I Pause the Longest</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In the biography of
Leonardo da Vinci, Antonio Vallenten tells of a time when the great
artist was at work in Milan on his famous painting of the Last Supper.
Da Vinci spent many hours meditating in the chapel of the monastery
where he was working. The monks resented these "idle periods" and
accused the artist of wasting time. But da Vinci defended these periods
of reflection by saying, "When I pause the longest, I make the most
telling strokes with my brush."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>____________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<span>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"> </div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Taking a Time Out</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A woman who worked
in a high level job for a major corporation experienced a grueling
schedule and a lot of pressure. So when she was offered the opportunity
to attend a stress reduction seminar, she quickly accepted. However, she
soon realized the seminar might not be as helpful as she first thought.
The instructor arrived late, out of breath, and announced, "In order to
accommodate everyone's busy schedules, this five-day seminar will be
speeded up and completed in two days!"<br>
<br>
In our study of turning
points in people's lives, we must focus on the dramatic difference that
takes place when a person learns the secret of taking "time out" for
rest and renewal. No one who reads the gospel accounts of Jesus' public
ministry can miss the fact that our Lord lived a very busy and
challenging life. Everywhere he went, the crowds followed him. Many
people sought his help both day and night. Like many people in our time,
Jesus lived with a grueling schedule and lots of pressure. But a
careful reading of the gospels reveals that Jesus knew the wisdom of
taking "time out" in his busy life for rest, relaxation, and renewal.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>____________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Critics</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A young musician's
concert was poorly received by the critics. The famous Finnish composer
Jean Sibelius consoled him by patting him on the shoulder and saying,
'Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have a statue
to a critic.' </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Haddon Robinson<br>
_______________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Holding On</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>I have some items
in my garage that I have been holding on to. I'm waiting for the day I
have a garage sale so I can make some money. You know what they say,
"waste not, want not." Why throw away a perfectly good item when you can
make some money on it, right? A friend said to me, "Why don't you just
set it out. Someone will surely come by that can use it. Then you will
have more room and be free of something you really don't need."<br>
<br>
My
friend was right. We have a habit of holding on to things that might
have value. Giving away something that we could turn into cash would be
unthinkable. It wouldn't make any sense.<br>
<br>
Does love have to make sense?<br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Keith Wagner, The Supremacy of Love</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>______________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A Simple Answer</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Could that have
been Judas' greatest downfall, the inability to see himself as a sinner
and hence receive God's forgiveness? For without that sense of
forgiveness, life holds little joy and the future is hopeless. Someone
once said that the person who knows himself or herself to be a sinner
and does not know God's forgiveness is like an overweight person who
fears stepping on a scale.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>I once read about a
very bitter man who was sick in soul, mind, and body. He was in the
hospital in wretched condition, not because his body had been invaded by
a virus or infected with some germ, but because his anger and contempt
had poisoned his soul. One day, when he was at his lowest, he said to
his nurse, "Won't you give me something to end it all?" Much to the
man's surprise, the nurse said, "All right. I will." She went to the
nightstand and pulled out the Gideon Bible and began to read, "For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." When she
finished she said, "There, if you will believe that, it will end it all.
God loves you, forgives you and accepts you as his child."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Such a simple answer...</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">The rest of this illustration and <span>many additional illustrations and sermons for this week, Holy Week, and Easter can be accessed at <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__1073520000__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001AyC8kW6H9g7hLRNmMXqG8ggqXxkHdSOzfLbF9yi6y_MbQRGdZ_I-IpyMxRZCW29cLZWKIkfaHulAyPy-0L02KH6JJjmcbMSjszEhzTKaet0=">www.Sermons.com</a>. <br>
</span></div>
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