The Long and Short of the Matter

Posted on May 20, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm one hundred and seventeen, and the longest chapter is Psalm one hundred and nineteen.But the one between – Psalm one hundred and eighteen – just happens to be the centre chapter of the Bible. That’s because there are 594 chapters before it and 594 after it. Somebody worked out that if you add those two figures together you get 1,188 – or one, one, eight, eight – which, interestingly enough, are the numbers used to designate Psalm one hundred and eighteen verse eight, which is usually written as Psalm 118:8. Now it turns out that Psalm 118:8 happens to be the central verse of the Bible, and it says: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.’
How coincidental that the central verse of the Bible also contains its central message? Or was God the centre of it, I wonder?

Posted in Bible, Encouragement, Faith, God, Inspirational, Religion, Spirituality, Trust in God | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Keeper of the Spring

Posted on May 19, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Peter Marshall, of ‘A Man Called Peter’ fame, used to tellan an old story about the ‘Keeper of the Spring’ – a reclusive old man who lived high above an Austrian village and for years cleared away the debris from the spring that fed the stream that flowed through the village. The place became a popular holiday destination and because of it began to thrive. Years later the local council, because they never saw him and wanted to save money, dispensed with the old man’s services. But soon after a slimy film and a foul smell began to cover the mountain stream, and the tourists stopped coming. So, the members of the village council went looking for that old man and begged him to go back to work. He did and eventually life returned to that village.
Thank God that we also have our ‘Keepers of the Spring’; people who, though often despised and rejected, are wise enough to warn us of the consequences of the moral and spiritual pollution that, unchecked, will ruin us too.

Posted in Called and Chosen, Faith, God, Inspirational, Living Life, Religion, Righteousness, Spirituality, thankfulness | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Things Stink the Way we Think

Posted on May 18, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s one thing that wise people throughout the ages have agreed on, and that is that our thoughts shape what we become. I heard a story about a cranky old man who made a visit to see his grandchildren, and, after having upset everyone in the house, decided to take a nap. His grandsons thought they’d play a trick on him by coating his moustache with some very mature cheese. When he woke up he stormed outside, complaining that the room stank.But then everywhere he went in the house he found it was the same. Eventually he went into the garden only to discover that the whole world stank.
So it is when we fill our minds with negativism. Everywhere we go and everyone we meet will seem to carry the odour that’s in our mind. That’s why the Bible says: ‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So fill your minds with what is the best, not the worst,’ and let it transform you.

Posted in children, God, Inspirational, Living Life, old age, Personal Growth, Spirituality, thankfulness | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Someone Thinks You’re Wonderful

Posted on May 16, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a lovely story about a famous tenor, who, some years ago, was scheduled to perform to a packed crowd at the Paris Opera House. But just before the performance began the manager took the stage and anounced that the star of the show had been taken ill and his understudy would be singing in his place. An audible groan of disappointment ran through the auditorium. The replacement tenor gave the performance everything he had, but when he’d finished, there was silence; no one applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted, “Daddy, I think you are wonderful!” The crowd then broke into thunderous applause.
We all need people in our lives who are willing to stand up once in a while and say, ‘I think you are wonderful,’ because God thinks we’re wonderful, even if our deeds aren’t.

Posted in Called and Chosen, Encouragement, Faith, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Journey, Joy, Living Life, Personal Growth, Religion, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stranglers v Wranglers

Posted on May 16, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Years ago, a group of young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed destined for literary greatness, used to meet to critique each other’s work. They were so merciless in their criticism that they decided to call themselves ‘the Stranglers’. Not to be outdone, some talented women in the university started a club of their own. But their criticism was always positive and designed to encourage, not ridicule. That’s why they called themselves ‘the Wranglers’. Twenty years later not one of the Stranglers had made an impact on the literary world, whereas nearly ten of the Wranglers had become successful writers, including Marjorie Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling. It reminds us that it’s encouragement, not ridicule that brings out the best in people; and that’s why the Bible calls encouragement a gift of the Spirit of God

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No Gain Without Pain

Posted on May 7, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

I remember, when I was a young Army chaplain, listening to the Commandant of the Recruit Training Battalion giving the opening address to dozens of young men who were about to participate in a character guidance course, which I was to lead. He said: ‘Five weeks ago you arrived here as slovenly, ill-disciplined civilians, whose mothers did everything for you to make your lives more comfortable. But you quickly found out that the Army is not like your mother. It’s not primarily interested in your comfort; but it is interested in is your character; and when it comes to character, there is no gain without pain.’
I remember thinking they were inspired words because that’s how it is with us and God. We often think that God should be there to soothe our every pain, and we forget that God’s primary concern for us is the strength of character which only grows because of it.

Posted in Inspirational, Living Life, Personal Growth, Religion, Soldiers, Spirituality, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Box of Kisses

Posted on May 1, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

I heard about a father who got very cranky with his little girl for trying to decorate a box with expensive gold paper. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” But he got cranky again when he discovered there was nothing inside it. However, she just looked up at him and said: ‘But it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it, just for you.’ Well you can imagine how much of a heel he felt. He lost that little girl in an accident some months later, but he kept the box by his bed for the rest of his life, and whenever he felt low, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
Each of us has a box like that, filled with unconditional love from our children, friends, family and from God. What we need to do is learn to treasure it

Posted in children, Inspirational, Joy, Living Life, love, satisfaction, Spirituality, thankfulness, tribulation and trouble | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Lest We Forget

Posted on April 24, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Tomorrow, I will join tens of thousands of Australians, in hundreds of locations around Australia and beyond, to participate in an ANZAC Day dawn service The ANZAC Day Dawn Service evokes deep feelings that go beyond mere national pride – feelings that are often hard to define. It’s not a celebration of war or military prowess, but rather a solemn remembrance of tens of thousands of individual acts of self-sacrifice for what each thought would be for the greater good.
If you travel the great cities of the world you will see many monuments honouring great military leaders. But not in Australia; the only one I know of is the statue of General Monash in Melbourne, himself a citizen soldier, and arguably the best general of World War 1. But in suburbs and country towns everywhere stands the image of the ubiquitous digger – the unnamed man who represents all those hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women who ‘did their bit’. It is their memory we honour and for whom we give thanks to God.

Posted in ANZAC Day, Inspirational, Religion, Remembrance, Soldiers, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do You Know Where Hell Is…?

Posted on April 20, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

When the first missionaries preached the gospel to the Eskimos they were discouraged because, despite their passionate preaching, it was clear the message wasn’t getting across. They preached such graphic sermons about the fires of hell that the Eskimos, who lived in one of the coldest places on earth, all decided they would really like to go there, and consequently decided to live in such a way that they would be sure to do so. So the missionaries had to reshuffle their language and reinterpret hell as a place of unimaginable cold. It worked and the results improved dramatically.
Well, whether it’s hot, cold or something else, the idea of what hell is like depends a lot on your perspective. But one thing I do believe is that when you take love out of life you get a taste of hell. And when you take it away for ever, that’s where you are.

Posted in Faith, God, Hell, inner peace, Inspirational, Journey, quietness, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Into Hot Water

Posted on April 12, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

A woman complained to her father about how difficult life had become. Her dad, who worked as a chef, took her into his kitchen and told her to watch as he boiled three saucepans of water and then put carrots in one, eggs in another and ground coffee beans in the third. After a while he put the carrots and eggs in separate containers, and poured the coffee into a cup. Then he got his daughter to check out the results. She noted that the carrots had gone soft, the eggs were now hard boiled, but the coffee tasted great. It was then she got the message. They all got into hot water, but each reacted differently. The hard carrot went soft, the fragile egg became hard, but the coffee beans actually changed the hot water into something good. The question now was which one was she, and which one are we?
‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose.'(Romans 8:28).

Posted in Called and Chosen, Faith, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Living Life, Prayer, quietness, Religion, satisfaction, Spirituality, tribulation and trouble | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment