Earliest Humane Society

(taken from "Strange Facts About the Bible" by Web Garrison)

In 1866 Henry Bergh, inspired by earlier work in England and Scotland, founded the world's largest humane society. But at least 3,000 years before that, every Hebrew community had an informal society for prevention of cruelty to animals.
Moses's Law required every man to lead a stray ox or ass back to its owner - even if the owner was a personal enemy (Exodus 23:4). No matter who the animal belonged to, a person who found a donkey unable to get on its feet because of his load was required to give the beast a hand (Exodus 23:5). And in New Testament times even sever laws prohibiting all kind so of work on the Sabbath were relaxed on behalf of mercy to animals. If a beast were in trouble on the Sabbath, a person was permitted and even encouraged to help rescue the animal (Luke 14:5). At first literally and then in a figurative sense, "an ox is in the ditch" came to indicate an emergency grave enough to warrant violation of customary restrictions of work.

BE STRONG

BE STRONG
by Maltrie Davenport Babcock (1858-1902)

Be Strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle - face it; tis God's gift.

Be Strong!
Say not, "The days are evil. Who's to blame?"
And fold the hands and acquiesce - oh shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name.

Be Strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day how long;
Faint not - fight on! To-morrow comes the song.

An Agnostic Inspires The Most Popular Biblical Novel of All Times

(taken from "Strange Facts about the Bible" by Webb Garrison)

One evening in September 1870, two men riding across Indiana on a train struck up a conversation. Soon they began to argue about the inspiration of the Bible. Robert Ingersoll, an internationally known agnostic was challenging General Lew Wallace.
General Wallace, a civil war veteran, was unable to cope with Robert Ingersoll. He felt frustrated and defeated when they finally parted company.
As a result, General Wallace went home determined to write a novel that would serve as a powerful argument for the divinity of Christ. He finished it when he was serving as Governor of the territory of New Mexico and called it "Ben Hur, a tale of the Christ". It became one of the most popular books of modern times by presenting the message of the New Testament within a framework of vigorous action and believable characters. Robert Ingersoll didn't live long enough to read the book that his arguments had inspired.

"His Eye Is On The Sparrow"

Early in the spring of 1905, Dr. Martin and his wife were visiting some friends in Elmira New York. The friends, a Mr. and Mrs. Dolittle were wonderful people but led very handicapped lives. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for 20 years and her husband, Mr. Doolittle had to push himself in a wheel chair back and forth from his place of business. Despite their afflictions, they were happy and brought inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. During this visit, Dr. Martin asked them what was the secret of their optimistic outlook on life. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me". The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith was the inspiration for this comforting hymn.
The great Ethel Waters thought so much of the hymn that she titled her autobiography after it.

A Psalm of Life

A PSALM OF LIFE
by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)


Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Hot News From History

(from the book "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel)

"Are the Gospels rooted in eyewitness testimony or did so much time elapse before it was written down that a mythology developed about Jesus?
The standard scholarly dating, even in very liberal circles has the Gospel of Mark written in the 70 B.C. range,Matthew and Luke in the 80's and John in the 90s. That is still within the lifetime of various eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus, including hostile witnesses who would have been served as a corrective if false teachings about Jesus were going around. Consequently, these dates for the Gospels really aren't all that late. In fact, there is a comparison that is very instructive.
The two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after Alexander's death in 323 B.C., yet historians consider them to be generally trustworthy. Yes, legendary material about Alexander did develop over time, but it was only in the centuries after these two writers. In other words, the first five hundred years kept Alexander's story pretty much intact; legendary material began to emerge over the next five hundred years. So whether the Gospels were written sixty years or thirty years after the life of Jesus, the amount of time is negligible by comparison. It's almost a nonissue."

Where is your Emmaus?

Luke 15:13-35
(with thanks to Stan Reid)

Everybody has one. Where is yours?

Three days had passed since Jesus had been crucified - sadness, fear and confusion permeated the followers he left behind. Why was the one that they perceived as their savior taken from them? Didn't he say that he was the Christ? Wasn't he going to save them from the Romans? What had happened to their beloved leader?
Two of those followers were leaving Jerusalem, a place of fear and danger now, and they were going to a village called Emmaus - a place of solace for their sadness.

When you come to a time in your life where the rug has been pulled out from under you - is there a place that you go for comfort, safety and consolation?
Perhaps it is just your bedroom, perhaps it is your childhood home, your mother's arms, a bottle of alcohol or as is so popular today - your "man cave".

These two confused disciples were on their way to their place of solace when they met Jesus - the very one that was at the center of their sadness - and there they found their way back to hope and joy.

Where is your Emmaus? Will you meet Jesus there?