Word of God Word of Man

By Rick Etchells

Word of God, Word of Man by Rick Etchells combines the wisdom of the Bible along with that of man on a wide variety of topics and areas of interest to everyone. For each of seventy different topics it compares what God has said in His Word versus what men and women have said in popular quotations, along

• Language: English
• Publisher: TotalRecall Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781590951507

Book preview

Ability

Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used. –Richard Byrd

The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has. –Confucius

If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. –Thomas Edison

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability. –Henry Ford

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.

–Mohandus Gandhi

There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.

–Elbert Hubbard

I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability, or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.

–Dean Koontz

Matthew 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. (KJV)

Romans 12:6-8 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (NASB)

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:7-8 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN. (NASB)

1 Timothy 4:14-15 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. (NKJV)

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)

1 Peter 4:10-11 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

It’s true, whether we recognize it or not, we all have incredible abilities, gifts and talents. Call it what you will, each one of us has skills that we excel at. There are some things that we are just naturally good at and other things that we can do only so well or poorly, if at all. It’s also true that we can go through life never recognizing or appreciating the talents that we have.

Do you recognize the talents that you have? Do you know where they come from? Are you appreciative of them or do you wish that you had a different set of skills, perhaps a skill or talent that someone else has.

For me, math has always come easy and it was something I enjoyed playing with from time to time. Hence I became an engineer, but to be honest that sort of just came about and wasn’t something that I strived for growing up. I never recognized my other talents until in a Bible study much later in life, when we were asked to examine our spiritual gifts. Through that exercise and the help of others I came to realize that I have strong skills in administration and organization. Knowing that, I was able to focus on those aspects when I became a manager and in my work leading various church committees. Hopefully I have ability at writing, but you must be the judge of that.

What are your gifts? I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on that. Once you identify them, ask the people who know you well what they think your talents are. Then exercise those skills and become even better at them. Put them into practice, not only for your own benefit but also for that of others.

I believe that our talents are God given and we should not neglect them. God expects us to use them for the Glory of his Kingdom. In Luke 19, Jesus tells a parable about a man going on a journey and leaving his servants in charge. To each one he gave a mina (a large sum of money) and told them to do business until he came back. One used his mina to earn ten more and another earned five more. Those two he richly rewarded. But a third servant who kept his mina in a handkerchief, he punished and took his mina away, giving it to the one who had earned the ten. Likewise he will do to us if we squander the skills and talents that we have been given.

We are warned not to think our gifts are better than those of others. Paul talks about the members of the body in 1 Corinthians 12, telling us that all are needed to form the body of Christ and that none are more important or any less important than another. So it is with abilities, they can make life easier, but they come with responsibility. Use them and prosper, fail to use them and you may lose them.

Acceptance

He who doesn’t accept the conditions of life sells his soul

–Charles Baudelaire

When we have accepted the worst, we have nothing more to lose. And that automatically means – we have everything to gain.

–Dale Carnegie

Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons. –Jessica Lange

If our early lessons of acceptance were as successful as our early lessons of anger, how much happier we would all be.

–Peter McWilliams

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. –Reinhold Niebuhr

Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.

–Arthur Rubinstein

Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it.

–Kathleen Casey Theisen

Job 2:10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (NASB)

Matthew 10:40 Whoever accepts you also accepts me, and whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me. (NCV)

Mark 4:20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown. (NIV)

Romans 14:2-4 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (NASB)

Romans 15:5-7 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (TNIV)

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)

In my wallet, down among a jumble of membership cards, credit cards, photos, receipts and all of the stuff that we feel compelled to carry with us, I keep a copy of the Serenity Prayer, attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. It’s a reminder to accept those things that I haven’t a chance of changing. Not that I don’t try to change them, I do. Often I try too hard and usually get frustrated at my inability to do so. I’d like to tell you I refer to this often, and like Paul, can be content in all circumstances. How I wish that were true. But every so often, I do pull that little card out of my wallet and reflect upon those words of wisdom and feel calmer as a result.

Jesus tells a parable in Matthew chapter 20 about workers who were hired to work in a vineyard. Some started early and worked the whole day, while others were hired later and only worked for a few hours. To the ones hired first the landowner promised a denarius for their days work. To the others he promised a fair wage. At the end of the day he paid the workers, starting with those who had labored only a little. To those he paid a full denarius. The ones who had worked longer thought that naturally they would receive more. However he paid them each the same, one denarius just as he had promised. Needless to say, they were not content even though they received exactly what they had agreed to. They, like us sometimes, felt envious of the others and were not accepting that they were not the ones who were paid more for lesser work.

We are reminded acceptance applies to more than just our circumstances; it also applies to accepting other people. That doesn’t mean they are always correct and you should accept everything they do. It does mean they, like you, are a child of God and deserve your respect. That recognition alone can make things go much smoother for everyone.

Accepting isn’t giving in; it is just recognizing things for what they are. It then allows you to deal with the situation and with others more effectively. Let go and let God, you will be glad you did.

Achievement

If you want to walk on water you have to first get out of the boat.

–Anonymous

If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse. –Walt Disney

Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. –Henry Ford

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat. –Napoleon Hill

The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined efforts of each individual, and if you settle for nothing less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

–Vince Lombardi

It is the nature of men to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him. –John Steinbeck

Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first. –Frederick Wilcox

Evidence is conclusive that your self-talk has a direct bearing on your performance. –Zig Ziglar

Psalm 57:2 I will cry to God Most High, ?To God who accomplishes all things for me. (NASB)

Ecclesiastes 2:1-2 I said to myself, Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good. But that also proved to be meaningless. Laughter, I said, is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish? (NIV)

Ecclesiastes 4:4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (NIV)

John 4:34-38 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor. (ESV)

Romans 3:27-28 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (NIV)

Romans 15:17-19 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and trans-formingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trail blazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. (MSG)

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (NASB)

One of the blessings that we have is the ability to set goals and achieve or accomplish them. Oftentimes that involves effort over a long period of time and working through setbacks and difficulties. In my experience the things that are easy only bring fleeting pleasure, while those that you have to work at and overcome obstacles, bring long lasting joy and satisfaction.

I think it is true that you do better when you have a real desire to achieve something. If your heart is in it, you will stick with it and work through any difficulties or setbacks that may occur. Someone said, When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Determination is a good thing in most circumstances. However, we must be sure that we are striving for the right things and in striving for them; we do not devote so much effort to them that they take over our lives to the exclusion of everyone and everything else.

One of the things I personally could improve is to involve God in the making of my goals and plans, as opposed to asking that He allow me to accomplish them after I am already deeply involved. I also am guilty of getting so involved in something, I let other things go and can loose touch with those around me.

Sometimes we can strive to do too much, even when they are good and beneficial things. Even doing Godly things can be overdone, especially when we end up doing them as a means to themselves and we loose our focus on God. We should always remember that He wants a relationship with us, much more than the things that we can do for Him.

Genesis 11 tells us the people who came right after Noah forgot that. They learned they could build bricks and with those bricks they could build buildings, so they decided to build a tower. The tower would be so high that its top would reach into heaven and then they would make a name for themselves. They forgot what they could accomplish was due to the skills that God gave them and not of their own doing. The tower of Babel fell and the people were scattered. Lets not make the same mistake.

Action

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

–Arthur Ashe

Chance favors those in motion –James H. Austin

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

–Walt Disney

The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it –William James

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. –Helen Keller

Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there. –Will Rogers

There comes a time in the history of every project when it be becomes necessary to shoot the engineers and start production!

–Unknown

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Exodus 14:15 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! (NLT)

1 Samuel 2:3 Speak no more in your pride. Do not let proud talk come out of your mouth. For the Lord is a God Who knows. Actions are weighed by Him. (NLV)

Matthew 24:45-47 Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. (NCV)

Luke 3:8-9 Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (NCV)

Romans 2:12-13 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. (NASB)

James 1:22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (MSG)

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (NASB)

1 John 3:18-20 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. (NLT)

Ihave heard it said we should not put off until tomorrow what we can do today, but there are times when I would much rather turn that around and not do today what I can put off until tomorrow. For me, that can be good advice. I learned a long time ago that I am a morning person and do my best work when I am fresh from a good-nights-sleep. Consequently, I often put off starting something new until the next morning. The danger of course is to do that too many days in a row and not start on it at all.

Another danger can be what is known as analysis paralysis. That is thinking you have to know everything there is to know about something or that everything has to be absolutely perfect before you take any action. An example might be someone who feels they don’t know enough about the Bible to share their faith with others. Or the person who never makes a decision because they fear they will make the wrong choice. If we do that we miss out on a lot of opportunities.

I believe that it is better to take action than to hold back and not do anything. You still need to do your homework and have some idea of how you plan to proceed. But after you have done that, get started. You will make some mistakes and that’s part of the course. You will learn from them and get better as you go. Babe Ruth didn’t become the first person to hit 60 home runs in a season by not swinging the bat. In fact the season that he set the home run record he also held the record for striking out the most.

The Bible reminds us that we are to be doers of the Word and not just listeners. That means we are to apply the lessons we learn from the Bible, and not just talk about them. You may not realize that the people around you listen and follow what you do and say. The strongest testimony results