The Pastor's Perspective

          Do you ever find yourself questioning the authenticity of someone's words? We've all been there, wondering if the promises made to us hold any real weight. This age-old phrase, "Actions speak louder than words," reminds us that true intentions are best revealed through what we do rather than what we say.      A remarkable story from 1994 perfectly illustrates this idea. Russel Herman, a man who passed away at the age of 67, left behind a will with grand declarations. He pledged $2 billion to the city of East St. Louis, another half-billion for the national forest system, and a staggering $6 trillion to the federal government to help pay off the national debt. But there was a catch – when Russel passed away, his only asset was a 1983 Oldsmobile.      While we might assume Russel had noble intentions, his lack of tangible assets meant his promises were empty. This story serves as a powerful lesson: nice words mean l...

     Abraham Lincoln Praying There was a man who happened to have an appointment in the early hours of the morning with President Abraham Lincoln. He did not want to be late and so he decided he would arrive for this meeting 15 min early.       While waiting for the appointed time he heard in the next room a voice as if in grave conversation, and asked an attendant standing by, "Who is talking in the next room?       "It is the President, sir," replied the attendant.       "Is anybody with him?" the gentleman inquired.       "No; he is reading the Bible."       "Is that his habit so early in the morning?" the man asked.      "Yes, sir, he spends every morning from four o'clock to five in reading the Scriptures and praying." We live a life full of busyness and worry. Many times we have so  many things that need to get done and we feel like we have so litt...

    I am always looking for good funny stories especially if they happen to be true. A few years ago I came upon a true interesting story about the President Calvin Coolidge.      During His presidency there was someone from his home town that was visiting him at the Whitehouse.  The guests had never been to the Whitehouse before and they weren't used to anything fancy. So they were a bit nervous on what they should be doing at the dinner table.      They determined that the best course of action is to keep a keen eye on there friend the president and do everything that he did. If the president used a knife they would do the same. If the president picked up a certain fork they would pick up the same fork as well.      This strategy worked fairly well. That is until the coffee was served. The president poured his coffee on the saucer. The guest thought it was rather odd to do that but given that the president did it and he woul...