Will Rogers on “Can Government Fix our Problems?”

Will RogersAs usual, Will nails it with a quote from 1933! It’s not just that people look to government, but government entitlement programs draw people in. The government creates dependents who don’t need to do much of anything but draw their government check each month.

It seems that the bigger government grows, the more people expect. Unfortunately, failed programs and broken lives litter the landscape. Perhaps smaller government and more independent people are the better way.

The picture is from the 1935 Will Rogers movie The County Chairman. Will plays Jim Hackler, a local party-boss in a Wyoming county, who has to decide to do what’s right and lose the election, or what’s wrong and win.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Will Rogers on “The only difference between death and taxes”

“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”—Will Rogers

It’s just a simple printing press, but it just happens to be the printing press in Washington that prints our money, and it’s got the whole world upset. Everybody knows printing more money brings trouble. Let’s hope the “smart men,” as Will Rogers says, can figure it out.

If Will Rogers knew this 80 years ago, how come “smart men” are still making the same mistakes today?

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

God’s Glory in the Heavens – Psalm 19 NASB 2 Minute Devotional

There are scientists that dedicate their entire lives to the study of the stars. The complexity is so vast that we routinely see news articles about new discoveries that baffle scientists. Some of these scientists that are baffled by the wonders of the heavens hold to a belief that all of these wonders are somehow created by random chance.

I was talking to a friend of mine last week who said that after pondering the wonders of the universe over a number of years, he eventually came to faith in God. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens speak to us. They tell us of the glory of God.

The picture of the stars in this NASA image shows a beauty of the heavens. If we could magnify our telescopes a million times more we would continue to see the beauty and glory of the work of God’s hands in the sky. May it draw us to God, and faith in his son, Jesus!

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 67 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Behold Wondrous Things – Psalm 119 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

I was talking to my wife the other day, lamenting the fact that our flower beds are pretty much finished for the year. I remember, however, the beautiful flowers from seasons gone by. Things of beauty seem to imprint themselves on our memory.

This passage in Psalm 119 directs us to the beautiful and wondrous things in scripture. It asks God to open my eyes, and to not hide His commandments from me. Let that be my prayer as well.

The image of this beautiful flower is a delight to our eyes. I hope that I can also delight in God’s word. That it’s beauty can be imprinted on my memory, and be my counselor in times of need.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 119 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Resplendent Redemption” – 2 Minute Devotional

In today’s world, redemption seems so bland and colorless. The reason is because sin is only seen as a light shade of gray. It is barely mentioned these days, even from the pulpit. Sin is rationalized, in order to avoid personal responsibility. Sin is made comfortable in order not to offend the sinner. It is our very nature to avoid dealing with sin in our lives.

Now consider the difference between turning on a light in the middle of the day, verses turning on the same light in the blackness of the night. In one case there is little or no effect from the light, but at night we have to shade our eyes and turn our head from the brilliance of the light.

Only when we begin to understand the deep blackness of our sin can we fully understand the “resplendent” redemption of God. We must shade our eyes, turn our head and give deep heart-felt praise to God for such great grace.

Dear Lord, As I consider the terrible suffering of Christ on the cross, help me understand that it was because of my terrible sins. It is then that my redemption does resplendently shine. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Bless the Lord – Psalm 134 NASB 2 Minute Devotional

About three months ago [August 2010] I became a grandpa. Our oldest daughter and son-in-law had their first baby. Staying up through the night will be part of their lives for a period of time, and I remember the days when our daughter kept us up at night. To be honest, my wife usually stayed up.

I got to hold my grandson for the first time recently. There was a feeling of contentedness and thanksgiving to God for such a wonderful blessing.

Caring for children is the high calling of parenthood. Praying for your child as you “serve by night” can make it a special time. Praise goes with it as you consider the blessings of being a parent. Bless the Lord!

May the Lord bless you young parents! “He who made heaven and earth.”

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 134 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or  Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

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Will Rogers and Definition of “Lame Duck Congress”

We’re going to hear a whole bunch of lame ducks quacking real soon! The congressional pond will be alive with flapping and splashing.

Rogers’ definition of “lame duck Congress” is dead on! The bums that were thrown out for not doing their job get one last chance to do some damage. Let’s pray that they don’t “burn the house down!”

Image Information: This image is from a Will Rogers’ silent movie called An Unwilling Hero, released in 1921. Rogers plays Whistling Dick, a hobo who loves life and classical music. He loves just about everything except work.

The image was taken directly from movie stills at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers on “Rush, Hurry or Stay Put”

Will RogersWill Rogers’ published this quote and made the observation in 1929. We might think of those days as a bit slower and relaxed, but can you imagine what Will Rogers would think if he could see us today?

Cars, trains and airplanes are faster now. We are all still rushing to get somewhere, but we can “get somewhere we have no business” 10 times faster today.

This is such an interesting quote coming from Will Rogers because he was constantly going somewhere. When Will discovered he could get places faster by flying, he was constantly in the air.

In the picture, Will is in the back seat of an airplane carrying U.S. mail. He was one of the few people that was allowed to ride in mail planes.

The next time we get ready to rush out the door, perhaps we should take Will’s advice. Do we really need to hurry to a place we have no business?

The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Will Rogers on “Knowledge of the Future”

Will RogersConfidence just seems to flow naturally from the lips of politicians! For example, the former speaker of the house said that “We need to pass this [health care] bill to find out what’s in it!”

Opponents of the bill were criticized for voting against the bill, that they were not given the opportunity to read. They predicted huge problems for the economy. In the end, confidence in the bill won, and beat prediction, just like Will Rogers says in this quote. Now we have to hire 81 IRS workers to enforce compliance of the excise tax on tanning salons.†

After spending hundreds of billions of dollars of stimulus money, the Vice President remains confident of success. He recently said: “Just becaust the Recovery Act was a monumental failure, does not mean that it is not working.” Detractors of the stimulus predicted dire economic consequences, and now we have high unemployment, plus rising energy and food prices.

Hope and confidence are abundant with the current administration, but they just don’t seem to have a clue about the future. Will Rogers sure got that right, didn’t he?

Well, I’ve got to go and apply for an IRS job downtown this afternoon. I’m confident I can land my dream job of checking up on tanning salons.

†Healthcare Reform Law Requires New IRS Army Of 1,054 – Washington Whispers (usnews.com)

The image was taken directly from images at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Will Rogers on “Appropriated Out of a Job”

Will RogersSpend, spend, spend! Promise, promise, promise! So here we are now. The money is spent and the promises are all broken.

Last election, a whole bunch of legislators went down appropriating and are now looking for employment, just as Will Rogers said in his quote from 1932.

The only thing stimulated by the all the spending has been the government. Somebody has to manage all the pork. Hog calls can be heard in the halls of government as harried workers try to get control of the hog waller. Sooooooooweeeee, soooooooweeee, here pig, pig, pig, pig!

Now everything stinks to high heaven, but the brilliant economists and administration officials comfort us by saying that “this is the new normal, get used to it.”

Let’s see now, unemployment is rising, oil prices are rising, food prices are rising, waste and fraud are rising, health care costs are rising, benefits are extended, and we are supposed to believe that we are on the right track and the administration knows what they are doing. Will Rogers was a man of common sense, and I think the American people are too. Common sense would say that in the next election the people still left who got us into this mess will have “appropriated themselves out of a job.”

All we have to do then, is join with Will Rogers and say: “I hope some of the men[and women] who get the most votes will be elected.”

Image Information: This image is from a Will Rogers’ silent movie called Jubilo, released in 1919. Rogers plays Jubilo, a tramp, who makes himself useful doing odd jobs in a small farming community while he looks for the wife who deserted him while he was off in the war.

The image was taken directly from movie stills at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Trust in the Lord – Psalm 37 KJV 2 Minute Devotional

We’ve had some close calls financially, but there has always been food on the table for our family. My wife can stretch the food budget, a friend gave us some grocery money, a neighbor brought us a meal, another neighbor shared garden vegetables with us are some of the ways God has provided for us in the past.

This is a short verse, but it carries lots of meaning. The Lord asks two things of us: trust Him and do good. In return he allows us to dwell in the land and promises we shall be fed. Mr. Squirrel seems to be quite satisfied in the picture, doesn’t he?

Dear Lord, help me to trust in you, and to do good from a grateful heart. Thank you for your gracious provision, Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 37 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes KJV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Consider the Poor – Psalm 41 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

One of several reoccurring themes through the Psalms is God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In Psalm 41, the Lord promises blessings and protection for those who consider the poor.

The Church and God’s people have always had a roll in ministering to the poor. Not only do they look after the needs for health care, clothing, food, and shelter, spiritual needs are considered important as well.

Why should I care about the poor? Because I was once destitute and without hope before someone shared the gospel with me. Because the church and God’s people have helped me with physical needs during difficult times. Because “Blessed is the one who considers the poor!”

Dear Lord, Help me to consider the poor, because I once was poor. Let my gratitude be my motivation, and my Your Spirit give me the strength. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 41 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

iPhone Daily Psalms ESV 1.1 update

The Daily Psalms ESV application update 1.1 was just approved by Apple and is available at the iTunes Store.

Spurgeon on “Would your Zeal Grow Chill?” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

Have you ever been excited about something? I just received my new iPhone 4 in the mail the other day, and the anticipation of opening the package and using my new phone got my heart racing. Only a geek would understand!

All of us have our passions – things that set our hearts to racing in anticipation. Spurgeon reminds us in this quote that our love for God should excite us as well, and it should impact everything we do.

The beautiful image of frost on the trees in winter fits well with Spurgeon’s final thought. We should make God our only object – we need to focus on Him so that our zeal would not grow cold. I’ve got a long way to go, but I thank God for the help of His Spirit.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote from Charles Spurgeon and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.