FYI- The main URL for Clown Ministry referred to in the previous post it:

Clown Ministry

See also New Stuff from ... for a story about Red and a friend of mine.

Thanks to Clown Ministry for these quotes. I am not sure who compiled all of these, but thanks!!! Their site is wonderful. Visit it!!!!!

Red Skelton's Funny Faces

Red Skelton was one of my favorite funny men of all time. He was always clean and always funny. This is a tribute to him, but also a source of some good sermon and teaching material:

Quotes from Red Skelton on clowns, laughter, children, and other topics. Some quotes from Red Skelton's TV show, others from interviews with Red

"God's children and their happiness are my reasons for being"

"I don't want to be called 'the greatest' or 'one of the greatest'; let other guys claim to be the best. I just want to be known as a clown because to me that's the height of my profession. It means you can do everything-sing, dance, and above all, make people laugh."

"Today's comics use four-letter words as a shortcut to thinking. They're shooting for that big laugh and it becomes a panic thing, using four-letter words to shock people."

"Mom used to say I didn't run away from home my destiny just caught up with me at an early age."

Reflecting on his life: "I'd have avoided some of the pain if I could. Anyone would. But I wouldn't have missed knowing any of the people -- even the ones whose leaving hurt most. In fact, the only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't meet one particular guy, a clown named Joe Skelton. You know, he sure picked the right profession. I mean, a clown's got it all. He never has to hold back: He can do as he pleases. The mouth and the eyes are painted on. So if you wanta cry, you can go right ahead. The make up won't smear. You'll still be smiling. . . ."

"All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner. " (from "1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said," )

About Freddy the Freeloader: “I get asked all the time; Where did you get the idea for Freddie the Freeloader, and who is Freddie really?

Well, I guess you might say that Freddie the Freeloader is a little bit of you, and a little bit of me, a little bit of all of us, you know.

He’s found out what love means. He knows the value of time. He knows that time is a glutton. We say we don't have time to do this or do that. There's plenty of time. The trick is to apply it. The greatest disease in the world today is procrastination.

And Freddie knows about all these things. And so do you.

He doesn't ask anybody to provide for him, because it would be taken away from you. He doesn't ask for equal rights if it’s going to give up some of yours.

And he knows one thing ... that patriotism is more powerful than guns.

He’s nice to everybody because he was taught that man is made in God’s image. He’s never met God in person and the next fella just might be him.

I would say that Freddie is a little bit of all of us.” )from Red Skelton's Funny Faces video)

"I only come to life when there are people watching."

"I'm nuts and I know it. But so long as I make 'em laugh, they ain't going to lock me up. "

"Our principles are the springs of our actions. Our actions, the springs of our happiness or misery. Too much care, therefore, cannot be taken in forming our principles."

"His death was the first time that Ed Wynn ever made anyone sad."

"No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds."

"I personally believe that each of us was put here for a purpose -- to build not to destroy. If I can make people smile, then I have served my purpose for God."

"Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations."

Xana Ender says this very well:

This Is Me: In the world, but not of the world

"It hurts the worst when you decide to follow God and other Christians mock you for the love you now feel toward your fellow man. Legalists get pretty mad at Christians who have lost their self-hatred because they love God so much that they see everyone through His eyes, including themselves. This radical love that causes you to forgive others for sin and yourself as well is at odds with how legalists view the world. We need radical, Godly love. We need to love people 100%, love God 100%, and hate worldly things 100%. This isn’t 300%,(and so in reality each one gets 33.3%) it is all the same thing in the end. For loving God and loving people in the world IS hating the world and vice versa. Let’s pursue radical love."

Radical love is love like no other. Radical comes from Radix or Root. I like the way Xana plays with percentages to show their abnsurdity. Radical love is absurd, irrational, and absolutely grounded in God.

It is so wise that it appears foolish. It cannot be explained outside the realm of God's love because it is so "other."

It is the RADIX of everything:

R - Rooted in a Reality that transcends the ruthlessly regimented regulations that govern human relationships. Love is REAL and it trumps every other reality. REALITY.

A - Rooted in how we Approach everything and everyone. Radical love transforms our perspective on people. Xana deals with this in a compelling way. As II Corinthians 5 says, we see everyone differently - other people, ourselves, even Jesus. APPROACH

D - It roots all of our Decisions . Love is about deciding to love on faith and in obedience and then, letting our choices be governed by the law of love. If all the law hangs on the rule of love as Jesus taught, we will never be able to make a loveless decision again in good conscience. DECISIONS.

I - There is at the root of love a holy Indifference to how our love is received and reciprocated. While we do not divorce ourselves from emotional and embrace the pain of rejection (as did Hosea and Yahweh), those factors do not alter our course. We love with a paradoxical combination of vulnerability and INDIFFERANCE.

X - X is the ancient symbol for the cross. It is in the cross where love is most manifest and magnified. It roots our love and from that root grows a vine to which we are attached and through which we bear fruit. X

Thanks for the prompting, Xana.

I'm with Jess on this one - I just wish he'd post more of them so I could take some really big risks.

Moody Blog: "Anyone is welcome to use my quotes, so long as you give credit.

The Rules:

1. If you fail to give credit once, I will cut off his left ear.

2. If anyone fails to give credit the second time, I will cut off his right ear.

3. If anyone fails to give credit the third time, he will be required to move to Muleshoe, Texas for the rest of his natural life,"

Thoughts on Fire for Hot Summer Nights in July

Independence Day Sunday
Where the Spirit of the Lord Is

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. - 2 Corinthians 3:17

Just what makes us free? Is it a declaration of principles or a treaty of surrender that marks great victories in battle? Is it a Bill of Rights or a system of government? As glorious as these are, they are not the true source of our ultimate freedom. They are outward means for securing temporal liberty and they are highly valued and worthy of honor, but our true freedom comes from God and is activated by His Holy Spirit in our lives.

If the Lord is that Spirit, what sort of Spirit is He?

He is the Spirit that removes the veil from our hearts, which has obscured the truth for so long. He clarifies, amplifies, and signifies spiritual reality and causes us to see what is in a new and clearer way. The Spirit of God helps us to know the truth that sets us free. In a free society, the free flow of information is vital. Among spiritually liberated people, truth flows just as freely. Blindness flees. New sight is available.

He is the Spirit who liberates us from the bonds of defeat and causes us to triumph through Jesus Christ. We are no longer captivated by an attitude that limits our potential or builds fences around our desire to explore new territory for God.

He is the Spirit who puts an end to condemnation in our lives. He informs us of the redemption and reconciliation that are inherent in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He applies the work of the cross to our lives in liberating proclamation.

He is finally, the Spirit who transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ as we behold Him. That is the goal of our freedom – the freedom to become more and more like Jesus.

What better place for a liberated believer than an environment that values our freedom in Christ. We can grow spiritually without such an environment, but what a blessing it is! What a privilege we have to live in a country whose basic principles reflect those spiritual principles from which our soul freedom derives. Let us give thanks today for America.

Fired Up

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: - Matthew 3:11

Are you fired up? Water reminds us of Spirit and of fire. It is a strange paradox, for water often quenches fire. However, firefighters will tell us that there are some fires that not only cannot be quenched by fire, but grow with the introduction of water. So it is with repentance. God observes the intention of our hearts and we long for new life and yearn for change. Jesus is who we need because He has the power to do what water cannot do. The symbolic water of outward repentance signifies the inner fire of new life.

The Son of God is the worthy one. Brother John knew that he was His messenger and that all he did and said was to point the way to Jesus. Though he was as great as any man born of woman, he keenly sensed his comparable unworthiness. Jesus himself would explain that the very least in God’s Kingdom would be greater than the greatest specimen of human nobility.

All of that was because of the introduction of a new factor in the human experience: the possibility of men and women being completely immersed in the Holy Spirit and fire. Water could demonstrate repentance, but fire would burn away all the remnants of sin through a deep cleansing process within and the Spirit would empower us to face temptations, trials and challenged with unprecedented energy.

Fire grows under the proper conditions and it heats everything up. So it is with those who have been immersed in God’s Spirit. His fire rages within them and brings heat and light to a cold, dark world. It is more than enthusiasm, though it often manifests itself as such. It is more than passion, though it ignites a passion so deep that nothing can douse it. It is more than energy; it is a result of divine energy. It is God’s very presence in our lives.

Like John, we are unworthy, but we are destined for greatness – not of our own making, but of His. His Spirit within fires us up.

Consuming Fire

For our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:29

What consumables are stored in the attic of your life? What is present in your heart and soul that has no value other than to be fuel for the fire of God passing through you? What is taking up space in your thoughts, attentions, relationships, and routine that really needs to be burned away as the Spirit of God rages through your life? What are you willing to throw on His altar that He might burn it way? Our God is a consuming fire and that is not always to our disadvantage.

The other side of judgment in our lives is that once we know God through Jesus Christ, we no longer want that “old stuff” stored up in our lives. We see it as hazardous waste, no longer worthy of the storage space it occupies. It is offensive and putrefying and we want it out of our lives.

There is a problem however. While the residue of pride in our hearts whispers to us that we can handle that mess, God knows that we cannot. Jesus came to rid us of sin and only His power can burn it out of our lives. We repent, but He removes. We can turn away from sin, but only He can eliminate its hold on our lives.

It may look like we are “reforming” from the outside, but He is transforming us from the inside. And part of that process is welcoming His fire within. Judgment begins in the house of God and we are grateful for it because it is the old man of sin that is being judged and he already has a death sentence over his ugly head. He is no longer worth our effort because we have new life in Christ.

Let the fire burn. It is liberating and purifying. As a forest is often regenerated by fire, so will our lives be renewed by God as He burns away all that is unworthy and plants His seeds of newness within us.

Putting Out the Spirit’s Fire

Quench not the Spirit. - 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Not everyone is comfortable with the raging fire of God in the midst of His people. You cannot be neutral about fire. It is not a passive religious sentiment. It is out-of-control, destructive, and threatening from a human standpoint. But from God’s vantage point, it is controlled, regenerating, and life-affirming. We are frightened by it sometimes, because we don’t know where it is going. But if it is truly God’s fire, we don’t need to know. If we trust God, we can trust His fire.

There have always been those who would quench the Spirit. We see Him as unpredictable and impulsive. Yet, He is the one in our lives who leads us to God-ordained outcomes and produces the fruit of self-control. We look at Spirit empowered people and often judge them as unbalanced. Yet it is the Holy Spirit who knocks away the false props of our lives so that we can find true balance in Him.

We are sometimes embarrassed by the unbridled enthusiasm and unrestrained exuberance of new believers. Paul instructs us not the quench the Spirit in their lives. God is able to bring people to maturity and smooth over the rough edges of their character. Rather than dousing their fire, we ought to be throwing on more kindling and long-burning logs.

Quench not the Spirit in your own life through sin, bitterness, self-interest, or neglect. When God is at work, you will always feel slightly on edge. Learn to celebrate that and you will find yourself being weaned from false security and comfort onto the deeper nourishment of His peace that passes understanding. Quench not the Spirit.

Thoughts on Fire for Hot Summer Nights in July

Independence Day Sunday
Where the Spirit of the Lord Is

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. - 2 Corinthians 3:17

Just what makes us free? Is it a declaration of principles or a treaty of surrender that marks great victories in battle? Is it a Bill of Rights or a system of government? As glorious as these are, they are not the true source of our ultimate freedom. They are outward means for securing temporal liberty and they are highly valued and worthy of honor, but our true freedom comes from God and is activated by His Holy Spirit in our lives.

If the Lord is that Spirit, what sort of Spirit is He?

He is the Spirit that removes the veil from our hearts, which has obscured the truth for so long. He clarifies, amplifies, and signifies spiritual reality and causes us to see what is in a new and clearer way. The Spirit of God helps us to know the truth that sets us free. In a free society, the free flow of information is vital. Among spiritually liberated people, truth flows just as freely. Blindness flees. New sight is available.

He is the Spirit who liberates us from the bonds of defeat and causes us to triumph through Jesus Christ. We are no longer captivated by an attitude that limits our potential or builds fences around our desire to explore new territory for God.

He is the Spirit who puts an end to condemnation in our lives. He informs us of the redemption and reconciliation that are inherent in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He applies the work of the cross to our lives in liberating proclamation.

He is finally, the Spirit who transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ as we behold Him. That is the goal of our freedom – the freedom to become more and more like Jesus.

What better place for a liberated believer than an environment that values our freedom in Christ. We can grow spiritually without such an environment, but what a blessing it is! What a privilege we have to live in a country whose basic principles reflect those spiritual principles from which our soul freedom derives. Let us give thanks today for America.

Fired Up

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: - Matthew 3:11

Are you fired up? Water reminds us of Spirit and of fire. It is a strange paradox, for water often quenches fire. However, firefighters will tell us that there are some fires that not only cannot be quenched by fire, but grow with the introduction of water. So it is with repentance. God observes the intention of our hearts and we long for new life and yearn for change. Jesus is who we need because He has the power to do what water cannot do. The symbolic water of outward repentance signifies the inner fire of new life.

The Son of God is the worthy one. Brother John knew that he was His messenger and that all he did and said was to point the way to Jesus. Though he was as great as any man born of woman, he keenly sensed his comparable unworthiness. Jesus himself would explain that the very least in God’s Kingdom would be greater than the greatest specimen of human nobility.

All of that was because of the introduction of a new factor in the human experience: the possibility of men and women being completely immersed in the Holy Spirit and fire. Water could demonstrate repentance, but fire would burn away all the remnants of sin through a deep cleansing process within and the Spirit would empower us to face temptations, trials and challenged with unprecedented energy.

Fire grows under the proper conditions and it heats everything up. So it is with those who have been immersed in God’s Spirit. His fire rages within them and brings heat and light to a cold, dark world. It is more than enthusiasm, though it often manifests itself as such. It is more than passion, though it ignites a passion so deep that nothing can douse it. It is more than energy; it is a result of divine energy. It is God’s very presence in our lives.

Like John, we are unworthy, but we are destined for greatness – not of our own making, but of His. His Spirit within fires us up.

Consuming Fire

For our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:29

What consumables are stored in the attic of your life? What is present in your heart and soul that has no value other than to be fuel for the fire of God passing through you? What is taking up space in your thoughts, attentions, relationships, and routine that really needs to be burned away as the Spirit of God rages through your life? What are you willing to throw on His altar that He might burn it way? Our God is a consuming fire and that is not always to our disadvantage.

The other side of judgment in our lives is that once we know God through Jesus Christ, we no longer want that “old stuff” stored up in our lives. We see it as hazardous waste, no longer worthy of the storage space it occupies. It is offensive and putrefying and we want it out of our lives.

There is a problem however. While the residue of pride in our hearts whispers to us that we can handle that mess, God knows that we cannot. Jesus came to rid us of sin and only His power can burn it out of our lives. We repent, but He removes. We can turn away from sin, but only He can eliminate its hold on our lives.

It may look like we are “reforming” from the outside, but He is transforming us from the inside. And part of that process is welcoming His fire within. Judgment begins in the house of God and we are grateful for it because it is the old man of sin that is being judged and he already has a death sentence over his ugly head. He is no longer worth our effort because we have new life in Christ.

Let the fire burn. It is liberating and purifying. As a forest is often regenerated by fire, so will our lives be renewed by God as He burns away all that is unworthy and plants His seeds of newness within us.

Putting Out the Spirit’s Fire

Quench not the Spirit. - 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Not everyone is comfortable with the raging fire of God in the midst of His people. You cannot be neutral about fire. It is not a passive religious sentiment. It is out-of-control, destructive, and threatening from a human standpoint. But from God’s vantage point, it is controlled, regenerating, and life-affirming. We are frightened by it sometimes, because we don’t know where it is going. But if it is truly God’s fire, we don’t need to know. If we trust God, we can trust His fire.

There have always been those who would quench the Spirit. We see Him as unpredictable and impulsive. Yet, He is the one in our lives who leads us to God-ordained outcomes and produces the fruit of self-control. We look at Spirit empowered people and often judge them as unbalanced. Yet it is the Holy Spirit who knocks away the false props of our lives so that we can find true balance in Him.

We are sometimes embarrassed by the unbridled enthusiasm and unrestrained exuberance of new believers. Paul instructs us not the quench the Spirit in their lives. God is able to bring people to maturity and smooth over the rough edges of their character. Rather than dousing their fire, we ought to be throwing on more kindling and long-burning logs.

Quench not the Spirit in your own life through sin, bitterness, self-interest, or neglect. When God is at work, you will always feel slightly on edge. Learn to celebrate that and you will find yourself being weaned from false security and comfort onto the deeper nourishment of His peace that passes understanding. Quench not the Spirit.

In Search of Fatherhood

“He who is taught to live upon little owes more to his father's wisdom than he who has a great deal left him does to his father's care “ - William Penn

Not just those who live on little, but each of us is the beneficiary of someone’s “fatherhood.” In a time when fatherhood is in crisis, it behooves us to reexamine its impact and mystique.

If the relationship of father to son could really be reduced to biology, the whole earth would blaze with the glory of fathers and sons. – James Baldwin

It takes a very short time to create biological fatherhood and it is quite an undemanding exercise. It takes years, however, to make a real father. And those years are those which lead up to the moment of conception, that time between conception and birth where a man considers his commitments, and all the years afterward as he grows and develops in his role.

In the years that lead up to conception, the boy becomes a man as he observes other fathers, including his own, is mentored, admired, and assisted in the unfolding task of manhood. He is instilled with values, morals, and examples of what fatherhood is all about. These are the primary formative years in the making of a father.

In that period of time between conception and birth, a man comes to realize the awesome responsibility he has undertaken. If he is wise, he asks many questions, reads books, prays, and thinks more than he has thought for years.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. – Charles Wadsworth

Then, of course, he has the rest of his life to work it out, to make appropriate corrections, and to adopt behavior patterns that will prepare him for each new stage of his own sons’ and daughters’ development and for grand fatherhood.

So, he is never finished with the process of being made a father. Fortunately, we have a guide, example, and helper in our Heavenly Father. The task is great, but God is greater. You can be the father God made you to be and help train the next generation of fathers. Along the way, there are some positive steps any man can take toward becoming a better equipped father:

1. Cultivate personal spiritual disciplines that you can model for the children in your life. BE a life-long disciple of Jesus Christ. Nothing will prepare you better for fatherhood.
2. Make prayer, first a centerpiece of your life, and then, of your home. Pray openly, honestly, and passionately about everything.
3. Be consistent. Maintain a life of integrity so that there is agreement between what you profess and what you practice.
4. Show affection and healthy emotion. It is the manly thing to do.
5. Walk what you talk and talk what you walk. Give visual and verbal witness to the gospel.

Look

Look in those eyes

That look to you

In trusting love.

Look deeply and

See the role that

Fits you as a glove.

You are his Dad.

You are her Father

And should you outlive your usefulness in every other dimension

Of what we so flippantly call life,

You will never grow so old or so feeble

That this will not be your child and you the hero of every hour.

© 2005, Thomas B. Sims, All rights reserved