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Need Help with My Loneliness |
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A Pocket Paper Robert J.
Morgan Today I would like to speak on the subject: “I Need Help with My Loneliness.” Some years ago, I received a letter from one of our singles that included these words: “I’m more or less content alone, I suppose. I’ve had so many adventures in my life already; I’m used to doing them alone. But there’s this sense of lacking. It fades in and out. It’s always waiting in the background for a weak moment. I’ve prayed many times for someone to share these adventures with, but the Lord’s time hasn’t come yet.” This week I read this letter in the newspaper, written to an advice columnist: “I am a 14-year-old girl who finds it hard to make friends. It’s probably because I’m shy and quiet. Sometimes I get so lonely that I’ve even thought of ending my life. Whenever I see a group of teenagers hanging out together and having a good time, I feel uncomfortable and jealous. Though I do have a few close friends in school, in church, I am treated as if I’m not there. I cannot stand the loneliness anymore. It’s simply too hard to bear. I don’t think I can tell my friends about this because in front of them, I act like a fun-loving and funny girl. I also cannot tell my parents because I don’t want them to worry. So I confide in my hamster, but in the end, it’s still just my pet.” [1] Loneliness is at epidemic proportions in our world today, and it is a serious issue of mental and physical health. Morris Smith in his book, The Devil’s Advocate, wrote: “It comes to all of us sooner or later. Friends die, family dies, lovers and husbands, too. We get old; we get sick… In a society where people live in impersonal cities or suburbs, where electronic entertainment often replaces one-to-one conversation, where people move from job to job, and state to state, and marriage to marriage, loneliness has become an epidemic.”[2] Well, let me give you four categories of lonely people. First, singles struggle with loneliness. Second, people in ministry. Third, those whose friends forsake them. Fourth, prisoners on death row. Now, let me ask you a question. How would you like to be a person is fits into all four of those categories at once. Have you ever known a single who was in ministry whose friends had forsaken him and who found himself in prison on death row? Can you imagine the multiplied layers of loneliness that person would feel? That is exactly the description of the apostle Paul as he wrote his final extant letter, 2 Timothy. And in his last paragraph, we have some fascinating insights about how the old apostle was dealing with his own mental health. Be diligent to come to me
quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has
departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for
Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for
he is useful to me for ministry.
And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with
Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the
parchments. Alexander the
coppersmith did me much harm. May
the Lord repay him according to his works. You must also beware of him, for he
has greatly resisted our words.
At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it now be charged against
them. But the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me,
and that all the Gentiles might hear.
Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from
every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet Prisca and Aquila,
and the household of Onesiphorus.
Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus
sick. Do your best to come before
winter. Eubulus greets you, as
well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit. Grace be to you. Amen. As far as we can tell, these are the final written words of the apostle Paul. They were probably written from the dungeon of a prison in Rome, sometime in or near A.D. 67. Not long afterward, according to our best traditions, Paul was beheaded. I’m sure that as he sat in that cold, dark, filthy subterranean dungeon, the apostle Paul battled loneliness, and it’s important for us to realize that having feelings of loneliness isn’t a sin. It may be a sin when we cave into them and allow ourselves to sink into depression and self-pity. But feeling alone is normal and natural and unavoidable. Sometimes when I’ve been traveling overseas by myself, I struggle with this. During the day, I’m busy. I’m sightseeing. I’m reading tour books or studying in museums or meeting people for one reason or another. But then I return to my hotel room and it’s very empty and there’s no one to share any of it with. And being isolated in a foreign culture, alone when you go to bed and when you get up, can be intensely lonely. As I studied these verses from the perspective of loneliness, I came away with an eight-fold strategy that can help any one of us to cope with feelings of loneliness. 1.
Keep Your Lord Near First, keep your Lord near. The verse that strikes me with greatest force in this passage is verse 17: But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Notice that verb—He stood with me. Now to really understand this, we have to read the preceding verse, too: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.” When Paul says, “At my first defense,” he is evidently referring to a preliminary hearing leading up to the present trial. Paul had been arrested and charged with preaching the Gospel and evangelizing the empire. He was on trial for his life. When he stood to face the charges, every single friend he had in Rome fled in fear. Not a single friend stood with him. After all, Paul was a Roman citizen, and he was exempt from certain terrible things like flogging and crucifixion and being thrown to the lions. But most of his friends in Rome were not citizens of the Empire, and to have gone before the Emperor in Paul’s defense was to risk flogging and crucifixion and being thrown to the lions. Paul understood that, and so he added, “May it not be charged against them.” Nevertheless, not one of them stood with Paul. But the Lord stood with him. By saying, “The Lord stood with me,” it almost seems to me that Paul looked over to his right side and saw—not with his physical vision, but with the eyes of faith—the Lord Jesus Christ standing beside him. He didn’t just say, “The Lord was with me,” or “The Lord was near me.” He said, “When I stood up to face the charges that were being leveled against me, my Lord stood up beside me.” He seemed to be visualizing the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I was a boy there was a well-known evangelist holding crusades around the country. His name was Oral Roberts, and he was a faith healer. Up in the mountains, we were skeptical about the faith-healing part of his ministry, but somehow or other I came across some little booklets that he wrote. He had a little booklet on the subject of prayer, and I have kept that booklet all these years. He said something I’ve never forgotten: Talk to God as a person. Do not think of God only as a great
Spirit that fills the universe, although you know He is that Spirit. Do not think of Him as being millions
of miles away, although you know he is everywhere at the same time. Think of Him as a person—God
focused into a human being whose name is Jesus Christ. One of the reasons God sent His Son to the earth was
that people had only a vague idea of God. It is difficult for the human mind to
comprehend or to conceive a totally intangible and spiritual God. If you think of Him only in terms of
the spiritual and the intangible; if you think of Him as some great spiritual
being beyond the stars, it is hard for you to focus your mind on God as He
is. That is why God sent His
Son. That is why Jesus said,
“He that hath seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Christ is the brightness of
God’s glory and the express image of His personality. To think of Christ as a person makes it easy for you
to see Him in your mind’s eye. You see Him beside the waters of the Sea
of Galilee. You see Him standing
on the hillside, preaching to the people. You see Him laying His hands on the
sick. You see Him blessing little
children. You see Him on the
cross. You see Him raising the
dead. You see Him ascending to
heaven. And you see Him sitting
at God’s right hand. You
can see the Lord in your mind’s eye. And so, when you pray, pray to God as
a person.[3] My mother discovered this secret in the closing years of her life. She was very lonely after my father’s death. She lived alone in a rambling cabin in the mountains. But one day, her attitude seemed to change and to improve. She told me that she had just learned to practice the presence of the Lord Jesus all day long, when she rose, when she read her Bible and had her coffee, when she did her errands, when she cleaned her house, when she had her supper alone, when she went to bed and turned off the light. He was there with her all the time. Now, if you are a cynical, secular psychologist, you’d say, “Well, people like that are just creating a mental illusion. It’s like a child who invents an imaginary friend.” But we have biblical warrant for this. From one end of the Bible to the other we are given divine reassurance that this is not imaginary, but it is reality. Ø
Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the Garden of
Eden, coming to talk with them and to fellowship with them (Genesis 3:8). Ø
Moses spoke with God face to face, as a man speaks with his friend
(Exodus 33:11). Ø
The Lord said to Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake
you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Ø
Psalm 16 says: “In
Your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.” Ø
The Psalmist said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me (Psalm 23). Ø
Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age” (Matthew 28:20). Ø
Paul said, “The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but pray
about everything” (Philippians 4). Ø
James said, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to
you.” So when we have asked Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, we can learn to practice His presence, and it takes the hard edge off the temptations of loneliness. It seemed to make all the difference here in 2 Timothy 4 as we read of Paul’s last days, and it can be the same for us. 2.
Keep Your Friends Close Second, keep your friends close. Now here’s a remarkable thing. In the passage that I just read, Paul’s last recorded words on this earth, his last will and testament, he took the time to list the individual names of eighteen different people—Timothy himself would make it nineteen—most of them his friends. As I read this, I thought of this question: If I had come to the end of my life, and I was writing my final words, and I came to my final paragraph, what would I write about? I might write about my accomplishments or failures. I might have written about how wonderful the Lord has been to me all my life. But would I have used up that pen and ink, that scrap of parchment, listing nearly 20 names of particular friends about whom I was interested? Just look at it: Demas,
Crescens, Titus, Luke, Mark, Tychicus, Carpus, Prisca, Aquila, Onesiphorus,
Erastus, Trophimus, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the
brethren…. Paul was wrapped up in keeping
his friends close, in caring for their needs. He didn’t have a lot of time to
worry about himself; he was too busy caring for the needs of other
people. He was the personification
of the very advice he had given earlier in Philippians 2:4: Let
each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the
interests of others. I don’t think that loneliness is a sin, but I think that self-pity is; and the best way to get over a bad bout of feeling sorry for yourself is to shift your focus to the needs of others and learn to be a servant. That’s another thing I noticed about my mother during her latter years. She spent time every day doing things for others. She had a fabulous recipe for homemade rolls, and she baked dozens of them to take to church each week to feed the sick and shut-ins. She kept a little flower garden so that she could take arrangements to people in the nursing home. She regularly invited people to her home for supper or for one of her famous mountain breakfasts. She’d drive along the winding roads of Buck Mountain to visit her ailing sister and to bring her some cheer. When was the last time you or I did any of those things? We’re so busy nowadays that we don’t have time to commit random acts of kindness, but that’s also one of the reasons we’re lonely. Samuel Johnson used to say, “Keep your friendships in good repair.” 3.
Keep Your Correspondence Going Closely connected to that is my third observation: keep your correspondence going. Theologians classify Paul’s letters into various categories. We call this letter, 2 Timothy, for example, one of his three Pastoral Epistles because it was written to Timothy about pastoral matters. But it could also be classified as one of his Prison Epistles. Paul wrote several of his letters while in prison. It was helpful for those to whom he was writing, of course. After all, just think of how enriched we are to have 2 Timothy, and such books as Ephesians and Colossians and Philippians! But the act of writing these letters was also therapeutic for Paul himself. It gave him a valuable outlet, a work to do, a sense of purpose. Even when he was trapped in a place of loneliness such as a prison cell, he could still pick up his pen and minister to others. And I want to suggest to you that writing is a powerful antidote to loneliness. I find when I’m lonely and away from home that writing in my journal is a matter of necessity. Now, almost no one has ever read any pages in my journals. I almost never show them to anyone. But when I write, I’m writing before the Lord and communing with my own spirit. I’m vaguely aware that it’s possible a hundred years from now that my great, great grandchildren might read them if the pages survive the passing of the years. But there’s something therapeutic about keeping a journal. But even better is writing to others. Whether it’s an electronic letter sent around the world in a flash of time, or an old-fashioned card sent through the mail to a friend, it’s a wonderful way to minister. 4.
Keep Your Mind Occupied Fourth, keep your mind occupied. Look at what Paul asked Timothy in verse 13 of our text: “Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments.” We don’t know the contents of these books and parchments. Were they copies of the Old Testament Scriptures? Were they commentaries? Did this represent his personal library? We just don’t know; but we do know that up to the very end, the Apostle Paul kept his mind active. He was a student. He was a reader. He poured over the Scriptures. He never cultivated a lazy mind. Loneliness and boredom are closely related. When we keep our lives busy and our minds active, we don’t have as much time to feel lonely. Of course, there are two times during the day when we’re more tempted to feel lonely than any other. The first is at mealtime. There’s something about eating alone that exacerbates feelings of loneliness. Recently I was in a restaurant at suppertime, and as I looked around I saw several people eating alone in booths and tables. Every single one of them was talking on their cell phone all the time they were eating. When I’m at home and Katrina is away for some reason or another, I usually turn on the television and watch the news while I’m eating. Meal times are lonely times when you’re alone. But the other time is in the evenings. And for those of you who feel lonely in the evenings, I want to suggest the books and the parchments. I’m very fortunate because for some reason I learned to read myself to sleep every single night of my life. I don’t remember a time in childhood when I wasn’t reading in bed. My father bought me a little New Testament, and I read a few verses every night before bed; and we had a card to the public library, and every week I’d come home with an armful of books, most of which I read in bed. Now after all these years, I still do the same thing. It’s been a lifelong habit. Katrina and I have a television in our bedroom, but I don’t think that we’ve ever watched it at bedtime. We both much prefer the books and the parchments. Right now, I’m reading
two books. One is an old book by
Lorne Sanny on the subject of evangelism and soul-winning. I always have a devotional or
Christian book from which to read a few pages, because it helps settle and
soothe my mind. My other current
reading project is Dostoevsky’s famous
Russian novel, The Brothers Karamazov, which I’ve finally decided to tackle
after all these years. When I’m away from home in a hotel or motel,
I seldom turn on the television.
It depresses me. Instead,
I have my books in my suitcase, and I study at the little desk then read in
bed—and keeping my mind occupied in a healthy way like that minimizes
the feelings of loneliness that I might face. Furthermore, spending just a few minutes every day in a healthy mental occupation can enrich your life more than you realize. Do you know that there is a popular book out now entitled Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day. The author is a clinical psychologist who co-founded the Harvard Writing Center, and her thesis is that it’s remarkable what you can learn and accomplish over time even if you only have fifteen minutes a day to devote to it. Do you want to master the contents of the book of Revelation? Do you want to memorize Psalm 46? Do you want to read through the Bible? Do you want to study some of the great classics of Christian literature? Learn to turn off the television set and set aside an hour or so before bedtime in keeping your mind occupied with good things. Paul said, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise-worthy—meditate on these things.” Over the years, many people have told me that in a time of bereavement or stress or loneliness, they have learned the secret to the evening quiet time in which they leisurely end the day with prayer and good old-fashioned Bible study. Doing that not only occupies the mind, but it fills the soul with the sense of God’s presence that we talked about earlier. When you turn off the light and lay your head on the pillow, your mind and heart are filled with Scripture and with the promises of God. There’s no pillow like a promise. No blanket like the Bible. No mattress like meditation. 5.
Keep Your Life Productive Fifth, keep your life productive. Paul was at a point in his career when he could have easily said, “Well, I’m going to phase out of ministry. I’m going to devote the rest of my time to working on my legal defense and trying to stay alive as long as possible.” But look at the number of personal ministries he was sustaining in his last days. The book of 2 Timothy is filled with Paul’s insights into ministry, and even in this last paragraph we’re reading the directives and instructions of a productive man: Ø He was concerned about the spiritual collapse of his friend, Demas. Ø He had sent co-workers to various churches as trouble-shooters and teachers. Ø He was sending Timothy a replacement so that Timothy could join him in Rome. Ø He wanted to warn his friends about the duplicity of Alexander the coppersmith Ø He was concerned that “the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear” (v. 17). Ø He wanted to keep up-to-date with the ministries of Priscilla and Aquila and other friends. Ø He sent personal regards and greetings to his co-workers in the kingdom. Paul was a man whose life was productive to the very end. I remember when my friend, Dr. Billy Melvin, retired after many years as Executive Director of the National Association of Evangelicals. Katrina and I attended a banquet honoring him for his years of service, and one of the speakers said something I’ve never forgotten. He said, “Retirement is just God’s way of freeing you up for further service.” Dr. Bill Bright recently wrote his last book, The Journey Home. It was written as he was dying. He said something in that book that I had never thought about before. In the Old Testament, the prophet Samuel served the nation of Israel for many years as a priest and as a judge. Then his sons and eventually King Saul took over, and Samuel retired, as it were. But 1 Samuel 8 does not say, “When Samuel retired…” but it says, “When Samuel was old…” And what did he do when he was old? He told the children of Israel, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way” (1 Samuel 12:23, NLT). Retirement was God’s way of freeing Samuel up to a broader ministry of prayer and teaching. He was productive to the very end. Recently I read Robert Fulghum’s book, Words I Wish I Wrote, in which he quotes these words by the Japanese artist Hokusai: Ever since the age of six
I have had a mania for drawing the forms of objects. Toward the age of fifty I published a
very large number of drawings, but I am dissatisfied with everything which I
produced before the age of seventy.
It was at the age of seventy-three I nearly mastered the real nature
and form of birds, fish, plants, etcetera. Consequently, at the age of eighty, I
have got to the bottom of things; at one hundred I shall have attained a
decidedly higher level which I cannot define, and at the age of one hundred
and ten every dot and every line from my brush will be alive. I call on those who may live as long
as I to see if I keep my word. Well, the Japanese artist Hokusai didn’t make it to 110, but he was still painting at the time of his death at age 90, and he was still convinced that his best work was ahead of him.[4] What am I saying? Paul didn’t have time to sink into the quicksand of depression or self-pity, and he didn’t have time to harbor intense feelings of loneliness. He was too busy working for the Savior. He was about His Master’s business. 6.
Keep Your Heart Healthy Sixth, if we’re going to stave off unhealthy feelings of depression and self-pity related to loneliness, we’ve got to keep our hearts healthy. Some time ago I was on the airplane seated beside a world-famous cardiologist. He was returning from a medical convention overseas. He wanted to talk to me about the importance of keeping my heart healthy. He said that the heart is a muscle, and it must be exercised on a regular basis. The way we exercise it is to make it beat faster for a period of time through intense exercise. If we don’t do that, we’ll succumb sooner or later to heart disease, he said. Well, we have another kind of heart, and we must exercise it and keep it healthy. One of the things that surprises me in this paragraph is the total lack of bitterness that Paul feels as he faces certain levels of betrayal and disappointment from others. Look at verses 9-10: Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Paul is no doubt grieved over this, but he states it as a matter of fact. “Timothy, I need you to come as quickly as possible. I was relying on Demas to help me complete some of these projects, but he’s bailed out.” Paul is honest about this. He was no doubt disappointed and grieved. But he did not take it personally. Then look at verse 11: Only
Luke is with me. Get Mark and
bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. Mark is the young man who had so badly disappointed Paul a few years earlier on his first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas had taken Mark with them on their trip, but on that occasion it was Mark who had forsaken them, having loved the present world. But Mark had changed. He had grown. He had become a giant for the Lord. And in writing these words, Paul was telling all of Christian history that he had been too premature in his earlier criticism of Mark. He had been wrong to write off this young man. Now he commended Mark and needed him for the ministry. Then look at verse 14: Alexander
the coppersmith did me much harm.
May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware him, for he has
greatly resisted our words. Paul had been badly damaged by this man. He had been abused and harmed by him. But there is not a hint of anger or bitterness here. He just turned Alexander over to the Lord. He was saying, “Here is man of whom I could be very angry and resentful, but the best thing is to turn him over to the Lord. I’m not going to allow myself to simmer about it or to hate him or to grow bitter over it.” And then look at verse 16: At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. I’m sure that the Christians in Rome would have wished to stand with Paul, but to do so was highly dangerous. Would you have come to church today if you knew that you might be seized and tortured just for showing up? If you knew that you might be fired from your job, torn from your family, and tossed into prison for taking a stand for Christ? Paul had never felt so alone, but he tried to be understanding and forgiving. And furthermore, he asked the Lord to forgive them for deserting him. He didn’t take things personally. I think that very often our biggest problems in life are that we take things personally. How easy it is for us to feel personally affronted, personally betrayed, personally offended. Paul shed those things like water on a rain slicker, and he kept his heart healthy. When you give into bitterness or anger, it opens the door for self-pity and loneliness. The best thing is to exercise our hearts with the love and grace of Jesus Christ and to remain healthy of soul. 7.
Keep Your Hopes High Seventh, Paul kept his hopes
high. I think one of the most
remarkable verses the apostle ever wrote is verse 18: But
the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His
heavenly kingdom. Paul was saying, “I am on death row. I am in the worst spot I’ve ever been in. But God is going to spring me from this prison. He is going to deliver me. He is going to preserve me.” And shortly after that, he was led from his cell, his neck was stretched over a block of wood, and a Roman ax decapitated him. That’s how God sprang him from his prison cell. That’s how God delivered him. That’s how God preserved him. For to Paul, to live was Christ and to die was gain. Both in life and in death, he cultivated a positive attitude. Now it is never to late to do that. Norman Vincent Peale was an American clergyman who wrote a famous book in the middle of the twentieth century entitled, The Power of Positive Thinking. Some of his theology is a little weak, but I’ve found his book very helpful. So have a lot of other people. One day, Dr. Peale received a letter from a man thanking him for his book. The man was 93 years old. He said, “I have had an inferiority complex for 93 years, and it made me miserable for 93 years. But a friend gave me your book, The Power of Positive Thinking. I read this book; I believed it; I practiced all your suggestions. And I’m writing to report that after 93 years I have lost my inferiority complex.”[5] Well, that was surely the longest inferiority complex in history. But it’s never too late to change, to grow, to improve. And we need to stay in the Scriptures, study what the Bible says about death and heaven and the future, and keep our spirits high. 8.
Keep Your Worship Focused Finally, Paul overcame his temptations toward loneliness by keeping his worship focused. There is one wonderful little sentence in this passage that we’re apt to pass over if we don’t read it slowly and carefully: “To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (v. 18). Paul was concerned every day that God be glorified. Whether alone or in a crowd, whether in poverty or wealth, whether in prison or in paradise, he lived for the glory of God. His very life was a doxology—an act of worship. Worship is a tremendous antidote to loneliness. Recently, I received a sweet letter from a woman in Indiana, and I’d like to share it with you. Dear Pastor Morgan, I am
72-years old, recently widowed, and in September, my youngest daughter
surprised me with a copy of your book, Then
Sings My Soul, and I can’t begin to express what a blessing it has
been! My husband was a church
organist for over forty years, and music has been such a vital part of our
lives. As you might guess, these
old songs have been such a blessing through the years. And thank God, they still are every
time I hear them or even read the words.
I’ve had many long, lonely hours since my husband’s
homegoing to heaven, but I have sat down with this book and read the words
and stories and have rejoiced over and over again at their meaning! One of my very favorites has always
been “How Firm a Foundation.” I have it quite marked and
highlighted, but along with many others. You’re never alone if you have an open hymnbook on the table in front of you. As you worship the Lord, you’re joining an ageless choir made up of all the saints of all the ages, with the angels as the back-up singers, and you’re praising the Lord who has given us a firm foundation for life. So we must recognize loneliness as an ever-present shadow in our lives, especially in this disconnected age. But it’s a shadow that increasingly fades as we walk in the light. As the old song says: Why should I feel discouraged, why should
the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long
for heaven and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant
friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He
watches me. ______________________ [1] “Lonely Girl with only a Hamster to Confide In” in The Straits Times (Singapore), October 18, 2004. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/geny/story/0,4386,278549,00.html. 2 Morris L. West, The Devil’s Advocate (New York: Dell, 1959), pp. 334-335. 3 Oral Roberts, How Jesus Taught Us to Pray and Believe (Tulsa, OK: Oral Roberts, 1964), pp. 9-10. 4 Quoted by Robert Fulghum, Words I Wish I Wrote (New York: Cliff Street Books, 1977), p. 55. 5 Norman Vincent Peale, The Tough-Minded Optimist (New York: Fawcett World Library, 1967), p. 19. Copyright StatementWe grant permission for any edition of The Pocket Paper to be photocopied for use in a local congregation or classroom, provided no more than 1,000 copies are made, the material is distributed free, and the copies include the notice: "Copyright (year) The Donelson Fellowship."For any other use, advance permission must be obtained from The Donelson Fellowship church office. |
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[1] “Lonely Girl with only a Hamster to Confide In” in The Straits Times (Singapore), October 18, 2004. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/geny/story/0,4386,278549,00.html.
[2] Morris L. West, The Devil’s Advocate (New York: Dell, 1959), pp. 334-335.
[3] Oral Roberts, How Jesus Taught Us to Pray and Believe (Tulsa, OK: Oral Roberts, 1964), pp. 9-10.
[4] Quoted by Robert Fulghum, Words I Wish I Wrote (New York: Cliff Street Books, 1977), p. 55.
[5] Norman Vincent Peale, The Tough-Minded Optimist (New York: Fawcett World Library, 1967), p. 19.