Posts made in March, 2009
When The Time Comes
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 KJV)
When Corrie Ten Boom of The Hiding Place fame was a little girl in Holland , her first realization of death came after a visit to the home of a neighbor who had died. It impressed her that some day her parents would also die. Corrie’s father comforted her with words of wisdom. “Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam , when do I give you your ticket?”
“Why, just before we get on the train,” she replied.
“Exactly,” her father said, “and our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie.”
When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need — just in time.”
Read MoreAre You Prepared?
“Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:13-14 KJV)
A story is told of a married couple who enjoyed their luxury fishing boat together, but it was the husband who was always behind the wheel operating the boat. He was concerned about what might happen in an emergency. So one day out on the lake he said to his wife, “Please take the wheel, dear. Pretend that I am having a heart attack. You must get the boat safely to shore.” So she drove the boat to shore.
Later that evening, the wife walked into the living room where her husband was watching television. She sat down next to him, switched the TV channel, and said to him, “Please go into the kitchen, dear. Pretend I’m having a heart attack. You must set the table, cook the dinner, and wash the dishes.”
It’s not a very pleasant thing to pretend such a thing, but there are some legitimate concerns we should have. I wouldn’t consider it at all out of place for an insurance salesman to ask the question, “If you were to have a heart attack today, would your wife and children be taken care of?”
An even more important question needs to be raised as we consider our spiritual relationship with God. If I were to have a heart attack tonight and die, would I be prepared to stand before the great judgment seat of Christ? It’s a legitimate question. When I was a teenager, I thought that I would live forever. As I grow older, I become more and more aware of the fact that each day is a blessing provided by God, and I am not promised even one more.
I know it requires a degree of seriousness that may make you a bit uncomfortable, but just for a moment, pretend that you are having a heart attack. Are you prepared for eternity?
Read MoreThe Reward of Loving God’s Son
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” (1 John 2:23 KJV)
A very wealthy man lost his wife when his only child was very young. Then there came into his home a housekeeper to take care of that boy. The boy lived until he was of age, and then he died. The man had no other relatives; and he died heartbroken soon after the boy died. He had no one to leave his enormous wealth to, and there was a question about what would become of his possessions. They could find no will. It looked as if it would all pass over to the state. At last it was taken over by the state, and they held a sale to dispose of his personal effects, at the mansion where he had lived.
The old housekeeper who had brought up that boy from infancy, not having any money of her own, being just as poor as when she began to work for this wealthy man and keep house for him, went to the sale. There was only one thing she wanted. She couldn’t buy the furniture; she couldn’t buy the expensive rugs, but there was a picture on a wall in that house, a picture of the boy. She loved that boy. He had been to her a son, although she held no relationship to him. When the picture came to be sold, nobody else wanted it, and she bought it just for a few cents, and took it home.
It had been hanging on the wall for some time, and she thought she would clean it, take the back out, take the glass out, and polish it. But when she took it apart, some important looking papers fell out. They were given to a lawyer, who said to the woman, “I guess you have fallen on your feet this time. This man has left all his wealth to the one who loved his son enough to buy that picture.”
God will do anything for those who love His Son… try it!
Read MoreThe Hands of Christ
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV)
During World War II, a church building in Strasbourg was destroyed. After the bombing, the members surveyed the area to see what damage was done. They were pleased that a statue of Christ with outstretched hands was still standing. It had been sculpted centuries before by a great artist.
Taking a closer look, the people discovered both hands of Christ had been sheered off by a falling beam. Later, a sculptor in the town offered to replace the broken hands as a gift to the church. The church leaders met to consider the offer and decided not to accept it. They felt the statue without hands would be a great illustration that God’s work is done through his people.
Truly, in the church, we are the “hands of Christ”. If Christ is to minister to the poor, it must be through our hands. If he is to take care of the sick, it must be through our hands. If he is to reach out to those who are lonely, it must be through our hands.
See something around you that Christ needs to take care of today? He has no hands — but yours!
Read MoreAn Outpouring Of God!
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 KJV)
My heart is full as I write this. I just came from a prayer meeting initiated by the teenagers at our school that started at 12:20 (they skipped lunch and fasted) and went till 2:45 . What a wonderful time as our sophomores, juniors, and seniors poured out their heart to God asking him to give them more of a love for others and more fire and zeal for him. What a blessing as God’s presence came down and I was privileged to see them praise God, shout, run the aisles, and hug each other in an exuberance of love as well as doing some incredible praying during the prayer time. When it came time for class they were so involved in praying to God I doubt if they even had a clue it was time to go to class. I didn’t either till several minutes after class should have started. So I just canceled class, as did some other teachers and let them continue praying. Some things are just more important than others. It has been a long time since I have been in a prayer meeting just like that. When we were done, several of us just sat there totally drained physically while the spiritual part was going “WWWHHHEEEE!!!!!!”. No energy left. I had very little voice left either.
The idea for this prayer meeting started Saturday morning after a rock-a-thon on Friday night. The rock-a-thon went till 3 in the morning then they played some volleyball. After that we sat around and talked for a while. (I was the sponsor for the rock-a-thon). After I said we really needed to leave, they asked if we could read the bible and have a short devotional. I said sure. They got a Bible and God directed me to Psalm 47 and the first couple verses of Psalm 48. Those two verses make a nice chorus and we sang that. While we were singing the Lord came down and really filled the place. It wasn’t a hilarious, jump up and down time. We sat there quietly, basking in the almost overwhelming presence of a loving God. We sang a chorus softly about every 3 to 5 minutes but the rest of time we just sat, cried, and softly told God how much we loved Him. You didn’t want to be loud, it was just a time to be soft and quiet. That is the way that the Spirit was moving. That lasted for an hour then we spent another big section of time talking about spiritual things, praying, and singing. I’m not sure exactly how long that lasted. What I do know is we left the gym at 8:30 am . Exhausted in body, but thrilled in the soul. That night they set the plan up to meet for a prayer meeting Monday at noon . I agreed to join them. They didn’t have to twist my arm.
- Bill, A Christian College Teacher
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