The 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
Read MoreThe Story Of Deliverance
“Lord…why?” (Ex 5:22 KJV)
The Story of Deliverance is always the same. Yesterday, today, forever, our God is the same Mighty Helper. Your case seems different, your bondage more bitter than any other, your sin or sorrow more hopeless. But: He is able to deliver thee…
Though by sin oppressed, go to Him for rest; Our God is able to deliver thee.
Extremity: “I’ve prayed and believed, but things are getting worse and worse. What about God’s promise to help?” Almost always after you pray the situation looks blacker. But just before dawn it is darkest, and the crisis comes always at the lowest point. Hold on one moment after it is “impossible”–and relief will come. A practical prescription. It works.
“Why does God ask me to wait until the situation is impossible? Why does He wait?” There is a reason. God is never careless. There is more than one reason:
- The enemy and the world must know it is God and recognize His power.
- You must know it is God and give Him praise.
- You must remember for the future and learn to depend on God.
A great emergency means a great deliverance, and a great deliverance means great glory to God. Is it worth waiting for? [Study Ex 5 KJV)
Keep holding on, just one more hour
May bring to thee the promised power;
O Keep holding on, thy Lord doth care-
He’ll not forget to answer prayer.
Affliction – The Soil of Growth and Beauty
A little girl walking in a garden noticed a particularly beautiful flower. She admired its beauty and enjoyed its fragrance. “It’s so pretty!” she exclaimed. As she gazed on it, her eyes followed the stem down to the soil in which it grew. “This flower is too pretty to be planted in such dirt!” she cried. So she pulled it up by its roots and ran to the water faucet to wash away the soil. It wasn’t long until the flower wilted and died.
When the gardener saw what the little girl had done, he exclaimed, “You have destroyed my finest plant!”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t like it in that dirt,” she said.
The gardener replied, “I chose that spot and mixed the soil because I knew that only there could it grow to be a beautiful flower.”
Often we murmur because of the circumstances into which God has “sovereignaly” placed us. We fail to realize that He is using our pressures, trials, and difficulties to bring us to a new degree of spiritual beauty.
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” (John 4:35-38 KJV)
Read MoreGod’s Kingdom
The king of Prussia, while visiting a village in his land, was welcomed by the school children of the place. After their speaker had made a speech for him, he thanked them. Then, taking an orange from his plate, he asked: “To what kingdom does this belong?” “The vegetable kingdom, sire,” replied a little girl. The king took a gold coin from his pocket and holding it up asked: “And to what kingdom does this belong?” “To the mineral kingdom,” said the girl. “And to what kingdom do I belong then?” asked the king. The little girl blushed deeply, for she did not want to say, “the animal kingdom, ” and thereby offend the king.
Just then, it flashed into her mind that “God made man in His own image,” and looking up with a brightening eye, she said: “to God’s kingdom, sire.” The king was deeply moved. A tear stood in his eye. He placed his hand on the child’s head and said, most devoutly, “God grant that I may be accounted worthy of that kingdom!” Reader, are you, too?
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-11 KJV)
Read MoreSunday school lesson
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, “We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?”
One child blurted out, “Aces!”
Read MoreThat first apple
“No, Eve, I won’t touch that apple,” said Tom adamantly. – Richard Lederer
Read MoreApostasy In Britain
John Wycliffe, John Knox, David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, John and Charles Wesley, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan — what a notable list of Christian leaders from Great Britain! They established vital churches, publishing houses, and mission societies. In spite of this godly heritage, a recent edition of the London Times stated, “Britain emerges as one of the most irreligious countries in the Western world from the latest survey by the British Social Attitudes team.”
What happened? The emotional scars of two World Wars, the loss of a world empire, and the weakening effects of liberal clergy could all be cited as causes. But there is a deeper, spiritual reason for the decline of any nation. Its citizens lose interest in God. They don’t believe He makes any difference in their lives, so they make gods out of their own accomplishments. Oh, my dear readers, let this not happen to us!
“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18 KJV)
Read MoreMagician working on a new trick
Working on a new trick, a magician turned his wife into a couch and his kids into chairs, but he couldn’t turn them back.
What have I done? he wondered. How can I bring back my family?
Out of ideas, he loaded everybody into his van and rushed to the hospital. He explained the situation, and his family was whisked off to surgery.
Hours later, Dr. Dr. Mike Wilson, the surgeon emerged.
“How are they?” the magician asked.
“Comfortable.”
Read More