Who Will Go To THEM?

" Electing love has selected some of the worst to be made the best."

Charles Spurgeon

"And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Words of Jesus; The Parable of the great supper.  Luke 14:23

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world..." Ephesians 2:1-2a

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."  1 Corinthians 6:11

An interesting encounter occurred at the bank the other day.  While standing at the Teller's Window, what appeared to be a homeless man walked inside.  He was disheveled, dirty, and he reeked.  Instead of waiting in line for his turn, he approached the counter where I stood, almost elbow to elbow.  I looked at the bank Teller silently imploring him to say something to this man, like, "I'm helping someone right now, can you please step back, and I will gladly help you in a moment."  

But he said nothing.

The Teller continued to count out the money from my withdrawal transaction as if no one else was there.  I quickly placed the money into my wallet and walked away.  Before I could exit the bank, the Lord reminded me of what I had just read that very morning during my devotions.  Isn't God good that way?

The devotion was written by Charles Spurgeon, based on Acts 18:10b.  "For I have much people in this city." Words of Jesus. From his Morning & Evening Devotional, March 2021, Hendrickson Publishing, Charles Spurgeon writes:  "This should be a great encouragement to try to do good, since God has among the vilest of the vile, the most reprobate, the most debauched and drunken, an elect people who must be saved. When you take the Word to them, you do so because God has ordained you to be the messenger of life to their souls. They are as much redeemed by blood as the saints before the eternal throne.  They are Christ's property, and yet perhaps they are lovers of the ale-house, and haters of holiness; but if Jesus Christ purchased them He will have them.  Nay, more, these ungodly ones are prayed for by Christ before the throne. "Neither pray I for these alone," saith the great Intercessor, "but for them also which shall believe Me through their word." Poor, ignorant souls, they know nothing about prayer for themselves but Jesus prays for them.

It's easy to witness to those who look 'morally' good, act good and smell good; to witness to those who have the same interests as you.

But what about those who don't look so nice or smell so good?  Who will go to THEM?  Who will go to the prisons, the homeless shelters, the hedges, byways, and streets?  Who will go to the run-a-ways, the drug addicts?

Jesus did.  Because he knew that one of His was still there, in the mire, waiting to be told the Truth.  Waiting to be redeemed.  Just like you, and just like me.

I learned something about myself the other day, and I didn't like what I saw.  I had to ask God to forgive me.

Instead of turning a blind eye and a cold shoulder...

   I will look the person in the eye to let them know that they matter...

        not only to me, but they matter to God...

            But that's just me!

"Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare, and you will see sinners then. Watch when the night is dark, and the wind is howling, and the picklock is grating in the door, and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk through the wards, and mark the men with heavy-over-hanging brows, men whom you would not like to meet at night, and there are sinners there. Go to the Reformatories, and note those who have betrayed a rampant juvenile depravity, and you will see sinners there. Go where you will, you need not ransack earth to find sinners, for they are common enough; you may find village and hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died."  Charles Spurgeon

A Diet Guaranteed to Work

Last night I went to bed stuffed and it's still 6 days until Thanksgiving.  As I laid there wondering if my body would be able to digest all the food, I ingested throughout the day without going into cardiac arrest, I had to finally admit something to myself:

My name is Tracy and I'm a Snacker.

As I contemplated my bloated condition, I wondered which weight loss program I would start next.

But instead of weight loss programs coming to mind, God brought a verse to meditate on instead:

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

It was like a lightbulb went off in my head.  

Sweets, treats and goodies are fine in moderation, but when feasted upon in-between meals, the consequences that result of such indulgences do not bring glory to my God.  Suddenly my reasons of age, health conditions, medications, and genetics took their true form; they were excuses to continue my bad habit.

I think I have a good start.

"And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." Proverbs 23:2

   Another diet guaranteed to work...

        But that's just me!

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31

ASAP

My sister recently received a gift from one of her students.  It was a little green cloth bracelet that said, "Always Say A Prayer-ASAP-Always Say A Prayer." When you clasp it closed, it makes a cross. What a precious gift and a precious reminder to always be in prayer.

As I reflected on the acronym ASAP regarding "As Soon As Possible," I quickly substituted that for "Always Say A Prayer." When I did, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 came to mind: "Pray without ceasing."

When things arise, we should "always say a prayer" ASAP. (As soon as possible.) Confused yet?  You shouldn't be, these two ASAP'S fit quite well together.

When we open our eyes for the first time in the morning, do we thank God for a new day?

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

As soon as our feet touch the floor, do we pray for direction?

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9

As we brush our teeth, do we pray for God to help us to, "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 1 Peter 3:15b 

And to "speak the truth in love?" (Ephesians 4:15)

As we dress for the day, do we pray to be strong in the Lord by putting on the armor of God?

Ephesians 6:10-18

As we go about our day, are we praying and praising God for all things?

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Hebrews 13:15

And at the end our day do we thank God for His help, and protection?

Psalm 121-

vs 1-I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

vs 2-My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

vs 3-He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

vs 4-Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

vs 5-The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

vs 6-The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

vs 7- The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

vs 8- The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

As soon as possible...

    Always say a prayer...

        I love that!

            But that's just me!

"Careful for nothing, prayerful for everything, thankful for anything." Dwight L. Moody

The Lesser of Two Evils

The Lesser of Two Evils principle is that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the one which is least immoral should be chosen.

But is choosing the lesser of two evils, still choosing evil?  And based on Proverbs 8:13, can a Believer obey this principle? (The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.)

Where did the phrase, The Lesser of Two Evils even come from? 

Mythology.  "Between Scylla and Charybdis," is an idiom derived from Homer's Odyssey.  In the story, Odyssey chose to go near Scylla as the lesser of two evils.  (Wikipedia)

The expression appears in ancient Greek and was in use in the English by the 1300's.  Chaucer used it in Troilus and Cressida.

So, as Christian's on Election Day, what are we to do?

There is a Biblical Principle we can use that is found in Mark 14 verse 8a.  It's the story of the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with a precious and very expensive ointment of spikenard, and as those who witnessed this act of costly humility with indignation, Jesus defended her good work and said, "She hath done what she could."

So, the question is, "Should we?"

Regardless of any situation or circumstance we face in this life, we have a choice:

-let it slide? or,

-try to make a difference by doing all we can?

I'm going to do what I can today and vote.

I will leave the results up to God, after all, He is in control.  

Promotion comes from Him...

    And He turns the heart of Kings...

        But that's just me!

It Could Only Happen To You

 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

Something happened to me the other day while I was eating lunch; a tortilla chip got stuck in my gums between two teeth.  At first this was just an annoyance, but quickly led to an all-out panic.  After no success using the green rubber tipped GUM pick, I resorted to a string of floss.  After managing to break the string of floss between the affected teeth, and then not being able to get another string of floss between my now-compacted-gum, I was left with no other option then to phone my Dentist.  The hour wait time seemed to last an eternity as I fretted over this inconvenience.  I texted my husband and told him that I would be going up to see our Dentist for a 'deep cleaning,' and my ever-supportive husband innocently replied back, "That could only happen to you.''

Honestly, my life is prone to such circumstances.

While I was apologizing to my Dentist for having to go see him for such a 'silly' thing that probably doesn't ever happen to 'normal' people, my Dentist laughed and said, "Actually, this happens more often than you think."  Hearing those words, relieved my embarrassment, and put my 'fiasco' into perspective.  Just knowing that this happens to other people, made it easier for me to bear.

It brought to mind, Galatians 6:2.

I wondered to myself, "How many New Christians suffer in silence because they are too embarrassed to share a burden?"

Then I wondered, "How many Mature Christians suffer in silence because their pride keeps them from sharing a burden?"

Friend, that ought not to be.  Yes, there are some things that are not meant to be shared, but when you are going through something and you think, 'It could only happen to me,' just remind yourself that it has probably happened to someone else.  

Ease your burden by sharing it with a friend...

    Things that cause panic...

        Are often laughed about later...

            But that's just me!

The Funeral

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8

Yesterday we attended the funeral of our dear friend.  It comforts us to know that our friend is in Heaven with the Lord, where there is no more sickness and no more pain.

At the close of the Interim, we watched as our friend's casket was placed inside the Burial Vault.  A Burial Vault is a lined and sealed outer receptacle that houses the casket.  It protects the casket from the weight of the earth and heavy maintenance equipment that will pass over the grave.  It resists water and preserves the beauty of the cemetery by preventing the ground from settling.  This Vault completely encases the casket and is latched closed.

As I watched his casket being lowered into the ground, I couldn't help but think of the day when the skeletal remains of all Christians who lay dormant, waiting for the sound of a trumpet and the voice of the Lord calling his children by name, will burst forth out of their graves!

Resurrected Saints will burst forth from their locked crypts as if they were made of popsicle sticks!

And I will meet my friend again in the air!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:" 

1 Thessalonians 4:16

The grave is not the Christians final residence...

    and Christians are not laid inside caskets...

        they are placed inside Treasure Chests...

            waiting to be opened by The King...

                But that's just me!

Til We Meet Again

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.  Psalm 116:15

In the early morning hours, a dear friend of ours went home to be with the Lord after a two-year battle with cancer.

You would have never known he was dying because he was too busy living for His Lord and Saviour.

Let me tell you how he lived:

    He was stedfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord-1 Cor. 15:58

    He continued to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord-2 Peter 3:18

    He possessed the Fruit of the Spirit-Galatians 5:22-23

    He lived a sanctified life and was always ready to give an answer to every man he came in contact with to share with them the hope that was within him- 1 Peter 3:15

    He fervently prayed for others- James 5:16

    He esteemed others higher than himself- Phil. 2:3

    He edified his brethren and would bear the burdens of others-Galatians 6:2,

    He fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, took strangers in, clothed the naked and visited those in prison- Matthew 25:40

Am I exaggerating?  No.  Anyone who knew Sam, knows this to be true.  Every conversation pointed to Christ.  In his most agonizing moment, he would say there were others who were worse off.  When trying to bless him, we ended up being the ones blessed.  When he prayed, he prayed to his 'Father God.'

He was an example to all those who knew him, friend and stranger alike.

And now, he completed his course, and his race has been run and he is now with his Heavenly Father.  I can picture him seeing his Saviour for the very first time and receiving his glorified body!  It makes our loss easier to bear.

I am a better person for having known him.

My world is a little dimmer now...

    But if I listen really closely...

        I can hear Sam whisper...GLORY!

            But that's just me!

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

(Fanny Crosby 1868)

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast,

There by His love o'ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark! 'tis the voice of angels,

Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory,

Over the jasper sea,

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world's temptations,

Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow,

Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials,

Only a few more tears.

Jesus, my heart's dear refuge,

Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the Rock of Ages,

Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience,

Wati till the night is o'er;

Wait till I see the morning,

Break on the golden shore.

Chorus-

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast,

There by His love o'ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.