In the First World War, there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed the arm had to be amputated. The soldier was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and the surgeon was grieved the young man must go through life maimed. So the surgeon waited beside the young man's bedside after the surgery to tell the young man the terrible news about having to amputate the arm. When the young man awakened from the anesthetic and the young lad's eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it; I gave it for France." Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which He could not break free. Apart from any divine power He could have called upon, to the end of His earthly life Christ could have turned back and saved His life. However, Christ did not lose His life; He gave it. The cross was not thrust upon Him; He willingly accepted the cross for us.
Friday, September 11, 2020
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Gave All He Had
I once heard the story of a rice farmer who saved an entire village from destruction. From his hilltop farm, he felt the quake and saw the distant ocean swiftly withdraw from the old shoreline, like some prodigious animal crouching back for a leap. He knew that the leap would be a tidal wave. In the valley below, he saw his neighbors working low fields that would soon be flooded. They must run quickly to his hilltop or they would all die. His rice barns were dry as tinder. So with a torch, he set fire to his barns, and soon the fire goon started ringing. His neighbors saw the smoke and rushed to help him. Then from their safe perch, they saw the tidal wave wash over the fields they had just left. In a flash, they knew not only who had saved them but what their salvation had cost their benefactor. They later erected a monument to his memory bearing the motto, "He gave us all he had, and gave gladly." I think the same words could be said of our heavenly Father and the gift of his only begotten Son!
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
From God's Perspective
When you are unsure of what you should do, try to see things from God's perspective. Try to see things like God sees them. Try to see how God could take a situation you are in and make the situation better or make the circumstance come out OK. Try to see how you could open doors in a circumstance so God can do his work. In other respects, God needs you to pave some highways on this earth. He needs you to make straight the way, so others can follow. Even in very bad, desperate circumstances, God can do great works but He still needs you to open doors, pave roads, and Move Mountains for Him.
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Found your wings yet?
2 Corinthians 8:2---How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
A man
watched a butterfly trying to emerge from a cocoon. Thinking he would help, the
man took his penknife and slit the side of the cocoon, and the butterfly
flopped out. It lay there for a while, feebly beating its wings, then collapsed
and died. “How sad,” you say. You’re right—God designed a plan for butterflies.
The struggle to break free builds the strength they will need to fly. God
doesn’t want you to live weakly and die feebly. He wants you to grow and mature.
Find the wings in your trial today. Strengthen them by the promises in God’s
Word. Venture on new heights of freedom in Christ today.
Monday, September 7, 2020
Forces For Victory in Life
2 Chronicles 20:15 - And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle [is] not yours, but God's.
We can
easily live our life with loose ends. We can live our lives as if there is no
tomorrow. When we live our life with loose ends, we end up never assessing and
using the forces we have at our disposal. Remember the battle is not yours, but
God’s. If we do not marshal our forces for victory, we can never gather
ourselves or get our life together so we can win. To achieve victory in life,
you must know your forces. To achieve victory, you must gather your forces
together and channel your power. You do not want your forces scattered unless
there is an advantage to scattering. You want your forces gathered together so
you can maximize their strength. Some of your forces are the minute by minute
blessings you can count. Every blessing is both a power you can add to your
arsenal as well as a message from God about how you are doing in being His
child. Your forces are your ability and your willingness to be forgiving to let
old hurts die away. Your forces are your abilities to love and accept others,
no matter who the others are or where they are.