A Heart Warming Story

You could not help but to be touched by the moving story related in the local newspaper a few years ago regarding a young boy’s death and his last request, that his heart be given to a girl he secretly loved. You see she was dying because her heart was malfunctioning. She faced certain death unless a donor could be found to give her a healthy heart. It was a true story that books are written about and movies are made. In a world wherein most of the news deals with crime, violence, threats of war, famines, earthquakes and other disasters, natural and man-made, it was so heart warming to hear of a tender story that made you feel sad and happy at the same time. It was sad because a young boy died, but happy that a young girl’s life had been prolonged.

There is another sweet story recorded in the Holy Scriptures that should move us to tears because of the death of a young man, Jesus of Nazareth, age 33. You see he knew that mankind was suffering from an awful malady. The sickness from which there was no earthly cure was a fatal heart disease called sin. The prophet Jeremiah described the symptoms in this manner: “The heart if deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9)? The only remedy was the precious blood of the Lamb of God (Ephesians 1:7). But, this meant that Jesus would have to die for all men. His death on Calvary was not by accident. It was “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23 ). Furthermore, the Lord willingly laid down his life for us (John 10:15, 17, 18). “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ).

If you would be saved from sin and a fate worse than physical death, you must respond to heaven’s gift, the death of Jesus Christ on your behalf. Please consider that Jesus loved you and shed his precious blood for you nearly two thousand years ago. Please obey from the heart the gospel of Jesus Christ that you might be free from sin and that you might live a new life in the Lord (Romans 6:17, 18; 2 Corinthians 5:17 ).

If the story about the boy who died and donated his heart to a girl he loved so that she might live touches you, you should be moved emotionally at the tender story of Jesus and his love that motivated him to give his life on Calvary that you might be saved now from sin and have the hope of eternal life with Him and all the redeemed.

When It Rains, It Pours

Well, many folk have prayed for rain because of the drought condition in the southeastern section of our country and the good Lord sent it. The problem was that some areas were flooded. I am reminded of the story of some brethren in west Texas who became greatly concerned about the extreme drought conditions in their part of the world. They decided to obtain the services of a preacher to come and pray for rain. Finally they found a city preacher to come out and pray for rain. He came and prayed fervently for the Lord to send rain upon the arid land. After a couple of days had passed the rain began to fall. In fact it rained until all the land was flooded and the situation became very serious. The brethren became very concerned again because all their properties were inundated with water. They came together to discuss what they should do. One brother was heard to have said, “That is what we get by having a preacher to pray for rain who knew nothing about agriculture.”

You know life is much like that. There are times of peace, joy, happiness and good health. These are mountain top experiences. But in a moment of time things can radically change. The prophet Elijah was successful on Mount Carmel but in a short time he was to be found in a deep valley of discouragement and he desired to die (1 Kings 18; 19:4). This mighty man of God was human after all and not unlike ourselves (James 5:17). The good times do not test our strength and faith. It is when the tragedies of life occur. It is when death invades our home. It is when a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal disease. It is when the ill winds of discouragement and despair howl strongly across the depths of our inner being. It is when you pray for a friend or a loved one to get well and doesn’t and he dies. It is when you lose your job and you have to look elsewhere for employment. And there are dozens of other reasons why your heart becomes burdened down with anxiety and sadness.

Please excuse the personal experiences but I must mention some of them. My lovely bride has and is presently experiencing some health problems; there was the sudden death of a dear friend that has overwhelmed me; a telephone call this morning informed me that a brother-in-law was critically injured yesterday in an automobile accident. Life is not a bed of roses. Sometimes the valleys in life are deep and long. But it is not a time to give up. Blaming God and leaving the Lord would not be answer. Gold refined by fire rids the dross and makes it purer. I think of this passage in Proverbs 24:10, “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small” in connection to that which I am now discussing.

There was a time when many of the disciples of the Lord left Him and He asked His own apostles, “Do you also want to go away?” It was then that Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. “Also we have come to believe and know You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69). It is in the valleys of life that I need Him. He has never forsaken me and why should I forsake him. He is my Rock and my salvation. He is my Hightower; my shelter in the time of the storms. He gives me comfort in the night. His strength is greatly manifested in weakness.

I often requested of Him to bestow His grace upon me so that I might see the sun beyond the overcast and the silver lining behind every cloud. And His grace is sufficient for me. A moving verse is found in James 4:6 which is a simple but a very profound statement, “But He gives more grace.” Listen to this precious promise of our Heavenly Father, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15). The following hymn explains best what I am trying to say.

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE

By Annie J. Flint
(1866-1932)

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,

Our God ever yearns His resources to share;

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;

The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Drifting Away

The inspired writer of the book of Hebrews gave an exhortation in chapter two encouraging those early Christians to “…give more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them.” There is a constant need to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and sound doctrine to every generation. There is the danger of the untaught not learning and of the taught drifting away from that which they have learned. The apostle Peter felt it necessary to remind his brethren of those essentials which they already knew (2 Peter 1:13; 3:1). Paul warned Timothy about a time when certain ones would no longer “endure the sound doctrine”, thus the need to “preach the word” continuously (2 Timothy 4:1-4). There is presently a yearning among many in the church to learn ‘new things’. Of course we should not extol traditions to a position of inspiration. Personally, I’m not interested in propagating mere tradition; however, there are objective truths revealed by the Holy Spirit that are essential and must studied, examined and proclaimed.

The desire to imitate other religious organizations in practice and teaching has caused many people to frown on the old ways of safety and security. Others, not studying the Holy Scriptures, are led away by “every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men in craftiness, after the wiles of error” (Ephesians 4:14). Often when one expresses a desire for ‘new things’, it is simply a rejection of ‘old truths’. Presently there is a prevalent attitude that the Bible is antiquated and should be relegated to the 18^th century. The 21^st century, they say, demands a more liberal view of the Holy Scriptures. In other words, our culture should determine the interpretation of the Word of God. What may have been acceptable in the first century is out of date in the thinking of modern men and women. Such rationalization has led to a digression and apostasy from the teaching of Jesus Christ and the holy apostles and prophets.

Oh that we today, as disciples of the Lord, would possess the same spirit as did the psalmist when he exclaimed in Psalms 119:97, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” His will for us to follow is both relevant and refreshing. Let us never grow weary in hearing the words of salvation. It gives strength and guidance in our earthly pilgrimage. And if obeyed, the promise of eternal life when the journey on earth is finished (2 Timothy 4:4-6)

The Giving of Thanks

Our blessed Lord taught, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7, 8). The apostle wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made to God…”

As children of God we have the words of Jesus and the Holy Spirit (through Paul) informing us that we have the wonderful privilege of asking, making supplications and requests and our God will hear us. The fact is we probably ask more in our prayers than we do in the giving of thanks for His infinite grace through which He bestows an abundance of blessings upon us. For example, brethren often fail to give thanks for the food that is about to be eaten. A brother is usually requested to “ask the blessing” or to “bless the food”. And so many times the brother will ask the lord to “bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies in your service” and there is nothing wrong in that request. But what we fail to do is to express our gratitude for the food that we have received as a blessing from God. It is on this point that I would like to emphasize in this article so that we all might be mindful of our need to give thanks, not only for our food but for all the blessings of life that God has given us. The writer James states that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Concerning the giving of thanks specifically for our food, consider the example of Jesus Christ. In the feeding of the four thousand men plus women and children Matthew wrote, “And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude” (Matthew 15:36). On another occasion when He fed the five thousands John wrote, “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted” (John 6:11, 23).

Then there is the example of the apostle Paul giving thanks before he ate food that had been given as a blessing from God. He was on his way to Rome as a prisoner and the boat in which he was traveling was in serious trouble and was about to sink. The people on board had not eaten in fourteen days and Paul encouraged them to take nourishment. In Acts 27:35 we read, “And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.” In matters of judgment Paul wrote the following in Romans 14:6, “…He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” The apostle later wrote in I Timothy 4:4, 5, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (Emphasis is mine in the above verses, RE). In our prayer before our meals let it be one of thanksgiving for the food that we are about to receive along with other expressions of praise and requests.