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The Yeilded Life
Sometimes we allow sin to come into our lives and hinder the work of grace. Paul cautions that the blessings of grace upon a yielded life can be hindered by sin. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." (Ro. 6:12) Our unwillingness to confess our sin and seek God’s forgiveness and healing may hinder our service. The floodgates of God’s grace and power can be released only when we are right with Him.
In days gone by, great rafts of loose logs were floated down the rivers to the timber mills. Loggers could be seen skipping across the logs in an effort to keep them moving freely. If a particular log became caught upon a rock or obstruction, thousands of logs could be piled up in what became a huge log jam. When the logger found this key log and freed it, the jam would be broken and the logs would glide smoothly again. Sometimes the jam would be so great, that dynamite had to be used to free the key log. The analogy of sin in the Christian’s life is clear.
Joel Pankow
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POSSUMS AND THE GRAVE
I have heard that possums are smart animals. You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead on the road. There’s a joke that goes, “why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!”
But possums, it turns out, are smart. They won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going into it. They know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks. The possum will enter and not be afraid.
The message of Easter is that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear death because there are tracks leading out of the tomb. Paul preached the proclamation of Easter: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
This is the message that we need to hear this Easter. Jesus is risen!
While I was working in the V Corps Chaplain’s office in Frankfurt, Germany; I came in contact with many wonderful Christian individuals. One of the most inspiring was a German by the name of Carl Scholz. In speaking to him one day, he related to me of how that during the Second World War he served as a Nazi soldier, but not believing fully in what they were doing, he tried to desert, but failing in his attempt, was captured and thrown into prison. He was accused as a deserter, and thus was sentenced to die before a firing squad along with another of his conrades.
When the day came they were both marched to the outskirts of the town, and the spot where they were supposted to be executed. Not hearing the change of orders, Carl didn’t realize that all rifles were to be turned to his conrade instead, letting him live. Rifles fired, and in shock, he also fell to the ground. They picked him up and again was placed in prison. The months passed, and finally Carl was set free. The war had also ended, and not having any place to go to, he went from war-torn village to the next. One last hope was his only living relative, his mother...and by the time that he found her, he realized that she was entombed in the communist side of Berlin. Again lossing all hope, he made his dwellings in the bomb stricken buildings, drinking more and more with each passing day.
Finally receiving word that his mother had been killed while trying to escape the communist, he felt his last hope fly out of his body. He said to himself, "Now, what’s the use of living!" So, he went down to a near-by river hoping to drown his sorrows by throwing himself into the river. As he was about to jump he heard soft singing coming from a near-by wooden building. He could well remember the words...
"When Jesus comes the tempter’s Pow’r is broken,
When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away;
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay."
Hearing such sweet words, he came closer to the building wanting to hear more about this Jesus. As he approached the door, he read those gentle words which have meant so much to millions of individuals throughout the ages...
"Gott Ist Liebe - God is Love;
Gott Ist Leben - God is Life!"
He went inside, and there for the first time he heard the wonderous love that God had for him. And how He send his only Begotten Son to die on the cross so that he could have life - and have it more abundantly! Eternal Life! Praise God! Carl found Christ at that moment! The young missionary said, "Christ says, ’Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give ye rest’" Carl said to himself, "If there is anyone here burdened down it’s me! I am tired of this life I am living." And that night, Carl went to the altar and said, "Lord, if it’s true that you can change the worst sinner like this missionary says, change me! If it’s true that you can give rest...give it to me! If it’s true that you can straighten out the most twisted life...straighten out mine!" And that night the Christ that had saved Carl from the firing squad also broke the chains of bondage of sin that had his life captive, and he got up from that altar a new person. Christ had saved him...he had forgiven his many sins.
And now, Carl has been preaching and helping in the Berean Missionary Fellowship in Erzhausen, Germany, and bringing others to Christ with his wonderous testimony of salvation.
THE GRADUATION GIFT
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealers showroom, and knowing that his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study.
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold.
Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a BIble?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. But before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.
He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.
His father has carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, "And if ye, being evil, know how t...
It was an unusually cold day for the month of May. Spring had arrived and everything was alive with color. But a cold front from the north had brought winter’s chill back to Indiana. I sat with two friends in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town squire. The food and the company were both especially good that day. As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There,
walking into town, was a man who appeared to be caring all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read "I’ll work for food." My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him.
Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back into my car. Deep within me, the spirit of God kept speaking to me: "don’t go back to the office until you’ve at least driven once more around the square." And so with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square’s third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the storefront church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked, feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from god: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town’s visitor. Looking for the pastor? I asked. Not really, he replied, just resting. Have you eaten today? Oh, I ate something early this morning. Would you like to have lunch with me? Do you have some work I could do for you? No work, I replied. I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to! Take you to lunch. Sure he replied with a smile. As he began to gather his things, I asked him some surface questions. Where you headed? St. Louis. Where you from? Oh, all over; mostly Florida. I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark and clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, "Jesus is the never ending story." Then Daniel’s story began to unfold. He had seen rough times earl in life. He’d made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a big tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God. Nothing’s been the same since, he said, I felt the lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now. Ever think of stopping? I asked. Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me. But god has given me this calling. I give out bibles. That’s what’s in my sack. I work to buy food and bibles, and I give them out when the spirit leads. I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a minute and then I asked: what’s it like? What? To walk into town carrying all your things on your back and to show you a sign? Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn’t make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people’s concepts of other folks like me. My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned and said," come ye blessed of my father and inherit the kingdom I’ve prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in." I felt as if we were on holy ground. Could you use another bible? I asked.
Alan Perkins
[Clip: "Everybody Loves Raymond," excerpted from episode 119, "Talk To Your Daughter". Note: this episode is one of four included in a "For Your Consideration" DVD/VHS package that was prepared for the 2002 Emmy voters. You might find it on ebay.]
Deborah: Ally just doesn’t want to know how we get here; she wants to know why we’re here. Why God put us on earth. She’s waiting for Ray to answer her.
Frank: What’s wrong with you - it’s simple.
Raymond: Oh, okay - we’re going to learn the meaning of life from a guy who wants threw his show at a swan.
Frank: That’s called protecting your sandwich. Listen to me. Here’s what life is - you’re born, you go to school, you go to work, you die. That’s it, that’s all, canoli Marie.
Raymond: We’re not talking about what we do while we here, dad.
Robert: Yeah, the big question is why we’re here in the first place.
Marie: I think Ally is too young to be worrying about things like this.
Deborah: No, I’m proud of her. I love it that she’s such an independent thinker.
Raymond: If she’s so independent, why can’t she figure this out herself?
Deborah: Ray, just get up there and tell her that God put us on earth to help each other. It’s simple, it’s direct, it’s a good way for her to live her life.
Raymond: What are you talking about? That doesn’t answer anything? What - are you telling me that God says, "mmm, let’s see - what should I put there?"
Robert: That’s your God?
Raymond: Yeah.
Robert: No way. It’s got to be deeper and cool..."Hello, I’m God."
Marie: Keep going Raymond. I think you’re a wonderful God.
Raymond: Thank you. So what did God say? Hey, "I’m going to put some humans on earth, so they can help each other." Or, "I can just skip humans altogether and go hit a bucket of balls."
Marie: Oh, I know. It’s all in the Bible.
Robert: Ever think about space? What is it? Is it really endless? I mean if you had a spaceship, could you go flying and flying into space forever?
Frank: Why don’t you give it a shot?
Robert: No, I’m not kidding around here. How could space go on forever? And if it doesn’t, what’s at the end?
Marie: Stop it, Robert. You’ll give yourself a tummy ache.
Robert: What about the beginning of time? What was it before that? Before time - nothing? What is nothing? How could there be nothing? This doesn’t it bother anybody else?
Marie: Now everybody, listen to me. In the Bible, it says here "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Okay, okay, okay. It might take me a minute.
Deborah: A minute, more, Marie. Scholars have spent their entire life trying to answer this question. You’re not just going to flip through the Bible and find the meaning of life.
Marie: "Oh, ye of little faith" - that’s in here somewhere, too.
Robert: Did you know the fruit fly only lives one day?
Raymond: Ah, are you okay there?
Robert: One day. What’s his meaning of life? Maybe there’s no meaning of life for anyone of us. Am I any different than the fruit fly?
Frank: The "fruit" part’s the same.
Deborah: Robert, the fruit fly doesn’t question why he’s here - that’s what makes us different. I don’t know, maybe that’s kind of the meaning of life. Never knowing the answer, but always wondering about it.
Raymond: So God made us smart enough to know that there’s an answer, but not smart enough to figure it out?
Robert: Come on!!
[End]
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden (NIV - weary and burdened), and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28 KJV)
There is a church building where this verse can be read on the front wall of its sanctuary. To those who enter that building on Sundays, the words of the verse are a comforting reminder on the believer’s day of rest. Reading these words, one is reminded of the presence of Christ as He invites us to leave our cares at His feet and rest in Him.
In the quiet of the Sunday morning sanctuary, one finds it easy to let go of daily burdens for a while. The hard part is Monday morning, when all the cares of the workaday world crowd in again and we pick up our burdens once more. (GOSPEL HERALD & SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES)
NO JACKET REQUIRED
I shook my head in disbelief. This couldn’t be the right place. After all, I couldn’t possibly be welcome here. I had been given an invitation several times, by several different people, and had finally decided to see what this place was all about. But, this just couldn’t be the right place. Quickly, I glanced down at the invitation that I clutched in my hand. I scanned past the words, "Come as you are. No jacket required." and found the location. Yes, I was at the right place. I peered through the window again and saw a room of people whose faces seemed to glow with joy. All were neatly dressed, adorned in fine garments and appeared strangely clean as they dined at this exquisite restaurant.
Ashamed, I looked down at my own tattered and torn clothing, covered in stains. I was dirty, in fact, filthy. A foul smell seemed to consume me and I couldn’t shake the grime that hung to my body. As I turned around to leave, the words from the invitation seemed to leap out at me..."Come as you are. No jacket required." I decided to give it a shot. Mustering up every bit of courage I could find, I opened the door to this restaurant and walked up to a man standing behind a podium. "Your name, sir?" he asked me with a smile. "Jimmy D. Brown," I mumbled without looking up. I thrust my hands deep into my pockets, hoping to conceal their stains. He didn’t seem to notice the filth that I was covered in and he continued, "Very good, sir. A table is reserved in your name. Would you like to be seated?" I couldn’t believe what I heard! A grin broke out on my face and I said, "Yes, of course!"
He lead me to a table and, sure enough, there was a place card with my name written on it in a deep, dark red. As I browsed over a menu, I saw many delightful items listed. There were things like, "peace," "joy," "blessings," "confidence," "assurance,"hope," "love," "faith," and "mercy." I realized that this was no
ordinary restaurant! I flipped the menu back to the front in order to see where I was ... "God’s Grace," was the name of this place!
The man returned and said, "I recommend the ’Special of the Day’. With it, you are entitled to heaping portions of everything on this menu." You’ve got to be kidding! I thought to myself. You mean, I can have ALL of this! "What is the ’Special of the Day’ I asked with excitement ringing in my voice. "Salvation," was his reply.
"I’ll take it," I practically cried out. A sick, painful ache jerked through my stomach and tears filled my eyes. Between my sobs I said "Mister, look at me. I’m dirty and nasty. I’m unclean and unworthy of such things. I’d love to have all of this, but, but, I just can’t afford it. Undaunted, the man smiled again. "Sir, your check has already been taken care of by that Gentleman over there," he said point to the front of the room. "His Name is Jesus." Turning, I saw a man whose very presence seemed to light the room. He was almost too much to look at. I found myself walking towards Him and in a shaking voice I whispered, "Sir, I’ll wash the dishes or sweep the floors or take out the trash. I’ll do anything I can do to repay you for all of this." He opened His arms and said with a smile, "Son, all of this is yours if you just come unto me. Ask me to clean you up and I will. Ask me to take away the stains and it is done. Ask me to allow you to feast at my table and you will eat.
Remember, the table is reserved in your name. All you must do is accept this gift that I offer you." Astonished, I fell at his feet and said, "Please, Jesus. Please clean up my life. Please change me and sit me at your table and give me this new life." Immediately, I heard the words, "It is finished." I looked down and white robes adorned my squeaky clean body. Something strange and wonderful had happened. I felt new, like a weight had been lifted and I found myself seated at His table. "The ’Special of the Day’ has been served," the Lord said to me. "Salvation is yours." We sat and talked for a great while and I so enjoyed the time that I spent with Him. He told ...
Charles Haddon Spurgeon had this type of experience. Even as a young lad he was conscious of sin, but couldn’t find peace. It so happened under the providential over-ruling of God that one Sunday morning he was prevented from attending his usual place of worship because of a snowstorm. He was obliged to stop on the road because of the weather conditions. Rather than not go to church at all he went into a little Methodist chapel that happened to be near by. The service began but no minister appeared - he’d been delayed in the same way as Spurgeon. At last one of the church officers came to the pulpit and opened his Bible and read the words: "Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" (45:22). It appears that he set his eyes on Spurgeon and said, "Young man, you’re in trouble; you will never get out of it unless you look to Christ." Then lifting up his hands he cried out, ’Look! Look! Look! It’s only LOOK!’" Spurgeon recorded in later life that he saw at once the way of salvation. He said, "I’d been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word ’LOOK’, what a charming word it seemed to me." That morning the future "Prince of Preachers" simply "looked" to the Lord Jesus Christ and left the service a new creature in Christ Jesus.
DR. TOM LONG, WRITES OF THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF VISITING A SMALL, BUT IMPRESSIVE PRAYER CHAPEL, THAT FEATURED A LIFE-SIZED RENDERING OF JESUS, WITH A SIGN ON IT FROM MATTHEW 11:28-30 WHICH SAYS, “COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN OF ME; FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART: AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS. FOR MY YOKE IS EASY, AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.” G. TWELVE CHAIRS HAD BEEN PLACED IN A SEMI-CIRCLE FACING THE PAINTING TO PROVIDE A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO FOCUS ON IT AND EACH CHAIR WAS LABELED WITH THE NAME OF ONE OF THE DISCIPLES. H. DR. LONG WAS STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT ONE CHAIR, AMONG ALL THE OTHERS, SHOWED THE SIGNS OF MOST FREQUENT USE, AND IT WAS THE ONE MARKED “JUDAS.” I. IT’S HARD TO UNDERSTAND ASHLEY SMITH OR, THE INFINITELY LARGER WONDER OF JESUS FORGIVING THOSE WHO CRUCIFIED HIM – “IF” WE HAVE NEVER SAT IN THE CHAIR OF JUDAS, FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING J. HOWEVER, SOME PEOPLE NEVER SIT IN THAT CHAIR, BECAUSE THEY GO THROUGH LIFE LIKE DENNIS LEE CURTIS, AN ARMED ROBBER ARRESTED IN 2002. K. IN HIS WALLET THE POLICE FOUND A PAPER ON WHICH WAS WRITTEN THE FOLLOWING PERSONAL CODE: “I WILL NOT KILL ANYONE UNLESS I HAVE TO. I WILL TAKE ONLY CASH AND FOOD STAMPS -— NO CHECKS. I WILL ROB ONLY AT NIGHT AND NOT WEAR A MASK. I WILL NOT ROB MINI-MARTS. IF I GET CHASED ON FOOT, I WILL GET AWAY. IF CHASED BY A VEHICLE, I WILL NOT PUT THE LIVES OF CIVILIANS ON THE LINE. I WILL ROB ONLY 7 MONTHS OF THE YEAR.” L. DR. BRIAN BURRELL WRITES THIS ABOUT DENNIS LEE CURTIS, “THIS THIEF HAD A SENSE OF MORALITY, BUT IT WAS FLAWED. HIS FOCUS WAS ONLY ON THE WAYS THAT HE WAS ACTING HONORABLY, AND THAT KEPT HIM FROM SEEING THE WAYS HE MIGHT HAVE ACTED EVEN MORE HONORABLY. MR. CURTIS DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN HE STOOD BEFORE THE COURT, HE WOULD NOT BE JUDGED BY THE STANDARDS HE HAD SET FOR HIMSELF, BUT BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE.
