I'm with Him!

   “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)

   When Miriam and I were living in the Philippines we were fortunate enough to be able to minister to some girls that were in a home for sexually abused girls. We took them to our home once a week and did crafts and memorized Scripture and just had fun with them, to show them what a Christian family could look like. We started with three but it soon grew to six as one asked for her sister to come and two others petitioned for their best friends. We had to stop at six because that was already more than our little car could handle!

  Sometimes we would take them to eat and on one occasion we were going to a hamburger place and as we were going in we couldn’t help but notice three boys that were begging near the restaurant. The security guard at the door was making sure that they did not get close enough to bother the patrons coming and going and was definitely making sure they did not enter the restaurant.

    After we had entered one of the girls asked: “Can we invite the boys outside to come and eat with us? We quickly said, “Yes, of course!’ So three of the girls immediately jumped up from the table and went outside, and I went also to make sure there was no trouble from the security guard. You should have seen the faces of those three boys as they realized that someone was inviting them into the restaurant! They stood up straight and proud and walked right past the guard with big grins on their faces!  One of the boys, as he passed by the guard, looked up at him and pointed to me as if to say,   “I ‘m with him!”

   We had a great time talking to the boys through the girls who spoke both English and Tagalog (the language of the Philippines), and they told them about Jesus and how He had transformed their lives in the home they lived in. Each boy ate half of their hamburger and fries and asked if they could take the rest home to their family. We, of course, said yes.

    After we had said goodbye and were headed back to the girls’ home, Miriam said to me: “You know, that is a great picture of when we get to heaven. We are going to show up at those Pearly Gates, and if someone asks us why we think we can get in, we just point to Jesus and say, ‘I’m with Him!’”

   Yes, Yes, and Yes! He is the One who died on a cross and paid the penalty for our sins! He is the One who arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven and sits on the right hand of God and is our Great High Priest! He is our Righteousness! He is our Kinsman Redeemer! He is our Savior and Lord! Hallelujah and Hallelujah, Amen!

  “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed thought the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

   PRAY:

1.    Lord thank You for being such a loving and capable High Priest to all who call you Lord. 

2.    Use me today to be a reflection of Your love to everyone I come in contact with and help me always to put the needs of others over my own selfish desires.

3.    Lord, I praise You for being such a loving Father and Friend that is always looking out for my interests so that I can freely focus on the people around me that need encouragement and prayer.