Where does my help come from?

 

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills---From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2)

 

   In October 1973 I was a soldier assigned to an infantry battalion in Berlin, Germany. I was fortunate to be selected to attend the German Mountain Warfare School in Mittenwald, West Germany to complete a mountain climbing course. The school was located at the foot of the Alps on the Austrian border and it was a beautiful place to learn to climb. My experience in “mountains” at that time consisted of some hiking on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia as a Boy Scout, and training in mountainous warfare at Dahlonega, Georgia in the U.S. Army’s Ranger School.

   The first day we were outfitted with knickers and long socks to go with our standard uniform shirts and combat boots and we set out on a hike up a steep mountain track with our backpacks properly stocked with water, German bread and ‘wurst’ for lunch. We labored up the trail for about 2 or 3 hours and we finally reached the top of the ridgeline and the entire mountain range exploded into our view! The sight of the mountains was magnificent, and even though I have had many other opportunities to see majestic mountain scenes since then in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, Colorado, and Montana, I always remember my first, up close, glimpse of the Alps that October day.

 

   When I read the Scripture above I always have that magnificent scene come to my mind. The God that created those majestic mountains is the same God that I can look up to in time of need. He made heaven and earth and He is the only one I need to turn to when I need help with a big or small problem. The author of Psalms 121 continues:

 

   “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber or sleep.” (verses 3-4)

 

   God is on duty 24 hours a week, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. He doesn’t sleep! He does not get tired. Do you need to talk to Him at 3 AM about something on your heart? He is on duty! Do you need some advice on even the smallest of matters? He is on duty, and He cares! He is your loving Father. He is your Redeemer! He is your best Friend! You are His sheep, and He is the Good Shepherd. He takes care of His children always; not sometimes, but always!

 

   “The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day,  Nor the moon by night.” (verses 5-6)

 

  Have you ever been struck by the sun, and needed some shade  right now? I can remember some times in the Mojave desert in California or the Sinai desert in Egypt when the temperature was 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the only shade was from a poncho, or sitting in the shadow of a rock or a vehicle. He is my shade in the hot, hot sun! He is my shelter and comfort when I am discouraged on my bed at night! 

  “The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.  The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.” (verses 7-8)

 

  If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, and He is your Master and Savior, then He shall preserve you from all evil! He will preserve your very soul for eternity! Whenever you go out and when you come in He is there with you every step of the way. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Never!

 

  “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31: 8) 

 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, thank you that I can always depend upon you in the good times, the hard times, and the devastating times. You are with me always!

2.    Lord, thank you for saving my soul and preparing a place for me to spend eternity with You, and with all those whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life.

3.    Fill me with Your Spirit today, that I may be guided by you throughout the entire day, and when the day is done I can praise You for keeping me on the right path until I rest my head on my pillow.

 

 

   

 

 

Pure Wisdom

    “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18)

 

 

    Have you ever had a problem with the idea that we are to be “pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without hypocrisy?” It is definitely true that this kind of wisdom is from above, because it certainly is not from my carnal heart! I need to be totally yielded to the Holy Spirit to be able to live like that, and to interact with others, just as Jesus interacted with everyone He came in conduct during His time on this planet.

 

   Sometimes it helps me to read what some of the great men and women of God have written in the past about what it means to be sold out for Jesus and the Kingdom of God. We have great men and women today that write and teach but there is also a great amount of wisdom that we can gain from those saints of the past. Recently, my wife and I started reading a book by one of those men; Samuel L. Brengles, a former commissioner of the Salvation Army, who lived from 1860 to 1936. Below is part of the introduction to his book “Helps to Holiness.”

 

   Writing about what God had done for him, Mr. Brengles writes: “He has allowed me to be perplexed and tempted, but it has been for my good. I have no complaint to make against Him. Sometimes it has seemed that He left me alone, but it has been as a mother who stands away from her little child to teach him to use his own two legs that he may walk. He has not suffered me to fall.

 

   He has helped me to speak of Jesus and His great salvation in such a way so as to instruct, comfort, and save other souls. He has been light to my darkness, strength to my weakness, wisdom to my foolishness, and knowledge to my ignorance.

 

   When He has hedged me up and it seemed that no way could be found out of my temptations and difficulties, He has cut a way through for me, just as He opened the Red Sea for Israel.

 

 When my heart ached, He has comforted me. When my feet have slipped, He has held me up. When my faith has trembled, He has encouraged me. When I have been in desperate need, He has supplied every necessity. When I have been hungry, He has fed me. When I have thirsted, He has given me water.

 

   What has He not done for me? What has He not been for me? I recommend Him to the World. He has taught me that sin is the only thing that can harm me, and that the only thing that can profit me is ‘faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6 ESV). He has taught me to hang upon Jesus for faith for my salvation from all sin and fear and shame, and to show my love by obeying Him in all things and by seeking in all ways to lead others to obey Him.

 

   I praise Him! I adore Him! I love Him! My whole being is His for time and eternity. I am not my own. He can do with me as He pleases, for I am His. I know that what He chooses must work for my eternal good. He is too wise to make mistakes and too good to do me evil. I trust Him, I trust Him. I trust Him! ‘My hope is from Him. (Psalms 62.5 ESV), not from others, not from myself, but from Him. I know He will never fail me.”  (Helps to Holiness by Samuel L. Brengle, pp 11-12)

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, I praise You! Lord I love You! Lord I thank You for being my loving Father, Savior, and King. Help me this day to live for You and for You alone. 

2.    Fill me with Your Spirit this day Lord. Let my will be totally under Your control so that I may be obedient to Your Word and to Your prompting throughout the day.

3.    Lord, help me today to talk to someone about You and what You have done for my life. You have saved me and changed me forever to be Your son or daughter and I long to live with You in eternity!

 

   

 

 

We have to go!

. 

   “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (I Timothy 5:8, NKJV)

 

    In April of 2019 my wife, Miriam, received a phone call from her nephew, Eduardo, who lives in San Cristobal, Venezuela. His mother, Angela, Miriam’s sister, and their mother, Paula had been living together as widows for many years and he always checked on them and did small things for them after he had moved out and married his wife, Dahyana. The previous November, Paula had fallen down on the stairs and broke her hip. She had moved into Eduardo and Dahyana’s apartment and they had been taking care of them since that time. He was desperate! He said he could no longer take care of the two of them and was there anything Miriam could do to help him?

   We prayed and talked over the options we had. Then we prayed some more and asked others to pray for us. They could not come to the US, because their passports were to expire in two months and their government was in such a state of chaos that it would take 2 years to renew them. We could not go to Venezuela. Miriam is from Venezuela but has been a US citizen since 1982. She has not been able to visit Venezuela since 2002 when the Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chavez decided that any former Venezuelan citizen who returned to Venezuela would not be allowed to leave the country under their new countries passport, and the U.S. State Department told us it was not safe for her to return there. Paula and Angela had received US visas and had last visited us in 2017. The only option we saw was to go to Cucuta, Columbia, a small town on the border of Venezuela, and find a place to live there either temporarily or permanently.

    That presented other problems. We didn’t know if we could get them across the border. Sometimes it was open and sometimes it was closed. Eduardo told us stories of swimming the river to buy supplies in Cucuta! We could go right away, but our visas would be good for only 90 days. We could get extensions for up to 6 months or we could find a way to get their passports renewed and bring them to the US. We prayed some more and the only thing we could understand God telling us was: “we have to go!” So Miriam and I started looking at the cost of available rental apartments in Cucuta on the internet, and the price of plane tickets. Our children told us they would support us and help in any way they could. Our youngest, Adam, said he would go with us the first week to help us find a place and get set up to bring Paula and Angela across the border.

    Before we could set up a date to leave, Adam found out that one of his best friends, who worked for an NGO, would be in Cucuta on a visit to the team they have there the next week and we could possibly get some help from people in that organization in getting set up. So we timed our departure to arrive a day before his friend was to arrive and we met him and members of the NGO working there in support of the thousands of Venezuelans who were fleeing the country and crossing into Colombia at Cucuta. They were very helpful and we quickly were set up with a place to live and a mobile phone to be able to communicate in Columbia. (non-residents can not buy and operate a phone in Colombia.)

    So after a week, Adam left and we arranged for Paula and Angela to cross the border to their new home! It was a happy reunion for us and we thanked God for taking care of us thus far. We still had many questions about the future, but God had provided a place for us to take care of these two precious “widows indeed.” We did what we could to provide good food, care for Paula, who has dementia, and activities for both, as we adjusted to the small living space, the heat, and the small refrigerator that required us to shop every other day. We didn’t know what the future would hold, but we explored options of getting extension to their passports and what we would need to do to extend Miriam and my visas. 

    In June, after 2 months in country, we received the most astounding news! Due to the chaos in Venezuela, the US State department was going to extend the expiration of all Venezuelan passports by 2 years! That meant that we could now take them to our home in the US! God had parted the Red Sea for us! We were all on a plane bound for Atlanta, GA on the 26^thof July and enjoyed a joyous arrival home greeted by our children and grandchildren!

     We had prayed for wisdom and God had told us to go. He had not told us that we would be successful in our mission, but He had provided everything that we needed to go and take care of those precious ladies, and to eventually bring them home with us. Not only had He provided the place to live, but, He had provided people to help us in a new country where we knew no one! He had also provided generous friends who gave us enough money to defray 100 percent of the costs involved!

  We were reading a quote yesterday by Samuel Logan Brengle, Salvation Army Commissioner that perfectly described what happened to us in this adventure that our Lord gave us:

    “Prayer you know is not meant to be a monologue, but a dialogue. It is a communion, a friendly talk. While the Lord communicates through His word, He gives me a great deal of comfort in a direct manner. By ‘comfort’ I do not mean cuddling or coddling but assurance—assurance of His presence with me, and His pleasure in my service. It is like the comfort given by a military commander to his soldier or envoy when He sends him on a difficult mission: ‘You go, put on your armor, I’m watching you and I’ll send you all the reinforcements you need, as they are needed.’ I have to be comforted that way a great deal. I don’t just assume that God is near me and pleased with me; I must have a fresh witness daily.” (Samuel L. Brengle, Portrait of a Prophet, p. 185)

   Our God provided for all our needs as they were needed. We went not knowing how it would turn out, but we had with us our loving Father, who had all the resources that we would need and would provide them when we needed them! ("He owns the cattle on a thousand hills!")

 

PRAY

 

1.     Lord, thank you for showing us once again, that You are Jehovah Jira, God who provides! Help me today, and everyday to “cast all my cares upon You, because You care for me.”

2.     Lord, forgive me when I am afraid to step out and obey the things you have called me to do. Help me today to forgive those who have wronged me and to be bold in telling others about You,

3.     Lord, be with our leaders in government, in our church, and in our families. We need to be guided by You and not our own desires and wants. We need You desperately O Lord. Turn us back to You today!

 

 

 

 

   

Storm Warning!

 “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say: ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” (1^stThessalonians 5:2-3)

 

   In 1984 I was the operations officer for an Infantry battalion stationed at Fort Campbell, KY. We were out in the large training area on post conducting training to prepare our unit for a tactical evaluation that was coming the next month. We had been in the field for a week and it had rained every day that week and I had been in my rain suit practically the whole time. On the seventh day we were training with a Blackhawk Helicopter Battalion and the helicopters were taking turns moving each infantry company forward in an operation called a ‘movement to contact.’ The helicopters had just finished moving one company and were on the way to pick up a second company, when the Air Liaison Officer came to me, and said that he had to terminate the exercise and get all the aircraft back to the airfield. There was Black Weather Alert for a violent rainstorm that was approaching!

 

   The helicopters quickly exited the training area, and as I was trying to figure out how I could salvage the operation and do by “foot” the rest of the exercise, I looked out over the terrain, and 2 kilometers away I could see the storm coming. It was a solid wall of black rain that blotted out the sky! We quickly gave instructions to the units to take cover where they could, and I stood there mesmerized, watching this powerful storm approach.

   It hit with a fury of wind and rain so hard that it was almost like being under a waterfall, as I stood there with nothing but a steel helmet and a rain suit. Within 5 minutes I was soaked completely inside the rain suit, as enough water had poured through the neck opening. 

 

   We had been warned that it was coming but we really didn’t understand how damaging it would be! We then received a radio call from our Brigade headquarters telling us that they were sending a convoy of trucks to pick up the battalion within  the hour so that we could get across the bridges that separated us from main post. They predicted that the bridges would be underwater within two hours, and if we didn’t move fast we might be cut off there for days. Two ours later, I was in the last vehicle to cross the bridge, and there was already six inches of water running over the bridge!

 

    In 1996 Pastor Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate. He gave us all a warning then. Here is what he said that day:

 

  “Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleans us from every sin and set us free. Amen!”

 

  

   Twenty-five years have passed since Pastor Wright rendered this indictment on our nation. Things have not gotten better! If anything they have gotten much, much worse! We have seen the storm coming and it continues to rain down its consequences on our nation. When will we make a stand for the unborn? When will we get rid of the tyrannical politicians who are taking away our rights and cramming their godless agenda down our throats? There is really only one thing we can do, and that is PRAY! Only God can stem the tide of cancer that has engulfed our land!

 

  “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)

 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, forgive me, for I am a sinner and I need You to guide me and direct my paths daily. Help me to spend time today in prayer for our nation and its leaders.

2.    Lord, help my church to be a beacon of righteousness for the community around us and to demonstrate the love or Christ as we work to stop the murder of unborn babies in our land.

3.    Lord, I pray for Godly men and women to be our leaders and politicians and that if You call me to do anything to tell others about You, I will be the first to say loudly: “Here am I Lord, send me!”

 

Run the race

 

  “For I am already being poured out as drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to those who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:6-8)

 

 

  When I was in high school I decided to try out for the track team my senior year. I had been on the swim team for three years and the season ended in March with the state championships. I was planning to go into the military after graduation, so I wanted to stay in good physical shape. The track team had been practicing for a month already when I went out, and the coach put me with the group that ran the 440. The first weeks of practice were brutal for me. Although in shape for swimming, running uses some different muscles and our practices included sprinting a 220, and walking a 220, ten times, running two 440’s and then a mile run. I was so sore, those first weeks that I walked around like a cripple when I wasn’t at track practice. (There was no such thing as stretching out before and after practice like I have since learned since to do.)

 

   There were two fast runners in my group so that I was only the 3^rdfastest on our team. We were excited to run against another team at the University of Georgia’s new asphalt track for one of our meets. (Our track was cinder.) I was to run the third leg of the 4 X 440 relay and would hand the baton to the fastest man on the team. Our first runner took a good lead and made a clean handoff to the second who maintained the lead. I took the baton and was able to keep well ahead of their 3^rdrunner also. When we came into the exchange zone I was spent, and when I told the last runner to go he took off so fast that I had to lunge to hand him the baton. We dropped it! We were disqualified, and lost the race we had well in hand!

 

   Lately I have been thinking about finishing well. The Apostle Paul in the Scripture above indicates that he had “finished the race,” he had “kept the faith.”  What does that mean for you and I today? Am I still interested in being used by God for anything He has for me to do? Am I making sure the baton has been passed to my children or grandchildren? Yes, I am getting older but that doesn’t mean that God still doesn’t have things for me to do. When Caleb was 85 he asked Joshua if he could have the hill country of Judah. He would take the land, that God had given them, away from the Anakim, the giants that had discouraged the Israelites from entering the Promised Land 40 years earlier. 

 

 The author of Hebrews writes in another letter:

 

 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

 

   

  I want to finish well. I want to keep the faith. I want to keep running the race He has given me to run, and I don’t want to drop any more batons!

 

Pray

 

1.    Lord thank you for the years You have given me to live for you so far, and I thank you for however many more You have for me.

2.    Fill me with Your Spirit today that I can be used by You. I know that I can do nothing of value without You guiding and directing my every word and action.

3.    Thank You Lord for loving me first and calling me to surrender my life to You. I praise You and adore You and I need You to direct my life daily.

 

 

    

Revive us again

   “Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy LORD, And grant us Your Salvation.” (Psalms 85:6-7)

 

 

   These words from Psalms 85 are a precious prayer to our Lord to do what only He can do for the nation of Israel and for our nation today also. This Psalm was written by the sons of Korah and is a wonderful cry to God, as a people remembered just who it is that is responsible for our well being and the only One we can depend upon in times of trouble like we are going through today. It begins like this:

 

   “LORD, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgotten the iniquity of Your people; You have covered their sin. You have taken away all Your wrath; you have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.” (verses 1-3)

 

   God had been favorable to the land of Israel. He had taken them out of captivity in Egypt and later would return them from captivity in Babylon. He had forgotten about His anger over their sin, and was no longer punishing them for forsaking Him so often. God has been favorable to this country (the USA) over the past 300 years. He brought people here who wanted to worship God, without the restraints of the old world. He has blessed this country beyond what any nation in the world has been blessed with; a good government, natural resources and beauty, good leaders, and safety from the domination of other countries unlike any other nation throughout history. 

  

    “I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him. That glory may dwell in our land.” (verses 8-9)

 

   Are you and I hearing what the Lord speaks to us in the Scriptures? He speaks peace to our hearts because He teaches us his statues and how to know Him personally. But we can’t turn back to the folly we were in before we were saved, and we must fear (stand in awe) of Him as He speaks to our hearts and gives us the desire to serve Him wherever He has placed us. 

 

   “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. (verses 10-12)

 

   What an awesome word picture! “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” God brings the best things together for His people. The Lord give His best for His servants that are living for Him and he will provide the increase for our land if we are faithful to love Him and obey His commandments.

 

  Finally the psalmist declares: “Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.” (verse 13)

  

   God leads the way with His righteousness, and we can follow in His footsteps as we allow Him to live through us, and be obedient to the things He has showed us in His Scriptures, and has prompted us with His Holy Spirit. 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, we praise You and magnify Your Holy Name. We praise You for Your mercy, grace, and longsuffering with us each and every day. You are our faithful Lord, our loving Father, and benevolent King!

2.    Revive our hearts, Oh Lord, and start with my heart. I need Your Spirit to guide me and fill me with Your loving guidance so that I can follow in the footsteps You have prepared for me today.

3.    In You “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” We can live for You only because Your Spirit is in us and will take us on the right path. Help me to be obedient to Your leading today.

 

 

 

 

 

But even though....

 

   “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, an He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said. ‘Behold I make all things new.’ And He said to me. ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’” (Revelation 21:3-5) 

 

   I know you have heard the expression: “Nothing is sure in this life except death and taxes.” Well, I think you know that occasionally someone gets out of paying taxes (if even only for a short time). But I am pretty sure you have not ever known anyone who didn’t eventually die or who will die. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) But the good news is that all those who are followers of Christ, who have a personal relationship with Him will live eternally with Him in the manner described above in the book of Revelation.

 

   You have God’s word on it directly from His Son, Jesus! ‘’’And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am there you may be also.’” (John 14:3) He even told the thief on the cross, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:43)

 

   Pastor Gordon Macdonald tells this story about someone he knew that was dying:

 

   “My neighbor’s wife was dying of cancer. I was at the hospital with him as we waited for her life to end. It was a difficult moment because she thrashed about in her bed in semiconsciousness. And no medication or medical treatment seemed to bring her a modicum of rest. It was clear to me that the physicians and nurses had exhausted every means at their disposal to assist her in this dying hour. And it was a difficult thing for them because during her illness they had all come to love her. So their professional poise was affected by emotional attachment.

 

    I am not given to this kind of thing, but I felt impelled to ask permission to step to her bedside. In turn the medical personnel surrounding the bed stepped back. It was clear that they welcomed anything that anyone, including a pastor could do. 

 

   I placed both of my hands on J_______’s emaciated shoulders, now thinned by the ravages of this terrible ordeal, and I gently pressed her back into her pillow. 

 

  ‘J________,’ I said, ‘its Pastor Mac. Listen to me! Are you listening? Do you hear me?’

 

   She looked at me with eyes that were filled with fear, almost panic. ‘Yes, Pastor Mac, I hear you.’

 

   ‘J_______, I’m going to say something to you, and I want you to listen as carefully as you can. Don’t move, don’t speak, just listen! OK?’

 

   ‘Yes, Pastor Mac,’ she whispered, ‘I’m listening.’

 

   And then I reached deep into my soul for the simplest, most familiar words of the Bible. Words that I now ponder every Thursday when I think of the God who is there. And I said,  ‘The Lord is my shepherd….I have everything I need….He makes me to lie down in green pastures… He leads me to still waters…He restores my soul…He leads me on the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake…And even though…and even though…even though I walk through the valley of death…I am not afraid…I have nothing to fear…Do you hear that, J______, nothing to fear… because You are with me.

 

   ‘J_____, we’ve know each other for a lot of years, and we’ve talked about this moment  when any one of us might go to be with Jesus. You’re going first, J______. He’s a wonderful Shepherd, and He’s ready to take good care of you. Do you hear me, J______? He’s ready to take good care or you.’

 

   I felt the anxiety, the panicky energy, leave her. He eyes became soft, and she relaxed in her bed. And then I listened as, with a calm voice, she turned to her husband and whispered, calling him by name,  ‘Thank you for being good to me, for loving me. You’re a good husband, and I love you.’

 

   And then J_____ looked at her daughter, ‘Mommy loves you, dearest; be strong for Daddy,’ and then to the medical personnel who stood there, ‘Thank you for taking such good care of me; thank you for all you have done. I love you all.’

 

   Almost instantly, following those words J_____ closed her eyes and went to sleep. A few moments later she met the Shepherd face-to-face, crossed the threshold of death, and understood for the first time the full meaning of everlasting life.

   And that is why we love to sing with increasing frequency:

 

    When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

    Bright shinning as the sun,

    We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

     Than when we’d first begun.”

 

(Gordon MacDonald, The Life God Blesses, pp 166-168)

 

   Yes, we don’t like to think too much about death. We know it is coming. We know that we will go the way of all men. But if you do think about it today, what do you believe will happen? If we are children of the King (Jesus), then we don’t have to worry! We can relax now, and we can even relax on our death bed.  We can look forward to that glorious day when we meet our Savior face-to-face! 

 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Thank you Lord for dying on that cross that we might have our sins forgiven and that all who call you Savior, will inherit eternal life.

2.    Help us to live each day for you so that when You call us home to live with You for eternity we can hear those wonderful words: “Well, done, good and faithful servant, enter into your rest.”

3.    Fill me with Your Spirit today that I may be used by You to minister to others that come into my path today, and if they don’t know You I will be able to tell them about how You have changed my life, and assured me of the life to come.