Hearthstone - July 2003

Volume 18, No.7 JULY 2003
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CONTENTS Pray For America Make Me A True Lover Hugs 'N Tugs By Wendy Greiner Lefko The Best Of Lifeline By Rev. Larry W. Greiner Gleanings Quite Suddenly The Reigning Christ Larry's Korean Korner Praise & Prayer Greiner Itinerary	PRAY FOR AMERICA "I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority" (1 Timothy 2:1,2a). Today the great need of our country is prayer. It is also the great need of national and world leaders. We are told to pray for kings and those in authority. It is a God-given privilege. It has been said that if we prayed for one country each day, we would pray for the entire world three times a year. A schoolteacher and her class were discussing the fact that a father may occasionally permit his boy or girl to take the wheel of the car. The teacher emphasized that the parent places his big hands over the child’s small ones so that there will be no danger of an accident. Some time afterward one of her pupils, a little eight-year-old, was asked if he would like to pray. This is what he prayed, "Dear Lord, please put Your hands over the hands of our President so he will know how to turn the wheel for our country." Our country desperately needs our intercession. May we join hearts in prayer for our President and for our beloved United States of America!

"I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming." —George Mueller

HUGS ‘N TUGS
	By Wendy Greiner Lefko I’m no seamstress! The extent of my sewing skills consists of mending torn garments, fallen hems and loose buttons. In our household, however, it seems there’s always something that needs fixing with a needle and thread. Though I may not know much about the complexities of sewing, I’ve often encountered a problem that I’m sure is common to all seamstresses, novice or expert. Nothing frustrates me more than the simple obstacle of a knot in the thread. I’ll be sewing along on my way to completing the necessary repair, when I am suddenly stopped dead in my stitching tracks. Pull as I may, the thread will not come through the fabric with that knot in tow. The only thing pulling does (which I’ve found out a few times in the midst of mindless frustration) is break the thread, necessitating a new beginning of the mending process. I’ve learned that the only way to deal with the cumbersome knot is to stop sewing, tie off the thread as best I can and begin again from where I left off. There really is no other choice. I can’t continue sewing until I deal with that irritating knot which has forced me stop what I was doing, tie up loose ends, and begin to sew again—albeit with a bit more care and at a gentler speed. Oh the frustration a simple knot can bring! Often I encounter a much more frustrating type of "knot" in life. I’ll be going along in my daily routine, my tasks carefully mapped out and on my way to accomplishing my goals, when out of nowhere I am stopped dead in my tracks by a "knot" in the thread of life. It’s an interruption or an unexpected trial I hadn’t counted on. I recognize it as part of the tapestry of life—the loss of a loved one, an accident, an illness, a job loss, or a broken relationship. All these and many other "knots" in life leave us with no choice but to stop and tend to the situation God has lovingly placed before us. There are no accidental knots! God is the Master Tailor and His thread is perfect. He understands every inch of the fabric of our lives and knows precisely where to place the needle and thread to complete the masterpiece He is working on. God makes no mistakes and permits the disturbing "knots" to make us stop when often nothing else will. When we encounter a "knot," we must look at it as God’s loving method of teaching us something. I thank the Lord He continues to do His profound work in our lives, knots and all. "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me" (Psalm 138:8). With thoughtless and impatient hands We tangle up the plans the Lord hath wrought. And when we cry in pain, He saith, "Be quiet, dear, while I untie the knot." —Anonymous Back to Contents

THE BEST OF LIFELINE
	By Rev. Larry W. Greiner Christiana Tsai, the daughter of a wealthy Chinese provincial governor, was raised in a Buddhist home, but attended a mission school to take advantage of the excellent education it offered. She vowed, however, that she would never convert to Christianity, and deeply resented the religious services she was required to attend. "This only increased my resistance," she later wrote, "and I made up my mind that I was not going to "eat" their Christianity. So I used to take a Chinese novel with me to chapel and read it as I knelt at the bench." What Christiana wanted most from her education was to perfect her skills in the English language so she could quench her insatiable thirst for knowledge. To do that she joined an optional English Bible class, and by her own testimony, "God used my love for English to draw me to Himself." It was through reading Scripture that she was converted—an experience that created anger and despair among her family members. One of her brothers tore up her Bible and hymnbook. Her mother openly grieved that her daughter would care so little about her as to deny her future homage through ancestral worship. Eventually, however, Christiana’s testimony and changed life began to have an effect on her family, and one by one they converted to Christianity. "The brother who tore up my Bible and persecuted me in the early days at last confessed my Lord," she wrote. "In all, fifty-five of my relatives, adults and children, have become God’s children and expressed their faith in Jesus Christ. I have never been to college, or theological seminary, and I am not a Bible teacher. I have only been God’s "hunting dog." I simply followed at the heels of my Master, and brought to His feet the quarry He sent me after." There is no greater joy than seeing loved ones receive Christ because of our testimony. How many of us have sought to be a missionary to our own families and relatives? At first they may not heed our words and may even hate us because they hate our Lord. But the Lord has his ways of bringing them to Himself in His own time. The love of Christ in us is to be our greatest witness to those who are dear to us. God will often use just one Christian in a family to save a whole generation. Andrew found FIRST his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah." He then "brought him to Jesus" (John 1:41,42). Back to Contents

GLEANINGS
	Paul speaks of spiritual babes who won’t grow up. Some of these 150- to 200-pound church babies keep the pastor busy running around with a milk bottle when they should have been on beefsteak years ago. When the church calls a new pastor, these infants may be heard to complain, "I don’t like the new preacher—he changed my formula!" —Vance Havner * * * * * The proof of love is its capacity to suffer for the object of its affection. —Anonymous * * * * * No man can love a saint, as a saint, but a saint. —Richard Sibbes * * * * * Most people plot and plan themselves into mediocrity, while now and again somebody forgets himself into greatness. —E. Stanley Jones * * * * * How we live is more important than how long we live. What is the sense of living a long life just to hang around and take up space? — Jim Cymbala * * * * * If I bow before Him in my inner chamber, then I am in contact with the eternal, unchanging power of God . . . . Oh, if we would only take time for the inner chamber so that we might experience in full reality the presence of this Almighty Jesus! What a blessedness would be ours through faith! An unbroken fellowship with an Omnipresent and Almighty Lord. —Andrew Murray * * * * * Above all, keep much in the presence of God. Never see the face of man till you have seen His face, who is our life—our all. —Robert Murray M’Cheyne * * * * * No worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God. —A.W.Tozer Back to Contents

QUITE SUDDENLY
	Quite suddenly—it may at the turning of a lane, where I stand to watch a skylark soar from out the swelling grain, that the trump of God shall thrill me, with its call so loud and clear, and I’m called away to meet Him, Whom of all I hold most dear. Quite suddenly—it may be in His house I bend my knee, when the Kingly voice, long-hoped-for, comes at last to summon me, and the fellowship of earth-life that has seemed so passing sweet, proves nothing but the shadow of our meeting round His feet. Quite suddenly—it may be as I tread the busy street, strong to endure life’s stress and strain, it’s every call to meet, that through the roar of traffic, a trumpet, silvery clear, shall stir my startled senses and proclaim His coming near. Quite suddenly—it may be as I lie in dreamless sleep, God’s gift to many a sorrowing heart, with no more tears to weep, that a call shall break my slumber and a Voice sound in my ear: "Rise up, My love, and come away! Behold, the Bridegroom’s here!" —Unknown Author Back to Contents

LARRY’S KOREAN KORNER

Many of you have been praying for Pat, one of our Korean youth who has been fighting in Iraq. Good news!. Pat survived the war and has returned home! God answered our prayers. He is back at his camp in South Carolina. I would just like to share some excerpts from the last letter we received from him before he knew he was coming home.

"Hi! How are you all doing? I’m still living. After we got the order to roll into Iraq, on the way, our platoon ran into 5 ambushes. In 2 of them I almost got killed. One of them was when we were set up for the night. 15 Iraqi tanks rolled in on us, plus Iraqi foot soldiers. They couldn’t see us. Our air and artillery units saved us because the Amtraks (one of which I drive) don’t fight tanks. The other close call was friendly fire by the air force when they almost hit my vehicle with a bomb. So far we have taken out small militias—Iraqi soldiers, Republican Guard, mercenaries and a terrorist training compound. Basically, now since the war is over, we are acting as a humanitarian force. It’s sort of weird here as we drive down the streets of Baghdad. People are out waving to us, treating us like celebrities almost. It looks like I may be home before July. I’m very fortunate, as all this could have turned bad real quick. I feel as if there were angels around us, because a few have died, but not as many as I had prepared myself for. Let’s just say if you came over here not believing in God you would now. Thank you for praying for me. I feel different and will always remember this and those who I fought with. Well, I gotta go, but I’ll stay in touch."

"Pat."

Please keep praying for Pat as he adjusts to postwar difficulties.

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PRAISE & PRAYER

	Keswick. Ruth had the joy of leading one of the seniors to Christ. We sensed the moving of God.
	Praise God for His faithfulness in meeting every need from day to day.
	Praise God for continued good health.
	God is blessing the Korean outreach, both through Larry and Bob. Bob has been asked to preach for the Korean Pastor two Sundays in July, besides his youth ministry. Larry (in Drexel Hill) and Bob (in Broomall) covet your prayers for this mission field in our "back yard."
	Bobby Lefko is making final preparations for Lancaster Bible College in August. He appreciates your prayers.
	Pray for the summer conferences and other scheduled meetings, and for travelling safety.

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Volume 18, No.7

JULY 2003

Hearthstone Archives | Home Page

CONTENTS

PRAY FOR AMERICA

"I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming." —George Mueller

MAKE ME A TRUE LOVER

"Let your fleece lie on the threshing floor of supplication till it is wet with the dew of heaven." —C.H. Spurgeon

HUGS ‘N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

THE BEST OF LIFELINE

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

GLEANINGS

QUITE SUDDENLY

THE REIGNING CHRIST

LARRY’S KOREAN KORNER

PRAISE & PRAYER

GREINER ITINERARY

MAKE ME A TRUE LOVER
	Mender of broken reeds, O patient Lover, ‘Tis love my brother needs, Make me a lover, That this poor reed May be mended And turned for Thee; O Lord, of even me, Make a true lover. —Amy Carmichael Back to Contents

THE REIGNING CHRIST
	Oh! The joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honor, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned, Unto earth’s remotest end, Glorified, adored, and owned! —Anonymous Back to Contents