Hearthstone - September 2004

Volume 19, No.9 SEPTEMBER 2004
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CONTENTS Lord, Keep Me Still Encouragement Be An Encourager The Reality of God No Turning Back Hugs 'N Tugs By Wendy Greiner Lefko Necessary & Enough True Love The Best of Lifeline By Larry W. Greiner Eternal Goodness Take Me To The Cross Wait Praise & Prayer Itinerary	LORD, KEEP ME STILL Lord, keep me still, Though stormy waves may blow And waves my little bark may overflow, Or even if in darkness I must go; Lord, keep me still. The waves are in Thy hand, The roughest seas subside at Thy command. Steer Thou my bark in safety to the land And keep me still, Keep me still. —Author unknown Back to Contents
Christ’s cross is the sweetest burden that ever I bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a ship. To carry me forward to my harbor. —Samuel Rutherford
ENCOURAGEMENT
	I think many Christians are “dying on the vine” for lack of encouragement from other believers. Proverbs 15:23 says, “A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word.” Isn’t that true? It’s a delightful thing to receive a timely word. Proverbs 15:30 says, “Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news puts fat on the bones.” Now don’t take “fat” literally. It means it will give you emotional prosperity, make your heart lighter, make the day seem more bearable. Back to Contents

BE AN ENCOURAGER
	One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement . . . . It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word. —William Barclay Back to Contents
THE REALITY OF GOD
	One day Horace Bushnell knelt in his dormitory room at Yale University. He thought, If there is a God, as I rather hope and very dimly believe to be, He must be a right God. Will He not help me to discover Him? God did reveal Himself to young Bushnell. He rose from his knees and felt as if he had received wings. The whole sky was luminous for him. It was sunrise in his soul. Then he prayed, “Take the dimness of my soul away. Reveal Thyself to me.” Henceforth he had no troublesome doubts about God’s reality. He had proved the genuiness of the promise: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). —Sword of the Lord Back to Contents
NO TURNING BACK
	Steve Brown relates the story of a soldier in World War I who was so distraught with the war that he deserted. He tried to find his way to the coast so he could catch a boat and make his way back incognito to his homeland in England . In the darkness of the night he stumbled on a road sign. It was so pitch black and he was so lost, he had no idea where he was or what the sign said. He decided to climb the pole. When he got to the crossbeam, he held on to read the sign. Taking out a match, he lit it, and looked directly in the face of Jesus Christ. He had climbed an outdoor crucifix! Stunned by what he saw, he realized the shame of his life. He was looking into the face of the One who had endured it all and had never turned back. The next morning the soldier was back in the trenches. Back to Contents

HUGS 'N TUGS
	By Wendy Greiner Lefko If you ask our 18-month-old son, Daniel, “Do you want to go bye-bye?” he will smile and excitedly say “bye-bye!” while running around waiting to leave. He’ll sit patiently to have his shoes put on and his hair combed, all the while chanting “bye-bye?” then run for the door as soon as he hears the jangle of keys, knowing it’s time to go. He’ll carefully but quickly walk to the van, climb up the step and find his way happily to his car seat, where he is firmly buckled in and ready to go. From all appearances, one would see a toddler who loves to travel. Unfortunately his anticipation and enthusiasm never quite match his endurance for the journey itself. Unfailingly his joy for “going bye-bye” ends about 4 minutes into the ride, and he voices his displeasure at being constrained to a car seat for the rest of the trip. Even when we arrive at the destination, if it is a shopping trip in which he is confined to a stroller or shopping cart, his displeasure with being yet again restrained comes through loud and clear through strong, young vocal chords. But the whole scenario will only repeat itself the next time he is asked the same question. He will happily comply to the planned excursion with great excitement, only to quickly descend into displeasure at the process of travel yet again. His joy in the journey is short-lived. How many times do we as God’s children say “Yes, Lord, I will go! Send me!”? We offer our lives to serve Him and with genuine motives excitedly submit to His plan. With great joy we commit to His leading, and with elated expectation we begin the journey on the path He has laid before us. But how often does that authentic anticipation turn into annoyance at the restraints the Lord places around us for our safety? Or our joyful compliance descends into ugly complaints at the length of the journey? We start to realize we don’t have the freedom to move in ways we would like, and we voice our displeasure at the direction the Lord is leading us. The journey is not what we expected and our joy begins to wane. Our hearts that were so willing to serve Him begin to murmur and groan at any discomfort and we become as the Israelites in the wilderness, shortsighted and selfish. The journey is all part of the process the Lord uses to mold us into His image. God has reasons for the restraints in our lives, with only our safety in mind, and has mapped out the perfect pilgrimage for us with His higher purpose as the compass. If we would remember to continually submit to His leading, we would find the blessings that are waiting to be ours in the process. I pray the Lord will replace that tendency to complain with the grace to go on with a grateful and trusting heart, so that I may find joy in the journey! “Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:39 , 40). Back to Contents

THE BEST OF LIFELINE

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

Fred Dixon ran the decathlon back in the ‘70s. He was excellent. He came to the 1976 decathlon in Montreal . If you know anything about the particular endurance of it, you have a respect for whoever is in the finals. There are five events, two days in a row, making a decathlon. Dixon had high hopes, running alongside Bruce Jenner.

Fred ran but he didn’t do well. He ran the next one and didn’t do well then either. He competed in the next event and did even more poorly. When he finally finished the fifth run, he realized he was hopelessly unable to win, so he quit. Alone with his thoughts, and struggling with what that meant, and knowing that it went against the grain of his inner fiber, he realized, “Someday I am going to have children, and they are going to read about the events in Montreal. And they’re going to read that their daddy quit.” And so, with some strong, firm consistent talking, he talked the officials into letting him finish the decathlon.

The next day he finished all ten events. Dixon became number one in the decathlon in ’77, our American hopeful. In 1980 he made the team and was expected to win it, but the ’80 Olympics were called off. Though Dixon never won, he endured.

As Christians, we are called to endure as we run the race of life. The Lord isn't expecting us to run a perfect race but a faithful one. Many times we will be tempted to give up because of weakness and failure. But if we keep our eyes on Christ Who ran the race before us, we will find strength and grace to endure all hardships. God does not allow us to see what is around the corner, but only what is before us. We should only be concerned with our race one step at a time and leave the future in His hands. We are given grace for each step. Will you cast your care on the Lord and ask Him for strength to endure your race, even though it may seem impossible to finish?

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12: 1-3).

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ETERNAL GOODNESS

I see the wrong that round me lies,
I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
The world confess its sin.

Yet in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings:
I know that God is good!

—John Greenleaf Whittier

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A dying saint asked that his name should be put upon his tombstone, with the dates of his birth and death, and the one word “Kept.”

TAKE ME TO THE CROSS
	It is said that the geographical center of London is the Charing Cross and you can find your way anywhere in London if you are at Charing Cross . The story is told of a little boy who was lost. A bobby came along and wiped away his tears. “Can I take you home, son?” The boy replied, “Oh, no, sir, take me to the cross, and I’ll find my way home.” That is true for us. When we orient ourselves to the cross, look to the cross, we begin to see the I AM, the eternity and magnificence of God. Back to Contents

WAIT
	WAIT—Many times this little verse by Harry Chester has fallen on my heart like a benediction: The Scripture says that in His own sweet way, If we but wait, The Lord will take our burdens and set Crooked matters straight. —Jowett Back to Contents

PRAISE & PRAYER
	· Praise for an exciting week of ministry at Montrose Bible Conference. There were decisions made for Christ. Praise God for strength He gave Claire to take part in the speaking and music. He has further blood work scheduled for September 8^th and possible chemo. · Praise and prayer for Bob’s Korean youth ministry. · Pray for the fall schedule that God will work in hearts and homes. Beloved Friends, We have sensed your prayers. Thank you for your love and support. God bless and reward you for your faithfulness in the cause of Christ. Yours in loving service for the King of Kings, “The Greiners” Back to Contents

GREINER ITINERARY
	Sept. 10 Evangelical United Methodist Clarksboro , NJ Sept. 12 A.M. Belmont Baptist Broomall , PA Sept. 12 P.M. Springhouse Estates Sept. 19 A.M. Centermoreland Baptist Church Northmoreland , PA Sept. 26 A.M. Calvary Grace Brethren Church Hagerstown , PA Oct. 10 A.M. Bible Fellowship Church & Afternoon Camden , DE Oct. 17 Afternoon Cedar Grove Church Philadelphia, PA Pray for Bob’s Korean ministry every Friday & Sunday. Back to Contents

Volume 19, No.9

SEPTEMBER 2004

Hearthstone Archives | Home Page

CONTENTS

ENCOURAGEMENT

BE AN ENCOURAGER

THE REALITY OF GOD

NO TURNING BACK

HUGS 'N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

NECESSARY AND ENOUGH

TRUE LOVE

THE BEST OF LIFELINE

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

ETERNAL GOODNESS

TAKE ME TO THE CROSS

WAIT

PRAISE & PRAYER

GREINER ITINERARY

NECESSARY AND ENOUGH
	In a hospital ward, a lady missionary found an undersized and underdeveloped little Irish boy, whose white, wizened face and emaciated form excited her deepest sympathy. His soul’s need was put before him, and he was awakened to a sense of his lost condition, insomuch that he commenced seriously to consider how he might be saved. One morning when the lady called on him again she found his face aglow with a newfound joy. Inquiring the reason, the boy replied with assurance born of faith in the revealed Word of God. “O missus, I always knew that Jesus was necessary, but I never knew till yesterday that He was enough!” —H.A.Ironside Back to Contents
Two psychiatrists passed a lady in the hall. She said, “Good morning.” They looked at each other and said, “I wonder what she meant by that?”

TRUE LOVE
	L—listening when another is speaking; O—overlooking petty faults and forgiving all failures; V—valuing other people for who they are; E—expressing love in a practical way.

For wolves to worry lambs is no wonder, but for lambs to worry one another, this is unnatural and monstrous. —Puritan quotation