Volume 17, No.10

OCTOBER 2002

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CONTENTS

A Mother's Kiss

Checkmated

To Whom Are You Praying

The Leech

Hugs 'N Tugs
By Wendy Greiner Lefko

The Best of Life Line
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

Unconditional Singing

A Better Likeness

Magnificent Grace

Through 
A Child's Eyes

Representing Jesus

 

 

A MOTHER’S KISS

Dr. Joseph Parker said that when Robert Moffat was added to the kingdom of God, a whole continent was added with him. A mother’s kiss did it. He was leaving home, and his mother was going with him part of the way. At last she could walk no farther, and she stopped. "Robert," she said, "promise me something."  "What?" asked the boy. "Promise me something," she said again. He replied, "You will have to tell me before I will promise." "It is something you can easily do," she said. "Promise your mother." He looked into her face and said, "Very well, Mother, I will do anything you wish."

She clasped her hands behind his head, pulled his face down to hers and said, "Robert, you are going out into a wicked world. Begin every day with God. Close every day with God." Then she kissed him.

Robert Moffat said it was that kiss that made him a missionary.

 —Copied

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CHECKMATED

A famous painting had long hung in a European gallery—no one seemed to know for how long. It showed a chessboard with the devil sitting on a chair on one side, a look of gloating triumph all over his face. Across from him was a dejected, forlorn youth, defeat stamped on a still studying countenance. The title told the story: "Checkmated."

Paul Murphy, the only American chess champion of the world prior to Bobby Fischer, once toured Europe and visited that gallery. He gazed at the painting in silent reflection for a long time. Then excitedly he exclaimed, "Bring me a chessboard; there’s one—only one, mind you—but there’s one move whereby I can save him!"

Christ, the Lord of the universe, looked down from heaven and saw our plight. The world was checkmated by the devil, but the Redeemer of man made the one move that could free us from the gloom in life and doom in eternity—He died to free us from Satan’s bondage.

—John Wesley White                

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Communion with God is a great sea that fits every bend in the shore of human need. —Fosdick

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TO WHOM ARE YOU PRAYING?

At one time Bill Moyers served as press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, who referred to him as "my Baptist preacher" and often called on him to "give thanks for the meal." On one occasion the president, who was having difficulty hearing, interrupted him in the middle of his prayer, "Louder, Bill!" he said. Moyers replied, "I wasn’t talking to you, Mr. President."

 —John W. Drakeford

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THE LEECH

"The horseleach has two daughters, crying, ‘Give, give’" (Proverbs 30:15). 

In an unusually graphic illustration, the writer of Proverbs describes the true nature of self. The leech mentioned here, probably as a large and especially repulsive creature, has two forks in its tongue, with which it sucks blood from its victims. It is said that it would often gorge itself until it exploded. Spiritually, this leech is self-love and its two daughters are self-righteousness and self-pity. It is never satisfied, and its insatiable appetite is the enemy of everything around it. It is even its own worst enemy, because self-love can never truly be satisfied.

—John MacArthur

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HUGS 'N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

It has been a long, hot, dry summer. By the end of August everything was brown and dusty, with drought emergencies issued for many parts of our state. Finally in the beginning of September the Lord opened up the skies and it rained steadily for several days. Not a soul complained, as the rain had been long awaited and desperately needed to replenish a thirsty earth. What amazed me was how quickly the drab, parched landscape became a lush vibrant green! I had thought for sure it was too little too late and that although the rain would help replenish the wells and water supplies, the grass and plants were too far gone to recuperate from the long drought. Yet, almost before I knew it, our brown lawn was green and growing, and the leaves on our trees were flourishing with new life. The plants I had given up on bounced back with a sturdy firmness not seen in weeks. Lawn mowers were buzzing again in the neighborhood! It was almost as if the drought had never happened and the earth was revived and blooming all over again!

This wonderful working of nature drove home an important lesson to my heart. How many times have we allowed our walk with the Lord to become dry and brittle, not seeking the water of His Word to rain on our souls? How brown and lifeless have we permitted the garden of our hearts to get because we have failed to spend time with the great Gardener of Life? It happens to us all at one time or another. The wonderful news, however, is that when we humble ourselves and turn our hearts once again towards Him, He is ready and willing to open the floodgates of Heaven and rain showers of blessings and mercy upon our thirsty souls. Then the true miracle of God’s grace takes place as He turns the dry, brown brush of our heart’s landscape into a lush green meadow growing stronger every day in the light of His goodness and love. It may take time to turn the prickly dry grass of a life out of touch with the Lord back to the soft and tender green blades of a heart surrendered to Him, but it can and will happen.

Though all around may appear to be lifeless and beyond repair, God in His mercy is waiting and able to bring life back to the driest, roughest heart. I praise God He has a "green thumb" when it comes to the soil of our hearts!

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for Thee, O God" (Psalm 42:1)."

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THE BEST OF LIFELINE

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

John McCain tells of an experience he had during the Vietnam War. "In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, out captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. . . . In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over a period of time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore.

"Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time it was the most important aspect of our lives. This had been going on for some time until one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell.

"Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag."

There are people today who want to take the name of God out of our "Pledge of Allegiance." How can such people be true American patriots? They have become anti-everything that this country was founded upon, namely the "Faith of our Fathers." As Christians, we should not only have a patriotic heart for what our American flag stands for but we should also have the same zeal for the Christian Flag. Our pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ should be one that we should be willing to die for. Did He not die for us? Let us hold high the banner of the cross and not be ashamed, for in that cross is found true liberty for the soul.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1).

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UNCONDITIONAL SINGING

Soon the sun that now is shining
May be covered by a cloud;
Will we then to God our praises
Still be singing just as loud?

It’s not hard to praise our Savior
When all things seem oh so right,
But the true test may not face us
Till the middle of the night.

Will the songs we sang so loudly
In the brightness of the day
Still be on our hearts at night,
Or will they fade away?

If on Christ our eyes are focused
When the clouds arise,
We will still have strength to praise Him
Till we meet Him in the skies.

—Mark Hall ©2002 Used by permission

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A BETTER LIKENESS

Andrew Bonar sent Charles Surgeon a copy of his commentary on Leviticus. Spurgeon was so blessed by the exposition that he returned the book with this notation: "Dr. Bonar, please place herein your autograph and photograph."

Soon the book was returned with this message from the saintly Bonar: "Dear Spurgeon, Here is the book with my autograph and photograph. If you had been willing to wait a short season, you could have had a better likeness; for I shall be like Him. I shall see Him as He is." 

—Paul R. Van Gorder

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MAGNIFICENT GRACE

Gentlemen, for half my life I have been teaching the grace of God, but I am just beginning to understand it. And gentlemen, it is magnificent. It is magnificent!

—Lewis Sperry Chafer

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If you take out GOD, then we are
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THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES

Maury Adkins writes:

God recently allowed me to see Jesus through the eyes of someone seeing Him for the first time. Having the advantage of knowing how the story ends, we can easily forget the cost of our redemption and the love of our Savior.

Every year we attend a local church pageant at Christmas time, which tells the story of Jesus from His birth through His resurrection. It is a spectacular event, with live animals and hundreds of cast members in realistic costumes. The magi enter the huge auditorium on llamas from the rear, descending the steps in pomp and majesty. Roman soldiers look huge and  menacing in their costumes and makeup.

Of all the years we have attended, one stands out indelibly in my heart. It was the year we took our then three-year-old granddaughter, Bailey, who loves Jesus. She was mesmerized throughout the entire play, not just watching, but involved as if she were a player. She watches as Joseph and Mary travel to the Inn and is thrilled when she sees the baby Jesus in His mother's arms.

When Jesus, on a young donkey, descends the steps from the back of the auditorium, depicting His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Bailey was ecstatic. As he neared our aisle, Bailey began jumping up and down, screaming, "Jesus, Jesus! There's Jesus!" Not just saying the words but exclaiming them with every fiber of her being. She alternated between screaming his name and hugging us. "It's Jesus. Look!" I thought she might actually pass out. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Jesus through the eyes of a child in love with Him, seeing Him for the first time. How like the blind beggar screaming out in reckless abandon, "Jesus, Jesus!", afraid he might miss Him, not caring what others thought. (Mark 10:46-52) This was so much fun.

Then came the arrest scene. On stage, the soldiers shoved and slapped Jesus as they moved Him from the Garden of Gethsemane to Pilate. Bailey responded as if she were in the crowd of women, with terror and anger. "Stop it!" she screamed. "Bad soldiers, stop it!" 

As I watched her reaction, I wished we had talked to her before the play. "Bailey, it's ok. They are just pretending."

"They are hurting Jesus! Stop it!" She stood in her seat reacting to each and every move. People around us at first smiled at her reaction, thinking "How cute!". Then they quit smiling and began watching her watch Him. In a most powerful scene, the soldiers lead Jesus carrying the cross down the steps of the auditorium from the back. They were yelling, whipping, and cursing at Jesus, who was bloodied and beaten. 

Bailey was now hysterical. "Stop it! Soldiers! Stop it," she screamed. She must have been wondering why all these people did nothing. She then began to cry instead of scream. "Jesus, Oh, Jesus!" People all around us began to weep as we all watched this devoted little disciple see her Jesus beaten and killed as those first century disciples had.

Going back and forth between her mother's lap and mine for comfort, she was distraught. I kept saying, "Bailey, it's ok. Jesus is going to be ok. These are just people pretending to be soldiers." She looked at me like I was crazy. 

In my lap, we talked through the cross and burial. "Watch, Bailey, watch for Jesus!"

The tomb began to tremble and lightening flashed as the stone rolled away. A  super bowl touchdown cheer couldn't come close to matching this little one's reaction to the resurrection. "Jesus! He's ok. Mommy, it's Jesus!"

I prayed that she wasn't going to be traumatized by this event, but that she would remember it. I shall never forget it. I shall never forget seeing Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection through the eyes of an innocent child.

Following the pageant the actors all assembled in the foyer to be greeted by  the audience. As we passed by some of the soldiers Bailey screamed out, "Bad soldier, don't you hurt Jesus." The actor who portrayed Jesus was some distance away surrounded by well-wishers and friends. 

Bailey broke away from us and ran toward him, wrapping herself around his legs, holding on for dear life. He hugged her and said, "Jesus loves you." He patted her to go away.  She wouldn't let go. She kept clinging to Him, laughing and calling His name. She wasn't about to let go of her Jesus.

I think God in heaven stopped what ever was going on that day and made all the angels watch Bailey. "Now, look there! You see what I meant when I said, 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven?'"

Bailey's reaction should be our reaction every day. When we think of Him, who He is, what He did for us, and what He offers us, we have to say how can we do anything less than worship Him?

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Man is born broken. He lives by mending. 
The grace of God is glue. 
—Eugene O’Neill

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REPRESENTING JESUS

Orel Hershiser, famed Dodger’s pitcher, in the March-April, 2002 issue of Moody Monthly tells about an experience he had last October as he was flying from Orlando to Dallas on a business trip. It was soon after the terrorist attacks on America and there was incredible tension on the plane. 

Suddenly a flight attendant tapped him on the shoulder and apologized for interrupting him and handed him a note. She said, "This is something you need to read right away." 

Orel smile and thanked her. She smiled back, turned, and walked away. The note was very short — only two sentences. Orel said he read it, then folded his newspaper and breathed a prayer of gratitude. He said, "The note the flight attendant handed me that afternoon, while a fearful world was holding its breath and looking for assurance and hope, was even more gratifying to me than the trophies and awards I have received for playing baseball. 

The note read: ‘It’s so nice to have another believer on board. May God’s peace be with you.’ Under that, she signed her name. 

Orel said, "No word of congratulations on my prowess on the mound could compare with this. Someone had seen something in my life that was even more important than throwing strikes in pressure situations. Thank you, Lord for giving me a chance to represent You."

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