Volume 19, No.10

OCTOBER 2004

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CONTENTS

Songs In The Night

Indifference

Hugs 'N Tugs
By Wendy Greiner Lefko

Best of Lifeline
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

Multiplied Trials

A Mother Who Prays

God's Mercy

Who Lies There?

Finishing The Race

Put Together Again

Praise & Prayer

Greiner Itinerary

 

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

How many sleepless hours have you spent staring into the night?  Have you ever considered that such times may be appointed by the Lord?  God wants us to make the most of the wakeful hours.  They are His hours, for “the night also is Thine” (Psalm 74:16).

It will take no more effort to ask Him to let them be holy hours, filled with His calming presence, than to let the mind dwell upon the thousand other things which bombard your thoughts.  God wants to teach us to commune with our own hearts upon our bed, or perhaps simply to “be still.”   He may call us to a time of prayer and intercession.

It is in those hushed hours that the Holy Spirit can bring to mind precious promises so that even “the night shall be light about you” (Psalm 139:11).  He will so apply the Word that “when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee” (Proverbs 6:22 ). He will tune the silent hours and give you songs in the night.

“By night on my bed I sought Him Whom my soul loveth” (Song of Solomon 3:1,4).

Upon rising, you will proclaim with joy, “Thou hast visited me in the night” (Psalm 17:3).

            —Selected    

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I like the attitude of the preacher who refused to take revenge.  He said, “I’m not going to get even.  I’m going to tell God on you!”

INDIFFERENCE

An old saint said, “I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God.  The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate.  The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy waiting.  Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.  Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people.  He waits to be wanted.  Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.”

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HUGS 'N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

Yesterday as my husband got into his car to go to work, he turned the ignition and the car went dead.  He took our other car to work and that night when he got home he checked a few things under the hood and tightened some loose caps.  The car started right up.  The loose caps had been enough to keep the car from starting.

In our walk with Christ sometimes it can seem like our Spiritual life is dead.  We don’t seem to be getting anywhere or seeing any progress.  It can cause deep doubts about the status of our relationship with our Heavenly Father as we feel stalled in our daily walk with Him.  But when it looks like it’s “dead”, it really may just need a tune up!  Maybe we need to tighten up our devotional time, or idle in prayer for longer lengths of time.  Maybe we need to fill our hearts and minds with a higher grade of fuel that comes from Heavenly portals instead of earthly pleasures.  Maybe some hoses, clogged with sin, have caused the connections to short circuit the system and need to be flushed out.  Maybe we need to steer our goals in the direction of eternal purposes instead of temporal treasures.  Maybe we need to recharge our spiritual batteries with more time in the repair shop of God’s Word than in man’s external carwash that merely cleans the outside.

When we feel like our spiritual walk is lifeless, we may merely need to look under the hood of our hearts and see what needs to be readjusted or even replaced.  God’s love and presence is still there. We just need to re-tune our hearts to hear the hum of His power in our lives.  He knows our vehicle better than anyone and He is the best one to turn to when it needs repair.  It’s not easy keeping our spiritual life on track and tuned up.  I’m just so glad I have a personal relationship with the Manufacturer, Owner, Mechanic, and Driver!  “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power...” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

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Mothers & fathers, it’s worth it!  It’s worth it!  It’s worth every hour of it!  It’s worth every sleepless night of it!   It’s worth every moment of counsel!

BEST OF LIFELINE

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

Merlin Carothers shared the story of a Christian couple who had two sons. One lived at home, sharing his parents warm and happy Christian faith.  The older son, however, was a rebel and had left home.  He had graduated from college with honors but had turned his back on God. Now he was roaming the country with no apparent objectives in his life.  I told the distraught parents that I believed God had given them this son and was answering their prayers for his salvation.  “If your prayers are sincere,” I told them, “then you can be sure that God knows what is best for him and for you!” “I understand,” said the father. “We only want God’s best, and this must be God’s way and will for all of us.”  We joined hands and thanked God for working out His plan in the way He knew was best.  The parents felt a great release and a new peace. 

The parents persisted in thanking God for what He was doing in their boy’s life, even if they found it hard to understand.  Then one day their son had a bicycle accident, seriously injuring his foot.  Temporarily crippled, he decided to come home.  He shared how he’d left a trail of unpaid bills across the country.  The parents prayed and decided that if God had really been at work in the events in their son’s life, He had also allowed the bills.  So they thanked Him for each bill and paid the debts in full!  Their son was amazed, as he had expected to be reprimanded and told to take care of his own obligations.  Instead, his parents were relaxed, loving, and appeared to accept his way-out style of dress and hair without cringing. 

One evening some young Christians came to visit the younger son.  The older brother was irritated by the intrusion but his painful foot kept him from leaving the house.  The young people shared what Jesus Christ had done in their lives.  At first the older brother offered scathing criticism of what he called their naïve and unrealistic approach to life, but soon he was listening attentively and asking probing questions.  Before the evening was over, he turned his life over to Jesus Christ! 

Our understanding gets us into trouble when we try to figure out why and how God brings certain circumstances into our lives.  We can’t understand why and how God does something, but He wants us to accept by faith that He does it.  He wants us to know that He loves us and has a plan for us.

“Giving thanks always, for ALL THINGS”  (Ephesians 5:20 ).  “And we know that all things work together, to those that love God  and are called according to His purpose”.  (Romans 8: 28)

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Howard Taylor says of his father, Hudson Taylor, “For forty years the sun never rose on China that God didn’t find him on his knees.

MULTIPLIED TRIALS

In 1659, a Puritan writer wrote: “God, who is infinite in wisdom and matchless in goodness, hath ordered our troubles, yes, many troubles to come trooping in upon us on every side.  As our mercies, so our crosses seldom come single; they usually come treading one upon the heels of another; they are like April showers, no sooner is one over but another comes.  It’s mercy that every affliction is not an execution, every correction not a damnation.  The more the afflictions, the more the heart is raised heavenward.” —Thomas Brookes

 

“Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts announcing 
that the king is in residence.” — Walter B. Knight

A MOTHER WHO PRAYS

Some have had kings in their lineage,
Some to whom honor was paid,
Not blest of my ancestors—but,
I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me,
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
Oh what a difference it makes for me—
I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success
And trust in riches they’ve made—
This is my surest asset,
I have a mother who prays.

My mother’s prayers cannot save me,
Only mine can avail;
But mother introduced me to Someone—
Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes…I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
O what a difference it makes for me—
I have a mother who prays.

—Anonymous

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GOD’S MERCY

J. Dwight Pentecost used to say, “Mercy is God’s ministry to the miserable.”  It is both intensely personal and immensely practical.  For when I am treated unfairly, God’s mercy relieves my bitterness.  When I grieve over loss, it relieves my pain and anger and denial.  When I struggle with disability, it relieves my self-pity.   When I endure physical pain, it relieves my hopelessness.  When I deal with being sinful, it relieves my guilt.

 —Selected

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Donald Barnhouse often closed his church services with the prayer, “Lord, dismiss us with Your peace, except for those who don’t know You; keep them miserable until they come to know the Prince of Peace.”

WHO LIES THERE?

Is that a death-bed where a Christian lies?
Yes!  But not his—‘tis death itself there dies.

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Death cannot kill what cannot die.  Jesus said, “whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?” (John 11:26).

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“I seldom feel sorry for the things I did not say.” —Unknown

FINISHING THE RACE

Hours behind the runner in front of him, the last marathoner finally entered the Olympic stadium.  By that time, the drama of the day’s events was almost over and most of the spectators had gone home.  This athlete’s story, however, was still being played out.  Limping into the arena, the Tanzanian runner grimaced with every step, his knee bleeding and bandaged from an earlier fall.  His ragged appearance immediately caught the attention of the remaining crowd, who cheered him on to the finish line.

Why did he stay in the race?  What made him endure his injuries to the end?  When asked these questions later, he replied, “My country did not send me 7,000 miles away to start the race.  They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it.” —Quote Magazine

“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1).

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PUT TOGETHER AGAIN

Humpty Dumpty had an unsolvable problem.  We have a problem, too, but ours has a solution:

Jesus Christ came to our wall,
Jesus Christ died for our fall;
So that regardless of death and in spite of sin,
Through grace, He might put us together again.

—Unknown Author

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PRAISE & PRAYER  

·   Praise for commitments made for Christ in recent family meetings.  

·   Praise for continued improvement in Claire’s health. On September 8 his blood work showed that his Beta2 microglobin was very good.   As a result he did not need chemo.   His last chemo was July 21. His next doctor’s appointment and blood work is October 11.  Thanks for your continued prayers.

·   Praise for Bob’s Korean youth ministry.  His son Bobby is now helping as a Christian service assignment from Lancaster Bible College .

·   Pray for Larry as he seeks the Lord’s leading in possible new outreaches for Family Christian Inspiration.

·   Praise for God’s miraculous provision.

·   Pray for the upcoming meetings.  

 Fellow citizens of Heaven,  

Thank you for your love, friendship, prayers and support.   What a blessing you are to our family as we move forward in the ministry!   He is sovereignly in control.  God bless and reward you for your faithfulness.

Yours for His glory,   

“The Greiners”

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 GREINER ITINERARY

          

Sept. 26 A.M.     Calvary Grace Brethren Church
                           Hagerstown , MD

Oct. 10 A.M. & Afternoon    
                        Camden Bible Fellowship Church
                        Camden , DE

Oct. 12            FCI Board Meeting

Oct. 17            Afternoon
                       Cedar Grove Church
                        Philadelphia , PA

Oct. 24 A.M.   E.C. Church      
           P.M.   Plymouth Meeting, PA

Oct. 31 A.M.   Palisades Community Church
                     Revere , PA      

Nov. 7            Larry & Sharon
                      Laurelton Park Baptist Church
                      Brick Town , N.J.

Nov. 14 A.M.  Erial Community Church
                     Erial, NJ          

Pray for the Korean ministry every Friday & Sunday.

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