Today I received a Christmas card in the mail from a family member. On the cover of that card were the faces of four precious children that God had brought into the world. My immediate response was to throw the picture away and not give it a second look. Why? It was a reminder of my painful past. The father of those sweet little children had sexually abused me as a small child.
(more…)Do you ever have one of those days where you have truly felt changed? You can’t exactly put your finger on a certain instance that changed you, but you just know. Yesterday was that day for me.
I had a great workout with one of my sisters. As we crunched and stooped and walked, we praised God for the things in our lives. We gave Him thanks for the smallest things to the biggest things.
You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ Isaiah 47:10
I woke up this morning with God tugging on my heart to spend some time with him. I had some disturbing dreams in the night so I thought nothing would be better than some alone time with God.
1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
(more…)I learned this week that a man I went to school with had taken his own life. My first thoughts revolved around the sadness I had for the child he left behind.
That little boy would never really get to know his father. But as the week went on I began to think about his salvation. The last time I saw him was about 10 years ago, during a very dark time in my life. It was during that time that I was involved in drugs and considering my own suicide.
I was listening to a sermon this week about Heaven and Hell. The preacher said something to me that really stuck out. Over 6,000 people a day in the United States go into Eternity. Over 6,000 people! But where do they go? Heaven or Hell? That question has left an aching in my heart. I know where I’m going when I become one of those 6,000 people. But the sad reality is, there are MANY who don’t. And I haven’t always known.
Today I ask many “what if’s?” What if I wouldn’t have opened my eyes to Jesus when I did? What if I was still wandering this world lost, looking for all the wrong answers? What if someone would have reached out to him? What if I would have been that someone?
I don’t know where his eternity will be spent. But as I look around at many of my loved ones today, I know the answer. But that answer doesn’t have to stay the same. Where do I go from here? What do I do? My first step is prayer. My second step is to be an example. The third, and hardest step is speaking the truth.
6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Sobering words if I say so myself. I praise the Lord that I am able to say with confidence, not cockiness, that on the day of Christ’s return I will be among those glorified, not punished with everlasting destruction. I praise God that I have received that promise. It was only three years ago that I received that promise.
It’s only too late when He has called your name one final time. Where is your Eternity?
This is a story from From Robert J. Morgan in On This Day.
Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis found themselves caught in China during the Japanese invasion. The couple lived with their two children in the inland town of Shenkiu. The village was tense with fear; every day brought terrifying reports of the Japanese advance. At the worst possible time, Dick developed appendicitis, and he knew his life depended on making the long journey by ricksha to the hospital. On January 15, 1941, with deep foreboding, Margaret watched him leave.
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