Rather than thinking, “My sin, my shame, my failure,” she remembered, “His forgiveness, His grace, His life.” -excerpt from “The Grace Awakening” by Charles Swindoll
I have been re-reading the book that God used to show me how much Jesus loves me, to help me break free, and be saved. I heartily recommend reading it, even if, or especially if you have been a Christian for a long time. Grace and grace alone. Jesus and what He did. Him, not me, thank goodness. Praise God for His indescribable gift of freedom and mercy.
The time has come to choose. The time for sitting comfortably neutral is long over.
Good vs. evil. Right vs. wrong. God vs. Satan. Heaven vs. Hell.
I think we can all feel it. There is a battle raging.
The students at Asbury College are feeling it. They have had a nonstop prayer service since their last Wednesday chapel service. Revival. Choosing God, choosing peace, choosing repentance. Students tired of the evil, seeking the comfort and Truth of God’s Holy Spirit. And He is there.
The news reports are a far cry from the peace of that chapel. Crime, perversion, sin are overwhelming and sickening. The wrong is being forced for mass consumption. The days are far from Walter Cronkite, from protecting the innocence of our children.
Think back to when you were young. Maybe you lay beneath a tree in the soft grass and looked with wonder at the leaves above you. Maybe you flew high on a swing and felt as if you could fly up into the heavens. Maybe you looked at the clouds in awe and made pictures in your imagination. Maybe you swam in the sea and felt the waves and the sand and the wind. Good things, God things, that filled you with wonder and truth and innocence.
Choose God. Choose Jesus. Choose a future that is good and peaceful and eternal.
Do you believe in the account of Christ’s nativity?
Why would God send His beloved Son to this earth, to live as a man, and to suffer?
Do you believe that God loves you, even before you loved Him?
Do you feel uneasy and scared about what happens after death?
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
They couldn’t remember the last time they felt safe. Each monstrous wave threatened to upend the very ship they sailed upon, they relied on for their survival. The wind had long since shredded their sails and torn their anchoring ropes. They had not eaten for so long that they forgot they were hungry.
Would this series of storms ever end? They wished they had never signed up for this voyage. It had been one storm after another. For weeks, or had it been months? Time was not relevant anymore.
Each sailor tried to sleep when they weren’t on watch, holding on to whatever they could find that seemed relatively solid. Except for the two watchmen, drenched and huddled on deck, gripping the railings with all they had left.
The dawn approached, and a weak light pushed through the clouds. One sailor wearily strained his eyes to see what he could see. What was that? Brightness? A mirage to taunt him? No, it was definitely light. Beautiful, beautiful light. Ahead in the darkness.
Invigorated, he holds the wheel a little tighter and makes for the direction of this glorious thing. Light. Hope. Future. Salvation.
They are saved.
Whatever you are facing, whatever storms come your way, look for the light. Wait for it, as watchmen wait for the morning. It is coming, it has come, it will always come.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I Am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” – John 8:12
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning…” – Psalm 130:5-6
This song….ahhh, perfect! Enjoy Mary Dillon and Deanta’s version of this wonderful tune.
Think About These Things 