Make no mistake about it–this will be a difficult day for some folks! Different people will face different difficulties: poor health, loss of goods, domestic difficulties, separation from a loved one, the loss of a loved one, temptation, failure, sin, difficult duties, etc. Numerous things bring us pain. And that threatens our peace and joy. These painful experiences cause us to cry out to God for help–that’s when we find sustaining grace!

 

It is at this point that we discover the treasure of our trials. Although the pain remains, we find grace for our grief. We discover the presence of God in our problem, and out of our weakness we receive strength for the struggle.

 

That’s what happened with the apostle Paul and his God is your God–and He has not changed! Mark it down–He will be there in your hour of need just as He was with the aged apostle in his affliction.

 

God’s promise to the prophet Isaiah may be claimed by all of God’s obedient children–“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 Rest assured that God’s grace will be sufficent for whatever you face. He will not fail you!

A fellow decided to rob a convenience store clerk. The robber had a neat plan to give the clerk a $10 bill, get her to open her cash drawer to make change, and then grab all the money. The plan worked! He got everything in her cash drawer—total $4.34—and left the clerk with his $10. He went in the hole to the tune of $5.66!

The undeniable truth is that sin never gives what it promises. It always returns less than the sinner invests in—, integrity, and spiritual security. Want proof?

—Adam and Eve were promised freedom, wisdom and life by Satan, only to be led to commit spiritual suicide.

—Sensuous Samson fell in love with a woman who did not love God, and he paid with his eyesight, freedom and life.

—Ananias and Sapphira were going to get credit for being generous and wound up being buried for being liars.

In each of these cases, sin promised something it could never deliver. The same thing is still happening in our world today.—

Sin costs too much. You have to sell your soul to have whatever pretty trinkets it offers you for the moment. Then you have to face a time of bitter reckoning. You have to “pay the piper.” Yet whatever had been promised to you as a reward has already gone up in a puff of smoke or has slipped through your fingers. And Judgment Day is coming! The basic lure of sin is the promise of quick gain, without regard to long-term consequences.

Truth and holiness work differently. With total honesty about the difficult demands at hand, the God who cannot lie promises to reward you down the line. Obedience, purity, integrity, repentance, denial—these are hard words and demanding deeds. But what lies at the end is invaluable!

Sin never delivers. Christ never fails. So don’t get robbed while trying to pull a fast one on God.

 

–From “A Treasury of Bible Illustrations”, by Ted Kyle & John Todd.

Here is a summons from the God of the universe bidding us to enter His counsel chamber to be informed and transformed. Considering our position and condition, surely this ought to get our attention. John MacDuff (1815-1895) describes it far better than I. He wrote:

Infinite purity seeks to reason with immense vileness! Deity stoops to speak to dust! Do not dread the meeting. It is the most gracious — as well as most wondrous of all conferences. Jehovah Himself breaks silence! He utters the best tidings a lost soul or a lost world can hear, “God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses.” What! Scarlet sins, and crimson sins! and these all to be forgiven and forgotten! The just God “justifying” the unjust! — the mightiest of all beings, the kindest of all!

Oh! what is there in you to merit such love as this? You might have known your God only as the “consuming fire,” and had nothing before you except “a fearful looking for of vengeance!” This gracious conference bids you to dispel your fears! It tells you that it is no longer a “fearful thing,” but a blessed thing to fall into His hands! Have you consented to His overtures? Until you are at peace with Him, happiness must be a stranger to your bosom.

Though you have all else beside, if bereft of God — you must be bereft indeed! Lord! I come! As your pardoning grace is freely offered, so shall I freely accept it. May it be mine, even now, to listen to the gladdening accents, “Son! Daughter! be of good cheer! Your sins, which are many — are all forgiven!”

Ye are the light of the world—-Matthew 5:14

In his devotion for this day, Pastor Stephen Davey tells a story that brings back a lot of memories for me. Having flown in small planes into tiny airports across Arkansas numerous times I can identify with the situation he describes. Here’s the story:

 James Dobson told a story about a friend who was flying his single-engine plane toward a small rural airport.  When he arrived at the close of the day, the sun had already dropped behind the mountain.  By the time he had maneuvered into position to land, he couldn’t see the shadowy field below.  There was no one on duty at the airport, and there were no lights on the plane.

The pilot circled the runway for another attempted landing, but the darkness had become even more impenetrable.  For two hours he flew around in the inky blackness, knowing full well that he faced certain death when his fuel tank emptied.

Then, as panic began to seize him, a wonderful thing happened.  Someone who lived near the airport had heard the continuous drone of a small plane engine and realized there was a problem.  That kind, merciful man raced to the airport and drove his car back and forth on the runway to indicate the direction of the airstrip. He then drove to the far end of the runway, positioned his lights, and turned them on high beam, to shine down the stretch of tarmac.

The pilot landed safely.

We all know the potential disaster that comes from being caught ill-equipped in darkness. —-

Darkness can be frightening. Darkness can be dangerous. Darkness can be deadly. —–

What if the man who had illuminated the runway had decided to stay home?

The souls of the world hang in the balance, and without Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, they are destined to remain in the darkness—without God . . . without hope.

Grab your keys; start the engine; turn on the headlights—someone’s in trouble.  Don’t make him circle the field again!  Light up the runway . . . bring him in for a safe landing!

—- Pray that God will give you opportunity to share Christ with others.  Pray that you will have the courage to shine brightly.

My times are in thy hand—-Psalm 31:15

In September, Terry Shafer was strolling the shops in Moline, Illinois. She knew exactly what she wanted to get her husband, David, for Christmas. A little shop on Fifth attracted her attention, so she popped inside. Her eyes darted toward the corner display. “That’s it!” she smiled as she nodded with pleasure. “How much?” she asked the shopkeeper.

“Only $127.50.”

Her smile faded into disappointment as she realized David’s salary as a policeman couldn’t stand such a jolt. Yet she hated to give up without a try, so she applied a little womanly persistence. “Uh, what about putting this aside for me? Maybe I could pay a little each week, then pick it up a few days before Christmas?”

“No,” the merchant said, “I won’t do that.” Then he smiled. “I’ll gift-wrap it right now. You can take it with you and pay me later,” he said. Terry was elated.

Then came Saturday, October 1. Patrolman David Shafer, working the night shift, got a call in his squad car. A drugstore robbery was in progress. David reacted instantly, arriving on the scene just in time to see the suspect speed away. With siren screaming and lights flashing, he followed in hot pursuit. Three blocks later the getaway vehicle suddenly pulled over and stopped. The driver didn’t move. David carefully approached the suspect with his weapon drawn. In a split second, the door flew open as the thief produced a .45-caliber pistol and fired at David’s abdomen.

At seven o’clock in the morning a patrolman came to the door of the Shafer home. Calmly and with great care, he told Terry what had happened.

Stunned, Terry thought how glad she was that she had not waited until Christmas to give her husband his present. How grateful she was that the shopkeeper had been willing to let her pay for it later. Otherwise, Dave would have surely died. Instead, he was now in the hospital—not with a gunshot wound, but with only a bad bruise. You see, David was wearing the gift of life Terry could not wait to give—his brand-new bulletproof vest.

Within the movement of events is the Designer, who plans and arranges the times and the seasons, including the minutest detail of life. You question that? Many do.

But unless I miss my guess, David and Terry Shafer don’t. It’s funny . . . people who survive a calamity don’t have much struggle with sovereignty.–( By Charles Swindoll)

Behind the maze is the Master.