A one day holiday every September is not enough to give us true rest from all of life’s labors. However, when we humbly approach Jesus in faith He gives us an abundantly restful peace throughout all our days.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11.28),
After watching this video I believe that Jason Gray genuinely loves life!
When you know Jesus as your personal Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Friend it is truly GOOD TO BE ALIVE!
One day a young man was walking along an isolated road when he heard something like a crying sound. He couldn’t tell for sure what the sound was but it seemed to be coming from underneath a bridge. As he approached the bridge, the sound got louder and then he saw a pathetic sight. There, lying in the muddy river bed, was a puppy about two months old. It had a gash on its head and was covered with mud. Its fronts legs were swollen where they had been tightly bound with cords.
The young man was immediately moved with compassion and wanted to help the dog, but as he approached, the crying stopped and the dog snarled his lip and started to growl. But the young man did not give up. He sat down and started gently talking to the dog. It took a long time but eventually the dog stopped growling and the man was able to inch forward and eventually touch the dog and begin unwrapping the tightly bound cord. The young man carried the dog home, cared for its wounds, gave it food and water and a warm bed. Even with all this, the dog continued to snarl and growl every time the young man approached. But the young man did not give up.
Weeks went by and the man continued caring for the puppy. Then one day, as the young man approached, the dog wagged its tail. Consistent love and kindness had won and a lifelong friendship of loyalty and trust began.
Romans 2.4 asks the questions, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” God has been reaching out to you for your entire life. He desperately wants to set you free from the prison of sin, heal all your wounds, bring you into His family, and provide for your every need; however, your rejection of Him is just like the snarling dog. God is faithful and will continue to offer you an eternal relationship, but you must accept His call.
Will you continue to reject and despise His offering of grace, or will you confess and repent of your sinfulness, place your faith in Jesus’ finished work, and then become a child of God?
Source: Stories For The Heart, Multnomah, Alice Gray, 108.
I came across this article over the weekend and wanted to share it.
“What should be the goal of our preaching and singing together on Sunday mornings?
Should preachers try to have the clearest, most engaging, entertaining
message they can? Should the worship team seek to have the coolest arrangement,
the most passionate singing, the most exciting sound?
These things are not necessarily bad in themselves, but they are not the
goal of our Sunday mornings. Jonathan Leeman shares this great illustration in
his book Reverberation:
A group of American Christians in the nineteenth century planned to visit London for a week. Their friends, excited for the opportunity, encouraged them to go hear
two of London’s famous preachers and bring back a report. On Sunday morning
after their arrival, the Americans attended Joseph Parker’s church. They
discovered that his reputation for eloquent oratory was well deserved. One
exclaimed after the service, “I do declare, it must be said, for there is no
doubt, that Joseph Parker is the greatest preacher that ever there was!”
The group wanted to return in the evening to hear Parker again, but they remembered that their friends would ask them about another preacher named Charles Spurgeon. So on Sunday evening they attended the Metropolitan Tabernacle, where Spurgeon was preaching. The group was not prepared for what they heard, and as they departed, one of them again spoke up, “I do declare, it must be said, for there is no doubt, that Jesus Christ is the greatest Savior that ever there was!”
Here is the goal of our preaching and singing together on Sunday mornings:
That we proclaim Jesus Christ, our glorious Savior and all he has done for us,
and urge everyone to respond to him appropriately.
When people leave our churches tomorrow, may they not say, “What moving
worship, what a great worship band, what an incredible preacher, or what a cool
building” but may they say, “What an incredible Savior.”
(Written by Mark Altrogge)
How different would the world view the church if the only purpose for church every Sunday was to simply lift up and glorify the name of Jesus?
And Jesus said,
“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child
shall not enter it.” (Mark 10.15 ESV)
A few weeks ago we were watching a story on the evening news about a
car that had hit a motorcycle. The motorcycle was on fire, and its rider was trapped under the car. The flames were consuming the bike and had spread to the engine of the car, and yet, people were desperately trying to get the young man out from under the car, thus putting their own lives in danger. Dozens of people rushed to the car, lifted it up so that another man could pull the injured rider to safety, set the car down, and backed away from the dangerous fire. It was an act of selfless heroism.
As I sat in my recliner watching this unfold I just kept saying, “That is unbelievable! In today’s world you just don’t expect people to react like that.” I was truly pleasantly surprised that people would rally together, put their lives in jeopardy, and then do what was necessary to save someone else’s life. No sooner had the words left my mouth when my seven-year-old son said, “Dad, isn’t it great that God sent all those people to help that man!” Needless to say, I now was speechless. Child-like faith has a way of putting things into perspective.
In Mark 10:15, Jesus tells us to enter His Kingdom we need child-like faith. Children believe what we tell them. The Bible says God is gracious, merciful, kind, loving, generous, our defender, supplier, and meets all our needs. In spite of this, adults tend to get caught up looking at the problem instead of the problem solver. We end up focusing on the seen rather than unseen. We walk by sight rather than by faith. Children do not have that problem–they simply believe what they are taught and walk by pure faith.
As you go about your day, keep your eyes of faith open to see the wonders which God is working all around you. You never know, it might be your hands that God uses to rescue someone from perishing.
Bob Pittenger 