Friday, December 12, 2008
Greetings!
Introduction:
Among the precious blessings given me, are friendships with older, god-fearing saints. Though they may have physical and other limitations, their zeal continues unabated! Here are three thing you can count on with these people: 1. They are busy working for Jesus. 2. They experience more than their share of trials. 3. They know Jesus and He knows them. This time I mention one hero friend of the older generation. He always inspires me to be active for Jesus!
The Wise Soul-Winner (Prov. 11:30):
Psalms 71:18 “Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.”
I want to introduce you to my friend and hero Ben. Ben is 81, has serious health problems—diabetes, and pernicious anemia are only two of them, but is busy working for Jesus. Visiting Ben I have personally seen the motor home He modified into a witnessing vehicle. I have heard his stories of answered prayer and am so grateful to be on his prayer list. I have also heard about his long-term efforts to reach his former tilling clients. Ben invented a tiller—a tiller on steroids, it can grind a stump several inches thick while going through a wheat field—but that tiller was used for more than just tilling up fields, it was also Ben’s witnessing machine. You see, he gave all his customers books and invited them to yearly catered dinners at the Legion hall where he lovingly shares Jesus with them. Recently the tiller was retired, but Ben didn’t retire, for he is still planning to invite his clients to the catered dinners, and now visiting his neighbors and passing out books—he has 400 books to share, and has already given 150 of them away. He does more than most of us who are much younger. Why? Well he loves Jesus. He knows God has a supreme witnessing purpose for his life. He maintains a simple life. and He uses his time and his funds wisely. I recall hearing of a student missionary who was going overseas who Ben promised to help. He had a bit of money in a bank account and promised to help the student with that money. He figured he had $66 Canadian. Going to the bank he asked the teller for the money in cash. She checked his account and then whispered, “How do you want your money?” He was a bit perplexed. How many different bills could a person request for such a little bit of money. Turns out, there was more than $2,000 in that account. Ben is certain the Lord put the extra money in his account. Ben never has much money, but God keeps taking care of him and he uses what he has for God. I think he is what we would call a wise soul-winner! Why? He is doing what he can. He is touching the people he knows. He is investing his resources wisely. And since he can’t serve Godin other places, he is making it possible for others to go in his place.
Ben isn’t the only one doing this, by the way. Another one of my retired prayer partners sent 2,500 Christian books to her neighbors, and is busy praying that the books will be silent messengers kindling a new interest in Jesus.
On Overcoming:
Isaiah 43:1,2 “But now says the LORD that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by thy name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; neither will the flame kindle upon you.”
The following may be a new thought: It is because God IS blessing us that we sometimes find ourselves enduring pruning experiences. And remember, surrender is not only about allowing God to put His hands on us, but also about taking our hands off. Note the following:
Christ says to (us), You are mine. I have bought you. You are now only a rough stone; but if you will place yourself in my hands, I will polish you, and the luster with which you shall shine will bring honor to my name. No man shall pluck you out of my hand. I will make you my peculiar treasure. On my coronation day, you will be a jewel in my crown of rejoicing. The Divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious jewels does he polish … cutting away all rough edges. This process is severe and trying; it hurts human pride. Christ cuts deep into the experience that man in his self-sufficiency has regarded as complete, and takes away self-uplifting from the character. He cuts away the surplus surface, and putting the stone to the polishing-wheel, presses it close that all roughness may be worn away. Then, holding the jewel up to the light, the Master sees in it a reflection of himself, and he pronounces it worthy of a place in his casket. Blessed be the experience, however severe, that gives new value to the stone, causing it to shine with living brightness. RH, March 7, 1912
We all want to be witnesses for Jesus. Just remember that fruit-bearing and pruning go together. It goes without saying, that bear MUCH fruit means MUCH… (you know the word AND the experience I suspect)!
Prevailing In Prayer:
“And Enoch walked with God.” Gen. 5:24
What does it mean to “walk” with God. Someone recently wrote of taking walks and imagining that Jesus was with them; even mentioned thinking about what He might be wearing. Many of us take walks—a good thing—and meditate and do various things as we walk. My two favorite things are listening to sermons—easy these days with an mp3 player and a downloaded sermon from audioverse.org, or sermonindex.net/; or memorizing the Bible—I copy the chosen chapter from a small print Bible I have, cut out the verse from the copy, tape the verses of the chapter to a 3×5 card, cover the card with plastic mailing tape so it doesn’t get soggy if it rains, and bring the card with me. I’ve learned several chapters of the Bible this way.
But there is something to be said for spending quality undistracted time communing with Jesus—realizing He is next to me while I am walking and talking with Him. Sometimes we are so busy we don’t take the time—something that isn’t good for us and I am sure frustrates Him! It reminds me of a time when I was speaking in a city about an hour away from where I live. The pastor also lived in my town, but we independently drove to the church because our schedules were so different and because we had so little time to spare before departing—gas was also cheaper:) On one occasion we happened to leave at the same time and eventually found ourselves driving side by side. We followed each other the entire trip, waving and smiling to each other from time to time. We should have stopped to ride together but we were running late and I didn’t know if he was coming back immediately after the meeting. Sometimes my relationship with Jesus is the same way, so busy that I don’t take the time to surrender and invite Jesus to be a part of my day in the serious earnest say that is so necessary every day, which means I don’t have much time for Him during the day either. On those days I probably have a perfunctory prayer to get the day going and figuratively wave at Him from time to time, and I am sure He waves back, but I am also sure He has a sad smile on those days. I think He would rather be in the car with me, so to speak, or walking next to me, and helping me, and enjoying the day with me. So, whether we are walking in the quiet of the day, or we are commuting to work, or we are studying in some class, let’s make sure Jesus is a part of every minute of every day.
“Waiting upon God. Just think—that He may reveal Himself in us; that He may teach us all His will; that He may do to us what He has promised; that in all things He may be the Infinite God…. This is the attitude of soul with which each day should begin. On awaking in the morning, in the inner chamber, in quiet meditation, in the expression in prayer of our ardent longings and desires, in the course of our daily work, in all our striving after obedience and holiness, in all our struggles against sin and self-will-in everything there should be a waiting upon God to receive what He will bestow, to see what He will do, to allow Him to be the Almighty God.” Andrew Murray The Secret of Adoration Christian Literature Crusade, p 70
Goals:
A prayer partner is a wonderful gift. Do you have a prayer partner?
Coming Up:
I am in Nashville, TN the weekend of January 17, speaking on prayer.
Path2prayer.com:
You will find some links on god-honoring music in the new resources section. Sometime soon there will be more audio files having to do with August Francke, one of three “spiritual fathers” of George Muller, and the Welsh Revival.
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A Final Prayer:
Father, I want to thank you for Ben and people like him, who are not letting anything—age, sickness, intimidation, the press of daily life, resources or finances—get in the way of serving you. Thank you that we can all follow Ben’s example in shining brightly for you wherever you have planted us. Help me be such a person, and help the one reading this to be that kind of person too. Make us the people that you can happily use. To that end we give you permission to prune us so that we can bear much fruit. And do the same kind of good work in our families and in the members of our churches. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
God bless you!
Dan
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