No Greater Friend!

A minister passing through his church
In the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
And see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
A man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
The man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was shabby, old
And his coat was worn and frayed,
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
Each noon-time came - this chap,
He knelt down just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap;

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
With robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"

The old man said he worked down the road;
Lunch was half an hour
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power

"I stay only moments, see,
Because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is what I say:"

"'I just came again to tell You, Lord,
How happy I’ve been,
Since we found each other's friendship…
And You took away my sin'

'Don't know much of how to pray;
But I think about you everyday.
So, Jesus, this is Jim,
Checking in today'"

The minister feeling foolish,
Told Jim that that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime.

“Time to go”, Jim smiled and said
"Thanks"; he sped to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
He'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
Met with Jesus there…
As the tears flowed, in his heart -
He repeated old Jim's prayer:

"I just came again to tell You, Lord,
How happy I’ve been,
Since we found each other's friendship…
And You took away my sin"

"Don't know much of how to pray;
But I think about You each day.
So, Jesus, this is me,
Checking in today"

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
That old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
He began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
Learning he was ill.
The hospital staff were worried;
But he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward
His smiles, a joy contagious;
Changed people - were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand
Why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came -
Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
And with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,

That in here all the while"

"Everyday at noon; He's here,
A dear friend of mine, You see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:"

'"I just came again to tell you, Jim,

How happy I have been,

Since we found this friendship…

And I took away your sin."
"Always love to hear you pray,

I think about you every day;

And so Jim, this is Jesus,

Checking in today"

- Author Unknown

What do you know about what you know

Is 'faith' simply 'believing'? I guess many people think so. If you ask me, 'believing' is related to 'hoping' - as 'faith' is to 'knowing'. And there is a difference...
As there are natural and physical laws, that we learn and know, I think, so we should the spiritual laws.

Didn't Jesus say in John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you"

I know that God's desire for us today is to be filled with spiritual knowledge. His anguish is reflected in Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth" (Job 19:25 )
"I know that You (O God) can do anything..." (Job 42:2)
"Know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for Himself..." (Psalm 4:3)
"Be still and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10)
"So you, likewise, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors" (Mat 24:33)
"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." (Romans 8:28)
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16)
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14)
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Also read 1 John 5:19, 20.

"...for this reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge..." (2 Peter 1:5)

Know Him (Jer. 9:24), know His ways (Ps. 95:10) and know yourself.

Now do you know what you ought to know?

(Actually I've expressed it in mild tones...Why don't you read Dr. David Ryser's article on 'World's Last Chance' website...Here it is!)

"The Question that Changed My Life"

"A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of minis try. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.”

"After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued, “But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” The room went dead silent."

"For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class. Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her quesion at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him. What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience--or so we think. An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, “No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows there.” They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge."

"A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also."

"So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes? I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?” I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would happen if God stopped paying me?” For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God. So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose."

By: David Ryser [drdave1545@yahoo.com]
Update on June 25, 2009: Copyright © 2009 World’s Last Chance.

A timeless song!

"And when I think that, God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die! - I scarce can take it in...
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

     Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee
     'How great Thou art! How great Thou art!'"

To all those who put their trust in Him, God's love is immeasurable and His forgiveness complete; His mercies - continuing, His faithfulness - enduring, His goodness - enriching, His gentleness - endearing, His grace - empowering;  How great is our God!

In His own image

I was sifting thro' some old e-mails on my computer and I came up with an extremely insightful one forwarded to me way back in 2006. Why don't you read it?

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. And, whatever you're going through, you'll be a better person in the end.

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."