A Faithful Witness

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. --Proverbs 11:30
Years ago, an article was published that cited a number of men whose faithful witness through books and pamphlets had brought many people to the Lord. The influence of each author led to the changed life of another.
Richard Gibbs, an elderly Puritan doctor, wrote The Bruised Reed. A copy came into the hands of Richard Baxter and resulted in his conversion. Baxter later authored a volume titled Saints' Rest and Call to the Unconverted. By it many sinners were led to Jesus, including Philip Doddridge.
Doddridge became a famous preacher, hymn writer, and the president of a theological seminary. Doddridge wrote the well-circulated book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, which proved a rich blessing for countless people.
William Wilberforce read it, was convicted of sin, and became a Christian statesman. After being instrumental in freeing slaves, he penned Practical View of Christianity. This changed the life of Leigh Richmond.
Richmond became a world-famous writer of tracts that influenced thousands to seek the Lord. Yes, the "fruit of the righteous" is a "family tree" of converts who keep branching out to others. You also have probably greatly influenced the life of someone at one time or another. But don't stop now!
There are young men and women who still need the mentoring and wisdom of someone who has lived a great life of faith. Through your witness, you could be helping to nurture the next Annie Armstrong, Charles Spurgeon, or Billy Graham. If you are a follower of Jesus and have an intimate relationship with Him, then you have wisdom to share that could change someone's life.
PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to make you an incredible influence in the life of someone else for His glory!

Jesus Touched the Untouchables

When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease. Matthew 8:1-3

I wonder… about the man who felt Jesus’ compassionate touch. He makes one appearance, has one request, and receives one touch. But that one touch changed his life forever….
I wonder about this man because in New Testament times leprosy was the most dreaded disease. The condition rendered the body a mass of ulcers and decay. Fingers would curl and gnarl. Blotches of skin would discolor and stink. Certain types of leprosy would numb nerve endings, leading to a loss of fingers, toes, even a whole foot or hand. Leprosy was death by inches.
The social consequences were as severe as the physical. Considered contagious, the leper was quarantined, banished to a leper colony.
In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear…
The touch did not heal the disease, you know. Matthew is careful to mention that it was the pronouncement and not the touch of Christ that cured the condition. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, ‘I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease” (Matt. 8:3).The infection was banished by a word from Jesus.
The loneliness, however, was treated by a touch from Jesus.
Jesus touched the untouchables of the world.
By Max Lucado

Delight in Him

Delight in Him

Today’s Verse:

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart” (Psalm 37:4, AMP).

Today’s Word:
Do you know what it means to delight yourself in the Lord? One of the definitions of this word in the original Hebrew means: to be soft or pliable. In other words, when we allow God to shape and mold our character, we are delighting ourselves in Him.
The scripture tells us that God is the potter and we are His clay. The potter can’t work with hard, dry clay; He has to use soft, moldable clay. We are the ones who decide if we will allow God to work with us or not. We decide if we are going to be soft and pliable or if we are going to allow the world to make us hard and dry. How do we stay soft and moldable? By simply immersing ourselves in the water of God’s Word. Friend, when you and I make God’s Word a priority in our lives, we are setting ourselves up to be used by God. We are delighting in Him. We are yielding to Him, and we are opening the door for Him to give us the desires and secret petitions of our hearts!
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, today I come to You giving You all that I am. I am committed to Your Word and I invite You to work in my life. Make me more like You and may everything I do be pleasing to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

My Friends

My Friends.........

The most precious gift you will ever receive;Is prayer from someone who in Jesus believes. It's not wrapped with ribbons or bows,And few people hear and few people know.But it's written in the chronicles of heaven.Each prayer muttered, is a special gift given.And yes, I said a prayer for you tonight;For you to be calmed from all your fright.For healing, and you to learn of God and His ways.And, be able to look up at HimAnd give Him honor and praise.I can't see your faceAnd barely know who you are;But I know one thing,Each muttered prayer will go so very far.Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ;Each prayer you whisperIs the greatest gift you will find.It comes from the love of a pure heart;That will last forever and never depart.Someday we will all meet face to face;We will be able to give such a warm embrace;As the Kingdom of Heaven allows us to share;In person what we can only do in prayer.The most precious gift you will give; Is a prayer,A sweet smelling fragrance so others can live.By laying down your life in such a simple way,Gives more to another than any gift will ever convey.Oh prayer, no it does not have ribbons or bows;It costs us our time, and our love that we share.

May God Bless You Always

Prayer

Battle Above the Clouds

Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days.Daniel 10:12-13

Prayer is a mysterious force, and the spiritual realm is a battle zone. Daniel prayed earnestly for three weeks, and his requests were granted early in the process. But his answer was somehow held up by demonic opposition in the heavens, and it took the archangel Michael to break through the resistance and secure the blessing.

The Bible warns, "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
We'd probably be surprised to know how much spiritual warfare surrounds the transmissions of our prayers and their answers from heaven. When we pray earnestly and nothing seems to happen, we must remember that delay is not denial. We're to keep on asking, to keep on seeking, to keep on knocking. We're to address our prayers to God the Father, praying in the Spirit and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can pray through to victory.
The story of every great Christian achievement is the history of answered prayer.E. M. Bounds

Healing At The Cross

We know when Jesus was crucifiedUpon the wooden crossOur every sin was laid upon HimAll for loving the lostAnd we know that when He rose againHe conquered death and hellThrough His resurrection we haveEternal life as wellFor this we praise our gracious LordAnd thank Him for His loveFor we could never have had this hopeIf it wasn’t for His spilled bloodBut we can know His resurrection powerRight now while we are hereFor we can come to the cross of ChristAnd lay down our burdens thereFor everything that may hold us backThe hurts from yesterdayAt the foot of the cross we lay it downAnd then just walk awayFor I believe that there is healingAt the cross of ChristWe do not need to carry these loadsFor they’ve all been crucifiedReceive from Jesus the healing you needFor your spirit, body and soulThen you can arise, freed from your pastTo walk completely wholeFor what He accomplished on the crossGoes on into eternityJust reach out your hand and He will tooAnd receive His victory© By M.S.Lowndes ~ 2006

Cry of Victory

Cry of Victory

By Max Lucado

“It is finished.”

Stop and listen. Can you imagine the cry from the cross? The sky is dark. The other two victims are moaning. The jeering mouths are silent. Perhaps there is thunder. Perhaps there is weeping. Perhaps there is silence. Then Jesus draws in a deep breath, pushes his feet down on that Roman nail, and cries, “It is finished!”
What was finished?

The history-long plan of redeeming man was finished. The message of God to man was finished. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished. The task of selecting and training ambassadors was finished. The job was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been poured. The sacrifice had been made. The sting of death had been removed. It was over.
A cry of defeat? Hardly. Had his hands not been fastened down I dare say that a triumphant fist would have punched the dark sky. No, this is no cry of despair. It is a cry of completion. A cry of victory. A cry of fulfillment. Yes, even a cry of relief.

It’s over.
An angel sighs. A star wipes away a tear.
“Take me home.”Yes, take him home.Take this prince to his king.Take this son to his father.Take this pilgrim to his home.(He deserves a rest.)
“Take me home.”Come ten thousand angels! Come and take this wounded troubadour toThe cradle of his Father’s arms!
Farewell manger’s infant.Bless You holy ambassador.Go Home death slayer.Rest well sweet soldier.
The battle is over.

It is Finished by the Gaither Vocal Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT_EABKJG28

The Lion of Judah

LION OF JUDAH

"See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. . .
Has triumphed."
Revelation 5:5

FROM THE FATHER'S HEART
My child, I am not king of the jungle. I am King of your heart--and the hearts of all My children. With the lion as My symbol, I am strength, and I am victor over anything that would threaten My world or My children. And because you are My child, you share in that victory and will one day enjoy the victor's reward. But even now, you can celebrate Me and the victory that is ours.

A GRATEFUL RESPONSE
Your name and character carry the strength of a lion, yet You are as gentle as a lamb. One day Your strength will be seen by all. I will join the great hallelujah chorus singing praises to You, my Lion of Judah. You are King of all.

SIMPLE TRUTH

Three reasons not to worry: (1) God is in control; (2) God is in control; (3) God is in control..