I read of an
American who visited the 19th Century Polish Rabbi, Hofetz Chaim:
Astonished
to see the rabbi’s
home was only a simple room filled with books, with only a table and a bench,
the tourist asked, “Rabbi,
where is your furniture?” The rabbi asked in return, “Where is yours?”The puzzled American tourist replied, “Mine? But I’m a visitor here – I’m only passing through.”“So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim.
I love the
words Albert E. Brumley penned back in about 1946, when the world was still in
the throes of World War II:
This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through, My treasures
are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open
door, and I can’t feel at home in this world any more!
What I am conveying
to you is that Heaven is the MARK…
The closing
weeks of 2013 are a time that we prepare to go Home! It is a time that we
prepare others to go Home! It is a time that we get ready to meet our loved
ones! Today marks the time that we talk about Heaven’s Gates and how we are all going to get there!
Perhaps the
reason we are not as successful at outreach as we once were is because we are
not enamored with the thought of Heaven as we once were. Perhaps the anticipation we once had is no
longer there because we have it too good here on earth.
It’s time that we turn our hearts toward
Heaven and take on the responsibility of helping others get there! If you serve the church in any capacity, you ought to be trying to get
someone to heaven! If
you are a board member, Sunday School teacher, Department Head, Usher or
Hostess, you ought to be doing everything you possibly can to win a soul to God
and get that person to heaven! The
job of the whole Church is to get others ready for Heaven!
We
need a renewed desire to go there. If
you read church history at all, you will find the Christians that did the most
for the world were those who thought the most of Heaven!
Maybe
we have become ineffective because we have ceased to long for heaven. We are too satisfied with what we
have here below! We need
a renewed passion for a place called HEAVEN!
A
middle-aged man is having a tough time. His father and mother are both dead
now, and he misses them. He’s got problems
with his teenage children. Economic problems and severe shortages in all the
necessities of life hit the region where he lives. To make matters worse, it
seems as if every time he accomplishes anything, someone else comes along and
grabs what he’s worked hard for all his life. It’s enough to make anyone want to give up...But FOUR WORDS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
A young
man runs away from home. He knows that one of his own family members is out to
kill him. He finds himself all alone and afraid in a place he’s never been before. His future looks grim...But FOUR WORDS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
A sincere
and honest employee works hard, is honest and productive, and yet has to put up
with constant sexual harassment from one of the bosses. After refusing these
unwanted advances, day after day, this honest, hard-working employee is accused
of sexual misconduct by the very person who has been guilty of the harassment. The
employee is thrown in jail to serve out an unwarranted sentence. The outlook is
bleak...But FOUR WORDS CHANGED
EVERYTHING!
An
80-year-old man is prompted to confront the world’s most powerful leader and demand freedom for his people. He doesn’t want to do it. He feels weak and afraid, and
completely inadequate...But
FOUR WORDS CHANGED EVERYTHING!
Another
man just lost his best friend and mentor and is called on to take his place. The
man is filled with grief. He knows that his dead friend was the sort of man
that cannot be replaced. How can he possibly handle the responsibility of it
all? But FOUR WORDS CHANGED
EVERYTHING.
A young
man feels like a rabbit hiding from a fox. Enemy troops occupy his country. They’ve been seizing everybody’s food supplies, and this young man sneaks around trying to find and
store food for his family. He is swamped with a feeling of worry, weakness, and
worthlessness...But FOUR WORDS
CHANGED EVERYTHING!
An entire nation
is just bouncing back from the ravages of war and exile that it brought upon
itself. But in the midst of reconstruction, the people’s priorities become mixed up. Their situation keeps going downhill. They are warned that change was necessary or they would slip
right back into disaster. They
are filled with the feeling of guilt and discouragement. They wonder if they truly have a
future. They hope its
not too late to turn things around...Then, FOUR WORDS CHANGE EVERYTHING.
A young woman
from a poor family is engaged to be married. She has modest hopes because she
has no great dowry to cause a man to want her. She is in no position to have
any grand dreams. She has no reason to think she’ll ever be prominent or exceptional in any way...But, FOUR WORDS CHANGED EVERYTHING!
There are
four words that changed the situation for all these people. Four simple words. Each word contains only one syllable. But
these four words change everything when the One who speaks these words is God. He
told Haggai to tell the people, “I AM WITH YOU.”
The
Christmas Season is a time of celebration for most people. It always seems to
bring out the good in people.
It draws
from deep within us feelings of goodwill and cheer. Yet, this time of year also
triggers feelings of another sort for many.
The
Christmas Season has the highest rate of suicide because of the depression it
brings to many. It is a time when we feel most deeply the absence of loved ones
that have passed into eternity. It is a time when the pain of broken family
relationships hits the hardest. A time when people feel the guilt of past
failures.
During
the Christmas Season, we find ourselves quickly approaching the end of another
year with all of its successes and failures. We have a sense of understanding
the words of James: “Life
is just a vapor. It is here for a moment
and then it vanishes.”The years are passing with supersonic
speed, and we sometimes wonder what our lives really amount to. As we look to the New Year, we have
our moments of hope and a lot of anxieties.
During this
Christmas Season we need, more than anything else, to hear and believe the four
simple words of God – “IAM WITH YOU!”
When God
speaks those words to our hearts EVERYTHING CHANGES! Even the harshest of
situations have to succumb to the promises and power of God!
vThose four words changed everything
for a middle-aged struggler named Isaac.
vThey changed the life of a frightened
runaway named Jacob.
vThey vindicated a wrongfully imprisoned
employee named Joseph.
vThose four words changed everything
for Moses, the timid 80-year-old.
vThey gave strength to Joshua, the man
who had to fill the shoes of Moses.
vAnd for Gideon, the scared rabbit,
those four words made him a mighty man of valor!
Those four simple,
one-syllable words, “I am with you,” make a deciding difference in any
situations. They changed everything for the confused and guilty nation of
Israel. And they changed
everything for an insignificant young lady named Mary.
No matter what your situation
might be, when the living God declares, “I AM WITH YOU,” it changes everything! God’s presence is all
you need in any situation. And,
your reliance on Him will make you the victor!
