For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph. 2:10)
Hey Gang: While
driving home from Oklahoma I heard the following very disturbing story. A
ministry group, on one of the colleges in the Mid-west, decided to do a
experiment based on the story of the Good Samaritan. They chose the busy
intersection on the campus and determined the busiest time of the day to do
their test: one of their members
volunteered to lay in the intersection and act like he was in pain. The
object was to see if there was one who would come to the aid of the injured
class mate.
The experiment went
off much like the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, with one exception
- there was no Good Samaritan that came forth to give aid to the injured
classmate! They estimated that more than two hundred students passed by
their classmate. The thing that bothered me about this story was not the
outcome of the experiment, for that is one of the common maladies of our
country today,
tthat we no longer follow
God's mandate to love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Nor do we
care all that much about widows and orphans, the elderly and the
infirmed. I mean, after all, in world standards they are better off than
most, with all the government benefits they receive.
While working at VOM
and discussing the news that we read and hear about happening in the Muslim and
Communist Countries (many turning their lives over to Yeshua), one of the young
people we work with asked, “Why do we not hear about the same thing happening
in our country?” There is no question
that the underground church is growing very rapidly, especially in those
countries where persecution is the worst. SO, Why not here?
We did not have time
to discuss this question at any length, but I have had time to ponder it since
and would say to him, “The answer can be found in Revelation 3:15-17 where
Jesus said to John, "I know your
deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish that you were cold or hot. So
because you are a lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My
mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need
of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and
poor and blind and naked".
Soooo, In
my hours of feeding envelopes to the mail preparation machine at Voice of
Martyrs, I had plenty of time to do some serious praying and pondering.
Did you know it is good to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of
today's world and just plain "ponder". And one of the main
things I pondered and continue to do so is the verse in I Chronicles 7:14 where
we are told that “If we, His people,
who are called by his name will humble
themselves and pray, and fervently and turn from our wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven and heal their land".
My question to God, “In which of those areas did those who are
called by your name fail?” And after many hours, I have concluded that the
answer is "all three. Notice the next verse, "Now My eyes
will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place"
(vs. 15). What does that verse say to you this morning?
Blessings,
Gramps
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