“Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
“As for you, my
son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and
willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of
the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will
let you find Him, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever” (1
Chron. 28:9)
Hey Gang: I have a
question for you to ponder, this day. I
came across the following ditty that has made me do some pondering. Suppose
you were to take a check out of your checkbook and write only your signature on
it. How many people would you trust
enough to give them the check?
The story is told of a young man who was genuinely
converted, after living a life of wine, woman and wild song. His heart was filled with rejoicing for God’s
mercy and, in and gratitude for God forgiveness, he compiled a comprehensive
listing of all the changes he was going
to make in his life.
It included an
impressive number of good and selfless deeds he would do and various evils he
would forsake forever. But when he
presented his list to the Lord, he was greatly disappointed to have it rejected
with a simple, “I’m sorry, I can’t accept
this.”
Discouraged but not defeated, the young man redoubled his
efforts. He completely rearranged his
former list and added many more items to it.
But once again the listed was rejected by the Lord.
Discouraged but not defeated the young lad made a third
attempt. He took a large, blank sheet
of paper, signed his name at the bottom, and presented the blank ledger to the
Lord. With an approving smile, the Lord
responded, “This I can accept.”
Now for the question!
Throughout my Christian sojourn I have been asked many times to pray for
someone that is dealing with a wilderness experience and who, by their fruits
show no relationship with the Lord. My
answer has always been “Yes” because I am told by God’s Word that it is not my
responsibility to judge whether or not that person is a believer or not.
But, I do believe there is a prerequisite to praying for
a person who is going through a wilderness experience, to pray that they are
secure in the hand of God, or seeking honestly, and realize the vacuum in their
life that is just the size of God. Then they, too, can know- “Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is anew creature: old things are passed away; all
things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:21).
My friends, we live in perilous times when everything
that can be shaken is being shaken, so that only those things that cannot be
shaken will remain. I never had the privilege of meeting my
grandfather who, it was said was a rafter shaking preacher and closed most of
his messages with a reminder that our tenure on this earth is as the blinking
of an eye - when compared to our tenure in eternity.
Make sure Father God holds your blank check.
Blessings,
Gramps
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