“It’s Friday…But Sunday’s coming”

“It’s Friday…Jesus was nailed dead on a cross…but Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday…Mary’s crying her eyes out ’cause her baby Jesus is dead…but Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday…The disciples are running in every direction like sheep without a shepherd…but
Sunday’s coming. 
It’s Friday…Pilate’s strutting around washing his hands cause he thinks he’s got all the power and the victory…but Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday…People are saying, “All things have been so they shall always be. You can’t change anything in this world”…but Sunday is coming.
It’s Friday…Satan’s doing a little jig saying, “I control the whole world.”…but Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday…The temple veil ripped from top to bottom – the earth shook – the rocks split and tombs opened. The centurion screamed in fear, “Truly he was the Son of God.”…Sunday’s coming.  
It’s Sunday – The angel, like dazzling lightning, rolled the stone away, exclaiming, “He is not here.  He is risen.”
It’s Sunday – It’s Sunday.”                                                     Selected

I do not know the author of the above piece but I think it is powerful, It has such great truth in it.  We need to remember that no matter how difficult the Fridays in our lives are, Sunday is coming.  As Christians we look forward to a new day. 

Dwight L. Moody, often spoke of his two birthdays, the day on which he was born in East North Field, Massachusetts and the day on which he was ‘born again’ at Boston.  Near the end of his life, Moody wrote: “Some morning you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody is dead.  Don’t believe a word of it.  At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.  I shall have gone up higher, that is all.”

One day, they will lay our body in a grave.  Tears will be shed, prayers will be offered, flowers will be there to cover up the ugliness of death, the casket will be lowered in the ground, the vault will be sealed tight. and soon grass will grow over the place of burial.  Or, perhaps this will be by-passed with cremation or burial in the mausoleum. But, somewhere, surely, there will be a marker to remind the world that we lived.    
But, no one has gone to the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and seen a record in the stone stating, ‘here lies Jesus of Nazareth’. The angel’s message on the lips of millions of Christians is the only epitaph:  “HE IS NOT HERE BUT IS RISEN.”

“Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign:
He arose, He arose, Hallelujah, Christ arose.”

This is the Easter message.  We can be a part of that resurrection through our obedient faith in Jesus Christ.    “Because He lives, we can live also.”

Can Christians Be United?

  At the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there arose a people pleading for the oneness of the Christians of the world.  The means by which they sought to regain the oneness of God’s people was by the restoration of New Testament Christianity.  In the early days of the Restoration Movement, there is the coming together of the peoples led by the Campbells and the people led by Barton W. Stone.  The crucial meeting, which resulted in unity of these two groups was held in Lexington, Kentucky, January 1, 1832.  A frontier preacher, known as Raccoon John Smith, was the main speaker at this meeting.  What a dramatic moment when he stood to speak.  The event was recorded in history like this: “Smith arose with dignity and stood prayerful and self possessed, before mingling brotherhoods. He felt, as no one else could feel it, the weight of the responsibility that rested on him.  A single unscriptural position taken, the least sectarian feeling betrayed, an intemperate word, a proud, unfraternal glance of the eye, might arouse suspicion and prejudice and blast the hope of union in the very moment when it was budding with so many promises.  Every eye turned upon him and every ear leaned to catch the slightest tones of his voice.  He said, “God has but one people on earth.  He has given to them but one book and therein exhorts and commands them to be one family.  A union, such as we plead for, a union of God’s people on that one Book, must be practicable. ”  He concluded, “Let us, then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites, or Stoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights, but let us all come to the Bible, and to the Bible alone, as the only Book in the world that can give us all the light we need.”    

  I believe the humble attitude of Raccoon John Smith must be ours today.

  I am moved by the words of the late Lester Ford who wrote:  “I wouldn’t walk across the street to make you a Roman Catholic.  I wouldn’t walk around the block to make you a Protestant.  But, I would walk around the world to make you a Christian.”  

  Jesus prayed for such a unity of God’s people: “My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  John 17:20-21  

  A good illustration of this is in the life of the Apostle Paul.  Paul was standing before King Agrippa on trial for his faith in Jesus. Agrippa responds to Paul preaching Christ and says, “Almost you persuade to be a Christian.”  Paul said, “I would to God, that not only you, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”  Acts 26:28-29

  Let me ask, what was Paul?   He was nothing more or nothing less than a Christian.   Being a Christian is what saves us.  It is our task to help people to become Christians through preaching/teaching God’s message as recorded in God’s book, the Bible.  “The Bible only makes Christians only.”

Face To Face

  The hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, gave us more than 8 thousand gospel songs.  Although at age 6 weeks old, she was blinded by a doctor’s faulty medical advice, she never became bitter.  At age 65, she entered N.Y Institute for the blind and remained there as an instructor of English and history from 1847 – 1858.  In March of 1858, she married Alexander VanAlstyne, a blind musician, who had been one of her pupils. They made their home in Brooklyn, N.Y.
One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, “I think it is great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so may other gifts upon you. ”  She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be blind?”  “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman.  “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”   

  One of Fanny Crosby’s hymns was so personal that for years she kept it in herself.  Kenneth Osbeck, author of several books on hymnology, says its revelation to the public came about this way:  “One day at a Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, Fanny Crosby was asked by D. L. Moody to give a personal testimony.  At first, she hesitated, then quietly rose and said, “There is one hymn I have written which has never been published, I call it my soul’s poem.  Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.”  She then recited, while many wept, “Someday the silver cord will break and I no more as now shall sing; but oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King.  And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story – saved by grace.”  

  At the age of 95, Fanny Crosby passed into glory and saw the face of Jesus.

  It seems to me that blindness would be a terrible handicap. Just think of all the things that a blind person misses. No sunrise or sunset, no beautiful sky,  no lovely faces of loved ones and friends and on and on of what is not seen. And, we take it so much for granted.

  Such was the case of a blind man whom Jesus met. He had come out of the darkness of his mother’s womb into the darkness of this world.  We call him, Bartimaeus which means, “Son of Timaeus”.  He has no name.  He is just a beggar.  He heard the excitement of the crowd and asked, “what was happening?”  He was told, “Jesus, Son of Nazareth is passing by.”  He immediately cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”  The crowd told him to be quiet but he cried out louder for help.  Jesus heard, stopped, and ordered the beggar to be brought to Him.  Jesus asked the beggar, “What do you want me to do for you?”   He replied, “Lord, I want to see.”   Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight, your faith has healed you.”     What a wonder, the blind man opened his eyes and saw the face of Jesus. He followed Jesus praising God.  All the people seeing this, praised God too.       Luke 18:35-43    

  I think of Aunt Maggie, a blind, black lady, living alone in a cabin up in the hills, about five miles from Johnson Bible College.  We loved her and visited her often. She died and was buried in unmarked grave. The college students and others, who knew her, would not have it that way. They took up a collection and bought a marker for that grave. It read:  “Aunt Maggie Widener 1870-1951.  Inscribed at the bottom were the words: “I was blind but now I see.” 

  Will you be able to say, “Face to face I shall behold Him… and tell the story, saved by grace?”

What A Challenge?

  Many years ago the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration.  He gathered a group of young men and told the group that if they came with him they would see some of the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold, sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes.  And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with him.  Not one of them enlisted for the journey.

  With a second group of young men he tried a different approach. Drake told them that if they came with him they would encounter storms that would terrify them into tears.  Fierce winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water would frequently be scarce. At times they will be so thirsty that their very souls would cry out for simply one drop of water.  In short, danger would alway be their constant companion.  Drake concluded by declaring that if they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their wildest dreams.  Every single one of this second group joined Sir Francis Drake.  Some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families.  They just boarded the boat eager for the journey.

  What made the difference in these two groups?  Why did the first group turn down the mission and the second jump at the chance?  Was the second group different and more adventurous than the first?  The answer is: No.  It is not the men who had changed; it was the message.  To the first group he offered material rewards. To the second group he offered a challenge.  The first offered comfort; the second promised suffering. The first tempted them with things; the second seduced them with an experience unlike any other.  

  I am intrigued by the above article prepared by Terry Hodge, senior minister of First Christian Church, Nacogdoches, Texas.   

  It seems to me that much of today’s invitation to become a Christian glosses over the real cost of being a Christian.  What are we called to in becoming a Christian?  It is a call to sacrifice, self denial, suffering. But, who wants that?   Listen to Jesus who said, “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  Matthew 16:24-25   Again He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26  Jesus never offered false pomises of security, safety, sufficiency to those who would follow Him.  Instead, He urged the would be followers to count the cost.  Jesus said, “any of you who does not give up every thing he has cannot be my disciple.”  Luke 14:33  What a contrast this is to what many people are being told today. Being a Christian is not easy.  It is the most difficult, challenging life we could ever live.  But, with the help of the Lord, we can be His follower.  “Christianity has not been tried and found lackng, it just has not been tried.”

  Christ callenges us to be the best that we can be and He promised His presence, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages.”  Max Lucado wrote:  “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.  He wants you to be JUST LIKE JESUS.”             Want a challenge?  Be a Christian.

Installment Plan

 We are all familiar with buying things on installment.  We purchase something and promise to pay so much a month until the purchase price is paid in full.  This illustration may help.

  A salesman for an aluminum awning firm has just left. I have ordered some, of course, for they will make my house cooler, enable me to leave the top of the windows open when it rains, will  not need painting, etc.  One of the most telling points, though, was the matter of cost.  The salesman didn’t stress what the total cost was (it turned out to have been more than a thousand dollars, as I soberly think it over now) but he emphasized, “You can have this really fine new feature for your home for less than $25.00 a day.”  That didn’t seem to be so much.  However, as I now multiply 365 days by 25, I find it comes to $1625.00.  On the installment plan, I don’t really owe the total amount,  I owe and pay the daily amount. As long, as I keep paying the daily amount, I am fulfilling my obligation.

  Let me see if I can apply this to our spiritual lives.  Too many times, we urge people to give their whole lives to God. We urge “the dedication of all your life to the cause of Christ.”  Perhaps, we could make a more realistic approach by challenging folks to live for God “one day at a time.”  Can you be a devoted Christian for one day?  If so, try to be just that.  After that day has passed, try the next. No one has ever discovered how to live more than one day at a time. You really don’t have to be a Christian for a year in advance, just today.  I don’t know if I could hope ever to be what I should be for a whole month, but possibly I could just for a day.

  Perhaps we should apply the words “this day” in the model prayer that the Lord taught His disciples, to all the statements and petitions.  God’s name should be hallowed “this day,”  God’s Kingdom should come for us “this day,” and we should seek deliverance from evil for “this day.”

  The Bible teaches that “Today is the day of salvation.  Now is the acceptable time.”   We must “continue (daily) to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Philippians 2:12
The Apostle Paul knew this secret to successful Christian living for he wrote: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”   Philippians 3:13-14 

  I heard psychiatrist, John Dorsey, say, “we live in an explosion of nows.”  That is all we have, is the moment in which we now live.  Trust in the Lord.  Live day by day for Him. Be a Christian on the installment plan.  With the Lord’s help, We can do that.