The Elevator

II Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

An illiterate old man from from the farm country came to a busy shopping complex in a metropolis, accompanying a relative who was purchasing new dress for her wedding. He was accompanied by his wife, who was equally old and simple. There they saw an elevator for the first time in their life.

The old man watched the gadget with keen interest. He saw a group of aged people enter and close the door. After a few minutes, the door reopened and an equal number of very young people came out.

After several similar observations, the old man concluded that the elevator was a miraculous machine to transform older people to younger and smarter ones. He was excited. His priority was to restore the youthfulness of his aging wife. He was anxious to have her as the young and charming beauty that he had married 50 years ago.

 

He compelled & coaxed her to enter the elevator the next time it opened before them. The old lady entered it unwillingly along with many others and the door was shut. After a few anxious moments, he saw the doors open.

Rushing to the door and madly searching among those who came out of the elevator, he found an attractive young lady, with some resemblance to the figure of his wife in her early years.

Overjoyed, he embraced who he thought was his blushing bride and tried to drag her away from the others, crying out, "What a wonder, what a beauty!"

The lady was shocked and pushed him away with all her might. She walked away quickly into the crowd.

Lying on the floor with scratched limbs and a broken heart, the old man cried and pleaded, "Wait for me, honey! Don't leave me, dear! I'll take back the old you!"

*

God made us in His image (Gen. 1:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). But, in our selfishness, webroke fellowship with Him when we sinned against Him (Rom. 3:10, 23). Only God can restore us and make us into a new creation (Gal. 6:15).

The blood of Jesus is no fountain of youth that will make you younger or put a skip in your step. No, it's not about our external appearance. What God is desiring is to truly transform us and change us within, transform us from a sinner to a saved person. Because of the blood of Jesus, our sins are forgiven (Heb. 9:22) and we receive God's divine nature through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5; II Cor. 1:22-23; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30).

That is what happens at salvation.

There is no magic potion or elixir or holy grail or special waters. If you're seeking true renewal - spiritual rightness - then Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life (Jn. 14:6).

What you decide to do with Jesus Christ today will impact your eternal life. And much like an elevator, there's only one of 2 directions you can go: heavenward or hell bound.

Which way are you headed?

I Want to Be Glorybound!

What a joyful thought that my Lord I’ll see,
Just over in the glory land;
And with kindred saved, there forever be,
Just over in the glory land.

Just over in the glory land,
I’ll join the happy angel band,
Just over in the glory land;
Just over in the glory land,
There with the mighty host I’ll stand,
Just over in the glory land.

With the blood-washed throng I will shout and sing,
Just over in the glory land;
Glad hosannas to Christ, the Lord and King,
Just over in the glory land.

Just over in the glory land,
I’ll join the happy angel band,
Just over in the glory land;
Just over in the glory land,
There with the mighty host I’ll stand,
Just over in the glory land.

 

Story compliments of Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kerala, India

In Nothing We Trust

Proverbs 25:28
"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."

Across the nation, city halls, much like Washington, have become petty, polarized and powerless to deal effectively with the problems they face. Voter engagement is driven down as a result. Mainstream  churches are losing worshippers. Overburdened, crumbling and unruly public schools are prompting parents to pull their children out. Businesses are shuttering their factories & warehouses, leaving behind in its wake, unemployment and helplessness. Labor unions once credited with creating the middle class are now often blamed for the demise of industry. Even the local daily newspapers, once venerated for reporting the news and not editorializing it, have become polarizers in the culture wars.

The bygone days of American institutions holding sway & influence in American culture are things of Norman Rockwell wishful thinking.

In a survey of a Main Street Town in the U.S.A., seven in 10 Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track; eight in 10 are dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed. Only 23 percent have confidence in banks, and just 19 percent have confidence in big business. Less than half the population expresses “a great deal” of confidence in the public-school system or organized religion.

“We have lost our gods,” says Laura Hansen, an assistant professor of sociology at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass. “We lost [faith] in the media: Remember Walter Cronkite? We lost it in our culture: You can’t point to a movie star who might inspire us, because we know too much about them. We lost it in politics, because we know too much about politicians’ lives. We’ve lost it—that basic sense of trust and confidence—in everything.”

And there is the rub. In that quote - "We have lost our gods" - everything we need to know about the demise of America is encapsulated. God was replaced by Government. People thought that they could govern themselves better without God than with Him.

Please take caution: This attitude of removing God from public life did not begin at the P.T.A. meeting or in the public schools or in the courthouses or in city halls or even in the church. The desire to remove God from public life and private life began in the home.

You see, when God is not the center of your life then you are left to fend for yourself, interpreting the day's blessings and trials through your own lenses, philosophy, mental aptitude, etc. But, the Bible admonishes us, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3:5-7)

So when people trust their institutions more than they trust God, or, seek to remove God from private life and public life altogether, is it any surprise that the institutions they've chosen to trust are crumbling?

Government is crumbling, civic life is crumbling, churches are crumbling all because the family is crumbling. And the source of this moral dry rot is the absence of God. By the way, don't think for one minute that we, as a culture, are living in a vacuum. Satan runs right in to that void in your life and public life and fills it with distractions that pertain to lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life (I Jn. 2:16). That's exactly what's happening.

If you want a case study of a nation in decay, study the nation of Israel in the Book of Judges. You'll see what decadence, depravity and destitution look like in all its glory. Sadly, it leads to captivity.

When you are spending more time on Facebook than in the Good Book, then you're bound to find that the fruits of your labor result in nothing. Even your own thoughts come to nothing. Why? Because if it's trash you put in your mind then it's trash you'll get out. You reap nothing but the wind. And then people have the nerve to say, "In nothing we trust"?

In Proverb 25:28, the picture I want you to see is that of a city whose walls have been so nearly destroyed as to be without defense against an enemy; so is the man who has no restraint over his spirit, the source of man's passionate energies. He has no defense against anger, lust, and the other unbridled emotions that destroy him. And the family, culture and society around him.

Dear Reader, if you're American, the time is now to turn back to God. II Chronicles 7:14 states, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Before Nations change, Governments must change.

Before Governments change, people must change.

Before people change, you must change.

And before you change, you must surrender your entire life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Friend, there's no other way (John 14:6). If you're ready for change, if you want to trust in someone other than your Government, if you are tired of the nothingness & meaninglessness of life, then click here: I Want A Real Change In My Life.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is peace
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is love
There is comfort in life's darkest hour
There is light and life
There is help and power in the Spirit
In the Spirit of the Lord

 

The Whisper Test

Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple birth defects. She was deaf in one ear, had a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. She suffered not only from her physical impairments but also from the emotional trauma of being different from others.

"I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: Just a little ugly girl."

"When schoolmates asked, 'What happened to your lip?' I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me."

One of her worst experiences at school, she reported, was the day of the annual hearing test. The teacher would call each child to her desk, and the child would cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would whisper something to the child. This was the whisper test. If the teacher’s phrase was heard and repeated, the child passed the test. To avoid the humiliation of failure, Mary Ann always would cheat on the test, secretly cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she still could hear what the teacher said.

There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom the children adored: Mrs. Leonard. She was short, round, happy, a sparkling lady. Something about her made children feel valued and special. They wanted to please her.

"Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back -- things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?"

I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were MY little girl."

It was a transforming moment for Mary Ann. It changed her life. She began to see herself in a new light. Later she would go on to be a teacher, seeing herself no longer as deformed but as a person who has inner beauty and love to share with others.

Imagine the power of words that you use. Do you use them for life or death?

Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Indeed, words do make a difference in a person's life. They either edify or tear down. What are you saying to your spouse? Children? Friends? Strangers?

In John 6:63, Christ goes even further in talking about His Father's words:

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Peter wisefully recognized who Jesus Christ was. When others were abandoning Him, Christ turned to him and asked if he planned to leave Him as well.

"Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6:68).

Reader, knowing that God's word bring salvation and eternal life, what are you waiting for? Turn to Christ now. Read further here: The Plan of Salvation.