REAL LOVE

A young woman who fancied herself a poetess & who had her own ideas about love once came with her poems to the editorial office of a New York magazine.

The editor asked her what she wanted. She told him that she had some poems that she would like to have published in his magazine.

"About what?" asked the editor.

"All about love," she replied.

"Well, what is love?" asked the editor. "Tell me."

"Love," replied the young woman, casting her eyes heavenward, "is gazing upon a lily pond at night, by the shimmering moonbeams when the lilies are in full bloom, and - "

"Stop, stop, stop," cried the editor, curtly interrupting her, "you are all wrong - very, very wrong. I will tell you what love is:

It is getting up cheerfully out of a warm bed on a cold winter morning, at two o'clock, to fill hot-water bottles for ailing children. That's real love. I'm sorry, but I don't think we can use your poems."

- Christian Union Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

1Jn 3:18 (GW): "Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words."

God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."  - Billy Graham.

Jesus said: "I am giving you a new commandment to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34 ISV)

NEVER ALONE

Many years ago a poor German immigrant woman sat with her children in the waiting room of an Eastern station.

A lady passenger to a train, struck by her look of misery, stopped a moment to speak to her. She confided that her husband had been buried at sea; she was going to Iowa & it was hard to enter a strange land alone with her babies.

The stranger had but one moment. She pressed a little money into the poor women's hand & said: "Alone! Why, Jesus is with you! He never will leave you alone!"

Ten years afterward the woman said: "That word gave me courage for all my life. When I was a child I knew Christ & loved Him. I had forgotten Him. That chance word brought me back to Him. It kept me strong & happy through all troubles."

 - 'All Aboard' (moreillustrations.com)

Jesus said: "…. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age."  (Mat 28:20 ISV)

"You don't have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option. And it's all been made possible by your Savior. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow."  - Joni Eareckson Tada.

(A diving accident in 1967 left Joni a quadriplegic in a wheelchair unable to use her hands. Today, she is an internationally known mouth artist, a talented vocalist, an author of 17 books and an advocate for disabled persons worldwide.)

BAPTISM

When native seekers of the island of Madagascar used to present themselves for baptism, it was often asked of them, “What first led you to think of becoming followers of Jesus Christ?”

The answer usually was that the changed conduct of others who had become followers of Christ was what first arrested their attention.

They would say: “I knew this man to be a thief; that one was a drunkard; another was very cruel & unkind to his family. Now they are all changed. The thief is an honest man; the drunkard is sober & respectable; and the other is gentle & kind in his home. There must be something in it that can work such changes.”

Source: The Biblical Museum, Volume II, James Comper Gray (ministry127.com)

2Co 5:17 (GW): "Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence."

"Baptism is bowing before the Father and letting Him do His work."  - Max Lucado.

Mar 16:16 (ISV): "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn't believe will be condemned."

DECISION-MAKING

A married couple was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. At the party everybody wanted to know how they managed to stay married so long in this day and age.

The husband responded, “When we were first married, we came to an agreement. I would make all the major decisions, and my wife would make all the minor decisions.”

At which point the wife took up the tale, “And in 60 years of marriage, we have never needed to make a major decision.”

- (ministry127.com)

Esther 1:22 (GNB): "To each of the royal provinces he sent a message in the language and the system of writing of that province, saying that every husband should be the master of his home and speak with final authority."

"If your wife doesn't treat you as she should, be thankful, you might not like what you deserve." -  Jerry Falwell.

OVERCOMING FEAR OF DEATH

A medical missionary captured by bandits in China, informed that he was to be shot at a spot ten minutes' distance away, tells how a terrible fear & helplessness came over him at the thought of such a death so far away from his native country, from his family & his friends.

But he had strength enough to pray. This was his prayer: "My Lord God, have mercy on me & give me strength for this trial. Take away all fear & if I have to die, let me die like a man."

Instantly, he said, his terrible fear began to disappear. By the time he had reached the gorge where he was to be shot, he felt perfectly calm & unafraid. At the last moment, however, the bandits relented & his life was spared.

In the days which followed, full of danger & suffering, the memory of this experience was cherished more & more:

"My own will had failed in the most critical moment of my life. But the knowledge that I could depend on a power greater than my own, one that had not failed me in that crisis, sustained me in a wonderful way to the very end of my captivity. What ingratitude it would be in me not to proclaim this power."

- (moreillustrations.com)

"When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from God's love."  - Charles Spurgeon.

Psa 118:6 (ESV): "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

"Death may be the King of terrors... but Jesus is the King of kings!" - D.L. Moody.

WHY PRAYER IS DIFFERENT

I shall never forget what the late Dr. A. C. Dixon of Spurgeon's Tabernacle once said when speaking upon the theme of prayer. I cannot quote him verbatim, but the substance was this:

"When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do, when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do; and so on. Nor am I disposed to undervalue any of these things in their proper place. 

"But," he added impressively, "when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."

- The European Harvest Field. (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 3:5 (GW): "Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding."

"God does not guide those who want to run their own life. He only guides those who admit their need of His direction and rely on His wisdom."  - Winkie Pratney.

Mat 21:22 (GNB): "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

BETTER THAN DOING THE LORD'S WORK

Miss Miriam Booth, daughter of the founder of the Salvation Army, a beautiful, brilliant, cultured woman, began her Christian work with great promise & had unusual success.

Very soon disease laid hold upon her & brought her down to the point of death. A friend visiting her one day told her that it seemed a pity that a woman so capable should be hindered by sickness from doing the Lord's work.

She replied with gentle grace, "It is great to do the Lord's work, but it is greater to do the Lord's will."

- Northwestern Pilot. (moreillustrations.com)

Mar 14:36 (GW): Jesus said, "Abba! Father! You can do anything. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine."

"There is always death at the end of your plan and life at the end of God's plan."  - Rod Parsley.

1Th 5:18 (KJV): "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."