REFUGE

Ps 9:9 (GNT): “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble.”

Charles Wesley (1707-1788), shortly after being saved in 1738, sat one summer day in his study.

A little bird, pursued by a hawk, flew in through the open window and sought refuge in his bosom, where the baffled hawk dare not follow.

This incident led to the writing of the familiar hymn, “Jesus, Lover of my soul”.

- (moreillustrations.com)

First two stanzas of the hymn …

“Jesus, lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll,

While the tempest still is high.

Hide me, O my Savior, hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

Oh, receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none,

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah! leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on Thee is stayed,

All my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of Thy wing.”

GIFTS

When Lawrence Barrett's daughter was married, Stuart Robson sent a check for $5000 to the bridegroom. 
The comedian's daughter, Felicia Robson, who attended the wedding, conveyed the gift.

"Felicia," said her father upon her return, "did you give him the check?"

"Yes, Father," answered the daughter.

"What did he say?" asked Robson.

"He didn't say anything," replied Miss Felicia, "but he shed tears."

"How long did he cry?"

"Why Father, I didn't time him. I should say, however, that he wept fully a minute."

"Fully a minute," mused Robson. "Why, Daughter, I cried an hour after I signed it."

- (moreillustrations.com)

2 Cor 9:7 (NIV): “… God loves a cheerful giver.”

Mat 6:3 (TLB): “But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly - don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.”

PROGRESS

Emergencies have always been necessary to progress.

It was the darkness which produced the lamp.

It was the fog that produced the compass.

It was hunger that drove us to exploration.

- Highways of Happiness.(moreillustrations.com)

1 Tim 4:14-15 (ICB): “Remember to use the gift that you have….  Continue to do those things. Give your life to doing them. Then everyone can see that your work is progressing.”

“Being satisfied with things the way they are is the quickest way to stop progress.” – Unknown Author.

THE TRANSFORMATION

When the impotent man & the healing pool & the Master came together, there was health & hope.

When the little lad & the few loaves & fishes & the Master came together, there was sufficiency & even abundance.

A thirsty woman, an ancient well & the Master & there were streams of living water flowing into human hearts.

A rugged fisherman, a broken net & the Master & there was discipleship & a story to tell.

Wherever a human need & a sincere faith & the Master meet, there is transformation & consecration. If we bring our lives, weak & insufficient, to the Master, He will remake us.

- The Upper Room. (moreillustrations.com)

Acts 4:13 (GW): “After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke. They realized that these men had been with Jesus.”

“The same Jesus who turned water into wine can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and His business is the business of transformation.” - Adrian Rogers.

PRICELESS MESSAGE

When a Duxbury, Massachusetts, man refused to pay one-cent postage due on a letter, it was returned to the Plymouth dead-letter office.

Postmaster Wm. Goodwin disclosed that when the letter was opened, it contained a $450 check. It will be returned to the sender in Boston.

Kindly reserve your criticism of the man who refused to pay one cent for a check-laden letter until you have answered this question: "Have I received the message on which nothing is due and which offers me that which money cannot buy and works cannot secure: Eternal Life?"

Here is the message: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Is that priceless message but a dead letter to you, to be sent back to the sender, the Lord Jesus Christ?

- (moreillustrations.com)

“When a person refuses to come to Christ it is never just because of lack of evidence or because of intellectual difficulties: at root, he refuses to come because he willingly ignores and rejects the drawing of God's Spirit on his heart.” - William Lane Craig.

Heb 12:25 (NLT): “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!”

RECONCILIATION

Years ago in a Western city, a husband and wife became estranged & finally separated. They left the city & resided in different parts of the country. The husband one day chanced to return to this city on a matter of business.

He went out to the cemetery to the grave of their only son. He was standing by the grave in fond reminiscence when he heard a step behind him. Turning, he saw his estranged wife.

The first inclination of both was to turn away. But they had a common, binding interest in that grave; and instead of turning away they clasped hands over that grave of their son & were reconciled one to another.

It took nothing less than death to reconcile them! It takes nothing less than death, the precious blood of Christ, to reconcile man to God.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“In Christ alone, and His payment of the penalty for our sins upon the Cross, we find reconciliation to God and ultimate meaning and purpose.” - Dave Hunt.

2 Cor 5:18 (ESV): “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

RECONSTRUCTION

On a hill outside Florence, in a park overlooking that famous city & the river Po flowing through it, stands the great statue by Michelangelo, David slaying Goliath.

A marvelous figure of beauty & grace & strength, the young shepherd lifts his arm to hurl the stone from his sling. That statue was cut out of a block of marble which another artist had worked upon & then thrown away as useless.

So out of our sins, out of our mistakes, out of our failures, God's love & power, aided by our repentance, is able to reconstruct that which is forever fair & good & true.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Ps 51:17 (ICB): “The sacrifice God wants is a willing spirit. God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for it's sin.”

“Being in Christ, it is safe to forget the past; it is possible to be sure of the future; it is possible to be diligent in the present.” -  Alexander MacLaren.