Stains

 

Yesterday, I was working at church again, and last night, I noticed that I had white spots in several places on my tee shirt.  I couldn’t tell if they were from wallboard mud or white primer paint, because I used both yesterday.  But I’ll know shortly, because I just put the washed clothes (including my tee shirt) into the dryer.  The mud will have washed out, but the white paint will still be there.  No big deal, because it’s an old tee shirt, but it reminded me of my sins.  All of my sins are washed by the cleansing blood of my Savior and are hidden by His blood.  But some sins, like the primer paint, have more far-reaching consequences.  You can be forgiven for drunkenness, but the damage to your body will still be there.  You can be forgiven for an abortion, but the baby will still be dead … forever.  You can be forgiven for promiscuity, but the STD that you contracted will be there.  Sin has consequences, and there are no “little sins”, but some sins leave terrible scars.  Hey, I’m glad for the cleansing power of Jesus Christ!  I Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”  Today, think and choose carefully.  Mud or paint, make good choices.  You’ll be glad that you did, and so will the dear Lord.

Jesus Is the Light!

 

I got back from West Virginia late Friday evening and enjoyed sleeping in my own bed.  I enjoy traveling, meeting new people, and seeing old friends, but getting home is a good feeling.  Bible Baptist church had a great Vacation Bible school, and everyone was over-the-top friendly.  They are serious about loving others and loving Jesus.  They gave me a VBS tee shirt to wear, and after washing it, I wore it to bed Saturday night.  But when I turned off the light to get into bed, I noticed that the shirt printing glowed in the dark.  Very appropriate, because the theme of the VBS was Illumination Station.  The tee shirt read, “Jesus is the Light!”.  Good job, Brother Dan!  Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”  So, I let my light shine Saturday night … to bed!  Ha, ha!  I am reminded that Jesus truly is the light to show us the way.

Haţeg, Romania

 

Last week, a radio preacher mentioned in passing Luke 5:1, “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him (Jesus) to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.”  It is amazing to think of crowds of people pushing and shoving to get near to hear Jesus speak.  In 1990 I visited Romania for the first time.  They had only been free of communism for eight months.  As we arrived, we were invited to a church service that was already underway.  When the church came into view, we saw that the building was full, with people standing outside at each open window just to hear the preacher inside.  As visiting Americans, we were ushered in to the front of the church and invited to sit down.  Four dear Romanian people had to leave in order for us to have seats.  How humbled I was to see their fervor and eagerness to hear the Word of God preached!  How wonderful it must have been to see the crowds in Capernaum and Gennesaret as they thronged to see the Rabbi from Nazareth!  Oh, how we need revival in our cold churches in America!  We need to cry out to the dear Lord for His mercy and cry out for His power.  II Chronicles 7:14 says, “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.”