Samuel F.B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, was once asked in a private interview, “Did you ever come to a point where you didn’t know what to do next?”
Morse replied, “Oh, yes, more than once.”
“And what did you do in those times?” the interviewer asked.
“I may answer you in confidence, sir,” said Morse, “for it is a matter of which the public knows nothing. I prayed for more light.”
“And the light generally came?” asked the interviewer.
“Yes, and may I tell you that when flattering honors came to me from America and Europe on account of the invention which bears my name, I never felt I deserved them. I had made a valuable application of electricity, not because I was superior to other men, but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone, and was pleased to reveal it to me.”
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.
Me: After you move off of them, I will share a story.
This is from the book Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson
Carol Toussaint was driving her large station wagon across Arlington Heights, Illinois, about 5:00pm one hot summer weekday. She was going to pick up one son from his guitar lesson, and her other youngsters, Dave and Katie, were in the backseat. It was past the time when she should have started dinner, and her mind was on getting home as soon as possible.
The traffic light was green. Carol turned left off the busy highway up a little incline and onto the railroad tracks that intersect the downtown area. But before she could complete her turn and travel through the railroad crossing, her engine suddenly died. She was stuck–blocking several lanes, with her front wheels resting in the track grooves.
Carol tried again and again to start the car, but the ignition wouldn’t catch. The traffic light changed, cars began to honk, brakes screeched as rush-hour travelers attempted to go around her and avoid plowing into one another. Dave and Katie, hot, confined, and sensing their mother’s distress, started to complain. It was a driver’s worst nightmare.
Suddenly a young man wearing a white shirt and tie loped casually over to Carol’s open window. Dave, then only about five, thinks the man got out of a small brown car before approaching them.
“Did you know that you’re in danger here?” the man asked softly, with an air of complete peace and tranquility–in the midst of the rapidly snarling traffic.
“I sure am,” Carol responded. “My husband’s going to kill me for being late and not having dinner ready! If one of these drivers doesn’t do it first….”
“No, I didn’t mean that,” the young man went on. “There’s a train due through the crossing at frequent intervals. Some stopped, others didn’t. And yes, now she noticed that there were several people standing at the station a block or two away. But even if this coming train was due to stop, it couldn’t avoid hitting her–at this point it would still be traveling too fast!
Carol isn’t sure what she did next–she was in such a panic that she can’t remember. But she’ll never forget the reaction of the serene young man. Nonchalantly he walked to the front of her car and gave it a little one-handed push. The huge station wagon dislodged easily from the track grooves, and as the crossing gates came down and warning bells began to clang, it rolled back across the tracks and safely over the little incline, where it again came to a stop.
Almost immediately, the train roared past. Stunned, Carol realized that , without the young man’s help, her family would have been hit and killed. But where was he? The train had blocked her view for only a moment. How could he have disappeared in this open area without her seeing him?
By this time several passers-by and commuters were approaching Carol’s car. “Need help, lady?” they asked. “Maybe we can push the car across the street to the gas station…”
One commuter stood n the middle of the intersection and directed cars around the scene, while another went to alert the gas station. Mechanics and others pushed Carol’s car down he rest of the incline to the station. Although the man in the white shirt had dislodged the large vehicle with one hand, it took eight people to move it all the way across the highway.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
This is from the book Stories Behind Men of Faith by Ace Collins
At the heart of most of his sermons were stories of Newton’s own battles with sin. He used examples of his own pre-salvation experiences to highlight the power of God to lift a man out of hell and into the light. Week in and week out he used the word grace in letters and sermons as he tried to explain God’s greatest and most amazing gift.
As he set aside his Bible, Newton glanced over to a stack of hymns he had recently written with William Cowper. Cowper was a genius, a man who could compose lyrics that resonated stronger than any sermon the preacher had ever penned. His songs, such as “Light Shining out of the Darkness,” were dynamic in their scope and power, and hundreds of people had been saved simply by hearing the Lord’s call in Cowper’s words. Yet the grace he wrote about was lost on the man. The songwriter was deeply troubled, often spiraling into the depths of depression, constantly moaning in spiritual pain and crying for hours on end.
A few days before, Cowper had tried and failed to end his life. This attempt was another in a long line of failed suicide attempts. Now living with Newton and his wife, the songwriter spent as much time pleading for death as he did trying to fight for life. The spiritual battle being waged over the talented man’s soul was one of the few negative elements in Newton’s world. He simply could not understand how his friend could write so brilliantly about the light but not see it in his own world. If only he could find a way to present the story of grace in a fashion that would touch Cowper’s heart and mind. The pastor attempted to tailor a message that would bring a peace to the distressed man. In truth, Cowper could not fathom the depth of Newton’s words, but the message found on that New Year’s Eve would resonate with hundreds of millions in a way nothing ever had.
Picking up a pen. Newton focused on what had become a familiar theme and direction for his sermons. First he told a home spun parable of the fall from grace and redemption.
“A company of travelers fall into a pit: one of them gets a passenger to draw him out. Now he should not be angry with the rest for falling in; nor because they are not yet out, as he is. He did not pull himself out: instead, therefore, of reproaching them, he should shew them pity…..A man, truly illuminated, will no more despise others, than Bartimeus, after his own eyes were opened, would take a stick, and beat every blind man he met.
Rereading his words, Newton wondered if Cowper or others would see themselves in the pit. Would anyone feel the need to accept God’s love and be pulled from his or her lowly state? Would this story provide the insight a soul needed to accept Christ and walk in faith?
After he finished his text, the clergyman reviewed his sermon, only to discover that while his message of salvation was strong, it was still missing something. Newton glanced back over the songs he had been writing with Cowper, then pulled out a piece of blank paper. Using his own redemptive experience, he carefully crafted lyrics that reflected his message for the January 1 service.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas race that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!
Thro’ many danger, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide they way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
This is from the book The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
Many have found the secret of which I speak and , without giving much thought to what is going on within them, constantly practice this habit of inwardly gazing upon God. They know that something inside their hearts sees God. Even when they are compelled to withdraw their conscious attention in order to engage in earthly affairs, there is within them a secret communion always going on. Let their attention but be released for a moment from necessary business and it flies at once to God again. This has been the testimony of many Christians, so many that even as I state it thus I have a feeling that I am quoting, though from whom or from how many I cannot possibly know.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Prodigal: I think guidelines would be helpful today.
Me: Yes, satan tries to create confusion.
This is from the book The Dynamics of Worship by James P. Gills, M.D.
One of the obvious contrasts between response to the demonic and response to the Divine is that the demonic prefers a mindlessness or trance, but God always demands an active mind and will. Relationship with God in worship is for the entire person–spirit, soul and body–and we are invited to be willing and active participants in that experience.
Don’t get confused. God is peace, joy, truth. Satan brings confusion, shame and lies. There are different spiritual forces around us all the time. We have to determine what is God and what is not. Do not fall for satan lies today.
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
