God’s Word - D. L. Moody and the Titanic

One of the most famous stories of history is the story of the sinking of the Titanic.

Many of you know that the Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on the night of April 14, 1912 and sank  just over two-and-a-half hours later.  It wasn't the visible part of the iceberg that sunk the ship, it was the hidden part beneath the surface that ripped into the hull and caused her sink.

It is the hidden things in life that often give us the greatest spiritual problems.

Hummm? Let's see...problems with ants, roaches, roof replaced, basement leaks, back porch roof leaks, air conditioner broke, car in serious need of repair, lawn mower and weed-whacker broke, back and ankle problems, serious yard maintenance, and gutter problems. I'm sure I've forgotten something...oh, yes hit by lightning.

God's provision.  We were given a lawn mower, youth from church and a few adults took care of the yard and fixed the gutter and some others said they will help me fix the leaking basement.  I bought a nice electric weed-whacker, roof repair was paid for by insurance, had AC fixed to the tune of $300.00 (God will provide), back, ankle, back porch roof, and car repair -- God will provide.  We must walk by faith. It's all we have and that's enough.  Oh yes, thanks to Borax and sweeteners, bugs are zapped.  Maybe insurance will rid the tree, yes, waiting on the check!  I can only pray for the rest.

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Last Sunday night....zap bang!  Around 6:50 PM a huge bolt of lightning hit the big oak tree in our back yard. Ripped off bark and wood splinters sending them even into my neighbors yard.  Bolt went into the ground putting a hole in the ground. I was just shutting down my computer and we were heading for dinner.  All electronics seem OK.  The bolt went into the ground putting a hole in the ground which oozed white foam - boiling tree sap.

Reminds me of Job.  Not sure yet -- why us?  At this time only God knows.  He has a reason for everything that happens in our lives. The tree is only about 15 ft. from our back porch with some limbs hanging over it.  What's interesting is that it was only one bolt for the whole storm and it was on us. Freaky!!

Thank you Lord! I know you still love me, but at times, life sure is a struggle.

Oh yea, I forgot...dental and eye-wear needs.

I couldn’t help but to ask myself the question, “Were there Christians on the Titanic?”  I would most certainly believe so.

We all face certain trying circumstances in life. Many which don't make any sense at all, but God will see us through them. Have you thanked God today for your trials? He intends to draw us closer to Him and encourage us to be mindful that whatever comes our way, has been filtered through His loving hands first. To quote someone else..God has perfect timing, never early, never late. It takes a little patience and a lot of faith. But it's always worth the wait. Read Psalm 91:5-16 and Psalm 107:20-31.  Moody read these passages to people who were with him on a sinking ship a few decades before the Titanic disaster. "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name." Ps. 91:14   Moody and the others made it safely to harbor, but not without some trying circumstances.

Amazing "coincidences" that contributed to the Titanic tragedy:  Numerous details, anyone of which, if it had happened differently, would have prevented the ship from sinking or prevented the loss of so many lives.

• The ship's sailing had been postponed for three weeks. Had she sailed any other time, the iceberg would not have been there.
• If the ship had traveled one mile per hour faster or slower, the iceberg would have been in a different position.
• The iceberg was "blue," the most difficult kind to see.
• The night was moonless -- no light to show the iceberg.
• The night was windless. Wind would have made waves to splash on the iceberg making it more visible.
• Men in the crow's nest had no lookout glasses. They were on the ship, but had been misplaced.
• Even so, the crew saw the iceberg in time to begin turning. If the crew had seen the iceberg 10 seconds sooner, the ship would have missed it.
• If the crew had seen the iceberg ten seconds later, they would have hit it head on, causing damage which would not have sunk the ship. The ship sank because it grazed the berg, slicing open a long section of its side.
• The ship could carry over 3000 people, but had lifeboats for only 1178 (this was all that laws then required). Even so, only 700 people actually got in the lifeboats.
• Perhaps the greatest cause of interest is that people believed it to be "unsinkable."

The great lesson for us is 1 Corinthians 10:12

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.  Pride, overconfidence and greed combined together led to the Titanic disaster.

Not sure yet -- why us? At this time only God knows.  He has a reason for everything in our lives.

All things work together for good.  There is no temptation, but such is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow us to be tempted (tested) beyond that which we are able to handle, but will with the testing provide a way of escape that we will be able to handle it.

“God has perfect timing, never early, never late.  It takes a little patience and a lot of faith.  But it’s always worth the wait.” - author unknown.

It's All About God's Love

I started out by thinking, “I have no thoughts at this time.”

Then I first thought about preaching about pain, since I've gone through so much of it over the past year. However, then I thought, “No, I've got to focus on something else more important than ME and my pain.

Then I thought, How grateful I was for the sacrificial love shown to me by several church members in helping me with my yard and gutters. I didn't deserve it. What would prompt people to show such love – such sacrifice?

My wife reminded me of a recent Wednesday evening message. One of the Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE!

I. God's Love Is Inseparable

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


There is nothing that will separate God from loving us.

Human nature seeks rewards for giving sacrificially. In Christ we don't seek the reward, we seek to demonstrate God's love to others as He has shown us.

What would prompt someone to be so loving as to expect nothing in return.

It is very difficult to receive the sacrificial gift of someone. It's difficult to receive someone's sacrifice when it's impossible to repay in like kind. What Jesus has done for us, it's not possible to repay in like kind.

Lord, thank you and bless each one of them in a way that only you can do.

I. God's Love is Inseparable

II. God’s Love Is Shown Through Jesus Christ

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1. God's love is a giving love.
2. It is a sacrificial love.
3. It gives without expectation of return.

All God expects of us is obedience to Him. Doing what is right! Doing what is right even when I don't feel like it. We are to have the right attitudes and right behavior.

Romans 5:8

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

His love was shown to us in the midst of our rebellion against Him. People will say such things as , “Well let me clean up my act first and then I'll accept Him.” No, it doesn't work that way. The way it works is that we 1^st accept Him and then He cleans up our act.

We demonstrate our love and appreciation of Him by becoming the person He wants us to be.

A parent might say something like, “If you love us, you'll clean up your room!” No, the way it works is for the child to say, “Because I love you, I'll clean up my stuff.” Because you are my parents, I will do it because I'm to respect those in authority over me.

Because I love you Lord, I'll do my devotions. Because I love you, I demonstrate love to my mate. I love you Lord, therefore I'll clean up my house, do my dishes, and sweep the rooms. Because I love you, I will take care of the body you've given me.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.

Because I love my wife, I went to the grocery for her because she wasn't able to do it at that time.

Ephesians 2:4-5

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

1 John 4:9-11

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (only acceptable sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1. God's love is inseparable

2. God's love is shown through Jesus Christ
   

III. God Love Is Shown Through Caring For Others

Therefore, we are to love and care for one another. One of the greatest gifts we have to give is the gift of ourselves.

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

How wonderful to have a love that quiets us! Is our home filled with noise and hostility or quietness with love? Only by allowing Christ to rule and reign in our hearts can this happen.

1 John 4:7-8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The Fruit of the Spirit begins with Love! Are we Spirit filled?

1 Peter 5:6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

What are you anxious about? The things of this world bring anger and hostility, but being Spirit Filled includes Love, Joy and Peace etc.

Job 34:19

who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

Psalm 86:15

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

1 John 3:1

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Christ was falsely accused because they did not know Him. God's love was falsely misunderstood. Christ was crucified because they misunderstood him.

Do I behave like a Child of God or a child of the devil?

IV. What God Says About Love?

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

How incomplete is a one-sided love. There is nothing more empty. How empty it is to live in a home where love is one-sided – a home where a mate or children don't love back. How cold and disheartening.

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We demonstrate the reality of Jesus Christ by our love for each other.

V. Respond To God’s Love Through Thankfulness

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. God's love never wears out.

God's love is an enduring love. We live in a world where many things hinder our love for one another – greed, money, fame, fortune, health and prosperity.

Romans 5:2-5

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

VI. CONCLUSION

Colossians 2:6-7

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

We demonstrate our gratitude by loving others.

Hebrews 12:28-29

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

CONCLUSION

We all need a “Thank You” spirit! It's all about God's Love! Not ME!

There is no greater calling than for us to demonstrate God's love to those around us by living sacrificially.

Information Please

This story was forwarded to me from a dear cousin and I wanted to share it with you.  Take a minute to read this beautiful story. You'll be glad you did.

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

"Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."  

"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.

She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts..

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died.. I called, “

Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so
beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, " Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."

"Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?" I asked.  

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest . When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much.


"Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now.


Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.

"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,  "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me.  I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information."


I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" she said.

"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, "She said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?"

"Yes." I answered.

"Well, Sally left a message for you.  She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you."

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.
He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.  Whose life have you touched today?  Why not pass this on? I just did.....

Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for. Life is a journey. NOT a guided tour.

I loved this story and just had to pass it on. I hope you enjoy it too.

Are You Looking For A Church?

Charles Stanley offers the following commentary: Col. 1:18, 24

Church buildings are plentiful in our country.  Locating one may be easy, but wisely deciding which to join involves more effort.  God's Word gives us some specific instructions in this matter.

First, let's explore the original biblical meaning of the word “church.” The term ecclesia meant a group of people who are called out of the world's system by God's grace for the purpose of assembling to to worship and serve Christ.   Ephesians 5:29-30 further specifies that believers are the body and Jesus is the head of such a fellowship.  Under His leadership, we can enjoy the unity and purpose that He intended.

God's design for this sacred gathering involves worship, instruction, encouragement, evangelism, and ministry to those in need, both within the fellowship and outside its walls.  A healthy, vibrant congregation is possible only when members rely fully on the Holy Spirit's guidance. The work of the church is to be done in His power, in humble, prayerful submission to the Lord.

To help you determine whether a church is following the design laid out in Scripture, here are some important questions to ask:

1. Do they believe God's Word is infallible and inerrant?
2. Is the church disciplining her people?
3. Does the fellowship have some kind of missionary or evangelistic program?

Joining a congregation is an important decision, as a fellowship of believers is one tool God uses to mature and encourage His children. Those three questions can be helpful in discerning God's will. Listen for His Spirit to warn or direct as you prayerfully investigate your options.

I would personally add are there opportunities for you to use your Spiritual gifts and talents?