Don't forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God.

In His steps

"Have you seen kids wearing bracelets with the initials WWJD—"What Would Jesus Do?" The story behind those bracelets begins a century ago, when a minister named Charles Sheldon wrote a novel titled In His Steps. One Sunday morning at First Church, Pastor Henry Maxwell is preaching a sermon about how to follow Christ's example of sacrificial love.
The service is suddenly interrupted when a tramp stands up. He's been out of work for a year, he says, yet not one person in town has helped him find another job. Twisting his shabby hat in his hands, the tramps says, "I was wondering if what you call following Jesus is the same thing as what he taught.…I get puzzled when I see so many Christians living in luxury and remember how my wife died in a tenement.…what would Jesus do?" At that point, to the congregation's horror, the tramp collapses and dies.
The following Sunday, the minister makes a stunning proposal: He's looking for volunteers willing to pledge themselves for an entire year to do nothing without first asking, "What would Jesus do?" Some fifty people make the pledge, and a remarkable series of events begins.
Some of these people pay a high price for their obedience. But they also learn the joy of following faithfully in his footsteps.

A few years ago, a Holland, Michigan, youth leader was so inspired by this classic story that she had bracelets made bearing the letters WWJD and gave them to the kids in her church. The idea caught fire, and today millions wear them.

adapted from How Now Shall We Live? Devotional by Charles Colson (Tyndale) pp 585-86 "

.."we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever."

Awaiting our day

"The story is told of an old missionary couple returning to the States after many years of thankless service in Africa. They happened to be on the same ship to New York as President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from a big game hunt in Africa. As the ship pulled past the Statue of Liberty and into the dock, huge crowds were gathered to welcome him home. The press was out in full force, and thousands of people had come to get a glimpse of the president.
In the middle of the chaos, the aged missionary couple fought their way through the crowds with their large suitcases in tow. Silently they hailed a cab and made their way to a cheap hotel. The missionary sat on the bed and said to his wife, "It just doesn't seem right. We gave our lives to Christ to win souls for the Kingdom in Africa, and when we arrive home there is no one here to meet us. The president shoots a few animals and receives a royal welcome."
His wife sat beside him on the bed and said softly, "That's because we're not home yet, dear."

It may seem at times as if our work for Christ is going unnoticed. Faith doesn't bring a lot of praise on this earth. But that's only because our trip is not yet over.

Our day will come, you can be sure. And when it does, the ceremony will last for an eternity.

from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 346

" Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help! Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

"Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord!.

Praise the Lord

"Psalm 135 begins with "Praise the Lord" and it ends with "Praise the Lord." That's the way Billy Bray started and ended things, too.

In the early 1800's Billy Gray was known as a no-good drunken miner in the village of Twelveheads in Cornwall, England. Then, through the reading of a book by John Bunyan, Billy was converted to Christ, and he was never the same again.

"I can't help praising God," he once said. "As I go along the street, I lift up one foot, and it seems to say, 'Glory,' and I lift up the other, and it seems to say, 'Amen.' If they would put me into a barrel to keep me quiet, I would shout, 'Glory' out of the bunghole. Praise the Lord."

Billy would often say about the Lord, "He has made me glad and no one can make me sad; he makes me shout and no one can make me doubt; he makes me leap, and no one can hold down my feet."

Shortly before his death, Billy was asked if he was afraid, and he answered, "My Savior conquered death. If I was to go down to hell, I would shout, 'Glory, glory' to my blessed Jesus until I made the bottomless pit ring again, and then old Satan would say, 'Billy, Billy, this is no place for you; get out of here.' Then up to heaven I should go, shouting, 'Glory, glory, praise the Lord.'"

adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms with devotionals by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for November 6"

Faith does not isolate us from sadness

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes in the morning.

Bond of understanding

There is an immediate bond of understanding between people who have suffered similar hardships or losses. Parents who have lost children, widows and widowers, and families of terminal-disease patients, all find comfort and encouragement in the presence of those who have known similar pain.

Paul urges believers to see opportunities for giving comfort as both a way to share the comfort of God and to use their own experiences of sorrow for good. We rarely know why suffering or trials enter our lives, but we can know that God wants to do through our sorrow.

Who do you know right now who needs a word of encouragement or comfort that your experience has prepared you to give?

Crying ones

Through the pain and sorrow of Christ's experiences on earth, God has experienced the depths of human grief.

Jesus' example

The story of Lazarus's death and resurrection (John 11:1-44) contains a profound teaching about sorrow. When Jesus arrived and was taken to the graveside, he wept openly. Onlookers were impressed with the power of his grief and immediately recognized it as an indication of his great love: "See how much he loved him," they said.

The tears Jesus shed that day forever validate the experience of human sorrow and grief. Even though we have the hope of resurrection and we know that for the believer physical death is not the final word, our tears and sorrow are appropriate and good. How comforting to know that God himself is willing to walk the way of sorrow with us! Is there any sorrow that you have been unable to express fully? You can share it with the Lord, for he understands your grief fully.

For a Christian going through hard times, this "adoption" truth is the best of all possible news. God is not just the powerful Creator or a righteous Lord, he is a loving Father. He sees your trials. He listens to your pleas. He cares and protects and supports. He is never harsh or impatient with you. He is never "too busy" for you.

Take all the best qualities of all the best earthly dads you've ever seen, add them together, and multiply by infinity. That's the kind of heavenly Father God is to Christians who hurt.

Lord Jesus, I do believe in you. I have accepted you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for revealing yourself to me. Thank you for saving me! Because of your grace and my faith, I am a child of the living God. I praise you. What a privilege! What joy to know that in every situation I have a loving, wise, and good heavenly Father to counsel and help me.

adapted from Praying God's Promises in Tough Times by Len Woods, Tyndale House Publishers (2002), pp 68-9

As a substitute father for hundreds of youth over the past thirteen years, I've yet to encounter a young person in trouble whose difficulty could be traced to the lack of a strong father image in the home.
PAUL ANDERSON

A child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.
AUSTIN L. SORENSEN