We are all "Standing In The Need Of Prayer," some just closer than others!
Monday, July 11, 2005
Shaking Off The Cold And Damp
I missed the sunrise. I missed the sunset, too! The former I don't mind so much, I'm thinking that my body is still trying to "catch up" on sleep that it didn't get over the weekend. It can't do that, but for some reason it insists on trying. The scoot and I('90 Ultra Classic HD)had a shortlived opportunity this afternoon but ended up riding through a gully washer composing lyrics for a new song. I don't mind riding a motorcycle in the rain. The clothes will dry and the bike can be wiped dry, and while you're in it you never get thirsty. The rub came with the sudden drop in temps, and I should have had the sense God gave a goose to head for the shed at the first deep rumblings far off in the distance. I daudled and paid the price. The jeans will dry by tomorrow, the socks can dry after I take them off, and my spirit never did dampen, so all is well!
During the course of my first rural ministry appointment for the UMC(United Methodist Church)I was contacted by phone late one spring evening by the daughter of an elderly person confined to the local nursing facility. It was her father that she was calling about. She needed a pastor and she needed one right away! I met her and her dad about this time of the night in a darkened room where the next several hours were spent outlining the plan for salvation that God has freely offered to everyone. The elderly gentleman was worried about his eternal soul. He believed he had very little time left on earth(this was a Friday, according to my journal and he passed over on the following Monday), and at the age of 89 was 'fearing' for himself, and his entire family, who had been raised without benefit of a "church upbringing." It was well after midnight when the baptizing began, he and his daughter received Christ and were baptized unto the life eternal that night, but that was only the beginning! He had heard the sound of that long black train coming down the line and had heeded the calling of a heart that desperately wanted peace. At his funeral the Word of God was preached(per my promise to him)to his entire family, children-12, grands-43, greats-5, and an uncounted number of brothers, sisters, and cousins. I had promised him I would share his heart with everyone who attended and offer God's Grace. I won't go into numbers here, that is not the important thing, I won't ever claim that the events of the following summer were my doing, they weren't, the Glory is God's alone for the miracles He can work in people's lives. Entire families came to be saved, extended family members also came and were baptized(at that time I still believed in infant baptism so I've got some tracks to cover again one of these days)the actual numbers are in my book, and in God's book of folks whose names are now written. It was a blessing in my life that I shall never forget, and I share it here that you, also, may know that it is never too late to come to the Savior. What's the old saying, "better late than never?" I agree with that whole heartedly. You don't have to wait for the sound of the train coming down the line, you don't have to wait your whole life to take the step that leads to eternal joy, you can do it now, today, tonight! There was something in that rain today, a reminder of the baptism that is offered to you, and to me, another undeserving soul saved by grace. The truth is, none of us knows the number of our days. God bless, Preacher.
During the course of my first rural ministry appointment for the UMC(United Methodist Church)I was contacted by phone late one spring evening by the daughter of an elderly person confined to the local nursing facility. It was her father that she was calling about. She needed a pastor and she needed one right away! I met her and her dad about this time of the night in a darkened room where the next several hours were spent outlining the plan for salvation that God has freely offered to everyone. The elderly gentleman was worried about his eternal soul. He believed he had very little time left on earth(this was a Friday, according to my journal and he passed over on the following Monday), and at the age of 89 was 'fearing' for himself, and his entire family, who had been raised without benefit of a "church upbringing." It was well after midnight when the baptizing began, he and his daughter received Christ and were baptized unto the life eternal that night, but that was only the beginning! He had heard the sound of that long black train coming down the line and had heeded the calling of a heart that desperately wanted peace. At his funeral the Word of God was preached(per my promise to him)to his entire family, children-12, grands-43, greats-5, and an uncounted number of brothers, sisters, and cousins. I had promised him I would share his heart with everyone who attended and offer God's Grace. I won't go into numbers here, that is not the important thing, I won't ever claim that the events of the following summer were my doing, they weren't, the Glory is God's alone for the miracles He can work in people's lives. Entire families came to be saved, extended family members also came and were baptized(at that time I still believed in infant baptism so I've got some tracks to cover again one of these days)the actual numbers are in my book, and in God's book of folks whose names are now written. It was a blessing in my life that I shall never forget, and I share it here that you, also, may know that it is never too late to come to the Savior. What's the old saying, "better late than never?" I agree with that whole heartedly. You don't have to wait for the sound of the train coming down the line, you don't have to wait your whole life to take the step that leads to eternal joy, you can do it now, today, tonight! There was something in that rain today, a reminder of the baptism that is offered to you, and to me, another undeserving soul saved by grace. The truth is, none of us knows the number of our days. God bless, Preacher.
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