The late Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch prisoner of the Nazis during World War II and wrote several Christian books about her experiences. She had a great illustration of God at work in the life of a believer. She brought to the platform a limp, worn out glove and talked about how useless it was in that condition. Then she put her hand into that same limp glove, and, abra-cadabra, strength came to the glove.
The glove looked the same and still appeared worn and faded, but the hand within gave it new life. With that hand inside, that limp glove had the power to pick up things, throw things, and accomplish great tasks.
So it is with us. Although we may be limp and powerless, worn out with life’s pressures, yet when the Spirit of God comes within us there is nothing that we cannot do. Of course, it wasn’t the glove, but the hand, that had life. And so it is with us, not me, but the Spirit within that accomplishes great things.
Tags: Corrie ten Boom, glove, life, power, Spirit
This week we’re going to look at the subject of grace = unmerited favor; favor we don’t deserve. The airline had mangled Debbie’s luggage. Then her purse disappeared. Instead of entering the airport through an enclosed corridor, she stumbled off the plane in the pouring rain. She was drenched, far from home with no money, no identification, and no dry clothes.
Under normal conditions Debbie would have been furious, but that night it didn’t matter. She had just survived the crash of Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas. “When I walked off that plane,” Debbie said, “I walked off with nothing, then I stopped and thought, I have everything.” She had suddenly realized that her life was more important than all she had lost.
The fact that God allows me to continue to breathe is grace, considering my past failures. Let’s quit griping about what we’ve lost and focus on what He has permitted us to keep. That’s God’s grace.
Tags: favor, grace, life
In his book The Fisherman and His Friends, Louis Albert Banks tells about a man who was spending a summer near the shores of Lake Superior. One day he came upon an old pine that had been blown down by a recent storm. Knowing something about trees, he was intrigued by that huge evergreen lying on the ground. He examined it closely and figured it was at least 250 years old. What impressed him most, however, was what he discovered when he stripped away the bark. It was evident to him that on the day the tree fell it was still growing.
That’s the way it should be in the life of a believer. The years pass and our physical strength declines. The outward man perishes, but the inner man should keep on developing – mentally, emotionally, and above all, spiritually – until the day we depart.
How have you been growing this week?
Tags: growth, life
Several centuries ago the troops of the Spanish military commander, Cortez, landed in armada strength on the beaches of what is now Mexico in their effort to conquer the Aztecs and claim the land for Spain.
The general, knowing that the battle would be difficult, and morale weak in this new land, ordered his troop ships burned and sunken in the harbor. With the only means of retreat and escape destroyed and the choices narrowed to total commitment, the soldiers took the only option and moved ahead toward victory.
Perhaps Paul had something like that in mind when he announced that the Christians should be considered dead to themselves and alive in Christ. If we are dead, how can we turn back? There is nothing left to turn back to but death.
Our options are limited to just one: total commitment to the new life in Christ. There’s no turning back!
Tags: commitment, life