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					WORDS FOR LIFE September 26, 2003
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		FEATURED THIS WEEK: "INVISIBLE MIRACLE" by Marge Hayden wordarangr@aol.com "CHOICES" by Joanne Clark Giraffe557@aol.com "HE GATHERS THE LAMBS" submitted by Paul Kusiak biblestudyplanet@comcast.net _______________________________________________________________________ INVISIBLE MIRACLE (Based on true story that took place in North Missouri in 1982) © Marge Hayden www.wflife.org "Hurry back, Son. It will be a miracle if we get this wheat out before it gets wet, " Big Ed yelled over the roar of the combine, tossing his keys to Eddie. Thick clouds threatened from above. The smell of rain was already in the air. There was no time to waste in getting the rest of the wheat harvested, but it was lunch time. Eddie was going to town to get sandwiches for the harvest crew. They would have to eat while they worked. Eddie briefly caressed the red upholstery smiling to himself. He revved the engine and mashed the accelerator spraying gravel as he sped down the narrow road toward town. The speedometer registered ninety as Eddie crossed the wooden bridge and headed up the hill. Meanwhile...as they traveled home from church, Frank and Marilyn were discussing the morning sermon. The pastor had preached about...Hearing God. Suddenly, Frank slowed the car and pulled to the right. "What's the matter, are we having car trouble?" Marilyn asked. "No, I just felt impressed to slow down and pull over to the edge, so I did," Frank replied as they topped the hill that led down to the bridge. Just then, a red Ranger blurred past them. Eddie was driving so fast that he did not even notice the gray Ford at the side of the road. Eddie picked up the sandwiches and raced back to the wheat fields. The bright sunlight informed him that the clouds had passed on, taking the rain with it. "Looks like we got a miracle, " Eddie gestured toward the sky as he handed the sack of sandwiches to Big Ed. ________________________________________ CHOICES © Joanne Clark “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…..” --Joshua 24:15 Think about where you are today. Think about your relationships, the way you live your life, where you go, and what you do. Think about your dreams, goals, ambitions, and what you have done to achieve them. Whether you are satisfied or unfulfilled, ecstatic or miserable, prosperous or poor, the sum of the equation hinges on you and the choices you make. Life gives us all many “possible alternatives.” It is our freedom to decide, select, and choose that determine our outcome. It is our God-given freedom and right—our “free will” that leads us down the path of our own choosing. It is a responsibility that does not come without consequence. Often, our choices are based on popularity, rather than what is morally and ethically acceptable before God, or they are based on greed or our fleshly desires. Whatever the reason, our choices should be a freedom that we do not take lightly. For every choice we make there is a result or conclusion. For every choice there is responsibility. How then, do we make wise choices? How do we decide what is pleasing to God? How do we know what is acceptable to Him? What about decisions that must be made in a hurry? What about our family, our job, and our friends? Do we have to weigh every single choice we make? What if we make the wrong choice? HELP! Let’s get to the basics. First off, we need to choose whom we will serve and that would definitely be God. Men, it’s not your wives, ladies, it’s not your husbands, and parents, it is certainly not your kids. Now that we’ve got that settled, the rest is pretty easy—YES, it is! You see, when you have a personal relationship with Him, you will want to do His will. You’ll crave to do things “His way” and you’ll want to please God in everything you do. The most wonderful thing about choices are when we mess up, God will be right there to forgive us if we’ll just ‘fess up! God knows we won't make right choices all the time, but that’s where the best part of this whole deal happens. God’s grace is so great, He is right there to forgive us when we admit our shortcomings. Now, that doesn’t mean we make choices “lightly,” knowing that we can be forgiven at any time. God knows our heart and expects us to use wisdom as we follow and serve Him. Trying to slide by with something, then saying, “sorry Lord, I messed up” is wrong from the outset. Who do we think we’re fooling when we do stuff like that? Not ourselves and certainly not God! ____________________________________ "HE GATHERS THE LAMBS" by Charles Spurgeon submitted by Paul Kusiak www.biblestudyplanet.com "He shall gather the lambs with His arm." -Isaiah 40:11 Our good Shepherd has in His flock a variety of experiences, some are strong in the Lord, and others are weak in faith, but He is impartial in His care for all His sheep, and the weakest lamb is as dear to Him as the most advanced of the flock. Lambs are wont to lag behind, prone to wander, and apt to grow weary, but from all the danger of these infirmities the Shepherd protects them with His arm of power. He finds newborn souls, like young lambs, ready to perish - He nourishes them till life becomes vigorous; He finds weak minds ready to faint and die - He consoles them and renews their strength. All the little ones He gathers, for it is not the will of our heavenly Father that one of them should perish. What a quick eye He must have to see them all! What a tender heart to care for them all! What a far reaching and potent arm, to gather them all! In His lifetime on earth He was a great gatherer of the weaker sort, and now that He dwells in heaven, His loving heart yearns towards the meek and contrite, the timid and feeble, the fearful and fainting here below. How gently did He gather me to Himself, to His truth, to His blood, to His love, to His church! With what effectual grace did He compel me to come to Himself! Since my first conversion, how frequently has He restored me from my wanderings, and once again folded me within the circle of His everlasting arm! The best of all is, that He does it all Himself personally, not delegating the task of love, but condescending Himself to rescue and preserve His most unworthy servant. How shall I love Him enough or serve Him worthily? I would love to make His name great unto the

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