There is a story by Leo Tolstoy entitled, “Where love is, God is too.” It is the story of an old shoe cobbler who, one night, hears a voice while in a deep sleep. The voice tells him that on the very next day the Lord Jesus will visit him. Next morning he begins his work in a spirit of high expectation as he eagerly awaits the coming of the Lord. But the only visitors he has that day are people in distress.
First, there is an emaciated old beggar with a racking tubercular cough. The old cobbler takes him in, warms him by the fire, and gives him food. Next, to appear is a half-frozen, thinly clad young woman carrying her hungry baby in her arms. She needs food and clothing, and the old cobbler obliges. Then an old woman comes. She is terribly upset because a young lad tried to steal her apples she intended to sell. The cobbler knows the boy and he is able to bring the two together and reconcile them.
The day has not turned out as he expected, but the cobbler has not forgotten the promise of the Lord’s visit. Tired now, he falls asleep in his chair and he hears the same voice from the previous night:
“I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink…I was sick and you ministered to me.” (Matthew 25:35-36)
Then the old cobbler smiled as he went to bed, the Lord, indeed, had visited him.
Looking for Santa Clarita churches? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
I SEE DEAD PEOPLE! by Ray Eddy
No, I don’t have a ‘sixth sense,’ neither am I a police officer called to the scene of a homicide, or an EMT responding to an accident with fatalities, or an RN working in ICU or a mortician. Where do I see dead people? I see them everywhere.
They are described in Ephesians 2:1-3 as those who are dead in trespasses and sin, people under the dominion of the devil who have not accepted God’s free gift of salvation. They have turned their backs on God and follow the ‘god of this world.’ They trespass against the laws of God and are separated from Him by their sin.
Unlike dead people in a morgue, these people can be ‘quickened,’ brought back to life. God sent His Son into the world in order to bring dead people to life again. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they (people) might have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Abundant life is being a ‘new creation’ in Christ. It is putting off the old man and putting on the new man. It is coming to the ‘fullness of the stature of Christ.’
When we see ‘dead people,’ we have a God-given responsibility to tell them the ‘good news’ that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) What do you do about the dead people you see?
Are you looking for Churches in Santa Clarita? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
They are described in Ephesians 2:1-3 as those who are dead in trespasses and sin, people under the dominion of the devil who have not accepted God’s free gift of salvation. They have turned their backs on God and follow the ‘god of this world.’ They trespass against the laws of God and are separated from Him by their sin.
Unlike dead people in a morgue, these people can be ‘quickened,’ brought back to life. God sent His Son into the world in order to bring dead people to life again. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they (people) might have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Abundant life is being a ‘new creation’ in Christ. It is putting off the old man and putting on the new man. It is coming to the ‘fullness of the stature of Christ.’
When we see ‘dead people,’ we have a God-given responsibility to tell them the ‘good news’ that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) What do you do about the dead people you see?
Are you looking for Churches in Santa Clarita? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
Friday, November 12, 2010
IT'S A RARE THING? by Ray Eddy
This past Labor Day weekend, my wife and I celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary. In 1999, a newspaper article said that ‘there won’t be many 50th anniversary celebrations in the new millennium. Too many divorces, too many marriages postponed till the career is launched, and too many cohabitants who have never said, I do.’
Why do people today have 50+ anniversaries? In my generation, marriage wasn’t for the time being or as long as it feels good and nobody better comes along. People married before their hair turned gray and stayed married when it did. It wasn’t for ‘as long as we both shall love,’ it was ‘til death do us part, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.’
The secret to lasting marriages is the commitment to keep one’s wedding vows, regardless. It is the commitment to bear children and to raise them with a mother and a father. It is far better, and the way God teaches us to live, than any other alternative forms of family today. Not always, of course. Not perfectly, for we are not perfect. There are dreadful marriages, happy divorces, and successful single parents. But, on average, marriage works better as God’s way for raising children.
Marriage has no place for being self-centered. It is not ‘I’ or ‘You,’ it is ‘We.’ According to Genesis 2:18-24, God made Adam and Eve one flesh. Marriage works best when we keep this in mind. Are you working on “a rare thing?”
Are looking for Santa Clarita Churches? Visit Heart of the Canyons.
Why do people today have 50+ anniversaries? In my generation, marriage wasn’t for the time being or as long as it feels good and nobody better comes along. People married before their hair turned gray and stayed married when it did. It wasn’t for ‘as long as we both shall love,’ it was ‘til death do us part, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.’
The secret to lasting marriages is the commitment to keep one’s wedding vows, regardless. It is the commitment to bear children and to raise them with a mother and a father. It is far better, and the way God teaches us to live, than any other alternative forms of family today. Not always, of course. Not perfectly, for we are not perfect. There are dreadful marriages, happy divorces, and successful single parents. But, on average, marriage works better as God’s way for raising children.
Marriage has no place for being self-centered. It is not ‘I’ or ‘You,’ it is ‘We.’ According to Genesis 2:18-24, God made Adam and Eve one flesh. Marriage works best when we keep this in mind. Are you working on “a rare thing?”
Are looking for Santa Clarita Churches? Visit Heart of the Canyons.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
WINNING AND LOSING! by Ray Eddy
WINNING AND LOSING! by Ray Eddy
November 11th, 2010
There are two questions that man has struggled with to find the answers. The first is, “What is life?” and the second is, “If a man dies, shall he live again?”
Without an answer to the first question, man finds life has no purpose for him, so he chooses to live as he pleases. As one of the world’s great Philosophers said, “Eat, Drink, and be Merry, for tomorrow we die.”
Without an answer to the second question, man lives his life with a constant fear of death as a great unknown. He avoids funerals and refuses to accept his own mortality. When he dies, he ‘loses’ his life!
The Bible has the only satisfying answer to both of these questions. The Apostle Paul answers these two questions in Philippians 1:21, where he writes, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die, is gain.”
When we choose to accept Christ as our Savior and live our life through Him, we find the true purpose of Life. It is a purpose that brings peace and satisfaction, and meaning to life. When we die, it is not loss, but gain, because we have a place prepared for us with God in heaven, John 14:1-3. Having this assurance, we find we no longer need to fear death, Hebrews 2:14-15, but rather we can welcome it, knowing that when we die we go to be with the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8. It’s a win-win situation!
Looking for churches in Santa Clarita? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
November 11th, 2010
There are two questions that man has struggled with to find the answers. The first is, “What is life?” and the second is, “If a man dies, shall he live again?”
Without an answer to the first question, man finds life has no purpose for him, so he chooses to live as he pleases. As one of the world’s great Philosophers said, “Eat, Drink, and be Merry, for tomorrow we die.”
Without an answer to the second question, man lives his life with a constant fear of death as a great unknown. He avoids funerals and refuses to accept his own mortality. When he dies, he ‘loses’ his life!
The Bible has the only satisfying answer to both of these questions. The Apostle Paul answers these two questions in Philippians 1:21, where he writes, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die, is gain.”
When we choose to accept Christ as our Savior and live our life through Him, we find the true purpose of Life. It is a purpose that brings peace and satisfaction, and meaning to life. When we die, it is not loss, but gain, because we have a place prepared for us with God in heaven, John 14:1-3. Having this assurance, we find we no longer need to fear death, Hebrews 2:14-15, but rather we can welcome it, knowing that when we die we go to be with the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8. It’s a win-win situation!
Looking for churches in Santa Clarita? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
THE WAY THINGS WERE! by Ray Eddy
Have you ever found yourself longing for the ‘good old days?’ Times when life seemed less complicated and you had more time for things in your life that now seem to get crowded out in today’s busyness. More time for friends and family and things that really mattered.
It even seems like we had more time for God back then. Going to church or being with church people 3 and 4 times a week was not unusual. God even seemed to be more real in our lives.
Some feel that things today are not as good as they used to be. A man wrote to a magazine editor complaining that, “Your magazine is not as good as it used to be.” The editor wrote back, “It never has been.” We would not really be that happy if things were like they used to be. We have so much more available to us in today’s world than man has ever had. The real problem is learning what is important and what is not. We could have just as much time as we used to have, but we’ve allowed ourselves to conform to the world instead of Christ.
In today’s world we need to stop longing for the God of the old days and start seeking the God of all days. When life overwhelms you remember the words of the Psalmist in 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God…I will be exalted in the earth.”
Looking for Santa Clarita Churches? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
It even seems like we had more time for God back then. Going to church or being with church people 3 and 4 times a week was not unusual. God even seemed to be more real in our lives.
Some feel that things today are not as good as they used to be. A man wrote to a magazine editor complaining that, “Your magazine is not as good as it used to be.” The editor wrote back, “It never has been.” We would not really be that happy if things were like they used to be. We have so much more available to us in today’s world than man has ever had. The real problem is learning what is important and what is not. We could have just as much time as we used to have, but we’ve allowed ourselves to conform to the world instead of Christ.
In today’s world we need to stop longing for the God of the old days and start seeking the God of all days. When life overwhelms you remember the words of the Psalmist in 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God…I will be exalted in the earth.”
Looking for Santa Clarita Churches? Check out Heart of the Canyons.
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