Aches and Praise Five Hundred & Eighteen

Posted on 2021-08-13 in English |

August 13, 2021
 
 

Dear friends,

                                                                                                                                                                       
In the past week several friends have celebrated birthdays. Karen and I are grateful to God for the blessings of friends and look forward to being with them in person or virtually. One of the sweetest ladies we know, Nel, celebrated her 92nd birthday on Wednesday in the hospital, where she is being examined for chronic lower extremities pain. William, who will celebrate his birthday tomorrow, sent me the following blog post by George Worthy:
 

“In the mid 1850’s a troubled teenager from Northfield, Massachusetts moved to Boston to try to find work. He hadn’t gone to school beyond the fifth grade; he couldn’t spell, his grammar was awful and his manners were brash and crude. Thankfully, an uncle took him on as a shoe salesman–on condition that he be obedient and that he attend church.

The boy had been raised in a Unitarian church which denied the full divinity of Messiah and did not emphasize human need for salvation from sins. At his uncle’s church, he began learning about these things, but decided that he wanted to enjoy the pleasures of the world and wait until just before he died to give His life to the Lord.

However, through the kindness and persistence of his Sunday School teacher, Edward Kimball, the rebellious teen was encouraged to continue coming to church and study the Bible regularly. Kimball said he had never seen anyone whose mind was as spiritually dark.

On April 21, 1855, Kimball decided to pay a special visit to the boy at his uncle’s shoe store in order to ask if he would commit his life to the Lord. The boy listened closely and gave his heart to God that day. Immediately he began sharing his faith with others. Later, the young man moved to Chicago. He wandered the streets to find other young boys to bring to his church. He had a passion for saving souls and determined never to let a day pass without telling someone about the gospel. The boy’s name was D.L. Moody….and he became a great man of faith. Among his many achievements on either side of the Atlantic was the founding of Moody Bible Institute. In fact, to this day, Moody Bible Institute and the Moody Broadcasting Network continue to reach thousands of souls on a daily basis! It was estimated that before D.L. Moody passed away that as many as a million souls were brought to the Lord.”                                                                                                                                                                                                

Brother Moody is a tremendous example of what the Lord can do through someone who yields his or her life to Him. May we, too, point people to the Saviour!

Scripture for the weekend: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NASB)

Thought for the weekend: “The reason Jesus said that we all likewise would perish if we don’t repent is that we all have exchanged the treasure that God is for lesser things we love more (Rom. 1:22-23), and we all have treated Jesus as less desirable than money and entertainment and friends and family. The reason all of us deserve to perish is not a list of rules we have broken, but an infinite value we have scorned – the infinite value of all that God is for us in Jesus Christ.” – John Piper (from his book “Coronavirus and Christ”)

 

By His grace,
 

Steve

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