What holds you together as the world falls apart?

Sometimes I will ask people I meet “What holds you together while the world is falling apart?” The answer I receive tells me instantly if they are followers of Christ or not, because only those who really follow the Lord have a “light and hope which never goes out.” This present world is in a terrifying state, but are Christ’s followers in despair? Are they unduly worried or concerned? By no means! They see world events unfolding just as predicted in Scripture and know that they have the promise of the Lord’s continual help and support no matter what lies ahead. They know that the uplifting promise of Psalm 46v1 applies directly to them; “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid.”

Devout Christians sometimes describe this feeling of inner joy and hope as being like the sun shining in their hearts even when it may be “raining” outside. They have a sure and certain hope and peace which the troubles of this world cannot harm. And why are they so confident and reassured? Because they have come to know the Lord personally and have a real and living relationship with Him. They took repentance seriously, they took obedience seriously, they took Bible reading, praying and Church attendance seriously and now they reap the reward of His closeness and comfort. It doesn’t take “rocket science” to have the Lord close and near, on the contrary it is very simple, “Draw close to God and then He will draw close to you.” (James Ch4v8)

Those close to the Lord know for sure that He has not abandoned this world and that He never will. They also know for sure that God will never allow evil to triumph over good, so they never despair at world events. Scripture teaches that God is continually and actively at work behind the scenes intervening here and giving a nudge there, making sure that the Christian message to a lost world is never totally silenced.

Recently I came across three outstanding examples of this Divine Intervention which are an encouraging reminder that God is indeed continually at work opposing evil and upholding what is good and pure and lovely. With so much bad news around, these inspiring stories deserve a wide circulation.

The first story is about the work and ministry of the Rev David Wilkerson. In his best seller “The Cross and the Switchblade” the Rev David Wilkerson recounts the extraordinary manner in which the Lord called him to work among teenage street gangs in New York. He had begun church ministry as a country preacher in a farming community and had never actually been to New York. Sitting in his rural home one evening, he happened to be reading Life magazine. As he was flicking through the pages his attention was drawn to an artist’s picture of bewilderment, hatred and despair in the eyes of one of seven boys on trial for the brutal murder of a fifteen year old polio victim. Wilkerson was revolted and he found himself crying involuntarily.

Suddenly like a bolt of lightning, the following words came into his mind, “Go to New York and help those boys.” He immediately dismissed the idea as being ridiculous. But then it came again. “Go to New York and help those boys.” The thought became vivid and persistent and seemed to be completely independent of his own feelings and ideas. “I’d be a fool” he rationalised. “I know nothing about kids like that. I don’t even want to know.” It was no use. The idea would not go away and after much prayer and reflection he realised that this was indeed a genuine call from God. His book vividly describes the ministry he had among those street gangs. It is full of courageous acts, hardships and miracles and shows how God’s call to this work changed the course of numerous lives.

The Lord also famously used Wilkerson to ready and prepare his church in Times Square, for the terrorist attack which took place on 9/11. Six weeks before the attack on the Twin Towers, Wilkerson and every member of his pastoral team were struck by a deep conviction that a tragedy was shortly to occur and that God wanted them to prepare for it. The conviction was so overwhelming that he and his team cancelled all major church events in the weeks prior to 9/11 and replaced them with four prayer meetings every week. At these meetings they sensed that God wanted them to pray that the consequences of this coming event would be lessened from what otherwise might be the case. This forewarning explains why his church was ready and prepared to set up relief tents at ground zero, to comfort survivors and rescue workers.

The second story is every bit as moving and concerns the call of Karl Johanson to the mission field. Karl was born in Sweden in February 1868 and as a young lad found work on a farm. One day, during a time of religious revival in Sweden, this devout Christian lad was out in the fields ploughing with oxen. The oxen were moving steadily before him when he suddenly felt himself surrounded by a heavenly Presence. He wrote “I thought of stopping the oxen but I couldn’t utter a word.” An unseen Hand seemed to touch him and he then heard a clear Voice ask “Will you go as My messenger to Africa?” “My whole being trembled and I longed to run home to my employer who was a Christian. I knew however, that a personal reply was required of me. I then answered with fear and trembling; ‘Yes, if You Yourself will go with me.’ At once the Voice replied; ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ With that the Heavenly Presence withdrew as suddenly as it had appeared.”

His account continues; “It is impossible to describe the situation I found myself in and the turmoil in my heart. My life’s plans crashed around me now that I had a call to go to Africa. Severe temptations from the evil one beset me and I thought at times my mind would give way. Moreover, I knew of no organisation through which I could go.” Karl’s family didn’t really understand and because the call was so sacred he was unable to share it with more than a few chosen people.

Karl however, remained faithful and steadfast throughout numerous difficulties and eventually he went out as a missionary to South Africa with the Swedish Holiness Union in 1893. In time he became director of the Swedish Zulu Mission. In South Africa he met and married a Norwegian Christian and the two of them and their family served the Lord faithfully until his death in October 1945. He was loved and respected by all. The message of the Gospel he was sent to proclaim changed the lives and destinies of countless individuals and families.

The third story concerns the well-known Dutchman, Brother Andrew who became famous for smuggling Bibles to those behind the Iron Curtain. His book “God’s Smuggler” provides numerous examples of how God intervened to prevent evil overcoming good. Here is one incident which is particularly fascinating, showing how he literally had to travel by faith, totally relying on the Almighty to guide him to the right people, at the right time behind the Iron Curtain.

After he was expelled from Yugoslavia he headed in his car for Bulgaria via Greece and Turkey. He had no idea where to go when he got there, except that on his final night in Yugoslavia, a Christian brother living there had begged him to contact his closest friend in Sofia called Petroff. Brother Andrew memorised his name and address not wanting to write it down lest it be discovered in the course of a police check.

Once across the border into Bulgaria, Brother Andrew sat down on a hillside to survey Sofia from a distance. He marvelled at how God had used the very last person he had spoken to in one country, to give him the first contact he needed in the next. At his hotel the clerk grudgingly allowed him a glance at a street map. He mentally noted the street he wanted-the only minor street included in the map.

The next morning, wondering how the day would unfold, he left the hotel and headed immediately for the address he had been given. He found the street with ease. It was now vital that he would find the right house without drawing attention to himself. If he appeared as a stranger to the area, it would immediately create suspicion that the person he was contacting was being visited by a foreigner. It would bring great danger to the man and his family. Brother Andrew prayed as he walked along. Suddenly ahead of him he saw a man coming down the street from the opposite direction. They drew abreast, just as Andrew reached the number he was seeking. It was a large house, occupied by several families.

Andrew turned up the path, as did the other man and they both reached the front door simultaneously. Andrew glanced at his face and in an instant experienced a common miracle among Christians. In his book he wrote “Our spirits recognised each other. Without a word we marched side by side up the stairs. The man reached his apartment, took out his key and threw the door open. Without invitation I walked in. Just as quickly, he closed the door behind him. We stood facing each other in the darkness of a single room which was his home. ‘I am Andrew from Holland’, I said in English. ‘I am Petroff’ said the man.

After giving thanks to God together, not a minute of time was wasted to reduce further any risks involved. ‘I’ve heard that both Bulgaria and Rumania are desperately short of Bibles. Is that true?’ In reply Petroff led me to his desk. On the desk was a typewriter and next to that a Bible opened at Exodus. He had been laboriously typing out pages from his Bible to complete another one.”

Andrew could hardly wait to show him the Bibles he had for him in the back of his car. That night, after
checking the street was empty, Andrew proceeded to carry inside the first of many cartons of Bibles he was to deliver to this man over the years. Petroff was an ideal person to meet because it turned out that he had Christian contacts all over Bulgaria and he was able to distribute these Bibles to them. Many of the churches he had contact with, had only one Bible to share between members of their congregation.

St Paul states that in this Fallen World Age there is a massive spiritual struggle going on between good and evil for the hearts and minds of men and women. In Ephesians Ch6v12 he warns “We do not wrestle against mere flesh and blood but against…spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.” Let us never despair. God will not allow the powers of darkness to totally overwhelm this world. Divine intervention like these examples is going on privately behind the scenes all the time, day in and day out, across the entire world. Truly “The Eternal God is our refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy Ch33v27).

Doing "Time Management" God's way!

During the First World War a certain soldier was so distraught by the conflict that he decided to desert. The account relates that his intention was to find his way to the coast of France and then catch a fishing boat back to England. The night he chose to abscond was particularly dark and black. After walking and stumbling for what seemed like miles he got totally lost. In the darkness he eventually saw what he perceived to be the outline of a road sign. With relief he climbed up the pole to the cross beam to read it. Taking out a match, he lit it, and found himself looking directly into the face of Jesus Christ. He had climbed an outdoor crucifix.

The soldier was so stunned and shaken by the image of Christ in Agony that it made him feel profoundly ashamed. He was looking into the face of the One Who had endured it all and never turned back. The next morning the soldier was back in the trenches.

Over the years this account has stirred the conscience of numerous individuals who sensed that God was asking them to either do or change some particular thing in their lives, but who had been resisting this call. Jesus endured the Agony of the Cross for our sakes, so we must be willing to obey whatever He commands. To be a “follower” of Christ one must actually “follow”. And following means obeying! There are many individuals who assume that they are Christians but because they don’t actually obey and follow His will and commands they are but deceiving themselves.

Obedience to the will of the Lord is central to having a personal relationship with Him. In order to have this closeness, our daily walk with Christ needs to be composed of a multitude of “small things”; the avoidance of little evils, little inconsistencies, and little indiscretions. It should involve little self-denials, little honesties, little passing words of sympathy, little nameless acts of kindness, and little silent victories over temptation. At the very heart of this life, will be a Godly management of our time, which both enables and prioritises having regular time for prayer, Bible study and Christian fellowship. This Divine Friendship or relationship is sometimes compared to tending a garden and we need to obediently set aside time from doing other things, in order to do this. Anna H King wrote;

“Friendship is like a garden; of flowers fine and rare. It cannot reach perfection except through loving care. Then, new and lovely blossoms; with each new day appear. For friendship like a garden; grows in beauty year by year.”

Our Friendship with the Lord, just like a garden, needs time; it needs constant tending and nurturing. And an individual needs to be fully active and attentive to make time for this, otherwise they will only drift away from Him, having become choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. (Matthew Ch13vs 21-22).

Lack of spending time on this Friendship can begin very subtly at first. It can almost happen without really thinking. In her book “I dared to call Him Father”, Bilquis Sheikh, a Muslim woman who converted to Christianity, movingly describes how she personally learnt the importance of giving up other activities so as to spend time with the Lord.

The following are her own words describing what happened after her conversion. A Christian called Ken said to her, “‘you’ll need some regular Christian fellowship now. Please come to our house on Sunday evenings.” And that is how I began regular meetings with other Christians. On Sunday evenings we met at their house. The living room could barely hold the dozen people who crowded in. At the meetings we sang, read the Bible and prayed for each other’s needs. It quickly became the high point of my week.”

“Then one Sunday I didn’t particularly feel like going, so I rang them up and gave some excuse. It seemed a little thing, but almost instantly I began to feel uneasy. What was wrong? I walked through the house restlessly. I then went to my room to pray. Mahmud my son crept up beside me and asked ‘Mum, are you alright? …You look as though you have lost something.’ …Mahmud was right. I knew right then what I had lost. I’d lost the sense of God’s Presence. It was gone! Why? Did it have something to do with not having fellowship when I needed it? With a sense of urgency I phoned Ken to say I would be there after all. What a difference. Immediately I felt, actually felt the return of warmth to my soul. Ken had been right, I needed fellowship. I had learned my lesson.”

But there was still more for Bilquis to discover about maintaining and nurturing this Divine Friendship. Her account continues; “As I drew closer to God, here a step, there a step, I found myself hungering even more for His Word through the Bible. Every day, as I arose, I would begin reading it. The Bible became alive to me, illuminating my day, shedding its light on every step I would take. But here too I found a strange thing. [On one occasion] I was late heading to bed and didn’t feel like getting up early the next morning to have an hour with the Bible, so I gave instructions to be awoken with tea shortly before having to get up and go out.”

“I didn’t sleep at all well that night. I tossed and twisted and had bad dreams. The next day I was exhausted and I noticed that the entire day didn’t go right. Strange! This was the second time when I seemed to be stepping out of the glory of the Lord’s Presence. What was the Lord saying to me? That He expected me to read the Bible every day? The experience left me with the feeling that I was sitting on an important truth without realising it. There were times when I felt His Presence and experienced a deep sense of joy and peace, and then there were times when I lost this Closeness. What was the key? How could I stay close to Him?”

“I thought back over the times when He seemed close and about the opposite times too, when I had lost this sense of nearness. I got out my Bible and finally read John Ch 14v23 where Jesus says; ‘When a man loves Me, he follows My teaching. Then My Father will love him, and We will come to that man and make Our home within him.’ The key to having His closeness was obedience! When I obeyed His will I was allowed to remain in His Presence.”

Looking back, Bilquis realised that she lost His nearness whenever she disobeyed Him by failing to spend time nourishing her spirit with regular Bible reading or by failing to spend time having Christian fellowship. She hadn’t initially realised the vital importance of these activities. Now she realised that sacrificing time for regular Bible reading, praying and Christian fellowship was all part of being obedient to Christ. These activities were central to maintaining and nurturing her relationship with the Lord, not “added extras” to be done as and when she felt like doing them.

Sadly, sacrificing time to be with the Lord is often one of the first casualties in a person’s daily struggle against busyness. Many aren’t willing to let go of some things in order to free themselves up to be with Him. Someday however, just like that soldier, they will come face to face with Christ and will be ashamed of their behaviour. Can we imagine what Jesus will say to such people?  “I did all this for you, but you chose to do other things rather than have time with Me.” How will such people answer?

Today many people have let themselves become totally absorbed by the busyness of everyday activities, refusing to make time for God. They are only concerned about their rights and their life style. But what about God’s rights? What about the obedience and time we owe Him in the light of what He suffered for us?

Once upon a time, a man imagined himself being in a boat which had been pushed off from an unknown shore. He was shown the direction of the opposite shore, given a pair of oars and left alone. He started to row but the further he rowed towards the other shore, the stronger the current became, pushing him off course. He met other people afloat, also being carried away. A few were faithfully struggling against the current, but most were letting themselves glide and indeed some, with total indifference, had thrown away their oars. From every side cheery voices shouted out to him that there were happy just drifting along. All seemed well. Some even mocked the few individuals who were struggling against the current. Why did they bother?

Suddenly he heard screams of terror in the distance. It was then that he saw boats being broken up by rapids. Instantly he realised drifting with the current meant certain death and that rowing to the other shore was the only way to save his life.

In this story, “the rapids” represent the prophesied Judgement of God upon individuals and the world. The “opposite shore” stands for being safe with God and in His care. The “oars” represent human freewill and of course “the current” stands for busyness which constantly tries to pull us away from the Godward direction of safety and salvation. Busyness is constantly exerting its influence upon us. Unless we actively pull on the oars by deliberately setting aside time for God, busyness will totally consume us, occupying all our thoughts and time. We will become oblivious to the terrible danger of drifting away from His shore and eventually become totally indifferent to the things of God.

Many people today have now reached this state of indifference to the things of God and are oblivious to the rapids lying a head. The world is teetering on the brink of total chaos and collapse and yet incredibly the churches in our land lie empty and abandoned. They should be full to overflowing as the sound of the rapids gets louder. The time has long since arrived to start really pulling on those oars! Resist busyness and set aside proper time for God.

Finding God

One of the most moving aspects about being involved in ministry is hearing about how other people find God. In Psalm 33v15 it states that God “fashions our hearts individually”. This means that He deals with each one of us individually and differently so that every person who turns to Christ will have their own particular and unique “faith journey”.

Recently I came across two fascinating journeys of faith which led both individuals involved into full time ministry. Both examples are quite inspirational and an encouraging reminder that God is continually active in the hearts of individuals calling them away from evil and disbelief. Whether or not an individual listens to God’s prompting is of course up to them because the Lord has given us freewill to choose for ourselves how we respond.

The first story is about Dr Paul Gentuso who eventually became a medical missionary in Cote d’Ivoire. As a young man Paul decided to go to medical school in order to become a doctor. He didn’t really believe in God and assumed that his existence was but a random accident of nature. Studying science however, was to totally change his thinking.

The following are his words “In anatomy class we dissected a human hand. In investigating the hand, I first removed the skin, then isolated the individual tendons and muscles as I worked my way to the bones. The tendons of the hand are aligned in tendon sheaths, like self-lubricating pulleys, allowing the hand to work in a tireless, noiseless, almost effortless fashion. It was perfectly designed to carry out all the work it was called to do, everything from lifting a small object to lugging a tree trunk. In seeing how each tendon was perfectly aligned along the axis of each finger and how each finger moved in a coordinated fashion when tugged by individual tendons it became obvious to me that there was a Creator Who had intelligently designed and created the human hand. This was the first time in my adult life that I could say with assurance that a Creator existed. It was a spiritual experience for me. I went from disbelief to certainty based on studying God’s creation.”

Paul’s eyes were opened as it dawned on him that the Ultimate Scientist and Designer of life was Almighty God. It is often said by Christians in the scientific community that science merely explains how God makes things work; the Bible on the other hand goes further by explaining why God created us. As Paul contemplated these truths he gave his life to the Lord and after completing medical school, God called him to the mission field.

It is quite wrong for individuals to think that science and religious belief are incompatible. The reality is that numerous people like Paul have found faith as a result of their study of science. Professor John Lennox at Green Templeton College Oxford puts it like this, “For me as a Christian believer, the beauty of the scientific laws only reinforces my faith in an intelligent, Divine creative force at work. The more I understand science, the more I believe in God because of my wonder at the breadth, sophistication and integrity of His creation.”

Scientists have recently discovered that if the information encoded in just a “pin head” size of DNA was written out in book form, those books would stretch to the moon and back over 200 times. As it stands now, atheists actually need to have faith the size of a mountain to believe that all this complexity has happened as the result of blind chance.

The second journey of faith is about The Rev Dr Jay Modha who was raised as a devout Hindu in Leicester. Jay’s brother Jimmy shocked the family by converting to Christianity and as a result his father threw him out of the family home. Feelings of hatred ran so high that Jay actually prayed for the Hindu gods to kill Jimmy for the “shame” he had brought by turning to Christ. Jay, who was studying for his Ph.D. stated at the time, “While we would have mourned his death, at least our family would not be dishonoured.”

Jay completely disowned his brother Jimmy and refused to talk to him. Jimmy however, responded to all this anger with forgiveness and love. On parting, Jimmy gently said to his brother, “Jay, if you are ever desperate and no one is there to help you, remember Jesus loves you, and His hand is on your life. Call to Him and He will save you.” Jay was furious at this response. Jimmy however started to pray earnestly for his brother, pleading that the Lord would open his eyes to the truth of Christ.

Shortly afterwards Jay had a disturbing dream. The following are his own words; “It was as if I was awake in my bed at three in the morning when suddenly a blinding light broke through the ceiling of my bedroom. In that light I could see a cloud descending from heaven bearing three awesome, fiery men-like creatures. The first blew a trumpet so loud I knew whatever was coming was universal in consequence. The second creature cried out ‘Make ready, for the Lord is coming to reap the harvest.’ Then the third swung a scythe over the earth and cried ‘now the earth is ready for judgment.’ “

“I tried to wake up from the dream because I was so frightened but I couldn’t. Then in the middle of the cloud I noticed a Person Who looked completely different. The brilliant light was coming from Him. He was dreadful in His beauty and terrible in His splendour. As He descended, He looked at me. I was so terrified I couldn’t bear to look at Him any longer, so I turned my head. To my amazement, there beside me was Jimmy, who was not scared at all. His face was joyous and he was reaching out as if to embrace the figure. When I gained the courage to look at Him again, He addressed me saying ‘Jay what are you going to do when this happens?’ Then everything vanished and I woke up.”

It took Jay an hour to calm down and several days later when he heard about the dream, Jimmy phoned his brother to explain that what he had witnessed was the Second Coming of Christ. This event is prophetically referred to over 1800 times in the Old Testament and over 300 times in the New Testament. The Bible teaches that God is Infinitely Holy and the purpose of the Second Coming is to call individuals to account for how they have used their freewill. Those following Him like Jimmy, yearn for this event, because it means an end to persecution and suffering, but those who refuse to follow the Lord are terrified at the thought.

God is not morally indifferent. He cares profoundly about the difference between right and wrong and makes a clear distinction between those who truly follow Him and those who refuse to do so. The promise of the Second Coming is proof that God is indeed closely watching all the suffering and wickedness in the world. In due time He promises to intervene in a most spectacular way, both to judge the wicked, and for the sake of the righteous, to stop the human race from destroying itself.

Jay didn’t like what his brother Jimmy was saying so he eventually hung up the phone. But while he could silence his brother, he couldn’t silence his own mind and so more dreams came to disturb his sleep. The turning point came after he had received his doctorate and went out to Japan where he had been awarded a prestigious research fellowship. He was in such a state that he considered suicide, but after nearly jumping from his balcony he vowed to find out if Jesus Christ was in fact the Living and True God after all.

For many months he studied the Bible and when he got to the Lord’s words from the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke Ch23v34) he suddenly knew in his spirit that Jesus really was Who He said He was. Jay prayed for forgiveness and he felt the burden of his guilt lifted. He grew quickly in his new found faith and after joining a church in Glasgow sensed the Lord call him into ordained ministry.

All those who come to Christ will have their own unique “faith journey” because the Lord deals with us personally and individually. The important thing is not how spectacular or dramatic this journey to faith may or may not be but rather that we do indeed listen to His promptings and respond to His call. The journey itself is not the important thing. All that matters is actually getting to the right “place”; namely the “place” of repentance and salvation whereby we enter into a personal relationship with the Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Lord is faithful

In the early nineteenth century a stranger went to live beside a vast lake in Canada. Come winter the lake froze over and one day the stranger discovered that he had to make an urgent journey to a settlement on the other side. He didn't know what to do because to walk around the lake would have taken him days. The locals however, told him to simply trust the ice and walk across to the other side!

Although he was reluctant to trust the ice he had no choice and so he started out across the frozen water on his hands and knees. Bit by bit he painfully moved across the frozen surface. Later in the afternoon when he had almost reached the middle he suddenly heard a strange noise. To his amazement he saw a team of horses pulling a sleigh full of pig iron several hundred yards away crossing to the settlement. With that, realising just how strong the ice must really be, fear left him and he got up and walked the rest of the way. How foolish he felt not to have trusted!

Every time I watch "Ice Road Truckers" on TV I am reminded of this amusing incident. As we know, the ice is actually so thick and strong huge lorries can carry tons of supplies across these vast frozen lakes.

There is a spiritual lesson to be learnt from this regarding how we ought to trust God. Scripture teaches that just as God is infinitely Holy and Loving, He is also infinitely Faithful and reliable. Faithfulness is part of His very nature and character just as much as Holiness and Love. It is literally impossible for God to be unfaithful.

The faithfulness of Almighty God is a subject constantly mentioned in Scripture. There is hardly a Chapter which doesn't allude to it in some way and there are numerous verses which specifically mention it such as; 2nd Thessalonians Ch3v3 "The Lord is Faithful", Lamentations Ch3v23 "Great is Thy faithfulness…therefore I hope in Him", 1st Corinthians Ch1 v9 "God is faithful", 1st Thessalonians Ch 5v24 "He Who calls you is faithful, Who will also do as promised" and Psalm 36v5 "Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds".

God is faithful! Yet how often are we are like that stranger who doubted the strength of the ice? We harbour doubts as to whether God is strong enough to help us or reliable enough to remember us. We fail to trust His character and fail to trust His promises. We walk through our Christian life fearful, waiting for the ice to crack in stead of being bold and courageous, trusting that, no matter what problems lie ahead in life, we will have both His Presence and His Support. In Hebrews Ch13vs5-6 God promises "I will never leave you nor forsake you, so we may boldly say ‘the Lord is my Helper, I will not fear'", and in Deuteronomy Ch33 v 27 it adds "The Eternal God is our refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms." How reassuring and comforting are these promises.

Trusting God's faithfulness to fulfil His promises is truly "life changing". Some years ago a missionary was teaching a Hindu woman the Lord's Prayer. When he got to the end of the first clause, "Our Father Who art in Heaven" the new convert stopped him and said "If God is our Father, then that is enough. There is nothing now to fear." Provided we truly trust the Lord and are obeying His will, we can indeed be sure that He will accompany us and strengthen us to meet whatever life throws at us. "There is nothing now to fear". His promises will never "crack " under pressure no matter how great the load.

These promises also made all the difference to a young trainee missionary. Near the end of his training he admitted to a friend how fearful he was of going to Africa for his first posting. The friend thought for a moment and then cleverly asked "Tell me, if you were going to be accompanied by David Livingstone would you still be frightened?" The trainee replied, "Not with company like that!" His friend then gently added "Well cheer up, you are going with Someone far better, Jesus Himself, because He has given His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us."  Whatever we face in life; divorce, loneliness, financial troubles, health issues, bereavement or death, we are truly not alone. We are accompanied by the Saviour Himself Who will never leave our side and Who will continually uphold us with His everlasting arms.

An old mariners chart of the east coast of America dated 1525 has some interesting directions on it. Over parts of unexplored land and sea is written "Here be giants", "Here be dragons!" In time the chart came into the possession of Sir John Franklin. He scratched out the fearful statements and wrote in their place "Here be God"! So likewise, a Christian may not know what the future holds for him, but one thing is certain "There be God"!

Over the years countless books have been compiled which document examples of God's Presence and Help in the lives of His followers. Every true Christian will have their own personal real life experiences of God and so the following examples are by no means strange or unique.
John Brentz, a friend of Martin Luther experienced an example of Divine Intervention which saved his life. John played a vital leadership role in the Church during the time of the Reformation. During his stand for the faith he incurred the hatred of Charles 5th who sent a detachment of troops to kill him. Hearing that the troops were almost upon him, John earnestly prayed to God for guidance and help. At once guidance came. In his spirit he heard God say "Take a loaf of bread and go to the upper town. There you will find an open door, enter and hide under the roof."

John acted accordingly. He found the only open door and hid himself in the loft. For 14 days he lay there while the search continued. Moreover, on each of those 14 days a hen came up to the loft and laid an egg. On the 15th day the hen failed to return and he heard voices in the street outside showing that the soldiers had gone.

Divine intervention was also recorded by Admiral Sir Thomas Williams. Sir Thomas was in command of a ship whose course brought him in sight of Ascension Island, which at that time was uninhabited. Although the island was barely visible on the horizon Sir Thomas was suddenly seized by an unaccountable desire to steer towards it. He gave orders to his lieutenant to "put about ship" and steer for the island. The officer respectfully remonstrated that changing course would cause great delay to their expedition but Sir Thomas insisted.

All eyes were fixed upon the island the closer they got. Suddenly the lookout spotted a flag on the shore. When they landed they discovered 16 men had been shipwrecked on the island many days before. Some of these men had been earnestly praying to God for His deliverance and this was the result.

These two examples show God intervening to save life in answer to prayer, but God also changes lives. The Lord has promised that He will be found by those who diligently seek Him. In Deuteronomy Ch 4v29 it states "You will find Him if you seek for Him with all your heart and with all your soul", in Jeremiah Ch29v13 it adds "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart", and in Proverbs Ch8v17 it says "Those who seek Me diligently will find Me." God is faithful and the following two accounts show how He is indeed found by those who sincerely seek Him.

Wing-Commander Edward Howell was stationed in Crete when the Germans overran the island during the Second World War. Howell was badly wounded and taken prisoner. Although he spent months in prison hospital he began to perceive that the real prison wasn't the stone wall around him but was the prison of his heart. With plenty of time to ponder, he began to reflect on the deep issues of life. "What if there is a God?" he thought. "What if this God could set me free from being my own prisoner?" The following are his own words;

"I decided to try. As I lay there in the darkness and despair of my prison cell, far from home, I gave myself and all I have to God-for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for ever. I entrusted Him with my life, my possessions, my career and my family and my friends. I committed myself to choose what was right to do and to be, from then on in so far as I could honestly see it.

At that moment of decision, God spoke to me. It was as though by that simple act of will, I had switched on a light in a dark room. I saw the meaning of things for the first time. With an intense thrill, my mind told me, ‘God is love'. I began to see what that meant for me. My heart filled and overflowed. This was home at last, where you loved and were loved beyond all knowing. Nothing could ever separate me from it, so long as I chose to stay there. I was free at last, and no walls or sentries could take my freedom from me, so long as I chose to be free. I found myself praying, a thing I had not done for ten years or more…I was ecstatically happy and tears of joy flowed down my face…I was sure and secure in the belief that now I knew the secret of living."

The experience of God related by Congress-woman Park is equally moving. This lady was a member of Congress when the communist North Koreans attacked Seoul. She was captured and after being questioned she was informed that she would be shot the next morning. In the meantime she was placed in a basement cell.

The next day a young soldier of about twenty took her at gun-point through the streets to where she was to be executed. These are her words; "My eyes filled with tears as I began to remember all the major events of my life…I wondered if Jesus would forgive me and save me right then? With all the resolve I could muster I said ‘Jesus, I am going to die in a few minutes. I have been a sinful woman. I don't deserve it, but please forgive this old woman her sins and save me like You did the thief on the cross.'" Then she added "Suddenly I felt a joy fill my inner heart…I was forgiven, I was free, I was ready to die."

Despite her incredible circumstances, she began to sing aloud an old hymn she remembered from her Sunday School days. This was more than the young soldier could cope with. "Shut up old woman" he shouted. "Why should I obey you now?" she asked. "I am about to die anyway. I am now a Christian and I will take my last few minutes left on this earth to praise my Lord and Saviour." She continued singing.

Finally they came to a flat area in the city. The soldier took out a shovel and began to dig her grave. As he dug she continued to sing. When he had finished the grave he blindfolded her.

He asked her "Old woman, do you have any last words you want to say?" "Yes I have," she said, "As we walked up here you must have noticed that something has happened to me. I awoke this morning full of fear. Now I have peace and joy. You see, now I am saved. I only wish that you too could know this wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ. May I spend the last moments of my life praying for your soul?"
She then felt her way down into the hole that was to be her grave. She knelt and prayed. After a few minutes she could hear the young man crying. "You may shoot me now. I have finished praying," she said calmly. But the young soldier told her he had just had a vision and he could not shoot her. He got down into the grave and released her. He then told her to run into the hills for safety.

The Lord is faithful! In Acts Ch17v28 it promises "He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being". The Lord is present and waiting to be found by anyone who truly seeks Him. The choice is ours. Now is the Day of Salvation. Now is the accepted time. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah Ch55vs6-7).

Listening out for God's guidance

The crash of golfer Payne Stewarts' plane in 1999 was a bizarre incident. He and five companions boarded the jet with two pilots at 9.20am. Some time later the plane was spotted flying at 45,000 feet with no-one at the controls. For unknown reasons due to depressurisation, both pilots and the passengers became unconscious. One of the Air Force pilots watching the plane run out of fuel said "it's a helpless feeling to pull alongside another aircraft and realise that the people inside are unconscious and heading towards death. There was nothing I could do to help even though I was only 150feet away from them all."

One safety investigator said later "aeroplane depressurisation can be very gradual and insidious. The problem may have developed slowly and if everyone was having a good time they would have failed to notice any tell tale signs. It is one of those occasions where you are feeling fine, and feeling happy and you don't know what's happening, but the reality is that you are in great danger."

It doesn't take much to see a parallel between what happened to those on board that plane and what is now happening to the human race "on board planet earth". Alarms and sensors would have been activated on the plane however passengers either ignored these warning signals or didn't even notice them in the first place, because they were so preoccupied. Likewise today our media and Bible prophecy are ringing out warning signals concerning the great dangers now facing the human race, but many individuals either don't take these warnings seriously or don't even notice them, because they are too preoccupied. They are too preoccupied with buying a larger house, getting promotion, planning the next holiday and so on, to notice these warning signs. Indeed, it seems that the louder the warning signals are (such as growing tension between Israel and Iran or problems in the Eurozone) the louder becomes the sound of people caught up in their own pleasures and pursuits. And individuals aren't just ignoring these so called "outward signals" they are also ignoring the "inward signals" coming from their own personal conscience which is saying "it's time to start seeking God and His help to sort out the mess we are in."

In 2nd Timothy Ch 4 vs3,4 Scripture predicted that an age would come when "people would not listen to truth but according to their selfish desires would turn their ears away from the truth and believe in lies." God has faithfully given humanity many different kinds of  "warning signals" to stir us and make us think. For instance, He has given us the signs and evidence of fulfilled Bible prophecy. No less than one third of the Bible is prophetic in nature and many of these predictions have already been fulfilled although written centuries or indeed several millennia before the events they were predicting. Does that not make individuals sit up and think? With many it does, but unfortunately with many it doesn't.

Again, God has given us the sign of a moral compass, our  conscience. Our conscience tells us that when we do wrong there will be unpleasant consequences for ourselves and those around us. One look at the state of our society today shows exactly what happens when we ignore our conscience. Our conscience was right after all! But does that sign and experience make us all sit up and think that we ought to take God seriously and put Him first in our hearts? With some it does but sadly with many it doesn't.

In addition to the signals coming from fulfilled Bible prophecy and from our conscience, God sometimes adds modern day prophetic signs. Many of you may remember the strange incident of the clergyman in New York who had a vision of 9/11 several weeks before the destruction of the Twin Towers. He and members of his prayer team were visiting the area in July 2001 when God gave him a vision of what was going to shortly happen, along with instructions to describe this vision in his church magazine. This magazine was printed and distributed in August, four weeks before 9/11. Why did God give him this vision? And why was the cleric commanded to print it in his magazine and have it distributed before the event took place? The only logical answer is that God was trying to give the world a loud warning which could never be denied. It couldn't be said to be "after the event" because it was in the public domain four weeks before 9/11 took place. This warning caused sensational news at the time but did it make all who heard about it sit up and think that they should repent of their sins and turn to the Lord as their Saviour? With some it did, but with many it was simply a curious incident, now long forgotten.

The problems facing our world and our nation, or indeed any problems facing us at a personal level won't go away by ignoring them, any more than ignoring the reality of God stops Him from existing. Let us all respond to the warning signs God has provided and make it our resolve to follow Him faithfully and loyally every day and every hour of our lives. May it be our heartfelt aim that whether Jesus comes or calls, He will say to us "well done thou good and faithful servant" and not "depart from Me because I never knew you".