When we married in 1962 the economy was much different – a brand new compact car sold for less than $2,000. Gas was 32.9 cents per gallon. However, we were both student nurses. I earned a $50 per week working as a surgery scrub tech. Roberta had $300.00 in the bank, but wedding expenses and a honeymoon took care of that in a hurry.

As a result, things were always financially tight. We had a big (?) two room house. (That’s two rooms, not two bedrooms!) The rent was $25.00 a month.

One month I spent our last five dollars filling our gas tank, so we had to go the last few days on nothing to spend. We ate in the cafeteria on the meal tickets Roberta earned working a “service day” at the hospital. And we ate a lot of eggs – Roberta’s folks would load us up on eggs every time we visited them.

Much to my surprise, when that month finally ended and I balanced our checkbook I discovered that we still had $50.00! I had not balanced the books right! We had a whole week’s pay in the bank! I thought we were broke!

A lot of people have the same struggle with God. They think He has forsaken them in the midst of their problems… but He is there all the time!

          We’ve all been there! In the middle of a great big problem when we felt totally forsaken, Jesus was there all the time!

            Two believers were feeling totally rejected because their best friend had been cruelly killed on a cross! They thought no one could kill the Son of God! They were in total shock. They were also confused because of the rumors that Jesus had risen from the dead. They just could not comprehend the idea.

            As they walked the 7 miles towards Emmaus they were joined by a stranger who asked why they were so sad. After they told Him He explained why and what had happened, but for some reason they did not realize who this Man was.

            As was the custom, they asked Him to spend the night with them, and Jesus agreed. When Jesus broke bread with them, they finally really who their guest was!

            Before they could say a word, He just disappeared!

            Wow!

      But listen to their words! "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

            Our friend and Savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God said, “I will never leave you! I will never forsake you!” And He meant just what He said.

 

 Is something troubling you today? Jesus said, “Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) Jesus is here to help!

 

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HE WAS THERE ALL THE TIME
~Bro. Steve Alvis~

    When I was in the 9th grade, my family lived in Raleigh, NC.  It was down there where Mom gave me my first Bible, but I didn't start reading it right away.  I suppose I was a lot like other 9th graders when it came to reading--it wasn't on my list of favorite things to do. 

On the way to the bus stop in the mornings, I always passed by this house where there was a HUGE black dog in the window and it was always barking loud and ferociously.  One morning as I went by, I noticed that it wasn't in the window anymore.  The next thing I knew, it was in the back yard running around toward front yard and the sidewalk where I was.  Oh how I wished there was a fence of some sort there, but there wasn't. 

I took off running as fast as I could.  I can't remember whether I went on to the bus stop or back straight home that morning but I did manage to get away from it.  Later this started to become an every day occurrence and I'd usually run straight home.  Eventually I got tired of this happening to me.  

One morning on the way down to the bus stop, I prayed that if the dog didn't come out after me I'd read my Bible when I got home that evening.  Well amazingly (to me) the dog didn't show up that morning!  It was such a relief.  That night when I got home, I got to read Genesis 1.  The next day, I tried it again.  Lo, and behold, the dog didn't show up. 

That night I read some more in the Word of God.  I was starting to like this.  I prayed the same thing every day and the dog never would show up. 

 Well one day when I got home, I got lazy and didn't read my Bible.  I remember strongly thinking "I really, really ought to read my bible."   But I didn't do it that night.   I remember thinking (the thought had to come from Satan) "That dog won't be back--it will be ok to skip." 

The next morning guess who I got a greeting from on the way to the bus stop?  Yes, that's right--that same dog.  Needless to say I read my Bible that night and I think I made up for the day I missed too.  This went on for some time.  Whenever I didn't read my Bible the dog would show up and chase me and whenever I would read it, the dog wasn't there in the mornings. 

Praise the Lord for always being there!  I was still a sinner at this time, but He was yet watching over me and dealing with my life at this time letting me know that He is God. 

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          Acts 6 and 7 tell the story of the first deacons and the first martyr Stephen. It is a powerful story about the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church. We should never think that just because we are in the center of God’s will that there will never be any problems – problems are a part of life on this earth. Additionally, we are always in a spiritual battle with Satan. The good news is that we know we will win if we persevere.

            Circumstances of life will always reveal what we really are. I believe that God allows circumstances to arise in our lives so God and the individual can determine our makeup – so we will realize we need to mature, and God can see if we are strong enough and determined enough to do his will in spite of circumstances.

An Indian fable tells about a mouse that lived in mortal fear of cats. The mouse appealed to an old medicine man for help. The kind medicine man turned the mouse into a cat, but immediately it became fearful of dogs. The medicine man then turned him into a dog, but then he was afraid of wolves. Then the medicine man turned him into a wolf, and then he was fearful of hunters.  Finally, the wise old Indian told him, "I can do nothing for you because you have the heart and the mentality of a mouse!" So he turned him back into a mouse.

Of course God is not going to turn us into anything… He will help us become what He wants, but there is no magic wand! Sorry! "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."  (2 Timothy 1:7)

God gave us a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline, but we have to apply it to our lives! Like money in the bank or food in the cabinet, it won’t do a lot of good unless we use it! If we are not careful, fear can become a way of life for us. Fear will rule us like a cruel slave driver, keeping us from realizing the full joy God intends for us on earth.

Jesus was with Stephen at the time of his death. Listen to Stephen’s prayer:  While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:59, 60)

Stephen had the same spirit Jesus had: Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Even though they were dying for a cause, they were not helpless because they were in control of their spirits and they were committed to God.

It’s hard to imagine, but in Biblical times people were often stoned to death – right there on the street – and by religious leaders! The idea was to help people understand the consequences of their sin. (In modern times we try to hide the consequences – and that is fine with me. I don’t want to go to a public hanging!) I don’t watch violent TV shows either!

How much love for God did Stephen have? So much that he forgave those that killed him! And he didn’t have to think about it in advance. This forgiveness came from a pure and holy heart.

Three times Jesus told us to “Love your enemy.” (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27; Luke 6:35)   God sees this as mandatory – and so should we!

We should ask God to forgive those that hurt us, and we should forgive them as well! Jesus told us to pray for those that despitefully use us. Luke 6:27, 26 states, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Yes, it is easier said than done, but Jesus and Stephen did it, and so can we.    

      Yes, we are to love and forgive like little children, but perhaps we should not act like them.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in our presence this morning. Let’s pause for a few moments and just reflect on God’s loving presence. Tune out everything else and feel the presence of God. Certainly God’s presence cannot be measured by what we feel. However, when we slow down and get in tune with our own spirits, we become aware of God’s Spirit as well.

In John 14:16-18, Jesus said, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.  But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."