longtimeago

Faith is a priceless gift that the Lord has given us His children. We are astonished to read that during the time when Jesus was on this earth, even the Jews did not have the mind to believe Him, but some of the Gentiles had great faith in Him. As a result, they were delivered from their problems in a supernatural way. The first example is that of a Roman centurion. His servant was on the deathbed and he knew that Jesus had the power to heal the sick. But he had such a tremendous faith in Jesus that he told Him He believed that just by the word that came out of Jesus mouth, a miracle would take place and healing would be accomplished. Jesus Himself was astonished and commended him for his great faith. The second example is that of a Canaanite woman. (Matthew 15:22) This womans daughter was possessed by an evil spirit and she begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her. In spite of the repeated discouraging words that Jesus uttered, seeing her humility and persistence, Jesus commended her saying, And at that very hour her daughter was healed. Friends, how is our faith level today? Jesus said if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, even if we say to a mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea it will be done. Many times our prayers are not answered because the size of our faith is much, much smaller than the mustard seed. Let us be motivated by the centurions faith and the faith of the Canaanite woman. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and trust that He can do great things

A rich and beautiful young girl got betrothed to a young man who was both handsome and wealthy. The boy took her to a party on the eve of his wedding. He was in high spirits and so he was joking and making sly remarks about Christian faith calling it as ?old women?s faith.? The bride was so upset for she was brought up as a good Christian by her parents. She gently asked him to stop mocking the religious sentiments. But, he did not and could not stop his jesting. Instead he openly commented, ?My nice little bride thinks big of her religion.? Upset over his behavior, the girl with tears in her eyes and a tremor in her voice, said firmly: "Whoever does not hold God and His Word sacred, will not hold the marriage tie sacred; and whoever does not love God will not truly love his wife. No longer do I wish to be your bride." Shocked, the young man pretended he did have some respect for God and His Word. But it was all in vain. She stood by her resolution, and turned him away ? for her first priority was the living God. We are living in the days where young people are giving more importance to good looks and inspiring talk rather than the character and faith of their would be spouses. They think that prioritizing God is only a hindrance to enjoying their lives. Alas! Soon they find that their dreams are shattered and their marriage gets into rough weather, just because they disregarded their long cherished faith in their God, for a man or woman of their liking. So,it ought not to be so. Today, decide to give God the first place. Commit your life and future in His secure hands and He will make everything beautiful in His time.

Recently I saw an advertisement in the TV, wherein a new product for cleaning of the floors and the vessels was being introduced in a very dramatic sequel. Mr. Muscle they had named it and assured that it can clean all the toughest stains without even a trace left. Any home maker knows for sure that even the best cleaning agent can clean only to certain level and not beyond that. So also there are many laundry helps such as those used to remove the dirt from cuffs and collars, and every one of us knows their efficacy is not one hundred percent. Above all these stains, the stain of our sins is the toughest and most stubborn. Try however hard, it will never go. But, thanks be to God the Father for providing us the Blood of Jesus His only Son! When He washes with this precious blood, our sins are washed away without a trace, whatsoever! In I John 1: 7 we read, ALL! However, there is one condition. We must confess all our sins ALL to Him and seek His forgiveness. That is why John very clearly writes in his first epistle, (I John 1:8,9) Dear friends, no matter how hard we try eliminate the guilt of our sins, by visiting the so called sacred places or washing ourselves in the so called holy waters, we can never get rid of them. But, there is hope! The Blood of Jesus is shed for you and me and for everyone. If we come to Him, He will wash us with His blood and make us spotless and clean that we will be refined like pure gold.

Jeremiah 22:16 says, (RSV) A Roman Catholic priest from the Netherlands founded in 1947 Aid to the Church in Need, initially to help war ravaged Germans. He knew that plenty of food was available in his community and so he asked for food from people instead of money. People responded overwhelmingly and eventually he was called the The Bacon Priest. However, later he started mobilizing funds as well for helping others. By the time he died in 2003 at a ripe old age of 90, it is said that he had collected more than two billion US dollars for charitable causes. Another interesting habit of his was that he used to pass around his worn and old hat to collect funds, playfully telling, Brethren, the hat is old and has many holes, so no coins please. Only notes! And he had been fondly and rightly nicknamed as Gods beggar. Giving away to someone who begs of you is charity. But, begging for somebody elses need is sacrifice! Today many of us may not be able to meet the needs of others. But we surely know who can help. We must be willing to serve as a conduit between those who are ready to help, and those who need this help. This is the need of the hour. The Lord is looking for such people who will not mind losing their honour and prestige in order to glorify the Lord by being ready to be called Gods beggar just like that Catholic priest. So let us ask God to give us a compassionate heart that we may be sensitive to the needs around us and mobilize resources, not for a selfish cause but for the alleviation of poverty around us.

While thanking Him for the opportunityof time , we must pretty well admit that TIME IS PRECIOUS. Jonathan Edwards, the famous man of God during the 18th century said, (abridged) We have already spent three weeks of the year! Much can be done in the available time. What have we done or what have we left undone? Let us give a self-check. Let us always remember that time wasted is time lost! While checking the past, we must be ready to admit that anything left undone only puts us under an obligation to complete the same along with other things to be done and as such we have much lesser time left to do both. When God gives us a day, he sets out certain tasks for us to complete, and by the end of the day He will surely call us to account for and if we have not done something or if we had wasted the time in idleness, then we will cut a sorry figure before Him. We cannot spend time in fruitless gossip because the Bible warns, (Matthew 12:36) Dear friends, are you sure that you could give proper account to God without any guilt whatsoever, for the day and time He had given you. If you are doubtful, then go back to the Bible and find out whether you are doing and will continue to do whatever the Word of God commands to do. And ask God to help you with His Holy Spirit to be expeditious with your time and execute His instructions.

Abraham and Lot who started together separated from each other on their way due to a quarrel that erupted between their herdsmen. Even though Abraham was elder to Lot and had every right to choose first, he was so gracious to offer the choice to Lot. When Lot selected the best of the land, Abraham gladly consented. Doesn?t this show the magnanimity of Abraham? In another incident, we read that four great kings came against Sodom, the place where Lot lived, seized all the goods and the people living in it, including Lot and his possessions.When Abraham heard this he immediately took 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit of Lot?s enemies. He attacked them and recovered Lot and all his possessions. We cannot but appreciate the boldness of Abraham, who ventured out to save his nephew even though it was night time. This shows the great love and concern Abraham had towards Lot. He did not harbour any grudge against Lot for his selfishness.He did not say, ?He deserves this punishment for his greed? nor did he condemn him. Friends, you may be cheated by your friends, or your relatives or they must have taken you for granted while deciding on important issues. Do not become weary. Abraham willingly gave His own right to his nephew Lot who acted very selfish. But the Lord rewarded Abraham for his integrity and noble character. Be careful to walk blamelessly in the sight of the Lord. When you get an opportunity to do good to those who have mistreated you, grab it at once and show your good nature to them. In any case do not harbour any bitterness. The Lord will definitely reward you multifold.

(2 Corinthians 3:18) Many of us have the habit of making new year resolutions every year and very soon we get discouraged for we are unable to reach many of the goals set. One main reason may be that we strive in our own efforts rather than drawing our strength from the Lord. Another reason may be that we prepare a long list and ultimately fail to carry out all our decisions. So, let us focus on a single goal and cooperate with God and draw upon His help and guidance. A few years back we went to Kodaikanal, a hill station in India, where our two daughters tried a peculiar bicycle ride. It was a tandem bicycle designed to function efficiently when two people cooperate and pedal together. Even if one fails to pedal properly both of them would lose the balance and fall down. Initially the girls tried but fell down. Slowly they learnt to cooperate with each other and they had a good time of fun. This incident can also teach us a good spiritual lesson. In our lifes journey if we combine our human efforts with Gods strength and guidance, our journey will be smooth. But when we try to have our own way, we end up with problems and ultimately get slowed down in our spiritual growth. So dear friends, let us join hands with our Lord in everything right from making our choices everyday till taking major decisions. Let us follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Let us pedal together with God, cooperate with Him and allow Him to teach His way day-by-day and month by month throughout the whole year. As we do so, we will increasingly be aware of His presence in our lives and we will be transformed in His likeness moment by moment. Hallelujah!

WoW Xisto awards and this is my first participation in the Xisto awards contest i guess and this is really a cool idea and one hats off to the person who started this three years ago , well and im too waiting for the results to be announced ...Hope Xisto will celebrate many more award giving contest in the coming years,,

One famous race car driver said, If you watch a car race, you will witness many drivers starting and picking up fast, but gradually losing their speed and falling behind. Also, you will find some who were racing behind suddenly surging ahead of others in the final laps. But, surely there will be one who will start well, drive steadily and finish well ahead of others in style. HE IS THE CHAMPION who will claim the cup let us check our life how well are we finishing the 3rd month of this year , just a week to go. Probably we started the year with great enthusiasm, with great plans and with great expectations. Did we run the race properly through the very first month? Were we able to run steadily and ahead of others? Or are we still lagging behind? It is also possible that we pulled out of the race and returned to our worldly lifestyle. The Lord wants us to spend sometime to recollect how we lived in the past days. He wants us to take stock of the situation, and make amends right now that we may continue to run as expected by Him in the coming months. Dear friends, remember what that race driver asserted But, there is no need to fret, if your performance during the month is not to your satisfaction. There are nine more months to go in the year. Another opportunity is coming up! Let us thank God and grab it with added fervor and commitment. Now remember what the Bible says about running a race (Hebrews 12:1)

We all must have communication with God and that is Prayer. I wanna share with you some thing you should take note of. Pray the right Prayer.A high school boy prayed to God, before he left his home to write the final examination, ?Lord, please help me to pass in this exam. Let a studious boy sit near me so that I can easily copy the answer from his paper.? Lydia prayed, ?Lord, help me to get a seat in computer engineering in one of the best colleges in the city. But Lord, let not my classmate Mercy get a seat in any of these colleges. Exalt me Lord before her eyes!? ?I have prayed long for the conversion of my husband? said a woman, ?but he is far from conversion as ever?. ?Why do you want your husband to be converted? asked the pastor. ?Oh! It would be so nice. How different then the house would be!? replied the woman. The pastor rebuked her saying, ?You appear to be thinking mainly of yourself. Pray that the conversion of your husband should glorify God and that your husband should know the love of Christ the Savior?.we must be careful be careful when we lift our voices to our Lord in prayer. Our Lord is the Creator of all mankind and He is the Lord Almighty. Let us not treat Him as a magician who performs miracles or a lawyer who solves disputes and thus estimate His greatness cheaply. We have read the foolish and stupid prayers of a boy, a silly prayer of a girl and a selfish prayer of a woman. Will any of these prayers be answered by the Lord? Definitely No! Let us not be earthly minded, selfish and short sighted. Let us allow His will to be done in our lives and not dictate terms to Him for our selfish gains. Let us look to our Lord as our Savior, as our Friend, as our Father and as our Comforter. Let His name be glorified in whatever we ask and receive from Him.

An atheist was teasing a Christian about his beliefs: "Come on, Andy," he said, "when you're up there, how are you ever going to get your SHIRT over those big WINGS?" "The same way," said Andy, "as you are going to get your TROUSERS over your TAIL, when you are down there." It sounds funny but what could the atheist friend’s response have been? He didn’t expect such an answer. He thought he was just kidding his friend. But, when he heard this he was so shocked, and started thinking about the life after death over and over again, and very soon he committed his life to Christ and became a believer. says Paul to Timothy. (II Timothy 2:24) Though humor is not the apt way we should teach people about Christ, if Andy had retorted angrily to his friend’s remarks on the day he was provoked, the friend would have been lost forever. But, his patience paid off. It is our responsibility to patiently and wisely approach people, and give them the Word of God. While writing a letter to Titus, Paul advises him to be (Titus 1:8,9) Dear friends, we are called to be patient and loving while spreading the gospel of Christ. We should be able to use the right words and the right method to draw those who contradict the Bible and our faith. For this, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask Him to fill us and use us.

This verse is found in Amplified Bible as follows: ?I will give you rain in due season. Galatians 6:9 says we must not lose heart and grew weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at appointed season, we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.? (AMP) I Peter 5:6 says, ?Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that in due time He may exalt you.? When is the due season or due time? Joyce Meyer writes, ?It is when God knows we are ready, when everyone involved is ready and when it fits into God?s corporate plan.? We read in Bible about Hannah who was praying for a child for many years. I Samuel 1:7 & 8 say how Hannah went to the temple of God year after year and pleaded with the Lord for a child. We also read how her rival Peninnah provoked and irritated her for her barrenness. Hannah must have got frustrated as to why God allowed her to undergo this pain in spite of her repeated prayer of tears. But the Lord had a great plan for her life. He gave her Samuel exactly at the right time, when the country of Israel was in great chaos and molded him as a great prophet to judge the country with integrity. let us not give up quickly when our prayers are not answered. When we are waiting in prayer we should realize that the Lord is working out many things with several people in order to answer our prayers. So, let us not try to meddle with God?s plan nor quit praying. There is a time for all things in our lives. Let us submit ourselves to God?s perfect timing and His perfect will not one step ahead of Him or one step behind!

People do not like to hear about their sins, nor do they like to be called as sinners. Let me narrate a story which strongly reveals to us the awfulness of sin. “A church officer came to talk to the church minister one day about sin. He said to the minister, ‘Sir, we of the congregation wish you would not talk so much or so plainly about sin. We feel that if our boys and girls hear you discus the subject so much, they will all the more easily become sinners. Why don’t you call it a ‘mistake’ or ‘poor judgment’ – but please don’t talk so openly about sin”. The minister walked over, took a bottle of poison and showed it to his visitor. The bottle was plainly marked with big red letters. “POISON! DO NOT TOUCH!” Now the minister asked, “What would you have me to do? Do you feel it would be wise for me to remove this plain label and put on one that read ‘Essence of Peppermint?’ Do you see that the milder you make the label, the more dangerous you make the poison?” Dear friends, let us not dilute the danger of sin by giving it lighter names like, ‘human weakness’ or ‘a trifle’. Billy Graham writes, “Sin is not an amusing toy – it is a terror to be shunned”. The Bible describes it as iniquity, and lawlessness. So let us not take sin lightly or casually for the Bible says, (Romans 6:23) No man has the ability in himself to save himself from sin’s penalty or cleanse his own heart of its corruption. It is only in Christ that the remedy for sin can be found. Christ alone can save the sinner from the torture of hell. He is the Son of God, “heaven’s own appointed Messenger to the sin–ridden earth.” Are you are still making an excuse to come to Him? The time is running short. Confess your sin to Him now. Repent from sinful ways and be washed by His blood. Jesus is waiting for you and me .....

Long ago during the colonial days, in India a missionary was confronted by a British Naval officer. He asked, ?Hey, why don?t you people (meaning the mission workers) stay back at home and mind your business?? The missionary looked at him sternly and asked, ?Officer, if you are asked to leave immediately to be at China tomorrow by your Commander what will you do?? The Naval officer did not expect that question. Startled, he said, ?Why, I will immediately obey and leave for China at once.? Smilingly the missionary replied, ?I am doing a similar thing. My Commander Jesus asked me to GO and MAKE disciples for Him from all the nations, and India is the nation He has chosen for me. So only I am here, obeying the Great Commandment.? Preaching the gospel is our prime responsibility as well as duty. If we fail to do so, then the Lord will surely account our lapse as a serious one. We are called to go into ALL THE WORLD and to preach to ALL CREATURES! It may not be possible for every one of us to go to many places to profess the gospel. But, see what the gospel according to John says: ?(it) should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.? Let us start in our neighborhood, which is our Jerusalem, and then slowly launch out into other parts of the country, then to the nations. That is the sequence we learn from the Book of Acts! Do not wait for an opportunity to fly abroad, to start preaching the gospel. If you cannot speak the good news here, you will not be able to speak about it anywhere. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the right words, the right attitude, and the right courage to bring many of your neighbors to Christ with His power.

Friend i went through all the topic in Xisto and found all were active , so i thought why not this Spirutual dev. too increase ? so i am working on this friends, This may seem to be a stupid story. But surely has a lesson for you and me about ‘waiting’ – Waiting on God! For the complete salvation that comes from Him alone! Paul, in today’s text explains that we wait for the full redemption that will happen when Christ returns. (Romans 8: 2325) But the world and its people may not be able to understand this even if we explain to them. Surely they will be amazed just like the psychiatrist did, when it finally happened! Hopefully wait on the Lord and for the Lord from whom alone our salvation comes! Let people mock at our faith, but we must be daring and steadfast in waiting for the Lord! It may be now or it may take years, but what He has promised will come. Halleluiah!

As all of us know the writer of Hebrews devotes one entire chapter highlighting the faith of believers in Bible history. Yet, the list is not complete. The Lord is adding on to the list everyday. He expects you and me also be added in His list of heroes of faith! Can we be sure that our names will definitely get a place in the list? The Bible says that only by faith a person can please God! In other words, without faith it is impossible to please God. (Verse 6) Basic quality of a Christian must be an attitude to please Christ. It should come naturally to him, and it should in fact become a controlling force in his life. And that is why a Christian?s life is defined as ?faith life?. We must strive to get a testimony from God Himself about us. He should acknowledge that we are God-pleasers ? just as Enoch was. But, unless we walk daily with God, in the light of His Word, we may not be able to have the faith that He desires us to have and as a result we cannot be able to please Him at all. let us examine ourselves. Are we God-pleasers or are we still man-pleasers? Let us base our daily life on the supreme Word of God, which will make us strong in faith. Because Enoch walked with God, he knew God very intimately, and therefore his faith increased day after day. That so pleased the Lord and He wanted Enoch ever to be with Him and took Enoch away even without allowing him to die. Let us walk with God, talk with God along this life?s narrow way that we may enter the heavenly abode when the call comes to be there with Him eternally. May the Lord help us to live as God-pleasers!

A sense of rejection is the root cause of many crimes, says a study conducted by a NGO. Sometime ago, a school boy who got scolding from his teachers for not doing his home work, thought he was being rejected. The next day he stole his father?s revolver, went to the school and shot down some teachers and a couple of his classmates. And finally he shot himself. It was not rejection, but just a feeling of rejection and it caused such a calamity. Some of us must be feeling right now that we are no longer wanted in our family, in our workplace, or in the society. We may feel that we are being purposely neglected, and that we are not given the due honor or recognition. Some others may even feel that God is very unfair to them; That He is so partial and has rejected them. They try to run away from God. In today?s text, we see Moses intervening to correct an injustice done to one of his brethren, and as a result he finds that opposition springs up, resulting in rejection by his own Hebrew brethren, who has seen the incident. This led to his fleeing the Pharaoh?s palace into the wilderness, isolated from his own people for almost forty years! How painful! Yet, the Lord used this rejection for building steel into the character of Moses. Today we must also know that any sense of rejection should be dealt with the light of the scripture, in the knowledge that the Lord knows everything and allows them to happen only to strengthen us and make us better. We must not get dejected, rather be encouraged to know that the Lord is good and does only good. ?And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.?(Romans 8:28)

A little boy was straddling down the streets and suddenly he was lost. He stood crying at a street corner, and a police officer wanted to help him reach his home. He asked the little boy, ?Do you know your dad?s phone number?? The boy could not remember. Then he asked, ?Do you know your street name or the nearest landmark?? Amidst tears the boy answered, ?Sir, I know there is a Church next to my home, and this Church has got a big cross on top of it. If you can show me the cross, I can find my way home.? As we are in the thick of the Lenten season, let us focus our attention on the Cross of Calvary. We might have wandered away from our spiritual nest, and might have lost our way, going far away from God. Today, the cross beckons us to look at it and find our way home. I read the following statement in a book recently. ?What is 750,000 miles long, reaches around the earth 30 times, and grows 20 miles longer each day?? I was thinking about it, and found the answer a few pages down in the book. Here's the answer: ?The line of people who are without Christ.? Yes, if all those who have not yet found Christ and His cross are asked to stand in a single line, then that line would extend to 30 times the circumference of the earth! Mindboggling! Isn?t it? Dear friends, if we have found the Savior then we are safely being guided to our home. He alone can lead us safely home! But, let us not be satisfied with this. Let us be concerned about the millions who are still lost, and are yet to find their way. Let us take them to the cross of Christ and surely they will find their way by themselves. For the light of the cross will lead them.

During the Lenten season ( those 40 days ) every year we are advised by the pastors and servants of God to sacrifice some of our interests so that we can help people who are in want. Have we really felt the need of charity in our hearts and have we prepared ourselves to lend a helping hand? Unfortunately, those of us who are left with surplus still want to build up treasures for us and our children. In short we make an idol out of money. Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish born American industrialist who made a great fortune in Steel business said, ?No idol is more debasing than the worship of money!!? He amassed more than 400 million dollars in business and it is estimated that he gave away 99.5% of his earnings for philanthropic causes. That was why he could say, ?The man who dies rich, dies disgraced!?In the Bible Paul while writing to Timothy impressed the fact that the rich should be considerate and do good works. He said that they should train themselves in charity. In the Old Testament also the Lord gave many laws to the rich landlords that they must leave something out of the gleanings of the field for the poor and the destitute and also those who are not partakers of the inheritance. Our Lord is such a compassionate God and he cares for the humble, the poor and the destitute. He expects the same from us ? who are His children. So friends let us use these days of self-denial to save something for the needy and extend our hands extensively and exclusively for them. Let us not hold our hands back. Has not the Lord blessed us abundantly? Let us show our gratitude to Him by showing our love and concern to our brethren in need.

Velma but remember onething the heart and soul which you listen to is created by God and he has full control over it.

Of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot was the ‘odd-man-out’ right from the beginning, in the sense that all the other eleven was Galileans but Judas Iscariot was a Judean. He had the typical character of a Judean. It is said that most Judeans seek and desire money more than the love and fellowship of people and so was Judas. He was predominantly money minded. We can know this attitude of his, from the statement that he made when he saw Mary anointing Jesus with a costly perfume. He said “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?” His concern for the poor was not the real motive behind this question. Rather it was the lust for money that made him ask such a question. Driven by lust for money, he went to the chief priest and asked him. “How much money will you give me if I betray Jesus?” His love for money blinded his eyes, and he was unable to discern the consequences that would arise out of his greed. His pleasure was short lived and he had a tragic end. The Tragic end was that he hanged himself to death.. So what do we learn from this ? Now let the life of Judas be a warning for us. Paul, while writing to Timothy, says, (I Timothy 6:10) Throughout history we find that not only believers but also some servants of God lost their Christian witness by running after money and material possessions. Money and worldly riches are just temporary. Love for money and love for Jesus cannot coexist. So, as Paul writes, let us flee from this deadly temptation for money and wealth. Let us not run after money but let us understand that godliness with contentment is our greatest gain in this mundane earth.

Thanks for agreeing OpaQue. More over i do agree if i say I .. I its the starting point of ego but i didnt use it in that angle..

My dear friends now my next post is about you and me praying for others, lets see about Epaphras,Epaphras was an elder in the Church at Colosse. He must have also been asked to oversee the fellowship of believers at Hierapolis, and Laodicaea. He was in authority but he was also taking responsibility ? responsibility to pray for the believers in these Churches. And that too continually to the point that he was commended by Paul as one who had been ?wrestling? in prayer for those who were under his care. Paul often instructs about the importance of praying for others. Epaphras prayed for others. Paul prayed for others. In Philippians 1:3, 4 he writes how he prayed for those who have been gained for Christ through his ministry. Os Hillman writes, ?It is interesting what happens when you offer to pray for someone. Offering to pray for someone can be the most genuine and loving thing you can do for another person.? God said, ?Love one another.? There is no greater thing to show genuine love than to pray for those whom we love. Hillman further suggests, ?As you enter the workplace today, ask a coworker if you can pray for him about something. You may be surprised at what doors will open as a result.?Now its time for us to think ,how many times have we been praying very selfish prayers? Jesus is the greatest Intercessor, and He continues to pray to the Father on our behalf. Let us take the cue from Him and start praying unselfish prayers ? that is praying for others rather than for our own interests. We must know that when we start praying for others, such as the destitute and the orphans, God?s compassion gets kindled and the results are really great. Even today God gets moved by true intercession.Finally Let us be true intercessors....

People do not like to hear about their sins, nor do they like to be called as sinners. Billy Graham narrates this story which strongly reveals to us the awfulness of sin. ?A church officer came to talk to the church minister one day about sin. He said to the minister, ?Sir, we of the congregation wish you would not talk so much or so plainly about sin. We feel that if our boys and girls hear you discus the subject so much, they will all the more easily become sinners. Why don?t you call it a ?mistake? or ?poor judgment? ? but please don?t talk so openly about sin?. The minister walked over, took a bottle of poison and showed it to his visitor. The bottle was plainly marked with big red letters. ?POISON! DO NOT TOUCH!? Now the minister asked, ?What would you have me to do? Do you feel it would be wise for me to remove this plain label and put on one that read ?Essence of Peppermint?? Do you see that the milder you make the label, the more dangerous you make the poison?? So, let us not dilute the danger of sin by giving it lighter names like, ?human weakness? or ?a trifle?. Billy Graham writes, ?Sin is not an amusing toy ? it is a terror to be shunned?. The Bible describes it as iniquity, and lawlessness. So let us not take sin lightly or casually for the Bible says, ?The wages of sin is death.? (Romans 6:23) No man has the ability in himself to save himself from sin?s penalty or cleanse his own heart of its corruption. It is only in Christ that the remedy for sin can be found. Christ alone can save the sinner from the torture of hell. He is the Son of God, ?heaven?s own appointed Messenger to the sin?ridden earth.? Are you are still making an excuse to come to Him? The time is running short. Confess your sin to Him now. Repent from sinful ways and be washed by His blood. Jesus is waiting for you!

One night as Williams ( a believer) was travelling home from his office, he was reading about Luke?s account of the crucifixion. There were two other men in the compartment. One was an Englishman and the other an American.The Englishman suddenly fell on the floor of the compartment and had a convulsive fit. The American leapt to help him, loosened his dress and put his handkerchief into the Englishman?s mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. The American said to Williams, ?Both of us fought in the Korean war together, I was wounded and alone. This Englishman came and carried me to safety. Just as we were arriving at a safe position, a bomb landed beside us and the next thing we knew was that we were in the hospital. When I became better, I returned back to America. But then I heard that this Englishman would never get better. I left my job, broke off my engagement and came to England to look after him. You see, he did that for me. There is nothing I cannot do for him.? By that time the train arrived at the next station and both of them got out Williams was left alone in the compartment. He continued to read the story of the crucifixion with the voice ringing in his ears, ?He did that for me, there is nothing that I cannot do for Him?. He closed the Book, knelt in the compartment of the train and gave his life to Christ. So we learn that, Jesus shed His blood for us to redeem us from the slavery of sin and to give us eternal life. How can we afford to be ungrateful to Him? Is He not our Redeemer? How can we ever reject Him? Let us kneel down before Him and accept Him as our Lord. He came to execute His Father?s will. Let us also do His will. Let us offer ourselves as instruments for His service.