WILL YOU THROW OUT THE LIFELINE?

WILL YOU THROW OUT

THE LIFELINE?

As I was sitting out on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in August, watching the people under their umbrellas and in their lawn chairs,  I was suddenly aware that many, many of them are lost without God.  They go on with their lives day after day, feeling that emptiness inside, and try to find “things” and “careers” to fill the void in their lives.  Some have known the Lord in the past and have drifted away from the things of God.  They are drifting, drifting farther and farther away from the shoreline of safety, as the waves of sin and despair crash around them.

Here I am on this Sunday morning, missing my own fellowship with my church family, and realize that many, many of these people out on the beach have not been in church, and some only see the church doors during holiday seasons, weddings, funerals, etc.  Some are bitter and angry at life, and some scoff at the very God who made them, and the very God who sent His Son to save them from sin and eternal damnation.  Jesus was the Savior that loved them so much and reaches out with loving arms to a lost world.  See them there out on the waves, struggling not to be sucked under by the riptides of life?

Have you ever sat on the beach and watched the Lifeguard at work?  Out there on the sand, as he sits high up in his chair, he watches the waves and the people in them.  He has a whistle that he blows when someone steps out too far into the surf.  I heard that whistle often that day.  And on the side of his chair is a life raft that he can use as a lifeline who someone in distress.  There were hundreds of people that day out in the waves, and I could only see their heads at times as the waves rolled on and on.  My children, husband and grandchildren were out there in the waves. And I pictured a lost and drying world out there on the waves of the sea of life, lost without Jesus!  And then the Lord brought to my mind an old hymn:

Edward S. Ufford was a young pastor of the First Baptist Church in Westwood, a hamlet not far from the city of Boston, Mass., During low waters he could see the remains of an old wreck embedded in the sand.  His mind was often stirred to imagine what had happened that fateful night when the storm tossed vessel was smashed to pieces on the shore. 

Thinking of this one day during the fall or autumn of 1886 he decided to conduct an open air gospel meeting in the village square the following Sunday to warn passers-by- of their spiritual danger.  Returning home afterwards it took him only fifteen minutes to write the first four verses of his famous hymn: “Throw Out the Lifeline.”

“Throw out the lifeline across the dark wave; there is a brother whom someone should save; somebody’s brother! Oh, who then will dare to throw out the lifeline, his peril to share?

 Refrain:  Throw out the lifeline!  Throw out the lifeline?  Someone is drifting away; throw out the lifeline! Throw out the lifeline!  Someone is sinking today.

Throw out the lifeline with hand quick and strong: Why do you tarry, why linger so long?  See! He is sinking; oh, hasten today.  And out of the life board!  Away, then, away!

Throw out the lifeline to danger-fraught men, sinking in anguish where you’ve never been; winds of temptation and billows of woe will soon hurl them out where the dark waters flow, and throw out the lifeline and save them today.

Soon will the season of rescue be o’er, soon will they drift to eternity’s shore; haste, then, my brother, no time for delay, but throw out the lifeline and save them today.”

“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” Luke 24:46-47. 

What then is the “lifeline” that we are called to throw out to a lost a dying world?  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s ‘lifeline’ to salvation for those perishing  souls out there tossed and thrown on the waves, sinking in despair.  A lifeline is the line or rope or life preserver, that I saw on the Lifeguard’s chair.  Or it is a rope that hangs around the edge of a lifeboat for those in the water to hold, or a rope connected to a lifebuoy that will save someone from peril in the water, or lines around a boat to prevent anyone from going overboard.

People are sinking all around us, lost without Christ.  I look at people’s faces and sometimes see the sadness and despair of life.  Who will go tell them about Jesus?  We, as believers, are all called to throw out the lifeline, sharing the Gospel, telling those around us that Jesus Saves!

If you are reading this today, and you are sinking out there on the dark waves of sin, grasp the lifeline of the Gospel of Jesus Christ today, right now: ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’ Acts 16:31.

“Father, in the Name of Jesus, I realize that many, many out there are lost on the waves of sin, sinking without hope, but I pray, right now, that many will grasp the lifeline that Jesus is offering, salvation through the blood of Jesus, and a new life beginning in Christ, and saved for all eternity to be forever with the Lord, and to begin that new life as a witness to the power of salvation, and then go and throw out the lifeline to others around them also.  And I pray this in the name of Jesus!  Amen……

Pastor Sharon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANTICIPATE A GREAT DAY COMING!

ANTICIPATING A GREAT

DAY COMING!

As I continue be reminded of our recent journey to the east coast, we are again on the beach, on the Atlantic Ocean.  The beach is packed with people, umbrellas and chairs.  It is Sunday and I would rather be with my church family in worship.  But here I am with my family, and sitting in my chair with my notebook wondering what the Lord will show me this day.  The beach is filled with metaphors reminding me of our walk with the Lord on this journey “home.”

First of all I noticed the “sun worshippers.”  There were many, many of them stretched out on their beach towels or in their chairs soaking up the sun.  But I was reminded of a day coming, when we who love Jesus will be worshipping the “Son.”  As we gather around the crystal sea (Revelation 15:2) our worship will be in joyful praise:

 “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying:

 Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!

Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!

Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy, for all nations shall come

And worship before You” Revelation 15:3-4.

As we all gather on that glorious day with all the saints from all the ages, we will not be wearing “swim suits” and such, as they were that day as I sat on the beach in Maryland.  But we will be clothed  in beautiful robes, clean and white.  See Revelation 7:9.  And gathered there will be saints from all tribes and nations, and we all will be glorifying our Mighty God, for all the wonderful works He has done for us.  And won’t it be wonderful to see Him face to face?  After all the trials and struggles of this life now, we will finally behold Him in all His glory.  I can hardly wait, can you?

I noticed that the ocean was getting a little choppy, and clouds were gathering, as a storm was coming.  What will we do if “home” is several blocks away?  On this journey of life, as we walk with Jesus, sometimes we feel the wind getting stronger, storm clouds began to gather on the horizon, and we wonder if, in our present circumstances,  how far away is “home.”  “Will I drown in these present circumstances in my life?  Or will I be able to keep my eyes on Jesus and keep my focus on my heavenly home which may be just around the next bend?”

As I walked down to the beach to watch my husband jump some waves along with the grandchildren, I noticed something different about this stretch of beach and others I have seen on the east coast, there is no seaweed!  I have been on beaches in California and in Oregon where the seaweed will wrap itself around your feet if you are not careful.  Some beaches are littered with it.  And if a person is not careful, the seaweed could wrap around your feet and pull you down.  And then there are riptides, and warnings were soon out along the Atlantic Coast of riptides forming because of the hurricane to the south.

What is pulling you under today?  Has the “seaweed” of depression or grief or life threatening illness threatening to pull you under in despair?  Are “riptides” of sin pulling you away from the shore, away from the arms of Jesus?   We live in a world where there is much despair, and fear is gripping even God’s people.  Will you let the fear threatening this world and even our own nation pull you under, and you lose your glimpse of our Precious Lord as He walks the sea, wanting to calm your storm and bring you His peace?  Some of you weep through the dark nights of despair, wondering when daylight will come into your life.  Let the Lord Jesus calm your tears and bring comfort as you read the words of Charles Spurgeon:

“Come, my heart, begin thy hallelujahs!  Weep not all through the night, but wipe thine eyes in anticipation of the morning.  Those tears are dews mean us as much good as sunbeams of morrow.  Tears clear the eyes for the sight of God in His grace and make the vision of His favor more precious!”’

 Yes, my friends, anticipate the morning!  The day is coming when you won’t have to weep through the night, because Jesus will wipe all tears from your eyes.  When those tearful times do come, they cause us to look up into the face of God, our merciful God, and our walk with the Lord becomes even more precious, as we look back and see how far He has led us and the struggles we have gone through.

“That is why we never give up.  Though are bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long.  Yet they produce for us an immeasurable great glory that will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not seen.  For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever” II Corinthians 4:16-18. (NLT)

What precious promises and hope we have in Jesus.  Yes, the storms will come, but my Jesus walks on the waves of the mighty ocean, speaking “peace, peace, be still.”  And as we continue our journey with Him, we are reminded every day, of the great day coming, maybe just around the next bend, or over the next hill.  Cling tight to Him, my friends.  We have a great day coming, and with much anticipation we look forward to that day.  Blessed be His Precious Name!

Pastor Sharon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LAUNCH OUT INTO THE MERCY OF GOD

LAUNCH OUT INTO

THE MERCY OF GOD!

Try to picture with me a day at the seashore on the Atlantic Coast.  These beaches have no rocks, as we have on the west coast, just solid sand.  And that sand is packed with thousands of people as you look in both directions.  And each person or family unit is crowded under umbrellas, miles and miles of them, in all colors.  There are children screaming, waves roaring, seagulls hovering over all.  And then there are the planes flying low over the ocean flying their banners to advertise products or motels or hotels offering their services.  The skies on this particular day were hazy and the weather was very warm.

As I sat under our umbrella on this particular day, as our children and grandchildren  were out in the waves, I began to ponder this scene in the light of what the Lord was trying to show me about my walk with a the Lord.  How do all those umbrellas remind me of His tender care and protection, and His mercy?  Is there a message there for me, and for you, as I begin to write down what I observed.

As I sat there watching the rolling sea and the waves crashing upon the shore, I was remembering how God created the mighty oceans and gave them a boundary they couldn’t cross over.  I never tire of watching the sea and just amazed at its mighty depths.  I am reminded of an old hymn, as I see my family members, including my husband frolicking in the waves, and others, like me, prefer to just stand upon the shore, maybe wet my toes a little.  I am reminded of God’s unlimited mercy, like a rolling sea:

 LAUNCH OUT

"The mercy of God is an ocean divine, a boundless and fathomless flood; launch out in the deep, cut away the shoreline, and be lost in the fullness of God.

CHORUS:  Launch out into the deep, oh, let the shoreline go.  Launch out, launch out in the ocean divine, out where the full tides flow.

But many, alas! Only stand on the shore and gaze on the ocean so wide; they never have ventured its depths to explore, or to launch on its fathomless tide.

And others just venture away from the land, and linger so near to the shore, that the surf and the slime that beat over the strand, dash o’er them in floods ever more.

Oh, let us launch out on this ocean so broad, where floods of salvation  e’re  flow; oh, let us be lost in the mercy of God, till the depths of His fullness we know."  (Albert B. Simpson)

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever” I Chronicles 16:34.

The word mercy appears 261 times in the King James Version of the Bible.  The phrase, “His mercy endureth forever” is repeated 35 times in the Old Testament.  Why do you think it is repeated so often?  Perhaps so we never forget that we are in need of God’s mercy daily.

 If today, you feel like your sin is so big that God can’t or won’t forgive you, He invites you to launch right out into the waves of His mercy and just be lost in all the fullness of God.  God’s mercy is so great, that He invites us to walk right in and let His mercy overflow your heart with His love, and He wants that for you my friend.  Our merciful God sent His Son to die on the cross for you, shed His precious blood for you, wherever you are.  His love and mercy is always flowing, and is flowing now to you.

Whatever situation you are in right now, God’s mercy is flowing, and invites you to, by faith to enter that ocean of His divine mercy.  “God’s mercy is boundless, free and, through Jesus Christ our Lord, available to us now in our present situation.” (A.W. Tozer).

I felt His presence there on the beach and as I pondered on His mercy and His love,   He was the “Gentle “Ocean Breeze” filling my day.  He was my “Sonshine” shining through the hazy clouds.  He is the shade on my right hand as I sit under my umbrella.  He is “Peace” as I recall remembering how He walked on the sea and calmed the waves.  I remember as I feel the sand beneath my feet of His promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 in that his descendants would number more than the sand on the seashore.  Can you count grains of sand in even a handful?

Yes, we serve a loving and merciful God, and “mercy” is just one of God’s attributes.  As I pondered those things I felt about Him, and watched the mighty Atlantic Ocean roll, that all that He is can never be measured, nor can we comprehend Almighty God.

“He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at His rebuke. He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He breaks up the storm.  By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!  But the thunder of His power who can understand? “(Job 26:10-14).

 In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon



 

 

 

 

 

UNTIL THE STORM CLOUDS PASS

UNTIL THE STORM CLOUDS PASS

As we traveled on our way to the east coast recently,  the journey was smooth.  We made our gates on time, and thankfully there was not any turbulence.  We did hear that there may be storms over Philadelphia, our destination.  But we have flown through those storms in the past so we were not alarmed, and looked forward to reuniting with our children once again.

We soon were nearing our destination and began to get excited about landing, after a long cross country flight.  Then we noticed the deep clouds, lots of them.  Then the Captain made an announcement that because the storm below was so severe, that he was unable to land the plane.  He stated that he would have to circle around and around until the clouds parted, or he would have to take us to another airport elsewhere to be able to land.  So we prayed and watched the clouds.  Sometimes they would part a little and we could see a city below, but then would thicken again.  And there was the lightening flickering through those clouds.  And we continued to circle around and around up there above those clouds.  Then, finally came the announcement that we were going to finally land in Philadelphia, a bit late as we had planned, but we finally were on solid ground.

Are you going through a great storm right now?  Sometimes it is so severe that we feel that we cannot keep our feet on solid ground.  But finally, the clouds will part and we can “land” on solid ground again, and feel safe in our Lord’s care.  I remember so well going through cancer some years back, the uncertainty and the fear that I felt.  And I felt so alone in that battle.  Where was my God in all this?  And I ask the question, “Why?”  And then one Sunday morning, the Associate Pastor in our church sang a song that I felt was just for me, and I was reminded again of that song up there in the plane, in the clouds, as the storm raged below and around us, wondering when we would find solid ground again and the storm would part and the sun would shine again.

 TILL THE STORM PASSES BY

“In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face, while the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place.  ‘Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry, keep me safe till the storm passes by.

CHORUS: Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more, till the clouds roll forever from the sky; hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand, keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered, “there is no need to try, for there’s no end of sorrow, there’s no hope by and by.”  But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise where the storms never darken the skies.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more, let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore; in that land where the tempest never comes, Lord, may I dwell with Thee when the storm passes by?  (Mosie Lister)

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”  Psalms 91:1.

 In that midnight hour of pain and suffering, or whatever trial you are going through, He covers you with His shadow, isn’t that wonderful?  And there is safety there.  While the storm rages around you and the thunder crashes, you who love the Lord, are abiding under His shadow and there is peace and safety there.  Up there in the sky as the storm raged around and below, I noticed that as the clouds were dark, I could see the shadow of the wings of the plane upon the clouds below.  And that reminds me of His shadow upon our clouds of storm and uncertainty.  What a beautiful picture of our Lord and His precious love for His children!

And as we go through these great trials, we will become fearful and sometimes want to just give up, but our God promises us the day will come when we can rise above those trials, and walk in victory again, Oh, Praise the Lord!

 And the day is coming, my friends, when the trials of this life will be over, and we will stand in His Presence, in that wonderful place He has prepared for His children, and there will be no more storms to darken the skies.  We will be at peace with our Lord forever!

Also, on this trip, we heard the news concerning the great hurricane that was bearing down on the southern coasts.  And I noted that in the center of the hurricane is the eye, and it is peaceful there.  The storm rages around.  But when that eye goes over, it is calm before the storm.  That is like our Lord Jesus.  He is the Prince of Peace, and the Word talks over and over about the peace that He brings. 

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” John 16:33.

He calls us to have peace, because of His cross and His sacrifice for us, He has overcome the world, and He calls us to be joyful, be cheerful.  I know that is not easy in the midst of your pain and suffering, but He comes to wrap us in His love and in His peace.  He will hold you safe until the storm clouds pass and the sun shines in your world again. 

 “Father, I lift all those out there who are in the midst of a great storm right now.  They don’t know when their “Plane” will be landing or when the skies will clear.  But you are there, your shadow is on the clouds of their suffering, they are hid under the shadow of your wings.  Thank you for your comfort, for your peace that only you can bring.  And we look forward, Precious Lord, to the day when we will see you face to face, and the storms will come no more.  So lift up these dear ones, just now, into your Precious Arms, and may they feel your love around them just now, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Pastor Sharon