Page 80 - BACK TO BETHLEHEM
P. 80

First steps are a big deal in my family.  I watched my
        children learn to walk.  I watch my grandchildren learn to walk.
        I have a great grandson I haven’t seen yet.  He’s brand new but
        it’s exciting to see them learn to walk.  This man was lame from
        his mother’s womb.  He never learned to walk.  Think of that!
        He never took one step!  And the first step he took is Acts 3:8,
        “And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he
        entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising
        God.”  Can you imagine that?

               If  my  little  grandchild  all  of  a  sudden  stood  up  and
        began  to  dance  around  and  praise  the  Lord,  it  would  be  an
        amazing miracle!  Fruit is a miracle and it’s every bit as big as
        that miracle.  It someone does wrong to you, you should forgive
        them.  You can’t forgive them.  God has to work in your heart
        a forgiveness and not just suppressing it and not talking about
        it but replacing it with love.  That’s a miracle!

               “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.”
        That’s impossible without a miracle.  This is the kind of miracle
        we need when we have fruit.  When something comes into your
        life that is not pleasant, when you get that doctor’s report or
        when  your  creature  comforts  fail,  you  aren’t  just  to  say,  “I
        accept it.  Thank You.”  You are to leap and to rejoice and say,
        “Thank You, Lord!”  If you see a Christian live like that, that’s
        fruit!
               Sometimes  Christians  are  called  to  take  care  of  the
        elderly  and  that’s  not  always  pleasant.    It  can  drain  your
        resources.  You need a miracle.  I took care of my stepfather.
        He was very mean.  One time my wife made a meal and he said,
        “Give that to the dogs.”  My wife didn’t say anything but I saw
        that she was very hurt.  I would walk into his room and he would
        argue with me and be stubborn and would not let me help him.
        When  I  walked  out  of  the  room,  Lillian  could  tell  if  I  was
        trusting the Lord or not.  I would leave the room so angry and
        my face was red.  So, the Lord gave me a prayer.  I would stop
        every day at the door before I went in and I would say, “Thy
        life for my life in this.”  I said it so many times that now the
        grandchildren say it.
   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85