Convinced: the Price He'd Pay for the Freedom of Others
(1) The heart problem required this kind of price ()
The Crane and the Swan
An old fable tells about a crane that was wading in a stream looking for snails when a beautiful swan landed nearby. The crane had never seen a swan before, so he asked, “What are you?” “I’m a swan,” came the reply. “And where did you come from?” the crane inquired. “Heaven,” the swan answered. “What is that?” asked the crane. The swan eagerly began to explain its beauty and glory. He spoke of the new Jerusalem, the city of pure gold with a jasper wall and pearly gates. He described its “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” At that point the crane interrupted, “Tell me, are there any snails in heaven?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the swan said. “Then I don’t care to go there,” the crane stated decisively. “I like snails!”
Can you see how some people are like that crane? They are so enamored by earthly possessions that they fail to appreciate the eternal riches of Christ and all He has to offer. Like the rich young ruler in Mark 10, they foolishly choose the things of earth instead of the wonderful realities of heaven.
R.W.D. Our Daily Bread, March 18
(2) This kind of price redefines EVERYTHING ()
(3) Everything redefined is dramatically evident (, )
Datona 500
As a hundred thousand fans watched, Richard Petty ended his 45-race losing streak and picked up stockcar racing’s biggest purse—$73,500. It all happened at the Daytona 500.
Petty’s win, however, was a complete surprise. Going into the last lap, he was running 30 seconds behind the two leaders. All at once the car in second place tried to pass the No. 1 man on the final stretch. This caused the first car to drift inside and force the challenger onto the infield grass, and slightly out of control. What happened next was incredible. The offended driver pulled his car back onto the track, caught up with the leader, and forced him into the outside wall. Both vehicles came to a screeching halt. The two drivers jumped out and quickly got into an old-fashioned slugging match. In the meantime, third-place Petty cruised by for the win.
Source unknown
Applications:
(1) Jesus lovingly died to free you from the dominion of an evil heart. -
Runner
For fifteen years Jim Fixx, author of the 1978 bestseller, The Complete Book of Running, ran eighty miles a week. He appeared to be in tip-top shape. It didn’t seem possible that a man his age could be in better condition. Yet at age fifty-two Fixx died of a massive heart attack while running alone on a Vermont road. His wife,
Alice, later said she was certain that Fixx had no idea he suffered from a heart problem. Why? Because he refused to get regular checkups. After Jim Fixx’s death, doctors speculated that his heart was so strong he may not have had the telltale chest pains or shortness of breath that usually signal arterial heart disease!
Today in the Word, May, 1990, MBI, p. 7
(2) Faith is not a sign of weakness but an acceptance of a weighty reality: “I cannot; but He can.” - ,
(3) The sacrifice of Jesus is not only the way to be saved but it is also the way in which his true followers live. - ,
(4) The reward of being saved and following Christ is to be experienced NOW among the redefined people of God. -
(5) Our disputes often reveal sinful desires which are rooted in an old-man, non-Christ-centered understanding of “authority.” - ,
The Auction of Lady Anne Erskine’s Soul
Rowland Hill, the great English preacher, was once speaking in a large auditorium. In the middle of his sermon, Lady Ann Erskine, who did not attend church often, but who was much in evidence at every prominent concert or ball, made an ostentatious entrance.
She had been heard previously to say that she would like sometime to hear Hill preach just “to please herself.” Of course, when she entered the audience turned to see her in all her finery, the preacher recognized who she was.
All at once he stopped abruptly. “My friends,” he shouted. “I have something here for sale.” Everyone was startled. “I am going to auction something worth more than all the crowns of Europe—the soul of Lady Anne Erskine.”
“Will anyone bid for her soul? Hark! I think I hear a bid. Who bids? The World!”
The lady’s surprise was indescribable, as all eyes were now focused upon her.
“World, what will you give for her soul?”
“I will give pleasures, honor, and riches, a life of luxury and good times.”
“Nothing more? Then your price is too small for us. For what would it profit the lady is she gained the whole world and lost her own soul? Hark! I hear another bid. Who bids? Satan!”
“I will give her the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. She can satisfy all her cravings with me.”
“And what do you demand in return?” “Her soul! She passes once for all into my power.”
“Your price is too high, Satan. You are a murderer from the beginning, a liar, and the father of lies. I can hear another bid. It is the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“I have already given My life for the lady. I have poured out My heart’s blood for her when upon the cross I paid the ransom for the whole world. I will bring peace into her soul. I will clothe her with the garment of righteousness and adorn her with the gold of faith. I will keep her like a signet ring and take her to be with Myself in glory, for where I am there shall My servant be also.”
“What dost Thou ask in return, Lord Jesus?”
“Her sin, her evil conscience, all that torments her.”
“Lord Jesus, Thou shalt have her.” Then turning to the lady he asked, “Lady Erskine, are you satisfied?”
“Yes,” she answered with a loud, firm voice, while deep emotion passed through the whole meeting. Lady Erskine kept her word. From that hour her life was changed. She became a friend and mother to the poor and sick, the miserable and distressed. No one made so many sacrifices as she, for the cause of Jesus Christ. Throughout the remainder of her life she thanked God for the impulse that took her to hear Rowland Hill, and for the love that snatched her from the clutches of a deceiving world.
—G. D. Lemphers in Moody Monthly,
Copyrighted. Used by permission.