‘Dear Bill, today I come to this memorial, this black wall—I come to place flowers and a letter, just because I miss you so.  And I want the whole world to know that.  The other day I saw a picture of Elvis Presley on a poster in a music store window.  Under his picture it said, “Remember I lived.  Forget that I died.” I stood looking at this for a long time, wondering how you possibly could forget someone you loved so much had died.  Yes, I remember, Bill, that you lived.  I remember our laughter together and our tears when your rabbits died.  And especially when your grandparents died.  I remember when you would get mad at me when you had to do the dishes and carry out the rubbish, or be in bed at a certain time on school nights.  But, Bill, I can’t forget that you died.  I will never forget the day I heard of your death.  I will never forget the long days waiting for your body to be returned from war.  I will never forget the millions of tears that I have shed.  And I can’t forget, my son, the terrible hurt because you’re not with me and you never will be again.  I have cried many, many tears since you left us because I saw no reason for you to die.  And I see no reason now.  But this I do know, you are happier with God in heaven than you ever could be here on Earth.  So forgive me, my son, my Billy, because when I cry, most of my tears are for me because you are not with me and I miss you so.  Love, from your Mum.’

In Canberra, Wellington, Washington, London, or Ottawa, in state and province capitals, in cities and towns, in churches and other public buildings throughout Australia, New Zealand and other Western nations, stand memorials erected in memory of the men and women who gave their lives to help guarantee our freedom.

How sad it would be if loved ones did forget their sons and daughters who died fighting for their country.  How sad it would be if we forgot them too.  The freedom we enjoy today was paid for by their deaths.  May we never forget or ignore their sacrifice, nor take for granted the freedom they bought us.

There’s another memorial which would be even more tragic to ignore.  It’s the Cross of Jesus Christ.  It is seen on churches everywhere.  It is in memory of one who made a sacrifice that is almost beyond human comprehension.

What is so difficult to comprehend is that God loved us so much that he became a man.  Knowing that there was no other way to save sinful human kind, God the Son, Jesus Christ, temporarily laid aside the form of his divinity and came to Earth as a man to pay the penalty for our sin—death!  In dying, he made possible the gift of forgiveness, eternal life and freedom.  Christ was the only one qualified to do this for us.  He did so on the Cross at Easter time almost two thousand years ago.

May we never forget his sacrifice, or ignore the free pardon that he has for all who believe in him, confess their sinfulness, and respond to his invitation to receive him as their personal Lord and Saviour.  When we do this, God gives us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life—a gift that no amount of money, prestige or personal effort could ever purchase.

If you have never thanked Jesus Christ for dying for you, confessed your sins to him, and invited him into your heart and life as Lord and Saviour, why not do this right now through a simple prayer.

©ACTS International, PO Box 88, Kent Town  SA  5071.  Used with permission.

Narrandera Christian Fellowship

by Max Lucado

I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me. ~ John 10:14–15

BEHOLD A HERO of the west: the cowboy.

A thousand head of cattle pass behind him. A thousand miles of trail lie before him. A thousand women would love to hold him. But none do. None will. He lives to drive cattle, and he drives cattle to live. He is honest in poker and quick with a gun. Hard riding. Slow talking. His best friend is his horse, and his strength is his grit.

He needs no one. He is a cowboy. The American hero.

Behold a hero in the Bible: the shepherd.

On the surface he appears similar to the cowboy. He, too, is rugged. He sleeps where the jackals howl and works where the wolves prowl. Never off duty. Always alert. Like the cowboy, he makes his roof the stars and the pasture his home.
But that is where the similarities end.

The shepherd loves his sheep. It’s not that the cowboy doesn’t appreciate the cow; it’s just that he doesn’t know the animal. He doesn’t even want to. Have you ever seen a picture of a cowboy caressing a cow? Have you ever seen a shepherd caring for a sheep? Why the difference?

Simple. The cowboy leads the cow to slaughter. The shepherd leads the sheep to be shorn. The cowboy wants the meat of the cow. The shepherd wants the wool of the sheep. And so they treat the animals differently.

The cowboy drives the cattle. The shepherd leads the sheep.

A herd has a dozen cowboys. A flock has one shepherd.

The cowboy wrestles, brands, herds, and ropes. The shepherd leads, guides, feeds, and anoints.

The cowboy knows the name of the trail hands. The shepherd knows the name of the sheep.

The cowboy whoops and hollers at the cows. The shepherd calls each sheep by name.

Aren’t we glad Christ didn’t call himself the Good Cowboy? But some do perceive God that way. A hard-faced, square-jawed ranch- hand from heaven who drives his church against its will to places it doesn’t want to go.

But that’s a wrong image. Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who knows his sheep by name and lays down his life for them. The Shepherd who protects, provides, and possesses his sheep. The Bible is replete with this picture of God.

Eighty percent of Jesus’ listeners made their living off of the land. Many were shepherds. They lived on the mesa with the sheep. No flock ever grazed without a shepherd, and no shepherd was ever off duty. When sheep wandered, the shepherd found them. When they fell, he carried them. When they were hurt, he healed them.

Sheep aren’t smart. They tend to wander into running creeks for water, then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They need a shepherd to lead them to “calm water” (Ps. 23:2). They have no natural defense—no claws, no horns, no fangs. They are helpless. Sheep need a shepherd with a “rod and … walking stick” (Ps. 23:4) to protect them. They have no sense of direction. They need someone to lead them “on paths that are right” (Ps. 23:3).

So do we. We, too, tend to be swept away by waters we should have avoided. We have no defense against the evil lion who prowls about seeking who he might devour. We, too, get lost. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way” (Isa. 53:6).

We need a shepherd. We don’t need a cowboy to herd us; we need a shepherd to care for us and to guide us.

He’s not a cowboy, and we aren’t cattle. He doesn’t brand us, and we’re not on the way to the market. He guides, feeds, and anoints. And Word has it that he won’t quit until we reach the homeland.

From A Gentle Thunder
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1995) Max Lucado

by Max Lucado

I only ask one thing form the LORD. This is what I want: let me live in the LORD’s house all my life.
— Psalm 27:4

I’d like to talk with you about your house. Let’s step through the front door and walk around a bit. Every so often it’s wise to do a home inspection, you know—check the roof for leaks and examine the walls for bows and the foundation for cracks. We’ll see if your kitchen cupboards are full and glance at the books on the shelves in your study.

What’s that? You think it odd that I want to look at your house? You thought this was a book on spiritual matters? It is. Forgive me, I should have been clearer. I’m not talking about your visible house of stone or sticks, wood or straw, but your invisible one of thoughts and truths and convictions and hopes. I’m talking about your spiritual house.

You have one, you know. And it’s no typical house. Conjure up your fondest notions and this house exceeds them all. A grand castle has been built for your heart. Just as a physical house exists to care for the body, so the spiritual house exists to care for your soul.

You’ve never seen a house more solid: the roof never leaks, the walls never crack, and the foundation never trembles. You’ve never seen a castle more splendid: the observatory will stretch you, the chapel will humble you, the study will direct you, and the kitchen will nourish you.

Ever lived in a house like this? Chances are you haven’t. Chances are you’ve given little thought to housing your soul. We create elaborate houses for our bodies, but our souls are relegated to a hillside shanty where the night winds chill us and the rain soaks us. Is it any wonder the world is so full of cold hearts?

Doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to live outside. It’s not God’s plan for your heart to roam as a Bedouin. God wants you to move in out of the cold and live … with him. Under his roof there is space available. At his table a plate is set. In his living room a wingback chair is reserved just for you. And he’d like you to take up residence in his house. Why would he want you to share his home?

Simple, he’s your Father.

You were intended to live in your Father’s house. Any place less than his is insufficient. Any place far from his is dangerous. Only the home built for your heart can protect your heart. And your Father wants you to dwell in him.

No, you didn’t misread the sentence and I didn’t miswrite it. Your Father doesn’t just ask you to live with him, he asks you to live inhim. As Paul wrote, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV).

Don’t think you are separated from God, he at the top end of a great ladder, you at the other. Dismiss any thought that God is on Venus while you are on earth. Since God is Spirit (John 4:23), he is next to you: God himself is our roof. God himself is our wall. And God himself is our foundation.

Moses knew this. “LORD,” he prayed, “you have been our home since the beginning” (Ps. 90:1). What a powerful thought: God as your home.

From The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado
]]> http://narranderachristianfellowship.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/a-home-for-your-heart/feed/ 0 harllyn Excerpted from http://narranderachristianfellowship.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/dont-leave-him-in-the-manger/ http://narranderachristianfellowship.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/dont-leave-him-in-the-manger/#comments Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:26:57 +0000 harllyn http://narranderachristianfellowship.wordpress.com/?p=217 ]]> What a wonderful time of the year it is with families getting together for their Christmas traditions. Part of that tradition for many has to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Some of us will go to Christmas parties, school celebrations, Carols by Candlelight and drive around the streets of our town admiring the dazzling display of tiny lights.

As part of “Light Up Narrandera”, each Christmas we have placed a nativity scene in our front yard. To our amazement last three Christmases the baby Jesus was stolen from the manger. In fact all over the world baby Jesus has disappeared from the manager in thousands of nativity scenes.

This happening did not made us angry but has given us the opportunity to tell people the real meaning of Christmas.

Most people have heard the story of Joseph and Mary, the angels, shepherds, the wise men and Jesus in the manger. But for many, that is where the story ends. Jesus has been left in the manger. He is still a cuddly, lovely little baby and not much more.

It is a lovely tradition that has meaning during this time of the year, but then it’s back to our normal lives ‘til Christmas comes around again.

Jesus is not a baby in the manger anymore. He is not walking around Jerusalem. He is not on the Cross. He is not in the tomb either. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven. All authorities and powers are subject to Him. No matter how crazy this world may get, Jesus is, and will always be in control.

Again Jesus is not some baby in a manger; He is God. When you see Him as God, you see His power, His glory, His love, His forgiveness and His wrath. When you gaze into the manger you don’t see those things, you just see a baby.

How do you see Jesus?

Do you see Him as just the baby in a manger at Christmas or do you see Him as God,  Creator of the whole universe? Do your realise that one day you will stand in front of Him to give account of your whole life.

When you see Him as your Saviour, your Redeemer who took our place on the Cross, not for His sin but for yours and mine, you can never see Him just as a baby in the manger.

Remember this Christmas season that Jesus is out of the manger. Remember whom you will answer to for your entire life when you die. Make sure it is the Biblical Jesus that you believe in for your salvation. Heaven is real, Hell is real, God is real and so is Jesus. He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

The Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father, doesn’t fit in the manger.

So don’t leave your faith in the manger.