Unexpected Recompense

Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord. Ephesians 6:8.
In this life our work for God often seems to be almost fruitless. Our efforts to do good may be earnest and persevering, yet we may not be permitted to witness their results. To us the effort may seem to be lost. But the Saviour assures us that our work is noted in heaven, and that the recompense cannot fail.
The poor widow who cast her two mites into the Lord’s treasury little knew what she was doing. Her example of self-sacrifice has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every land and in every age. It has brought to the treasury of God gifts from the high and the low, the rich and the poor. It has helped to sustain missions, to establish hospitals, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and preach the gospel to the poor. Multitudes have been blessed through her unselfish deed. And the outworking of all these lines of influence she, in the day of God, will be permitted to see. So with Mary’s precious gift to the Saviour. How many have been inspired to loving service by the memory of that broken alabaster box! And how she will rejoice as she beholds all this!
“Verily I say unto you,” Christ declared, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” Looking into the future, the Saviour spoke with certainty concerning His gospel. It was to be preached throughout the world. And as far as the gospel extended, Mary’s gift would shed its fragrance, and hearts would be blessed through her unstudied act. Kingdoms would rise and fall; the names of monarchs and conquerors would be forgotten; but this woman’s deed would be immortalized upon the pages of sacred history. Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.
Every impulse of the Holy Spirit leading men to goodness and to God is noted in the books of heaven, and in the day of God everyone who has given himself as an instrument for the Holy Spirit’s working will be permitted to behold what his life has wrought.
Maranatha p. 359
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—–We need your prayers right now. Here is an update from Barbara on James concerning the continuing bleeding: Not good. It’s the cancer on his esophagus. It’s ulcerated. They can’t cauterize it because it would fry it and it would bleed more. They don’t know what they can do. If they can’t stop it, I don’t know how long he will live. Rob
—–Please pray for Ronnie Jay as he is travelling across country this Thanksgiving holiday. Rose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
When Ronnie Jay was eight years old, I wanted to buy him something special for Christmas. As I passed a pet store, I wandered inside. Cats and dogs were out of the question as I am allergic to them. I saw some cages filled with hamsters and gerbils. There was the perfect pet for my son! These gerbils came in a variety of colors. I chose a tiny black and white one that had just been weaned.
Ronnie Jay was delighted! He took such good care of him, that Gerbily-erbilylived to be nearly five years old. To soothe Ronnie Jay’s sadness at the death of his pet, we went that very day and bought another one. The next one didn’t last as long, nor did the next, nor the next, each living the customary year or two in captivity.
Each of these little rodents has some common traits that gave us enjoyment. They were gentile and didn’t bite, which made them fun to handle. They liked to run in their wheel as well as in this little ball that they could get inside and explore the house to their “heart’s content.” One of the funniest things they did that made us laugh was the way they would eat M&M’s. When given one of these coated chocolate candies, they would carefully shell it and eat the chocolate inside. Not one of the gerbils we had had would eat the outside of the candy. They must have thought that candy coating was the shell of a very sweet seed.
Their approach to life is the way they had been taught, but it caused them to miss out on part of the treat . So it is with us. Our thought patterns, our actions, our words are largely developed from what we have been taught and the experiences we have gone through. They do not always make sense, but we stick to them because they are familiar: they are comfortable. They are full of self, pride, and sin.
Often, deep within us, we long for something better. We have a desire for a change, yet day after day, year after year, we think the same thoughts, do the same things, react the same way. We become discontented and try to fill the void we are feeling by tasting the pleasures of this world, but they leave us unsatisfied. Those fleeting pleasures last but a moment. When they are over, we are must look for something else to satisfy that emptiness within us.
Each of us have within our reach the answer that can break us out of our routine. Each can find the fulfillment we crave. True joy and happiness is found in God’s Word. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat” Isa 55:1 How much we need that water of life! How much we need a way to receive it. Jesus says to us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Our Dear Saviour is the fulfillment of all our desire for happiness and peace, but it costs us something to accept His great offer of salvation. It costs us our preconceived ideas, the fleeting pleasures of sin, our cherished sin, our self-centeredness. Sometimes it will even cause us to be hated by the very ones we love the most. Yet all is worth giving up for the One Who loves us so. Jesus told a parable to illustrate this fact. “the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matt 13:44-46
The way that the Good Shepherd leads will open to us new avenues of thought, new ways of doing things, new ways of speaking. He will lead us in the way in which we should go both here in this world and in the earth made new. “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Rev 7:17 What an experience can be ours!
May we set aside everything that distracts and follow our Loving Redeemer today. May we allow Him to have complete control of our thoughts, our words, our actions. May we find our greatest happiness in the One Who left the glories of Heaven and died upon the cruel cross that we might spend eternity in close fellowship with Him is my prayer.
Rose