someone is coming!

hey musiclovers!

sorry it's been so long, but this one's been building. i heard a speaker a couple of weeks ago, and one point he made stuck to me and i haven't been able to get it out. so drop your quarter, press A-1 and hopefully, you'll enjoy this selection from the jukebox of life.....

in the early 80's, a man was driving on the highway. as he traveled down the road, an airplane flew close to the ground, then crashed into the FROZEN potomac river. there were 79 people on board, but only 4 survived the crash.

the man pulled his car to the side, got out and ran down to the river's bank. when he got there, several people were trying to decide how to help. they had started making a rope by tying jumper cables, cloth diapers, jackets, blankets and whatever else they had in their cars.

this man suddenly just grabbed the end of the "rope" and tied it around his waist. he then jumped onto the icy river. he clawed his way towards the survivors. he slipped, fell into the water, crawled back out and kept going. several times, he slid into the frozen river. jumping from ice chunk to ice chunk. he broke several fingers, toes and a rib while jumping across the river. then he came to the end of the rope. he was still 4 feet away from the people that he was trying to save. and no matter what they tried, he couldn't reach them.

finally, the rescue helicopter came and got everyone out of the river and took them to the hospital. our friend who tried to save them, was in the hospital for 4 days with broken bones, and when he got to the hospital, his body temperature was still at 80 degrees farenhiet.


at the press conference, the survivors were being interviewed and one of the women said that the helicopter didn't rescue them. a reporter told her that she wasn't thinking clearly, that she didn't remember it right. but she said NO, I REMEMBER JUST FINE. the helicopter got us out of the river, but the sight of that man saved us. he just kept coming and coming. and as long as we could see him coming, we knew that SOMEONE was coming to SAVE US.

WOW!

my thought is this. how many times do we see people suffering, hurting, or just plain miserable in their sins, and we don't reach out? my friends, it is time for us to tie the rope around our waist, jump in and show them that, hey, someone is coming to save you!!!!!!

the truth of the matter is this. they can't save themselves. and we can't save them. but we can show them that their is one who can save them. and if they see us coming, then they will have HOPE. and what greater thing can we offer someone who is lost and dying? hope of salvation! i may not be able to reach them, but someone is coming. you may not be able to reach them, but someone is coming. they may feel like they're at the end of their rope, but thank God, someone is coming. but if they don't see us trying to help them, how can they have hope to hold on?

so i leave you with this thought. the plane is down. the survivors are losing hope. if not you, then who is going to give them the hope that someone is coming?

much love and God bless
theoldmusicbox

even when i didn't ask!!!

hey musiclovers!

this may just be a quick blog, or i may start to go on and on. i'm not sure yet, but stick with me, i'm sure you'll get a kick out of it!

as most of you know, i preached at evangel church of God 2 sundays ago. some of you were even kind enough to come and support me. (thanks very much, you'll never know what that means to me) anyway, a friend of mine who works with me in ministry came along with me. his name is robert. he is a really cool 19 year old with a heart on fire for God.

anyway, once we got there, i brought out my preaching bible. a pitiful thing that it is. i have beat it senseless. it even is being held together by duct tape. i gave him my typical response when he joked about it. i said "hey, bibles that are falling apart are usually owned by people that aren't". and we had a good laugh about it. i then preached one of the most heartfelt messages of my life, called "i want pretty feet". (yes, i know, i AM a dork) it was all about service and salvation. i was really pleased with the way that God used me.

the next week, robert gave me a brand new life application study bible. i almost broke down in tears.

you see, a little while back, i had to dispose of my old study bible. it was so abused that even duct tape couldn't hold it together anymore. this really bummed me out, but hey, i still had my preaching bible, and my travel bible, and my e-sword that i downloaded for free from my friend bill's chuch's website (thanks man, that is an awesome resource). but still, i no longer had my good study bible.

while i was preparing my sermon, i talked to God (yeah, i talk and read and study all at the same time). while studying, i mentioned that i really missed my study bible. i wasn't complaining, and i didn't ask for a new one. i just mentioned how much i missed it. then didn't think about it again because i knew i didn't have the money to get one that i really wanted.

so, imagine my surprise, when out of nowhere, my friend robert put that study bible into my hands. all i could think was "wow Lord, i didn't even ask you for this". it was all i could do to keep from blubbering like an idiot. imagine. God cares for me so much, that He gave me something that i didn't even ask for, just because He knew that i really wanted it.

the really, really cool part is this. i would probably NEVER have bought this particular bible myself. but after checking it out, i have to say that it is quite possibly the BEST study bible that i have ever owned. it has so many different helps and resources that it may take awhile to find ways to use them all!

you see, this is just yet another example of the greatness of the God that i serve. because, even when i didn't ask Him, he gave me something that i really wanted. because, He is just that cool.

much love
theoldmusicbox