When we enjoy God, we enjoy Him in His eternity without any flux… Time is fluid, but eternity is stable; and after many ages, the joys will be as savory and satisfying as if they had been but that moment first tasted by our hungry appetites. When the glory of the Lord shall rise upon you, it shall be so far from ever setting, that after millions of years are expired, as numerous as the sands on the seashore, the sun, in the light of whose countenance you shall live, shall be as bright as at the first appearance; He will be so far from ceasing to flow, that He will flow as strong, as full, as at the first communication of Himself in glory to the creature. God is always vigorous and flourishing; a pure act of life, sparkling new and fresh rays of life and light to the creature, flourishing with a perpetual spring, and contenting the most capacious desire; forming your interest, pleasure, and satisfaction; with an infinite variety, without any change or succession; He will have variety to increase delights, and eternity to perpetuate them; this will be the fruit of the enjoyment of an infinite and eternal God.
Stephen Charnock

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Embarrassing Moments

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#1 · May 6, 2003, 9:45 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

~~~ Embarrassing Moments ~~~
 
The Board Meeting had come to an end.  Bob started to stand up and jostled
the table, spilling his coffee over his notes.  "How embarrassing. I am
getting so clumsy in my old age."   Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we
were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around
to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others.
 
Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment."
     
Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in San
Pedro.  My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea.  He had his own boat,
but it was hard making a living on the sea.  He worked hard and would stay
out until he caught enough to feed the family.  Not just enough for our
family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at
home."
 
He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad.  He was a big
man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his
catch.  When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear
his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls.  His rain hat
would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my Mother washed
them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."
 
Frank's voice dropped a bit.  "When the weather was bad he would drive me
to school.  He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business.
That truck was older than he was.  It would wheeze and rattle down the
road.  You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the
school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear.  Half the
time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch a cloud of
smoke.  He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would
be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big
kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy.  It was so embarrassing for
me.  Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and  kiss me
goodbye!"
 
He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too old for
a goodbye kiss.  When we got to the school and came to a stop,he had his
usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and
said, ''No,  Dad.''  It was the first time I had ever talked to him that
way, and he had this surprised look on his face." I said, "Dad, I'm too old
for a goodbye kiss.  I'm too old for any kind of kiss."
 
"My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up.
I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield."
 
"You're right," he said. "You are a big boy....a man.  I won't kiss you
anymore."
 
Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his
eyes, as he spoke.  "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and
never came back.  It was a day when most of the fleet stayed in, but not
Dad.  He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets
half in and half out.  He must have gotten into a gale and was trying to
save the nets and the floats."
     
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks.  Frank
spoke again.  "Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give
me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to
smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck.  I wish I had
been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was
too old for a goodbye kiss."
 
I don't know about the rest of the guys, but I wanted more than anything to
put my arms around my Dad let him know just how special he was to me.
 
It is so easy to forget to tell people how important they are to us,
especially our parents.  if you are lucky enough to still have your dad
around, then go and see him.  Tell him how much you love and appreciate
him.  And if you can, put your arms around him, give him kiss on the cheek,
and let him know that he is the most important man in your life.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
~~~ 26 GUARDS ~~~
 
Here's a message that will bring you chills.  Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later?"
 
Or has anyone ever called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need?"
 
Read the following story that was sent to me and may it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray.
 
You will be blessed by this.
 
A missionary on Furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan.
 

"While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.
 

This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.  On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.
 
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured.  I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord.
 

I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.
 
Two weeks later I repeated my journey.  Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated.
 
He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines.
 
He said, 'Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight.  We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.
 
But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by
26 armed guards.
 
At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite.  The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them.  It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.' At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened.
 
The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:
 

"On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf.  I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you.  In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you.
 
Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"
 
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.  The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw.
 
There were 26.
 
This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways.  If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it.
 
Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell.
 
If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world toward God once again.  As the above true story clearly illustrates, "with God all things are possible"
 
More importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful.
 
Who says God does not work in mysterious ways?
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
~~~ God Is Never Far Away ~~~
 
God isn't far away;
He surrounds you
with His love.
It was He who opened
your eyes this morning.
It is His strength
that will carry you
through this day,
and it is in His peace
that your heart will
find rest tonight.
 
God isn't far away.
He is the light of this day.
He is the sky above you,
the earth beneath you,
and the life of every living thing.
He is in every smile,
in every thought that gives you hope,
in every tear that waters your soul,
and in every moment you can't
face alone.
 
He's the love on your loved one's face.
He's in the friends along the way...
in strangers you have yet to meet
and blessing you have yet to receive.
 
He's in every good thing
that touches you.
He is in every step you make
and every breath you take.
He's not far away,
for He is with you always.
 
Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara
 
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