Tuesday 7-21-15 (Home Modesto, California)
Scripture reading: 2 Kings 18-19
2 Chron 32 James 5
S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer SOAP
for the soul.
S. James 5:19-20 My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone
among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be
sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death
and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. NLT
O. What a way to end James’ letter! James, like the Good Shepherd, Jesus, is
concerned for lost, wandering sheep. His
words encourage us to go after that lost sheep.
Someone has left the pathway of truth, lost his or her enthusiasm for
joining others in worship…is missing and… nobody cares.
A. Perhaps I am too quick to scratch that name
off the roster. Maybe I give up on them too
easily. Someone slipped and fell. Someone was offended and succumbed to
discouragement. His or her faith withered
and hope was shattered. Some were
enticed by the opportunity to enter into a promising financial business
deal. Some were strong leaders, even
preachers of the Gospel… but they have left their calling and are lost in the
wilderness of riches. Who will care
enough to go searching? Who will reclaim
that backslidden sinner, saving them from death?
I don’t recall his name.
He was a young minister. We were
in the USA for our year of deputation visiting our supporting churches. “Come with me!” he insisted with great
enthusiasm. “You’ve got to check this
out.” I went with him to a meeting in San
Jose, not knowing what it was. I soon
discovered this was not a meeting to worship the Lord. He had discovered a way to make thousands of
dollars.
Before the meeting started, someone ran to the microphone and
yelled, “How do you feel?” Suddenly
almost everyone present jumped to their feet and screamed, “Great!” This happened several times. Next came the singing… songs about money…
followed by testimonies. One by one
people took the stand to tell how they were now earning tens of thousands of
dollars by joining this company. Finally
the big boss, a hair-lip who spoke with a heavy lisp, preached for most of an
hour promising riches. My minister
friend showed me other ministers and Christians that were present. He told me that I needed to come aboard. “Look, you could be making $5,000 a month in
3 months!”
I was heart-sick at what I saw. If ever there was a worship service, this was
it. But these people were worshiping
the almighty dollar! They had been
sucked into a new religion. I felt that
I had been in a demonic atmosphere. But
I could not convince this brother. He
must have left the ministry for I never heard of him again.
P. Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd of my soul, You are calling
on me to care for someone who is weak… to reach out and steady them when they
are slipping, hold their hand through deep valleys of discouragement, to warn
them when danger is ahead. And when they crash and leave the flock,
wandering… lost in the wilderness of money, entertainment and purposelessness
help me to seek them out and with Your tender love help me to save that lost
sheep from certain destruction. Amen.
Ralph
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