Tuesday 4/1/14
We had an experience in church many years ago I won’t soon forget. We didn’t have too many members at the time and perhaps we had three or four men who served as deacons. One Sunday morning a man arrived at the church early and he asked me if we could help him get his pest control business off the ground. He told me it was his life-long dream and that he had everything well planned. He had some money saved up but that with just one more boost, he could get the truck he needed. I told him that he would have to wait till after the service so he could speak to the deacons and they would make the decision. We had the custom back then to permit anybody who needed prayer or had something to share with the congregation to do so. When the offer was made, this man walked up to the front, recited the entire 3rd Chapter of John by memory, and then quietly walked back to his seat. Since most of our members were new to the gospel, you can imagine how impressed we all were. With that extraordinary scene still fresh in our minds, there was no way we were going to deny him when he made his pitch. I don’t remember the figure but we probably gave him all we had. As he was walking out with the money, I asked him, “By the way, what slogan are you going to put on your truck? He hesitated a bit and after several seconds he said, “ Oh yeah. Its going to be , ‘We get em’.” Do I have to add we never saw him again?
I thought about that funny but painful learning experience recently when I read Psalm 117 once again. After I heard that man recite an entire chapter by memory, I challenged myself to do the same. If you have that desire too, here’s your chance because Psalm 117 is the shortest of them all. Here it is: Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.Besides, though the Psalm may be short, it has a powerful message. The world often foolishly lavishes its praise at the undeserving. This psalm reminds us that the entire world should praise God instead. Why? Because He’s the One who loves us the most, and no one is more faithful than He.
Memory verse for the week: (1 Corinthians 13:1) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
