The Devotional - A Look at the Book #843

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Everything in life has two stories behind it; one story of good that gains a small remnant and the second of evil that gains a large following. Matthew 7:13-14

 

Good Morning

 

Last evening my wife and I were watching Ravi Zacharias. The broadcast was one of his “Let my people think” events in 2005. The context of his message was riveting and his audience was from what we could understand a mixture of the saved the unsaved men and women that you and me bump into daily.

Now I have nothing to say verbatim about his message since my retention of things has become somewhat like the rubber band that has lost elasticity. So with that said, I will launch out with a personal observation or two of his message, rather than trying to quote something he said.

 

He covered many topics and people of the past that have influenced the world around us over the last few hundred years. For example: He spoke of Dr. Billy Graham and his family and he spoke of a onetime companion and friend of Dr. Graham; Charles Templeton. Both of these men began ministries of evangelism and one turned away from God, no need to guess who!

 

Okay, herein is the Rub: in an interview with Charles Templeton a few years ago someone asked him about his decision to turn away from Jesus. As the interview ended, Mr. Templeton was asked if he was content with his decision to turn away from God and his answer was and with tears. “No, no I am not content at all; I miss Jesus”.

Now as I said earlier, this is not a quote, I have heard about Charles Templeton from other sources and both stories agree. Yet, below is a quote from Wikipedia about another wanderer from the faith.

 

Prone to wander Robert was. He left the Methodists and became a Baptist. Later on, having become a close friend of Joseph Priestly, he was accused of becoming a Unitarian. Priestly and other Unitarians denied the full divinity of Christ. However, in a sermon he preached after he supposedly became a Unitarian, Robinson clearly declared that Jesus was God, and added, "Christ in Himself is a person infinitely lovely as both God and man."

 

Robert died on this day, June 9, 1790. Had he left the God he loved? A widely-told, but unverifiable, story says that one day as he was riding in a stagecoach a lady asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. He responded, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."

 

Robert Robinson wrote the Hymn; “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and today this is a very popular hymn in many churches across this land. In churches that are “falling away” falling into religion and falling away from Jesus. The land is saturated with failed churches and the majority of never return to God whom they once loved.

 

In our churches today we need to take inventory. How many rules and regulation do we have in place instead of HIS LOVE? Count up the programs, policies and promises and see if these fulfill the Commandment to LOVE ONE ANOTER! Jesus who is rich in Righteousness and pure in Holiness is standing outside the door in many churches that are fallen. Revelation 3:14-22