I Just Can't Wait!

Rev. 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Well, I finished the New Testament. I'm not sure how long it took me, because I don't follow a schedule. I just pick parts of the Bible I like and read a chapter or two or four each day from them. I am going through the Gospels again now. I'm reading Exodus and Isaiah each day as well. When I finish a book, I decide on a new book to start.

Every time I read the verse above, I get kind of emotional. I get excited, thinking, "Yes! I cannot wait for Him to come!" and I get a bit sad, thinking "Wow, I'm already to the end. I wonder how John felt as he penned these last words?" After all, if anyone was longing for the Savior's return, it would be John! He'd been tortured, boiled in oil they say, and exiled to Patmos. I find it interesting that God came down and gave John the book of the Revelation while he was alone, probably thinking he'd been forsaken and forgotten by God. Boy, howdy! He couldn't have been more wrong! God showed John things in that dark place that He'd never revealed to anyone.

Right after my dad died, some seven years ago, I had a dream about him. I dreamed about him often, but in this one, I dreamed that Dad came down from Heaven just to tell me he loved me, and he was all right. He started describing Heaven to me! When I awoke, I thought "Was that real?" But everything Dad said to me in my dream came straight out of the Bible; nothing new. It got me excited about Heaven, though!

How wonderful to end the Bible with the plea from John the Beloved to "come, Lord Jesus."! I feel that way, too. I'm ready for Him to come. I can honestly say that I'm more excited at the thought of seeing Jesus than my dad right now. Jesus has been with me in so many dark and lonely times for so many years. I remember crying to Him when I was nine and my sister went away to college. Over the years, His song has filled my heart with joy. When no one else on Earth was with me, He was with me. He has always given me just what I've needed when I've needed it. I love Him so much! I'd like to close with the chorus of one of my favorite songs about my Friend:

Jesus, sticks closer than a brother, every moment He is near.

I know He never will forsake me, He has conquered all my fear.

Jesus sticks closer than a brother, on His love I can depend.

King of Kings! Lord of Lords! Conquering Son!

Though all of these, He's my very best friend. 

- from "My Very Best Friend" by Ron Hamilton

I just don't know what I'd do without Him. 

Even I Can Do It!

Ex. 17:12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.


Exodus has been such a blessing to me the past few days. It's as though the Lord is speaking directly to me through His Word. Oh wait! He is! Isn't that wonderful? I hope you are enjoying your time in His Word each day, also.

Today, I was reminded that no one can (or should) make it through life alone. We all need each other. I was driving home from the store the other day, thinking and listening to my favorite hymns CD. I was worrying about going to Chicago in a few weeks to speak at my first ladies meeting. How can I go up there and say anything worthwhile? What do I know? I suppose I could speak on "How to Get that Foot in Your Mouth...All of It!" or "How to Apologize after Saying and/or Doing Something Really Stupid." What if people think I'm just a know-it-all, or just a kid, or both? That won't help anyone. Then, I had this thought, and I believe it was from the Holy Spirit: Why don't you just go up there and try to be an encouragement? Isn't that what you need now and then? You don't need someone to walk up to you and preach to you, you just need someone to have some compassion, some love, some understanding. Why don't you just go up there and be a friend?

I realized that that's right. I just need to be a friend, a smiling face, a listening ear. No one expects anything great from me, but we all expect something great from God, and He can do great things! It's true. I'm a "nobody" in the ladies-conference-speaking world. My last name isn't Hyles or Hutson or Rice. (Famous Baptist preachers who are now in Heaven.) I'm just me. In our verse today, we see two men came along and held up Moses' hands during a battle between Israel and Amalek. When Moses' hands were up, Israel prevailed, when they were down, they didn't. These two men, Aaron and Hur, were not holding up Moses' hands because they were extra talented, or because everyone got together and voted on who was the best hand-holder-upper. They simply saw a need, and ran to meet it. We can all do that in some area of the Christian life.

Last week, I received a "surprise box" from a friend and a lovely homemade card with encouraging words written inside. I needed that encouragement so much! I needed to have my "hands held up" at just that time. We all do, and we all can. I'm not as thoughtful as I should be, I get caught up in my life, my problems. I need to do better. And by God's grace, I will.