1. TELL HOW GREAT THINGS THE LORD HATH DONE
“Jesus…saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell
them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion
on thee.” Mark 5:19
When my 40-year-old Mother had surgery in March 1954, none of the
medical personnel or us family members thought that she would die. But she
did. It was an immense shock to everyone. I was 8 years old.
I am thankful that my parents were Christians and our Lord’s Comfort and
Compassion was all-sufficient. Listen to this True Story
of God working a miracle of compassion and comfort for our family regarding
Mother’s death.
When Mother was buried, the many flowers that people gave
for the funeral were placed on her grave. Likely all were real flowers (in that
ancient day), no artificial ones. Genuine flowers soon wilt. Daddy began the
custom of putting fresh flowers on Mother’s grave every Sunday,
usually stopping by the cemetery on our way home from Sunday morning church.
Mother loved flowers, resulting in several rose bushes and other flowers being
grown in our yard and nearby on our farm. Daddy would choose flowers from
there, or neighbors or church people would give us flowers for Mother, when we
had none of our own.
Thru Spring, Summer, and Autumn, flowers
were available for Mother each Sunday. But when the cold of Winter
began, fresh flowers became scarce. Buying flowers at the florist was unthinkable
for our poor family. And finally in the dead of winter,
one Saturday night as Daddy went to bed, he had no flowers for
the next day, and no prospects of anyone giving us any. When he
prayed before sleeping, he told God about that.
During the night, he
dreamed that he went out to the nearby fence along our vegetable garden and
picked lovely yellow flowers to take to Mother’s grave. In the morning, he
awoke, amazed at that dream and pondering it. The weather
was cold with a white frost on the ground. Grass,
flowers, and such plants were “dead” in this cold winter weather. Daddy
first built a fire in the living room wood stove to heat that room, and then in
the wood cook stove in the kitchen, and then (as was his custom) he headed out
the back door with the water bucket to pump a bucket of water from the well.
As he walked outside pondering that dream that seemed so real,
he turned to look at that fence. And there they were, lovely
yellow flowers growing along that fence. He and Mother had never planted
or grown flowers there. We had never had flowers at that spot. But
Almighty God (Who can do anything) grew them overnight in the
cold white frost that was around. God did that miracle out of compassion
for our grieving poor family.
Daddy picked an abundant bouquet of them and took them to
church with us that morning. People at church said they had never seen any
flowers like that. They were lovely, but not extremely dazzling (not of this
earth, but rather from Heaven). After Sunday morning church, we went by the cemetery
to put God’s Flowers on Mother’s grave that day. No doubt Mother was watching
from Heaven with Great Joy!
Young Person, love Jesus with all your heart. And when heartache comes, you can rest assured that Christ’s
Gracious Compassion and Comfort will be abundantly sufficient for you.
He will do such things (as providing flowers) that will make you greatly
marvel. Then you should do as the man in Mark Chapter 5
did. “And he departed, and began to publish…how
great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”
(Verse 20)
I am now doing exactly that, publishing
to you Jesus’ kind compassion on my family and me, long ago in 1954, likely
before your grandparents were born. You, think on all the gracious compassionate
mercies that God has already bestowed upon you, and give God
great glory by testifying to everyone around you how great things Jesus hath done for you. And watch the people marvel.
“Precious Lord Jesus, please make me ever so thoughtful
and mindful of the many compassionate deeds Thou
doest for me, to always give Thee thanks for them, and also to
tell others of Thy Wonderful Grace unto me. Amen.”
“Moreover,
our Lord commands us to do likewise and show compassion
like the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:33~34. A certain
priest and next a Levite passed by the
robbed, wounded man without showing any compassion for him. “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:
and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went
to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on
his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
“Almighty Lord God, please work powerfully in my
heart for good to fill my heart with Thy Compassion
for suffering mankind. Please make me like this Good Samaritan.
Cause me to see and behold those around me who are suffering.
Save me from the awful selfish sin of shunning the suffering ones,
like the priest and Levite did. Guide me to do everything within
my power to relieve their suffering, while telling them of their Creator
God Who desires to give them All the Help that Heaven holds.
Please bless Missionary Richard as he preaches salvation in Christ to
idol-worshipping Japanese Buddhists in Japan. Save masses of
them, Lord, I plead. Amen.”
“And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?” (Judges 6:13)
Christian fathers and mothers, has God worked miracles for you? If
so, tell everyone of those miracles, giving God the
Glory. Teach the many miracles in the Bible to all the children
and young souls that you possibly can. “Lord, help us to believe in miracles! Amen”
“Surely I come quickly.” (Revelation.
22:20) “Sweet Precious Loving
Lord Jesus, I believe that promise of Thine. And I am waiting for Thee to come
for me quickly, right now. Amen!”