Are we following Him?
May 18, 2010 (Tuesday)
The news business presents bad news because good news is not news. Every now and then, however, the good news becomes news worthy of knowing and sharing.
My friend, Lefty Baker, forwarded an email to me yesterday. The information in it warmed my heart. It was about the people of North Platte, Nebraska. During WW2, they created a Canteen and served over 6 million servicemen on troop trains making a brief stop for the purpose of allowing the troops access to the canteen. For 10 minutes, the soldiers and sailors received encouragement to help them deal with their anxiety as they faced the possibility of combat. It was all sponsored locally by North Platte people. You can view the whole story on You Tube.
NBC Nightly News told us about “Mama Brown,” an Oakland lady who wanted to do something, not just talk about doing something for inner-city Oakland students. She challenged a group of first-graders over a decade ago to always do their homework and attend school — if they did, she’d send them to college. At the time she was making about $40,000 a year. She kept her promise and she’s still doing it today, offering to send children to college if they work hard and stay in school. The percentage of those first graders who graduated from high school is astounding when compared to the other classes in the school system at the time.
These are just two stories. No doubt you have met people who are doing great things for others in this old world. Perhaps you are one of them. May the Lord bless all such people.
The song, “Follow Me,” by Ira Stanphill, shows us what Jesus expects of those who want to serve Him:
Oh Jesus if I die upon a foreign field someday,
‘Twould be no more than love demands, no less could I repay,
“No greater love hath mortal man than for a friend to die”
These are the words He gently spoke to me,
“If just a cup of water I place within your hand
Then just a cup of water is all that I demand.
God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Is He asking us the same question today?