Thank God… Thank You All… For Chris
Submitted by Andy on 2002-11-26 21:47:17, Tuesday
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Hi Everyone, Thank God for His Grace and Love and Mercy. Thank you all for your prayers. Chris' court hearing went well. His pastor and his psychological counsel attended his hearing. His psychological counsel is a minister's wife, and they all had prayer before his hearing yesterday. Chris told me they could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when they entered the courtroom. God certainly acted in Chris' behalf. He does not have to go back to jail. After undergoing a polygraph examination he will being going back to his group sessions. Everything about his hearing was positive. Chris sent me something to post for him at CBF which I received yesterday. It is as follows: * * * Greetings to All in Jesus' Name, I have not been able to come to our Forum because of the legal problems I have been experiencing; however, my wonderful friend, Andy, has kept me up to date on everything that has been going on. From what he has told me I can "see" that there are many new brothers here now… Praise God! I must go to court on the 25th of this month. The very worst that I am facing right now is probably a prison sentence, but I do not know what the judge will decide. I doubt he will be happy to see me in his courtroom again. I can't say that I will be very to happy be there, either. In fact, I am downright scared about the whole thing right now. But what is faith, then, if not a powerful "tool" to use in frightening times like this? I must live the faith I profess to have in my heart. Faith is not the absence of fear. In fact, when we are afraid, but do what we must do for God, in spite of what we feel in the pit of our stomach, we are practicing great faith. Some day I hope to be able to ask three men how much fear they felt when they were thrown into a hot, fiery furnace (Daniel 3:16-27). Daniel did not feel inclined to write about how afraid they were, but I am sure they were probably scared to death! Even so, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that God loved them… years and years before the Author of Love was born and walked among us. It is the love of God that produces faith in our hearts. That kind of faith is much hotter than any fiery furnace, and the fuel for it is the Word of God! I am afraid, but I will not give in to my fears. I belong to God, because Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I possess the promised Kingdom within my heart. Like Job, I have been tested and will be tested some more… And just like Job, I will survive and be blessed. The world may look at me and see something it despises and hates, but the only thing that matters to me is that my Father sees a beloved son when He looks at me. And, indeed, i share this great blessing with all of you who are my brothers in Christ… Praise His Holy Name Forever!!! Brothers, we need to keep our love for one another alive in our hearts and lives. The world may look at us and hate us, but our Father loves us dearly. We can trust His Word. Read II Peter 1:2-11, and keep those beautiful words in your hearts… Let the Holy Spirit write them on the fleshly tables of your heart with a great big permanent marker! That way, nothing in this world will be able to wash it away or erase it. Remember to have patience with yourself, and with one another, and with everyone around you. God is infinitely patient with us, so we must be patient with everyone we know to become more like Him. We need always to practice forgiveness in the face of a world that knows absolutely nothing about the meaning of forgiveness. We must live the kind of love that Paul wrote about in I Corinthians 13:4-7, in order to produce the fruit of love that the Holy Spirit can and will bring about in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). Time is so precious to me, now, but I know that because "all things work together for the good", and also that "all things happen in their own time"; that my life will be a testimony to the greatness of our Father. I cannot tell all of you how very much I appreciate your prayers and support. I really wish I could give you all a big hug! And believe me, I pray for you as well… for you, my brothers in Christ, and for our sanctuary… this Forum. God Bless you all, I am not saying farewell, just a short "goodbye". I will keep in touch through my brother and great friend, Andy. I love you all very much!!! Love in Christ Jesus, Chris |
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