Hosea 11:8 (NIV), --How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel ?--
(By William G. Johnnson. This selection is excerpted from his 2007 Devotional Book, Jesus, A Heart Full Of Grace, p. 209. All capitals and bold letters are supplied. Some punctuations are changed to eliminate internet incompatibility)
When a massive wall of water shattered Jillian Searle-s idyllic vacation, she was forced to make a horrific choice no parent should ever have to face: which of her two young sons to save.
Jillian was near her hotel pool with her sons Lachie, 5, and Blake, 2, on the Thai resort island of Phuket when the tsunami of December 26, 2004, struck without warning. –I just heard a terrible roaring, a loud roaring sound, and I turned around and I just saw masses, masses of water coming for us,-- she later told a television reporter in Perth , Australia . –I straightway thought, How am I going to keep my two children alive?—
Realizing that she could not keep the three of them afloat, she was forced to choose which of her boys to hold on to and which one to let go. –I knew I had to let go of one of them, and I just thought I-d better let go of the one that-s the oldest,-- she said.
Amid the churning water Jillian noticed a young woman clinging to a post. She begged the woman to take care of 5-year-old Lachie. As she pried his hand from hers, he pleaded, --Don-t let go of me, Mummy.-- The raging currents wrenched them apart. She looked back at Lachie, who had not yet learned to swim, and thought that was probably the last time she would see him alive.
Meanwhile Jillian-s husband, Brad, watched the terrifying scenario play out from a hotel balcony. He tried to rush to assist, but the rising water had blocked the doors.
When the water subsided, he found Jillian and Blake, and the family began a frantic search for Lachie. –You have to find him, because I let go of him,-- Jillian told her husband. “I gave him to somebody else, and I let go of him … And there is no possible way I can live my life knowing that I took his hand off mine.—
The story had a happy ending. Two hours later the Searles found Lachie with a Thai policeman. He had survived by clinging to a hotel door.
There is Another who longs after His children with inexpressible LOVE. His heart breaks at the thought of separation – separation that not He, but we, choose.
Don-t break His heart today.
Let-s pray: Eternal Father, You know our hearts and our entire beings more than we will ever know ourselves. Oftentimes, we deceive ourselves that everything is all right in our world and we go about, as if we don't need You and Your grace. Please SHAKE us from our stupor and INTERVENE on our behalf to do whatever it takes to separate us from our SINS, from our indifference to Your call to us to become RIGHTEOUS with Your help, and from our proud, selfish attitude. Help us to be forever grateful of Your eternal Love for us that keeps HOLDING ON to us in spite of our stubbornness. Please help us to CHOOSE never to be separated from You for always. Help us to choose Your righteousness, to choose to do right and obey Your will for us, over worldly pleasures, riches, power, position, worldly recognition and anything that will separate us from You. We pray for a HUMBLE HEART and a CONTRITE SPIRIT that we may not sin against You, and so we may see clearly Your plan for us to be a blessing to others. Please change us daily, inside and out, to what You want us to be - a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, not only in words but in deeds - TO BE MORE AND MORE LIKE HIM EACH DAY. Help us to put into daily practice Your basic TRUTH: From everyone who has been given much, mu ch will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48, NIV). Help us to SHARE Your blessings with Your suffering children, the poor, the destitute, the precious souls not yet reached by Your gospel of grace, and our needy AUP working students, who came from desperately poor families, and with our help, will someday alleviate their hard life. We humbly ask these things in the precious name of Your Eternal Son, to whom be glory, praise and honor forever. Amen
____________ _________ _________ ___
(By William G. Johnnson. This selection is excerpted from his 2007 Devotional Book, Jesus, A Heart Full Of Grace, p. 209. All capitals and bold letters are supplied. Some punctuations are changed to eliminate internet incompatibility)
When a massive wall of water shattered Jillian Searle-s idyllic vacation, she was forced to make a horrific choice no parent should ever have to face: which of her two young sons to save.
Jillian was near her hotel pool with her sons Lachie, 5, and Blake, 2, on the Thai resort island of Phuket when the tsunami of December 26, 2004, struck without warning. –I just heard a terrible roaring, a loud roaring sound, and I turned around and I just saw masses, masses of water coming for us,-- she later told a television reporter in Perth , Australia . –I straightway thought, How am I going to keep my two children alive?—
Realizing that she could not keep the three of them afloat, she was forced to choose which of her boys to hold on to and which one to let go. –I knew I had to let go of one of them, and I just thought I-d better let go of the one that-s the oldest,-- she said.
Amid the churning water Jillian noticed a young woman clinging to a post. She begged the woman to take care of 5-year-old Lachie. As she pried his hand from hers, he pleaded, --Don-t let go of me, Mummy.-- The raging currents wrenched them apart. She looked back at Lachie, who had not yet learned to swim, and thought that was probably the last time she would see him alive.
Meanwhile Jillian-s husband, Brad, watched the terrifying scenario play out from a hotel balcony. He tried to rush to assist, but the rising water had blocked the doors.
When the water subsided, he found Jillian and Blake, and the family began a frantic search for Lachie. –You have to find him, because I let go of him,-- Jillian told her husband. “I gave him to somebody else, and I let go of him … And there is no possible way I can live my life knowing that I took his hand off mine.—
The story had a happy ending. Two hours later the Searles found Lachie with a Thai policeman. He had survived by clinging to a hotel door.
There is Another who longs after His children with inexpressible LOVE. His heart breaks at the thought of separation – separation that not He, but we, choose.
Don-t break His heart today.
Let-s pray: Eternal Father, You know our hearts and our entire beings more than we will ever know ourselves. Oftentimes, we deceive ourselves that everything is all right in our world and we go about, as if we don't need You and Your grace. Please SHAKE us from our stupor and INTERVENE on our behalf to do whatever it takes to separate us from our SINS, from our indifference to Your call to us to become RIGHTEOUS with Your help, and from our proud, selfish attitude. Help us to be forever grateful of Your eternal Love for us that keeps HOLDING ON to us in spite of our stubbornness. Please help us to CHOOSE never to be separated from You for always. Help us to choose Your righteousness, to choose to do right and obey Your will for us, over worldly pleasures, riches, power, position, worldly recognition and anything that will separate us from You. We pray for a HUMBLE HEART and a CONTRITE SPIRIT that we may not sin against You, and so we may see clearly Your plan for us to be a blessing to others. Please change us daily, inside and out, to what You want us to be - a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, not only in words but in deeds - TO BE MORE AND MORE LIKE HIM EACH DAY. Help us to put into daily practice Your basic TRUTH: From everyone who has been given much, mu ch will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48, NIV). Help us to SHARE Your blessings with Your suffering children, the poor, the destitute, the precious souls not yet reached by Your gospel of grace, and our needy AUP working students, who came from desperately poor families, and with our help, will someday alleviate their hard life. We humbly ask these things in the precious name of Your Eternal Son, to whom be glory, praise and honor forever. Amen
____________ _________ _________ ___
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