ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY - PART 102

                                           ONE HEARTBEAT               AWAY

       PART 102


(copied from Mark Cahill's Book)


Recently I spoke at a church in Florida. One of
the church members worked for the Post Office. 
Every Christmas he would give each customer 
a Christmas card with a nice, generic, loving,
Christian message.  After hearing me speak he
knew that he needed to be more specific with 
the message he was giving his customers. He 
prayed about it and the Lord led him to write
the question: "If you died tonight, are you
100% sure that you would go to heaven?"
on each card.

That is a great question, and he got some 
positive feedback from customers. But one man
didn't like it and called the letter carrier's boss. 
The customer was not satisfied with that 
conversation, so he went one level higher in the  management hierarchy.
They were going to fire him for what he did until they realized that the only thing they could find
against him was that he had delivered his cards
without postage on them. So they came back 
with a one week suspension instead. With pay!

That mailman knew, without a doubt, that the
hand of God was protecting him through the
whole process. He was so glad he took a stand
for the Lord. He stated that this situation had
touched many lives well beyond his own. He 
got to talk to many people about what had
happened, and he got to share his faith with
many of his customers. The persecution was 
worth it, he said, because he had stood up for
the truth and that God had helped him and many
others through it.

Paul writes of the 
suffering and triumphs 
of the Old Testament          
saints.  Here is Paul's
summary:

"And what shall I more say? for the time
would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak, 
and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David
also and of Samuel and of the prophets, who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped 
the mouths of lions.
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the 
edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight
the armies of the aliens. 
Women received their dead raised to life again,  
and others were tortured not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection .
And others had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings ; yea, moreover  of bonds and
imprisonment.
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, 
were tempted, were slain with the sword, 
they wandered about in sheepskins and 
goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.
(Of whom the world was not worthy); they
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and 
caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report
through faith received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us,

that they without us should not be made 
perfect.
(Hebrews 11:32-40)

These faithful saints eventually triumphed by
entering the Kingdom of Heaven ushered in
by Jesus Himself -  what a great day that was
for them!

next post  25th March