Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #10

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you? I'm doing fine. :) I hope you all have had a good couple of weeks! I hope you're growing in Christ and enjoying fall... I don't know if I am enjoying fall! Ha ha. I like the colors though. =) Oh, one thing about the study, um, some of you have heard it preached. SORRY! I was trying to do a study on the verses of Titus 2:13-14 but it wasn't coming along very well so I just used this sermonette. Sorry to those of you who have heard it before! :) Have a very happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!!
Much love,
Your friend in Christ,
~Heather Ann~


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
November 21, 2007 Number 10 (I think!)


Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and wordly lusts,
We should live righteously, soberly, and godly, in this present world,
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us,
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14

Study.....
The Preparation


I'm sure most of you have at some point really looked forward to something. I know I have! You probably thought about it, talked about it, planned and prepared for it.

There is something that we need to be looking for and looking forward to. Titus 2:13 says 'Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.' We as God's endtime people need to be eagerly, earnestly waiting and watching for Jesus' return. It is what we live for and what we look forward to. Jesus' coming will be a wonderful, glorious event. We need to be ready when Jesus comes! We need to ask Him to take away our sin and give us new, clean hearts that will love to obey him. We need to be like Jesus.
When we are living for Jesus, and looking forward to His return, we will want to hasten his coming. We can do this by telling others about Him. We can share Jesus' love and salvation with others, and then they can be ready too, when He comes. When the gospel message has gone to the whole world, then Jesus can come.

There is a story about two girls who were invited to go on a picnic with some of their friends. I'll call the girls Lacey and Emma. They were both excited to go on the picnic, but there were a few things they needed to do in order to go. Their friends had asked them to bring some food along. So they decided that Lacey would make the potato salad and Emma could bake some cookies. On the evening of the picnic, Lacey went down to the kitchen a few hours early and started making her potato salad. Then she ran upstairs to get her clothes ready. When Lacey was all ready, she peeked into Emma's bedroom.
'Don't you need to get started on those cookies?' Lacey asked.
Emma looked up from the book she was reading. 'Oh yes, I guess so. I'll be down in five minutes.'
Lacey went back downstairs to chat with her mother for a few minutes. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:25! They were supposed to get picked up at 5:00. Lacey ran back upstairs to Emma's room. 'Emma! It's 4:30! You really need to make the cookies now!'
But Emma was frantically searching through her closet for something to wear. 'Lacey, I can't make cookies right now! I don't have any clean dresses to wear that don't have a button missing or something! I don't know what to do!'
Lacey sighed. 'Well, you should have done your washing and mending earlier! But don't worry about the cookies, I will make them for you.' Lacey went back down and quickly put some cookies in the oven. While they baked, she eagerly watched out the window for her friends. A little before 5, Lacey was all ready outside, picnic basket in hand. When her friends drove up, she jumped in and they were off! Emma watched from the house with tears in her eyes. But it was too late now. She hadn't prepared for the picnic, so she wasn't ready when her ride came. And she missed out on the fun.

Now you may be thinking, 'That's silly!' She should have gotten ready, and she wouldn't have missed out. But you know many of us are doing the exact same thing. We know that Jesus is coming soon. But we say, 'Oh, there's no hurry. I've got plenty of time to get ready.' We sit back and get distracted with the pleasures of this world. All the time, Jesus' return is getting closer and closer. WE NEED TO BE READY WHEN HE COMES!!!!
We need to give our hearts and our lives to Him and let Him take away our sin. We need to be watching for his coming, his glorious appearing. And we need to tell others about Him so they can be ready too. I don't want to miss out. I want to be ready. What about you? Do you want to be ready when Jesus comes??







Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Emily as she has decisions to make about her school and future, and she wants to make the right choice.

Poem:
This is a poem I found in a little book, and I thought it had a really good message. :) Enjoy!

'EXCUSE ME'

'Speak up for God's truth? Not me,' piped the youth.
'My buddies would laugh me to shame.'
'No way,' chimed the teen, 'I'm leaving the scene.
Don't want to be late for my game.'

'Why me?' groaned the deacon. 'Must I be a beacon?
I fear they will call me a fool.'
'Next time,' pledged the preacher. Then stated the teacher,
'I'm still very busy at school.'

'Who, me?' asked the clerk, coming home from his work.
'I'm tired and deserving a rest.'
'Some day,' shrugged the prof, 'when I take a year off.'
And no one responded with zest.

'I'll go,' pledged the blind, 'and search till I find
A love-hungry person who'll hear.'
'I'll try,' vowed the lame, 'to praise the Lord's Name,
To speak words that comfort and cheer.'

Praise God that the King of Whom mortals sing
Has servants who love Him and share.
What a glorious reward at the feast of the Lord
Will be heaped upon those who are there!

By Fannie L. Houck.


(posted by "R")