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Beginning Friday for five days. Please review available books (both printed and ebooks) at the above link.

Norman R Lindsay
http://LCSM.us
https://www.amazon.com/author/normanlindsay
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The Kindle version of my book Filling Empty Pulpits is free at
from Tuesday through Saturday of this week. Please review available books (both printed and ebooks) at the above link. --Norman R Lindsay
http://LCSM.us
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April 20: THE GREATEST LOVE


Sometimes, being a friend is not the easiest choice to make. Yet, when we are willing to leave behind our own desires for the sake of another, the consequences can be long-lasting, even life-changing. Charles Dickens' classic Tale of Two Cities presents a wonderful illustration of John 15:13.

Set during the French Revolution, it is the story of two friends, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a young Frenchman who has been thrown in a dungeon to await the guillotine. Carton is a wasted English lawyer whose life has been one of careless reprobation.

In a beautiful allegory of Christ's atonement for us, Carton slips into the dungeon and exchanges clothes with the prisoner, allowing Darnay to escape.

The next morning, Sydney Carton makes his way up the steps that lead to the guillotine. His final words are triumphant “I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy, in that England which I shall see no more—it is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” —Charles Dickens's, Tale of Two Cities (New York: Modern Library, 1996).
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15 NKJV)
 


This is the love God has for us. The Father loves us enough to send His only son to a planet rife with corruption and hopelessness (John 3:16). The Son loves us enough to die in our place. The Spirit loves us enough to remain in us—no matter what! This is God’s love.
 
 
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April 12: PASS IT ON


Andor Foldes is now seventy-two, but he recalls how praise made all the difference for him early in his career. His first recollection of an affirming word was at age seven when his father kissed him and thanked him for helping in the garden. He remembers it over six decades later, as though it were yesterday. But the account of another kiss that changed his life says a great deal about our inner need for purpose.

At age sixteen, living in Budapest, Foldes was already a skilled pianist. But he was at his personal all-time low because of a conflict with his piano teacher. In the midst of that very troubled year, however, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to the city to perform. Emil von Sauer was not only famous because of his abilities at the piano, but he could also claim the notoriety of being the last surviving pupil of Franz Liszt. Sauer requested that young Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged the master with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann. When he finished, Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead.

"My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss―it comes from Beethoven, who gave it me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it." ―Tim Kimmel, Little House on the Freeway, pp. 41-42.

When we receive a blessing, such as the kiss which started with Beethoven, we have the responsibility of passing it on. Blessings were never intended to be hoarded. They are to be shared. And the more people with whom you share your blessings, the more the blessing is multiplied.

Think about the kiss from Beethoven. What if Beethoven had kissed a hundred young men and women during his career? Each of them would, in turn, kiss one hundred students. By the 3rd and 4th generation, we would be talking about thousands of young people who were, perhaps, ready to quit who now have received the most encouraging thing they could imagine.

What is to keep this very process from happening in our generation? Let it begin with ME and YOU!


He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT)

 
 
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April 11: TOGETHER WITH THE LORD

The Apostle Paul reminds us we do not work alone. Furthermore, we do not work for the Lord. We labor together with Him. We dare not forget that anything we accomplish we do with the ability God gives us. As I have stated before, God has no Lone Rangers. We must work together to build His kingdom. And all we do is through His strength.
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:9 NIV)
Not only do we labor together with the Lord, one day soon we will join together with Him. This is the day our fathers longed for, the day many died for, the day you and I wait for.
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52 NIV)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV)
That final trumpet is the one I am waiting for. Our Lord will return for all of us who are waiting for the sound of that last trumpet. Regardless of where we are or what we are doing when we hear the trumpet, we will rush toward the Eastern Gate where we will meet with our Lord in the air.
Then we will be with Our Lord throughout eternity. We will never need another trumpet call, because we will never leave Him. And He will never leave us. We will have the greatest privilege ever afforded humankind. We will live and reign with our Savior and Lord forever.
Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18 NIV)
 
 
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April 09: RALLYING TO BATTLE

The trumpet also was sounded for times of battle. If you pay particular attention to the passages which mention the blowing of the trumpet, you will notice there is a different, distinctive sound for each occasion. This way, there would be no confusion as to the purpose of the assembly. Can you imagine the trumpet sounding for battle; but the soldier thought it was a call to celebration. He comes dressed in his finest evening wear with no weapon. It pays to recognize the purpose of the trumpet call.
When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. (Joshua 6:20 NIV)
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. (Judges 6:34 NIV)
Good listening is like tuning in a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Trying to listen to my wife while looking over an office report is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. I end up with distortion and frustration. Listening requires a choice of where I place my attention. To tune into my partner, I must first choose to put away all that will divide my attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book I'm reading, setting aside my projects. —Robert W. Herron, Homemade, June, 1987.
So Israel learned to know the meaning of each trumpet sound. When the call to battle sounded, they were able to grab their weapons, gird their garments, and assemble at the Eastern Gate. When the trumpet echoed a call to celebration, the people came together prepared to enjoy time with one another as they celebrated God’s provision for them. It pays to listen closely to the trumpet sound. That way we come together properly prepared for the occasion.
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April 08: RALLYING TO CELEBRATE

One of the primary reasons for the sounding of the trumpet was to bring all the people together for a celebration. Celebrating together is of significant importance to the Body of Christ. Some see it as foolishness and waste of time. In reality, it is one of the more important things we do together. Few things encourage us more than celebrating together. The writer of Hebrews stated that coming together is of great importance—especially as we see the coming of our Lord drawing near.
 
And sometimes celebration needs to be simply to encourage us—even when it seems there is no good reason to celebrate at all. The following true story is a good example of this kind of celebration.
Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm's funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family. —Christopher News Notes, August, 1993
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!" (1 Kings 1:39 NIV)
And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:13 NIV)
 
THINK ABOUT IT.
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