Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

All who have awakened spiritually to comprehend something of the great
controversy that rages between Christ and Satan, are disturbed. They
are concerned as they see that same great controversy raging in the
hearts of loved ones. Maybe it’s their children who are caught up in
the rebellion against Christ that permeates the teenage world. The
battles night and day are as intense as the struggle Christ had to
endure in Gethsemane when He threw Himself on the ground sweating drops
of blood. In His agony He sobbed as He prayed, “O My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup [My coming cross] pass from Me.” Then as the
hours dragged by, in agony of soul He cried, “Nevertheless, not as I
will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39).

That was the destiny hour of the world, yes of the universe itself:
should He let Satan win? It wasn’t the physical torture that He
dreaded, no; it was the horror of hell. Not the Fahrenheit temperature
of the lake of fire, no; eternal separation from life and light,
eternal exile from the smile of His Father. (I read in yesterday’s
paper of a criminal facing 40 years in solitary confinement; “it’s
hell,” he wailed in court.) The human soul of Jesus, yes, His divine
soul, recoiled from the anguish that is the essence of
hell--self-condemnation to the uttermost (He was in process of being
“made to be sin for us who knew no sin,” 2 Cor. 5:21).

If your teens are going wild beyond your control, question: have they
seen those same tears in your eyes? Have you done what those wonderful
disciples of Christ did not do--“watch with [Him] one hour” in
Gethsemane (Matt. 26:40)?

We teach our little children to sing “Jesus loves me, this I know,” and
they are so sweet; but all they can do is sleep through Gethsemane.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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