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By Faith Alone
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Midi music (click on title): Amazing Grace, Hosanna(traditional), Hosanna(rock), Impossible Dream, Jesus Christ Superstar By Eunice Soper
"Hands That Slip"
Climbing trees is a lot of fun for children. Occasionally, however, it can be rather dangerous.
Nancy wasn't a very big girl, but she had high aspirations when it came to tree climbing. There was a small tree in her yard that she could climb easily. Its limbs were close together; it wasn't very high; and it was close to the house, where mother could help her out if necessary. But in the back garden was a big tree. It was so high that Nancy couldn't reach the lower limbs of it without help. For some reason Nancy wanted more than anything else to climb that tree. Father told her to wait until she was older, and mother forbade her to try, but still the tree was there, and so was Nancy's urge to climb it.
One day, while mother was busy in the house, Nancy dragged out daddy's small ladder he used for painting, and with much toil finally set it up under the big tree. Now she could reach the lower limbs of that tree by herself, and up she went. Somehow she worked herself part way up the tree, and out onto a big limb. Oh, she was a long way up in the air. Then something frightening happened. Her foot slipped, and Nancy found herself hanging by her hands far above the earth. She could not get her feet back up onto the limb, and she could feel her hands slipping. She screamed for mother. Fortunately, mother had just that moment begun hunting for Nancy to see what she was doing. She came around the corner of the house just in time to hear Nancy's fearful cry.
Mother sized up the situation. There was no time to climb the tree herself -- the child's hands were already slipping. She stepped directly under Nancy. "Nancy, listen to me," she called. "Let loose and drop, I'll catch you."
Trustfully and gratefully the little hands relaxed, and she dropped, straight into the arms that were waiting to receive her.
Now, while it may seem that Nancy was entirely dependent upon her mother for being saved from her predicament, actually Nancy had quite a part to play in the whole rescue operation.
In the first place, she had to realize that she needed to be saved. She had to come to the place where she knew she could no longer do anything for herself. Then she had to ask for help -- to make her need known. And finally, she had to rely completely upon her rescuer.
A person who is in need of rescue from the perils of sin must follow the same procedure. He must realize that he needs help, and make his need known. "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him." He is ready to help quickly. "He also will hear their cry, and will save them." But He can save them only if they take the final step -- they must trust Him.
Do you know that you are in danger, and that you can no longer help yourself? Call to God. He is nearby and will hear your call. Then give yourself completely into His hands, for He will save you.
Those of you who have read Louisa May Alcott's classic, Little Women, remember the fine story of forgiveness that it contains.
There had been a running quarrel between spoiled younger sister Amy and quick-tempered Jo, the next older girl. It had finally come to a tempestuous climax when Amy, to "get even" with her big sister, burned Jo's notebook of original stories. Now, Jo had just finished carefully recopying those stories and had destroyed her other copies, so what Amy had burned represented a lot of work to Jo. There was a flare-up of angry words, and Jo resolved to "never forgive" her naughty little sister for what she had done.
One wintry day Jo and Laurie, their friend from next door, went skating on the river. Amy tagged along, intending to wait until Jo was in a good mood, and then ask her to forgive her for her naughty act, for by this time Amy realized how serious her "getting even" had been. Jo saw her little sister coming, but since she was still cross at Amy she paid no attention to her.
"Ice is thin in the center," called Laurie. "Keep to the shore." Jo heard, and should have passed the word on to the little girl on the shore, who, unknown to Laurie, was struggling to get her skates on and didn't hear the warning. But Jo's unforgiving heart said, "Let her take care of herself."
Amy struggled to her feet and headed for the center of the river. Laurie disappeared around the bend. Jo hesitated, knowing that Amy hadn't heard the warning. She turned back just in time to see the ice give way under her little sister. During the struggle that followed to get the child out of the river and back to the house Jo finally faced the fact that her unforgiving spirit had almost cost the life of her little sister, whom she really loved in spite of her naughtiness. Had her sister died, her own remorse would have been much worse than the loss of her beloved stories.
Sometimes there are people -- yes, particularly brothers and sisters -- who can try one's patience almost too far. You forgive and resolve to forget time and time, until you feel like Peter -- that seven times ought to be almost enough. But Jesus put a new light on forgiveness when He told Peter that an offender should be forgiven not only seven times, but "until seventy times seven." Forgive until you lose count of the number of times you have forgiven that erring person. For Jesus knew that an unforgiving spirit can injure the person harboring it more than the one unforgiven.
War and persecution were in the land of Armenia, and Christians found themselves the target of death and persecution of the Turks.
A brother and sister were fleeing from a soldier, when suddenly they found themselves trapped in a dead-end street. The soldier coldly shot down the boy, but the girl managed to scramble over a stone wall and escape.
Years later this same girl, who had grown to be a lovely Christian and a trained nurse, had a wounded soldier put under her care. The man had been so badly hurt that the least lack of care or a bit of neglect on the part of the nurse could mean death to the soldier.
As she went to his bedside for the first time, the nurse realized with a shock that this was a man who she had never been able to forget -- the man who had murdered her brother.
Now this girl was not only a good nurse, but her Christian principles led her to give this man the best of care. She did everything that could be done to help him.
One day, as his health was returning, the soldier recognized the girl. "I have killed your brother," he said, remembering the occasion. "Why have you treated me so kindly?"
"Because I am a Christian," she said, "and Christians forgive their enemies."
Not many of us have as much reason for hatred as did this girl. But we have all had times when someone has treated us unfairly. The human reaction at such a time is to "get even" -- if Jack has hit you, hit him back, but harder; if Suzy has told a spiteful story about you, tell a meaner one about her. Of such a spirit are feuds made. In settlements where such quarrels have been started, these feuds go on for generations, each side trying to get the best of the other, until in some cases both groups have been wiped out in the bitter fighting that results. If only the spirit of our verse today had been manifest, such bitterness could not have gone on.
"Bless them which persecute you," said Paul. It is pretty hard to go on hating someone while you are blessing him. "Overcome evil with good," Paul goes on. Again, if you forgive your enemy, bless him, and then try to overcome his hostility with kindness, it will be difficult to keep hatred alive in your heart.
Do you preserve in your heart a feeling of hatred or dislike for someone? Is there still a bit of resentment? Forgive that person. When you pray, ask God to bless him. Then by doing good, set about repairing the damage evil has done. Hatred, dislike, or resentment would have a hard time staying alive after such treatment.
The vase was a handsome one, and the pride of the owners. But right now, instead of gracing the table, where it usually stood, it was stuck like a tight glove on little Alan's hand.
For some reason the boy had put his hand into the vase, and now he couldn't get it out. Mother worked vainly, trying to get the chubby hand loose. Tears were beginning to drip down Alan's face, for his knuckles were being bruised.
"There's no use," mother said despairingly, turning to her husband. "We'll just have to break it to get his hand out."
"Let's try once more," said father. "Now, Alan, straighten out your fingers like this," he explained, lengthening his fingers and drawinig his thumb close to them.
More tears slid down Alan's nose. "I can't, Daddy," he sniffed.
"Why can't you?" asked daddy anxiously.
"'Cause if I do I'll drop my marble."
We laugh at this little story and childish reasoning. But I wonder -- aren't we all sometimes a bit like Alan? We want a Christian life. Of course we do. But have certain pet sins -- oh, not very big ones, you know -- that we keep locked up in our fists. We feel that we can't give them up. So we hang onto them tightly, while at the same time we try to draw our fist out of Satan's trap.
It can't be done. "If iniquity be in thine hand," says the Bible, "put it far away." Release your hold on it. Let it go; no, go even farther than that -- push it "far away" from you. With that impeding sin gone you can be released from Satan's grasp.
There is another thing about having "iniquity in thine hand": If your hands are busy with iniquity they cannot be used in God's work. Recently I saw someone who was helping clear the table after breakfast head for the refrigerator, carrying a bottle of milk in one hand, and balancing a dish of butter and an orange. When she reached the refrigerator she could not open the door. She had to put down her load, open the door, and then finish the job. She had proved that your hands can do only one thing at a time. If there is "iniquity" in "thine hand," there is no room for good. Before we can receive God's blessings we must give up Satan's deceits.
Let's put our cherished sins "far away" from us. Let's drop the iniquity we are holding so tightly, so we can get out of Satan's trap.
And let's free our hands from iniquity so they can be used for a good purpose. If we are to have a "new heart" we will need to do this.
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"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." -- The Roan Mountain Institute of Christian Science and Health
"Religion is a unique force in society. It promotes both good and evil. Historically, it has helped to abolish slavery. It has promoted racial integration, equal rights for women, and equal rights for gays and lesbians. It has motivated individuals to create massive support services for the poor, the sick, the hurting, and the broken. Conversely, it has been used to justify slavery, racial segregation, oppression of women, discrimination against homosexuals, genocide, extermination of minorities, and other horrendous evils." -- Religious Tolerance "I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the Lord, that does all these things." Isaiah 45:6-7 Widely varied in size and structure, picturesque houses of worship cling throughout generations to Appalachia's hills and hollers. There's an echo of faith in everyday conversation and an ancient devotion steels residents in courage, humor and grace as they struggle with weather-related and man-made catastrophes. Eunice Soper has written many devotional books, mostly for children. Semi-retired from professional service worldwide for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, she and her husband, Francis, radiate peace, strength and practical good-heartedness from their adopted home in Virginia's central Shenandoah Valley. Sister Mary Rose McGeady, administrator of Covenant House, writes a very readable monthly on-line newsletter about her experiences with some of the 44,000 homeless and runaway children CH helps each year. Covenant House offers assistance, including food, clothing, medical aid, educational and vocational training and counseling, through shelters in 15 major cities. Their toll-free NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) connects children to counselors and resources in any area. "Love is the answer to the final question." -- Unknown. Spirit Web: Spiritual Consciousness on the WWW, a site maintained in Switzerland with copious worldwide links, introduces alternate and ancient paths of enlightenment which have become increasingly popular throughout this century, including within Appalachia. "The path of knowledge is that of the occultist and the sage; that of love is that of the mystic and the saint. The head or heart approach is 
not dependent upon the ray, for both ways must be known; the mystic must
become the occultist; the white occultist has been the saintly mystic.
True knowledge is intelligent love, for it is the blending of the
intellect and the devotion. Unity is sensed in the heart; its
intelligent application to life has to be worked out through knowledge."
-- Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic, page 120; quote from The Feather of Maat and other words of wisdom
The Hindu Tantric Home Page explores the ancient, complex spiritual tradition of India. "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.... Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them with a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.... that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." -- Deuteronomy 11:13,14,18,21 
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit." Zechariah 4:1-6. Beth El Shaddai, a small Messianic Synagogue uniting Jews and Gentiles from Birmingham Alabama, updates their informational site weekly with pertinent Biblical history, feasts and holidays, and maintains related web links. "The [Japanese] Ninja that played an important role in the information battles upraised their abilities to the highest level by using the Ninpou they established. The Ninpou forming prompt actions and the toughest mental powers can also be a trustworthy guide to success.... The Iga Ninpou were developed in order to train the mind, techniques and body of the Ninja. Among the secrets that turned impossible into possible, there are relaxing techniques, health maintaining methods and healthy diets that all can be adapted to the lives of modern people. " -- The Truth of Iga Ninja "Mine is the secret that opens upon the door of youth and mine is the Cup of the Wine of Life and the Caldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of Immortality. I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man upon earth. I give the knowledge of the Spirit Eternal, and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.... I who am the beauty of the Green Earth, and the White Moon amongst the stars and the mystery of the Waters, and the desire of the heart of man, I call unto thy soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the Soul of Nature who giveth life to the universe; from me all things proceed and unto me all things must return.... I have been with thee from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire." -- Book of Shadows "...So let our sacrifice rise before you today, And fully follow after you, For those who trust in you will not be disappointed. So now we follow you with all our hearts; we revere you And seek your face. Do not disappoint us, But deal with us in your forbearance And your abundant mercy. Deliver us in your wonderful way, And glorify your name, Lord; May all who do your slaves harm be disgraced; May they be put to shame and lose all their power and might, And may their strength be broken. Let them know that you are the Lord God alone, Glorious over the whole world." -- The Song of the Three Children: 16-211, The Apocrypha trans. by Edgar J. Goodspeed; also see Old Testament Apocrypha, Wesley Center for Applied Theology; and Gnostic Virtual Home) "Jesus was a sailor when He walked upon the water, And he spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower, And when He knew for certain only drowning men could see Him He said All men shall be sailors, then, until the sea shall free them, But he Himself was broken long before the sky would open. Forsaken, almost human, He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone. And you want to travel with Him, and you want to travel blind, And you think you maybe trust Him, For he's touched your perfect body with His mind." -- Suzanne, Leonard Cohen |
Midi (click on title): "The Rose," Words & Lyrics by Amanda McBroom
Word Preserve -- Appalachian Scenes -- A Country Rag Index
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And the soul, afraid of dyin', that never learns to live. 
By Faith Alone, text © Eunice Soper, 1996, 2000. All rights reserved.
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