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Every Day Bible

You Wear It Well

the-crossThe following is adapted and excerpted from Ravi Zacharias’ Can Man Live Without God? I think you’ll find it powerful.

For background: the state church in Yugoslavia was corrupt beyond comparison. What had been done in the name of Christianity was a terrible affront to decency.

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a Yugoslavian village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ.

Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity.He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. “My own nephew was killed by them,” he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. “They wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses,” he said, “signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.”

Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track; they recognized your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?”

“I would deny it,” said Cimmerman.

“ ‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say,” retorted Jakov.

This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home. Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ with him.

Finally one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?” and Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul.

Cimmerman surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.”

And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.”

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Every Day Bible

Trustworthy God

trustworthyCons, cheats, and crooks have made cynics of us all. What’s the old joke? “How can you tell if a politician is lying?” “His lips are moving!” The joke isn’t that funny; it is a sad commentary on the unfortunate state of things.

A researcher conducted a survey of Canadian teenagers a few years ago. His team asked a really interesting question: “What do you wish for most in your life?”

How do you think the average teen would answer? Money? A girlfriend? To graduate and get out of mom and dad’s house? The number one answer revealed more about society than it revealed in the teens. Their biggest desire was “someone we can trust.”

God is trustworthy.

“He is the Rock. His work is perfect, for all his ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

“And those who know your name will put their trust in you; for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10)

“The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.” (Psalm 111:7)

We don’t understand everything that God does. How could our finite minds fully comprehend the infinite? When we have doubts and fears or worries or questions that we’re having trouble getting answered, we ought to anchor our hearts with this truth: God is trustworthy. Put another way: God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!