When God is at His Best

When God is at His Best

April 13-09, Wana fell and broke her hip. She was operated on April 14 and went into Rehab on April 18 for several weeks. Since that time until now we have been unable to travel. Some of the local Pastors have invited me to preach but we have been on no trips outside of this area. Gwinnett Hall B/C, Dr. Rex Richards; Peachtree Road B/C, Dr. Preston Moore; Galilean B/C, Dr. Tolbert Moore; Corinth B/C, Dr. Don Richards: Cross Roads B/C, Dr. Kenny Kuykendall; Glen Haven B/C, Dr. Ralph Easterwood; I sure appreciate these Pastors inviting me into their Churches. Pray that Wana will be able to travel…soon. We have several meetings out of state for the rest of this year.

Genesis 2-15-17. In verse 17 God said you will DIE. This was God at His best. Adam and Eve sinned and so much happened. They were cursed, the ground was cursed, sickness had entered the world and peace would no longer be known. Men would hate and kill each other. Marriages laws would be violated and the list goes on and on. God very graciously said, ‘I will let you die.’ You see, Adam was not created to die. I am 86 years old and my body is failing in so many ways. I am not getting stronger but weaker. I am glad that I don’t have to live in this frail body forever. God said, ‘I am going let you die.’ I saw my Dad’s body go down and Wana’s Dad, I am glad for death and when I see them again they will have new bodies. God is at His best when man is at his worse. As we grow older we get weaker. God was so good when HE said, ‘I am going to let you die.’ Perhaps I did not realize this when I was younger but Brother, I sure realize it now. God knew what the result would be when they sinned and HE said, ‘I am going to let you die.’ We can be saved and have a new body that knows no sickness, weakness nor aging.

We will have a NEW MIND. One of the greatest fears that we face as we grow older is ALZHEIMER’S. There is so much of it. One prayer that Wana and I pray is, “Lord, help us keep our right mind. My Mother suffered with this, at times she did not know me and other times she would look up and smile, ‘Gene, I am so glad to see you.’ The last time I saw Mom was in a casket. I looked at her and oh how I loved her, I said, ‘Mon I will meet you in the morning.’ There will be no ALZHEIMER’S in heaven.

Young people don’t realize that as you grow older you will notice you mind slipping. You forget names. So many times I will say to Wana after the person leaves, ‘What was their name?’ You will forget appointments. Today, as I write this newsletter, I forgot a Doctor’s appointment this morning.

We will have a NEW BODY. This will be one of blessings of heaven. It means so much to me. I miss being able to play tennis or jog Peachtree Road Race, or work in my yard. To be strong and healthy again will be one of the blessings of Heaven. I show pictures of my younger days and look at me now. If we could look at some of you who read this newsletter we would thank God that we will have a new body. GOD SAID, ‘I WILL LET YOU DIE SO YOU DON’T HAVE THIS CURSE FOREVER.’

Everything there will be ETERNAL. Here it is constantly changing. Here our house, cars, and other equipment grows older. Here our Government is changing. I can’t believe what our President is doing to our nation. Can you imagine our nation having czars who we did not vote on, our Power hungry President appointed them? The government of this great nation is being changed by our President. While I am talking about that you would think we would have a Congress that would step in and say ‘Mr. President you can’t print billions of dollars and keep on doing it. Today, we have no Check and Balance system.

In Heaven there will be no change in the Government. Everything done there is for the good of the people. Our Jesus LOVES US and everything He will do is for our good. He is Lord and no ‘upstart’ will come in and change everything.

HEAVEN has the ULTIMATE in design and beauty. Read Revelation 21 and 22. No one gets tried of BEAUTY, COLORS, health, happiness and being with loved ones.

There will be no PARTING THERE. I MISS DAD AND MOTHER. Oh how I miss them but there will be no parting in heaven. I have a picture of Mon and Dad on my desk to remember them but not in heaven because there will never be any parting.

There will be no sin there and all will be safe. No home invasions, no dark streets, none of what we heard every night on our T.V. No rape, fighting, stealing, or killing. It surprises me that anyone would choose not to go to heaven.

Adam sinned in a big way but our Good and Gracious Lord said, ‘Adam, I am going to let you die.’ I believe we will see Adam and Eve in heaven. If God had not let them die, that would never happen.

Think of John the Baptist. He was in prison and his faith was shaken and he wondered if Jesus was really who He said HE was. He sent men to question Jesus. About this discouraged prophet Jesus did not say, ‘why have you doubted me?’ What He did say was, ‘there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist, ‘When men are at their worst HE IS AT HIS BEST.’

The most blessed and wonderful death of all time was the death of Our Lord on the cross. That Friday and all that happened was the most terrible and yet the wonderful event of all time. Mankind deserved ANNIHILATION for its defiance but instead received forgiveness. His prayer, ‘Father forgive them. They know not what they do.’

Satan must have thought ‘at last I can kill Him.’ This is what I have wanted all the time. Satan must have smiled as he was about to deliver his master stroke. No one was able to stop it. Religion was against Him, the Government backed it, and the crowd was speechless and in a sense backed it. Even his disciples had fled except John. If ever any person felt completely alone it was Jesus. Where were the people he had healed, fed and blessed? He was guilty of no sin and yet He was dying as and with sinners.

In a sense God permitted and planned that dreadful day in the past eternity. It is as if God said to Satan, ‘He is yours!’ Isaiah 53-10, ‘Yet it pleased (2654) the Lord to bruise (1792) Him.’

But Satan you are ignorant of what you are doing. By His death will come the Resurrection, the greatest hope of all mankind. Go ahead Satan and you are defeating yourself. Because of His death many that you thought would come to hell will go to heaven. What you are doing now in days ahead will release on the world the greatest power known to man, ‘THE HOLY SPIRIT.’ Missionaries will march across the world with his message. The world will get THE NEW TESTAMENT. Lives will be changed, Paul for example. His message will march across the world and churches will be built across the entire world. Bible Colleges will be built and thousands of young people will be trained and taught in the schools. Satan, ‘Go right ahead with you plans.’ This was all planned in the council halls of eternity. Legions of Angels were standing by and Angels would be released across the world. Each of us has a guardian angel. You are not killing Him, you are releasing Him. There is much we do not understand but it was all in His Plans. It tells us how terrible sin is and was as we watch all that happened there. THE PRICE FOR SIN WAS PAID ON THE CROSS.

When God said ‘die’ it was a wonderful thing.

I had lunch with Dr. R. G. Lee before he went home to be with the Lord. Age had taken its toll on this great man of God. His hands were not steady and I saw so many things that age can and will do to the very best of God’s servants. Death sent Him to be with His Lord. Dr. J. Vernon McGee died in a nursing home. He had cancer but that great man is in a place where there is no cancer.

Satan you kill Him and you are going to send Him ascending (Acts 1-9-10) on a cloud into His heaven. There is much more I would like to say but I hope this will be a blessing to you.