The crown of thy glory – must you surrender it now?
My sins were the thorns that pressed into your brow.
Though I was touched by your power, your love which was great
I stopped not a moment to consider your fate.
I am the thief that hung upon the cross,
Then you died for me and suffered my loss.
I am the nails that pierced your hands and your feet,
Yet you offered your life and made me complete.
I am the solider that stabbed your side,
And coveted your garment with foolish pride.
I am the Roman who laughed and who scorned,
When you breathed your last breath, I stopped not to mourn.
I am the world, who would have suffered great loss,
Had you not shed your blood on an old rugged Cross.[/pullquote4]Upon our arrival, I noticed that one of the KGB agents that had been following us appeared to be miserable and depressed, and I instinctively knew it probably wasn’t due to the weather.
Joseph Stalin, who became the leader of the Soviet Union, was born near Tbilisi in Georgia, a mountainous area in what was the southwestern part of the Russian empire. The son of an alcoholic, millions were executed or sent to labor camps under his rule. He also established the Russian secret police which caused fear to spread throughout the U.S.S.R. as neighbors were ordered to spy on one another. Now, many years later, one of those secret service agents had followed us to the church. Just past six o’clock on a bitter cold evening, five hundred believers were crammed into the Baptist church to hear me speak. As I got up to preach, I noticed that the KGB agent was peering through the widow next to the pulpit where I stood. As he did, his breath fogged up the window, and he kept wiping it clean so he could see who was inside. He continued to do this the entire time that I ministered. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Like this poor man, far too many bankrupt souls are on the outside looking in. Tell them completeness is found by allowing me into their hearts and lives. Peering into the church, but never going inside just serves to cloud their vision and distort their view.” “And I said, “I will, Lord” and that was what I did that cold, dreary night. Many came forward for salvation!
What about you? Is your view of God distorted? Wholeness is found within the pages of His Word, within the walls of His church and with Him in your heart! Mark 8 tells us about the difference between being completely blind to Jesus, seeing Jesus with blurred vision and seeing Jesus clearly. “Lord, let me see through the fog of the world.”
Grant me, like your servant Moses, the grace to be completely faithful in your entire house; thus giving hope to those within every room.
Hope removes the blinders and allows my eyes to see what is truly real.
