Despite his busy schedule during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often
visited the hospitals to cheer the wounded. On one occasion he saw a
young fellow who was near death. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
asked the compassionate President. "Please write a letter to my mother,"
came the reply. Unrecognized by the soldier, President Lincoln sat down
and wrote as the youth told him what to say.
The
letter read, "my Dearest Mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty,
and I won't recover. Don't sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and
Father. Kiss Mary and John for me." The young man was too weak to go
on, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and then added this postscript:
"Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln".
Asking
to see the note, the soldier was astonished to discover who had shown
him such kindness. "Are you really our President?" he asked. "Yes," was
the quiet answer. "Now, is there anything else I can do?" The lad feebly
replied, "Will you please hold my hand? I think it would help to see me
through to the end." President Lincoln granted his request, offering
warm words of encouragement until death stole in with the dawn.
There
are people all around us each day who need to be encouraged, need to be
inspired, and need a reason to smile. Someone once said; "Every time we
come in contact with another human being, we've an opportunity to show
kindness."
Kindness is the one language that
the deaf can hear, the blind can see, and the poor can understand. And
besides that - the Bible commands us to let our light shine so others
will see Jesus in us!
“You are the light of
the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to
all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) What an awesome promise this is. God doesn’t force us to draw close to Him, but He does promise that if we take the first step and start seeking Him, He will draw near to us. In the second part of that verse, the Bible tells us what we need to do in order to take that first step, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” In other words, stop trying to please both God and the flesh, and – get rid of the darkness that is in your life. God doesn’t abide where there is darkness, if we want to know Him personally and have daily fellowship with Him, we’ve GOT to get rid of what is not pleasing to Him in our lives. Now, many of us, rather than just saying, “Yes, I want to know God, so I’m going to do whatever it takes…”, we make arguments about why it’s not necessary to have that close relationship with God, OR we make excuses as to why it’s impossible for us to do it. We...
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