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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

"Grace for the Moment”

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"And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." Judges 16:29-30. Samson, that great Nazarite, whose whole life, from even before he was born was consecrated to the Lord, did many truly amazing feats during his lifetime.

Many a sermon has been preached on the things Samson did and many children and adults alike have been truly amazed at the great power given him by the Lord. One such feat is found in the previous chapter where we read, "And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith." Judges 15:14-15.

Yes, Samson did many great things in his life and it was all because of God's great grace. If you will notice as you read, and I hope you will indeed read about his life, but each time Samson accomplished something great, the Bible makes it clear that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. Samson was a man. True, he was a really big man, but he was just a man and nothing that he did was done without the Lord making it possible. Now, being a man, Samson was not perfect, as he made quite a few mistakes. The most fatal of which was what my dear friend J. Harold Smith calls, "Sleeping in the devil's crib". When he went to sleep in the devil's crib, he woke up blind and grinding in the devil's mill.

I said all that about Samson to say this. As great a man as Samson was, and to be so used of the Lord, he was just a man. Just like every other man, with flaws and truly unworthy of telling others how to live. It was by God's great grace that Samson accomplished anything for the Lord. And it is by God's great grace that you and I can or ever will accomplish anything for the Lord. It is so true that we who know the Lord can and should set an example for others to see as to how they should live. But each and every one of us are so unworthy to tell others how they should live. Life, and especially the Christian life, at best is a truly difficult undertaking and without the grace and mercy of the Lord, will surely be a failure.

But life is not what the Lord has placed upon my heart to write about this morning. It is death. Now, I know that this is a grim subject to some people, but it is a fact of life as the Bible says, "And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27. Friends, we all die, whether great or small. Though Samson was a truly mighty man, he died. But you see, God's people don't die like those who don't know Him. God grants His special grace to those who are His, so that even their death is a testimony to His greatness. If you will notice in Judges 16:30, in the last part of the verse it says, "So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life."

I wrote an article some time ago about Biltmore House, near Ashville, North Carolina and the testimony left behind by those who had lived there. As the Lord was giving me this little article, I was reminded of that article last night. Now, I didn't see any of those people as they lived and I didn't see any of them die, but I have seen the testimony they left behind and there was very little evidence if any, that they knew the Lord. If the evidence is true, these people died what could be called, "the common death". But I also was fortunate enough to hear last night, a story about a man who had died and an invitation was given at his funeral for the friends and family he left behind. In the story, it was evident that God's grace was abundant, as the man's wife stood up after everyone was finished and gave an invitation. Friends, this man apparently knew and loved the Lord and he was so sure that he was not going to die like the animals die, that he wanted the world to know that he wasn't going to just rot somewhere in a grave. And this man's dear wife was so sure that her husband was waiting for her in heaven that she too wanted the world to know that.

Friends, we may indeed slay many enemies of the cross while here on this earth, just like Samson slew many of God's enemies during his life. But just like Samson, we must realize that it is by God's grace that we accomplish anything. I believe with all my heart that as Samson stood there, tied between those two pillars, he realized the mistakes he had made during his life. But God's grace did not fail him in his death, as He allowed him the greatest victory of his life at his death. It is for certain that we too have made and will make many mistakes in this life, but God's great grace is sufficient as He alone is faithful to forgive us. But death does not end it all and we who know Him have the wonderful opportunity of a great victory for the Lord when He calls us home.

Should someone who has not trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour be reading this little article, please listen to what I say. I am a man and I cannot tell you how you should live. God's Word is the only authority as to how men must live. I can tell you what His Word says, but I can only tell you that no matter how good you live, apart from God's grace, you better enjoy every minute of this life, because when it is over, there awaits you an eternal torment in the lake of fire which is hell. It doesn't have to be that way. Friend, this great grace is offered to you freely, because Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and you don't have to spend eternity in hell. All He asks is that you trust Him. If you believe this, why not ask Him to save you right now? The shortest prayer of repentance found in God's Word is just seven (7) words. Those seven words are, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." If you will but pray those seven words and mean it with your heart, God will indeed save you and you will find His grace all sufficient not only for this life, but in death also. If you prayed those seven words and meant it, Jesus Christ has come into your heart and life and is your Lord and Saviour. And if you indeed received Him as your Lord and Saviour, it would be a great encouragement to my own heart if you would write and let me know. God bless you!