Abandoned

Steve Brown of Key Life tells of seeing a beat up old car. It was the ugliest car he had ever seen. It was ugly on top of ugly. It had a large gash in the side, one of the doors was being held together by bailing wire, several body parts were missing, and it was covered with rust. And then, on the back bumper, it said:

This is not an abandoned car.

The human race is abandoning cars right and left, and not only that, but babies, children, and grandparents.

A while back we saw the disciples going to the other side of the sea and the storm arose. I am sure you remember that. Well, they got to the other side. And it wasn't a pretty place. It was the place of the tumbs known as Gadara. (Mark 5:1-20)

There they were met by a man. One man, not a crowd waiting and listening, but an Abandoned Man. An uncontrollable and strong man. A very helpless, hopeless, abandoned by humanity to the tombs man.

Jesus came across the sea at night to reach out to one man - this man. Notice, he knew who Jesus was and bowed down to him.

"When he saw Jesus from a distance,
he ran and fell on his knees in front of him."
(Mark 5:6)

Jesus commanded that the evil spirits leave. It was a scary, a totally scary experience. If you have ever experienced such as this, you can testify that it will make your hair stand on end.

Jesus asks the evil spirit his name, "Legion" he answered. There were many, it was an extreme case.

The demons knew who Jesus was and asked to be sent into the swine, and Jesus did. The owners of the swine came to Jesus and saw the man in his right mind sitting peacefully with Jesus.

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
(Mark 5:15)

The herdsmen saw the evidence of the power of God in a human ilve, heard the story of a deliverance of the greatest magnitude, but they asked Jesus to leave and he left.

Then the man asked to go with Jesus, and Jesus said to him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

What does this teach us?

1. No one will be abandoned by God unless he wills to.
2. No one is beyond His help.
3. He will not abandon you.

As sinful as we might be and as bound by chainds of sin, drugs, self, and beyond help, abandoned by society, yet... Jesus will come to you where you are.

You probably never were as bad as that. You have been good - more or less good - but still sin is sin and you are as far away from God in your sin as this man was in his. The Gospel is the Good News! Beloved there is mercy with the Lord.

Another lesson is that Jesus is teaching us, we who have been rescued and received mercy. And it is this: There is a world of people out there needing to hear the Gospel of Jesus. And we are to go where they are and give them the good news.

What can we do at this point in time? Right now?

1. We can pray for our missionaries.
2. We can support missionaries on a regular basis.
3. You can become involved with those in the faraway places right here in your own home right now.

~Bill Gibson
Palisades 10/26/06

The Neglected Triplet

Chapter 13 of I Corinthians closes with these words... "and now these remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

We hear much about faith and much about love but hope seems to be the neglected triplet. Dr. Armand May Nicoli of Harvard Medical school writes, "The word hope is used and heard little in our culture. Perhaps hope conflicts with our concept of a scientific world." Many books exist about faith and love, but very few on hope.

Hope is essential to sanity and a balanced outlook on life. We all need to hope, as hope will sustain us in perilous times.

Hope looks forward to something good. Faith looks to the person who has promised and hope to the thing promised. Faith is the root, hope is the fruit. Faith looks to who and hope to what. Real hope for the future is grounded in the promise of God and guaranteed in the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Hope needs to be based on reality. It is not a mere wish or strong desire.

In a world filled with fear for the future, do you have a hope? Where is your hope and on what is it based? It seems we need to examine to see if our hope is a real hope or a mere dream. The hymn writer wrote these words in his song, "The Solid Rock"

"My hope is built on nothing less,
than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus name."

Put your trust in God
His promise never fails.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

by Bill Gibson
From the Flat Tortilla
October 1990

Look!

And you will have confidence,
because there is hope.
Job 11:18

Little boy with a balsa canoe.
Chupientsa, Ecuador 1957

photo by Bill Gibson

This little boy made this little canoe in Daily Vacation Bible School, and he is very proud of it. It was carved out of Balsa wood, a very soft light wood from which even very large canoes are made.

That Old Sinking Feeling Is Back

In Matthew 14:30 we see Peter stepping out of the boat to come to Jesus walking on the water. Only Peter would think of doing that! Let's take a brief look at Peter starting to sink.



First: He was starting to sink, not because of some sin or doing something wrong, but because he was Peter. His temperament got him into this fix. The others used their common sense and stayed in the boat. Peter had to do something. Peter would begin to walk on water and Peter would begin to sink.

Second: He began to sink in familiar waters. He knew the lake like all fishermen do. Here he was among those who knew him. Here he was among those who loved him. Many start to sink when away from home and in strange places. How sad to start to sink among friends and loved ones.

Third: He began to sink after loyal discipleship. Faithful to the Lord and maturing in the faith. He was not a novice. Yet he began to sink.

Fourth: He was on a permitted path. The Lord had told him to come. It was not because he was out of the will of God. He was not trespassing. He had been invited to come. It is possible for us, even though we are in His will and doing what is right, to start to sink. How prone we are to judge another who is beginning to sink and lay the blame on him.

Fifth: The others in the boat were not aware of Peter's danger. It's hard to tell on rough water when one is starting to sink. They could not help Peter even if they knew he was starting to go down.

Sixth: Jesus was close by and Jesus was able to help Peter. He was the only one who could and the only one who would. Jesus was not surprised. He was there ready to help.

Application: It is possible for us to start to sink even when we are doing what is right and walking in His will. Our pastor, loved ones, and friends may not be aware of the danger. Isn't it wonderful to know that Jesus knows and is near and will help us when we call on Him?

Bill Gibson
El Paso, TX
Fall 1986

Something to hang on to: A talk by Bill Gibson

Have you ever been in a bus full of people and you didn't have a seat and there was nothing to hang on to? It is difficult when we all of a sudden find ourselves in a speeding bus with nothing to hang on to.

People come to the time when it seems the days are speeding by and it's a rocky road and there is nothing to hang on to to hold us secure.

Perhaps you feel you have lost control with nothing to hang on to? People say to us, "Hang in there old buddy," and there isn't anything we know to hang on to.



There is, thank the Lord, something to hang on to. The Lord gives us his solemn promise ant that is what helps the believer, the Christian, to stand solid when all around us there is everything happening.

The promise is a good one. I have a friend who has blood cancer and he tells me he is hanging on to this promise and is confident that he will not fall.

The promise is in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Beloved, the Lord is worthy of our trust. He never fails and He will never fail you. It's so easy to trust in our own strength, our own will, and our own thoughts. But God says not to trust anybody, not even yourself because friends will fail, and you will fail, but the Lord never fails.

Does it seem that nobody cares and you are seemingly tossed about like a feather on the waves of the sea?

The message we have for you is that there is hope. There is help. There is something to hang on to that will never ever fail you.

Why not this Sunday morning put your trust in Jesus and let Him take over and hold you tight? He wants to do just that.

• Confess to Him that you are a failure, a sinner
• Believe that Jesus is your Savior and trust Him.
• Then thank him for the gift of salvation.
• Thank him for the gift of security.
• Thank him for the gift of hope.

Bill Gibson 06/03/01
Mountain Villa Health Center
El Paso, Texas

Waiting for the clinic

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Shuar family waiting for the clinic to open.
Ecuador SA, 1953
photo by Bill Gibson

In the jungle, distance was measured by how many days it took to walk. For many families, the walk to the clinic took several days, and they arrived worn out and weary.

Mothers used a cloth sling to carry children who were too young to walk. It was either positioned with the child on her back or hip, whatever was most convenient and most comfortable at the time.

Today's Gospel Message

Some thoughts on Hope

Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians closes with these words.." and now these remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." We hear much abut faith and much about love but hope seems to be the neglected triplet.

Dr. Armand Mayo Nicoli of Harvard Medical School writes: "The word hope is used and heard little in our culture. Perhaps hope conflicts with our concept of a scientific world." Many books exist about faith and love but very few on hope. Hope is essential to sanity and a balanced outlook on life. We all need to hope, as hope will sustain us in perilous times.

Hope looks forward to something good. Faith looks to the person who has promised and hope to the thing promised. Faith is the root, hope is the fruit. Faith looks to who and hope to what. Real hope for the future is grounded in the promise of God and guaranteed in the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Hope needs to be based on reality. It is not a mere wish or strong desire.

In a world filled with fear for the future, do you have a hope? Where is your hope and on what is it based? It seems we need to examine to see if our hope is real hope or a mere dream. The hymn writer wrote these words in his song, "The Solid Rock" :

"My hope is built on nothing less,
than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus name."

Put your trust in God. His promise never fails.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
~Romans 15:13

Thank you very, very much.
Bill Gibson
Texas, October 1990