Go Tell the Good Tidings!

“These lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it… Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace” (2 Kings 7:8,9).  “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee… Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence” (Psalm 32:19,20).  “I thank my God… that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:4,6). 

The lepers sitting on the wall

With death and famine had to cope,   

And when they had considered all,

They saw one tiny ray of hope. 

Upon the wall they soon would die

Or die of famine in the city. 

The other option they could try

Was falling to their foes for pity. 

They went into the camp that night

And found their enemies had fled! 

The Lord had put them all to flight

With noise that filled them all with dread. 

They ate and drank to their content

Then gathered spoil that they hid,  

Until they all with one consent

Had reconsidered what they did. 

“We do not well,” they then declared;

The tidings that they had were good,

And those who perished could be spared

If they would speak then as they should. 

Should not we likewise “go and tell” 

The tidings people need to hear?

There is a Refuge now from hell;

Now let us make the Gospel clear! 

We do not well to hold our tongue

When we should go and tell good news

To rich and poor, to old and young,

To show the Savior they may choose.

Lord, help us to communicate

The tidings of Your saving grace

To souls before it is too late

To find in You their Hiding Place.  

Vision for Valor

“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master!  How shall we do?  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17).  “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).  “The kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared” (Titus 3:4).

There is a need for clearer vision

To see the battle that we face

And falter not with indecision

As we are led forth by God’s grace. 

Elisha’s  servant saw the forces

Of those who gathered to surround  

With soldiers, chariots, and their horses

Arrayed against them all around.

“Alas!” he said, “How shall we do?”

He neither saw, nor was aware

How weak those forces were and few

Compared to heaven’s armies there.  

Elisha prayed with the desire

To open then his servant’s eyes. 

Behold!  The mountains were on fire

With armies to his glad surprise!

Lord, open now our eyes today

With vision in these final hours

To see Your armies in array

Against the devil and his powers. 

We thank You, Lord, for what You did

When You stood up to fight for us!    

O may Your valor not be hid

Upon Your cross victorious! 

Lord, open eyes of those so blind

To the destruction in their path,

Who still reject Your love so kind,

Yet marching on to endless wrath. 

Lord, give us vision like You gave

Elisha’s servant, which revealed

Your greater power that will save

The souls now on this battlefield. 

Lord, grant us valor like Your own

To go wherever You command

To make Your great salvation known,

As by Your grace we boldly stand.  

Naaman's Need

“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable… but he was a leper… So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper…  So he turned and went away in a rage.  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?  How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:1-14).  “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). 

We see a portrait here is set

In Naaman, captain of the host,

Whose greatest need had not been met,

The healing that he needed most. 

He was a leper after all,

In spite of all his battles won. 

By leprosy he soon would fall,

And none could save him; no, not one. 

At last a ray of hope had shined:

A prophet was in Israel. 

Perhaps, if he was so inclined,

The prophet’s prayer would make him well.

Elisha was the prophet when

This cry for healing reached his door. 

He sent his servant to him then,

But Naaman thought there should be more. 

When Naaman heard the remedy,

To wash in Jordon and be clean,

He thought the cure for leprosy

Would come with a fantastic scene. 

But Naaman’s servants gave their voice

And told him that he should obey,

So he might wash and thus rejoice

That God had made him whole that day. 

When Naaman did as he was told,

He found his leprosy was gone. 

And here, indeed, we may behold

A lesson that we should pass on. 

The grace of God that brings salvation

To all mankind has now appeared. 

The Lord removes the condemnation

With every sin which He has cleared. 

It’s time to do the simple thing

That God commands us all to do: 

Repent and trust in Christ the King,

Who cleanses us makes us new!

We thank You, Lord, for Naaman’s story,

Which illustrates salvation’s plan. 

To You alone be all the glory

Who brought salvation down to man. 

Our deepest need was met, O Lord,

As Naaman’s need was in his place:  

Our souls are healed, cleansed, restored,

And saved by Your redeeming grace!  

Destructive Disregard

“Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them, and not build them up” (Psalm 28:5).  “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).  “The truth which is after godliness, in hope of eternal life… God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began, but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching… according to the commandment of God our Savior” (Titus 1:1-3). 

The souls refusing to regard

The operation of God’s hands,

Shall find the consequences hard

When mercy flees and judgment stands. 

As they are boasting of tomorrow,

They do not turn to seek God’s face. 

How tragic is the endless sorrow

Of those who perish without grace! 

The Lord, who cannot lie, has spoken

And made His great salvation known.   

His promise never shall be broken

To those who trust in Him alone. 

According to our God and Savior

Who calls each sinner to repent,

The time is NOW to seek His favor,

Before TODAY is further spent. 

O Lord, we love Your precious Word,

Though many hate Your truth today.

They mock the Gospel they have heard

By disregarding what You say. 

O Lord, they have despised Your love

And scorned Your ransom on the cross,

Though You descended from above

To rescue souls from endless loss! 

Destructive disregard, O Lord,

Deprives the soul of Your salvation! 

We pray for souls who have ignored

The consequence of condemnation.