My desire for “Our Comfort Zone” is to help someone to seek a closer

                walk with the Lord, and to grow in grace and knowledge.

Two old prospectors wandered the desert for many years, searching for a silver mine. They had spent a long time in the desert, and their attitude toward matters of life and death was rather casual. That changed one afternoon when one of the prospectors disturbed a rattlesnake. He would not show any fear in the presence of his friend, so he said he could kiss the rattler before the snake could strike. He bent forward to plant his lips on the snake and was promptly bitten. The “kiss” had been successful! The snake’s fangs struck both his upper and lower lips.

The prospector panicked and sent his friend to the nearest town to get a doctor. The other prospector found the doctor, but he could not accompany the prospector back into the desert. He told him he could save his friend’s life by using his own lips to suck the poison out of the wounds. As the friend rode back, he thought about what he would have to do to save his friend’s life. When he finally arrived back at his friend’s side, the natural question was, “What did the doc say?” The old prospector took off his hat and somberly answered, “He said you’re gonna die!”

What a corny story! But it has a point: Are there times when we consider “the price of healing” to be too high? We are God’s representatives in the world. We are, in the words of a missionary doctor, God’s hands to heal. You may not be a physician, but you are God’s messenger of healing to a world that has been poisoned and is dying. And the great physician still makes house calls.

He is the only one who can give us the right directions. As the Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us, “We have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  At every fork of our lives Jesus our Lord knows the right way for us to go.  We can land in the slough of despond.  By-pass meadow is very appealing.   That is true in marriage, choosing a job, raising children, running a business or a country, facing a crisis of any kind.  But Jesus knows the outcome in every situation, and he can keep us on the right path in every situation of each of our lives.   One could say that he has faced the temptations that every one of us will face.  

 He said “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road that leads to destruction is easy to choose” (Matthew 7:13).  But that does not mean the Messiah asks us to be narrow-minded in the wrong sense.  There are many ways for a photographer to produce a poor picture.   Which means that if we want a picture for our family to enjoy we have to be narrow minded about  the speed, the focus, and getting the direction and framing exactly right.    Every craftsman, eye-surgeon, musician,  great artist has to be exacting if he or she wants perfection.   All the more in our dealings with others.  There are many ways to be rude, proud, unfeeling, careless and unloving.   Jesus is delighted when we begin to learn the perfection of loving from him.

Have you ever had to see a specialist? You went to see your regular physician, and, for whatever reason, he or she sent you on to a specialist—someone better trained or with more experience for your situation. When the need is critical, you want the very best help. Jesus is the ultimate specialist! He specializes in the critical needs of the body and of the soul. As one needs confidence in a physician’s knowledge and skills to treat our needs, so our text challenges us to put our faith in Christ, even in the darkest hours. When no one else can help, Jesus still can!

><))):>  In "HIS" Service  
                 Bro. Roy