It must be settled tonight

[Heavyduty053]

              

 

               The big burly miner blinked his eyes over and ovre as he left the dark interior or the coal mine. Stopping at the faucet near the entrance, he washed hiseyes out of all the grime and caol dust that he could and then his face adnd hands, then headedtoward his little shack on the outskirts of the village. He was tired, he was filthy but his wok was over for the day. As he trudged along the dusty lane, he passed the open door of the village church. Inside, a small crowd listened intently as an entergetic man gesticulated from the pulpit. He had passed the same scene hundreds of times over the years but time there was something different drawing him to stand and listen. He stepped closer to the door...."Absolute surrender is what we must do in order to recieve Jesus Christ", the minister was saying. Ar you willing to surrender yourself absolutely into his hands, if not then you are not ready to meet your God. THe minister paced back and forth on the little area with the pulpit. "We do not know how long our lives will last, we do not know if God will let us wake in the morning". Tonight you are living, tomorrow you may not be, i bet of you , ask yourselves are you ready to stand before him. The miner was touched deep down inside and he slipped into the back pew. Am i ready to meet God, he thought to himself.

               All of a sudden his life and how he has lived it came before his eyes. Then the question came into being, how can i make peace with him. About that time the gospel meeting ended and the people file out. Still the miner remained in his pew with his head in his hands. Finally the minister touched him on his shoulder."Brother are you ready to meet the lord should he call for you". Blindly, the miner shook his head, I know i'm not, pleade help me find this peace with him. An hour passed as the minister shared the plan of salvation; the feeling was building inside of him and yet something was holding him back from ful surrender. "Its getting late the minister finally said, Go on home and think abut it and we can try again tomorrow night, the miner shook his head and said, stay with me a little longer, it must be settled tonight. Once again the minister explained the way to heaven thru salvation and prayed long and hard with the miner, but in vein. Another hour passed, the miner was crying  and the minister was exhausted and it was in the early hours of the morning. "You must go home and get some rest or you will not be able to work" and i can't make this any clearer for you. The miner looked up nd when the minister saw the tears he said we shall stay as long as its needed. Once more he spoke of Jesus and how he laid his life on the cross for all of mankind so that we could be saved. He prayed again but it was in vein. The minister said look harder into your mind and think and let your heart belong to Jesus. The miner said again, "it must be settled tonight". again both of them got down on their knees and prayed and the miner finally seen the light coming toward him. I see it he said, i see it. You could see the glow on his face. Lord i give myself over to you , to your will. It is settled, i have found the peace of heaven. The two men knelt again thanking God for coming into this man's life.

               The next morning the miner went to work as usual. During the day he was sent to a distant part of the mine for some tools. When he did not return, his fellow workers went to look for him. They found that the walls had caved in and he was somewhere back in the debris or behind it. Working hard as they could with pick and shovel they were tring to get to their friend and co-worker. When they finally reached their friend he was dead and yet he had a smile on his face.

 

 

That little urge the evening before was his signal or warning that his life was not right and the lord was about to call his number. Thats why the feeling grew some much as the time went on until the lights of heaven let him see what his future hme was about. Not a one of us can ever say or predict when our time is about to be up but if we trust in Jesus there will be signs and feelings. Thank God he cares enough.

 

[pokerplayer]

Thanks Heavy, no further comment from me required here.

 

   pp