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"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

We had a moving experience in our church service yesterday.  Bob, an older man that I've come to love and appreciate, found out this last week that cancer has spread throughout his body. He has been very sick for the past couple weeks, but was determined to attend yesterday's worship service. Assisted by his son he walked in slowly with very apparent weakness and he sat down on the back row beside his wife.

As people walked in they greeted him and as they did so he mustered the strength to express his appreciation at their concern. We began the service by gathering around him for prayer.  Following our prayer time he slowly made his way to the front to give a public witness of his rededication to Christ.   He requested that he be given an opportunity to do this earlier in the week.

Bob's story will encourage many readers who are praying for loved ones. He's a World War 2 veteran who was part of the Normandy invasion on D-Day. For many, many years he had no interest at all in spiritual things. Long-time people in the church recall his wife, Bev, often requesting prayer for him and their children. But at seventy years of age Bob finally came to Christ and for the last twelve years has faithfully served the Lord!  He has been such a blessing to me during my short time as interim pastor.

The ongoing cry of the believer to the unbelieving world is "Come to Jesus!"  This is our plea for family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers and it's the missions call to the entire human race.

He continues to work through His church as he invites the world to "come".  His very words call out, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."  Yet it is obvious that many, as He somberly acknowledged, "refuse to come to me to have life."

As a minister of the Gospel I call you today to come to Jesus. I know most readers have accepted Christ's invitation. Like Bob did yesterday, I urge you to make a fresh rededication of your life to Christ.

But for anyone reading this message who has never come to Jesus, I believe Jesus is speaking to your heart even now. Stop resisting His Holy Spirit, accept God's saving grace and start believing.

Here's a prayer of commitment to Jesus:  Jesus, I confess that I have not lived my life for You and am among those who have refused to accept Your invitation to have new life.  I now want to turn away from darkness as I desire purpose and meaning for my life so I come to You who gives life everlasting.  I accept You as my personal Savior who died on the cross for me.  Please forgive me for all my sins, especially for rejecting You time after time when Your Spirit was drawing me to Yourself.  I do believe You are the Son of God and that You love me so much You are not willing that I perish but inherit eternal life. I want to live for You and grow in my new spiritual life.  Give me understanding and growth as I devote myself to reading the Bible, daily prayer, and fellowship with other Christian believers.  


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily Prayer:  Jesus, even as You breathed physical life into me at the moment of my conception, You breathed spiritual life into me at the moment of my second birth.  You replaced the darkness I walked in as You awakened my soul to spiritual light.  As I accepted Your invitation to come, You took my sins that were red like crimson and made them white as snow.  My life is no longer self-centered but Christ-centered as I now have the mind of Christ and the eternal perspective.  Though my physical body may be wasting away on this earthly pilgrimage, inwardly I am renewed day by day. I'm so glad that troubles in this life are momentary in comparison to the eternal joys I will experience in the life to come.  Keep me faithful and growing in Your wisdom, grace and compassion.  Amen.

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We would be especially pleased to hear from any who committed or recommitted their life to Christ upon reading today's message and we will share your story with Bob and Bev as a way of encouraging them. Merely email us by clicking here.

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Joe and Red are two older men in the church I now serve who both share a similar experience.  

Joe served on the destroyer Sigsbee during WW2 that was struck by a kamikaze plane, killing 24 of his fellow sailors and crippling the ship, which was towed back to port.

Red also served in the navy during WW2 and was on the aircraft carrier Hornet that was sunk near Midway.  He was rescued after floating in the sea for sixteen days on a piece of debris.

Both of these men have interesting testimonies and I will be writing messages about them in the future.

Both of them, like Bob in today's story, also came to place their faith in Christ later in life!