March 6, 2020You may have heard that the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest sports upsets in history was celebrated by hockey fans on February 22nd. Known as the “Miracle on Ice,” the story of the American hockey team defeating the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY was dramatized in the movie “Miracle” in which Ryan Walter – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Walter – made a cameo appearance as the referee. Now a motivational speaker, Walter was selected second in the 1978 NHL draft, behind Bobby Smith. Both would be traded to the Montreal Canadiens and both are believers in Christ.
This week, I began reading “Forgiving My Father, Forgiving Myself” by Ruth Graham, a daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham. She writes: “I love how Webster’s Dictionary defines a miracle: ‘an extraordinary event manifesting divine interaction in human affairs.’ Yes! Exactly. Forgiveness is certainly an extraordinary event displaying God’s intervention in human affairs. It is God who has modeled for us what forgiveness looks like. If we choose to show mercy when wronged, we are tapping into God’s mercy. If we choose to pardon the offender, we are imitating God’s pardon of us.”
Ruth Graham begins her book by recounting a visit that she made to Angola Prison in Louisiana. A man named Michael asked “Can I sing you a song?” Graham writes: “His rich baritone voice filled the austere confines of his cell and echoed down the concrete hallway behind me. Tears filled my eyes. Though I knew the words well, I’d never heard them sung by a man condemned to die.” Michael sang “It Is Well With My Soul” and Ruth received an email months later from a man who who had read on the internet about her visit to the prison. Burl Cain told Ruth that he had forgiven Michael years ago for murdering his grandson. He had been praying for Michael’s salvation and told Ruth that he was a missionary to Nepal.
Tonight, another missionary who ministered in Nepal will be speaking at Grace Church in Verdun – www.gracechurchverdun.com. Steve Regnault and his wife, Tara, recently moved to Saskatchewan to serve First Nation people. The church’s Missions conference will continue tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., as well as the next two Sundays at 4 p.m.
Scripture for the weekend: “Little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.” – A.W. Tozer