If You Tarry Till You're Better.......

The phrase, "If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all," is found in the song, I Will Arise And Go To Jesus. This song is a favorite of mine from my childhood. The tune has a mournful, tantalizing quality, and the rhythm is hypnotic. This phrase, "If you tarry till you're better, you will very come at all," really hits home with me. I remember singing this as a child and thinking, "that's me. I am waiting to get better at doing what is right before I go to Jesus for redemption. I can't bring him all this mess that is me. I have to at least try. Or show him that I am making at effort. Show him that I am ready to be a Christian and live like a Christian." 

Now, the phrase hits home with me because I know people, people who I love and care about, who won't come to Jesus because they are waiting to be/do better. When I hear the last words of the verse, the thought just makes me cry, "If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all."

Oh my friend, please don't tarry! "All the fitness he requireth, is to feel your need of him." If you know that you need a savior, run to Jesus. He will embrace you in his arms. Salvation is easy. So easy. Jesus did all the work. Rely on him and him alone. You can't wait until you are better. You will never be better. You will never be worthy. You will never be good enough to pay your way or even, at the very least, show him that you are trying. He just wants you to trust him. He paid it all. Believe that he is who he says he is. Believe that He is the Messiah. The Savior. Your Savior. Believe that his death, burial, and resurrection was/is for you. That's it. Please don't tarry.

Revelation 22:17 

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. 

And let him that heareth say, Come. 

And let him that is athirst come. 

And whosoever will, let him 

take the water of life freely.

Matthew 11:28 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest. 

Romans 10:9 

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 

and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, 

thou shalt be saved.

Romans 6:23 

For the wages of sin is death; 

but the gift of God is eternal life 

through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

1 Corinthians 15:3+4

For I delivered unto you 

first of all that which I also received, 

how that Christ died for our sins 

according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, 

and that he rose again the third day 

according to the scriptures:

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love and pow'r.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior,

Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,

Lost and ruined by the fall

If you tarry till you're better,

You will never come at all.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior,

Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior,

Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Polishing Shoes

Polishing shoes is one of those important but not urgent jobs that gets pushed off to the back burner and rarely gets done around our house. I am a sucker for real leather shoes. I love to find a pair that fits me at thrift stores. The leather needs to be condition every once in a while, though, if I want my shoes to last long. It is not hard and it doesn't take much time, but, boy, does it make a difference! A little Mink Oil on dry, thirsty leather, gives it new life!

Recently, I got the bag of shoe polish supplies out and shined our shoes. They look so nice! Every time I shine shoes I think of my Dad. Sometimes on Sunday mornings he would polish our shoes. He had a little pouch with shoe shining stuff that came from his Dad. He would brush our shoes off, then rub the polish on with a seasoned rag and buff them to a sheen with a dry cloth. Good memories!

Our feet are humble yet vital. Just think where we would be without them! Not very far, that's for sure! Let us use our feet to carry us to those that need to hear the gospel. 

Ephesians 6:15  

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Romans 10:15 

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Do you wonder why God made the piece of armor that was about the gospel the covering for the feet? Because we have to go out and compel the lost. We can't wait for them to come to us. My prayer is that God would make me a soul winner for Him.

Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Luke 10:2  

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. 

What Has Quickening Power? Q And A

Q. What has power to quicken?

John 6:63

A. The words that Jesus spake cause life.

Q. What has the power to save?

Romans 1:16

A. The gospel of Christ has power to save.

Q. What is the seed that a soul winner sows?

Luke 8:11

A. The seed is the word of God.

Q. Who hath the words of life?

John 6:68

A. Jesus has the words of life.

Q. What incorruptible seed causes a person to be born again?

1 Peter 1:23

A. The word of God is the incorruptible seed.

See how important the words of God are? They bring life to the soul.

One's salvation testimony is a wonderful and encouraging thing to hear, but, sharing your testimony without any of God's words has no saving power.

If you want to be able to throw The Life Raft to a person sinking down into Hell you need to use God's life giving words.

Something I, personally, need to do, is commit to memory verses from the Bible that contain the gospel of Christ. That way I will never be without the ability to lead someone to eternal salvation.

Q. What are those words?

A. Here are some:

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knowest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; you wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believes thou this?

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  What More Do You Want?  

From: Echoes of Grace - Living Waters

A man told me one day how he got peace with God. For years his wife, a Christian, took him here and there to hear the gospel preached. He knew the plan of salvation well, and, being afraid to die in his sins, he became increasingly anxious to have peace with God.

"About three months ago," he said, "I stayed behind at the close of a gospel meeting and told the preacher what I wanted."

The preacher asked him: "Did the Lord Jesus die for you?"

"Yes, I believe He did," he answered.

"And was He raised for you?"

"Yes," he said again.

"What more do you want?"

At once he saw the truth. He accepted the blessing by faith, and he went away rejoicing in salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ had died for him, and was raised for him. What more did he want? Surely nothing!

And what more do you want? And what more can you have? Surely nothing!

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
 God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Rom. 10:9.)

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and 
that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3,4.)

Christ Alone Can Save!

Reformation will not save you. 
  

Religiousness will not save you.

Repetition of prayers will not save you.

Rivers of tears will not save you.

Rules and regulations for your life will not save you.

If any of these, or all of these combined, could have saved you, Christ need not have died. But "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12