Messages of God's Abundance - Hardcover

Ten Boom, Corrie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310245702 ISBN 13: 9780310245704

Publisher: Zondervan, 2002

Synopsis

At the height of Nazi power, amid the horrors of a concentration camp, the seeds of faith and forgiveness grew to fruition in the heart of a young Dutch woman named Corrie ten Boom. Outlasting Ravensbruck and Hitler's regime, Ms. ten Boom went on to accomplish what brute power never could: conquer hearts across the world with healing words of hope, forgiveness, and trust in God. Broadcast across Europe using the very radio equipment the Nazis had built to spread their propaganda, the inspirational messages of Corrie ten Boom appear at last in print. As in this book's predecessor, Reflections of God's Glory, the twenty-six sermonettes in Messages of God's Abundance are first-ever English translations of the scripts for Ms. ten Boom's Trans World Radio broadcasts from the Netherlands. Emerging after many years, these jewel-like writings reflect the broad experiences of a woman who preached the gospel around the world, yet who found her greatest adventure exploring the endless riches of God's Word. In 1983, Corrie ten Boom went to be with her beloved Jesus, but the timeless truths of Scripture spoken through the lips of this remarkable woman remain alive, vibrant, and as able as ever to touch, convict, and encourage our hearts.

About this title

About the Author:

The late Corrie ten Boom is the author of Reflections of God's Glory, Letters from Prison, and In My Father's House. She also wrote the beloved international bestseller, The Hiding Place. Made into a movie by the same name, The Hiding Place portrays her family's efforts to hide Jews during the German occupations of The Netherlands during World War II, and of how God sustained Corrie through the atrocities of a concentration camp after she and her family were captured by the Nazis. Upon her release and until her death in1983, Corrie traveled the world, preaching the gospel to the lost and encouraging the church with her message of love, faith, and forgiveness.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Let Your Light Shine In Matthew 5:13 and 14--16 we read that the Lord Jesus says, 'You are the salt of the earth,' and 'You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.' I have spoken to prisoners in many countries. During the war I experienced what it means to sit behind a door that can only be opened from the outside. Maybe that is why I am so interested in prisoners and sympathize with them so much. I think of a rough young man in Mexico, who had an eighteen-year sentence. You don't get that for just stealing a car. But something had happened in his life. The Lord Jesus had laid His hand upon him. He prayed, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus' and Jesus came. That's what it says in Revelation 3:20, 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.' And that had happened. The man became an evangelist in his prison. When I arrived there, he had already brought half of his fellow prisoners to the Lord. I hope that you, the reader, will get to heaven and that I will meet you there. Then I am sure that I'll be able to introduce you to quite a few fervent evangelists whom I met in prisons, fellows who were serving their sentences. But not only that, we will also find many who, through them, found their way to heaven. I want to tell you something I learned from a prisoner in New Zealand. Sometimes you hear the most wonderful sermons from people who are serving their sentence in prisons. I had preached on the text, 'You are the light of the world.' Can you say that to prisoners? Wouldn't it be better to say, 'You are the darkness of the world'? One of the men who had heard my sermon said, 'This morning I was leafing through the Bible and I found the story of three murderers. One was called Moses, one David, and one Paul.' Were they murderers? Yes. We know them as God's heroes, but all three were murderers. The prisoner said: 'Mates, there's hope for you and me.' What can God do with a murderer who surrenders totally to Him? What can God do with a completely surrendered 'decent' sinner like you and me? Will you surrender to Him? Miracles will happen. You will become the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Let's pray together. 'Lord, I thank You that You can use sinners. You didn't call the angels to be evangelists; they have other work to do. But You can use me. Lord, hear those who listen and are saying: 'Can You use me?' Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Oh, Lord, how wonderful it is that You will make them the light of the world and salt of the earth. Hallelujah. Amen.' Two Kinds of Love Because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us' (Rom. 5:5). An ocean of love and light covered an ocean of sin and darkness when Jesus said on the cross, 'It is finished.' There are two kinds of love: human love and God's love. Human love can fall short; God's love never does. In 1 Corinthians 13 we read about divine love. In the original Bible text there are two different words for love. Human love is called philia, God's love is called agape. God's love is the greatest reality, here and now---not only if we live in a beautiful house and have enough to eat, but even if the very worst happens in the life of a child of God, the best remains, namely God's love. I experienced that love when I was imprisoned in a concentration camp during the war. Each morning they held roll call. The supervisor used that time to demonstrate her cruelty. One morning I could hardly bear to see and hear what was happening in front of me. Then a lark started to sing in the air. All the prisoners looked up. I looked up too and listened to the bird, but I looked further and saw heaven. I thought of Psalm 103:11, 'For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.' I suddenly saw that the ocean of God's great love is greater than human cruelty. God sent the lark every day for three weeks to teach us to direct our eyes to Him. When I was released and went back home, my body carried the scars of the camp for a long time. My friends were afraid that I would say: 'The greatest reality in life is human cruelty.' But through God's grace I was able to say: 'There are three great realities in life. The first is the ocean of God's love in Jesus Christ; second, God's promises; and third, God's commandments.' There is nothing in which God demonstrates His love more clearly than in His promises and His commandments. The amount of God's love is unlimited, but we only receive as much as we use. A tradesman once complained that he was so busy he could hardly bear it. He was a child of God and I said to him, 'How wonderful that you don't have to do it alone.' 'What do you mean?' 'Well, what a friend we have in Jesus.' 'Do you really think that I have time to think of that?'---He looked like a mountain climber who has a guide with him and says to him, 'Don't you see how hard it is to climb this mountain? Do you really think I have time for a guide?'

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0310245702
• ISBN 13: 9780310245704
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128