Praise the Lord for this
the last day of March. Easter Sunday was celebrated on March 31 a year ago
today. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful weekend. It was great to be in
the house of the Lord yesterday. I preached at Union Center and Alice preached
at Wesley. We had a special celebration for the youth. Fourteen youth were
confirmed. It was a great celebration and thanksgiving. There was a mega
dinner reception after the worship for the family and friends of the youth.
A few years ago a beautiful
woman from our church, died suddenly. Since she was an organ donor several
people received her organs. They received a new beginning. The family of the
woman who died received thank you notes of gratitude for the organs they
received.
I also read about Michael
Brady some time ago. Michael was a stuntman for Universal Studios. He
specialized in skydiving. Michael was in Benson, Ariz., preparing to parachute
onto the top of a moving train. Climbing up the ladder on the side of the train
to check some rigging, Michael accidentally fell, hitting his head and dying
instantly. Michael's body was taken to the University Medical Center in Tucson.
His heart was placed inside the body of another man, Bill Wohl, who had been
kept alive for the previous 159 days by a temporary artificial heart.
Six months and one day
after getting a new heart, Bill Wohl received a letter from Michael Brady's
family with a picture of Michael enclosed. Bill was surprised to find that he
had the heart of a 36-year-old Hollywood stuntman.
"I looked at this picture,"
Bill said, "at this incredibly good-looking, super-fit, super athletic guy, and
I thought, 'Are you kidding me? That's whose heart I've got?'" Before his
heart transplant, Bill Wohl had been a Type-A, overweight, money-obsessed
businessman pursuing a jet-setter lifestyle. Today, he works part-time,
spending most of his new-found energy winning speed and performance medals in
swimming, cycling and track. Recently interviewed by a reporter in his Scottsdale condo, Bill Wohl
leaned forward in his chair, glanced up at the bronze, silver and gold medals he
has won, lowered his voice, and said, "Every day, all day, I thank God for
Michael Brady. When I ride, when I work out…the biggest thing is to honor him."
A new heart changed him.
14 young people confessed Jesus Christ in public yesterday. They offered their
hearts to Christ. It is a mystery and grace of following Christ. Four young
adults gave their testimony yesterday to encourage the young people on their
journey with Jesus. These young adults love Jesus and they follow Him today.
Their hearts belong to Jesus, they testified. When we surrender our hearts to Jesus, His heart beats
within us. The biggest thing of our lives is to honor Jesus
Christ.
Bill Wohl traveled to see
Michael Brady's family, with the strong heart of that young man beating in his
chest, invigorating his body, pumping blood to every cell. He met Michael's
parents. He learned their son was a man who loved God and cared about people.
Then, he met Michael's brother, Chris. At their first meeting, Chris brought a stethoscope. He
held it in his hands and asked Bill Wohl, "Would you mind? I want to connect
with my brother one more time." Bill said, "Of course. Yes." Chris pressed
that stethoscope against Bill's chest, and he could hear his brother's beating
heart.
As we journey with Jesus
during this Lenten season let others hear the heartbeat of Jesus in
us.
In
Christ,
Brown
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