The news media often calls attention to the
large number of homeless and hungry people
in our nation's big cities. The scenes of
people sleeping on benches, huddling in
cardboard boxes, or looking through garbage cans
for food are pitiful and troubling. While many
of these individuals have ended up on the
street through misfortunes beyond their
control, even sadder are the cases who are there
largely by choice.

As I prayed and thought about this
problem, it occurred to me that while not homeless
and destitute, most of us, in a spiritual sense,
have gotten by with just a cup of coffee and a
morsel of bread when we could have been
feasting on God's plentiful banquet of spiritual
manna. As the Apostle James observes, Ye
have not, because ye ask not (James 4:2).

My husband, Jack, and I have a favorite
little "home cookin'" cafe we often visit when
it's just the two of us. It's not fancy at all, but
it's a cozy, comfortable place where we can
relax -- and the food is good. We go there
often enough that we know most of the
waitresses and many of the regular customers.

For weeks we noticed that a certain man
was almost always in the cafe, sitting at the
counter. He looked as if he might be
homeless, usually dressed in worn, slightly shabby
clothes which probably hadn't been laundered
in weeks. He was always alone -- never did
we see him with a friend or ever having a
conversation with others at the counter. His
countenance was drawn and sad, and one could
sense that he had known much sorrow in his
lifetime. The waitresses told us he ate only
once a day -- the rest of the time he just drank
coffee..."buy one cup and the refills are free."

Jack and I felt terribly sorry for this man.
One night as we were having a light dinner,
we looked over at him sitting alone at the
counter, nursing his coffee cup, and it made us
sad. My hubby called a waitress over and
said, "Give that man the best dinner in the
house and bring me the bill. Let him pick out
anything on the menu and tell him a friend has
picked up the tab."

"No, Dr. Van Impe, you don't need to do
that," said the waitress.

"But I want to," he answered. "He looks
like he needs a good meal, and I'd just like to
help him a little."

"You don't understand," she said. "That is
Mr. _____________" (and she named a very well-known
and wealthy local family). "His father
owned much of the land that is now the City
of Troy -- he's the heir to millions!"

"But he looks so underprivileged!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, I know," said the waitress, "but he's
really a multimillionaire. He lives like a
pauper by choice."

I haven't seen that poor, sad man lately,
but recently I've been thinking about his situation.
Could it be that many Christians are
living like spiritual paupers when they could be
enjoying God's manifest blessings every day
of their lives? Are they settling for just a cup
of coffee when they could be feasting at the
Lord's banquet table?

As we face the future, are we anxious
about what lies ahead? Will it be a time of
happiness and blessing...or endless loneliness
and deprivation?

Change your wardrobe

The old man in the cafe was dressed in
worn, shabby clothes. Yet he could have been
wearing the finest suit from the best tailor in town.

What are you wearing? The Prophet Isaiah
said, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul
shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation, he hath
covered me with the robe of righteousness, as
a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels
(Isaiah 61:10).

Clothe yourself in the wardrobe God has
provided for you. Get dressed in His
rightousness and see what a change His garments
will make in your whole outlook on life.
You'll discover a new awareness of God as
your Sustainer and Protector. You'll stand
taller and walk in trust and confidence.

So resolve to stop dressing like the world
and get clothed in.His righteousness.

Put sadness aside

The old man in the cafe looked so sad, as
if the weight of the world was on his
shoulders. Yes, from a worldly perspective, he had
everything. He was from a prominent family,
with every possible financial advantage at his
disposal. If money could buy happiness, he
could have had it all.

Christianity is the most joyful of all the
world's religions. Yet we often manage to
make it appear the most sad and mournful by
our actions and our countenance. Mark Twain
once had his famous character, Huck Finn,
wondering if the mule in the barn had "got
religion" because of its long face!

The psalmist exults, Thou hast put
gladness in my heart. For he satisfieth the longing
soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness
(Psalm 4:7; 107:9).

I think we sometimes develop a bad habit
of letting our faces reflect the care and
confusion of the world around us instead of the joy
and peace of the Lord welling up within us.

If we have full access to God's goodness,
gladness, and blessedness, shouldn't our faces
show it?

As Christians, our future is as bright as the
promises of God. And the Word of God is
filled with wonderful promises. Some of my
favorites include Christ's promise: Lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world
(Matthew 28:20) and also God's assurance
that as thy days, so shall thy strength be
(Deuteronomy 33:25).

If we believe God, we have something to
smile about.

Be a friend

In all the times we observed the old man
in the cafe, Jack and I never saw him with
a friend...or ever being friendly with those
around him. While others had pleasant
conversations and shared personal things with
each other, the old man sat alone, without a
friend. How sad.

But while true friendship is measured by
more than "hellos" and conversations, some
people have no friends because they will let
no one get close to them.

As the writer of Proverbs observes, A man
that hath friends must show himself friendly:
and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a
brother (Proverbs 18:24).

One must be a friend to others to have
friends who will share fellowship and
companionship in return. And this is an important
part of life. But even if earthly friends do fail
in times of trouble, we can be secure in knowing
that we can have a friend who will stick
closer than a brother, in good times and bad.

We know we can count on Him because
He has said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).

When we have such a Friend, why don't
we rely on Him more? In the words of the
grand old gospel song, "What a Friend We
Have in Jesus,"

Eat heartily

I don't think I'll ever forget the old man in
the cafe, scrimping by on one meal a day,
when he could have had anything on the
menu, anytime he wanted it. Yet he'd order
"Just a cup of coffee, please" and ask for free
refills. How tragic to see a multimillionaire
going hungry.

But how much more tragic to have the
riches of heaven at our disposal and go
through life starving ourselves spiritually! Do
you have a Bible? Of course, you do. Are
you feasting daily on the abundant nourish-
ment found there...or do you hurriedly pull out
a single scripture card and glance at it before
you dash out into the day?

Compare your biblical diet with
Jeremiah's. He said, Thy words were found, and I
did eat them; and thy word was unto me the
joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am
called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts
(Jeremiah 15:16).

Don't settle for just a cup of coffee -- eat
heartily -- even as the Apostle Peter
admonished us to do in 1 Peter 2:2, stating: As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the
word, that ye may grow thereby. The psalmist
concurs, saying, O taste and see that the Lord
is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in
him (Psalm 34:8).

I heard the story of a man whose dream
was to go to America. For years he saved his
money to buy passage on a ship. Finally he
had just enough, with only a small amount left
over.

He took part of the little money he had left
and bought some bread and cheese he could
take on board. By careful rationing, he
thought there would be just enough to last
through the voyage.

So he set sail, glad to finally be going to
the "promised land." Other passengers were
festive and happy, going into the ship's dining
room to eat wonderful meals, and strolling
about the decks, laughing and having
refreshments together.

The man would go to his little cabin at
mealtime and eat stale bread and hard cheese.

But he had miscalculated the length of the
voyage, and a few days before the ship was to
arrive in New York harbor, he ran out of food.
He drank water and did without for a day or
so. Then he got so hungry he didn't think he
could last. So he scraped together all the
money he had left -- several coins -- and went to a
steward in the dining room.

"Excuse me, please," he said. "Is this
enough money to buy just a little bit to eat?
I've run out of food and I'm very hungry."
The steward said, "Sir, you do not need to
pay extra to eat in the dining room. Your
meals were paid for in the price of your
ticket."

I urge you to begin living up to your
privileges in God. Jesus Christ paid for them in the
price of your passage to heaven!

Blessing, gladness, satisfaction, goodness,
and all other spiritual pleasures are yours.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for
his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God
(Psalm 146:5).

One of my favorite songs often heard at
Easter time is the beautiful old black spiritual,
"Were You There?" The simple but haunting
words of this great classic remind us of the
suffering and sacrifice of our Lord at Calvary,
as well as the triumphant victory of His
Resurrection.

Because Christ suffered and died -- notfor
His own sins but for yours and mine -- in a
very real sense we were there at Golgotha on
that awesome day of destiny nearly 2,000
years ago. And it is important that we remind
ourselves of what happened there -- of the
death that gave us life...of the penalty paid that
set us free.

Were you there at the place of

the skull which became the place of life everlasting?
Dr. Van Impe and I have gone to the outer
edge of the old city of Jerusalem to Golgotha,
the place of the skull, to view the place where
Jesus died for us. Perhaps it is only fitting
that today there is an ancient cemetery on top
of this rugged, rocky hill. And sure enough,
when viewed from below at enough distance
for good perception, the shape of Mt. Calvary
is much like a human skull!

When I was there, the ugly reality of what
really happened to Jesus on that spot struck
me. He was tortured, maimed, and killed
there. He was mocked and humiliated, then
nailed to a rough-hewn cross. His blood
poured out and stained the wood, the rocks,
and the ground.

Not long ago a friend of mine asked, "But
why did Jesus have to die?" The answer is
clear -- mankind sinned, and the Bible says the
wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

For centuries God allowed men to sacrifice
the blood of animals as a temporary covering
for their sins. This was an imperfect sacrifice,
with limited efficacy. The blood of goats and
calves could not take away sin (see Hebrews 10:4).

Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the
perfect, sinless, Son of God, was pure and holy
enough to wash away the stain of sin for all
mankind. No wonder John the Baptist, upon
seeing Jesus, cried out, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world
(John 1:29).

Because of Christ's willing sacrifice, the
place of death became the place of life -- yes,
everlasting life -- for all who receive the Lord.

Were you there for the noonday darkness

where we received the Light of the world?   The gospels tell us that Christ was
crucified at 9:00 a.m. and that from noon until 3:00
p.m., darkness covered the earth! Imagine the
daylight hours as dark as midnight, when there
was no light in the heavens and the sun
refused to shine. When the "light of the world"
was dying, darkness was everywhere!

Darkness symbolizes trouble and
despair, fear and hopelessness. We've all gone
through dark days when it seemed there was
no way out of our desperate situation, and
everything around us looked black. Jesus
tasted of that awful darkness for us, when there
was no joy or no hope. But in the midst of
the darkest hour in all of human history, He
brought new light!

How fitting that the Prophet Isaiah was
anointed by the Spirit of God to look down the
corridors of time to the coming of Jesus and
proclaim, The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light: they that dwell in the
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined (Isaiah 9:2).

Today the world seems dark again. I know
people who don't even want to watch the news
on TV or read the newspaper because
everything looks so black and bleak. If ever we
needed the light of the world, it's today.
There's no other way out of the darkness. But
if we follow Him, we can live in the joy of His
sunshine in our lives.

Were you there at the place where Jesus

said, "I thirst," and from which now comes
living water?   One of the worst forms of human suffering
is to be thirsty. I remember being in Israel
while we were taping a TV special. On a
blindingly bright, blistering hot day (120
degrees Fahrenheit), I was recording a song on a
hill overlooking Masada. The sun beat down
mercilessly, and the desert wind swirled the
sand around us.

After a while I got so thirsty I could hardly
speak, much less sing. My mouth was almost
too dry to swallow -- it felt like waves of
desperation mounting until I was finally given
something to drink.

I thought of Jesus hanging on a cross, after
having been beaten with whips, crowned with
cruel thorns, and nailed to the beams that
suspended Him between heaven and earth. In the
midst of the agony of crucifixion, He also was
stricken with thirst.

When they offered Jesus a drink, He
realized that it contained something to help dull
the pain of His suffering -- and He refused it.
He allowed nothing to keep Him from experiencing
the utter depths of the thirsty soul.

All of us have a thirst within that cannot be
satisfied except by the Living Water of God.
We may drink from the waters of pleasure and
ambition, even taste the wine of riches and
self-indulgence. But nothing earth has to offer
can quench the thirsting of our souls.

Jesus said, Whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but
the water that I shall give him shall be in him
a well of water springing up into everlasting
life (John 4:14).

Were you there for the weeping and

sorrow which led to joy and blessings?   The cross of Calvary was a place of
weeping and sorrow. The Bible says that women
stood weeping at the foot of the cross. The
disciples of Jesus were also overcome with
sorrow. No doubt there were those who had
been healed, taught, and blessed by the Lord
who looked on that day. Their hearts must
have been broken to see this Miracle Worker
dying. And other followers who thought Jesus
was to be Israel's new leader and deliverer
must have been bitterly disappointed, too.
"What's happening?" they cried. "We thought
this was our Messiah!"

But if Jesus had not experienced such great
sorrow, He would never have understood the
sorrows of mankind. Isaiah prophesied, He is
despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief...surely he
hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows (Isaiah 53:3,4).

Because of His sacrifice, we know that all
our tears will be wiped away and our sorrow
replaced by divine joy. Thank God, the
psalmist wrote, Weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

Were you there for the time of anguish

which provides our comfort?   On Calvary, Jesus gave His body and soul
as a sacrifice for us. He suffered unendurable
sorrow and pain. Here He bore our sins. We
cannot even imagine what it was like for the
Perfect One, God in the flesh, to feel the
defilement of every sin in the universe. Here
was Jesus, who never did cheat, steal, lie,
commit adultery, or do any other sin, suddenly
burdened with the vileness and degradation
of the whole world -- for every person who
would ever live!

It was absolutely overwhelming. No
wonder the Saviour cried out, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46).
God the Father had to turn His head because
He could not look on sin (see Isaiah 59:2). So
Jesus endured that anguish...alone. And
because He took our sins, we can now come to God.

Jesus knows the awful sadness and bitterness
sin produces. And because He took our
sins upon himself, He can comfort us in any
situation. The Word of God says, For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need
(Hebrews 4:15,16).

Were you there at the place of punishment

from whence comes redemption?   The penalty for sin is death! That punishment
must be endured -- that penalty must be
paid. And that was the reason for Christ's
death on the cross -- the purpose of Calvary.
On that day, the place of punishment became
the place of redemption for all mankind...for
the whole world.

Without the gallows of Golgotha there
could be no salvation, no forgiveness for sin,
no redemption.

The old spiritual concludes by asking,
"Were you there when He rose up from the
grave?" Thank God, through Christ our Lord,
we were there!

Through His sacrifice, we've faced death
and overcome it with life everlasting.

We've gone through the darkness of this
world and moved into His marvelous light.

We've overcome the desperation of
unquenchable thirst by receiving a well of living
water springing up within our souls.

We've found the only source of joy and
blessings that overcomes life's sorrows, and
the only comfort in the time of anguish and
tears.

And we've met Jesus at the place of
punishment and found it has become a place of
redemption.

Only by going to Calvary to see what
Christ has done for us can we really experience
the full joy of Easter! Were YOU there?

Oh, truly, "sometimes it causes me to
tremble" to realize how much we owe...how
rich we are. My mind can scarcely comprehend
the wonder of it all. How marvelous!

No wonder Jesus commissioned us to go
tell this great good news to every person in all
the world! Let's go tell it to all who will hear!