Something Got A Hold On Me                                   07-10-15


John 3:7-8 (ESV) ⁷  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
⁸  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”


A short tale today. As I walked out the door yesterday afternoon, headed for my daily walk, I was summoned aside by my neighbor Jim. He was standing at his car talking to Martha, another neighbor. When he saw me he whistled and threw up his hand, waving me to come over. So, I sidetracked over to where they were and Jim with a noticeable excitement in his voice asked me," Did you hear about what Shields did?" I responded "no" and quickly Jim told me that Shields had given some money to yet another neighbor who had been sick and was and is in a pretty tough spot right now.Now it wasn't the fact that Shields had given the money, but it was the undeniable impression that act of kindness had made on Jim. Right after Jim spilled the beans about Shields, he then said this,"Something's got a hold of Shields." To appreciate that statement you need to know a little bit about Shields.

Shields is a character. He has been called many things since I have known him. Eccentric, strange, smart, intolerable on and on. But, the one thing that Shields has never been called is DULL! You know the type don't you?  Since I have been over at this house(my mother's) Shields and I have struck up a good friendship. We have been out to dinner and talk almost every day. A few months ago Shields suffered a rather serious stroke while at his house one morning. It was a bad one and he was very touch and go for a while. He also suffers from extreme diabetes. His legs are, to put it mildly, a mess. 

As Shields began to slowly recover from the effects of the stroke(he is still in the recovery process) but, as he began to recover I noticed something different. Shields was talking about Jesus a lot. Shields was talking about Jesus a WHOLE lot. He began watching Christian television as well as he could; he also is legally blind. The result of an accidental gunshot wound to his left eye many moons ago. Anyway as the days stretched into weeks and months ol' Shields was going through a metamorphosis. Something got a hold on him! Over the past months on more than one occasion, Shields, many times with tears in his eyes, has preached to me about his love for God. He is a sponge for the things of the Lord.

He tells me about his walks early, early in the morning, looking up at the sky and talking to the Lord. He keeps up on the latest newsworthy events wondering how they fit into God's timing and plan. He's seventy five and he's ON FIRE  for God. 

SOMETHING GOT A HOLD ON SHIELDS!!

You know something? I haven't seen Shields running up and down the neighborhood pushing himself on everyone, telling them that they need to get right with God. I haven't seen him pointing out the many sins that he notices in everyone else's life. All that I have seen is a humble man recount to me how the Lord JESUS CHRIST has changed his life. And now I have been witness to how the change in this man is affecting the people in his world. Something got a hold on Shields. Amen?

In conclusion, I was reminded this week past of my own salvation experience. On October 8, 1975, I fell off the turnip truck and the Lord God Almighty, through His Son Jesus of Nazareth saved my soul. I wasn't looking for God. I didn't have a need(at least in my eyes) of God. But, on that day, at about 7:30 A.M. sitting in the driver side of my '73 Plymouth 'Cuda with Doug Drucker and Bill Fallin I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. SOMETHING GOT A HOLD OF ME!! I proclaim unashamedly, it was and still is the single most important event in my life.

Through these past 40 or so years the Lord Jesus has held me tight. I have tried to run. I have followed from a distance. I have tried to crawl away. He still holds me close to His bosom. He refuses to let me go. He saved me not because of but IN SPITE of what I am and what I have done. SOMETHING GOT A HOLD OF ME THAT DAY AND HAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER LET ME GO!

If you don't know Him, get to know Him. If you are feeling like all hope is gone, grab on tight. He's got a hold on you!!

 Psalm 3:5 (ESV) ⁵  I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.


God Bless