Read: Acts 1:4-8
Ye shall receive power, alter that the Holy Ghost come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me (Acts 1:8).
Her Husband Saw A Difference
Mrs. _____ was having a hard time trying to be a Christian. She had been saved from her sins but had been back at the altar a number of times. Life with an unsaved, unsympathetic husband was not easy. She wanted to resign from her lodge, but he objected and they quarreled about it. When she spent time with her Sunday school class he criticized her and she often retorted angrily. Home life was nearly unbearable and her efforts to serve God seemed to be the chief cause of the conflict.
One Sunday evening at the altar God came to her in heart-cleansing power. She testified to the pastor: “As I prayed, it dawned on me that by God’s help I did not have to react in resentment and in anger. I asked God for grace enough to control my temper, but He did more than that for me. To my surprise I found that I did not feel angry. My home life was still unpleasant but my heart was filled with love for God and love for my unsaved husband.”
The change in Mrs. _____’s life was a powerful witness for Christ. In a few weeks the husband stopped fussing about her church activities; he now saw that she was a better companion because of what God was doing for her. She again proposed quitting the lodge. To her surprise he replied, “Go ahead if you want to.” I heard the story at the close of a Sunday school teachers’ dinner where her husband had attended with her. Do I need that kind of help from God? Could He do it for me too?
His pow’r can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free; His love can fill your soul, and you will see ‘Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.
— Cyrus S. Nussbaum