A group of friends and influencers were spending the day partying on a luxury yacht off the coast of Brazil. They were having a great time, drinking, taking selfies and just having a lot of fun.
At one point someone suggested that they put on life jackets, but the influencers refused to do so. They said that it would ruin their selfies and tans. When it came time to return to shore, the group split up. One group stayed on the yacht and the other group got on a speedboat. The maximum number the speedboat was made to handle was five people, but they loaded six plus the skipper onto the boat.
As they were returning to shore, the influencers were still taking selfies. Then the boat was hit by a huge wave which it couldn’t ride out, eventually causing it to sink along a part of Brazil’s coast known as the Devil’s Throat. Some of the influencers had found their way to life jackets, but unfortunately two had not. Those two drowned.
Beatriz, 27, was found first, her body drifting out to sea, and was picked up by Brazil’s Maritime Firefighters. Aline, 37, was found a week later, her body washed up on a Brazilian coast. She was a mother of one and was also unable to swim.
The skipper, along with four others, managed to survive. He said that he had tried his best to save everyone. One survivor, Venessa, said she managed to scramble into a life jacket and cling to the rocks. “There was a moment in the water when no one could see anyone. I was fighting for life.”
Another survivor, Camila, says she grabbed a life jacket and clung to it for dear life. She said that the waves were very strong and that they almost died because they didn’t know how to swim. She also clung to the rocks in order to survive.
What Danger Are You In?
These girls had prioritized having a good time, taking selfies and getting a tan over wearing a life jacket that would have saved their lives! But are you doing the same thing? You may ignore an inner instinct that tells you there is a God until it’s too late. You know your sins make you guilty before God, but you tell yourself that you’re not that bad — you’re good enough! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). But you say, “No, my traditions, what I believe and think, what others have told me is best. I’ll come to God on my own terms!” The warning goes out, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:1919Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)). But you love your sins, and don’t want to give them up, at least not yet, not now!
God says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). But you say, “No, no! After you die you reincarnate into someone or something else.” Or perhaps, “After death, that’s the end of you just like the animals!” Beware of all such false ideas and put your faith and trust in God’s infallible Word. Because God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), He sent His Son Jesus to bear the penalty of our sins on the cross. His perfect sacrifice for our sins is complete! Now all we must do is accept it. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)).