Echoes of Grace: 2013

Dick and D. A. Franklin sat in their seats at the London Aquatics Center while the commentator excitedly described their 17-year-old daughter: “She did not come off very well at all off that starting block.”

“She was terrible coming out of that hole. ... She came up dead last.”

Tension mounted in the packed arena as fans screamed encouragement to competitors in the 100-meter women’s backstroke final in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Tension threatened to tear apart Missy Franklin’s parents as they strained to watch their “little” girl make up ground on the world-record holder Gemma Spofforth and race favorite Emily Seebohm. Their little girl that used to jump into the lake by their house on frigid March mornings and fall asleep exhausted in her dad’s arms after long swimming practices was getting critiqued by a worldwide audience of armchair athletes.

“Seebohm as expected with the lead at the turn.”

Seconds slipped swiftly away as swimmers squeezed thousands of hours of training into the surge for home on the biggest stage on earth. The race would be decided by tenths of a second. Dick Franklin jumped to his feet screaming, “Go, go, go, go,” while Missy’s mom slowly staggered to her feet, covering first her mouth and then her whole face with her hands.

Missy Franklin inched closer to the leader Seebohm with only meters to go.

Later Missy watched a video replay of her parents and told a reporter, “Just seeing my parents, woah ... ” She flushed red, fanned her face and fought desperately for control of her emotions. “It means the world to me that they could be here. ... I know that God has given me so much, and for them to be here and for them to watch and to be with me and to experience it — it’s so special.”

God has given Missy “so much,” but not more than He’s given you and me. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father” (James 1:17). No doubt you’ve stared in awe at a sky filled with incredibly complex clouds and bathed in the rich colors of sunset. Maybe you’ve had the privilege I’ve had of driving off for work watching my son waving wildly as he fairly danced with the joy of being alive. Or maybe you too have walked in the door to the ear-splitting smile of your wife dropping everything to give you the big “welcome home” hug. Maybe your recent joys have been more subtle, such as the freedom to breathe without pain and sit quietly to rest your weary body. Every truly good gift comes from our Creator and God.

Tears streamed down Dick and D. A. Franklin’s faces as they watched their daughter Missy step to the center of the medal stand to receive her first gold medal. Watching her national flag rising to the rafters, Missy forgot the words to the national anthem as thoughts swam around in her head. She did remember to say, “I couldn’t be happier. ... That flag was so unbelievable. I never dreamed it would be like that.” Dick Franklin put it this way: “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

As far as sports go, I imagine the Franklins are right. Millions of athletes and parents would love to trade places with them. Who wouldn’t want a finish and a feeling that exceeded their dreams and imaginations? But the tension, excitement, happiness and feelings have damped down to little spreading ripples from that initial big splash. Three more gold medals followed for Missy. Many more may lie ahead. Somewhere the medals will slip into memories.

God holds out bigger gifts. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Our sin — disobedience to God — earns us death and banishment from the presence of a loving and giving God. But His gift of a perfect and endless life offered to us through Jesus Christ shows us His heart of love and tenderness. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That life isn’t merely a thing to be slipped into a pocket like Missy did with her gold medal. We share that life with every other person who comes by faith to the Lord Jesus for salvation from their sins. Most of all we share that life with “Christ, who is our life” (Colossians 3:4).

For Missy Franklin her great moment was made so much more special because her parents were able “to be there and for them to watch and to be with me.” We all delight in being close to ones we love and that truly love us. That’s one of God’s many gifts to the human race. But that is just a dim window on the wonderful future that awaits those who know Christ as their Saviour. The Apostle Paul compared it to life in this world and said “to be with Christ ... is far better” (Philippians 1:23). We all crave love and understanding. How intensely wonderful it will be to be with the One who “understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9) and pours out His love on us.

It will be intensely wonderful as long as we know Him as Saviour. God isn’t some sort of cosmic gift machine. He’s a holy God who only allows sinners like us to approach Him for pardon through His Son. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). But when we do come by faith to God, we find that it really does “get better than this.” Much better. Infinitely better.

Land Grants

In ancient times when Roman soldiers had served in the military for twenty years, they were rewarded with land grants for their faithful service. These grants usually were about twenty acres in size. The prospect of becoming a landowner made the hard life of a soldier more bearable. After years of campaigning, they could look forward to a life of relative ease.

The practice of giving land grants has largely disappeared in modern times, but there is still one great Ruler who gives land grants to those who serve Him faithfully.

The grants He gives are in the most pristine place ever formed. He guarantees the possession of these grants forever. Those who receive His grants become rich in the truest sense of the word. It is His pleasure to give these grants to all who bow the heart and knee to Him and confess Him as Lord and Saviour.

The ruler is the Lord Jesus Christ, and men and women need to confess Him as Lord and Saviour, because the world in which we live is not in a state of peace with God, but rather in a state of enmity or hostility. Proof of this exists in the fact that when the Son of God came to earth on a mission of mercy, He was taken by cruel hands and nailed to a cross of wood. “This is the heir: come, let us kill Him, that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14). That act of torture took place nearly two thousand years ago, but the hatred has continued ever since.

In fact, if you honestly look into your heart, would you not discover that you too are in a state of rebellion against God? Would you not find in your heart ingratitude? malice? lust? pride? Since the fall of the first parents, “Yes” must be the answer to all of these questions. Such an appraisal is grim, but don’t despair. There is hope for sinners. When the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, His death made a way that God can deal in righteousness and justice with the problem of sin. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38-39).

You don’t have to remain in a state of hostility with God. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). God, in sending His Son, has done everything it takes so that you can come to Him by faith and be reconciled, that is, changed from a state of enmity to one of peace and acceptance. Those who are reconciled to God possess the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, which otherwise they would not have.

God loves you. In the death and resurrection of His Son, He has made a way that undeserving sinners can share in His goodness for time and eternity. Once you believe in Him, He wants you to stand for Him in the world that has rejected Him. Standing for Him will require the patience, perseverance and courage of a soldier. The battles may be hard and the campaigning difficult, but when this life is over, God will reward those who serve Him faithfully. The Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3). What will it be to have a home in heaven and to live joyously in the presence of God!

Won’t you join the ranks of those who have placed their trust in the name of the Son of God? When this life is over, they will receive a wonderful home in heaven where nothing will ever come between them and His love forever.

Who Saved More Lives Than Any Other Person?

Who would you say is the most important Briton who ever lived? Many people would think of Winston Churchill or William Shakespeare.

There is another name that is not so well-known. Do you remember what Edward Jenner did?

He was the doctor who discovered and promoted vaccination. In 1796 he experimented with the disease cowpox, a viral infection of cows. He realized that farmers who had been affected by it were immune from smallpox, a disease that affected humans. Smallpox had been a great scourge of mankind, particularly children. In those days, in Europe, 400,000 people died annually of smallpox and 30 percent of survivors went blind.

Of course, as you might expect, for the first decade, Jenner was reviled and then honored in more or less equal measure. Today, some would reasonably claim that Jenner saved more human lives than any other person in history. That certainly has to be a claim to fame.

My mind reflects back a lot farther to the days when an incredible man walked near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. With great compassion He reached out to touch the untouchables of the time — lepers, the outcasts of society. He called blind people aside to restore their sight. His outstretched arms welcomed children, widows, prisoners, beggars, the grieving and so many others. He brought compassion and healing to so many of that day. But He is known for a much greater deed.

Though He was the Son of God from heaven, He allowed Himself to be taken outside the city walls of Jerusalem, and there He was crucified. It wasn’t a surprise. He had said it would happen. In fact, the prophets, five hundred years before, said it would happen.

He was called “the Lamb of God.” Jesus was judged and rejected by His contemporaries, but God also made Jesus accountable for my sin, as a sacrificial lamb. I can say with the Apostle Paul, “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

How many lives — souls — has He saved? It must be measureless! In every city around the world, in every age, in every situation, we find people who honor Him for His love. For me, the Lord Jesus is the most important man to have ever lived. And, without question, He has saved the most lives.

Importantly, He still lives. The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. And please note, the Bible says, “He is able also to save them [completely] that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25). Check it for yourself.

Caesar Borgia

Caesar Borgia was a man of purpose. His ambition was to have wealth and power, and he achieved both. First, he became Archbishop of Valenza, then a cardinal, and afterwards Duke of Valentinois. But when death claimed him, he left his riches and position and took only his sins with him into eternity.

Realizing this before he died, he groaned while dying: “In the course of my life, I have provided for everything except for death. Now I am dying, though completely unprepared for it!”

Is Borgia the only one so foolish? No. The towns and cities of this country swarm with men and women who are totally unprepared to die. Many people to whom death would mean eternal damnation are totally untroubled about it. They think of everything, provide for everything, except death. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Will You Be There?

Beyond this life of hopes and fears,

Beyond this world of grief and tears,

There is a region fair;

It knows no change and no decay,

No night, but one unending day:

Oh, say! Will you be there?

Its glorious gates are closed to sin;

Nought that defiles can enter in

To mar its beauty rare;

Upon that bright, eternal shore

Earth’s bitter curse is known no more:

But say! Will you be there?

No drooping form, no tearful eye,

No hoary head, no weary sigh,

No pain, no grief, no care,

But joys which here we cannot know

Like a calm river ever flow:

Oh, say! Will you be there?

Rescue at Wallace Falls

A dad, his thirteen-year-old son, and a friend of the family hiked to the top of the Middle Falls on the Wallace River. They walked through tall evergreen forests and up switchback trails, climbing 1200 feet during their hour-and-a-half walk. Glacial-melt waters and the plentiful rains that fall on the Cascade Mountains feed the Wallace River. Once at the top, they took in the breath-taking scenery of the wild mountain river, the stunning waterfalls and the surrounding mountain peaks.

On an impulse, the young teen slipped off his hiking boots and decided to wade into the icy-cold river. Near the river’s edge was a large rock that was barely submerged. He misjudged the surface of the rock, which was far more slippery than he thought possible. As he stepped on it, he immediately slipped into the racing white water of the river! Instantly he reached out his hand to grab the hand of the friend who was standing on the river’s edge, but he missed his hand by inches.

The current of the river swept the thirteen-year-old downstream and over a ten-foot drop that was just above the main falls. At this point the river deepened and narrowed and raced through a rock gorge for a few yards before it roared over the main falls. The boy said later, “My first thought was that I was going to die!” He knew he had only seconds to find something to grab hold of before being plunged over the high, 270-foot falls to his death.

The boy’s feet struck a rock wall at the side of the river, and he was able to grab onto a ledge about a foot wide and six feet long. The rushing river had carved this little spot out of the solid, rock wall. The boy climbed onto it and scrunched himself into a ball, pulling his knees tightly up to his chin. He still couldn’t manage to get his feet out of the numbing, cold water. From this precarious perch, he could look almost straight down the height of Wallace Falls to the valley far below. One false move, one small loss of balance, and the boy would fall back into the river and plunge over the falls.

After his son had been swept downstream and over the ten-foot drop, the boy’s dad immediately called for help on his cell phone. The sheriff’s department quickly sent out a rescue helicopter.

By the time the helicopter arrived, it was getting dark. Spotlights lighted the area below the chopper while they lowered a rescue worker. However, the rope holding him was cut apart when it slashed against a sharp rock. The rescue worker plunged into the river and was only saved from going over the falls by a backup rope. After this failed attempt, another rescue worker struggled to rappel down the steep rock face to the boy below. It took hours of searching for toeholds, but finally he was able to reach the boy and help him climb up to safety. The rescue had taken most of the night and had almost cost the life of one of the rescuers.

Before we judge the boy too harshly for wading into a rushing mountain river just above a roaring cataract, consider this: Are you aware that his foolhardy act is just like one that each of us has committed?

The Bible states that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). When people do evil, they are walking on the slippery slope of sin where, at any instant, they may experience a serious fall. In fact, all of us have slipped into the rushing current of sin and are unable to remove ourselves from it in our own strength. The boy was headed to certain death if he went over the great falls. Each one of us will certainly perish forever if we leave this world in a state of sin. They will fall into the depths of a lost eternity from which there is NO RESCUE!

But our God loves us too much to let that happen without doing something about it. In His deep love for sinners, He made a plan by which we might be saved from our sins and the sentence of an eternal death: “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14).

The Lord Jesus came into this world and lived a life of perfect purity and love. He alone was sinless. He did many wonderful miracles of healing in His life on earth, but these are minor when compared to His greatest work — He let Himself be nailed to the cross where He made the only sacrifice that could put away sin forever. Because of the great work the Lord Jesus did on the cross, God can reach out to men and women in grace and offer them a free salvation. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). All those who put their trust in the Son of God receive the salvation He offers as a gift. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).

Genuine faith is always accompanied by repentance, which is the renouncing and turning away from sin. A person can’t turn to God, who is light and love, without turning away from the darkness of sin. A person who has repented and has faith in Christ as their Saviour has passed from “death unto life.” This means he has passed from a state of rebellion where he was under condemnation and entered into a place of favor where God can bless him richly and fully, both in this life and in the life to come. This great passage takes place the instant a soul believes in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

We all have slipped into the current of sin that leads to judgment. Not one of us can escape the consequences of our sins by anything we can do. It takes the Saviour who went into death for us and then arose from the grave to save us. How much we all need God’s grace! And how ready and willing God is to fill your life with a steady stream of goodness and love the moment you believe! Won’t you turn from your sin to God in faith that you might know His wonderful grace and power to save?

Amnesty: Limited Time Only

What would happen to you if you needed to return a book to the library that had been checked out a while ago, 78 years ago, to be exact? That’s what Harlean Hoffman Vision was worried about. She had a limited edition copy of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray that had been checked out in 1936. Harlean knew the fine would be huge and thought she might face jail time, so she just couldn’t bring herself to walk through the doors of the Chicago Public Library and return her book.

Harlean wasn’t alone. The Chicago Public Library system was owed about $1.4 million in fines for overdue books. Pretty hefty when you consider they accrue at only 10 cents a day and have had a cap placed on them in recent years. Chicago Public Library Commissioner Brian Bannon wasn’t concerned about dragging young kids to justice or sending grannies to jail. He wanted his books back so they could be loaned out. Some simple economics suggested it just might be time to waive the fines and invite the patrons back through the library doors. So for 19 days only, and for the first time since 1992, the library offered an amnesty. Just by returning a book, a patron’s record would be wiped clean without any fine. People started pouring in the doors. By the time the offer ended on September 7, 2012, deadbeat patrons had returned 101,301 books, CDs and DVDs and been forgiven $641,820 in fines. The program was declared a big success since the books returned were worth $2 million and circulation is now expected to surge as forgiven patrons return to the system.

This wasn’t meant to encourage racking up big fines in the hopes of another amnesty program next year. Now the once-in-a-blue-moon amnesty is over. The average fine forgiven in the amnesty was $6.34. Harlean’s fine would have been about $6,000, but even so, she wasn’t facing any jail time. All this reminds me of a far more extensive, expensive and long-lasting offer of forgiveness that is about to come to an end.

You and I have a debt of sin that we owe to God and don’t have the slightest chance of being able to pay. God’s Word, the Bible, states it boldly when it says, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). Eternal separation from God occurs in a real place — hell. People who have rejected God, refused His love, rejected His mercy and rebelled against His commands will find themselves forever separated from the One who gave them all the truly good things they ever possessed. Not being able to use the Chicago Public Library system is a nuisance but not a tragedy. Being forever separated from God and His goodness is the essence of hell.

God states clearly His way of forgiving all who have sinned, or rebelled, against Him. “The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). That’s it. There is no other way. Harlean didn’t pay $10 of her fine and get forgiven the remaining $5,990. She was forgiven the entire amount. But she did return The Picture of Dorian Gray to its rightful owner. We can’t even do that much. However, Jesus Christ says, “I restored that which I took not away” (Psalm 69:4). The Chicago Public Library system was out to get more than it gave and it succeeded. God gave all He had and now gets repentant sinners back. Won’t you receive “the gift of God” (John 4:10)? There’s only a limited time to get the gift. God only offers it now, with no guarantee of tomorrow. “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Believing in God, or Believing God

Sometimes, when people are asked if they know the Lord Jesus Christ, they will answer, “Well, I believe in God.”

Not many, even today, deny the existence of a Supreme Being. Even those who call themselves atheists are sometimes the first to call upon God in times of trouble.

To believe IN God means little. Perhaps you say, “I believe in God.” What practical effect does that belief have on your life? Many, in theory, confess the name of God, but in their lives they deny their profession. They are practical atheists.

To believe IN God is one thing; to BELIEVE God is quite another. There is all the difference in the world between believing in the existence of God and believing what He says.

The Bible, God’s Word, teaches us, first, what to believe about ourselves, and then it tells us about Christ. God says that man is lost, guilty and helpless. If you believe God, you must believe His Word, and thus you will take the place in which He sets you — that of the lost sinner. This is very different from carelessly admitting that “all men are sinners.” You may not feel that you are very bad, but you may know that you are a lost sinner because God says so. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

If you do not take the place of the lost sinner, then you are saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is not for you. Only those who need to be saved can claim a Saviour. God cannot accept your thoughts about yourself, but if you accept God’s estimate of yourself, you have the right to accept God’s estimate of Christ for you.

You may think that you have to make yourself good enough for Christ to accept you. God says that Christ is good enough for you to be accepted in Him. Acknowledge His estimation of your character and receive the Saviour He has provided for you. Take the guilty sinner’s place and claim the guilty sinner’s Saviour! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Finding the Way Home

Three generations of Reynolds met for a family reunion at a lodge in New Hampshire. The grandparents traveled by car about a thousand miles from South Carolina to get there. The entire family was having a great time hiking, swimming, playing around and just enjoying each other’s company.

The grandfather, seventy-two years old, hardy and robust, got up early one morning before the grandchildren. He told his wife, “I’m going out for a hike around the lake to find a pretty spot for a family photo.”

“John,” his wife replied, “try to be back at 9:00, and I’ll have stacks of pancakes ready for you and the kids.”

However, her husband would never return to the lodge.

The grandpa hiked a trail that led through the thick woods. In the early morning, on the edge of a narrow ravine, he slipped on wet leaves that sent him tumbling down the slope where his head struck the trunk of a tree, knocking him unconscious. Alone and sprawled out on the forest floor, he remained motionless. The following night he regained consciousness, but his memory was gone. He couldn’t remember his name or his past. Only the faintest sliver of memory came to him that his home was somewhere in the South.

Not knowing exactly where he was going, at daybreak he set off walking to the south.

Do you know that the entire human race has suffered a great fall? This fall has deprived them of their knowledge of their real identity and the whereabouts of their true home. The fall took place early in the family tree, but the results have passed on to all the following generations. For many, only the faintest sliver of memory remains to them that there is a goodness far greater than themselves. The faintest sliver of memory makes them feel incomplete — like they are missing something extremely important.

Everybody seems on a mission to find that lost goodness. The big problem is that they are looking for it in the wrong places instead of finding it in the God who loves them. The alcoholic looks for it in liquor; the greedy, in the possession of riches; the lustful, in sensual pleasures; the proud, in being better than others. A big hint that they are looking for their joy in the wrong places is the emptiness — the lack of peace and rest that remains in their hearts when they obtain what they are striving for. “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). The peace they seek will never be found except in God.

The grandpa set off walking towards the south along a country highway. He didn’t know where he was going, only that he needed to head south — always south. He stuck out his thumb to hitch a ride. A farmer picked him up and offered him the job of helping load hay into his barn. He worked for this man for a couple of days. The farmer paid him a few dollars, gave him some extra clothes and food in a bag, and then drove him in his old pickup truck to the Virginia border where he let him out and wished him luck on his homeward journey.

The grandpa continued hitchhiking always to the south. At night he would sleep in quiet spots off the road. In North Carolina, he stopped at a restaurant for a bite to eat. As he sat at the food counter, he overheard the waitress conversing with a customer. He heard her say, “Emily.” The name struck a chord in his mind. He remembered that, yes, he had a daughter somewhere with that name.

Later he got a ride with a truck driver. He got into a conversation with the truck driver about shotguns. When the truck driver mentioned he had a .410 gauge shotgun at home, the number struck another chord. It came to him that his daughter had a street address of 410. Slowly, these hints and clues were coming back to him out of his past. They weren’t much to go on, but he felt that somehow these bits of information would help him find his way home.

A long time ago, the Apostle Paul spoke to citizens of Athens, Greece, and told them “that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). The grandpa was seeking and feeling his way towards home by gathering bits and pieces of knowledge to help guide him. When souls seek and feel after God, He will faithfully lead them on.

In his wanderings, the grandpa was getting closer to home. Haggard, worn and hungry, he crossed into South Carolina. A state trooper saw him plodding along with a heavy walk at the side of the road. When the compassionate trooper stopped and heard the grandpa’s pitiful story, he took the man to the station. Patiently the trooper continued talking to him. He got out of the man that he had been traveling for maybe three or four weeks and had come from the north, perhaps New York or someplace like that.

The trooper called up the “Missing Persons” data from those states on his computer, and after a lengthy search, he found the man’s photo. Except for the weight loss, unkempt hair and fatigue in the eyes, it was a perfect match. The trooper called the man’s wife who lived in a small town about two hundred miles further south. The lady started weeping when the trooper described the man sitting next to him. She had been worried sick about him and hadn’t the slightest idea of what had happened to him. The woman picked up her daughter on the way and finally arrived at the police station. When the husband saw the car pull up, he told the trooper, “That’s it! That’s my car! Oh my ... yes, I recognize her ... that’s her ... that’s my wife!” The wife and daughter tried to fight back the tears at the reunion so as not to cause an upset, but the tears came anyway. They gently explained to the grandpa who he really was and how they loved him and missed him. Then they took him home — the place where he really belonged — the place that he had been seeking after and feeling for. Doctors later said that the grandpa had suffered a concussion and were certain that, with rest and time, his memory would return.

The trooper had compassion on the old man and helped identify him in order to find his true home. Do you know that God has sent His Son to this earth in the greatest act of love and compassion the world has ever known? He did it so that sinners might find out who they really are and find a home in God’s love.

The trooper searched a databank on the computer to find the man’s identity. But God knows all men in a perfect way. “The Lord [looks] from heaven; He [beholds] all the sons of men” (Psalm 33:13). How will you respond to His love and goodness?

Serious Moments

The room was dimly lit as I entered, as all rooms like it are, and a line of people wrapped around the room. As the line moved, a computer slide show showed events from John’s life. I took my place in line, and Jim, a coworker and mutual friend of John’s, chatted with me about him. The line was slowly moving, and I moved closer to see John. I would have loved to say something to him, but unlike so many other times, there would be no jokes, no smiles, no more discussion of the topic of the day. This was the night of John’s wake.

Funerals are times of reflection, so come with me as I celebrate the life of my friend. A coworker of many years, we were close in age, married at almost the same time, and our children were the same age. The first time that I spoke to John about his need of Christ, I had been giving thanks for my food. When I lifted my head, he asked me, “Are you a true believer?” John seemed to recognize the difference between the practice of religion and personal faith in Christ. We spoke of the love of God and the fact that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). Over a period of time, we spoke often of the gospel of God’s salvation. As you read this, is that the case with you? Has someone spoken to you about Christ and the eternal needs of your soul?

In Luke 12:16-21 The Word of God says this: “He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

I’m afraid John was like that. Often when this passage is read, it is read as if this were a miserly old man hoarding his wealth. But John wasn’t an old hoarder. When we parted ways professionally, John left to go into sales and did extremely well. He had a house that he had spent ten years dreaming about building, and a year and a half before his death, John’s dreams came true. The dream house was everything he wanted, for himself, his wife and his girls. But was John rich towards God? I don’t know. There are eternal consequences of neglecting the message of God’s salvation. As you read this story of my friend and his untimely end, forty-eight years old, dead of a massive heart attack, how is the state of your soul with God?

As I approached the casket, mortuary science had done its work. John lay holding a rosary, looking so little like the man that I had spoken to just eight months earlier. His vigor of life was gone, swept away. His soul’s eternal destiny was determined; no prayer can change it now. As I said good-bye, I prayed for his family, for the mercies of God for them, that Christ would be made known to them in their loss.

As I leave you, I leave you with this question: Are you rich towards God? I fear for my friend; his eternity is set. The Bible states that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). What a contrast between John’s life and the life of Christ! “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

As I left, I was unsure of John’s eternal destiny. Did he ever turn to Christ? I can’t say, but what about you as you’ve read this story? Will this be your story, or will you turn to God for the gift of eternal life?

Peter's Hope

I remember driving through the village of Peter’s Hope, on the coast of the island of Saint Vincent. As we drove along, those of us in the car speculated as to why the community was so named. Of course none of us knew for sure, but we wondered if there wasn’t a Peter who, for one reason or another, settled in the area, with some hope for a good and prosperous future. A better life, a new beginning, a fresh start for his family ... yes, it could have been any number of things.

Whatever it was, it made me think of the hope the Apostle Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us unto a [living] hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This is a real and certain hope!

We can only wonder if the Peter of Saint Vincent ever realized his dream and goal.

The believer has a hope in the Lord Jesus Christ based on the fact that He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and now lives in heaven. The Apostle Peter further tells us, in the same chapter, to “hope to the end” (1 Peter 1:3). He also says, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Someone else has said that “hope is an indispensable quality of life.” It is hope that keeps us focused and living for Christ from day to day.

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19).

Wounded for My Transgressions

(Isaiah 53:5)

“Wounded for my transgressions”!
Slowly the words I read:
Swiftly the tears will gather;
Truly the heart should bleed.

Wonderful condescension!
Matchless, infinite grace!
Jesus — Sinless, Holy,
Taking the sinner’s place.

Wonderful, wonderful story!
Wonderful depth of love!
Laying aside His glory,
Leaving the courts above.

Jesus, the Man of sorrows,
Homeless and friendless, He;
Wounded, so cruelly wounded,
Bruised and broken for me.

Fiercely the storm sweeps round Him!
Darkly the shadows fall;
Wrath and anger and judgment—
Jesus bearing it all.

Draining the cup of anguish,
Dying on Calvary’s tree:
Wonderful plan of redemption:
Jesus — dying for me!

Lawn Killer

Jake and A. J. Olson suffer daily from the effects of cystic fibrosis that makes it hard for them to breathe. Over the course of their lives, unless treatment methods advance, their bodies will deteriorate more rapidly than their peers. No one has found a cure for their disease. Their dad Rob loves them and does all he can to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Every year he uses his 40,000-square-foot lawn to host a big benefit concert that raised $20,000 last year for the cause.

You can imagine Rob Olson’s horror when he stepped out his door and surveyed the huge lawn just a few weeks ahead of his scheduled 2012 event. A vast rolling sea of brown filled his gaze. Here and there little strips of green grass highlighted surviving patches of the once beautiful lawn. A few details missed, a bit of bad advice and all his good intentions had turned his yard into a sea of dirt and destruction.

Only four days before, Rob had walked into his favorite local garden store hunting for that good brand of weed killer he’d bought the year before. The familiar brown bottle was missing but a helpful employee explained a nice bottle of Double Play in a way that sounded like an even better version of last year’s weed killer. Not only would it knock out weeds, but it would also keep them from coming back for up to six more months. Who could resist? Even five bottles at $35 each along with 14 bags of fertilizer that brought the bill past $800 wasn’t too much to ask for helping his sons breathe easier.

Maybe something was bugging him at the back of his brain, because Rob asked another employee for advice on when to use the fertilizer following the weed killer. Two employees dived in and read the label and dispensed authoritative advice. By now, having gotten the opinions of three others and having read the bottle himself, Rob headed home and sprayed his giant lawn with Double Play. Double Play gets its name, not from killing weeds and keeping them dead, but from its ability to destroy weeds and grass in one fell swoop. That might be great for parking lots but not massive green lawns.

When Rob Olson set out to warn the public and beg the manufacturer for clearer labeling, news spread rapidly. Television cameras came, bloggers posted and the forum comments began to fill with opinions. Here’s a sample of the care and compassion that flowed from many:

“Read the instructions RETARD!’

“What an idiot! Blame the company because he didn’t read the directions! How typical of today’s people — blame, blame, blame. Never accept responsibility for your actions.”

Many similar comments make you wonder which is more corrosive, Double Play or the human double standard. Rob’s benefit event and lawn had lots of interesting developments in their future and so do we. God has left some pretty clearly labeled warnings on sin. The biggest one comes stamped with these words: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23). It’s hard to ignore daily news reports, funerals, graveyards and encroaching wrinkles, aches and pains. It’s far harder for some people to accept God’s plain statements that the presence of death in our world comes from our sin. “Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Blinded by the desires of the moment, many move heedlessly forward looking for advice from others but failing to sit down and carefully read God’s instruction manual, the Bible. They’re too busy, too smart, too uninterested. Some of them are too busy dispensing their own advice all over the neighborhood and Internet to carefully consider what God has to say.

Neighbors might let us know how kind we are, how pure our motives seem, how to appease God with religious activity, better ways of being at peace and dying gracefully. But what do the instructions from our Maker say? “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Sin is a life-killer, but God’s gift of faith shows God as a life-giver. Facing the facts and accepting the responsibility for our actions before a holy God helps to open our eyes to our need for His gifts of faith, mercy and grace.

Publicity swirled around Rob Olson as his story escaped his backyard and hit the national news media. Another fertilizer and weed killer manufacturer stepped in to fully remake his lawn. Their spokesman said he was “jealous of what your lawn will look like when we’re finished” making it look beautiful. An event venue opened up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A new list of attractions was prepared and Rob’s benefit event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was expected to generate more revenue than ever. Maybe someday Jake and A. J. will get that much-needed cure or improved treatment for the disease that stalks their bodies.

Our much needed cure for the disease of sin is readily available and far more beautiful than anything we have ever possessed. The Lord Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty for sin so that we would never need to be separated forever from a loving God. He offers pardon for sin and peace for the soul to any who come, not with arms full of good deeds, but with the admission of being helpless sinners. Don’t fail to read God’s Word the Bible and receive His full remedy for sin. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

A Different Path to Citizenship

Do you know you have to possess citizenship in the greatest of countries before you will be allowed to enter it for the first time? Citizenship in this country is neither acquired by natural birth, nor by the naturalization process. And crossing over its borders is strictly forbidden by all aliens or non-citizens. This might sound harsh and inflexible at first, but further consideration shows that this country has the kindest and most generous immigration policy — so largehearted indeed that our narrow minds are reluctant to believe it.

The country is heaven. Many countries on earth have come and gone, but the glories of heaven will last forever. Citizenship in heaven is granted to those who in this life are “born again” through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are those who have realized that they were acting “alien” or contrary to a God of goodness and love, and then in sorrow of heart for their sins have come to Christ for forgiveness. He forgives completely all who come to Him, and He also puts a new life in them. This new life makes them born again, or born anew, and without this life no person can enter into heaven. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

When Christ died on the cross, He opened the door of salvation for sinners. One drop of His precious blood is sufficient to wash away every stain of sin in a person’s life when they trust Him. Your sins, regardless of how awful they might be, need not exclude you from heaven. The blood of Jesus Christ can wash them away so that not one stain remains. Were your sins a thousand times worse, the blood of Christ has ample power to wash them away and make you fit for heaven.

All may come by faith and receive His marvelous salvation as a free gift: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). They can do this because God has a kind and generous immigration policy that allows them to leave the land of sin and shame and, instead, become citizens of heaven. The salvation God offers is received through faith in Christ.

What will exclude a sinner from heaven? Refusing the offer of God’s grace in this life. There will be nothing left for them but the fearful sufferings of hell. The borders of hell are not porous; an impassable gulf surrounds it, and once in its dreadful confines, a soul must remain forever. The Lord Jesus said, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46). Those who remain alienated from God in this life will remain alienated from Him for all eternity in the place “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44).

“The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Will you come to the Saviour by faith so that you might have the new birth, forgiveness, citizenship in heaven and a future home in that most happy of places?

The Cart Man

Many years ago, Mr. Bowson was a cart man for the rum and sugar factory in Mt. Bentix, Saint Vincent. His job was to drive the donkey cart with the barrels of rum from the factory to the distribution depot in Kingstown, a distance of twenty-four miles and a good day’s travel on a winding mountain road. Mr. Bowson liked his rum and would stop along the road at the various rum shops in the villages that dot the coastal landscape along the windward side of the island.

Then one Sunday night, Mr. Bowson got saved. Yes, he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His blood to wash away sins.

The next rum run that Mr. Bowson made taught him some valuable lessons. It was Monday morning, and as he went along, he craved a shot of rum. So he decided that at the next town it would do no harm to stop and have just one drink. He figured no one back in his home village would be the wiser. However, when he entered the shop, someone immediately called out, “Mr. Bowson, we hear you got saved last night.”

He realized that he could not have a drink here, and so hurried on. He comforted himself with the fact that there was another shop not far along the road. To his dismay, when he did reach that shop, the same thing happened. Someone called out, “Mr. Bowson, they tell us you got saved on the weekend.” News travels fast in the small communities of a small island, and so it went all down the road from village to village.

The urge for even just a sip became so great that he even tried to suck the cloth that was wrapped around the stopper of the barrels. This proved unsatisfactory, as the corks seemed extra tight and leak free that day, and they were sealed solid.

By the time he reached Kingstown, he realized that the Lord had allowed his testimony to precede him and preserve him from the powerful liquor that has ruined so many lives and homes. He prayed that the Lord would deliver him from its awful power and grip, and the Lord graciously and completely answered that prayer — he never drank another drop. He went on to live his life for Christ, with a bright testimony, and as the story was related to me, soon after this incident he gave up driving the rum cart, as he felt he could not do it for the Lord’s glory.

“Giving thanks unto the Father ... who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

If you find yourself in the grip of sin, don’t struggle to give up your vice before coming to Christ. Trust Him for salvation and then depend on Him to deliver you from the sin. “He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom” (Job 33:24).

The Untrustworthy Bridge

July 1, 1940, marked the grand opening of a new engineering marvel — the Tacoma Narrows Bridge — in the state of Washington. The bridge quickly acquired the nickname “Galloping Gertie” as the bridge roadway heaved up and down whenever moderate breezes blew. Then on November 7, 1940, as winds grew stronger, motorists found the deck of the bridge twisting and heaving for over three hours. The last car to try crossing was driven by a reporter, Leonard Coatsworth, who said, “Just as I drove past the towers, the bridge began to sway violently from side to side. Before I realized it, the tilt became so violent that I lost control of the car. ... I jammed on the brakes and got out, only to be thrown onto my face against the curb.” At one point, the sidewalk on one side of the bridge was twenty-eight feet higher than the one on the opposite side!

How often we take trips across bridges and never think of whether we can trust those bridges to support us safely. In life, it is most important that we “trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men” (1 Timothy 4:10). This world is full of people who have grown up with little or no thought of God in their lives, and yet He created us to “taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that [trusts] in Him” (Psalm 34:8). It is of far more importance that we, as guilty sinners, should not be trusting in our own efforts or good works to gain merit with God, but that we should believe what God says about His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God wants us to believe that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). By putting your trust in Him as your Saviour, you can have peace with God and know that your sins are forgiven.

Mr. Coatsworth had his daughter’s cocker spaniel, Tubby, along for the ride, but the poor dog was so terrified that it refused to be taken from the car to safety. Leonard was forced to leave his car and dog behind while he hurried off the bridge. He said, “On hands and knees most of the time, I crawled five hundred yards or more to the towers. ... My breath was coming in gasps; my knees were raw and bleeding, my hands bruised and swollen from gripping the concrete curb. ... Toward the last, I risked rising to my feet and running a few yards at a time.”

As dangerous as it was, another dog lover, an engineering professor named Bert Farquharson, had compassion on that dog and walked far out on the bridge to try to rescue Tubby. His only reward was being bitten. He barely got back to safety when a 600-foot section of the bridge deck with Tubby aboard finally collapsed into the water 190 feet below. The section Farquharson was on dropped 30 feet with the sudden release of tension. A remarkable record of these events was captured in a video taken by an engineer studying the bridge, and it is now widely available on the Internet. People wondered why such a new steel bridge could fail when the crosswind speed was only 42 mph. However, the untrustworthy bridge had a serious engineering design flaw unknown at the time — aeroelastic flutter.

Tubby’s fears remind me of many people who are afraid of considering the sweet story of the love of God as found in the Word of God, the Bible. We read, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). This is God’s provision of a Saviour who is perfectly worthy of our trust. While the things men design sometimes fail, God’s provision of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will never fail for those who put their trust in Him. While we all have greatly offended God in many ways every day of our lives, yet He has mercy and pardon for those who will repent of their sins (have a change of mind regarding their sins). The good news is that “God [commends] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Let me ask you, “In what or in whom do you trust your eternal destiny?”

That poor dog Tubby refused to be saved, and it died in the collapse of the bridge. Yes, Tubby was afraid of going with someone who was willing to save him. What about you? Are you afraid of meeting the God who loves you and has a wonderful salvation to offer you? Are you afraid of being laughed at by your friends? The Lord is pleading with you to “acquaint now [yourself] with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto [you]” (Job 22:21). Tubby actually had two offers of being saved. It reminds us of another thing God has said: “God [speaks] once, yea twice, yet man [perceives] it not” (Job 33:14). Oh the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus as your Saviour! He loves you and wants you for His very own to bless you with the gift of eternal life. Won’t you trust Him now?

Hell: A Crude Joke?

We react strongly to the word “hell.” At least I know I do. A few months ago I was waiting in line to pay for my family’s breakfast at a local pancake house. The tall, white-haired man ahead of me in line leaned forward toward the attractive young hostess behind the counter and said in a stage whisper, “If you wear that, you’re going straight to hell!” My jaw froze, my heart raced and I stared intently at the man’s face. What a horrible way to present God! Sure, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20) is true, but it applied just as much to the elderly man as the hostess. I listened intently and heard him deliver a lewd punch line to what he considered a clever joke and watched the young lady smile broadly as she handed him his change.

So is hell a crude joke or a serious place? God says, “All liars ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). That sounds pretty serious to me. Luke 16:19-31 tells a fascinating story about a man in hell. If you’ve never heard it, then read it today. (Don’t have a Bible? Hundreds of websites and thousands of libraries have them. Try bibletruthpublishers.com/library, which gives access to a digital Bible.) At the end of the story, the man says about his living relatives, “If one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” He argues that if the proof were dramatic enough, everyone would repent. But the answer he receives drives home an uncomfortable truth. “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). No miracle, no evidence, no clever persuasiveness will convince anyone who rejects what God’s Word says about the reality of hell. God’s Word says there is a hell waiting for unrepentant sinners who refuse His love and mercy. Will you go there when you die, or to heaven?

Is Christianity Revolutionary?

No — and Yes! Christianity is not revolutionary in the political sense. Its Founder never used political action. His apostles never sided with any political party, nor tried to form a new political faction.

Those who say, “Christianity has no message for men of my class” — whatever class they belong to — may mean that Christianity is not intended to further the political ambitions or the trade interests or the social exclusiveness of their particular group. And they are right. Christianity is far too good a thing to be exploited by materialists who do not care in the slightest for its teachings.

True Christianity is revolutionary in the moral sense. It goes to the root of man’s troubles. The gospel of Christ reaches a man’s conscience and convicts him of sin. When he accepts Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord, his outlook, his ambitions, his interests and his hopes are all changed. In fact, he demonstrates the truth of the inspired words, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” No other message can produce anything like that.

This is the only part of revolution that is safe, that injures nobody, and that is supremely worthwhile. But it is not the kind of revolution that is wanted by the masses or the classes. God clearly states the reason for this lack of desire for the gospel. He says, “Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Are you willing to experience that inner revolution which the Bible calls the new birth?

Only those who have experienced it can know that they are “born again.”

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).

Eric's Story

As a boy I was raised in a Christian home. Upon graduation from high school, I went on to college. The teachers were atheists, and I was soon following their beliefs. I came to Canada, an atheist, a drunkard and a gambler.

One night coming home from the tavern, drunk as usual, I walked through a gospel meeting on the sidewalk. The speaker had the God-given sense not to argue with a drunkard, but he slipped a tract into my pocket.

About noon the next day, waking up, I went through my pockets, looking for something to steady my nerves. Instead, I found a tract containing the Word of God. I read it and knelt down, but did not know how to pray.

Finally a verse of Scripture came to me that my aunt had taught me when I was a little boy. It was Isaiah 53:5: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” This was just what my weary soul needed.

I rose from my knees a new creature in Christ Jesus, and today it is my privilege to teach and preach the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere I go.

The Supreme Name

I’ve tried in vain a thousand ways

My fears to quell, my hopes to raise;

But what I need, the Bible says,

Is always, only, JESUS.

My soul is night; my heart is steel —

I cannot see; I cannot feel:

For light, for life, I must appeal

In simple faith to JESUS.

He died; He lives; He reigns; He pleads:

There’s love in all His words and deeds;

There’s all a guilty sinner needs

Forevermore in JESUS.

Though some may sneer and some may blame,
I’ll go with all my guilt and shame;
I’ll go to Him, because His name,
Above all names, is JESUS.

The Greatest Act of Kindness

One frosty November evening, a New York police officer walking down the sidewalk of a shopping district passed by a homeless man sitting on the cold concrete with his legs straight out in front of him. This homeless man wore neither socks nor shoes, and his bare feet were covered with large red blisters from exposure to the cold. The officer stopped and asked the man, who looked like he might be in his fifties, if there was any way he might help him.

The man politely declined any assistance.

However, the officer couldn’t get the suffering of the shoeless, homeless man out of his mind. A little while later he went into a nearby shoe store and, with his own money, purchased a pair of outdoor boots and a pair of woolen socks. Going back to the homeless man, he gently put the socks on the man’s feet and then laced up the boots. The homeless man thanked the police officer for his kindness. Unknown to the police officer, a passerby videotaped the act of kindness on a cell phone and sent a copy of it to the N.Y.P.D. and also to a local news station. To the surprise of the officer, the story went viral and brought him lots of publicity.

Do you know that when we were spiritually homeless, Someone came near us and did the greatest act of kindness the world has ever known? Homelessness in this life causes pain, sorrow and misery, but homelessness in eternity is far worse. Its pains and miseries are more intense and will never cease. Souls who have never come to Christ for forgiveness are spiritually homeless. When they pass out of this life, they will be imprisoned in the darkness of a lost eternity, never knowing a moment’s rest. In hell there will be no cleansing of sin, and tender care for wounded hearts will never be found. In hell, the opportunity to repent and return to God will be gone forever!

When the officer bought the shoes, it was a random act of kindness. The officer hadn’t planned on buying shoes before he started walking his beat. But there is nothing random about the Son of God coming to save us. God’s plan of salvation was drawn up before the creation of the universe. He knew that the men and women He would create would fall into sin and forsake Him. God the Father sent His Son to be the Saviour. The Lord Jesus would go all the way to Calvary where He would be nailed to the cross and give His life a ransom for sinners.

Not a step the Lord Jesus ever took was random. Nothing ever happened to Him that was unforeseen. From the manger to the cross, from the cross to the grave, and from the grave to the right hand of the Majesty on high, it was all planned to bring glory to God and forgiveness to sinners. “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38).

He is the only One who can bring healing to sin-stricken hearts.

The greatest act of kindness and love this world has ever known is the Lord Jesus Christ’s willingly giving His life for sinners. Through faith in Christ alone souls can return to God, be forgiven, and find a home in His love. The Saviour paid the supreme price to save our souls. Can’t you trust Him? He said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

Youth and a World At-Risk

Do you know that the phrase at-risk originated in a 1983 government report on education, and then it came to be applied to youth who were in danger of failing to become productive citizens?

Do you know that 1 out of 7 young people in the United States will run away from home?

That between 1 and 3 million are runaways living in the streets?

That 1 in 4 freshmen will not graduate from high school?

That the number of students who drop out of school every day is 2,261?

That each day 4,356 youths are arrested, and of these, 181 are for violent crimes?

The cause of the problem has been traced to poverty, poor education, and the failure of family structures. It is a sad and startling state of affairs that so many youths are at-risk.

But should anyone be shocked by it? A close-up examination reveals that the whole world is at serious risk.

The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). From this verse you can see that the entire population of the planet is at-risk because of sin.

Do you know that one out of every one person has run away from God? “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12).

That 100% of us have failed to live up to the light God has put in our souls? “When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21).

That sin is a serious crime, because in the final analysis, it is all directed against the Supreme Being of the universe? “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight” (Psalm 51:4).

The problem of sin that puts men and women at-risk is so great that it exceeds our power to solve it. We need a Deliverer, a Redeemer, and a Saviour.

The good news is that God came to this earth in the person of the Son of God to be that Saviour. The Creator of the universe, in a moment of time, became a man. As God and man in the same person, He lived and walked among men. For three and a half years He went about the countryside of Israel and taught truths about life and God. Men marveled at the power of His words. He did miracles of healing, even raising the dead. Then He was taken by cruel hands and crucified. His death wasn’t an accident. It was planned before the world began. It is only by His death that souls who have turned their backs on God can receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

As man, Jesus Christ could suffer death; as God, His death has a limitless power to wash away the sins of all who believe. He is the Deliverer who came down from heaven to where sinful men lived, that He might bring the wanderers back to a right relationship with Himself.

He paid the ransom for their souls with His life’s blood, and He is ready to save them the moment they bow their hearts to Him and confess Him as Lord and Saviour. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 10:9-11).

Every earnest appeal ought to be made to young people to stay in school and finish their studies. However, it is far more urgent for people to not drop out when it comes to learning about God. God can be known through His precious Word, in prayer, by seeking Him with an honest heart, by listening to others who love Him and have come to know Him. God is eminently knowable! You can know Him as sure as you know you have life and being! He is knowable to every soul, because He has equipped them with ability to understand. But souls who “drop out” and remain willfully ignorant of His grace, love, kindness, and wisdom are headed for a bleak future. They will miss out on the best things this life has to offer and will procure for themselves an eternity in the darkness of hell. What a bleak future is in store for those who reject the knowledge of God!

Whether you are young or old, you can’t save yourself. You can’t run away from the problem of sin and hope the problem solves itself. Instead, come to God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son by faith and receive the forgiveness of sins. If you do, you will surely come to love and know Him. Christ is the answer for a world at-risk!

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Ready

As part of a wedding procession, we wound our way over the hills from Georgetown, St. Vincent, to the village of Point. There was much blowing of horns and a festive mood prevailed.

However, as we made our way to the reception, I was struck with the reality of life as we met a funeral coach coming the other direction. What a contrast: a young couple just starting out on the voyage of life together and someone having just come to the end of life on earth. So, while some celebrated, others mourned.

As if to further emphasize the brevity of life, just a half mile or so down the road there was a large text painted on a wall. This is what it said: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

For me it brought to mind the opening of the Book of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon makes this observation: “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

It all made me profoundly thankful that I know what is ahead as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what the future holds as far as this life is concerned. We only have a few moments here in this world compared to eternity. We need to make them count, and we need to be ready for the next life!

“Be ye therefore ready also” (Luke 12:40).

Eagle Eye in the Sky

Angela Marie Hill reacted with shock, disbelief and tears, covering her head with her prison issue jumpsuit as she was charged in January 2012. She cried and cried. Putting her head on her knees, she asked the judge, “Why am I being charged with attempted murder?” Two months later on her twenty-sixth birthday she donned a blue jumpsuit and had shackles placed carefully over each of her white socks for another trip to the courtroom. What went wrong?

Angela’s troubles started at a party. Or maybe not. They actually started a whole long time before that. You and I share in the root problem. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts” (Proverbs 21:2). Our logic and justification for our own actions sound pretty good to us, but there’s someone who sees past all the petty surface stuff and deep down to the motivation at the bottom of our hearts. Basically we want to be in the driver’s seat of our lives. That’s where Angela and Logan McFarland wanted to be.

In eastern Utah, Logan stole a car in Mount Pleasant and then was apparently joined by Angela at a party. They ditched the car in Santaquin, Utah, and stole a Saturn sedan. Driving to the Utah border with Nevada, they decided it was time for yet another set of wheels. This time they picked on the wrong person. Rattanaphorn Keomanivong was heading out after work to get in her car when Angela approached her with a drawn gun. Rattanaphorn offered to give up her purse and car if she could go free and was answered with the butt of Angela’s gun just above her eye and forced into the car while Logan snatched the purse and hopped back into the other stolen car.

With Angela at the wheel of her car and driving away, Rattanaphorn made a dive for the gun. Rattanaphorn decided, “If I was going to die, I was going to die fighting.” The gun fell to the seat and they struggled for it. Angela got it back, but Rattanaphorn had a hand on it. The car stopped and they fell out the open door struggling. Rattanaphorn leapt back into her car and put it in gear and took off with Logan in pursuit. “As I stepped on the gas pedal, I heard a really loud pound in my head. It was so loud. I didn’t feel anything because I was so scared.” Rattanaphorn arrived at a police station with a bullet in the back of her skull.

Angela and Logan took off into Nevada and found a Volkswagen Jetta in a motel parking lot warming up in the cold January air. You know what happened next. With the two on board, the Jetta raced down Interstate 80 at speeds up to 118 mph. But now the state troopers were on their trail. Trooper Greg Monroe had a good view of Angela Hill in the front passenger seat — through the scope of his assault rifle. As he says, “When you’re getting ready to pull the trigger on someone, you never forget those things.”

God doesn’t forget what we’ve done either. Everyone needs to face the moment when the Lord Jesus “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5). No hidden motives, no missing details, no searching for further leads; everything will be out in the open.

But somehow, some way Angela and Logan got away — ditching the troopers. Their vehicle was dumped in the desert and they began to walk across the wilderness south of Oasis, Nevada. Three car thefts, one carjacking, one mugging, one attempted murder and now they had given the police the slip. And that’s not all. More crime would turn up later. Everyone in every direction had failed to bring them down. Sometimes our secret little habits, angry thoughts, and “little vices” seem to slip past our friends, our coworkers or our spouse.

But Logan and Angela failed to look up. Above them, four days into their adventure, circled the little plane of rancher Demar Dahl. He was out surveying his cattle. He knew there might be suspects in the area and kept his eagle eyes open. Spotting them, down he came, right over their heads, but he had no cell phone coverage — no way of letting police know. He circled again and again and then took off for a better coverage area. We are being observed every moment too, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

As state troopers converged on the sage brush south of Oasis, Angela and Logan had had enough. No bullets, no blood, just “We give up.” But questions remain. Lots of them. Back in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, a couple who owned the stolen car was found dead. As of this writing, Angela may be close to a plea bargain with authorities over the botched carjacking. But the deal will have to be approved by her victim — Rattanaphorn Keomanivong. Back in Mt. Pleasant, authorities are awaiting their turn. Logan’s Nevada trial is currently scheduled for September 2013; then he will go back to Utah for another round.

The one we have wronged, God, has already approved a “plea deal” for us. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). The innocent Christ suffered so that guilty individuals like you and me could be justly forgiven for our sins. He actively went out looking to bring us back, not for justice, but for mercy. Christ died on the cross of Calvary to bring back anyone who would “give up” and admit their guilt. Then they would discover that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

However, anyone who refuses God’s present offer of mercy will be judged in the highest court of all. The most important court session ever to be held is described here: “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened” (Revelation 20:11-12). There will be no argument, no “why am I being charged?” No mercy and no forgiveness then; just pure justice based on indisputable fact. Will you receive God’s mercy today or wait for your day in court? Like many others, I’ve surrendered. Not to justice but to the grace of God. Will you?

We Are Christian People

“We are Christian people,” a lady told me as I was doing my job in a hospital in the Midwest. In the course of my duties, I was humming a hymn that I had on my heart, “Tell me the story of Jesus, Write on my heart every word,” when the lady in the room made that statement to me, which led to a brief but happy exchange about the hope of salvation through the gospel of the grace of God. There were Christian books and pamphlets and a Bible in the room. There were two other patients that I was seeing that weekend who brought the grace of God and the hope of the gospel into stark contrast with an empty eternity without Jesus Christ.

In another room lay a woman with “salt and pepper” hair, too young for Medicare, but who did not have long to live. She had just been informed that her illness was terminal. She was sullen and almost non-communicative. I tried without success to engage her in conversation. On her nightstand, there was a copy of J. D. Robb’s Reunion in Death. There were no Bible or prayer cards — only books that she could barely pick up, that offered no hope to her, and certainly nothing beyond this present world. I prayed for her, but the contrast with the previous room was overwhelming. This room had an “odor of death,” while the other one an “odor of life,” hope of the glorious liberty of the sons of God!

How much this reminds me, and I hope you as well, of the gospel message, “Seek ... the Lord while He may be found, call ... upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6), and, “Now is the accepted time ... now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). But these people still had an opportunity to know Christ, or to know him better! There was one more room. This final patient was a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). She had a loving family around her, a pastor praying with her, and a Bible in her room. And, unlike the other two patients I had cared for, she died that weekend. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). My work with this elderly woman did not lead me to a solid conviction of her eternal destiny, but there were some signs that gave me hope.

Three patients: Two are still living and have the opportunity to be saved; the other has crossed that great gulf and will either be part of the resurrection of life or the resurrection unto judgment!

As you read this, what is your future? Remember, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). 

Blackbeard

Edward Teach was known and feared as Blackbeard. He was one of the most well-known pirates in Bahamian history and caused terror in and around those islands for several years. History tells us that he was a massive man noted for his boldness and fiendish appearance. He cared for no one but himself, and with cutlasses and pistols slung about him, which he did not hesitate to use, he resembled a walking arsenal. His long black beard was twisted with ribbons and turned about his ears. Slow-burning cords tucked under his hat wreathed his head with demonic smoke. With his fierce and wild eyes, imagination cannot form an idea of a fury from hell that would look more frightful. He was no legend, but a real man who lived a short life and died in a violent naval battle in 1718.

One day at sea, he said to a few of his men, “Come, let us make a hell of our own and see how long we can bear it.” He took them below, closed the hatches, and set on fire several pots filled with brimstone and other acrid matter. One by one, close to suffocation, the men were forced to seek the upper deck. Blackbeard held out the longest and was quite pleased that he was better fitted to live in hell than the others.

We can hardly imagine such a thing, and yet there are many who are rushing on to the “lake of fire” with no thought of its reality. Hell is nothing to joke about! It is a real place, and those who reject the Saviour of sinners will end up there. Not just for a time, but for eternity.

“In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments” (Luke 16:23). “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Only a Step to Jesus!

Only a step to Jesus!

Then why not take it now?

Come, and thy sin confessing,

To Him thy Saviour bow.

Only a step to Jesus!

Believe, and thou shalt live;

Lovingly now He’s waiting,

And ready to forgive.

Only a step to Jesus!

A step from sin to grace;

What hast thy heart decided?

The moments fly apace.

Only a step to Jesus!

Oh, why not come and say,

Gladly to Thee, my Saviour,

I give myself today.

Fortunate to Be Alive: Pure and Simple

A young lady named Marjorie got into the bright-yellow kayak at the edge of the Columbia River. It was the first warm day of spring, with temperatures in the mid-sixties. The blue of the wide river, the green of the flanking hills carpeted with coniferous trees, and the deep blue of the sky combined to make the surrounding scene look as pretty as a postcard.

Marjorie paddled the kayak to the middle of the river. She didn’t have much experience kayaking, so the current surprised her by its strength and speed. Not wanting to get too far away from where she launched the kayak, she used her paddle as a rudder and guided the kayak towards a timber piling or vertical log that was a hundred feet from the shore. She thought she could use the piling to keep the current from carrying her downstream. Her troubles began when the kayak hit the piling. Trapped between the piling and the current, the water rushed over the side of the kayak and quickly filled the little craft. Marjorie was just able to pull her legs out of it before it was sucked under the surface of the river and disappeared. She grabbed the creosote-treated piling and hung on for dear life. The river, full of recent snow melt, instantly chilled her to the bone. Wrapping her arms and legs around the piling, she shimmied up as high as she could to get out of the water.

Another kayaker saw Marjorie clinging to the piling and called 911. The emergency dispatcher knew exactly where the piling was located and contacted the sheriff’s department with the information. The dispatcher then called her own mother, an avid boater, who lived in a riverfront home near the site of the incident. The dispatcher’s mother paddled out in a rowboat and was able to bring the stranded kayaker back to shore. An officer from the sheriff’s department arrived a few minutes later in a patrol boat. The officer appraised the situation, and from his many experiences of boating accidents, he had this to say: “She is fortunate to be alive, pure and simple.”

“Fortunate to be alive, pure and simple,” is a saying that describes Marjorie’s incident, but it also can be applied to human beings in general. I would like to point out a number of truths about this saying so that you might latch onto them.

First of all, each one of us owes the fact that we have life to the truth that God is the great Preserver. The current of the river could have pulled Marjorie under, never to be seen again. Perhaps you can think of an incident when you nearly died. Have you ever thought that in your close call God might have been at work behind the scene preserving your life? Psalm 36:6 states this truth when it says, “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast.” How fortunate that God moves behind the scenes to preserve souls alive. It just might be that He has preserved you alive because He wants you to come to know Him in an intimate way through His Son.

Second, all of us ought to feel tremendously fortunate because we are part of God’s creation. The world we live in is breathtakingly beautiful, and God intends for us to enjoy it. We are fortunate because every good thing, including our lives and all things necessary to support life, comes from Him. It is His goodness that causes Him to care for His creatures. “The earth, O Lord, is full of Thy mercy” (Psalm 119:64). To have life, to see His handiwork and to have the benefits of His mercy makes us incredibly fortunate indeed!

Finally, we are fortunate because as long as we are alive, we have the opportunity to bow our hearts and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It is not enough to be alive to receive God’s best blessings in our lives. To receive His best blessings, we need to be “born again” or “born from above.” Souls are born again when they receive a new life. This makes it possible for them to know, love and understand God their Maker. Being born again is a gift sent from the Father above so that sinners on this earth can be changed and made ready to spend eternity in heaven. This new life is given to them the moment they believe in the Son of God. It is by believing on the Lord Jesus that we receive God’s richest blessing — the gift of eternal life. It is God’s good pleasure to give this gift to all who put their faith in His dear Son, and He invites men and women everywhere to receive it. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

One lifetime is all any of us are given to make the all-important decision to trust Christ. As long as we are alive, there is hope that we will come to our senses and see our great need of the Saviour. Once this life is over, it will be forever too late to believe on Christ. Souls who die without Christ will disappear into the miserable regions of hell where they will be separated from God’s goodness forever. They will have only themselves to blame for refusing God’s grace.

No one knows for sure if they will be given another day to live. Life is, at best, uncertain. Therefore, the wise thing to do is to trust in the Lord Jesus before it becomes forever too late. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Why wait another day before you take Christ as your Saviour? He alone has the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Pure and simple, trusting Christ will be the best thing that you ever will do. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).

Pirates

On my arrival in Nassau in the Bahamas, I saw that a new museum called Pirates of Nassau Museum had recently opened. As I was taken from one display and exhibit to another and listened to the commentary on pirating in the Caribbean and in and around the Bahamian Islands, I realized that those scoundrels had only one thing in view in coming to the area, and that was to get something for themselves. They were selfish men and women who wanted treasure, and they cared for no one else. They plundered, hurt and killed, and used any ruthless means they could think of. They were out to GET, by whatever means it took.

It is a joy to be able to tell of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world, not to GET, but to GIVE. The pirates of the Caribbean murdered and stole; the Lord gives life and spiritual riches to those who receive Him as Saviour. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). He gave His life: “Even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He “gave Himself” (Galatians 2:20). And now He says, “I give unto them eternal life” (John 10:28). The Lord Jesus wants us for what He can GIVE us, not what He can GET from us.

I hope that the contrast is helpful to you, that the message of a GIVING Saviour will be remembered, and that many will come to Him, accepting what He has to give. And what about you? Have you received with a thankful heart what He offers to you? “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). If you have, you have also received many other wonderful gifts from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

A Note From Siberia

Car tires have cut two deep ruts through the snow on this narrow street where we walk in Volchansk, Russia. Twin streams of water rush down the ruts toward the roadside drains that are still clogged with snow.

The smell of burning coal hangs sharply in the air, and here and there in the yards we see piles of chunky coal waiting for somebody’s sledgehammer. Some of it has spilled out onto the narrow street.

The coal mine in town is to close soon, and this will put most of the people out of work. Already the pensioners have taken up all the part-time work since none can afford to live on just a pension. And soon the train service will be cut to this northern town, and the four schools will be combined into two in order to cut costs. Problems, pressures — sounds like a lot of other places we’re reading about where I live in Canada.

We are staying in a nice apartment in a tired and beaten-up old apartment building. The tomato plants on the windowsill are soaking up the Siberian April sun, warmer every day. They will soon be transplanted into the garden that sits a mile outside of town.

Here everybody talks about his or her gardens: “Got to get out there soon, if this snow ever melts.” Of course, the gardens are a vital necessity. Today the retired doctor tells us over a lovely supper, “All these things are from my garden, except for the chicken,” which explains why so little meat is eaten here.

We read the Bible with the believers this week and try to encourage their tired souls. God’s grace, mercy and His peace all come without a price tag, we remind them. Money can’t buy the forgiveness He brings, and what a soft pillow it is to the conscience.

They nod their heads. They understand. In this cold and rigorous Siberian northland, they are joyful and happy though wrapped up in relentless difficulties. Their source of joy is not in self or “things.” They have found the words of Jesus to be true: “Whosoever [drinks] 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).

Thank God for the peace that there is in our Lord Jesus. In Him we have hope, we have meaning, and we have direction. Have you ever thirsted for these things?

John 4 is a very interesting chapter. It tells the story of a woman who was tired of plodding the dusty and winding roads of a dissatisfied life. You would enjoy reading the rest of it — if you’re thirsty. I hope you are.

Captain Alonzo's Certain Victory

Admiral Don Alonzo peered through his spyglass into the early morning mist on May 2, 1669, at the rapidly-approaching pirate flagship followed by its motley accompaniment of twelve small ships. Below deck the fifty-eight superbly trained gunners touched their torches to the fuses and sent a rain of cannonballs down on the vastly outnumbered enemy. The ships closed in quickly but the gunners adjusted their cannons to keep the hot lead straight on target. Riggings on the pirate ships were being shredded while Don Alonzo looked with admiration on the courageous pirates. Some wore floppy hats, but all wore fixed looks of determination with cutlasses hanging ready at their sides. Shot now poured from Don Alonzo’s flagship Magdalena directly into the faces of the on-rushing, out-gunned, trapped pirates of the Caribbean. Surrounded by two other large, well-armed naval vessels and supported by a strong fort, the Spanish navy guarded the 800-yard-wide gateway to the Gulf of Maracaibo. His enemy, Captain Morgan, had finally been trapped in an inescapable prison. Victory was certain.

Good sleuthing had brought Admiral Alonzo to the pinnacle of his career. Like intelligent men and women of every era, he gathered his information well. Sent to eradicate the pirate pest from the Caribbean, he’d stopped at towns along the Spanish Main and listened carefully to the gossip that flowed freely in the taverns. Over glasses of rum, buccaneers had boasted of the pieces of eight they were going to grab in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The town was situated inside a vast gulf rimmed on three sides by mountains that towered up to 14,500 feet high. Racing south with his navy, Alonzo seized the fort at the mouth of the gulf and garrisoned it, stuffing it full of ammunition, provisions, trained Spanish musketeers and local militiamen. Best of all, he loaded it up with cannons that would soon punch holes in the sides of Captain Morgan’s converted merchant ships. Then Alonzo sailed his ships into position at the mouth of the harbor and began receiving steady reports from the citizens rimming the gulf.

The Admiral sifted the reports carefully. Morgan’s carpenters were heard fortifying a captured Cuban ship. The Captain’s colors flew above the strengthened ship. Provisions and captured gold were being loaded on board. Don Alonzo’s terms for peace sent by messengers were impertinently rejected. To escape by land, the buccaneers would have to abandon their $12.5 million in captured gold, not to mention slaves and huge stores of trade goods. Then the men, used to lounging in Caribbean ports and drinking their rum under the sun and gentle trade winds, would be forced to hike through hostile territory, over snow-covered passes, and attempt to hijack more ships before the Spanish navy could again hone in on their position. Alonzo despised what he saw as the pirate scum that floated up out of the holds of stolen ships and looked forward to the glory of ridding the Spanish realms of his adversary. Rigorous military training, culture, numerical superiority, military intelligence, the might of an empire, reinforcements already heading from other Caribbean ports and an impregnable position supported the methodical Don Alonzo. As the doomed pirate vessel crashed with splintering force into the Magdalena and grappling hooks clinched the vessels in a death grip, Spanish musketeers leaped onto the out-manned pirate’s decks.

Confidence based on truth is the reinforced concrete foundation for bold action. Life, death and eternity demand a clear sense of the issues at stake. The size of the decision determines the amount of careful planning needed. Admiral Alonzo hadn’t been careless, lazy or lax. But confidence based on lies had blinded his mind. He couldn’t believe that his foreign enemy had a devilish plan. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The pirates aboard their doomed ship failed to raise their cutlasses to defend themselves. Everywhere from the hold to the rigging, the smell of highly-flammable tar filled the Spanish musketeers’ nostrils. The hold, filled with gunpowder, erupted with tremendous explosive force launching musketeers upward into the rigging like droplets in a fountain. Every form of flammable material driven by the morning winds swept over the decks of the Magdalena while the front of the ship slipped under the waves and the remaining sailors, soldiers and once-proud captain leaped for longboats or the salty sea.

Morgan’s carpenters had removed timber to not dampen the explosion, created wooden pirate cutouts carrying cutlasses at their sides, and slathered the ship with flammable material. Shortly before impact, the skeleton crew of real pirates that had sailed the ship toward Alonzo’s Magdalena had slipped out the back of the ship in canoes and paddled furiously in the opposite direction. Alonzo’s “certain victory” was an illusion propped up by believable rumor, supported by hazy views from the spyglass, and anchored in place by self-confidence in his own cultured training and superiority.

As fascinating as history can be, neither you nor I care as much about the past as the future. A clear view of what’s ahead is sometimes clouded by the baggage we carry from our past. God provides clear, definite answers about what’s coming in His Word, the Bible. Have you read it? Let me share a disturbing secret. Days before the pirate attack, a man the Spaniard despised made it to the ship with a warning of the impending fireship attack. Alonzo’s response? “How can that be?” he roared at his informant. “Have they, peradventure, wit enough to build a fireship?”

Does Satan have “wit enough” to take you down with the fireship of sin? Are you certain that warnings such as “he that believeth not the Son [of God] shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36) come from worthless sources? Confidence in prevailing rumors and local opinion cost Don Alonzo everything that mattered to him in life. Where is your confidence placed for what matters more — what comes after this life? Many have found eternal certainty in the words spoken by another despised man. Jesus Christ said, “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Find out more of His plan of salvation in the next story, I “Didn’t See God.”

I Didn't See God

In 1961, scientists in the Soviet Union accomplished a feat that had never been done before. They launched a man into outer space where he orbited the globe and then returned safely to earth. The cosmonaut’s name was Yuri Gagarin, and he instantly became a national hero. People liked Mr. Gagarin, not only because he was the first man to travel in space, but also because he had a ready smile, good humor and a genial disposition.

The statement “I looked and I looked but didn’t see God” was attributed to the cosmonaut and received lots of attention in the newspapers around the world. However, today, historians are pretty certain that Mr. Gagarin never uttered these words, and instead, have determined that they were an invention by disingenuous Soviet officials in order to promote the worldview of atheism.

There is another falsehood surrounding this statement that would be good to bring to the light. This is the idea that only things that belong to the material world are real. Because of this materialistic mindset, many people say there is no God. Please understand that this notion is erroneous, because “God is a spirit.” That is, He is an immaterial being and totally without physical dimensions. Even if a person could travel from one end of the universe to the other and exhaustively search every nook and cranny of it, they would never be able to “find” God. They would not be able to “find” Him because they are looking for Him as if He belonged to the material world.

God fills the heaven and the earth with His power, and He is present everywhere and at all times, but His presence is completely hidden from our physical senses. What can be seen by us is His handiwork. Everywhere you look in the physical universe, you see the evidence of a Great Designer, and that designer is God.

Yuri Gagarin radioed back to earth a description of what his home planet looked like from space. He proclaimed, “I see the earth! And it is so beautiful!” The beauty he was excited about stems from the truth that God has left His imprint on everything He has made.

The earth’s beauty is evidence of God’s unerring wisdom and power. You can find other evidence just as convincing anywhere else you look. Romans 1:20 reads, “The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

There is no excuse for not knowing God through His created things. Every design needs a designer. By looking at the world around us, we should readily come to the conclusion that God is the designer and the cause of the universe. This same all-wise, all-powerful God has not left us to stumble in darkness when it comes to knowing Him, but He has told us about Himself in a book called the Bible. In it we learn that God is not only a great Creator, but a wonderful Redeemer as well.

Mankind needs a redeemer because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To redeem men and women from the power and guilt of sin, God became a man and visited this earth. The Lord Jesus Christ became a man so that He was both God and man in the same person. As man He gave His life on Calvary’s cross. This act, accomplished to save sinners, will never stop bringing God glory and honor throughout the ages of eternity. Because of Jesus’ death, sinners who repent can find pardon and eternal life when they put their trust in His name. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The blood He shed on the cross has ample power to remove the stain of sin from all who believe. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Although mankind cannot perceive God directly in this life, this is not the case in the life to come. People who have come to love Him while on earth, when they pass out of this life, will see the Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory in heaven. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). This vision will fill them with never-ending joy.

How different it will be for those who reject God’s offer of love and grace in this life! When they leave this earth, they will be cast out from God’s presence into “outer darkness,” without any possibility of re-entry. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

Don’t let the faulty reasoning of those who deny God keep you from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. God promises that all who seek Him with an honest heart will find Him. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Call on His name today, and when it is time for you to leave this world, you will never be sorry you did. You’ll find more about how He instructs us in Encouragement for the Soul.

Encouragement for the Soul

Our forefathers lived without glasses until the thirteenth century, without the printing press until the fifteenth century, without sugar until the sixteenth century, without forks, potatoes and coffee until the seventeenth century, without bifocals and french fries until the eighteenth century, and without ice cream and electricity until the nineteenth century.

Of course, people did just fine. Glasses weren’t all that useful when there were no books to read. When there were no forks, then fingers and spoons did the job just fine, thank you. Without french fries you just had to deal with fewer empty calories.

But there is something Jesus said that we cannot get along without. He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed[s] out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Now that is the very thing we ought not to do without, God’s Word, the Bible. Critics have worn out their hammers pounding away on its alleged errors. But here it is, still selling, still being read. Some have said that the word “BIBLE” stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”

Certainly its instructions are basic, though indeed there are parts that are more demanding. Mark Twain quipped, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me; it’s those parts that I do understand.”

Some people have concluded after two minutes of deep deliberation, “I don’t believe the Bible.”

I suppose people believe it when it concludes, Employers ought to treat their employees fairly (see Colossians 4:1), and when it exhorts, Do not plan evil against your neighbor (see Proverbs 3:29). If they have even read the Bible, I think many people selectively believe just what they want.

Maybe we aren’t as comfortable when we read, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Don’t you think it’s a bit difficult to say, I don’t believe this? I wonder how the kids would say you measure up. Maybe you don’t care. I assure you God does!

Anyway, we would encourage you to pick up a Bible and begin in Mark chapter 1. It was written for beginners. Go ahead. You’ll be surprised what you find as you explore the words and actions of Jesus Christ.

Maybe you’ll find, as many of us have found, we can’t live with only bread for our bodies. We need instruction and encouragement for the soul. Jesus was right.

Eternity! Where?

Eternity! Where? It floats in the air —

Amid clamor or silence, it ever is there;

Eternity! Where? Oh, Eternity! Where?

The question so solemn — Eternity! Where?

Eternity! Where? Eternity! Where?

With saved ones in glory, or the lost in despair?

Eternity! Where? Oh, Eternity! Where?

With one or the other — Eternity! Where?

El Pulaski and the Great Burn of 1910

The Great Burn of 1910 was the largest forest fire in history to ever sweep across the Rocky Mountain states, destroying approximately three million acres of prime timberland.

In the wilderness area near Wallace, Idaho, a forest ranger by the name of Ed Pulaski had been given charge of forty-five volunteer firefighters. In the morning, they had gone out with shovels, axes and picks to fight back the forest fire, but during the course of the day the weather conditions changed. Strong winds blew in and supercharged the conflagration.

Ranger Pulaski saw the flames approaching. In all his experience, he had never seen a forest fire moving as fast. He understood that the fire was no respecter of persons and would destroy everything in its path. Thinking fast, he formed a plan.

He rode his horse among the men to gather them up, shouting, “If you want to live to see another day, grab your blankets and follow me!”

The men had difficulty seeing and hearing him. The roar of the approaching fire was deafening, and every second tons of smoke and ash billowed up, darkening the sky.

Ranger Pulaski led the men up a mountain trail. If he hadn’t been familiar with the trail from hiking on it many times, he surely would have lost his way. The men moved as fast as they could go. They had only minutes before the fire would catch them. An older firefighter clutched his side in pain and said he couldn’t take another step. Ranger Pulaski dismounted and helped this man onto the back of his horse. A little further on, a big black bear came running down the mountain path in a panic before he disappeared out of sight.

Right before the fire reached them, Ranger Pulaski found what he was looking for — an abandoned mining tunnel. The men quickly filed in. They found the tunnel was barely long enough for all of them to fit. A small stream of water ran along the floor of the tunnel.

“Wet your blankets and lay down under them,” Pulaski ordered.

One man took measure of the tunnel and thought it was a death trap for sure. “I am not dying in here! I’m making a run for it,” he told Pulaski.

Ranger Pulaski pulled a revolver from its holster. “I’ll shoot any man that tries to leave the cave!” he shouted, and the men knew he meant it.

Ranger Pulaski soaked his own blanket and then tied it like a curtain over the mouth of the tunnel. Then the fire engulfed the trees around the mouth of the tunnel. The noise of the flames was like the roaring of a freight train. The blanket covering the mouth of the tunnel went up in flames. Then the timbers at the entrance, that kept the roof of the tunnel from collapsing, started to smoke and burn. Trying to stay as low as possible to avoid the searing heat, Pulaski gathered up water from the shallow stream into his hat and tossed it on the beams of wood to prevent them from burning. Smoke, heat and poisonous gases started to fill the tunnel. The men pressed their nostrils as close to the ground as possible to find air to breathe. Pulaski threw a last hat-full of water on the beams of wood, and then, overcome by smoke and heat, he collapsed in unconsciousness to the floor of the tunnel.

The tunnel was a hiding place, but would it be enough of a refuge to keep the men safe in the giant firestorm? Before I tell you the rest of the story, may I ask you a question? Have you found a place of refuge from the judgment that is certain to overtake souls because of their sins? It is important that you do this, because each one of us has sinned. We only receive the partial reward of our actions while here on earth, but we will receive the full payment for our deeds in the life to come. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). In this judgment, souls who have never repented of their sins and turned to the Lord Jesus will spend eternity where the “worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). That this judgment catches up to those who remain in their sins is an absolute certainty! It can’t be outrun or dodged. God will see to it that all sin gets its due. The Bible says, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). Don’t trifle with the sin He hates; forsake it and “flee from the wrath to come” (Luke 3:7).

It would have been folly for the men in the forest fire not to flee, and likewise, it is a terrible folly for any member of the human race not to flee from the wrath to come. This is because God in His grace has made a hiding place for sinners. This refuge is a Man. Isaiah 32:2 reads, “A Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

That Man who is the hiding place is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. He is the perfect hiding place for sinners because of who He is and what He did. You see, He wasn’t only a man; He was also God. As Man, He could be born in a manger, live a sinless life, give His life on Calvary’s cross, be buried, rise again, and ascend up to heaven. As God, His death has an infinite value to wash away our sins. His work on the cross can put away the sins of all who believe on Him. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). Won’t you fall on your knees before Him and by faith ask Him to save your never-dying soul?

It was about two o’clock in the afternoon when the firefighters led by Ranger Pulaski entered the tunnel. The next morning at dawn, some of the men picked themselves off the floor of the cave and wandered out into the ashes and charred remains of the forest. One of them asked, “Where is Pulaski?”

Another responded, “I saw him dead by the mouth of the cave.”

But he wasn’t dead. He overheard this comment, and it roused him out of his stupor. He propped himself up on an elbow and called out, “I am not dead. I am right here, but I can’t see a thing.”

When the men went back to help him, they found that he had indeed gone blind from the heat and smoke getting into his eyes.

Five of the forty-five men who entered the tunnel had died. The forty who were left alive knew that they owed their lives to the courage and leadership of Ranger Pulaski. Thankfully, after a month of medical treatments, Ed Pulaski’s eyesight returned.

Ed Pulaski had urgently told his men, “If you want to live to see another day, follow me!” With even greater urgency we give you the message, “If you want to live to see heaven, glory, and have eternal life, then you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross of Calvary!” Will you believe on Him before the fire of God’s judgment overtakes you? Find out more about Christ’s sacrificial love in He Couldn’t Save Himself.

He Couldn't Save Himself

The dump truck loaded with sand and gravel came hurtling down the long Portage Trail hill. Horrified onlookers soon realized the driver had completely lost control. It seemed that no matter how he tried, the driver could not slow his truck, let alone stop at the traffic light at the foot of the hill.

He swerved desperately trying to avoid hitting anyone, careened around the corner, hit a utility pole, and finally was flung into the river nearby where he was killed. State officials later exonerated him of wrong doing; his brakes had failed. He was hailed a hero for avoiding cars and people in his path, but he couldn’t save himself. Brave man.

Nearly 2000 years ago there was One who could have saved Himself but didn’t. While He hung on Calvary’s cross dying for sin, some watching said, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save” (Mark 15:31). That brave truck driver gave his life to save those in his path. The Lord Jesus, who was God in the form of man, gave His life to save a lost world. “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation ... and was made in the likeness of men ... and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

If that truck driver had tried to save himself, he most likely would have killed someone in his path. But the Lord Jesus made no attempt to save Himself though He could have called twelve legions of angels to His aid. And why didn’t He? Too much was at stake! The salvation of millions, perhaps billions of people that He wanted to save, at home in heaven with Himself and the Father for all eternity.

Will you believe on Him today? Accept so great a salvation, confess your sin and “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). You’ll find more of how He saves in The “Dead March.”

The Dead March

Mary Sands was a frequent visitor to the veterans’ hospital. One patient, Bob Johnson, seemed to appreciate all that she did to comfort and cheer him and the others, but refused to listen to any mention that, because of his sins, he needed a Saviour. Finally he asked her to promise not to speak on that subject again. She promised.

One day while Mary was in Bob’s ward, they saw through the window a military funeral procession from the hospital to the adjacent cemetery. It was the funeral of his friend who had died in the next ward. As the “Dead March,” played by the army band, echoed through the ward, Bob’s eyes filled with tears. Turning to Mary he asked in a low voice, “Do you remember that promise?”

“Yes, only too well.”

“Well, forget it! You can talk to me about anything you want to.”

“Shall I tell you about that poor fellow they are taking away to bury?”

“Yes. I heard you were with him and that he died happy.”

“Yes, I was with him, and he did die happy. But there was a time when he was like you and did not want anyone to talk to him about his soul.

“While serving overseas he had saved a lot of money, but when he came home he began drinking it away. One night he lay in the pouring rain and caught a terrible cold, which settled in his lungs. I found him later in the hospital very sick and miserable.

“When I asked him what the trouble was, he told me his company had shipped out that day. With it went his friends, the men with whom he had spent all his money, and not one of them had come to wish him goodbye.

“Thank God, I was able to tell him of the ‘Friend that sticketh closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24) — the Lord Jesus, who wanted to be his true Friend and Saviour!

“He listened to me eagerly. From then on he wanted to hear more about Jesus. One day I found him with such a look of rest and peace on his face that I could not help saying, ‘You look very happy today!’

“ ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘I couldn’t sleep last night. I was restless and miserable, while all my sin kept bothering me. I never could begin to tell you what a disgusting life mine has been. And my sins! I knew I must stand before God and was not ready to die. Then I thought of the verse you had told me: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). That lifted the load off my heart. I saw that God had laid my sins on Jesus, and now God will not punish me. Oh, it is wonderful!’

“I was with him and holding his hand at the end. His last words to me were, ‘I am a guilty sinner, but Jesus died for me.’ ”

Bob’s heart was softened by the account of his friend’s conversion, and he said, “I wish I could say that Jesus died for me. I know that I am a guilty sinner. You don’t know how bad I’ve been!”

Soon he too believed that “the blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” and was filled with joy and peace in believing.

What about you? Would you like that same joy and peace, knowing that your sins have all been paid for?

Blessed Are the Thankful

Believe it or not, you have a lot to be thankful for today. Take a moment to look back over your life. You and I came into this world helpless, ignorant and naked. Since that time, we have learned to read and to care for ourselves and for others. We have acquired experience, knowledge, possessions, relationships, skills and some wisdom. And we still have an opportunity to gain more.

Are you thankful?

Strange as it may seem, many people are not — because they don’t know God as they could and should.

God’s Word, the Bible, tells us, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be ... unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:1-2). Notice that God puts “unthankful” and “unholy” together. There is a reason.

God is the ultimate Source. Everything good comes from Him. He is the author of life and the giver of all ability to benefit by it. If we ignore Him, we are setting ourselves up for unthankfulness and misery. They go together.

Yet many people may say, “I deserve better than I have received.” But is that really true? Do we really deserve anything good from God, who is holy and whom we have offended?

God’s Word says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If this were the end of the story, there could be no blessing or thanksgiving. But God is a great giver. Consider these amazing statements:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:4-8).

“He [God] hath made Him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Since God is such a great giver, it seems obvious that you and I should learn to be good receivers — grateful and thankful receivers.

Have you received God’s great love-gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and salvation through Him? If you have, then you have just begun to learn what true blessing is.

But some say, “If God is so good, why do so many people suffer? And, why am I not happier than I am?”

Sin and suffering go together. God’s Word tells us that, and we only need to look around us to see the reality of that relationship. Now consider this analogy:

True or False? There are many physically unclean people in this world. Therefore it must be that either there is no such thing as soap, or else soap doesn’t work.

False, of course! Thank God for soap! But soap must be applied to be effective.

And when God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is accepted by faith in Him, it is effective. But, it must be individually applied.

As for happiness, God never meant us to be happy without Him. Anybody who is determined to live without Him cannot justly blame God for the misery he or she has chosen. God is indeed a great Giver and a great Blesser. But God, because He is God, only gives and blesses on His terms. You are not God, and neither am I. We cannot negotiate with Him, and we cannot manipulate Him. We must simply receive what He gives on His terms.

But because God so loves us, He so gives that when we are willing to receive whatever He gives on His terms, we discover His heart — and we find our hearts satisfied! However, if we come to God insisting on our own terms, we will be disappointed.

So, friend, let God be God, and let gratitude be your attitude.

“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. ... I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:12-13,17).

Blessed are the thankful! Be blessed forever.

Keep reading and you’ll find two huge motives for thankfulness — true freedom and a Mediator with God.

Freedom and Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born in a one-room cabin in the year 1820. The cabin had no windows, a dirt floor and only a blanket hung in the doorway to stop the wind. She was born a slave, which meant she was owned by another human being. As soon as she was old enough, she was made to work from sunup to sundown and was often punished for the slightest fault. Growing up as a slave was a hard life. Only in her imagination did she know what it was like to be free.

When Harriet was in her twenties, she decided to run away and escape to the North where she could find freedom. She hid in swamps and forests by day and walked by night. She was as careful as a hunted animal, because she knew that fugitive slave hunters would be on her trail, trying to capture her and bring her back for a reward of money.

After many nights of walking, she made it to the North and freedom, but she just couldn’t get on with her life. She was troubled about all the men, women and children still living in slavery. She just had to do something about it. An idea occurred to her that not many persons ever would have thought of. She, a runaway slave, would travel back into the South, hiding by day and walking by night, and help other slaves escape to freedom too.

This idea turned out to be her life’s work. In her lifetime, Harriet Tubman made seventeen difficult and dangerous journeys back into the South and was personally responsible for guiding about three hundred slaves to freedom. Slaves in the Tidelands of Maryland gave her the nickname of Moses, because, like Moses in the Bible, she led many to freedom.

Slavery in the United States was eventually outlawed, but there is another kind of slavery that human governments are powerless to bring to an end—the slavery of sin. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever” (John 8:34-35).

When people commit sin, Satan, the god of this world, acquires power over them, and he treats them like slaves. He jealously guards them and does all he can to prevent any from ever escaping his power. Like Pharaoh’s slave-drivers of old, he makes the lives of many “bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14).

Harriet Tubman bravely went into the South to help souls escape to freedom. It was the mission of the Lord Jesus to come to this earth and set sinners free. “Then said Jesus ... If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

To set sinners free, the Lord Jesus went all the way to Calvary’s cross where He gave His life as a ransom for sinners. You might be wondering how the death of any man could be the means of setting the human race free. The answer lies in the truth that Jesus was not only a man, but He was God at the same time. Because he was both God and Man in the same person, the sacrifice He made can wash away the sins of all those who believe on Him. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

After Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom, she couldn’t rest easy without helping other slaves find their freedom. The same ought to be true of all those who have found the sweet release from the guilt and power of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ. In their hearts they will want to tell others of the good news about the Saviour, and they won’t rest easy until they see many come to Him to be set free.

True liberty only comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. Won’t you consider what He has done on your behalf, and then trust Him as your Saviour? “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Have you thanked Him for the freedom He freely gives? Find out more of what Christ has done for you in The Bridge to Nowhere.

The Bridge to Nowhere

The idea made a lot of sense, financial sense. New housing developments on one side of the highway meant lots of people. On the other side, you guessed it — lots of things to buy. It was to be the Anderston Cross Commercial Centre. But in this case, urban renewal in the 1960s was promising more than it was about to deliver.

First things first, of course. Get the bridge over the highway built. But then the commercial zone with its shopping mall, offices, housing, bus station and fire station ran into what fishermen call “snags,” of one sort or another. The dreamy multi-level complex connected by sloping walkways and unique open-air escalators was just so much easier to sketch on paper than to build out of concrete.

And so it was all scaled back in size. That meant the completed high-level pedestrian bridge was left hanging in mid-air, over vacant land, 100 meters away from the main deck of the shopping center. For forty years this obvious black eye assumed the title of “Bridge to Nowhere.” Meanwhile, the people were cut off from safe access to the city center.

Here’s the good news: The commercial center in Glasgow, Scotland, is now called Cadogan Square. Nothing like a new name to erase bad memories. And the bridge was completed this month. We’re back in business.

I read this story and thought of the verses in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all.” Here is a Bridge that won’t leave you “Nowhere.” The resurrection of Jesus is God’s receipt to us and certifies the bridge is not only fully built, but also paid in full! Perhaps your efforts at self-improvement and your struggles to turn the page and begin again have abandoned you on a “bridge to nowhere.” Have you ever felt that a piece of the puzzle is missing? that you just can’t get this done on your own?

Take a look at 1 Timothy for yourself. Read about the bridge that can take you all the way and accomplishes what your own efforts can never do. The Lord Jesus is the bridge to our relationship with God. He is called the Mediator. He stands between you and God, and because He died for our sins, He can offer the gift of salvation — forgiveness of sins — to you. Now there’s a gift worth giving thanks for. We can be forever grateful. Literally!

Oh, What a Gift the Father Gave

Oh, what a gift the Father gave

When He bestowed His Son!

To save poor, ruined, guilty man,

By sin defiled, undone.

For I was lost and vile indeed!

To sin a willing prey;

Till God in mercy interposed

And turned my night to day.

Now I can call the Saviour mine,

Though all unworthy still;

I’m sheltered by His precious blood,

Beyond the reach of ill.

Come all who trust in Jesus now

And tell your joys abroad;

Let thankful hymns of praise ascend

For Christ, the gift of God.

People Usually Aren't That Dumb

“People usually aren’t that dumb,” said Applebee’s server Brianna Priddy about one of her customers. “I was so mad. I was like, ‘You have caused me so much trouble. I just wanna ... ’ ” We all have nights when we run into people like that, don’t we? Well, actually, no, most of us don’t. Brianna had a pretty amazing story to tell.

On February 13, 2013, Brianna was out with some friends when her wallet was stolen. As frustrating as that was, the real trouble was just beginning. The cash was gone for good, the credit cards could be cancelled, but the driver’s license with the little crease in it caused the real problem. Or, rather, the thief created problems when using the license. The thief began to go from store to store writing hundreds of dollars in bad checks and using Brianna’s driver’s license as their ID.

Then on February 25, four young guests walked into Brianna’s restaurant and were seated in her section. At first they looked like any other customers, but then the dark-haired one ordered a margarita and offered Brianna a license as ID. Feeling the familiar crease in the license, Brianna stared in awe at her own picture — blonde hair and all.

Struggling for control of herself, Brianna says, “I put on my server smile and tried to take care of them, but I was shaking like crazy.” She returned the license, told them she’d be right back with the margarita and hustled back to the kitchen where she immediately called the police and then sat thinking with shock, “My ID, you give me my ID.”

How could the dark-haired woman who’d stolen the license just four miles away be so brazen as to use it with the blonde waitress whose picture was on it? Head-scratching as it may be, some of us have been guilty of even more monumental stupidity. We think we can impersonate God by pretending we have His right to control our own lives and get away with it. We think we have the right to use His name, “Jesus Christ,” to express our anger or blurt out “Oh my God” to express amazement. So called “little white lies” are excused as social courtesy. Selfishness gets passed off as “having a right to live our own lives.” As long as we decide no one is getting hurt, we figure we have every right to do whatever we feel like, disregarding God’s instructions on the subject. Then we assume we can present ourselves at His home in heaven and explain why we have the right to do as we choose. Stunning, brazen, jaw-dropping, willful ignorance to think we can pretend to have His credentials of sovereignty and holiness and expect Him to welcome us into His home.

The police arrived and quickly arrested the 26-year-old customer. They consider it one of the most bizarre cases they’ve ever seen. Or to put it in the words of police spokesman Steve Davis, “Dumb criminal! That’s the first word that comes to mind.” Why in the world would someone old enough to order a drink use a fake license? Maybe it had something to do with the drugs found in her possession. I guess she’ll have quite some time to reflect while she prepares to defend herself against the charges of felony theft, identity theft, criminal impersonation and selling drugs.

We have some pretty serious charges to face as well. God says, “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Which one of us could claim we have never lied? Thankfully God doesn’t sit shaking His head at our stupidity. Far from it.

Brianna was understandably mad and called the police immediately. But the news for us sinners isn’t all bad. In fact, there’s a tremendous ending possible for our life story. The Bible tells us that God “hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It’s as if the Lord Jesus Christ were offering us His very own ID as a gift. He took the place that I deserved to have in the presence of a holy God. Jesus suffered the horrific punishment that I deserved for sin. When He’d fully paid for it, He gave me the right to have His place of acceptance and nearness to God. His instructions to you now are the same as the ones I’ve already responded to: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). It doesn’t take great intelligence to respond to that invitation, but it does require obedience. You wouldn’t be so foolish as to reject His loving gift, would you?

Considering the way the thief who stole Brianna’s wallet was caught, the police have called it one of the most bizarre coincidences they’ve ever seen, “a shot in a million.” Brianna herself said, “I am the .0001% that that happens to.” She’s probably right. But before you agree that nothing like that will ever happen to you, you might want to consider how much of what we think and do is actually fully recorded. It’s not nearly as unlikely to be revealed as you might think. Consider reading Surveillance to get a better feel for how much we are actually known.

Surveillance

Recently the general public was surprised by the news that the government has been collecting emails, the contents of cell phone calls, Internet searches, as well as other types of personal data trails and storing them in gigantic data banks. This large-scale surveillance operation is being conducted with the purpose of protecting citizens from those with serious intent to harm them. The purpose is a good one, but you can imagine how this surveillance could be easily abused by someone in power.

There is another surveillance system in operation that far exceeds in power any used by human government. This system has the capabilities to gather and store every bit of information about every thought, word and deed that has ever taken place. It is a “complete” surveillance system, even detecting the innermost thoughts of the heart. Not even the cleverest person has found a way to avoid even the tiniest part of his or her life from entering into its knowledge bank.

The Authority in charge of gathering this information will never abuse the power this knowledge gives. He will use it in complete righteousness. In fact, the Authority in charge is pure, absolute, incorruptible goodness — He is God.

The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). This might come as something of a shock to you that God sees all and knows all. He knows your friends and your enemies, your likes and your dislikes, what makes you happy and what makes you sad. He knows all that can possibly be known about you. He also knows your sin — its guilt and its shame — whether committed in public or private. He knows it despite the desperate attempt of human hearts to cover it up in a thousand deceitful ways. A person might fool himself into thinking he is not a sinner, and he might fool his friends, but he will never fool God.

God wants all members of the human race to come to the honest realization of their sinfulness in order for them to see their need of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross, the Son of God gave His life in order that souls who come to Him in faith might be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. When God forgives a person, He doesn’t forgive some of their sins and remember others. He forgives their sins in all their totality for the sake of the Lord Jesus. “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). The gifts of forgiveness and eternal life are the greatest gifts God could possibly give, and they are freely given in grace the moment a soul believes on the Lord Jesus. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).

However, those who never come to Christ for forgiveness will eventually come into judgment for their sins. They will one day be part of a vast multitude who must appear before the great white throne. This immense number of people will consist of all the men and women who died without repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the throne will be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Each one present will have their lives examined according to God’s perfect knowledge. No cover-up will be possible. Deceit will be useless. Sin will be shown for the evil it really is. Then every member of that vast throng will be ushered out of His presence forever to share in the company of the devil and his underlings for all eternity. Before that day ever comes, won’t you repent and turn to the Saviour so forgiveness and heaven might be yours?

Wouldn’t it be awful if a sinner’s mouth were completely shut with nothing to say for themselves? You’ll see an example of how God might choose to do that in Our Amazing Brains.

Our Amazing Brains

“Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures?” (Deuteronomy 32:34).

Does the Lord keep remembrances and records? Perhaps there is a clue in this account.

A former nurse, named Joan, presented this amazing story:

“Being a nurse, I was at one point called in to help on a brain surgery for epilepsy. According to the accepted practice of the time, perhaps in the 1980s, the patient was sitting up in a chair, not sedated, so she could give feedback to the doctor as to what she was experiencing during the procedure. She had been given only a local anesthetic to numb the area where the skull had to be opened up, since the brain itself has no nerve cells that transmit pain. As the surgeon opened up the area, I found that the brain is incredibly beautiful and iridescent, like mother-of-pearl.

“As the surgeon was touching different spots with his cauterizing instrument to try to disarm the epilepsy, the woman suddenly cried out. The surgeon quickly stopped what he was doing and asked her to describe what had happened. This is what she said:

“ ‘I’ve just had a flashback to my childhood that was more vivid than any dream I’ve ever had! I must have been six or seven, and I was playing the piano in my mother’s room because she was sick in bed. As I sat playing, I could feel the bench under me and the pressure of my fingers on the keys. I could hear what I was playing and even feel the breeze that was blowing in through the curtains in the window. I could see a trellis outside the window, and I could smell the roses on it as well as if someone had put a rose under my nose.’ ”

You may be surprised at this true story, but it makes us think of a more important matter. Is it possible that even though our recall may be limited now, EVERYTHING is stored in our amazing brains to be revealed in a coming day? Are we carrying around with us “state-of-the-art” audio-visual-sensory equipment that is accurately recording EVERYTHING we experience? God isn’t limited to using this method to replay our lives in perfect detail. But it sure makes me pause and consider how inarguable His justice will be. Romans 3:19 says “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

My friend, someday you will meet God. We pray it will not be with you as it was with the man who pleaded innocent to the charge of murdering a state trooper, only to find that the dash-cam in the police car had recorded the whole crime. It was played for him as he sat in the courtroom, and he was, of course, speechless.

Soon you will leave this life behind, and there will be no going back. How will it be for you then? A loving God has made it possible for you to enter His heaven, even though you are responsible for many sins. It cost Him the blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ, to offer you this pardon. He gave Himself up to death on the cross and there shed His blood so that anyone may have their many sins forgiven, washed away forever in the sight of a holy God.

Will you by faith accept that provision for yourself? No one else can do it for you. God is waiting. The blood has already been shed. Eternity looms. Death is certain. God waits to rejoice over another repenting sinner. Do make the choice to accept God’s offer — it has an expiration date!

Echoes of Grace: 2013

Table of Contents

Golden Moments

Land Grants

Who Saved More Lives Than Any Other Person?

Caesar Borgia

Will You Be There?

Rescue at Wallace Falls

Amnesty: Limited Time Only

Believing in God, or Believing God

Finding the Way Home

Serious Moments

Peter's Hope

Wounded for My Transgressions

Lawn Killer

A Different Path to Citizenship

The Cart Man

The Untrustworthy Bridge

Hell: A Crude Joke?

Is Christianity Revolutionary?

Eric's Story

The Supreme Name

The Greatest Act of Kindness

Youth and a World At-Risk

Ready

Eagle Eye in the Sky

We Are Christian People

Blackbeard

Only a Step to Jesus!

Fortunate to Be Alive: Pure and Simple

Pirates

A Note From Siberia

Captain Alonzo's Certain Victory

I Didn't See God

Encouragement for the Soul

Eternity! Where?

El Pulaski and the Great Burn of 1910

He Couldn't Save Himself

The Dead March

Blessed Are the Thankful

Freedom and Harriet Tubman

The Bridge to Nowhere

Oh, What a Gift the Father Gave

People Usually Aren't That Dumb

Surveillance

Our Amazing Brains