Echoes of Grace: 2017

It was a warm, sunny day on January 15, 1919, and the residents of North End, Boston, were going about their daily business. They were enjoying the 41-degree weather after a cold snap. At about 12:30 in the afternoon, they were startled to hear a long, low rumble as the ground shook, then a rat-tat-tat-tat sound, like a machine gun going off, then — KABOOM!

A giant steel tank, 50 feet high and 90 feet in diameter, suddenly collapsed, unleashing a wave of molasses 25 feet high at its highest point and 160 feet wide upon the surrounding area. Within seconds, wooden buildings were crushed, many homes were swept off their foundations, and many people were hurled into the air or swept under a wave of molasses. Horses and people slipped and fell as the wave of molasses, traveling at a surprising 35 miles an hour, dragged everything and everyone along with it. A brick firehouse was swept off its foundation, trapping the three firefighters inside, causing them to fight to keep their heads above a sea of molasses. Rescuers had to wade through waist-high molasses in an effort to haul people and animals from the sticky goo. In the end, 21 people lost their lives and 150 more were injured.

Being Prepared

The people of Boston were not prepared for such a disaster, but the Bible, God’s Word, warns us to “flee from the wrath to come” (Luke 3:7). Because God loves us, He gives us fair and certain warning. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on Calvary’s cross for our sins. He wants us to confess that we are sinners and to believe on Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Then we can be certain that we will not perish, but have eternal life with Him. “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).

What Went Wrong?

But what was the cause of the tank’s collapse? The company that built the tank blamed it on sabotage, probably the work of anarchists, who were known to be active at the time. The residents disagreed, saying that it was the fault of the company that built the tank. The tank leaked so badly that local residents collected molasses for home use. The company had hired workers to paint the tank brown to hide the leaks. Workmen and residents reported that when the tank was filled with molasses, rumbling and groaning noises could be heard.

After six years of looking at the evidence from both sides, an appointed “auditor” determined that the company that built the tank was to blame. It had been built in such a rush that it had not been properly tested — that is, filled with water to check for leaks. The man in charge of construction could not read the plans and did not even ask for engineering advice. The steel used was too thin, and there were not enough rivets to hold the steel plates in place. With the temperature going from 2 degrees to 41 degrees and the tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses, weighing an estimated 26 million pounds, the tank could not withstand the pressure. This caused the rivets to pop from the tank, shooting through the air like missiles. Next to go were the steel plates, which allowed the wave of molasses to come crashing down on the neighborhood.

The company had to pay damages to the city of Boston, to the families of those killed and to the Boston Elevated Railway Company. The tank was never rebuilt. After 97 years, the only reminder of that tragic day is a small plaque at the entrance of what is now a park.

Held Accountable

Just as the company was held accountable for their actions, so we must all give an account to God in a coming day. Those who know the Lord as Saviour will be rewarded for what was done for Him. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Those who do not know the Lord as their Saviour will be judged according to their sins. “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). Are you prepared to meet Him as your Lord and Saviour?

The Boston Molasses Flood isn’t the only disaster with lessons worth learning. You’ll get another important point to ponder in Tornado Touchdown!

Tornado Touchdown!

Everyone knew there were storms in the area, but there was no warning of a tornado. Though there had been some recent tornadoes in other states, only thunderstorms and rain were predicted. The people in Graves County, western Kentucky, went about their business as usual that Tuesday afternoon, May 10, 2016. Suddenly, in the middle of the thunderstorms and torrential rain a tornado about 400 yards wide touched down! With about 2,400 people in its path and over 1,000 of them students and school personnel, the potential for disaster was tremendous. It was later determined that the tornado was on the low end of the EF3 scale with peak winds of 140 mph. Damages to homes, buildings and properties were estimated to be $3 million.

Gratefulness

Many people had narrow escapes. Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon stated in an interview afterwards, “There was a Person very high and mighty here yesterday that saved a bunch of lives.” Who could he have been referring to? He went on to say, “God was with us yesterday, and He shifted that tornado right before it got to that school.” This was the Central Elementary School with so many children and school personnel. Sheriff Redmon was absolutely right to give God the credit for sparing so many lives, for it is God who controls the weather. God’s Word, the Bible tells us, “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapors; stormy wind fulfilling His word” (Psalm 148:8), and “He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightenings for the rain; He bringeth the winds out of His treasuries” (Psalm 135:7). Sheriff Redmon further encouraged a spirit of thankfulness to God by saying, “You go to church this Sunday, and if you got kids that went to those elementary schools, you better get on your knees and pray, because God saved your kids.”

The Mayor of Mayfield, Teresa Cantrell, expressed the same sentiments. After the tornado narrowly missed two schools and the hospital, she said, “Anybody in the city of Mayfield needs to get on their knees and just thank God that we’re safe, because it was headed right towards Graves County Middle School, Central Elementary, and the Hospital. But by the grace of God it didn’t take a turn and hit those places,” Cantrell said.

Serious Damage

One man, Marty Winfrey, had a very narrow escape. In the middle of the storm, he left his home to check on his neighbors. After beating on their door and getting them out, Winfrey said, “They leaned down by their truck and the tornado took their trailer and left them sitting in the yard, unhurt, and I ran down the road ... looking for somewhere to hide and ... it was catching me. So, I just found a tree and bear-hugged it. And a whole 20 to 30 seconds later and it’s all gone.” “All gone” referred to Winfrey’s home, which was turned into a pile of rubble and deposited into his neighbor’s front yard.

Other businesses suffered heavy damages, but no lives were lost. An employee of Bennett Motors acknowledged that they were lucky to be alive. When they saw the tornado coming, they went into the office building and took shelter in a broom closet. They could hear the tornado coming, and they heard stuff hitting the building. When the twister passed, three buildings on the lot were leveled, and all 40 vehicles on the lot sustained damage. Neither the office building nor anyone inside it were injured. Another business to suffer heavy damage was Youngblood’s RV. The owner, Roger Youngblood, gives this account: “It went right beside the building. There was no damage to the building that we could find, but it destroyed several campers, flipped them upside down and tore them up. Luckily, no one was hurt. Just a scary experience, that’s all I can say.”

Seeing God at Work

A local reporter interviewed a couple who gave this graphic description of their experience. They had come into town on an errand and were in the path of the tornado. She asked them, “When you look down at yourselves, and you see that you’re OK, what goes through your minds?” Mary Powell said, “That God had an angel over us, and that’s what I seen, God is good, because that van, it just tipped it a little bit, and that tornado just went up over our van, because it came straight to us, when I said, Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! That tornado went up over [this] van.” The reporter responded with, “You guys are very lucky!”

These people experienced just how powerful and destructive a tornado can be. God was merciful to the citizens of Mayfield and Graves County. In the end, only ten people were treated for minor injuries. And yet, some people attributed their lives being spared to “luck.” The Bible says, “God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not” (Job 33:14). The Sheriff and Mayor saw and acknowledged God’s protecting hand over the people of Mayfield and Graves County, and yet others did not realize God’s merciful hand in saving their lives at all. God speaks to man in many ways, but a tornado should be especially hard to miss. God continues to speak to man because “the Lord ... is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God cannot allow sin into His presence, so He has made a way of salvation for lost man. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on Calvary’s cross and shed His precious blood for our sins. He wants us each as individuals to come to Him, repenting of our sins, and putting our trust in the finished work on Calvary’s cross. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Please put your trust in Him while there is yet time — do not delay! No one in Mayfield was seriously injured, but that wasn’t the case for Jerry Mora. He had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. Find out why in Attack by Bees!

Attack by Bees!

It was springtime in Buckeye, Arizona, and Jerry Mora, a 72-year-old man, was busy working in his backyard. Suddenly, his wife Anna heard screams and yells for help — she quickly ran out to the backyard to find her husband lying face down in the grass, being attacked by a furious swarm of bees! Thinking quickly, she covered him with a white sheet and called 911, disregarding the bee stings that she herself received from the angry swarm. Fourteen minutes later, when firefighters and paramedics arrived, they had to spray foam to move the swarm of bees. By the time they got to him, Jerry had no pulse and had stopped breathing.

On the way to the hospital, he suffered a heart attack, but because of aggressive CPR, the paramedics were able to revive him. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors removed between 90 and 120 stingers from his head. He was expected to make a full recovery, which was remarkable, considering that he was allergic to bee stings. His faithful wife, Anna, was not allergic to bees and made a full recovery, as well. A tearful Anna said, “The pain of nearly losing my husband was far worse than being stung.” She was grateful to firefighters and paramedics and believed that her husband still had a life to live. “That’s what’s really keeping me going,” Anna said.

Jerry Mora was just going about his daily business when sudden, unexpected disaster struck, nearly causing him to lose his life. Were it not for the quick action of others, he most certainly would have been in eternity. Scripture says, “There is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). Are you prepared to enter into eternity and face a holy God who cannot allow sin in His presence? God graciously gave Jerry and Anna Mora over 70 years to prepare for eternity, but there is no guarantee that you will have that long. We are told in God’s Word: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Most of us will not have to face a tornado or a flood of molasses, or even an angry swarm of bees; however, there are any number of unexpected ways our life can be taken from us; that is why God faithfully warns us in His Word, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Right now, while you are able, come to the Lord Jesus in repentance, confessing your sins and trusting in the finished work on Calvary’s cross. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Do not delay, but accept God’s gracious offer of salvation today while there is yet time!

Redemption Ground

Come, sing, my soul, and praise the Lord,
Who hath redeemed thee by His blood;
But now my songs to God abound;
I’m standing on redemption ground.

Chorus:

Redemption ground, the ground of peace;
Redemption ground, oh wondrous grace;
Here let our praise to God abound,
Who saves us on redemption ground.

Once from my God I wandered far,
And with His holy will made war;
But now my songs to God abound;
I’m standing on redemption ground.

Oh joyous hour when God to me
A vision gave of Calvary:
My bonds were loosed, my soul unbound;
I sang upon redemption ground.

No works of merit now I plead,
But Jesus take for all my need;
No righteousness in me is found,
Except upon redemption ground.

Come, weary soul, and here find rest;
Accept redemption, and be blest:
The Christ who died, by God is crowned
To pardon on redemption ground

Redemption Ground

Come, sing, my soul, and praise the Lord,

Who hath redeem’d thee by His blood;

But now my songs to God abound;

I’m standing on redemption ground.

Chorus:

Redemption ground, the ground of peace,

Redemption ground, O wondrous grace;

Here let our praise to God abound,

Who saves us on redemption ground.

Once from my God I wandered far,

And with His holy will made war;

But now my songs to God abound;

I’m standing on redemption ground.

O joyous hour when God to me

A vision gave of Calvary:

My bonds were loosed, my soul unbound;

I sang upon redemption ground.

No works of merit now I plead,

But Jesus take for all my need;

No righteousness in me is found,

Except upon redemption ground.

Come, weary soul, and here find rest;

Accept redemption, and be blest:

The Christ who died, by God is crowned

To pardon on redemption ground.

Choose Your Cruise

There was a time in my life when I received frequent phone calls from supposed travel agents who were trying to persuade me to take a cruise. Now, I love the sea and I have enjoyed all of the time I have spent in ships on the ocean; so the idea of a cruise was quite appealing to me. But I didn’t trust these agents and I never followed up on their offers, and, if you know something about the average salesmen, you probably understand why I was cautious.

So, let us suppose that I were an agent and that I were offering you the opportunity to take the cruise of a lifetime — a historic voyage — and the choice of two different, newly built ships. Please carefully consider your options:

First Choice: Ship A

Ship Builder: We really don’t know a whole lot about the qualifications of the builder of this ship — the builder’s technical qualifications or skills, previous ship-building experience or successes. But he seems to be a nice person.

Crew: As in the case of the builder, we do not know anything about the crew’s previous sailing experience or training — whether or not they have had any previous, successful voyages, but, on the whole, they appear to be a cut above the average, as people go.

Captain: Well, we don’t know much about him either. He seems like a nice fellow, but we have no record of his having had any previous experience on any voyage.

Destination: Well, it appears that we are not told exactly where this ship will end its voyage, but we are assured that it won’t be at the bottom of the sea.

Second Choice: Ship B

Ship Builder: This ship has been built by a famous shipyard — a shipyard long known for its successes in producing great ships and for incorporating the latest and best in engineering, materials and technology.

Crew: The crew for this ship is well-trained and very experienced — even internationally acclaimed — the best the famous cruise line has to offer.

Captain: The captain on this ship is very experienced and has been given the privilege of being master of this ship because of the high regard in which he is held — both as a competent administrator and as a great seaman.

Destination: The destination is a great port city — one of the greatest and richest in the world.

Now, which ship will you probably choose for your voyage of adventure?

“Oh,” you say, “that looks fairly easy — an obvious choice.” Have you made your choice? If so, you may want to repeat it to yourself, just to make sure you remember it.

If you chose Ship B, you have a lot of company. Most people, when asked the foregoing questions, choose Ship B. They see it as a perfectly logical choice.

Ship B is the H.M.S. Titanic. You may have heard of that famous ship before. How well do you like that choice now?

The Titanic was a new ship — supposedly the finest ever made up to the day she sailed into history. She is famous for sinking on her maiden voyage and for taking about half of her passengers down with her.

“Oh,” you may exclaim, glad that you were not actually on the ship of your choice. “Well, what is Ship A?”

Ship A is Noah’s Ark — an even more famous, actual historical ship — the much-mocked Ark of Noah.

The Ark’s maiden voyage was conspicuously successful, despite the perceived ignorance and inexperience of the builder, captain and crew.

Why is Noah’s Ark a better choice?

There is one simple reason: God. The Ark and its voyage were all God’s idea. God ordered it, God designed it, God guaranteed it, and God preserved it.

The Titanic seemed to have everything going for it — but God. And God makes all of the difference.

In God’s Word, the Bible, we read the reason why: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). No doubt, when Noah built the Ark, he was greatly ridiculed, for as long as it took him to build the Ark. After all, what did he know about building such an odd boat, and what possible use could it have? But Noah had his instructions from God, and he believed God and followed God’s instructions. And both God and Noah were vindicated when the flood actually came — just as it had been prophesied. Read all about it in Genesis 6-8.

Today, a whole world of people still makes choices trusting their own wisdom, ignoring God’s warnings of judgment, forgetting the lesson of Noah’s Ark, and unaware that God says:

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:6-9).

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. ... For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. ... Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

The Titanic looked like a perfectly safe cruise ship and Rocky in the following story was a captive-bred and beautifully trained grizzly bear. But odd circumstances have a way of turning pleasure to pain in the blink of an eye. See what I mean in Playing With Death.

Playing With Death

Rocky was a 7½-foot-tall, 700-pound grizzly bear. He was of captive-bred parentage and had been trained from a cub by humans to play and wrestle with them. He was brought up on an animal refuge, Predators in Action, high in the mountains of San Bernardino, California. By all accounts, Rocky was a gentle, well-trained bear brought up by an experienced trainer, Randy Miller.

Rocky had starred in many shows, documentaries and movies and was a huge success. At five years old, he had proven himself to be a trustworthy bear and an excellent performer. Randy Miller was so confident in Rocky’s obedience that he did not hesitate to agree to his cousin’s request to film himself and Rocky in a video promotional. His cousin, Stephan Miller, was also experienced in handling exotic animals, and he had even played and wrestled with another bear at Predators in Action when he worked as a trainer there about ten years before this incident.

The plan was for a casual setting where Stephan had his hands in his pockets while Rocky was standing or sitting next to him. Then, later, they would wrestle. As they were filming, everything seemed to be going according to plan: Rocky was obeying his cues, by staying when told to and sitting when told to. He even stood up on his hind legs and started licking Stephan’s face! Everyone was thrilled that it was going so well — but suddenly, without warning, Rocky decided to go into his wrestling routine. He approached Stephan, stood up on his hind legs (just like before) and in one quick, swift motion bit Stephan on the neck. In horrified shock, amidst screams and yells, Randy dove in to wrestle the bear, and the other trainers used canes and pepper spray to separate Rocky and Stephan. The whole incident only lasted a few seconds. Stephan scrambled up from the ground where he’d fallen and stumbled away. But irrevocable damage had been done — Rocky’s bite was a lethal one, and Stephan died within a few minutes.

A terribly upset and shaken Randy afterwards said that the incident happened during “playful” wrestling and that Rocky was a “loving, affectionate, friendly, safe bear.”

Rocky is a picture to us of just how deceitful sin is. We know how dangerous and deadly sin can be, but we deceive ourselves into thinking that it is harmless and that we can control it. We think that “next time” alcohol won’t hurt us ... until we become hopelessly addicted. We think that an illicit affair will be without consequence ... until there is a broken marriage, or relationship, resulting in heartache and grief. We see no harm in being “one of the crowd” and smoking a cigarette or taking drugs ... until we become enslaved in an expensive habit that destroys our bodies. We see no harm in twisting the truth to our advantage “just a tiny bit” ... until lying becomes a habit that we cannot break. And so we become entrapped in sin’s subtle and deadly clutches. God’s Word, the Bible, speaks of being “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). When we do not repent of our sins, we are spiritually separated from God and dead to eternal life with Him. God is not only speaking of physical death, but also spiritual death when He warns man, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

Randy Miller was determined to find out what went wrong — was Rocky’s bite a deliberate attack, or was it an accident? After carefully reviewing the film and consulting with other experts, it was ruled an accident. Rocky did not know that they wanted still shots of him and Stephan before going into the wrestling routine. After all, nine times out of ten, when Rocky was standing that close to someone it was to wrestle with them! So when Rocky went into his wrestling routine, Stephan was unprepared and did not have his arm up in the defensive position. Rocky had been trained to stand up on his hind legs (which he did) and to move towards the trainer (which he did) and to grab onto him (which he did) without clamping down (which he did). Rocky grabbed what was available — Stephan’s neck. With the caning and commotion that followed, Rocky clamped down and shook Stephan. Though the other trainers reacted quickly, it was too late — at that point, no medical attention could save Stephan’s life.

This tragedy could have been prevented. If Stephan had put his arm up, Rocky would have held onto that. Randy Miller later stated, “It was a flash bite and it hit him in a very vulnerable spot. If it had hit his arm or something, it would have been bad, but wouldn’t have cost him his life.” Not foreseeing this danger resulted in deadly consequences.

And so it is for us. If we do not realize our helpless and lost state before God, we will suffer the eternal consequences in the lake of fire, separated from God forever. That is why the Lord warns us two times over, “I tell you ... except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3,5). We are all in the same lost condition before God, until we repent of our sins and come to Him for forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Do not delay — come to Him now, while there is still time, while you are able, before it is forever too late!

Little things have consequences — just ask Roxanne Duff. Find her story in Too Cute.

Too Cute

The little six-month-old Rottweiler puppy was certainly cute. Roxanne Duff had found it after it had strayed into her yard along with a Golden Retriever. She did the right thing and called the local police and left a message asking what to do with the dogs. But all that cute, playful innocence got Roxanne thinking. By the time Police Officer Christopher Laird called Roxanne back to advise her to contact the local animal shelter or dog kennel, she’d decided the Rottweiler puppy had “run away.”

By that evening the owner of the dogs, Shawn Lerch, had been found and had gotten his Golden Retriever back. His suspicions aroused about the “runaway” Rottweiler, he contacted the police. Officer Laird knocked on the door of the Duff home but was told by Roxanne’s husband Scott that they had no idea where the cute puppy had gone. Lerch wasn’t easily convinced. He demanded the Duffs return his dog. When they claimed no knowledge of its whereabouts, he contacted the police again.

This time the police chief, Michael Diebold, showed up at the door. Roxanne wasn’t home and neither was Scott — only their five-year-old boy with a babysitter. But their five-year-old son had some interesting information to share with the police chief: His “mommy had given the dog to a woman from the Internet.”

Confronted with the truth, the Duffs immediately denied knowing the whereabouts of the puppy. But they were getting scared. A little while later Scott called the police back with a confession. Roxanne Duff had sold the Rottweiler on Craigslist for $50. Now they’ve each paid a $500 fine and done 10 hours of community service. They both have the first entries on their criminal record, including failure to make a reasonable effort to return lost property. Maybe you weren’t aware, but that’s considered a subset of theft.

And maybe you weren’t aware that any cute little temptation that leads to a “small sin” brings heavy consequences. It may have brought a temporary reward and looked like no one would ever know about it. But “be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). The Duffs had a day to enjoy $50. Then they had fear, confusion, a court case, a guilty plea, $1,000 total in fines, 20 hours total of community service, and a criminal record. That’s a pretty big crop. Pleading the good deed they did in returning their neighbor’s Golden Retriever was irrelevant. We can’t think that our lying, deceit, “petty” theft, anger, boasting, selfishness and more will have a “crop failure” because we’ve given to charity and mowed our neighbor’s lawn. God will show us what we deserve to reap. We won’t be able to claim that our “good deeds outweigh the bad.”

Why not admit to your sins today before it’s too late to do so. God still offers forgiveness of sins through the blood Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary. But if we refuse to admit our guilt and receive His forgiveness, we will have our day in court. Then we will discover what the full consequences of our sins are. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Great Escapes Over the Berlin Wall

On November 9, 1989, the world watched in fascinated excitement as the Berlin Wall was taken down, and thousands upon thousands of jubilant people celebrated and cheered the removal of this ugly landmark. For 28 years, this barrier of concrete, barbed wire and armed guards had divided neighborhoods, families and friends. In a desperate attempt to rejoin family and to find freedom from the restrictions of communism, many people risked their lives in crossing over the Berlin Wall to safety and a new life in the West.

All escapes were daring, but many of them were highly creative as well. These people saw an opportunity and used it to their full advantage. They did not let fears, doubts or “what ifs” hold them back.

Worth the Risk

Harry Deterling escaped with family and friends when he engineered a train at full throttle past the last station in East Germany into West Germany. He had noticed the unused train tracks that ran from East to West and quickly signed up for that route. He drained the air from the train’s emergency brakes, so that no one could stop the train by pulling the emergency cord. This escape route was promptly blocked the next day.

As a young man, Heinz Meixner was an Austrian working in East Germany when he fell in love with a young lady who lived there. The authorities refused to give her permission to marry Heinz in his own country, so he devised a plan of escape for his future wife and mother-in-law. He rented a small, low sports car that he could adapt to fit under the barrier between the two borders. First he removed the windshield, and then he let some air out of the tires to bring the car lower to the ground. With his mother-in-law in the tiny trunk and his wife-to-be hiding behind the front seat, he was able to step on the gas and fly under the 37½" high barrier to freedom in the West.

Ingo Bethke escaped on an air mattress across the River Elbe. Then Ingo helped his brother Holger to escape. Holger took up archery and used the attic of a tall building overlooking the Berlin Wall to shoot a zip line over the wall with his bow and arrow. Ingo then tied this to his car. With a metal pulley, Holger rode the zip line high above the wall and so made his escape into West Berlin. Next, these two brothers took flying lessons. Then they painted two ultralight planes with Soviet-style red stars, dressed in military uniforms and flew into East Germany, where they picked up their brother Egbert and so made their final escape into West Berlin. Such ingenuity and creativity is to be admired!

One clear night in September 1979, two families made a daring escape in a homemade hot air balloon. The engine was made from propane cylinders. A combination of taffeta, umbrella fabric, tent nylon and bed linens were sewn together for the balloon. After a failed attempt and knowing that the police were hot on their trail, they were finally able to soar over the Berlin Wall after 30 tension-filled minutes.

While some people escaped over the wall, others escaped under the wall. In 1962, an elderly group of senior citizens led by an 81-year-old man spent two weeks digging a tunnel that they could walk (not crawl) through to freedom. A dozen elderly East Germans escaped through what was later named the “Senior Citizens Tunnel.” Following suit, in 1964, a group of students built a tunnel through which 57 people escaped — this became known as “Tunnel 57.”

Reaching True Freedom

All of these people desired freedom and were willing to risk death to accomplish their goal. They all realized that their situation would not change unless they took action. But did you know that we have all lived as prisoners of sin? Because man rebelled against God, we are born with a sinful nature that cannot please a righteous, holy and just God. We have each sinned, and “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). This is why God warns us to “flee from the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:7). There is coming a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness — those who have not repented of their sins and accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior will face eternal judgment. “Because He [God] hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man [Jesus] whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

The Bible says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). God has provided a way of escape, a way of salvation from eternal punishment and separation from Him; it is through His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). So how do we accept this great salvation? Through faith in the Lord Jesus, “for God so loved the world, that He [God] gave His only begotten Son [Jesus], that whosoever believeth in Him [the Lord Jesus], should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We are either in Satan’s domain or in the Lord’s domain. We must all choose whom we are going to serve. Who are you serving today? Is it wealth, possessions, traditions, or a false belief in any other name than Jesus?

Escaping death became pretty urgent business for a few geology students. Learn their story in Hidden River Cave.

Hidden River Cave

A group of fifteen geology students from Clemson University, along with their university instructor and cave guide, George Russell, climbed down the long flights of stairs to the entrance of Hidden River Cave in Kentucky. Little did they know that their educational trip would end up as a race against death!

The entrance of the cave is at the bottom of a large sinkhole 150 feet below ground level. Before entering the cave at 10 a.m., the guide checked out the most recent weather forecast on his smartphone. It called for light showers to arrive later in the evening. He figured there was nothing to worry about. The group would be out of the cave by 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

The entrance of the cave was about the size of the side of a barn. When they passed through the entrance, they could hear running water, and after their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they could see the outlines of the underground river. Leaving this cavern for a side passage, they switched on their LED lights on the front of their helmets in order to see in the pitch darkness.

The Hidden River Cave has miles and miles of passageways that twist and turn through a bank of limestone. As they moved along, every once in a while the narrow passage would open up into a big cavern. Here and there they would also see a trickle of water coming out of the walls or falling from the ceiling. The floor of the cave sloped gently upwards from the entrance. They saw long stalactites and stalagmites which had been formed from dripping water, leaving minute sediments over many long centuries. The instructor would stop occasionally and point out interesting features of the cave, and the students would take notes as he talked.

Inside the cave, a hundred or more feet below the surface of the earth, the group seemed to be in a world of their own. Cell phones or radios don’t function deep inside caves. They had no way to communicate with the outside world, even if they were so inclined.

After hiking for two hours into the interior of the cave, unknown to the hikers, the weather above them suddenly took a turn for the worse. A torrential rain started falling. Without contact with the outside world, they had no idea what was going on. The unexpected deluge filled creeks and riverbeds. It began flowing in great amounts through the porous limestone and into the cave. Suddenly, the little trickles of water that seeped out of the cave walls grew into shooting waterfalls. Water seemed to come cascading out of the cave walls everywhere and flooded the passageways.

George Russell and his students realized they were in trouble and immediately began to retrace their steps. At times they walked through knee-deep water, and at other times the water came all the way up to their necks. With danger all around them, the lamps on their helmets seemed pitifully insufficient to light up the darkness. How easy it would be to turn down a wrong passageway and get lost!

Our Rising Danger

You will probably never have to deal with getting trapped deep underground in the darkness of a cave, with water rising all around you, but there is a darkness even more foreboding and menacing that you will have to deal with. It is the darkness of sin. Sin brings people into spiritual darkness, because sin is opposed to God just as darkness is opposed to light. The darkness of sin, unfortunately, is all around us. Lying, hatred, violence, promiscuity, boasting, lack of respect, covetousness (as well as other sins) seem to pour into our lives like a flood that threatens to sweep us away.

And it will sweep us away too if we remain in it. God in His Word says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). That is, God the righteous Judge of the whole universe is going to see that every person gets what is coming to them. How will He judge those who have never repented of the evil they have done? They will hear Him say, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Hell is a real place, populated by real people who got trapped in the darkness of sin and never got out.

When will this death and judgment happen for you? It might be a day, a week or even years away. But it is getting closer with every passing moment. Since you don’t know the exact time of its arrival, the only sensible thing to do is to repent and believe on the name of Jesus right now at this present moment! When the water started rushing into the cave, the group of students knew they had to get out immediately. You know that you are a sinner and judgment is looming somewhere ahead of you, don’t wait another moment to get out either! Come to Christ, the Savior of sinners, before another second goes by.

You need to come to Him who said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus is the light of the world, because He was God and man in the same person. As a man, He fully revealed God His Father in all He did and said. While He walked the earth, He was perfect goodness (light), moving in the midst of evil (darkness). Those who follow Him by believing on His name and keeping His commandments leave the darkness of sin behind and enter into His marvelous light.

Is the guilt of your sin more than you can bear? On the cross Jesus suffered and died so His blood could wash that guilt away. Were your sins ten thousand times darker than they actually are, the blood of Jesus Christ could still wash them whiter than snow!

Are you afraid of death? He shed light brighter than the brightest day on the darkness of death when He arose from the grave. Those who believe on Christ will live with Him forever. Never, never, do they need to be afraid of death.

Does darkness seem to cover any part of your life? Come to Christ, and He who is the light of the world will dispel the darkness and drive it away.

Never Been Happier

After hiking into the cave for two hours and then another four hours of retracing their steps through the flooded passageways, the group rounded a bend in the cave and were flooded with relief by light shining from the entrance.

“I’ve never been happier to see the sunlight,” a young man named Foster said. “It was such a good feeling to have when you round the corner and see the light and know you’re going to make it out. What a relief!”

Leaving sin’s darkness by coming to the Lord Jesus who is the Light is a great relief too.

It is a relief to come to Christ as a sinner and find the forgiveness of sins!

It is a relief as a forgiven sinner to see sin for the parasitical thing it really is, renounce it, and then begin to follow God’s direction. “The entrance of Thy words giveth light” (Psalm 119:130).

And it will be a great relief to leave this world completely behind and enter the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus Christ for all eternity! The light of glory will fully illuminate the hearts and minds of all those in heaven.

I want to go through life so that, rounding the last corner of my life, I see Jesus, the light of the world, waiting to welcome me into His eternal home. Heaven will be full of His wonderful light.

Won’t you come to Him? Coming to the Lord Jesus is the only way to escape the darkness of sin, death and hell, and all those who follow Him will have the light of life.

Never shows how ignoring the way of escape can be pretty costly.

Never

When the snow piled up to 10 feet deep on the northern plains, the people who run the nation’s flood insurance program realized that the spring thaws would bring terrible flooding.

They appealed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help. The agency bought radio ads and ran a television spot for three weeks in March, covering the threatened states. They showed the Director imploring viewers in the predicted flood zones to get flood insurance “before it’s too late.”

But when the floods came to Grand Forks, North Dakota, one of the worst-hit cities, only 73 people had purchased policies.

Why?

One resident whose basement filled with water said, “We never, ever had water there before. Not even a trace of it.” It is a very human reaction: “It never has happened — it never will.” Human — natural — and fatal. It is typical of those the Bible tells us of who will come in the last days, doing as they please and saying, “Where is the promise of His [the Lord Jesus’] coming? ... All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

“We never, ever had water before.” But the water came.

“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.”

But — “the Lord ... is long-suffering ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We have been warned; help is offered. Have we accepted it?

Christ Your Griefs Has Borne

Surely Christ your griefs has borne!
Weeping soul no longer mourn:
View Him bleeding on the tree,
Pouring out His life for thee.

Weary sinner, keep your eyes
On the atoning Sacrifice:
There the Lord upon the tree
Numbered with transgressors see.

Cast your guilty soul on Him;
Find Him mighty to redeem;
At His feet your burden lay —
Look your doubts and fears away.

Swallowed Up Alive!

It was a sinkhole that took 37-year-old Jeffrey Bush’s life. The family had just gone to bed for the night when suddenly, without warning, there was a loud crash and yells for help. Jeff’s brother Jeremy rushed into the bedroom — only to see a giant hole — and no Jeff!

The 911 call came in at 11 p.m. Thursday, February 28, 2013.

“The house just fell through. The bedroom floor just collapsed, my brother-in-law’s in there — he’s underneath the house.”

When police and emergency personnel arrived on the scene in Seffner, Florida, a deputy had to pull Jeremy Bush out of the hole because the floor was still collapsing. Jeremy had been frantically trying to save his brother by jumping in the hole and digging at the rubble with a shovel.

“Everything was gone. My brother’s bed, my brother’s dresser, my brother’s TV. My brother was gone,” a tearful Jeremy said. “I couldn’t get him out. I tried so hard. I tried everything I could.”

Too Risky

A listening device was lowered into the hole to determine if there were any signs of life — but another cave-in rattled the foundations of the house and sucked up the device. At this point it was determined that it was too unsafe to attempt a rescue or body-recovery attempt. The dirt in the sinkhole was likened to quicksand and exceedingly unstable. Tragically, the earth had opened her mouth and swallowed up Jeff Bush alive. The hole eventually became about 30' wide and 100' deep.

Two neighboring homes were found to be in danger of collapse. Family members were given just 20 minutes to get their belongings and leave. Suddenly, people were solemnized to realize just how quickly lives could change — or how swiftly one could end. “Jeff laid his head down on his pillow to go to sleep — and he never got out of bed,” the home’s owner said.

An Even Bigger Sinkhole

It is hard to imagine the terror, grief and pain that the Bush family went through, let alone the agonizing frustration of Jeremy Bush’s not being able to rescue his brother, whom he loved, from this frightening sinkhole. But did you know that the Bible speaks of a horrible pit that all mankind has fallen into? It is the pit of sin — and what a dreadful pit it is — far from God, full of wicked deeds and thoughts, full of sorrow, fear, misery and hopelessness. But there is One who is willing and able to save any that call on His name. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1). When we realize our dreadful condition before a holy and righteous God, we can cry out to Him in repentance and ask for forgiveness. Then, in the words of Scripture, we can joyfully say, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it ... and shall trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:2-3).

After the Bush home was demolished, the hole was filled up with four truckloads of gravel, and the area where three homes used to stand was fenced in. Two years later, a woman walking her dog heard a loud BANG! and was startled to see this massive sinkhole reopen. Because it was fenced in, there was no loss of life, just a sad reminder of what had happened two years ago. Sinkholes are very common in the states of Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama. In Florida, the bedrock is made of limestone and other carbonate materials. When acidic rainwater seeps through the ground to the limestone underneath, it erodes the limestone, causing a cave or hole to form. When the hole becomes large enough, it cannot support the ground on top of it, which causes a cave-in. These sinkholes can be very dangerous, as they can be very large and often appear without warning, sucking whatever is above them into their depths. The Bible tells us that Satan, “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan does not want us to escape “out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,” but wants to deceive us into letting our sins drag us down into the pit of hell, from which there is no escape. Today, while the Lord’s hand is outstretched to save you and His ears are opened to the cry of the repentant sinner, receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Do not put it off for “later” — none of us is guaranteed that there will be a “tomorrow.” Come to the Lord while there is yet time!

The Story of Two Cranes shows how “just another day” can quickly become a final day.

The Story of Two Cranes

It was just another windy day in July where workers were busy installing a retractable roof at the soon-to-be finished Brewer’s Stadium. Dominating the scene was a mammoth crane, the biggest in North America at the time. Workers and residents of Milwaukee gave her the affectionate nickname of “Big Blue.” She was an amazing 2,100 tons of steel, with 567 feet of boom and 30,000 feet of steel cable, which had taken all of six weeks to assemble. Whenever Big Blue was in operation, spectators would gather, many with cameras in hand to record this civic event.

It took four people to operate Big Blue, which had already successfully hoisted 10 of the enormous roof pieces into place. On July 14, shortly after 5 p.m., they were in the process of lifting the last of the roof pieces into place. It weighed almost 1 million pounds and was roughly the size of a Boeing 747’s wing. What they didn’t take into account was the high winds which were gusting up to 30 m.p.h. Because they were behind schedule and over budget, they took a chance and decided to go ahead with the lift anyway. When they lifted the roof into position, it acted as a giant sail, catching the full force of the wind. This was more than Big Blue could handle. A shudder ran down her long blue boom, and then her brakes began to squeal as they gave way. Next there was a dull BOOM! as her mighty kingpin was almost sheared in two. In less than 30 seconds, Big Blue was down in a giant spider’s web of blue steel, cable and rubble.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Three steel workers lost their lives as a result of this accident. They had been hoisted in a basket below the massive roof piece to guide it into position and weld it into place. When the roof and Big Blue came tumbling down, they too plummeted over 300 feet to their deaths. You can see a tribute to these three men today in the form of three bronze statues just outside of Miller Park. Because of this accident, safety standards for crane operators have drastically improved in the United States.

These construction workers took a big chance, which ended in catastrophe. Because they disregarded safety rules, it cost three men their lives. Yet how many people do the very same thing today? They disregard God’s clear plan of salvation. They think that they can come to God by their own way, whether by works or by their own man-made beliefs and ideas. The consequences will be eternal — instead of eternal life in heaven, they will spend eternity in hell, separated from God, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal torment. “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13).

Too Big a Hurry to Think Clearly

A 15-story crane collapsed in Tribeca, Manhattan, killing one 38-year-old man and seriously injuring two others when it was being lowered because of the weather. Everything seemed normal at first — but then the crane operator lost control of the boom, which continued to gather speed, and within 30 seconds came crashing down, crushing several cars and trapping one man inside of his car. Even experienced construction workers said it was surreal, like watching a slow-motion disaster. The boom crashed to the ground with such force that the cab of the crane flipped upside down, its massive metal treads pointing skyward. A building was clipped on its way down, and the metal weight at the end of a cable ended up on an office desk. A witness reported seeing two men running to their right, and one man ran towards his left — he was the one that was killed instantly when the crane came crashing down. Like a long red strand of DNA, “Big Red” lay stretched along more than two city blocks amidst the bricks, masonry and rubble. An order was quickly given to New York’s 376 crawler cranes and all of their tower cranes operating in the city to be secured until they could figure out what went wrong.

State investigators cited negligence on the part of the crane’s operators. Apparently, in the rush to get the boom out of the wind, they ignored safety procedures and the manufacturer’s safety manual. The ripple effect was loss of life, damage to real estate, downtime for other construction workers, fines, litigation and rising insurance premiums, as well as a host of new regulations by OSHA and other government officials.

The Real Safety Manual

Because God loves us, He has given us a sure and true “safety manual.” God’s Word, the Bible, tells us how to avoid the certain judgment that is coming upon all men because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But He also tells us that there is a way of escape! “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). God wants us to genuinely and sincerely repent of our sins and to trust Him to forgive us for our sins. His Son, the Lord Jesus, died on Calvary’s cross for our sins. Because God has accepted the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross, He (God) is righteous (right) in forgiving us our sins when we come to Him in faith. God’s “safety manual” is the only way! “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Won’t you trust Him today, while there is yet time?

You might know the right thing to do but fail to do it. Tim, Matt and Brian found that out the hard way. Death on Lunch Break will show which one survived and why.

Death on Lunch Break

It had been a busy morning and the workers at the baking oil company were glad for lunch hour. Most of them finished up their projects and went out for an hour to relax and enjoy a meal. They never expected to return to a workplace in chaos.

All the baking oil from the company was shipped out in train cars which had to be purged with nitrogen. It can’t be smelled, it can’t be seen, but it can kill. Nitrogen is an inert gas which is lethal if humans breathe it straight. It will knock a person unconscious without their ever knowing what hit them.

Just before lunch hour, Brian went up to the top of an empty train car to fix a broken spout. As he removed the spout, it slipped and fell through the hatch into the car. Without thinking, Brian started down the ladder into the train car. The moment his head entered the car, he fell unconscious to the floor.

You don’t know what will happen to you today. Life is uncertain. What if this happened to you? Do you know where you would go if you died? After death, every man, woman and child will face their Creator God. He has told us, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). One day you will die. What if it is today? God in His grace does not leave us to face our deserved judgment alone. He also says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28).

Coworker Matt had seen Brian go unthinkingly into the car and knew that he would die there. All the masks, oxygen tanks, and hoists were readily available for situations just like this, but Matt thought he could just slip into the train car and save his friend. Matt was the next person to fall unconscious from the ladder.

Tim worked on the same shift with Matt and watched with horror as his brother entered the nitrogen-filled car without protective equipment. After calling for the rescue squad, Tim had a friend Andrew help him into an oxygen tank and mask. They climbed up to the top of the train car and Tim attempted to climb down through the hatch that had swallowed up Brian and his brother Matt. But the hatch was too small for Tim to get through with his oxygen tank!

“Here,” he said to Andrew, “hold my tank until I’m in, then hand it to me.” But Tim did not realize how quickly pure nitrogen took effect. The minute his head went below the hatch he also dropped unconscious to the floor. Thankfully, Tim landed face-up on the floor of the car. Andrew was able to lower Tim’s mask into the car until it landed on his face, and Tim could breathe oxygen until the rescue squad arrived.

Wearing masks and protective gear, the rescue squad opened the bottom of the train car and pumped oxygen until the nitrogen had dissipated. When they entered the car, they found three people who looked like they were sleeping on the floor of the car. But two of them were in eternity. Only Tim with the flow of oxygen lowered to him by Andrew survived.

Matt could not save Brian. Tim could not save his brother Matt. And while Andrew was able to save Tim’s life, he could not save his soul. Only God can save anyone through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Death can come at any time. Are you ready for it? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Grandpa Is in Heaven

f you had a life-threatening accident, would you be ready for death and what follows?

Kyle’s grandpa was. He had repented of his sins and placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ when he was young. After he retired from his job, he even got involved with sharing the good news of salvation with children in after-school programs. He was delighted to tell others of how the Savior came down to earth, suffered, bled and died so He could bring undeserving sinners home to heaven with Him. He liked to tell others of the peace they could have through faith in Jesus Christ.

Kyle’s grandpa lived in a house next to the beach on the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in Washington State. One morning in August when the weather was balmy, the sky blue and the water as smooth as glass, Kyle and his Grandpa decided to go on an adventure. Grandpa carried his long, red kayak across the beach. It was a one-man kayak. Grandpa set the sleek, lightweight craft in the shallow water and sat down in the main seat. He had to wiggle to get in because the seat was narrow and small. Then Kyle, only six years old, wiggled into the small opening for gear at the back of the kayak. An adult could never have fit into the smaller opening, but it was the perfect size for Kyle to sit in.

They both wore bright-yellow flotation vests, and they both had the long, double-bladed paddles that kayakers commonly use. The slender craft easily sped through the water. They had kayaked together many times before. If they watched carefully, they could discover schools of small fish, crabs, and occasionally sea lions, otters, orcas or even whales feeding.

They were about a quarter mile from shore when Kyle leaned suddenly to one side of the kayak, upsetting the balance. Before Grandpa could do anything to stop it, the kayak flipped over, and both Grandpa and Kyle were plunged underwater, with the kayak on top of them! Their legs were still trapped in the body of the kayak. It happened as fast as you could blink an eye.

Last Instructions

It might have been August, but the water was shockingly cold. A strong current brings it down from the Arctic to the Washington Coast. It is far too cold for all but the hardiest people to swim in.

The flip took Grandpa by complete surprise. Underwater, he found himself involuntarily gulping down a great quantity of seawater. He fought against it, but it poured relentlessly into his mouth and nostrils. The two were upside down in the frigid water for about a minute. A minute is a long time to go without air to breathe! At last Grandpa got himself free and, with an effort that seemed to take everything out of him, he flipped the kayak upright again. Kyle was still snugly in the seat. After a few seconds of the boy trying to catch his breath, much to Grandpa’s relief, he saw that the boy was wet and shivering from the cold but otherwise unhurt.

“Thank you, Lord, for keeping the boy safe.” Grandpa uttered a heartfelt prayer. He had made it a habit to give thanks in every situation, even if they were full of trouble.

“Are you okay, Kyle?”

“I am okay, Grandpa. How about
you, Grandpa?”

“I don’t know Kyle. I feel weak. Something is wrong with me. I don’t think I can climb back in the kayak. Let me see if I can push us back to shore by swimming.”

Grandpa, with only his hands and head visible out of the water, edged slowly around to the back of the kayak. The kayak was half-filled with saltwater. At the back of the boat, Grandpa realized that he didn’t have the strength to hang on, much less to push the boat to shore. Something had happened to sap his strength while he was submerged. He felt weak as if all his strength had ebbed away. Was this weakness due to swallowing all the seawater? It felt like it had gone into his lungs. Or had the sudden plunge into the cold water triggered a heart attack? He didn’t know.

“Kyle.”

“Yeah, Grandpa.”

“I don’t think I can hang on much longer. Listen, don’t worry about me. I want you to try to paddle back to shore, but every once in a while I want you to raise your paddle over your head so people on shore will know something is wrong. And remember, don’t panic. I know the Lord is going to take care of us. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, Grandpa, I can do that.”

Then Grandpa let go of the kayak and leaned back in the water to float on his back. He folded his hands on his chest. He let the life vest do the work of keeping him afloat. When he was younger, he had been a swimming and scuba diving instructor in the Navy, and he knew his best chance of staying alive in the cold water was to conserve his energy.

Strange Peace

It seemed like seconds later the two became separated and out of sight of each other. The boy paddled, but it didn’t seem to bring him closer to the shore. Every few minutes he would lift the paddle up over his head, just like Grandpa asked him to. Grandpa, for his part, knew there was precious little he could do to help get rescued. He knew that lying on his back in the water would make him nearly invisible to anyone on shore. He could feel the cold water numbing his body. Looking up, he saw a beautiful blue sky without a cloud in it. It reminded him, even though he was in deep trouble, that God was in control. He realized that if help didn’t come shortly, the cold water would claim his life. The thought didn’t upset him. It was strange, but the peace of God whom he loved and trusted filled his heart. He would do everything possible to stay alive, of course, but if he didn’t make it, he knew he would enter into the joy of the Lord in heaven. The thought that God loved him so much that Christ should die for him consoled his heart.

Attempted Rescue

About forty-five minutes after the accident, Kyle’s mom and grandmother returned home from a shopping trip. Kyle’s mom was curious about how her dad and son were doing on their kayaking trip. She walked out on the beach, and cupping her hand like a sun visor on a hat, peered out over the water. She spotted the kayak still far away from shore. She could make out Kyle sitting at the back of the kayak, but she couldn’t see her dad. She guessed he must be leaning way back in his seat, probably resting. Then she saw Kyle raise his paddle up over his head, and she knew by this signal they were in trouble. She realized in a flash that her dad really was not in the boat, but missing!

“Mom, there’s bad trouble!” she said. “Call the Coast Guard and tell them Grandpa is missing. I am going to take the other kayak and go out there.”

Within minutes she had launched the other kayak and was paddling out to her son. When she got there, she asked, “Where’s Grandpa?”

“Grandpa’s in heaven,” Kyle replied calmly. The boy, like his grandpa, had faith in the Lord Jesus. When he had lost sight of Grandpa floating on the water, he assumed that Grandpa had drowned.

The Coast Guard station was about twenty miles away. The big cutter left the station within minutes. A little later they also sent out the helicopter to help in the search. However, after learning that the grandpa had been in the water for over an hour, they had little hope they would find him alive.

Grandpa had lost all sensation in his legs and arms, and he was fighting to keep from losing consciousness, when he heard the big whir of the helicopter’s rotors. Suddenly, the downdraft of the whirling blades churned up the water all around him, making choppy waves in the otherwise placid water. The helicopter veered off as suddenly as it had first appeared. It was carrying too much fuel to hover in one place and had to go off to dump some fuel before it could safely hold its position in one place and lower the rescue basket. It reappeared overhead, and a rescue swimmer jumped into the water. Grandpa barely recalls being hoisted into the helicopter and flown to the intensive care unit of a hospital. He learned later that his body temperature had fallen dangerously low — to 81 degrees! Once he arrived at the hospital and doctors learned the details, they were amazed he was still alive.

True Peace

Grandpa faced death and yet had a great peace about it. How about you? If death should stare you in the face, would you be ready to go? You would be, if you belonged, by faith, to the Savior of sinners, for on the cross, the Lord Jesus paid the terrible penalty of sin so that all that believe on Him might be forgiven and have their sins washed away. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world and is drawing people to faith in Christ. The Son gave His life on the cross and is presently seeking lost sinners to bring them back to God. The Holy Spirit is at work, convicting people of sin, making them feel the need of forgiveness, and pointing them to the Savior.

God wants people to be saved so that they will know the greatness of this love for all eternity. “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

People need to be saved because if they don’t return to God in repentance and faith, the sins they have done will bring them down to a real hell. It is not God’s will that any souls should perish in hell. “The Lord ... is long-suffering ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). But perish they must, if they refuse to be rescued by God.

Imagine someone far out at sea, all alone in a small boat, on a dark and stormy night. Along comes a Coast Guard ship to rescue them. Instead of receiving the help offered to them, they tell the officers on the Coast Guard cutter to go away and leave them alone. The Coast Guard cutter reluctantly sails away. A short time later the man and his boat are swallowed up by the waves. This is just a little picture of those who reject the Savior, only to eventually perish in a lost eternity. God is patiently waiting for sinners to turn to Him, but He will not wait and hold back His anger forever. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever” (Psalm 103:8-9).

Will you bow your heart to the One who conquered sin and death on your behalf, so that peace and the good of eternal life might be yours?

“Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee” (Job 22:21).

God’s peace is simple and deep. Traffic Tangles shows the simplicity of His plan of salvation open to everyone.

Traffic Tangles

Even experienced drivers are challenged as they attempt to navigate confusing circles, roundabouts and interchanges. Some interchanges are so confusing that they actually look like a plate of spaghetti! Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, England, both have a “Spaghetti Junction,” with Atlanta taking the prize for being monstrously confusing. Paying strict attention to where you are going is a must, or these junctions will happily spit you out into a residential area where you don’t want to be. Circles can be challenging as they often have many roads leading into them. In Halifax, Canada, there is a circle with five roads leading into it — but one of the roads going into it gives the people the right-of-way, which leads to confusion and accidents. Besides that, the circle has two lanes, which can make it difficult for those in the inner lane to exit.

England is famous for their roundabouts. Many of them have beautiful floral arrangements in the center of them, but don’t allow yourself to be distracted, or they might be the last thing that you see! In a marvel of engineering traffic design in England, Swindon’s Magic Roundabout has five outer roundabouts that spin in one direction around an inner roundabout that spins in the opposite direction. Those that are practiced in navigating this roundabout say that all you have to do is point your car in the direction that you want to go, yield to the traffic in the roundabout and avoid collision. In its years of operation there have been few accidents, probably because everyone has to slow down to a snail’s pace just to survive unscathed.

These road designs require a person to be on high alert, have quick reflexes, and their eyes in every direction at once. It is a challenge that not everyone can handle, for many different reasons. They may be mentally or physically handicapped, there may be a language barrier, or they may not be able to drive due to their age.

Simple, Understandable Plan

But God, in His great love and compassion towards mankind, has made the way of salvation so simple and plain that anyone can come to Him. He does not require skill, ability or knowledge on our part. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. ... He was buried, and ... He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). There is nothing for us to do; Christ has done it all, so that rich or poor, young or old, intelligent or simple, talented or unskilled, can have their sins forgiven and have eternal life. “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). “Saved through faith” means that we need to ask the Lord to forgive our sins and simply believe in our hearts that God has accepted us because of the work that His Son Jesus did on Calvary’s cross. This is the magnificent and beautiful “simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3)!

Nothing But the Name of Jesus

Nothing but the name of Jesus
Can avail in danger’s hour—
Nothing but the name of Jesus,
When the clouds of trouble lower.

Only through the blood of Jesus
Can the guilty soul have peace;
Only through the blood of Jesus
Satan’s captives find release.

Dying sinner, look to Jesus,
Once upon the cross for thee;
Think upon the Savior, Jesus,
Stretched and nailed upon the tree!

Every mark of dark dishonor
Heaped upon His thorn-crowned brow!
There, oh, read the wondrous story
Of His cross, its shame and woe!

Sinner, hear the matchless story:
Listen simply and believe;
From the risen Lord in glory,
Life, eternal life, receive.

Jesus died, that condemnation
No believer e’er should know;
Now He lives, and God’s salvation
Is our portion here below.

Amtrak Train 188

It was a terrible train crash! Amtrak Northeast Regional 188 was en route from Washington, D. C., to New York City, when around 9:30 p.m. on May 12, 2015, it suddenly flew off the rails, killing eight people and injuring about 200 others. The second car was mangled almost beyond recognition. Six other cars derailed and three landed on their sides. As the cars slid on their sides, emergency windows became dislodged, allowing some passengers to be ejected from the train. One resident nearby said that the crash felt like “a mild earthquake,” and another said that it “sounded like a bomb.”

The wreck occurred 11 minutes after leaving the 30th Street Penn Station in Philadelphia. As it approached one of the sharpest curves in the Northeast Corridor, it was travelling at a speed of 106 mph, as it went into the 50 mph curve.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that “the probable cause of the accident was the engineer’s acceleration to 106 mph as he entered a curve with a 50 mph speed restriction due to his loss of situational awareness because his attention was diverted to an emergency situation with another train.”

Apparently, he had become distracted by radio chatter between another commuter train and dispatchers. A SEPTA train had been hit by a rock and was in an emergency stop. The safety board reported that during seven to nine of the 11 minutes before the crash, the engineer listened to and participated in about two dozen radio transmissions. Due to this level of distraction, they believe that the engineer thought that he was past the curve, where the speed limit opened up to 110 mph. “He went, in a matter of seconds, from distraction to disaster,” said Robert Sumwalt, the lead NTSB investigator.

An Even More Dangerous Distraction

We are all similar to Amtrak 188. We are speeding through life at an incredibly rapid pace. None of us knows when, where or how we will be ushered into eternity. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). As we speed through life, Satan does everything in his power to distract us from receiving the gospel of salvation. It was not drugs, alcohol, or talking or texting on his cell phone that distracted the engineer of Amtrak 188, but radio chatter. Satan will use whatever it takes — sports, business, politics, pleasure or just plain everyday living to keep us from even thinking of spiritual things and of our eternal well-being. It is his aim to keep man in a continual state of “loss of situational awareness.” “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Pay attention! Right now, while you are able, seriously consider which track you are on — the track that leads to heaven or the track that leads to hell. It is certain that you are on either one or the other — the Bible puts it this way: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Though the engineer’s distraction was the main cause of the wreck, another contributing factor was the absence of a backup safety system called positive train control, or PTC. This safety system is designed to automatically slow or even stop a speeding train regardless of the engineer’s input.

The Bible, God’s Holy Word, is our “positive train control.” It tells us how to get on the right track to heaven and eternal life: “Testifying ... repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Have you repented of your sins before a righteous and holy God by asking Him to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness? God gave His only Son to die and shed His blood on the cross for our sins. “Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” means to simply trust Him for the finished work done on Calvary’s cross. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The Great Mystery presents a vital lesson from a very different train experience.

The Great Mystery

A few years ago in the Seattle area, someone looking for an evening’s entertainment might have bought tickets on the “Spirit of Washington Dinner Train.” The train, a vintage diesel engine, pulling several refurbished dining cars, left a suburb of Seattle in the evening and traveled a loop of several miles through the Cascade Mountains. Passengers onboard were treated to a first-class, scrumptious meal, beautiful scenery and a mystery show put on by trained actors. The actors disguised as passengers, cooks, conductors or waiters would deliver several clues in the first part of the journey. At least one of the clues delivered by the actors would be a red herring, or a clue intended to mislead the audience. Also, on occasion, a passenger might be asked to act out a certain role. At some point in the journey, a serious crime would be acted out. Then the diners would use powers of deduction to try to figure out who committed the crime.

A Truly Fascinating Wonder

People like the distraction created by mysteries. The dinner train was a mystery on a small scale. It consumed a few hours, provided some entertainment and then was over. But there is a mystery or fascinating wonder that is vastly more important, and certainly not a distraction. It is a wonder that has power to fill the human heart with timeless awe.

It began in the distant past. The Author is the One who called all created things into existence. He created all the beautiful scenery that is a backdrop to our lives. In the vast expanse of space, He placed a little watery planet full of life, and He placed men and women on it.

The chief person in this wonder is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When men and women had fallen into sin and were headed to a lost eternity, out of love to them, He left His home in heaven and came down to this earth. Although He was God and spoke for the world to leap into existence, He humbled Himself and became a man, so that from that time forward, He would forever be both God and man in the same person.

What a profound wonder that Christ should come and live on earth. Why did He come? He came seeking lost people in order to bring them back to God. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Can this wonder, as marvelous as it is, get any deeper? Amazingly, the answer is yes! The crime usually enacted on the train was a homicide. It wasn’t real; it was just acted out. But the crime committed against the Son of God was very real. After 3½ years of telling others of the kingdom of God, doing miracles of healing and even raising the dead back to life, at the age of 33, Jesus Christ was taken by wicked hands, given a false trial and then condemned to death.

The One who created the world was crucified by the very creatures He made! Nailed to the cross, He suffered untold agony. Then He cried out, “It is finished,” and He dismissed His spirit and died. Why did He let this happen? He let it happen because, through His death, He made a way that the sins of His creatures could be forgiven and washed away. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

After He died, His body was wrapped in linen grave clothes, anointed with spices and laid in a grave. But the grave could not hold Him! Three days after He was buried, He arose from the dead.

He had done many wonderful works while He was alive, and you can read about them (in the books called the Gospels) in the Bible. But far and away, the most important work He accomplished on earth was His sacrificial death on the cross. By that atoning work, all who believe on the name of the Lord Jesus are justified and obtain the forgiveness of sins. “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

And this brings us to the role you have to play in this great drama. Will you believe what God has said about these things, which is a most reasonable thing to do, and trust the blessed Savior? God has demonstrated His love to you in giving His Son to die on the cross. God freely loved you by sending His Son when He didn’t have to. Will you love Him in return? He wants you to come back to Him, and by His grace, He is willing to help you every step of the way home to heaven.

But what of those who decide against the Lord Jesus? Then the role they have chosen to play will eventually lead them to hell. There is nothing fake or pretend about the horrors of hell. Those who suffer torments there will not be playacting.

The Dinner Train traveled down the tracks for a short loop, and then the ride was over. Life is short too. We are given a few short years at best. Ask any older person, and they will tell you how fast life goes by. Also, we are given no guarantees that we will live out another day, week or month. In the short lifetime God has given us, we need to trust in the Savior if we are going to enter heaven.

The great wonder, which began in a past eternity when God drew up the plans for salvation that came to a climax when Christ died on the cross, will continue on into the distant ages of eternity to come. The resurrection bodies of those who believe in Christ will be far more glorious than our earthly bodies. They will never be subject to pain, decay or fatigue. They also will be well suited for the endless joys of heaven. The greatest joy of heaven will be seeing our Lord Jesus Christ. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). The great wonder of God’s love shown to us through the Lord Jesus will fill us with joy forever.

People who wanted to ride the Dinner Train could buy a ticket, while others who didn’t want to ride could opt out. But this is not so with the great issues of life. Every person must be part of this drama. People get a “ticket” to participate in this great story when they are born. What will you do with Him that is called Christ?

Will you believe on the Lord Jesus and spend eternity with Him in heaven? “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15).

The Chunnel presents the greatest railroad tunnel of all time and an even greater barrier than the English Channel that has been bored through.

The Chunnel

With the military genius Napoleon Bonaparte active in France, the British public deeply distrusted the French mining engineer Albert Mathieu’s 1802 plan to dig a tunnel under the English Channel. Why not hand the keys to the kingdom directly to their greatest rival for world power? Who wanted to tunnel under the moat that had stopped all invaders for nearly 800 years? That deep distrust hung in the air through two World Wars until 185 years after the initial proposal, in July of 1987, The Channel Tunnel Act received royal approval and passed into law.

But uniting the two historic enemies would take more than royal approval — it required a phenomenal engineering effort to create a 23½-mile-long railroad route beneath the sea. In fact, three parallel tunnels were proposed that would require a phenomenal 125 miles of tunneling. When they were done, the two main train tunnels were paralleled by a service corridor and joined by numerous ventilation tunnels and escape routes.

Engineers planned the route through a bed of impermeable and strong chalk marl that ran all the way from England to France. What they didn’t fully appreciate was the effect there would be from the 3,000 or so bore holes that had been drilled through the layer of chalk by engineers over the course of nearly 200 years. Each one provided an entryway for seawater to come pouring into the hole being bored by the massive Tunnel Boring Machines. These monstrous 800-foot-long machines with a diameter of over 23 feet chewed steadily through the rock sending back a steady stream of “spoil.” The third busiest rail line in England was needed to ferry workers to the job site, to haul in the 9-ton sections of super-concrete that reinforced the passage, and to haul out the tons of spoil. Over 100 locomotives and 1,000 railroad cars worked tirelessly to support up to 15,000 construction workers. Finally, in May of 1994, the great Channel Tunnel, affectionately nicknamed the Chunnel, was opened for business. The cost? One proposal from 1856 had suggested a cost of about 11 million dollars. The 1987 project was supposed to cost billions, but 80% cost overruns brought the final bill to nearly 14 billion dollars.

A More Expensive Connection

Perhaps you’re aware of a deeper gulf of fear and suspicion than the one between the French and the British. People have long suspected that God wanted to move in on “their turf” and steal their supposed freedom to do whatever they feel like. They’ve erected a moat of doubts, theories and excuses in an attempt to keep their Creator at “a safe distance.” But the fear, uncertainty and doubt has been entirely one-sided. We humans have walled ourselves off from a God of love who has a deep desire for intimacy with us. He prepared a plan to break us free from the sin that kept us away from Him and that chained us up on an island of suspicion, anger, covetousness, lust and fear. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God’s plan of salvation wasn’t without cost to Him. But unlike the Chunnel cost estimates, God knew exactly what price He would have to pay to buy back people from the slavery of sin. When the great Chunnel was planned, a group of investors in a coalition of 10 banks worked out the complicated financing so they could get a return on their investment. God’s plan involved an infinitely greater cost — the death of His Son on the cross of Calvary. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). At the end of His time of suffering on the cross, the work to buy back sin-scarred people was complete. Now all who believe on Jesus Christ can enjoy Him forever. “We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:11). But those who refuse to pass through the escape route from the isolated island of sin that God has opened at such tremendous cost face “the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13). Which will it be for you?

Doomed Flight

It was a dreadful scene of devastation. A Germanwings plane, on its way from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, had crashed in the French Alps. The plane had impacted with such speed and force that the largest piece of wreckage was about the size of a car. One hundred and fifty people lost their lives that day, among them sixteen high school students and two teachers who had been on a student exchange program in Spain.

It did not take long for the truth to come out. The copilot, in a giant, monstrous act of selfishness, had deliberately and carefully planned how to commit his own suicide and the murder of other innocent people. When the pilot left the cockpit to use the bathroom, the copilot locked the door from the inside. Then he set the autopilot to descend to 100 feet and increased the speed of the plane several times thereafter to increase the force of the crash. All radio communications from air traffic control were ignored, and he actively blocked the captain from entering the cockpit in spite of his repeated demands to open the door. In only about ten terrifying minutes, one hundred and fifty souls were swept into eternity when they crashed into the mountain at 430 mph.

The people on board Germanwings Flight 9525 did not know that they were on their last flight. Only the copilot knew his evil plan. They were looking forward to meeting loved ones and getting on with their busy lives. But as the plane began to descend and the captain was banging on the cockpit door, awareness of their dreadful fate set in. In the last few moments before the crash, investigators could hear the screams of passengers and several cries of “Oh my God!” in several different languages — then silence.

What Would You Have Done?

If you had been on that plane, knowing that your time on this earth was about to end in a few short moments, what would have been your thoughts? Would you have had the peace of mind and joy of knowing that you were going to enter into the presence of the Lord Jesus forever? Would you have been able to say with calm confidence, “Lord Jesus, into Thy hands I commend my spirit”? Only those who have had their sins washed away by the blood of Christ can enter into His holy presence. Only then can we join the redeemed who worship before Him saying, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).

Suicide Wasn’t the Best Option

Andreas Lubitz, the copilot, deceived himself into thinking that suicide was the best course of action for him to take. Once he made this decision, he calculated his moves with cold-blooded precision. He had been battling severe depression and was on strong antidepressants. In the months leading up to the suicide crash, he frantically visited dozens of doctors for his recurring health issues. Though he had notes from specialists stating that he was unfit to fly, he never informed his employers. It was discovered later that he had conducted Internet searches on “ways to commit suicide” and “cockpit doors and their security provisions.” On the earlier, outgoing flight the same day of the suicide-murder, he had practiced setting the autopilot altitude control to 100 feet several times while the captain was out of the cockpit. His deception was so great that even after the crash, his airline’s chief executive confidently stated that Lubitz was “100 percent” fit to fly. Neither those closest to him nor his neighbors had any inkling of how ill he was. This deception ended in disastrous consequences for himself and 149 innocent people.

The Bible warns us of “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Because Satan rebelled against God and hates Him with all of his being, he is determined to deceive as many people as he can as to the true way of salvation. His desire is to see all men perish and end up in a lost eternity. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4), is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants us to repent of our sins and to ask Him for His forgiveness. He sent His Son to die and shed His blood on Calvary’s cross for our sins. God has accepted the work done on Calvary’s cross on our behalf and all we have to do is to accept and believe it in faith. “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). It is impossible to earn our salvation by good works, by being “religious,” or by “doing the best that we can.” These are all Satan’s deceptions. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

Because Mr. Lubitz thought that he was going blind and could possibly be grounded or more likely lose his job altogether, he made the dreadful decision to choose death and destruction. Now God is confronting you with a decision — will you receive eternal life from Him or continue on to eternal torment? “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Continue to read about God’s provision for your life, not death, in Something Better Than Suicide.

Something Better Than Suicide

How, Where, When and Why God Stopped a Suicide

Suicide is a very common topic today and a tragically common event. Moreover, it is increasingly endorsed as a legitimate, honorable, noble and even heroic act. The growing popularity of suicide (and “assisted suicide” and euthanasia) is consistent with current general trends toward violence and deception. But, God’s Word, the Bible, plainly presents suicide very differently, and God offers something infinitely better in its place.

This is a serious issue. Please take time to seriously consider an actual case of intended suicide as God has recorded it in His Word. It may help you, and it may help you to help others.

This historic incident took place in Philippi, a city in Macedonia (Greece) about 50 A.D. The account is found in Acts 16:23-32 and involves two prisoners, Paul and Silas (who had been arrested for preaching), and an unnamed jailor.

The Situation

“When they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bonds were loosed.”

Man’s Solution

“And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

God’s Salvation

“But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he [the jailor] called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

This simple and wonderful story is a true case history — full of valuable insights into the subject of suicide.

The Jailor Was in a Spot!

When the jailor awoke, he assumed the worst. He did not know God. He had no hope in the mercy of God, and he knew what to expect from the Roman authorities if the prisoners for whom he was responsible were gone. He faced public humiliation and probable execution. But, like most who commit suicide, he assumed his circumstances to be worse than they really were. He saw his circumstances as hopeless because he did not see God in his circumstances.

But, God Was on the Spot!

Mercifully, God had His man (Paul) on the scene to warn the jailor before he was able to do himself harm. The jailor heard Paul’s warning and eagerly sought further help.

Where Are You?

Perhaps you can, in some way, identify with this jailor. Then God’s message by Paul is for you, too: “Do thyself no harm. ... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Please take this opportunity, as the jailor did, to learn what he learned and how it applies to you and to your situation.

Meet God.

God’s solution to every one of our problems is His salvation, in one form or another. He presents Himself as “Savior God” — to be tried and proven as Savior in all circumstances and in every sense of the word. In the details of our failures, each of us is unique, and God deals uniquely with every man. But, we all have this in common — we all sin, and we all need divine deliverance — not only from the eternal judgment we deserve but also in the circumstances of our lives. God is available and able to deliver.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you come to God to obtain the salvation of your soul through our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, where would you send your soul by taking your life? Are you sure of going to heaven? Are you prepared to meet God as your judge? He has declared “after [death], the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). You may be saved from your sins and from future judgment for them by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ right now. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” That is instant relief.

Now, if you have trusted our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, can you not trust Him for your difficult circumstances as well? God is still well able to shake prisons and to turn things for His glory. We might have expected Paul and Silas to have felt suicidal in their circumstances. But instead, they prayed, and then they sang. If you are willing to begin by praying in your circumstances, God can help you to sing in them as well.

Trust Him.

Trust Him fully. Trust Him only. His ways and timing are perfect. His power is infinite. He knows every detail and He understands every feeling. His love for you right now is real and perfect, and He cannot fail. See 1 Corinthians 13:8, 1 Timothy 1:15, and 2 Timothy 1:12 and 2:13.

How Does God View Suicide?

We may see God’s goodness in the jailor’s case above and yet be confused by the many arguments made in favor of suicide. However, these arguments, as appealing as they may be, are more false and hollow than a grinning Halloween pumpkin. Let’s face the facts:

Suicide is Mortal Sin in the Truest Sense.

By definition, it is self-murder — a hideous, immoral and irresponsible act which is condemned by the sixth of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). God has plainly condemned it, and that should settle it for us, but there is more.

Suicide Has Very Bad Associations.

The Bible cites six examples of suicide by ungodly men (Abimelech in Judges 9, Saul and his armor-bearer in 1 Samuel 31, Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 17, Zimri in 1 Kings 6, and Judas in Matthew 27). Suicide is not an act of faith or of the fear of God. One who chooses suicide chooses the worst company in Scripture (and in history as well).

Suicide is Cowardly,
Cruel and Selfish.

Consider again the jailor: Awakened suddenly at night and fearing the worst, he acted to take his life — hardly considering the distress his impulsive act might cause his family. But God’s intervention, through Paul, included his family: “Thou ... and
thy house.”

Suicide is Futile — a Fatally False Solution.

Instead of diminishing difficulties, it increases them. To the grief and guilt which those left behind may suffer, it adds the burden of burial, unanswered questions, and unfinished business. Moreover, suicide robs God of a special opportunity to glorify Himself in the salvation of the particular individual and the specific situation involved.

Few who read this have suffered as much as Job —the main man in the Book of Job in the Bible. In a rapid sequence of violent events, he lost his children, wealth, health and even the comfort of his wife, who told him to “curse God and die.” She virtually suggested suicide. But Job answered her wisely: “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job had begun to learn submission under the hand of God. Ultimately, “the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12). Later in Scripture, we get more light on Job’s terrible trial: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11).

Suicide is Against God’s Nature.

Life is God’s idea. He created it. Life is good merely because He gives it. He calls Himself “the living God” and “the God of the living.” The Lord Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). God says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

In summary, God condemns suicide. It is sin. It is a response to circumstances rather than to God — a reaction of feelings rather than an act of faith. It is not God’s way, and God’s way is best. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). If you have been considering suicide, stop now. Choose life — and God’s blessing. Take your despair, distress and doubts to our Lord Jesus Christ. He invites you now, and His loving invitation is backed by His promises. He is as good as His Word. He says:

“Come unto Me: hear and your soul shall live.” “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” “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” (Isaiah 55:3; Matthew 11:28-29; John 3:16).

Dark Is the Night

Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing,

Nearer and nearer comes the breakers’ roar;

Where shall I go, or whither fly for refuge?

Hide me, my Father, till the storm is o’er.

Refrain:

With His loving hand to guide, let the clouds above me roll,

And the billows in their fury dash around me;

I can brave the wildest storm, with His glory in my soul;

I can sing amidst the tempest: Praise the Lord!

Dark is the night, but cheering is the promise,

He will go with me o’er the troubled wave;

Safe He will lead me through the pathless waters,

Jesus, the mighty One, and strong to save.

The Lost Rings

What would you do if you lost something of great value and importance to you? Would you just shrug and say, “Oh well, too bad it’s lost; maybe it will turn up somewhere, sometime later”? No, most of us would immediately start to search for the missing item, and we would most likely ask others to join in the search as well.

This is exactly what happened to one woman in Long Island, New York. Colleen Dyckman panicked one Monday morning as she realized that she had thrown both her engagement ring and wedding band into the trash by mistake while cooking the night before.

Frantically, she followed the garbage trucks to the local dump where she begged workers to stop before her trash was incinerated. Then, she began to rip through garbage, “disgusting stuff” as a town employee, Jeremy Aretakis, called it.

Eight employees, including Dyckman and her husband, diligently sifted through piles of trash for over four hours, looking for the $5,000 rings that she had worn for nearly 20 years. Finally, they came to her trash bags, but they found no rings inside. Not willing to give up, town employee Kim Weathers decided to double-check the bags. Opening up one of them, she found the rings sandwiched between soggy cereal and slimy meat!

“I was saying to myself, ‘I hope I find this ring,’ so I’m happy I found it. I really am,” Weathers said.

How thankful the Dyckman’s were! “I started crying and hugging her,” Colleen Dyckman said. They had high praise for the workers and gave them boxes of pizza and brownies. “It was beautiful; it was like out of a movie,” Aretakis said, “one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Did you know that we all possess something far more valuable than money, wealth or possessions? It is our never-dying souls! Our souls are of more value than all of the riches and possessions of the whole world, for the Bible tells us, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).

What is it that determines the value of something? Why, its desirability, and the price a person is willing to pay. Jesus places such great value on our souls that He shed His royal blood on Calvary’s cross for us, dying and rising from the tomb on the third day. But there is another one who is vying for your soul, and that is Satan. The Bible warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Not only do our souls have value and desirability, but they also have durability. They will live on in one of two places forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. It will either be in heaven, where “in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11), or in the lake of fire, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:46).

Satan does not want us to realize the value or eternality of our souls, but will distract us with pleasure, business, politics and social life — anything that will prevent us from diligently seeking how to be made right with God. “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deuteronomy 32:29). There is one way to find eternal life, and that is by realizing our helpless, sinful state before a holy and righteous God, “for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “With the heart [not the head] man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). God is not hiding, for He says, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Be wise, and seek the Savior now while He may be found!

Diamond rings are certainly valuable and worth searching for. But The Best Water describes something far more vital.

The Best Water

The deepest water in the world?

It’s found in the Mariana Trench off the coast of Japan. Its depth is about 11,000 meters (36,000 feet). The ocean floor there doesn’t get many human visitors, but there is a variety of marine life.

The cleanest water in the world?

That’s possibly in tiny Elmvale, in Canada near Toronto. The rainwater just north flows to them through a porous landscape that acts like a sponge for contaminants.

My favorite water?

Whatever my kayak is settled in. Do you have a special shoreline or lake?

The most important water?

That’s what you drink daily to maintain life. We are advised by doctors to drink about two liters (half a gallon) a day.

Where I live in northern Ontario we have so many lakes around us that it’s difficult to imagine nearly a billion people in developing countries walking, on average, 6 km a day for just a little, just to stay alive.

We are not surprised that Jesus uses the essential nature of water as a figure for spiritual life. You may remember He meets a Samaritan woman by an ancient well and offers her living water. She first initiates an argument about racial discrimination and then “religion.”

Patiently He lifts her mind out of these issues and challenges her to ask Him for living water. It makes little sense to her initially. It makes little sense to many today, maybe even you.

Jesus persists. If you drink the water I’m talking about, you will never thirst again. The story moves on through the skeletons in her closet, but He isn’t there to condemn, although she has to confront her sins. He simply presents Himself. He is the satisfying living water and many people have experienced that truth.

Von Braun was an American aerospace engineer who, more than any other scientist, brought us into the space age. He laid the foundation for cell phones, the Internet and GPS. Even with twelve honorary doctorates, many streets named after him, money and accomplishments, he found “living water” in God. He often spoke freely of the greatness of God’s creation and of his relationship to God. Perhaps you also are finding out that money and accomplishments just don’t satisfy your soul.

Augustine (A.D. 400) was an influential and important historical figure. A brilliant young man, he was characterized by unbridled, thoughtless living. Pursuing various philosophers, he spurned Christianity as a religion for the simple-minded. But his pursuits left him empty and in encountering Christ he found the only answer to the restlessness of his heart. He wrote a famous line: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

It may be that this article finds you longing for a way out of tired and dusty roads to nowhere. The Lord invites you to Himself. He is living water.

“If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water” (John 4:10).

Discover more of the wonders of God’s gifts to us in Doll’s Eyes and Dancing Grass Plants.

Doll's Eyes and Dancing Grass Plants

Doll’s Eyes is a strange name for a plant, but that is exactly what the fruit of this plant looks like. Also known as white baneberry, this plant can be found in eastern North America in shaded forests and woodlands. Some people think that this plant is beautiful, but most people think that it looks quite sinister. After flowering in the spring, the fruit ripens over the summer on spiky, blood-red stalks. The fruit itself is a small, white, round ball with a black dot in the center of it. The black dot is the residue of the tip of the flowering stalk and is really called a stigma scar.

The whole doll’s eyes plant is poisonous, but the fruit will kill you if you eat too much of it. Eating the berries raw will cause your cardiac muscles to become sedated, which will cause your heart to stop beating. The poison is so strong that it is known to act with great speed and power. However, birds are able to eat these berries with no ill effect, which enables seeds to be spread throughout the woodland.

Telegraph plant

Dancing grass, or Telegraph plant, is yet another marvel of God’s creation. It is native to tropical Asia with leaves that are moved by the plant rapidly enough for the human eye to follow. Each leaf is hinged, which allows them to move to take advantage of warmth and sunlight. Each large leaf has two smaller leaves at its base which move to rotate the large leaf. Not only does it respond to warmth and sunlight, but it also responds to sound. Many people enjoy singing to or playing music to their Telegraph plant, and they are rewarded by watching it “dance.”

Strawberries and Cream

Bleeding Tooth, Devil’s Tooth and Strawberries and Cream are all fanciful names that belong to a mushroom that grows in Europe and North America’s Pacific Northwest. When it is young, thick red fluid oozes from its tiny pores which look just like drops of blood on a white cap. In spite of its gruesome look, it’s not poisonous —however, you wouldn’t want to eat it, as its taste has been described as being extremely bitter.

Hydnora Africana

Hydnora africana is a bizarre-looking plant that grows in the desert sand of southern Africa. This plant is parasitic and grows underground, except for the flower, which appears after a heavy rainfall. This flower is like none you’ve ever seen — its outer shell is rough and scaly, and it is as hard as wood. It takes over a year to develop, and when it does, it smells like feces. This smell attracts carrion and dung beetles, which are its natural pollinators. When these beetles crawl inside, the flower traps them for a couple of days so that they can collect pollen. After a few days, the salmon-red flower releases them so they can go about the business of pollinating other hydnora africanas.

Octopus Stinkhorn

The Octopus Stinkhorn looks like a strange marine creature, but it is really a fungus native to Australia and New Zealand. This mushroom literally erupts from an “egg” with 4-7 red “tentacles” covered in a black substance called gleba, which holds its spores. You would smell this mushroom before you would see it because it emits a putrid smell of rotting flesh. This attracts flies, which spread the spores elsewhere. This mushroom is not poisonous, but it tastes like it smells — just awful.

God’s Goodness

These plants and fungi are only a small part of creation which show forth the wisdom and knowledge with which God created all things. Generation after generation, year after year, season after season things continue on just as God created them. “The earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:12). This perfect law and order in God’s creation also extends to mankind. Because our sins “have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2), God has made the perfect and only way whereby man may be made fit to enter into His holy presence. Jesus died on Calvary’s cross for our sins; God has accepted His (Jesus’) perfect sacrifice which totally pays our sin-debt towards God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). True confession and repentance towards God will have eternal consequences. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). “Peace with God” means eternal life with Him! Won’t you accept God’s wonderful plan of salvation now and live for Him? “Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Caught!

One day in June 2016, Robert Borba rode his horse into Eagle Point, Oregon, to buy some dog food at the local Walmart. As he was leaving, he heard a woman screaming, “Stop him! Stop him! He stole my bike! He stole my bike!” Quickly looking around, Robert noticed a man speeding away on a bike, clearly going too fast to catch on foot. Being a cowboy by trade and being mounted on a horse, he instinctively reached for his trusty rope, took a few swings — and lassoed the would-be bike thief by his ankles! Then he called 911, telling the operator that he had caught a bike thief at Walmart, explaining, “I got him roped from a horse and he’s tied to a tree.” Moments later, police officer Chris Adams arrived and reported, “I looked up, and from the horse there was a rope connected to the ankle of a gentleman on the ground holding onto a tree.”

Satan wants to deceive you at a very young age into believing that it’s harmless to sin a little, not realizing that it can become an unbreakable habit. He’ll tell you that gambling has no consequences, but he won’t tell you that it can become an addiction that could cost you your home and possessions. He’ll show you the man with the bottle of beer and a beautiful woman at his side, but not the drunkard that abuses his wife and family, becoming mean and brutal. He’ll tell you that it’s okay to experiment with drugs and have your fling when you’re young, but he won’t show you the addict who destroyed his mind or overdosed.

The Truth Comes Out

Shaun Miller, 31, managed to elude arrest for several months because of a disguise that he wore. When Miller walked out of his mom’s home where he was staying, officers who had been staking out the home for weeks didn’t arrest the old man that they saw — until one of them noticed something suspicious about his eyes and found that he was carrying $10,000 in cash.

That’s when one of the officers “pulled off Miller’s realistic disguise,” prosecutors said. He was promptly arrested and indicted for possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

Following the Candy Trail

In Guthrie, Oklahoma, a family left town overnight. When they returned the next morning, they found that their home had been burglarized. Personal items, identity documents, cash and firearms, including family heirlooms were taken with a total value in excess of $13,000. Not only that, the thieves had dragged a heavy safe through the house, causing a lot of damage. Naturally, the family turned to police for help in solving this crime.

In a nearby alley, police found the stolen safe, surrounded by candy wrappers. It was obvious the thieves had a sweet tooth and had stolen a bag of Halloween candy. The candy wrapper trail led police several blocks away to a garbage can, where most of the stolen items were recovered. It also led to a residence where suspects were identified and arrest warrants were soon pending.

More Candy Wrappers

In the dead of night, Corporal Anderson responded to an alarm that went off in a store in Madison County, Florida. Upon arrival, he immediately noted that the front glass door had been shattered. The owner reported that items had been stolen, including boxes of candy. Corporal Adams used the faithful Canine Max and his sharp nose to track the suspects, while he himself used his sharp eyes to follow the trail of candy wrappers. On they went, over several fences, until they came to one fence that Canine Max could not climb over.

At this point, they went back to the store to view the video with the owner, where more secrets were revealed. There had been two burglaries, not one; the first time, the alarm did not go off, but the second time it did. There were two thieves, not one; the first time they took cases of beer, and the second time they took a case of Butterfingers and M&M’s, fleeing on foot when the alarm went off.

Going back to the trail, Canine Max’s sharp nose picked up the scent, and Corporal Anderson’s sharp eyes followed the trail of candy wrappers, which eventually led to a residence, where they found two young men who matched the clothing and physical descriptions seen on the video surveillance. Both were promptly arrested and later confessed to the crime. Only some of the stolen candy was recovered.

Found Out

Though these incidents might seem amusing, the Bible tells us, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). It’s individual — YOUR sin will find YOU out. Did you know that God is recording your every thought, word and deed? “The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3).

Sin is exceedingly cruel and deadly — it separates us from God. The devil is the father of all liars, thieves and murderers, who “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” (Revelation 21:8). But there is hope! Even though “the thief [Satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I [Jesus] am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, who died, was buried and rose again to pay for our many sins. If we repent of our sins, turn toward God and receive what Jesus did as payment for our sins, we will be eternally saved. “Now in Christ Jesus ye who ... were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Praise God! We are reconciled and brought near to God by the BLOOD OF CHRIST!

Crime leads to prison. But prisons can be interesting places, as Plane Crash in a Prison Yard clearly shows.

Plane Crash in a Prison Yard

Even today severe weather is a cause for concern when flying, to the point where flights are often cancelled or, at the very least, delayed. Choices must be made, hopefully with positive consequences for all involved. Several people in this story were forced to make choices, which tested the strength of their characters. The results of these choices had consequences for years to come.

Sixty years ago, on a freezing cold day in February 1957, Northwest Airlines Flight 823 lifted off from New York’s La Guardia Airport in a fierce snowstorm. Though the takeoff seemed normal, the flight only lasted for a minute before the plane crashed and came to rest on Rikers Island in the Rikers Island Prison Complex. Immediately, the plane was engulfed in flames, as the left wing had sheared off and the engine had been torn away, bursting into flames.

Massive Confusion

One prisoner, Angel Gorbea, looking out from his cell, described the scene to the Associated Press at the time: “The whole sky, even through the snow, was lighted. We, the prisoners, stood at the windows. We saw people tumbling out of that ship — they were all lighted, too, by the flames. We saw them, and their shadows.”

Not only was the air filled with fire and smoke, but also with the screams of the passengers as they struggled to flee the plane in their desperate attempt for survival. But rescue would not be easy: Rikers Island could only be accessed by boat or ferry, which was hindered by the terrible weather. Realizing this, Rikers Assistant Deputy Warden James Harrison had a difficult decision to make —should he release some of the prisoners to help rescue and care for the passengers? Or would they try to escape in the darkness and confusion of the plane wreck, thus jeopardizing his career?

Vital Help

He decided to release the prisoners that were “trusties” —those who had won the trust of the guards by their good behavior. His decision proved to be a good one, as many of the passengers credited the prisoners with saving lives and were thankful to them for that. Not only that, but when it was all over, every prisoner had returned to his cell.

Survival was not easy; many passengers were badly burned and in shock. Many would require extensive surgeries and rehabilitation. Phyllis and Charles Naylor managed to get out of the plane and jumped into a pile of snow to extinguish the flames. It was then that they realized that their faces and hands were dripping. They soon realized the dripping was their burning skin sliding off. It took two months in the hospital for them to recover, and it also required Charles, who was a professional pianist, to make a career change. Instead, he wrote music, because he could not stretch his hands far enough to perform classical music. In spite of this, Phyllis Naylor told a news reporter this year that they considered the accident 60 years ago “a blessing.” “Truth is,” she said, “we had a wonderful life; it has made me appreciate everything.”

Instant Action

Both the warden and passengers had difficult, life-changing decisions to make. The warden had to decide at that moment, how to save as many lives as possible. He made the right decision. All of the passengers had to decide, quickly, how to escape the burning plane. To delay meant certain death. And so it is with each one of us. God tells us that “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). We cannot enter God’s holy presence unless we come His way. We are hopeless, helpless sinners and cannot save ourselves. We must believe God when He says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Jesus died on Calvary’s cross for our sins, so that believing on Him in faith, we can have peace with God and eternal life. It is God’s gift to us. But we must accept it in faith. If we put it off, we can become hardened and indifferent. If we delay, we can but die. As this story proves, life is fragile and can end at any moment. A mighty king once said, “There is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). We would plead with you to make the right decision and decide for Christ today, while you may.

A Beautiful Life

Kenneth Kronen and his family were also flying on Flight 823. They had missed an early morning flight because their cabbie had taken a wrong turn to the airport. When the plane crashed and burst into flames, Kenneth picked up his 6-month-old son Mark, who was on fire, and threw him outside into a snowbank. (Other parents did the same with their babies in order to save them.) Then he hurried to help his wife and 2-year-old son Richard to get out of the plane, whereupon they were quickly rushed to safety. They did not see baby Mark and believed that he had died in the snow. Shocked and stunned, they comforted themselves with the thought that at least one of their babies had survived.

But baby Mark did not die. An inmate stepped on his snow-covered, cold body while walking in the snow and brought him to the prison. He was reunited with his grateful family two days later. “He saved my life, no question about it,” Mark told The Post. “I probably would’ve died if he hadn’t found me.” Mark grew up to lead a busy and productive life, marrying and becoming a grandfather. “I can’t express how grateful I am,” Mark said of the inmate who found him covered in snow. “He gave me a beautiful, beautiful life.”

Because of their bravery in helping burning passengers escape and their care in helping tend to the injured by applying Vaseline and bandages to the burn victims, they, too, were rewarded. Thirty of the 56 prisoners were released, and 16 of them had their sentences shortened. Assistant Deputy Warden Harrison’s decision was rewarded with the highest medal he could earn: the Medal of Honor.

Bad Decisions

When questioned, Captain Marsh stated that he believed the plane had hit a pole, which caused the left side of the plane to tilt downward, resulting in the plane plummeting into the ground. But the crash investigators came to a different conclusion: They determined that the probable cause of the crash was Captain Marsh’s inability to correctly interpret his flight instruments. Not only that, he had been in the cockpit during two previous crashes, one in 1952 and another in 1953. No one had died in the previous crashes, but this time it was different. Out of the 101 People on board, 20 lost their lives. The result was that he never piloted an airliner again, but was reassigned to a desk job with Northwest Airlines.

There were many people who agreed with Kenneth Kronan when he said, “That plane should’ve never taken off.” Not only had it been delayed over three hours, but there were also blizzard-like conditions. Investigators determined that the plane reached an altitude of just 200 feet before going down. In hindsight, it seems like the best choice would have been to cancel the flight.

Your Vital Choice

If you choose not to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, there is no doubt as to what the consequences will be. God, who cannot lie, is faithful to warn us that “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Decide for Christ today, while you still can!

The Mistakes of My Life

The mistakes of my life have been many,
The sins of my heart have been more,
And I scarce can see for weeping,
But I’ll knock at the open door.

Refrain:

I know I am weak and sinful,
It comes to me more and more;
But when the dear Savior shall bid me come in,
I’ll enter the open door.

My mistakes His free grace will cover,
My sins He will wash away,
And the feet that shrink and falter
Shall walk through the gates of day.

The mistakes of my life have been many,
And my spirit is sick with sin,
And I scarce can see for weeping,
But the Savior will let me in.

Lady Lewson

ady Lewson was not of the nobility, but received this title due to her manner of strange dress during her long life. She was born in 1700 as Jane Vaughan to respectable parents and grew up in the Strand, London, during the reign of William and Mary. At nineteen years of age, she married an elderly and very rich merchant; she now became Mrs. Lewson and lived in the quiet and well-to-do outskirts of London.

Not surprisingly, her husband did not live long after the marriage, and he left her a very wealthy widow at the young age of 26. There were many suitors eager and anxious to wed this attractive, rich, young widow, but she rejected them one and all and contented herself with raising her only daughter. When her daughter was raised and married, she embraced single retirement.

Over the years that followed, she developed many peculiarities and strange habits. She would only drink out of one teacup, because she didn’t want to pick up strange germs. She refused to let the servants dust her rooms for fear it would upset her delicate balance of good health. Because she was terrified of catching a cold, she refused to have water in the house. When the windows became grimy, she refused to have them cleaned, fearing they would shatter and kill the worker. She did not bathe in water, certain that the dirt on her skin protected her from disease; instead, she smeared her face and hands in pig’s fat (lard) and powdered and made up her face over this coating of grease. One can only imagine how she must have looked, let alone smelled!

Even Long Lives Eventually End

Not only did she become known for being extremely superstitious, but she also earned the title “Lady Lewson” because she dressed in a style that was out-of-date before she was even born. She lived during the reign of five English monarchs and enjoyed excellent health, even cutting two teeth at the age of 87 and never losing a tooth her entire life. On she lived, outliving most of her relatives, friends and acquaintances — 100, 110, 115 years. It would seem that she had attained immortality — but, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). And so it was with Lady Lewson, for in her 116th year, she received the shocking news that an ancient neighbor of hers had suddenly died. Shocked to the very core of her being, she stated that her time was up and that she should soon follow. And so it was — she became weak, took to her bed, and soon passed on into eternity on June 9, 1816.

Not Just “How Long” but “How” We Live

After her death, her sprawling home was opened to the curious public; it was like stepping into a time capsule, as nothing had been moved or changed for the past ninety years. Many feel that Lady Lewson was Charles Dickens’ model for the very eccentric Miss Havisham in his classic, Great Expectations. Miss Havisham was an old woman who dressed in her wedding gown every day until it was yellowed and in tatters, every clock in the house was set to 20 minutes to 9 in the morning (because that was when she received the letter from her betrothed stating that he would not marry her after all), and her wedding cake was still on display, even though it was just a mound of yellow cake covered in cobwebs and spiders. Both women, real and fictitious, lived for and clung to their memories of the past.

You may be thinking, “How foolish they were!” And yet, not realizing it, you may be living the very same way. The Bible tells us “we spend our years as a tale that is told” (Psalm 90:9). “What is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). To live 116 years is a long time by man’s standards, but it is infinitesimal compared to eternity. It is not how long we live that matters, but how we live that matters. In a few short, succinct verses, God tells us how we should live. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). We are not left to guess how we can please God and obey Him, either. He does not want us to waste our lives by living selfishly for ourselves, clinging to the dust and cobwebs that this world has to offer, heedless of our spiritual state and eternal well-being. We are told that God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Why? “Because He [God] hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man [Jesus] whom He [God] hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him [Jesus] from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

True Repentance

If we are honest with ourselves, we all know that we have sinned before a righteous and holy God. Our sins are a barrier between us and God. That is why God commands all men everywhere to repent. When we truly realize the awfulness of our sins and the terrible price that the Lord Jesus paid on Calvary’s cross for our sins, we are promised, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Ask the Lord Jesus to help you to live for Him. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). A life lived for Jesus will be richly rewarded! “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

Lady Lewson seemed to live in the past with a lot of phobias after her husband’s death. Some struggle with trauma and search for meaningful relationships in other ways. Orphanage Behaviors shows the way from heartbreak to a deep and enduring relationship.

Orphanage Behaviors

There are more orphans in this world than people suspect. There is a good chance the next person you meet either is or has been an orphan. Habits formed in the harsh environment of an orphanage may make the process of adoption difficult. Deeply ingrained habits are hard to change. Knowing firsthand of the plight of many orphans and growing up as an orphan myself (I was adopted later in life), I know the hurt and pain these behaviors may cause. These habits are called “orphanage behaviors,” and I would like to briefly describe three of them which are particularly detrimental.

Attachment Disorder

First, orphans often suffer from “attachment disorder.” In this widespread disorder, people attach themselves to things of lesser importance and are unable to form a secure attachment to the One who truly cares for them. They cling to things that can’t bring lasting happiness with great tenacity of heart, while neglecting the one relationship that could bring a deep and abiding joy into their lives. Even after an orphan is adopted and begins to develop healthy relationships, this attachment disorder can cause them to spiral out of control.

Blame-Game

Second, a serious habit, or disorder, common to orphans is the “blame-game” syndrome. In this disorder, it doesn’t matter how red-handed a person is caught doing wrong, they will always blame their action on somebody else. They take little or no personal responsibility for what they do. Because of this, they have a difficult time saying, “I am sorry,” or “Please forgive me,” when it is appropriate. Also, the lack of personal responsibility makes it difficult for individuals to learn the difference between right and wrong, virtue and vice, and the values of an orphanage where anything goes versus the values of their new family that is characterized by purity, dignity and respect.

“What I want, when I want it, as often as I want it,” is the sort of personal code of the orphan, and sadly they seldom ever get what they want. Such a code of action leads them into constant strife with others. Even after they have been adopted, this attitude crops up and robs them of the joy of depending on the One who is all-wise and will never fail them nor let them down.

Stormy Response

A third troubling orphanage behavior is their tendency to react to new situations with loudness, such as loud talking, crying or shouting. It is as if they are unable to give themselves enough time to process new information and must respond to it by shouting or crying. Even when they are quiet on the outside, they may be storming on the inside. Responding with loudness makes it impossible to hear the voice of reason or words of gentle admonition and love, when they are spoken.

The Father’s Voice

How many numberless souls have had the Father whisper to them, “I love you and want you to be My dear child forever,” only to have His beautiful invitation drowned out by all the clamor, noise and unrest that dwells in their hearts.

Oh, that each of us would get quiet in our souls long enough to seriously consider the wonderful and gracious invitation to leave our sins behind and to become one of God’s dear children through faith in Christ.

You see, I am not talking about the 150 million orphans that are growing up without parents in the world. No, I am talking about 7 billion persons in the world who are born in sin, raised in sin, live in sin, and because of sin don’t know the love of God the Father in their lives. Because of sin, they are spiritual orphans living in a state of alienation from God. I was this kind of orphan until by God’s grace I was adopted into God’s family through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

To make a way that poor spiritual orphans might be adopted into His family, God sent His Son into this world. The Lord Jesus went all the way to the cross where in love He died for our sins. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Through His death, those who see the error of their ways can find the forgiveness of sins. “In whom [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). They may obtain this forgiveness through faith in Christ.

Adopted Into God’s Family

These believers in Christ are adopted into God’s family and become His sons and daughters. John 1:12 reads, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” God the Holy Spirit then comes to dwell in their hearts. “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). “Abba Father” means something like, “Dear Father.” This term of endearment describes the precious new relationship they have with God the Father.

As sons or daughters of the living God, they will also receive an eternal home in heaven, which those who remain in their sins will not receive. Those who remain spiritual orphans will have no part in the inheritance. Instead, they will spend eternity in the darkness of hell. “These shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46). An eternity lost in hell is the saddest part about those who remain spiritual orphans.

God is willing to save every soul who repents and turns to Him by faith. He is also willing to show mercy and bring them all the way home to heaven.

However, many, because of an inordinate attachment to the things they can see and the failure to take personal responsibility for their own actions and the loudness and clamor in their souls, which makes it difficult to hear of God’s love, will never come back to Him. Don’t let any of these orphanage behaviors keep you from coming to know God as your loving Father. Instead, come to Christ by faith that you might be one of God’s children forever.

“Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).

It cost God a lot to make us His children. Consider the price He paid in Sold for a Cigarette.

Sold for a Cigarette

Sold by a mother who was desperate.

Two-month-old Danny had spent the nights of his short life in a dresser drawer before he was sold for a single cigarette. His birth mother had run away from home at 13 and by 1963 was carrying on an affair with a married man. She brought her 2-month, 3-day-old son to the door of the trailer home owned by Jimmie and Annie Brizendine where she traded him for one Pall Mall cigarette. As she turned him over and walked away from his life, she said, “I can be a mother and have a kid, but I can’t be a mother who raises him.”

But those early days were difficult in Danny’s new home where both Jimmie and Annie were holding down jobs to make ends meet. Annie said, “Danny wasn’t eating real well. He was sick; I was sick. I told my husband I didn’t think we could keep him. And he said, ‘They threw him away; we have to take him.’” Twenty-four years would pass before Danny ever met his birth mother again. He knew only the struggles of his teen years in an adoptive family. When he finally met his birth mother, his eyes were opened. As Danny puts it, “When I saw her, I realized how good I’d had it.”

Bought by a God Who Is Love

I, too, was once helplessly poor. But unlike Danny, I was trapped in a mess of my own making — sin. Just like Isaiah could say about Israel, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2), my sins had ruptured my relationship to God and opened me up to the consequences of those sins.

But God beautifully expresses the deep value He placed on me and so many others. Unlike Danny who appeared suddenly and unexpectedly on the doorstep of a trailer home, God came purposefully searching for those He valued: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46). Danny was traded for a cigarette — I was bought by the precious blood of Christ. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

You can know the deep love of God and come to know Him as your Father too. He says to all who recognize they have sinned and need to be rescued, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Will you believe?

Is Jesus a Real Historical Figure?

he historical evidence for Jesus is long-established. Within decades of His life He is mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by many Christian writings. Compare that with, for example, King Arthur, who “maybe” lived around 500 A.D. The sources for events of that time do not even mention Arthur. He is first referred to only 300 or 400 years later. The evidence for Jesus is not “folklore.”

The Christian writings are evidence that is early and detailed. The first writings are by the Apostle Paul, and scholars agree that these were written within 25 years of Jesus’ death. The detailed biographical accounts of Jesus in the Gospels date from around 40 years after He died. These all appeared within the lifetimes of numerous eyewitnesses and provide descriptions that agree with the culture and geography of first-century Palestine.

The first non-Christian author to mention Jesus is the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote a history of Judaism around 93 A.D. He has two references to Jesus. One of these is controversial because it is thought to be edited by Christian scribes, but the other is not suspicious — a reference to James, the brother of “Jesus, the so-called Christ.”

About 20 years later we have the significant Roman high officials, Pliny and Tacitus, who ruled at the beginning of the second century A.D. Their reports fit with the time frame of the Gospels and we learn that Jesus was executed while Pontius Pilate was the governor and that the Christians worshipped Christ as “a god.”

These abundant and significant historical references by various writers leave us with little reasonable doubt that Jesus lived and died. But another important consideration is to realize Jesus died and LIVES.

The Bible says that because He lives, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost [completely] that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25). He knows your situation, your sins and your attempts to break free. Only God is able to save you, to change your life. And He does this from the inside out. He can cleanse your heart, bring forgiveness to your soul, and a song to your mouth.

History has a lot to say about Jesus Christ. God has even more. Find out about both perspectives in Pontius Pilate’s Dilemma as you continue your search for truth.

Pontius Pilate's Dilemma

ho was Pontius Pilate? And what part did he play on the stage of history?

In 1961, an Italian archaeological team led by Dr. Frova was excavating in the area of an ancient theater in Caesarea, Israel, when he started to flip over some limestone blocks. On the back of one of them was a partial inscription of dedication to Tiberius by Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea. Today you can see a replica of this stone in Caesarea Maritima. The partially damaged block itself can be seen at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The stone is inscribed in Latin and dates back to the time of 26-37 A.D. This agrees to the time when Jesus was ordered to be crucified by Pontius Pilate.

A Huge Decision

Pontius Pilate had a huge decision with eternal consequences to make. He asks this question: “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22). Pilate had to answer this question; he could not avoid it. When Jesus was first brought before him, Pilate tried to ignore Him. “Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law” (John 18:31), Pilate said to the Jews. Like Pilate, we must decide what to do with Jesus. Will you ignore and neglect Him? Then that’s your decision. Will you reject and despise Him? That, too, is your decision. Or will you accept Him as your Lord and Savior? Like Pilate, our decision will have eternal consequences, for we will all stand before Jesus in a coming day.

The Bible tells us there are several things Pilate knew about Jesus before he gave sentence. He knew that:

• “For envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18).

• He was the King of the Jews. “Pilate asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answered him and said, Thou sayest it” (Luke 23:3).

• He was an innocent, just Man. “He said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath He done? I have found no cause of death in Him: I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go” (Luke 23:22).

• He was warned by his wife to have “nothing to do with that just Man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him” (Matthew 27:19).

• He was going against his conscience: “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just Person: see ye to it” (Matthew 27:24).

A Bad Decision

Pilate did not listen to reason: He knew that the charges against Jesus were trumped up. After carefully examining the evidence, Pilate declares Him innocent three times! What about us? We also have the voice of reason: Not only does secular history and archaeology give clear evidence of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, most importantly, the infallible Word of God, the Bible, gives us these facts.

Pilate’s wife faithfully begged him to have nothing to do with that “just Man.” Pilate did not listen to the voice of a loved one. How many of us have had a friend, husband, wife, or co-worker plead with us to repent of our sins and accept the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior? Do not be like Pilate and refuse the voice of a loved one!

Pilate also heard the voice of Jesus as to the truth. Scripture records this amazing exchange between Pilate and Jesus: “Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice” (John 18:37). But did Pilate really want to know the truth? Not at all! In response to Jesus, Pilate says, “What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews” (John 18:38). We, too, hear the voice of Jesus through His Word, the Bible: “Jesus saith ... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

Pilate also heard the persistent voice of conscience. In a desperate attempt to absolve himself of any guilt for sentencing Jesus to death, he washes his hands with water and declares himself innocent! When Pilate stands before Jesus as his Judge, do you think this excuse will satisfy Him? What excuse will you offer to Jesus after you have refused the voice of reason, ignored the entreaties and tears of loved ones, and silenced the voice of your conscience?

Why Make a Bad Choice?

So why did Pilate knowingly and deliberately condemn Jesus to death? Scripture gives us several reasons why, and they are the same reasons why people reject Jesus today.

The first reason was pride — Pilate was a very proud man! Listen to what he said to Jesus: “Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?” (John 19:10). Pride in our ability to debate, pride in our learning to argue against the truth, pride in our good works, and pride in our belief of a better way will only serve to keep us from “the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

Pilate did not want to lose his position or possessions. “From thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this Man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar” (John 19:12). This was a political threat by the Jews; Pilate did not want the risk of being reported to Tiberius, which would possibly cause him to lose his title, job and position. Is counting the cost keeping you from coming to salvation in Christ?

He listened to the voice of public opinion — in today’s language we would say that he read the polls. “The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus” (Matthew 27:20). Having “read the polls,” he made his decision. “Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified” (Mark 15:15). Are you letting the opinion of others keep you from coming to Jesus?

Pilate had nice things to say about Jesus and even stated the truth about Him! “Ye have brought this Man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this Man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him” (Luke 23:14). People are just the same today — they acknowledge and admire Jesus as “a great man” and “a wonderful teacher” who did many miracles and good works, but they will not accept Him as their Lord and Savior. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

Don’t let a lie hide the truth from your eyes. Read The Greatest Lie Ever Told.

The Greatest Lie Ever Told

hat do you think is the greatest lie ever told? Could it be Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme which deceived men and women into investing billions of dollars, only to lose all they invested? Or maybe it was Eric the Red giving the name of Greenland to an island mostly covered with 40 feet of ice in order to promote immigration? Perhaps you might rate the description of the great ocean liner, Titanic, as unsinkable as the greatest lie? These were all notable lies, but I don’t think they were the greatest. To be the greatest lie of all times, the lie needs to meet these criterion:

Criterion for Selecting the Greatest Lie

First, the lie must be utterly audacious and fly in the face of authority. The more audacious a lie is, the more it will capture the hearts and minds of people.

Second, the falsehood needs to be so widespread that it is almost universal in scope. A small lie might affect an individual, a great lie might affect a great many people, but if it is going to rate as the greatest lie ever told, it needs to affect nearly everyone who has ever lived.

Third, the lie must have the potential to cause serious pain and damage in the lives of those deceived by it.

Evaluating the Biggest Lie

The great falsehood I am about to share with you meets these three criteria. This falsehood is the first lie ever told in the history of mankind. It goes like this: “Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ... Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:1,4). This lie was spoken in the Garden of Eden, but variants of it have been told to every person, in every age, ever since. The variants may go something like this: “Has God said you will die because of your sin? You may not die.” The words might vary, but the message that souls can sin with impunity, because sin doesn’t bring about the death of the sinner remains the same.

People who fall for this lie may say things like, “I can do whatever I want and God will never bring me into judgment for the evil I have done.”

This lie is audacious because it flies in the face of the greatest authority in the universe — God. His Word reads, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And in another place, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). It is a bold-faced lie to think that the God of the universe will not hold the men and women He created responsible for the sins they have committed during their lifetime.

This lie is widespread too. It seems like every person who has ever been born has a hard time seeing the consequences of their sins. It is only by God’s grace and help that we ever form a right opinion about ourselves. The truth is that we are sinners, lost and undone, and in no way able to save ourselves.

Also, this lie will cause a great deal of pain. Those who never come to the Savior will be sent away to hell when they die. The sufferings of souls lost in hell will never cease. Their sufferings will be both physical and spiritual. Some people have it pretty bad on earth and suffer a lot, but the suffering that will take place in hell will be far worse than any possible on earth. An old Christian writer described hell as “the place where death never dies”; that is, a place of perpetual pain, agony and sorrow.

This greatest of all lies ever told has the power to bring people to hell. This is because, until people see themselves as lost sinners headed to hell, they will never have a reason to turn to the Savior of sinners.

Lie-Crushing Truth

On the cross, the Lord Jesus suffered, bled and died so that sinners might return to God and find the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Thank God that the same verse that says the wages of sin is death, also says that the gift of God is eternal life: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The gospel proclaims good news for sinners. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). God will give this gift of eternal life to all who repent and believe on His Son. “This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25).

Men and women may use deceit and make promises they do not intend to keep, but God never will. He will never fail to keep any of His promises!

And here is a most marvelous truth: Even if your sins were a thousand times worse than they actually are, God is ready to forgive you and erase them, for Christ’s sake, the moment you believe on Him.

The greatest lie ever told has the power to bring pain and misery into countless millions of lives. Don’t be among those of whom God says, “Through deceit they refuse to know Me” (Jeremiah 9:6). But instead, humble yourself, and come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Only by coming to Christ, who is the truth, can a person escape all the lies and deceit that are both in the world and in their hearts. Only Christ can save a sinner. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

No Other Name

One offer of salvation,
To all the world make known;
The only sure foundation
Is Christ the Cornerstone.

Chorus:
No other name is given,
No other way is known,
’Tis Jesus Christ the First and Last,
He saves, and He alone.

One only door of heaven
Stands open wide today;
One sacrifice is given:
’Tis Christ, the living way.

My only song and story
Is—Jesus died for me;
My only hope of glory,
The cross of Calvary.

Where Has 2017 Gone?

ne song holds the distinction as the #1 hit with the oldest lyrics. It arrived with the distinctive sound of the jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar which accompanied it into the record books in 1965, an international hit by the Byrds.

It was called, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”

The lyrics which appealed to Pete Seeger were written by King Solomon some 3000 years earlier. In his book, “The Preacher” (Ecclesiastes), the king reflected on the foolishness of wearing only rosy-tinted glasses and rushing after beautiful bubbles.

He wrote, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. ... A time to break down, and a time to build up. ... A time to love, and a time to hate” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,3,8). Read the rest in chapter 3.

We both know that changes come in a variety of flavors. There are changes we make ourselves. We diet; we upgrade computers. Other changes kick the door down and walk in. We are diagnosed with diabetes; our routine is disrupted by the illness of a child; we survive a collision and write off the car.

And now we have jetted through 2017! Time and change don’t weigh the inconvenience they impose on us, don’t pause so we can catch our breath or backtrack to take another run at the problem.

The preacher Hosea (400 B.C.) wrote in a compact sentence, “It is time to seek the Lord” (Hosea 10:12). Can I ask you a question? Have you thought a little about God this year? Just a little? Seriously?

The year with all its uncertainties already sits mostly behind us. The rest of it will not unroll quite how we anticipated. We will experience highs and lows. We will face trials and triumphs. But it will all pass. Most importantly, it is time, now, to seek the Lord. Or, as the song put it, Turn, Turn, Turn.

Where to begin? Pick up a Bible. Turn the pages; find the Gospel of Mark. It is an abridged account of the life and impact of Jesus. Read His story; hear His words. Pete Seeger added a little phrase at the end of the ancient lyrics. It was simply, “It’s not too late.” Of course, someday it will be. Seriously.

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40).

One of life’s sudden and shocking U-turns is covered in A Vacation Gone Wrong.

A Vacation Gone Wrong

t was supposed to be a fun-filled day of climbing Jamaica’s famous Dunn’s River Falls and swimming with the dolphins. And that is exactly how it almost turned out.

Eight passengers who were aboard the Independence of the Seas had booked a day’s excursion to visit the famous attraction. And, sure enough, they did get to climb the falls and even swam with dolphins. But when they were on the return trip to Falmouth, their bus driver got into an accident that cost one person his life and three others serious injury. According to the suit that passengers filed against the Royal Caribbean cruise lines, their bus driver was driving recklessly — speeding and changing lanes several times. When they repeatedly asked him to slow down, his response was that he was driving “the way everyone typically drives in Jamaica.” Though he was speeding, he was not quick enough to get out of the way of a truck that had gotten into his lane. The truck ended up broadsiding the bus, which flipped several times.

The lawsuit that the tourists filed claims that Royal Caribbean put their lives in danger by having them sign up with an inept bus driver, which ended up being a death trap. They stated that the result was that Royal Caribbean failed to provide them with a safe excursion.

Two Distinct Excursions

Eight tourists expected their tour guide to get them safely back to their ship, but he did not do so. Like those tourists, we too, are on a journey with a destination at its end. What you believe and who you trust in will determine how the journey ends. You are on one of two paths on life’s journey. The Bible says: “Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). There is only one way to heaven, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Knowing that Jesus is the way to heaven and eternal life, how do we come to Him? We acknowledge our sinful state before a righteous and holy God, and have “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). We are promised, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Jesus is the “straight gate” that leads to salvation and eternal life — come to Him now, while you are able!

Ignored Warnings

Another cruise ship with over 6,000 people aboard courted disaster when it sailed out of New Jersey for the Bahamas and ran into a hurricane off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Terrified passengers hunkered down in their cabins, as the captain battled 125-mph winds which whipped the sea into 30-foot waves. For roughly 12 hours, the Anthem of the Seas pitched and heaved, including four or five hours when the massive ship was at a 45-degree angle, according to passenger Justin Scurbo. The ship was leaning so much that water from a faucet hit the wall instead of going down the drain. One indignant lady said that they were too frightened to stay in their cabin, as every time a wave hit their window, it sounded like a truck smashing into it, and they were afraid that it would break. They fled their room and sought shelter elsewhere.

Many people felt that there had been a lapse in judgment on the part of Royal Caribbean or the captain because the storm had been forecasted days before they ever left port. In fact, Washington’s National Weather Service had predicted winds of 46 to 57 mph and 23- to 31-foot seas for Sunday night right where the ship encountered the storm. Royal Caribbean did apologize to passengers, explaining that the storm was worse than predicted and that if they had known it was going to be that bad the captain would not have sailed.

God’s Word tells us, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The Jamaican bus driver thought that “his way” was perfectly fine, but it ended in tragedy. Royal Caribbean and the captain of the Anthem of the Seas did not realize the seriousness of the storm that was predicted. And so it is with many folks —they do not realize that they are on the “broad ... way that leadeth to destruction.” Good works, following man’s traditions apart from God’s Word and putting off accepting the Lord Jesus as their own personal Savior can only end in “the Lord Jesus ... taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Which Way Are You Headed?

Which path are you on? The broad way that leads to destruction, or the narrow way that leads to eternal life? “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Some people think they have lots of time to decide where they will spend eternity. Many, like the people mentioned in An Unexpected Way to Die, never know what hit them.

An Unexpected Way to Die

s life goes by, we become very busy in the course of normal events. But sometimes the unexpected intrudes into our “normal” lives, with results that could not have been foreseen. These strange but true stories show why it is so important to be prepared to leave this world at a moment’s notice.

Falling Poodle

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1983, a poodle named Cachi fell 13 stories and landed on a 75-year-old woman’s head. Both the poodle and the woman died instantly. A 46-year-old woman who was standing on the edge of a crowd that had stopped in the middle of the street to watch the scene, died instantly when she was hit by a bus. An unidentified man who witnessed both incidents had a heart attack and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Stampeding Sheep

Sheep are generally docile animals, but not in this case. A farmer’s wife, 67-year-old Betty Stobbs, was killed when she was stampeded by the family’s flock of sheep. As she arrived on her ATV with a bale of hay, the ravenous sheep charged her and knocked her off her ATV and over a 100-foot cliff. Amazingly, she survived the fall. Unfortunately, her bike tumbled in after her, landing on top of her, and crushed her to death.

All Guilty

These stories are not told to entertain, but to bring before us the seriousness of being prepared for the afterlife. When some people mentioned to Jesus a shocking current event that had taken place — Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galilaeans with the Jewish sacrifices to defile them —Jesus made a searching observation. “Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-3). Jesus was saying that in God’s sight, we are all equally guilty, and that we will all perish in our sins, if we do not repent towards God. The way we die has nothing to do with our standing before a righteous and holy God. Jesus reinforced this with another example. “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-5).

Runaway Toy

Roger Wallace died when he lost sight of the remote-controlled airplane he was flying because it got lost in the sun. Apparently, the 6½-pound plane, which had a 5-foot wingspan, circled around and hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. By the time paramedics got there 30 minutes later, the 60-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Jerry Knebel, the president of the Southern Arizona Modelers club said, “This was not a common thing. This was just the freakiest of freak accidents that could possibly happen.” He stated that the reason why Mr. Wallace joined the club three years prior to the accident was because he wanted a safe hobby. He had been drag car racing and thought that flying remote-controlled airplanes was by far the safer sport.

Toppling Cactus

In 1982, David Grundman and a friend decided to have some fun shooting saguaro cacti in the Arizona desert. Not only is it illegal to do this, but a fully hydrated saguaro can weigh between 3,200 and 4,800 pounds. Mr. Grundman successfully shot and toppled a 10-foot saguaro, so he was encouraged to shoot at a 26-foot saguaro next. Sure enough, he toppled a four-foot arm of the giant cactus — with the result that the 500-pound prickly arm fell on him and squashed him to death.

One Certainty

Most people die at an old age or from a common disease. One thing is certain, we won’t live on earth forever. If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? In heaven with the Lord Jesus, or in hell with the devil and his angels? Life is too uncertain and fragile to put this matter off — come to the Lord now, while you are able, and ask Him to help you live for Him. “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 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-10,13).

Echoes of Grace: 2017

Table of Contents

The Great Boston Molasses Flood

Tornado Touchdown!

Attack by Bees!

Redemption Ground

Choose Your Cruise

Playing With Death

Too Cute

Great Escapes Over the Berlin Wall

Hidden River Cave

Never

Christ Your Griefs Has Borne

Swallowed Up Alive!

The Story of Two Cranes

Death on Lunch Break

Grandpa Is in Heaven

Traffic Tangles

Nothing But the Name of Jesus

Amtrak Train 188

The Great Mystery

The Chunnel

Doomed Flight

Something Better Than Suicide

Dark Is the Night

The Lost Rings

The Best Water

Doll's Eyes and Dancing Grass Plants

Caught!

Plane Crash in a Prison Yard

The Mistakes of My Life

Lady Lewson

Orphanage Behaviors

Sold for a Cigarette

Is Jesus a Real Historical Figure?

Pontius Pilate's Dilemma

The Greatest Lie Ever Told

No Other Name

Where Has 2017 Gone?

A Vacation Gone Wrong

An Unexpected Way to Die