Echoes of Grace: 2022

Letters of warning are important and should be taken seriously. This letter of warning was taken seriously...but not seriously enough, and it cost 20 people their lives.

One particular Apple Barrel Country Store & Café was located right at the bottom of a T-intersection, in Schoharie, New York. What made the intersection so dangerous was the fact that it was at the bottom of a very steep hill, causing many heavy trucks and tractor trailers to lose their breaks while attempting to stop at the stop sign at the bottom of the hill.

Knowing of the danger, Bob Loden, the owner of the Apple Barrel store wrote a letter of warning to a regional director of the state DOT (Department of Transportation) in the fall of 2012. The letter stated that in the past three months, three trucks had experienced brake failure while coming down the steep hill and had ended up in the Apple Barrel parking lot. Two of the trucks had come dangerously close to crashing into a 1,000-gallon propane tank on the side of the Apple Barrel store. Loden didn’t even want to contemplate a worse-case scenario. He wrote, “If a brake failure were to occur on a busy fall weekend, multiple lives are at risk.”

Not Serious Enough

So, was the warning heeded? Yes...and no. In April, 2013, the DOT banned all trucks over 18 tons from using that steep section of roadway going towards the Apple Barrel. But this did not include smaller delivery trucks and school busses. Then, in January 2015, all trucks over 5 tons were banned from using that section of roadway. Later in the year, all trucks were banned from using that section to avoid any confusion. But this did not exclude limousines and it was to prove a deadly mistake for 20 unsuspecting people.

God’s Word, the Bible, gives us a serious and solemn warning of the consequences of entering into eternity with our sins unforgiven. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). ALL have sinned...every one of us are born sinners, we live in sin and God tells us that if we die with our sins unforgiven, we CANNOT enter into His holy presence. It is critical that we see our great need as sinners, and our need of the Savior of sinners! We will spend eternity in one of two places — heaven or hell.

Jesus spoke of hell many times as a warning to us. The last book in the Bible, Revelation, gives us one of the most sobering descriptions of what it will be like to stand before God in our sinful state. It is actually quite frightening, because the time for repentance before God will be past, and our eternal destination will be set. “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whom the face of the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15). Think of it! There will be no place to hide from God as your life in all of its sinful state is exposed before Him! If you are standing before God’s great white throne, after your sinful life is reviewed, because God is just and fair, He will open the book of life to show you that your name is not written there. There will be no questions then — you will be “cast into the lake of fire.”

Awful Consequences

Six years after Bob Loden wrote his letter of warning, on October 6, 2018, a stretch limousine flew down that dangerous hill at 100 mph, crashing into a SUV in the Apple Barrel parking lot and instantly killing two men who happened to be standing there. The limousine then landed in a ditch. Clearly, its brakes had failed. It was determined that the 31-foot limousine weighed nearly 7 tons, making it bigger than some trucks previously banned from travelling on that stretch of road. But the rules did not apply to limousines.

A group of family and friends out to celebrate one young woman’s 30th birthday, never suspected that it would be their last day on earth. Those that lost their lives included four sisters, an Iraq war veteran and newlyweds. One couple left behind two young children. A year later, one young man was still grieving the loss of his brother, best friend and cousin.

The vehicle had failed inspection a month before the accident and the driver did not have the proper license to operate the limo. As of this writing, the investigation is still ongoing, as local and state officials wrangle with federal investigators. Law suits have been filed in several directions, and a “not guilty” plea has been entered by the operator of Prestige Limousines. It seems the case will be tied up in the courts where high-powered lawyers will fight it out.

But there is no confusion as to God’s plan of salvation. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The “gift of God” means that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. “Through Jesus Christ our Lord” means that it is because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). We must truly believe and accept God’s gift of salvation. This is not head knowledge, but true repentance before God for our sins, and simple trust that He will save us from an awful doom for Jesus’ sake. “He that believe[s] on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believe[s] not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth [rests] on him” (John 3:36).

God is writing everything down that we do, including our every thought, and He knows our hearts. You will not be able to wiggle out of your guilt before Him! Now is the time that God has given you to make sure that your name is written in the Book of Life! Jesus died for you — accept His free offer of salvation while you have life, before it is too late! Then, because you put your faith in Jesus, you will go to be with Him in heaven forever.

Another car accident described in Saved From a Muddy Death, illustrates more of this vital truth.

Abundantly Able to Save

Whoever receives the Crucified One,
Whoever believes on God’s only Son,
A free and a perfect salvation will have:
For He is abundantly able to save.

My friend, the Master is calling for you;

His grace and His mercy are wondrously true;
His blood as a ransom for sinners He gave,
And He is abundantly able to save.

Whoever receives the message of God,
And trusts in the power of soul-cleansing blood,
A full and eternal redemption will have:
For He is both able and willing to save.

Almost Scammed!

Rajbir Singh was an honest man and also the owner of Roseville Cab in California. One winter day in February 2020, he picked up a 92-year-old woman. Being a friendly man, he began to make conversation with her and learned that she wanted to go to the bank to make a $25,000 withdrawal to pay off an IRS debt.

Not only was Rajbir Singh an honest and friendly man, but he was also a caring person. Sensing that something wasn’t right, he begged her not to withdraw any money, telling her that he was certain that she was being scammed. But his elderly passenger still wasn’t convinced that he was right.

He asked her if the person who called her needing the money was a relative. She became silent. Now Rajbir was certain that it was a scam! He convinced her to let him call the person needing money (who was posing as an IRS employee) and asked him, “Do you know this lady?” He answered “No.” He told the scammer that the lady was 92 years old and nervous about the situation. The would-be scammer then hung up and eventually blocked his number, preventing Rajbir from calling again.

Even after this, the lady was not convinced it was a scam. But Rajbir was determined to help her and pleaded with her to go with him to the Roseville police station to speak to an officer. When she agreed, he took her there and explained the situation to an officer, who then spoke to the lady, finally convincing her that it was indeed a scam. A relieved Rajbir was then able to drive her home, saving her from being scammed out of $25,000.

God Is Ready to Give

The Bible tells us that “the thief 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). Just as a scammer wants to deceive and steal, Satan wants to deceive us about faith in Jesus and His death on the cross for our sins. Satan will tell any lie to kill and destroy us spiritually. Just as Rajbir saw the danger and told the lady the truth, so the Bible points the sinner to salvation and eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3), and, “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).

It took a lot of effort for Rajbir and the police officer to persuade this elderly lady that someone was trying to scam her. Most of us are not any different than this elderly lady. God, “who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), uses His Word, creation, our consciences, and life’s circumstances to speak to us. He wants to catch our attention, but are we too busy listening to the devil’s lies to listen to Him? Be careful! The Bible tells us that the “Lord [God] said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3).

Listening to Truth

The lady was wise to listen to Rajbir and then the police officer. If we listen to what God has to say and receive the salvation He offers, we will have joy, peace and freedom.

If we listen to Satan’s lies, we will spend an awful unending existence in hell with the devil and his angels. Satan will tell you, “There’s no God — or there might be, but you can’t know for sure.” “There’s no such thing as a heaven or a hell!” “There are many religions/beliefs — one’s as good as another.” “Just do the best you can — and you’ll get there in the end!” “Be faithful to whatever religion you were born into and you’ll have nothing to worry about!”

The most deceptive, the most dangerous lie that Satan will tell you is this: “Yes, there is a God. Yes, there is a heaven and a hell. Yes, all men are sinners and in need of a Savior. Yes, you need to repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you. Yes, Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead and lives again. Yes, there is cleansing power in the blood of Jesus. Yes, you need to repent and yield your heart to Jesus — BUT do it later! Wait! Don’t be in such a hurry — enjoy life just a little longer!” Don’t listen to this lie — if you wait, you may die. If you wait, your heart will only grow harder, until you no longer hear the gentle call of God’s Holy Spirit.

God is calling you NOW. “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Learn more about God’s true way to be saved in Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge.

The Cat Colony of Ediz Hook

One wintry afternoon, when the wind was blowing and a light rain had been falling off and on, I drove my car to the edge of town and turned north onto the road that ran the length of the sand spit called Ediz Hook.

For centuries the Elwha river has been emptying into the sea and depositing sand. This sand has formed the spit called Ediz Hook. The spit is about 100 feet wide and three miles long. There is a Coast Guard station at its very tip, and the people of Port Angeles are very happy for it because it gives them a deep water port at the edge of the town.

To keep the spit from eroding away in storms, engineers have dumped tons and tons of large boulders on its northern shore. These boulders have piled up on one another, forming many hidden passageways and cavities beneath them.

Usually the only animals you might see on the spit are sea birds, eagles, seals and sea lions. As I drove, I caught flashes of bright colors such as oranges and white among the boulders. Slowing down, I was surprised to see that these splotches of color were cats.

The sun had come out in a break in the intermittent rain and these cats were sitting on the boulders getting a bit of sunshine. It was hard to guess how many of them there were. I drove to the end of the spit and parked my car. Strolling along the road, I saw many of them. They came in every sort of color and had thick winter coats. Whenever I approached a cat, it would twitch its tail, leap down into some crevice between the boulders and disappear out of sight.

After approaching a number of cats only to have them disappear, I quickly concluded that they wanted nothing to do with humans. I guessed I saw only a fraction of the total number of cats that were living among the rocks.

Later, I did a little research on the Internet and found out that people who no longer wanted their feline pets had abandoned them on the spit, and these numbers had grown until there were 40 or 50 of these cats living together in some sort of loose community. Abandoned cats sometimes band together in large numbers and form what are referred to as “cat colonies.”

They had gone completely wild. Animal experts cautioned against trying to trap any of the cats and bring them home for house pets because they probably wouldn’t be able to shake free from their wild ways.

I was surprised that a narrow beach jutting out into the sea, buffeted by storms, winds and wild waves, had become home to such a large number of cats. Unfortunately, due to the harsh environment and predators like eagles flying overhead, I don’t think many of those cats will enjoy a long life.

Another Hostile Environment

The cat colony on Ediz Hook was located in a very inhospitable, hostile environment. I wouldn’t want to wish such living conditions on anybody. Do you know that sinners live in a hostile environment too? The Bible says they are strangers to God’s grace. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Because they do things that displease Him, they are living at a distance from Him. Sinners are forever living in a hostile environment because they don’t know the love of God.

What’s more, they bristle and go into fight-or-flight mode when they are approached with the gospel. It is as if the hair goes up on the back of their necks. When someone tells them, “God loves you, and Christ died for you,” they try to get away as fast as possible. They turn away from hearing the message of God’s love and retreat into the hidden crevices of their sinful hearts.

Living in sin is like living in an inhospitable land. There is no future for those who remain apart from God. Whether they like it or not, those who reject God’s love and grace in this short life will spend eternity in the most inhospitable place ever, called hell. Sent out of God’s presence, they will never know anything good, wholesome or pleasant again. They wanted nothing to do with God on earth, and God will have nothing to do with them for the endless ages of eternity. Talk about a community of outcasts!

Suffering Isn’t Required

This fate of hell doesn’t have to happen to anybody. “The Lord is ... long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). It is God’s will that all come to repentance and faith in Christ.

Even if you have spent your life doing things God hates, He tells you to repent. Sometimes people sin so much that repenting from their sins feels like they have to tear their guts out. It might be painful at first, but it is the right thing to do. Repentance and faith are the only path to eternal life. Those sins may feel like they are part of us, but they are not. The blood of Christ can wash away the guilt of sin.

Animal experts cautioned against trying to tame one of the wild cats and make it into a house pet. Through bitter experience, they have found out that in most cases it just doesn’t work.

Wild cats may not be able to change their ways, but you are far more than a cat. You were created with a rational mind able to reason, judge and understand. Cats don’t have this ability. They act out of instinct. You don’t have to choose the easy, slippery path to hell. You don’t have to consign yourself to an eternity of distance from God.

We all need God’s grace. Not only when we first come to Christ, but every day for the rest of our lives we need His grace. Without it, we would surely fall back into our sinful ways.

We can live defiantly towards the God who made us, or we can confess we’ve sinned, turn to the Lord Jesus by faith, have our sins forgiven and start on the way home to heaven.

Which path do you want to take through life? What a horrible price sinners will pay for rejecting the Savior. The price they will pay is nothing less than an eternity in the outer darkness of hell.

Be wise and come to Jesus Christ who gave His life for you that you might live with Him forever.

Find more of God’s goodness to you in Kindness.

Change!

Everything in the universe is changing. The seasons are changing. The ocean tides are changing. The earth’s climate is changing. Even the stars in the night sky which seem so changeless are changing.

People, too, are changing. They are born, pass from childhood to adulthood, from middle age to old age, from old age to death, from this life to eternity.

It is almost certain that all the tens of millions of people who were very much alive in the 19th century — all who had dreams, hopes, and aspirations every bit as real as people living today — by this year of 2022 have died and passed away. In a hundred and twenty years from now the future generation may say the same of the billions of people living today.

None of us can avoid such changes. We might like to think we will live forever, but from the moment we are born, we are changing, growing older, and nearing the time when we will exit this life.

A Needed Change

Because we are sinners, we need to undergo an important change in our lives. This change is called “justification.” It takes place when a sinner repents and believes in Christ. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear[s] My word, and believe[s] on Him that sent Me, [has] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

People are “justified” and have their sins forgiven when they turn by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38-39).

After this life is over, it will be too late to be justified by faith. People will remain confirmed forever in the state they die in. The unrepentant will remain that way for all eternity in hell, while those who repent and are reconciled to God through the death of His Son will endlessly enjoy the glories of heaven. God, in His grace, wants all men to come to Christ and be justified.

Change is everywhere. In truth the only One who never changes is God. You can’t avoid the great change from this life to an eteral death. What you can change now is where you spend eternity by repenting of your sins and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

Do you think somehow you will stay the same, that somehow as you are today you will remain for an endless series of tomorrows? Every second that is passing is drawing you closer to the time when you must stand before God and give an account of your life. What you do with Christ will determine where you spend eternity.

Be wise therefore and come to the Savior who gave His life on Calvary that all might live through Him.

A Copperhead Strike!

Both rattlesnakes and copperheads are in the pit viper family and both are poisonous. Though their bites are dangerous, they are not generally lethal. Both of these snakes are shy, preferring to warn and slither away, but they will definitely strike if they are stepped on or handled. If you have the misfortune to be bitten by one of these snakes, you should seek medical attention immediately.

A woman in Northern California called Al Wolf of the Sonoma County Reptile Rescue because she was sure that she had seen rattlesnakes scurry under her home. Responding to the call, he thought that maybe he would pull one or two from under the home as he had done on many other occasions. But when he got under the house, he saw one rattlesnake ... and then another ... and another!

Retreating from under the home, he put on long safety gloves and collected two buckets and a 24-inch-long snake stick. Then he got to work. Three hours and forty-five minutes later, he had captured 22 adult rattlesnakes and 59 babies! Because of the number of female rattlesnakes and babies, it was clear that this was a den of theirs. After his first visit, he made two more visits and collected 11 more rattlesnakes. He also removed a dead cat and a dead possum.

Mr. Wolf said that it was hard, unpleasant work to extract all of those rattlesnakes from under the house, but worth it. He had to crawl on his hands, stomach and knees in the dirt. He had to remove spider webs and turn over more than 200 small rocks. It was a musty, smelly, filthy job that had to be done!

Bigger Lessons

The rattlesnake den is a good illustration of how God sees us when we are living apart from Him in our willfulness and sin. We are filthy in His sight, and our sins rise up as an awful stench to His nostrils! “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores” (Isaiah 1:6). Do not deceive yourself by thinking, “Really, I’m not that bad ... I do the best I can and live a good life. After all, I’m not a liar, thief or immoral and certainly not as bad as a murderer!” The problem is that our very hearts are deceitful and sinful.

Only God has the answer for our sinful condition. He knows that we need to be washed clean and receive a new nature. That is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and shed His blood for our sins. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Just as the rattlesnakes were removed from under the house, God wants to make our hearts clean and free from sin. Because of the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross for our sins, our sins are forgiven when we come to God in repentance, acknowledging our need of a Savior, and putting our trust in Jesus. “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13), said from a contrite and broken heart, along with, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31), is how we can all come to God and have our sins forgiven.

Mr. Wolf was able to remove the poisonous rattlesnakes into the wild, but he could only go so far. But the forgiven sinner can say, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Are you able to make this claim for yourself? Do you have assurance of your sins forgiven? It takes true repentance and faith in the work of Jesus on the cross — accept Him now, while you still have time! What you do with God’s offer of salvation through His Son Jesus will determine where you spend eternity.

The woman in Northern California was wise to take the threat of rattlesnakes so seriously. Poisonous venom is like sin. If sin is not dealt with immediately, there will be consequences. “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). Sin always leads to death. We must all face the matter of death sooner or later, because we have all been stung by sin! But we all have a choice to make — we can reject or accept God’s remedy for sin.

Sometimes sin is hidden, and attacks when we least expect it. Somebody cuts you off on the highway, and suddenly anger pops out. An opportunity to cheat on your taxes comes up, and suddenly stealing pops out. You see an item that you really want or need and nobody is looking and suddenly stealing pops out. If you see that you can just twist the truth a tiny bit for your benefit, suddenly lying pops out.

More warnings of danger and a vital solution can be found in A Copperhead Strike!

Counterfeit Wine

Anything that has real or perceived value is likely to be the target of clever counterfeiters. Expensive, rare and collectible wine has been a target of scammers all down through the ages. In the early 2000s, one man managed to pour millions of dollars’ worth of fake wine into America’s elite wine market.

Rudy Kurniawan, having once tasted California’s wines, developed a passion for them. Settling in Los Angeles County, California, he bought expensive wines from shop owners, cultivating a deep friendship with them. He bought hundreds of bottles, at a cost of $400 to $500 apiece. He learned all he could from them — how wine was made, where it came from and what were the best wines. He was friendly and eager to learn. This was how he was introduced into the wealthy wine collectors’ world.

Because of his prolific spending and deep pockets, he was accepted into Los Angeles’ circle of the most prominent and wealthy men. He promptly set the pace by hosting wine-tasting parties, where it was not uncommon to drink $100,000 to $200,000 worth of expensive wine in an evening. Money didn’t seem to matter, as he often spent up to $1 million a month at wine auctions.

There were some odd things, like his vague answers as to where and how he had come by his money and his strange habit of requesting to keep the empty wine bottles after a tasting party ... but why get too concerned when the money is seemingly unlimited and the wine is flowing? Besides, he would often foot the bill for these lavish outings, so no one thought twice when a high-end restaurant in New York was asked to send him all of their empty bottles between 2004 and 2006.

As you would expect, all of this heavy buying in such a short time span sent the price of vintage, collectible wines soaring! Auction houses were delighted with this newfound source of revenue. Because of Kurniawan’s connections in the top echelon of the wine industry, he was trusted as an expert. His buying sprees did not go unnoticed, and in 2006 the Los Angeles Times ran a breathless article raving about this up-and-coming young man.

Kurniawan’s insatiable buying for his enormous collection was the central cause of the astronomical increase in the price of vintage Burgundy and Bordeaux wines. In a few short years, from 2001 to 2006, vintage wine increased in auction sales worldwide from $90 million to $300 million. Collectors were particularly eager for Burgundies — in 1996 a bottle would sell for $400, but just 10 years later the same bottle would sell for $13,000!

Having helped to drive up the price of vintage collectable wines, Kurniawan now decided that it was the opportune time to sell, and sell he did! Through his rich circle of friends, he was introduced to John Kapon, who ran Acker Merrall & Condit, a boutique wine auction house in New York City.

In 2006, they ran two auctions featuring Kurniawan’s hard-to-find, years-old vintage wines that he had supposedly collected over the years. The first auction netted $10.6 million in sales and the second more than $24.7 million in sales, setting a record for sales in the wine auction industry. Many saw no reason to doubt the source of the wines being sold.

It’s Easy to Be Deceived

Friend, the truth of the matter is that we can all be terribly deceived if we are not exceedingly careful. This holds especially true as to our eternal well-being. There is deception in religion, in tradition, in false teachers, in Satanic lies and visions and especially in unbelief. All of these deceptions will land you in hell, eternally separated from a God who loved you enough to send His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross for your sins. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

With this new river of wealth, he bought a top-of-the-line car, $535,000 worth of expensive watches and an $8 million mansion in Bel Air! Finally, some clear-headed observers in the wine industry began to have doubts and to ask questions. Why were 10 bottles of one 1945 vintage sold when there were only 12 bottles known to be in existence? The chances of Kurniawan scrounging up that many were highly unlikely! Then, two auction houses removed Kurniawan batches of wines under charges by a company and a vineyard owner that they were counterfeits. But this was just the beginning of an avalanche of trouble for Kurniawan.

It would take a billionaire, a vineyard owner and the FBI to bring Kurniawan’s flooding the market with fake wine to light. The billionaire, Bill Koch, discovered that $75,000 worth of wine that he purchased at a 2007 auction was fake. He hired an investigator to look into Kurniawan’s past. The vineyard owner, Laurent Ponsot, flew in from France to contest a 2007 auction because the Kurniawan wine being sold was for the years 1945 and 1971. Their vineyard had not produced that wine until 1982! By 2010 and millions of dollars later, both men had joined up with the FBI to uncover the source of the flood of fake Burgundies on the market.

The Reckoning

In spite of the gathering storm clouds, Kurniawan continued his fraudulent ways, selling over $25.7 million of supposedly extremely rare wine to wealthy private collectors. But in spite of his apparent success, court documents showed that he was $11 million in debt, to the point where he was defaulting on loans and begging his wealthy friends to bail him out!

Whether in this world or the next, sin will come to light and be judged. Because God is holy, He cannot allow unjudged sin in His presence. This is true for both the deceiver and the deceived. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). We must decide: Are we going to be deceived by Satan’s many lies as to how to get to heaven, or are we going to seek out the truth for ourselves? God’s Word tells us, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

The truth is that Jesus is the ONLY way to God. “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). Jesus suffered, bled and died on Calvary’s cross for our sins. It is His shed blood that cleanses us from our sins through faith in Him. This is more than just knowing a set of facts in your head. It involves repentance and a real change of heart. It means wanting to live for Jesus, making Him Lord of your life. “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).

Eventually, Kurniawan’s deception and forgeries caught up with him. When the FBI raided his home, they found a full-scale counterfeiting operation going on in his basement. The evidence was undeniable: dozens of old wine bottles in various stages of forgery, fake labels, rubber stamps and detailed recipes on how to make expensive wines using much cheaper ones.

When his case came to trial in 2013, the prosecution made the charge that Kurniawan was the “biggest and most successful wine counterfeiter in the world.” How was this even possible? Apparently, he had used his exceptional pallet for taste and a very good memory for wine components to imitate rare wines. Bottles were easy to come by — remember his habit of asking for the empty bottles at wine-tasting parties? His lawyer attempted to say that the wines discovered in his home were merely for show, intended to be used for home décor! The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

The instant we die, we will know with absolute certainty if what we believed as to the hereafter was false. There is one and only one God. There is a heaven and a hell. We will spend all eternity in one place or the other. There is no escaping hell after 10 years or 1,000 years. The Bible tells us that those who do not receive God’s offer of forgiveness for sin will “be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Those who have their sins forgiven and are trusting in the blood shed on Calvary’s cross through the grace of God alone will have eternal life. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Today, you have a chance to choose eternal life.

Rudy Kurniawan may have pulled off the biggest wine fraud in history, but there was another, even more famous wine scam that happened even before Rudy came into the picture. Read about it in The Jefferson Bottles. 

Crash Landing onRailroad Tracts

Mark Jenkins had taken off from the Whiteman Airport on a clear January afternoon. Shortly after takeoff, he experienced engine trouble, forcing him to make an emergency landing. In order not to hurt anyone on the ground in Los Angeles’ crowded streets, he aimed his plane for the railroad tracks.

Mark was badly injured in the landing, when the nose wheel collapsed, forcing the front of the plane to smash down onto the tracks. He had several broken bones in his face, and he also had broken ribs.

Fortunately, the now-unconscious pilot had landed across the street from the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) Foothill division, so they were instantly on hand to wrestle him out of the plane. They had contacted train dispatchers to stop all trains coming through that area, but it was too late!

They were assessing Mark’s medical condition when ... bells sounded, the gate went down, and they looked up to see the three brilliant white lights of a Metrolink passenger train barreling towards them at 80 mph. As you can imagine, this gave the two officers a tremendous adrenaline spike! In the video that was filmed, you can hear them saying, “Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” They were just able to pull the pilot from the wreck mere seconds before the train slammed into it, pulverizing it and sending pieces flying in every direction.

Mark’s life had just been spared twice in a matter of minutes. He was mercifully helped in the crisis by his Air Force fighter pilot training and then due to the bravery of two LAPD cops. The officers also credited good Samaritans standing by in order to help if needed. Fortunately, Mark would recover, though he would suffer a great deal of pain and need multiple reconstructive surgeries to his face.

If any number of things were slightly different, this story would have ended in tragedy. What if Mark had totally lost control of the plane while landing? What if the officers couldn’t open the door because it was jammed upon landing? What if they couldn’t cut his seat belt in time?

But God, in His mercy, made certain that Mark lived. God also has shown mercy to each one of us. He wants us to come to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him with our whole heart. God wants us to have peace with Him through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. “God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:3-6).

The driver of a Kia Rio found out how much he needed others too, as told in A Flaming Car.

The Dickin Medal for Gallentry

On November 4, 1946, the hero who saved the lives of the inhabitants of the Italian town of Calvi Vecchia and of the British troops of the 56th Infantry Division received the Dickin Medal for Gallantry. The medal ceremony was held in the Tower of London.

“Click, click, click,” went the shutter buttons on cameras as newspaper reporters snapped photographs of Major-General Keinsley hanging the medal on the hero’s puffed out chest. The hero blinked as the flashes went off. He stood straight and tall just like a soldier should.

Did the hero snap a salute in return to the Major-General when he was awarded the medal? No, that would have been impossible, because our fine feathered friend didn’t have any arms. He only had wings which he kept calmly down by his sides.

You see, the hero was a homing pigeon by the name of G.I. Joe. The Dickin Medal for Gallantry was awarded only to animals who performed some outstanding deed in the military.

G.I. Joe was born in Algiers, Africa, in 1943 and shipped to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey for training in the United States Pigeon Service. Only the best and strongest birds were selected for this honor. The pigeon passed the training with flying colors and was sent back to Europe to see action in the war.

Flying the Urgent Message

On October 18, 1943, British troops were besieging the town of Calvi Vecchia. German troops were defending the city. The fighting was fierce, but then the Germans unexpectedly retreated out of the city. The British troops were able to move in quickly and take over the fortified positions. Once they were in control, the British troops did not want to withdraw and give the Germans the chance to come back. But they had a real problem. A squadron of American bombers was due to drop tons of bombs and high explosives on the city in half an hour. The Air Force was going to rain down terror and destruction from the sky on the German defenders. The U.S. Air Force had no way of knowing the British had taken the city and thought it was still occupied by the Germans.

Unfortunately, the radio belonging to the British troops had been smashed in the attack. If those planes bombed the city, they would be killing troops on their own side.

However, the well-prepared British troops had a backup plan for communicating with headquarters. One of the soldiers carried a small wicker basket with a homing pigeon in it. An officer took a small piece of paper and wrote a short note on it. The message was rolled up and put into a tiny cylinder which was attached to the right leg of G.I. Joe.

The bird was then tossed into the air. It flapped its wings and was off in a flash. It flew straight and true. Homing Pigeons fly very high and fast so they are hard for opposing armies to stop. It covered the 20 miles to the airport in 20 minutes. It flew right to the pigeon coop near allied headquarters as it had been trained. An officer there quickly found the message and read it. He rushed it to the commanding officer. The commanding officer ordered the bombing mission to be cancelled.

The message had gotten there in the nick of time. The planes were on the runway with their bombs loaded and their engines revved up for takeoff.

Because of G.I. Joe’s valiant flight, it is very likely that hundreds, maybe even a thousand, lives had been saved that day.

A Vital Message

G.I. Joe carried an important message that saved many lives. Do you know that God has an important message He wants delivered to every person in the world?

This message is called the gospel, or “good news.” It shows how God can save people. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believe[s]” (Romans 1:16).

Every person in the world needs to hear the good news of God’s grace. It is the only way they may be saved from the punishment their sins deserve.

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3) is the most important message ever delivered to mankind because it is a life-changing message. It has the power to change a sinner into a child of God. Will you believe this message and become a child of God?

The message of the cross is a message of victory. Three days and three nights after the Lord Jesus was buried in a grave, He arose from the dead. The Lord Jesus is very much alive today. He is seated at the right hand of His Father. Since He is alive, all sinners may come to Him by faith and put their hope in Him.

Death, destruction and hell are ahead for all those who remain in their sins. But death will never defeat those who believe in Christ, for they too will arise from the grave. In glorified bodies they will live with Him forever in heaven.

The message of God’s grace truly is good news. The town of Calvi Vecchi was saved from destruction by G.I. Joe, the homing pigeon. Will the message of God’s grace get through to your heart in time for you to be saved?

The Cat Colony of Ediz Hook describes more of God’s goodness to those who desperately need it.

Eight Minutes and Thirty-one Seconds

All the heat and light in our solar system radiates from the sun. It takes eight minutes and thirty-one seconds for light and heat to travel from the sun to our earth. Eight minutes and thirty-one seconds is pretty fast when you consider that the sun is, on average, more than 94 million miles from the earth. The sun, a million times bigger than the earth, is the mega-powerplant of the solar system. Earth, at best, without the sun would be a bleak, cold, lifeless planet.

It takes a little more than eight minutes for light to reach us from the sun, but do you know how long it takes for God to justify a sinner — declare them perfectly and forever right with God? It doesn’t take any minutes or seconds at all, but happens the instant a sinner repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. In that instant a sinner passes from death to life and righteousness.

God shows tender mercy to the sinner. Mercy is what God shows to us when He helps us in our misery. To live in a state of sin and separation from God is the greatest misery on the face of the planet. In a certain sense the justification of a single sinner is an act far greater than the creation of the entire universe. It didn’t cost God anything to create all that was made. He simply spoke and the universe leapt into existence. But God had to do far more to justify sinners. The One who created the world became a man, and was taken by cruel hands and crucified. On the cross, He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin. This is what it cost God to justify sinners. This is the extent God was willing to go to in order to bring sinners back to Himself.

Nobody has to live as a stranger to God’s grace and love. When we believe in Jesus, it is as though the sun with all its light and warmth rises in our hearts. How good the warmth of God’s love feels! He gives us a new life so that we can begin to live righteously — ways that are right according to God. The light from Him can drive out sin’s deepest darkness.

Eight minutes and thirty-one seconds is how long it takes for the light from the sun to reach the earth. But you don’t have to wait that many minutes to know God’s love. You can know His love right now by looking to Him in faith. Don’t remain in the darkness of sin and unbelief. 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).

Shadows

“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity” is one of the best-known verses of the Bible (Ecclesiastes 12:8). The word “vanity” means “meaninglessness”. We crave meaning in our lives. To live a meaningless existence is to live in the dark shadows. I would like to share with you five vanities that affect all of us, then follow up with a set of truths that have the power to drive the shadows away.

Vanity 1: The Shortness of Life

“Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passe[s] away” (Psalm 144:4).

The average life expectancy for the general population of the world is about 73 years. If you go to a graveyard you can find headstones of the very young and the very old. Life, besides being brief, is very uncertain. If this one short life is all there is, what difference does it make what kind of life you live?

It makes a great deal of difference because this one short life isn’t all there is. God has made us with a soul that will never go out of existence. There is life after death. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Each one of us will have to give an account to God for how we have lived.

Those who have come to Christ by faith, in this life, will live forever in heaven, while those who refused God’s grace will be sent away into hell’s awful night.

Does what you do in this short life matter? It matters immensely because there is a never-ending existence to come.

Vanity 2: Idolatry

“But they are altogether brutish (no understanding) and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities” (Jeremiah 10:8).

What is the stock? In the ancient world men would cut down a tree and carve it into an idol. Then they bowed down to it and worshiped it. God has always condemned idolatry because it corrupts the hearts of men and women and turns them away from the living God.

Idolatry doesn’t always involve the worship of statues and images. The Bible also says, “Covetousness ... is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Sadly, anything people make more important than God becomes an idol in their hearts.

Are you living without a relationship to God? Our hearts were made to worship, and if we are not worshipping the true God, it is certain we will find false gods to worship.

Worshipping false gods is vanity because only the God of the universe has infinite power, wisdom and love. He is far above all created things. They can never even come close to taking His place. If you want something better for your life than the vanity that comes through idolatry, then do what the Apostle Paul said in the book of Acts, “Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” (Acts 14:15).

Vanity 3: Deceit

“Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence” (Job 15:31).

Several thousand years ago our first parents listened to and believed a lie rather than the truth God told them. At that moment a floodgate for deceit was opened. Ever since then deceit and falsehoods have filled the world we live in. The following are some of the atrocious lies that abound.

“There is no judgment for sinners.” “God does not exist.” “Human government is the highest authority.” “It doesn’t matter how we live.” “God will not punish the wicked.” “There is no life after death.” These lies, and many others like them, are repeated over and over like broken records until the great mass of people believe them. Hearing the same tired falsehoods over and over make the world a dreary place to live.

Deceit in the long run always leads to vanity and emptiness. The only way to drive out the vanity of deceit in our lives is to come to the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man come[s] unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). On the cross He who was the truth, who lived the truth, and revealed God’s truth, was crucified. He gave His life so those of us who lied, and listened to lies, and lived a lie, might have a chance to come to know God’s truth and light.

If you are tired of listening to the lies and deceits that abound in this world, you can find rest for your soul by coming by faith to the One who never wavered from the truth. The Lord Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Vanity 4: Pride of Life

“Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5).

We like to think of ourselves as capable and self-sufficient. But the truth is that without God’s help we can do precious little. He is the One who has given us all that we have: our intelligence, our looks, our talents, our personalities, our skills, our ability to reason and to understand. Even our life is a gift. When we are proud, we forget that all that we have is really a gift from God. Proud thoughts are full of vanity, false and far from reality. “God resist[s] the proud but give[s] grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

Will you humble yourself before God? The Lord Jesus gave His life for you on the cross so that His grace and salvation can be yours. How you respond to the grace He shows you will determine where you spend eternity.

Vanity 5: Safety Apart from God

“An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength” (Psalms 33:17).

In these troubled times, a strong deadbolt on the door at home is a wise precaution, but it is far better to have God’s protection in your life. There are plenty of forces of evil that can break down the thickest door, but there is no force of evil that can overcome God’s power. He will forever be a shield to those who trust Him.

The above five vanities have the ability to cast deep shadows across our lives. Only the love of Christ can drive those shadows away. Call out to Him today in faith. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Emptiness can hide inside apparent success. Learn more about Where to Find Success.

Eyes in the Trunk of Their Car

Something was wrong. When workers at Roambee checked on a package that was being shipped to a major Covid-19 vaccine maker, it showed “Not Picked Up”.

It had arrived safely at the shipper’s drop-off box, so where could it possibly be now? They checked an online database that tracked the shipment, and sure enough, they saw that it was taking a journey all over the Santa Clara area. They checked further and discovered that there was a CCTV camera on the nearest building from the drop ship box that had recorded exactly what had happened.

In the recording, a car pulls up and stops at the drop-off box. After a few minutes it rockets away into the darkness. Two thieves had stolen what they thought were electronics that they could sell later for a profit. In actuality, what they had stolen was a package of bright yellow GPS tracking sensors, which companies use for tracking time-sensitive items.

These GPS trackers upload a lot of information to the cloud, including real-time location, condition, and chain of custody of goods when in shipping or in storage, which is valuable for time and temperature sensitive shipments. Roambee promptly alerted the Santa Clara Police Department. They were able to update every hour on the cloud so they knew exactly where the GPS units were at all times.

For fourteen days the thieves travelled a total of 761 miles around the Bay area, never dreaming that they had eyes in their trunk watching them the entire time. This gave the police enough time to gather arrest warrants along with the evidence they needed. The thieves were then arrested without incident and all GPS trackers were recovered.

Perfect Information, Perfect Judgment

Now, think about it — if people can invent a device that can track a person’s movement with such accuracy, God certainly sees and knows everything about us and what we are doing at all times. He even knows our every thought! There is a verse that says, “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21). As to our thoughts, we are told, “Thou [God] knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2).

We should all come to the sobering realization that we must all have to do with a holy and righteous God who knows everything about us. It is impossible to hide from God! “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest [made known] in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).

When we inevitably face God, He will either be our Judge or our Savior. To face Him as our Judge, all we have to do is to continue on in our sins, unrepentant towards God. To face Him as our Savior, we must receive God’s forgiveness, and put our trust in His Son Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins.

“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

“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).

The choice is yours, only you can decide. Will God be your Judge or your Savior?

We can’t be too serious about that decision. 20 Lives Lost illustrates a warning that wasn’t taken seriously enough.

A Flaming Car

Would you help someone if you saw that they were in imminent danger? Or would you just go on your way and hope that things would work out for them in the end? Thankfully, Caden Pabst took the time to help a total stranger — most likely saving his life and possibly others as well.

As Caden was getting onto the I-215 Belt Route near Salt Lake City, Utah, he noticed that the Kia Rio next to him was smoking badly. Suddenly, huge flames shot from underneath the car!

“I was yelling, ‘Move over, right now! Move over!’ And when he gave me the thumbs up, I was like, ‘No, move over, move over, now!’” said Pabst.

As Caden persisted, the driver eventually did pull over. Caden also pulled over, put his car in park, and ran over to the driver, telling him to get his stuff and get out of the car, quickly!

A short time later, the car burst into flames and then exploded! “Oh, it was massive! Pretty solid 10 feet into the air. It was a lot of fire,” Pabst told news outlets. “You just heard a massive explosion, and we went over there and there were little bits of his engine. It was crazy.”

Caden did speak to the driver, who told him that he knew something was wrong with the car, but had no idea that the car was actually on fire. He was planning on getting off at the next exit. But considering how quickly the car burst into flames and then exploded, it is doubtful that he would have made it. Since it was a very busy highway, there was the great likelihood of others being hurt as well.

The driver made certain to express his gratitude to Mr. Pabst and also to the Utah Highway patrolman as well. All of them realized how quickly the situation could have gotten out of control.

Caden said that once he saw the car in flames, he was really grateful that he had persisted and taken the time to help the driver “because a lot of people didn’t.” Caden had been a “good Samaritan” to a perfect stranger!

The Original “Good Samaritan”

The Bible tells us the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-35. This is the story.

A certain man (who represents each of us) journeyed on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. As he went, thieves (acting like our sins do with us) met him, stripping him of his clothing, wounding him and leaving him “half dead.”

A priest (acting like mere religion and tradition today) travelling that way saw him and passed by on the other side.

A Levite (a lot like the futility of trying to rescue ourselves by keeping the ten commandments) came and looked at him — and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan (who acted like Jesus does) came and saw him, had compassion on him, binding up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine (used as symbols to represent the Holy Spirit and joy and gladness). Then he put him on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

The story of the good Samaritan is a parable. Jesus wanted to teach us something! Before we have spiritual life through faith in Jesus, we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Religion and tradition can make us FEEL good, but they will never save us! The ten commandments will only condemn us and show us that we are sinners before God — there’s no salvation there! Only Jesus can take away our sins, giving us the Holy Spirit, joy and gladness.

Jesus Himself said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” (Luke 10:27). This is only possible to do if we repent of our sins before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

The Vanishing Fishing Boat teaches excellent lessons from the story of another wonderful rescue.

Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change is one of the foremost issues of our day. There is lots of disagreement about the seriousness of the problem and what to do about it. But many politicians and scientists are sounding the alarm; if we don’t act now, the planet will soon become uninhabitable!

Apocalypse Now?

Many fear that global climate change will lead to the end of human history. An Australian expert has recently warned that, in a worst-case scenario, “the scale of destruction is beyond our capacity to model, with a high likelihood of human civilization coming to an end.” Such dire predictions are becoming increasingly common.

But will climate change really lead to the extinction of mankind, or is there a different end-of-the-world scenario that will play out?

How Will the World End?

Many students of the Bible believe that we are living in the last days just before the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Although no one knows the exact day of His return, there are indicators that point to the nearness of that momentous event. The Bible declares: “As the days of [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37).

The days of Noah were characterized by rampant sin and violence. The world had turned its back on God. Could it be that we are rapidly moving toward such days right now?

When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago, He came as a humble servant, in love and peace, to save us from our sins.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

But, much like today, the world did not want Him. He was not welcomed by most and the world cast Him out.

“They cried out, Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him” (John 19:15).

The Lord anticipated this rejection and spoke about a future day when He would return to earth in power and great glory.

“The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels” (Matthew 16:27).

After He was crucified, Jesus rose from the dead and went back to heaven where He waits for the day of His return to execute judgment on this world.

“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).

While many people on earth will welcome Christ’s return, there will be others who will oppose His arrival. But when He comes, He will put down all opposition and set up His kingdom of peace and righteousness on this earth. His return will bring about the end of the world as we know it!

“Global Warming” in the Bible?

The Bible does speak solemnly about a future time of “great heat” coming upon the earth.

“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which [has] power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory” (Revelation 16:8-9).

This great heat, whether climate related or not, will be a divine judgment sent down from heaven, shortly before Christ’s return to judge ungodly sinners who refuse to repent and give God glory.

Yet God offers mercy and forgiveness to all who will call upon Him. Will you accept that offer today by acknowledging your sin and trusting in Him to save you from the coming time of judgment? Jesus receives all who come to Him in sincere repentance and faith.

“Him that come[s] to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

The Future of This World

According to the Bible, then, Global Climate Change will not precipitate the end of the world as many fear. But the second coming of Christ will bring about a complete end to this current world system and usher in a new age of global peace.

There will be no climate problems when the Lord Jesus Christ governs over this earth. He will exercise sovereign control over everything on the planet, including the environment.

“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).

“Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).

Prepare Now for The End

God will certainly judge those who rejected and crucified His Son. Nevertheless, God used that same cross to bring forgiveness of sins and eternal blessing to all who will accept Him.

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

If you will trust Him now, Jesus will save you from your sins and the judgment you deserve. Simply bow your heart to Him, admitting you are a sinner, and receive Him as your Savior.

“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” (Romans 10:9).

Those who come to Jesus in true faith receive eternal life will not be condemned with the Christ-rejecting world when He returns in judgment. Jesus said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear[s] My word, and believe[s] on Him that sent Me, [has] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

Still Worried About Global Climate Change?

Global Climate Change may be happening now. But if you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, climate change is the least of your problems. This world is not going to end because of climate change. But it is going to end! Are you ready?

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Change can be frightening. Discover the One who never changes in Change!

The History of the Dungeness Lighthouse

George Vancouver, a renown British navigator and explorer was one of the first Europeans to sail up the Strait of Juan De Fuca and explore the Salish Sea near Seattle, Washington. One day he anchored off a long spit of sand that jutted out into the water and ran parallel to the wooded shore. He called it the Dungeness Spit because it reminded him of the Dungeness Spit in his home country of England.

In 1857, the U.S. federal government, in an effort to protect the booming lumber and fishing trade through the area, erected a lighthouse at the end of this spit, and also a lightkeeper’s house. This was the first lighthouse built in the Pacific Northwest. The lighthouse was built of brick to a height of 97 feet, and housed an oil lamp and a third generation Fresnel lens. The light from the lighthouse shone out to a distance of twelve miles. Numberless sailing ships caught in foul weather would have been helped and guided by this light to safe passage.

Another Beacon

Mariners would have been very thankful to see the beacon from the lighthouse. Do you know that God doesn’t want us to keep wandering in sin’s darkness, but has set up, as it were, a great lighthouse so that sinners could get their bearings in this life?

For men and women who are lost because of sin, God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world. The following is why Jesus Christ is the great lighthouse for the world. His coming into the world had been foretold hundreds of years before His birth. Micah 5:2 reads, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” His birth was announced by angels, and all the host of heaven worshipped Him when He was born. “And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6). He grew up in obscurity and relative poverty in the Judean hillside. He never attended a university but worked with His hands as a carpenter. When He came to full manhood, He began His public ministry, both teaching God’s truth and performing miraculous works of mercy such as healing the sick, curing the lame, and raising the dead. Then, at the end of three and a half years, He was betrayed by one of His closest followers, and turned over to the Roman authorities. The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, knew He was innocent of any wrongdoing, but at the demand of the people, he ordered Him to be crucified. After a severe scourging, He was made to carry His cross of execution to a hill just outside the city of Jerusalem. Roman soldiers drove spikes of iron through His hands and feet into the cross, and then the cross was lifted up and made to stand upright. During the crucifixion, the sky grew dark and the sun refused to shine. After six excruciating hours of being nailed to the cross, the Lord Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up His spirit and died. He was buried in a tomb and three days later rose from the grave. Death and the grave were powerless to hold Him. He showed Himself alive to His disciples for forty days before ascending bodily up to heaven in the sight of His followers.

The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the means of shining God’s great light into this world. By it, sinners can learn of God’s great love and the immense value He puts on them. He values them so much that God in the person of the Son of God would become the man, Jesus, and then in an act of incredible sacrifice give His life for sinners. Through His death those who believe in Christ receive the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of a home in heaven. The Lord Jesus from heaven would later appear to the Apostle Paul and send him to the pagan world with this mission: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:18).

What About You?

Those who turn to the Lord Jesus in faith will one day share in His resurrection and His glory for all eternity. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). But those who reject His offer of grace will spend eternity in the darkness of hell. Jude 1:13 vividly describes those who never come back to God as, “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” I don’t want to be lost in the blackness of darkness forever, and I know you don’t either. Therefore, don’t delay, but come to Christ at once.

Do you want to leave your sins and all the darkness that goes along with them behind? Then you must come to the Lord Jesus Christ 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 Dungeness lighthouse only sent out a beacon of light that could be seen for twelve miles. However, the light of grace in the Lord Jesus is enough to illuminate every person in the whole world. Its beacon shines out to every man, woman, and child alive and can show them the way of salvation. For your own welfare, don’t continue to live on in sin’s darkness a moment longer.

How Shall We Escape?

God loved a world of sinners;
For them He gave His Son;
And whosoever receives Him,
He saves them, every one;
He came to bring salvation,
To bear our sins away,
That we with Him in glory
Might live through endless day.

Behold the loving Savior,
Upon the cruel tree,
The Just condemned, forsaken
He dies for you and me;
The Son of God beloved,
For us a curse was made;
That we might have redemption,
The awful price He paid.

God loves the vilest sinner,
But hates the smallest sin;
Then who shall see His Kingdom?
Or who can enter in?
The precious blood of Jesus —
Let every creature know —
Can make the chief of sinners
Much whiter than the snow.

I Will Sing The Wondrous Story

I will sing the wondrous story,
Of the Christ who died for me,
How He left His home in glory,
For the cross on Calvary.

I was lost, but Jesus found me,
Found the sheep that went astray;
Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way.

I was bruised but Jesus healed me,
Faint was I from many a fall,
Sight was gone, and fears possessed me,
But He freed me from them all.

Days of darkness still come to me,
Sorrow’s path I often tread,
But the Savior still is with me;
By His hand I’m safely led.

The Jefferson Bottles

his incident began in the year 1985, when a rare wine bottle dated 1787, Lafite, and inscribed with the letters Th.J was being auctioned off by Christie’s of London. The auction house indicated that there was evidence that suggested that this bottle came from a collection of old French wine which belonged to Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. You can imagine the excitement this stirred up! Bidding was intense, with the final bid going to the Forbes family, for the grand total of $157,000. It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction.

Soon, other Jefferson bottles came onto the market for sale. Wine collectors, eager to buy them, shelled out large sums of money for these trophies. Bill Koch, an avid collector, purchased four bottles for a half-million dollars in the late 1980s.

Then, in 2005, when the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was preparing to exhibit Mr. Koch’s collection, they contacted the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello to make certain of the provenance (or history) of the wines. The Museum of Fine Arts did what these collectors should have done before purchasing these supposedly valuable wines! None of the workers at Monticello thought that the provenance of the Jefferson wine was true, for a number of reasons.

They explained that Thomas Jefferson was an expert on the first and best wines produced in France, even writing out detailed instructions for American merchants. He was also responsible for ordering wine for George Washington and kept detailed records of every transaction. When he returned from France, he had the wines carefully packed and shipped to the U.S. According to his records, every bottle was accounted for and arrived intact. Not only that, he typically signed his letters with Th:J and not Th.J.

But in the veritable mountain of records that he kept, over 60,000 documents to be exact, not one mentioned purchasing vintages of the 1787 Jefferson bottles that had been sold. It was obvious that the chances of them belonging to Thomas Jefferson were highly unlikely.

Certainty

Knowing the provenance of wine should be critical before parting with such large sums of money. It gives proof as to the truth of the wine’s vintage and history. The same is much more true as to what we believe about what comes after death. We need to know with absolute certainty where we are going after we die. If we are right, all is peace, joy and happiness. If we are wrong, all is torment, suffering and hopelessness.

God’s Word, the Bible, is the only book that tells us the truth as to salvation and what comes after death. It tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The result is: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). It tells us that Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

Wanting to get to the bottom of the matter, Mr. Koch hired a team of wine experts, headed up by a former FBI agent, to find out who was responsible for this near-certain hoax. They traced the seller of the Jefferson bottles to Hardy Rodenstock, a man from Germany, who was popular for hosting lavish wine tasting parties, inviting celebrities, dignitaries and wine critics.

Apparently, Hardy said that he had found the bottles in a bricked-up cellar in Paris. Beyond that, he would give no more details — not where the cellar was, and certainly not how many bottles he had found! Now they were positive that the bottles were fake, but how to prove it?

The lead investigator, Jim Elroy, ran tests that revealed that there was NO cesium 137 in it. This showed that they had a very old bottle of wine, but how could they really prove it wasn’t from the eighteenth century? Clearly, further digging was necessary!

The truth of knowing that God is real, that we need to repent before Him and receive the forgiveness of sins, and that Jesus has died on the cross for our sins and is the one and only way to heaven is of inestimable eternal value. It’s worth every bit of effort that we make to search it out. It’s of far more value than expending great effort, time and millions of dollars as Bill Koch did to search out whether bottles of wine were fake or not! The Bible tells us, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

The End Result

Investigators eventually tracked down the people in Germany that had engraved the bottles with Th.J, using a modern dentist’s drilling tool. Thus, it was proved that the source of the bottles was Hardy Rodenstock and not Jefferson.

These deceptions were easy enough to pull off. Fraudsters know that collectors like to keep these rare wines to show off as trophies, and if they do open them, it’s usually years later. Besides, how is someone to know exactly what the wine should taste like? Taste is highly subjective!

People are deceived the same way in spiritual matters. Their perceptions are bombarded with “Just do the best you can and you’ll be all right,” “There are many ways to heaven!” and “Just trust the religion/belief that you were born into.” These are just a few of Satan’s lies, the first and biggest fraudster of all! All of these lies and many more are continuing to deceive men and women right into hell today.

Both of the fraudsters in this issue were tripped up by small details that they overlooked. Yet they deceived many people because of how they presented their wine and themselves. They were able to gain the confidence and trust of those around them. Many people are deceived about God in a similar way — they put their faith and confidence in those that are able to present themselves well, but are actually selling a false gospel that will land them in hell. Only God’s Word, the Bible, tells us where we came from, why we are here and where we will go after death.

Kurniawan’s lawyer tried to make excuses for his client by saying, “Nobody died. Nobody lost their savings. Nobody lost their job.” But the prosecutor responded by saying, “Fraud is fraud.” And so it will be when we stand before a holy and righteous God. Sin is sin and will condemn us. Either you will hear God say, “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23), or you will hear your Lord and Savior say, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21). Are your sins forgiven? Are you living to love, serve and please the One who died for you?

Kindness

The dictionary defines the word “kind” as “being of a sympathetic or helpful nature.” Kindness is such a beautiful thing that someone once wrote, “Kindness is the music of the universe.”

Well, if kindness is the music of the universe, then I know the most beautiful song that was ever written. It is when Christ gave His life for sinners. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

He knew our lost condition, our inability to save ourselves, and that because of our sins we were headed towards hell. To deliver us from the death our sins deserved, He came to this earth and died in the sinner’s place.

What He did was beautiful and full of tender mercy. Because of His death, sinners may be justified and find forgiveness the moment they believe in His name. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

If kindness is the music of the universe, then that same beautiful song that was played and heard at Calvary is being played today in all its sweetest strains each time the Holy Spirit works in sinners’ hearts to lead them to Christ.

That beautiful music plays whenever someone finds God’s forgiveness. It can be heard in every difficulty, because God knows that if He didn’t allow these things, we would never look to Him for help.

It’s heard whenever a believer lives out the life of Christ and in His name shows kindness to others.

It’s heard when believers die and are welcomed home to the peace and glory of heaven.

If you want your life to be full of the music of heaven, then repent of your sins, believe in the Lord Jesus, and live by faith in the God who loves you. He doesn’t want you to take your journey through life alone. He wants to be with you in every part of it.

God showing kindness to the world through His Son is indeed the good news everyone needs to hear. It is a message that has the power to bring everlasting joy.

“After that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

Will you place your faith in His Son so that God’s gift of eternal life might be yours?

Loving Kindness

Awake, my soul, to joyful lays,

And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise;

He justly claims a song from me,

His loving-kindness, oh, how free!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how free!

He saw me ruined in the fall,

Yet loved me notwithstanding all;

He saved me from my lost estate,

His loving-kindness, oh, how great!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how great!

Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,

Though earth and hell my way oppose,

He safely leads my soul along,

His loving-kindness, oh, how strong!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how strong!

When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,

Has gathered thick, and thundered loud,

He near my soul has always stood,

His loving-kindness, oh, how good!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how good!

Ohio's "Vax-A-Million" Program

Incentives are offered to challenge people toward a certain goal. They can be quite creative and high-stakes. One boss told his workers that they could have a holiday Friday off for a long weekend if they finished a big construction job that they were working on. BUT, if the job was done wrong, they would not only have to work on Friday, but also they would not be paid overtime for it. It worked — they got the job done right and before Friday.

Ohio’s governor managed to come up with a creative (and controversial) incentive to persuade people to get the COVID vaccine. Five $1 million lottery prizes would be offered to those over 18 years of age who got vaccinated. Those under 18 years of age who got vaccinated would have a chance to win full college scholarships, including tuition, room and board. The drawing would take place once a week.

So, was the lure of free, easy money and a paid college tuition persuasive? Yes, it was! Over 2.7 million adults registered to get vaccinated and over 104,300 under the age of 18 were slated to be vaccinated. It would seem that the Vax-A-Million lottery using federal pandemic dollars was far more persuasive than advertising with the same money would have been.

No matter how clever or creative an incentive may be, not everyone is able to take advantage of it. Large groups of people simply cannot be eligible for the prizes or perks offered, no matter how badly they may want them. And the chance of winning Ohio’s Vax-A-Million program was very slim indeed!

Unlike Any Other Incentives

But God’s plan of salvation is not like any of these incentives. Not only is it free, but also it is available to all who will receive it. From the homeless living on the street to the rich and famous, and to the countless millions just living their lives around the globe, God says that all can know Him. All can have their sins forgiven and be sure of it. All can know that they have eternal life and will go to be with Him in heaven when they die.

God does not discriminate in any way when it comes to salvation. He says, “There is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ... that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believe[s] in Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24,26).

Salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ. “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12-13). “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22). God’s love is so great that 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Jesus has paid the penalty for sin on the cross. God doesn’t ask us to do some great deed or give money or do penance. He doesn’t want repetitious prayers, formal religion or knowledge of religious facts. Instead, “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). God wants us to truly repent of our sins before Him and to trust in the work that His dear Son, the Lord Jesus, did on the cross for our sins. He is gently calling you today — receive Him now, while you still have time!

One Hundred, Sixty-Six Thousand

Do you know that today approximately 166,000 people will die? Do you also know that you cannot say with absolute certainty that you will not be one of them?

Even if you enjoy perfect health, who can say they may not fall victim to a fatal accident in the next 24 hours? Because this life is so uncertain, the question needs to be raised: Are you ready to meet your Maker?

“Prepare to meet thy God,” a verse in the Bible reads (Amos 4:12). Only those who prepare to meet God by renouncing their sins and believing in the name of God’s Son will make it home to heaven. Repentance and faith are absolutely necessary because we are sinners who are far from being righteous.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

The blood the Lord Jesus shed on the cross has the power to wash away every stain of sin. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Oh, the wonderful grace of God that brings forgiveness and new life to those who believe in Christ!

It is certain that we are sinners needing forgiveness. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

It is also certain that one day we will leave this earth and stand before God as judge. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Will you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the wonderful work He did at the cross? Or will you continue on in unbelief and indifference to the Lord who died to redeem you?

You might be given one day, or several thousand more days to spend on earth, but it is certain one day will be the last. Where you spend eternity depends on what you do with the Lord Jesus. Be wise and trust the Savior.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Paso Por Aqui! (Passed byHere)

If you looked on the sides of El Morro, a tall sandstone cliff in the wilderness of New Mexico, you would find the phrase “Pasó por aquí,” inscribed in the rock over and over again followed by the name of some person travelling through the remote area and the year they visited the rock. It means that he or she, “passed by here.”

The first Spanish traveler to inscribe their name was a Spanish conquistador named Don Juan Onate searching the southwest for a fabled city of gold in the year 1605. Other Spanish travelers followed over time and would likewise carve their names using a knife or a horseshoe nail. Many would likewise carve the same phrase “Pasó por aquí” next to their names.

So many people carved their names in the rock face from 1605 to 1906 that the rock reads like a ledger from a history book, and to preserve the site the rock was made a National Monument.

Most early travelers would never have the opportunity to pass by El Morro a second time.

Hauntingly Quick!

There is something hauntingly transitory about the phrase, “Pasó por aquí.” There is something hauntingly transitory about our lives too. The best we can say of any place we have been is “Pasó por aquí.” All of life is transitory. We can’t hold onto the present moment and keep it from slipping into the past no matter how hard we try. We can’t live forever. All of life is passing away.

We are all travelers through time on our way to eternity. This is why the phrase “Pasó por aquí,” aptly describes us.

Many who later carved their names into the rock were pioneers headed west to California. We are all headed elsewhere too. That somewhere else is eternity. What we do with Jesus Christ will determine where we spend eternity.

Those who come to believe, obey and honor the Son of God will spend eternity in the bliss of heaven. Those who remain in unbelief and reject the Son of God will be cast into the outer darkness of hell.

“Oh,” you might think, “I don’t want to be bothered with thoughts about a heaven and a hell.” The problem with this way of thinking is we are only passing through this life, and in the long run, the best any of us will be able to say is, I “passed through here.”

Like it or not, this life will not last forever. Prudence demands we give serious thought to eternity.

Good News

Here is good news for sinners passing through this transitory scene. The eternal God became man. In a moment of time God became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was born in a manger, grew up in poverty and obscurity. For three and a half years He preached the gospel, healed all manner of sickness and infirmity, and did miracles like calming the sea and multiplying a few fish and loaves to feed a vast crowd. Then He was betrayed and taken by cruel men and slain on the cross. The Son of God came to earth and did all this so that sinners may have a way to return to the God who loves them. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). He came down from heaven so that He could bring us up to heaven to live with Him forever.

When a sinner is converted to Christ they get their name written down in a book called the Lamb’s Book of Life. Only those whose names are written in this book will ever be welcomed in heaven. A few thousand years from now the names inscribed in El Morro will be gone and not a trace of them be found. But the names in the Lamb’s Book of Life will never disappear, not for a thousand days, or a thousand years. Those whose names are written in it will enjoy God for eternity.

This life is short and we are all travelers to Eternity. “Pasó por aquí,” is truly spoken of the passage of each human being through this world. Will you believe in the Lord Jesus so that when this short life is over you may live with Him forever?

Find more about your all-important travel destination in Remarkable Little Travelers.

Polar Ice Caps

Scientists report that the ice from the polar ice caps is disappearing at a rate of one trillion metric tons a year. A trillion is an immense number, but it helps if we put that number in context. The polar regions contain an estimated 7 quadrillion tons of ice. A quadrillion is a thousand trillion. So, at the current rate it would take 7,000 years for the polar ice caps to melt.

Seven quadrillion absolutely dwarfs one trillion. If you focused all your attention on the one trillion and never considered the 7 quadrillion metric tons of remaining ice you would not have an accurate picture of what is going on.

Here’s another example of where people tend to concentrate their attention on a small part and lose sight of the staggering immensity of the remaining part. The average lifetime of a man or woman is about 73 years. Most of us try to cram all the living we possibly can into those years. However, the years of our lives on earth is only a small part of our total existence. We will continue to exist for eternity!

How big is eternity? It absolutely dwarfs the number of years of our lives on earth. Its immensity is so great that it exceeds our powers of imagination to conceive it. Yet how many of us are living like this one short life is all that matters!

Consider the Vast Future

How many of us never stop to think of the vastness of eternity? Those who go through life focused only on things that won’t last forever, will get a great shock when they enter into eternity. Because they have ignored God, they will spend eternity in the darkness of hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30). The company people will keep in hell consists of the devil and his angels as well as all those who refused to hear the call to repent and believe in the Savior. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burn[s] with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). The amount of time people will spend in the darkness of hell, absolutely dwarfs their short lives down here. In fact, it can’t really be properly called time since time, with the changes it brings, will no longer exist. What a mistake people make by thinking this short life is all there is!

Eternity is ahead for all of us. However, no one needs to perish in hell. All are invited to repent and renounce their sins, and to turn by faith to the God who made them. So sinners who have wandered away from God may find their way back to Him, God sent the Son of His love into this world. Because Christ died and rose again, sinners who deserve hell, may receive the gift of eternal life. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

In heaven they will be given changed and glorified bodies that will never grow old, or feel pain again. For all eternity they will delight in the love of God that passes knowledge; and that love will fill them with inexpressible joy. In heaven they will see God face to face, and they will keep the company of the holy angels and of all the saints who have ever lived and died in faith. They will never run out of wonderful things to enjoy together. How long will that eternity of bliss last? For a quadrillion years? No, it will last forever!

The years of our lives are essentially nothing when compared to the vastness of eternity. Will you believe in the Lord Jesus and have an eternity of bliss ahead of you? Or will you continue to try to find your contentment by focusing on this life as if this life is the sum total of all your existence? Don’t make this terrible mistake when eternity in all its sweeping vastness lies just ahead. Polar ice caps might come and go but you will exist forever. Come by faith to the Lord Jesus and receive everlasting life.

Many people worry about changes. Why not get the facts on a huge change that’s in the near future? Read Global Climate Change.

Remarkable Little Travelers

Outside our kitchen window, on the back porch of our house we have a hanging basket of flowers with hundreds of bright blossoms cascading over its sides. The flowers brighten up the view out of the window, but another reason we like them is for the little visitors they attract.

These visitors are Rufous Hummingbirds. They are one of the smallest bird species in the world—two inches in length, and weighing about as much as a nickel. If you held one in the palm of your hand, you would barely know it was there.

Beating their wings about fifty times a second, they hover in front of the blossoms, withdrawing the rich nectar with their long needle-like bills. They never damage the flowers they feed from, and stay only a split second at each blossom, before they race off to the next.

Sometimes I’ve sat in a chair while these tiny birds have fed inches away from my head. I have often heard the whirring of their tiny wings before seeing them. Everything they do seems like it is done in hyperdrive.

Very seldom do you see them resting on a tree branch. Most of their day is spent busily searching for food. They have an incredibly high metabolism. When in flight their hearts beat over 1,260 times a minute. That’s over twenty times a second. Also, these amazing birds use up so much energy, they need to constantly feed on nectar all day long just to stay alive. If they are not continuously feeding, their little bodies would just drop dead from lack of energy. To conserve energy at night their bodies go into a state of deep sleep called, “torpor.”

Perhaps the most amazing thing about hummingbirds is the long distances they fly in their yearly migrations. The Rufous Hummingbirds which visit the Pacific Northwest where I live, fly a few thousand miles every year over difficult terrain such as mountains, deserts and forest. They make a yearly circuit from the Southern States and Mexico, up the Pacific Coast to the Pacific Northwest, and then south again along the Western edge of the Rocky Mountains. Only when you stop to think about how small they are, and how far they fly, can you get a true appreciation for these creatures.

Two Destinations

Did you know that every human being is making a long journey too? The journey begins when we are born and will only end when we leave this life on earth.

Those who have come to trust in Christ will be welcomed home to heaven. Heaven with all its glories is the end of their journey. In heaven they will get to see God with their own eyes, in the person of Jesus Christ, who loved them. On earth they had to walk by faith, but in heaven they will see Him. No sight in all the universe could be more wonderful. Has your heart ever been filled with joy seeing beautiful things like flowers, or hummingbirds? Well, in heaven people will be filled with rapturous joy that never ends when they see Jesus Christ whose beauty infinitely surpasses all the beautiful things He has made.

But not everybody’s journey will end in heaven. Many, because of the hardness of their hearts, will not respond to God’s grace. Those who die in their sins and unbelief will be ushered into the darkness of hell. The Lord Jesus talked more than any other person in the Bible about hell. He warned us about hell because He loves us and doesn’t want us to go there. There won’t be any beauty, love, or joy in hell—just misery, sorrow, pain, and suffering.

Those who come to love the Lord Jesus are travelling to heaven. But they are little travelers much like the hummingbirds are little travelers in the sense that the journey is far too great for them.

The hummingbirds need to feed continually to survive, and those who believe in Christ need a constant supply of grace to live. As that nectar is to a hummingbird, so is God’s grace to us. Without it we can’t live. The truth that we need a continual supply of God’s grace should humble us greatly. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (James 4:10).

I love watching the hummingbirds and I am saddened when every year in late summer they suddenly begin their migration back to warmer climates. But I know they have to eat to stay alive. Someday too, no matter how sad it is, each one of us will be called to leave this world. This world is, at best, our temporary home. We would be wise to treat it like we are only travelers passing through. Have you trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior? “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Travelers need a good guiding light to reach their destination. The History of the Dungeness Lighthouse makes that very clear.

Satisfaction

In a famous line from a song, Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” But he was wrong; he could have gotten two types of satisfaction. These two types were both free for the asking. He just never asked for them or looked for them in the right place. What he really meant was that he couldn’t get any satisfaction in the places he was looking.

Only God Himself can provide true satisfaction for us. When we seek deep satisfaction in anything less than God, an emptiness and hollowness creep into our hearts. Sometimes people who have left God out of their lives go so far as to try to fill the vast emptiness of their hearts by committing sin. They might as well try to fill the Grand Canyon by dropping tiny pebbles into it. It just isn’t going to happen. They can try, and try, and go on trying until they die, but they will never find what they are looking for.

Only God can satisfy the deepest longings of our souls for the simple truth, “The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). The height, the breadth and the depth of His love are infinite. Love brought the Lord Jesus to this earth, and love led Him to give His life on the cross. His wounds that were opened up on the cross are wounds of love. He arose from the grave and lives forever. From heaven His love is seeking lost sinners to bring them back to God in repentance and faith. This love is enough to fully satisfy our hearts, and nothing else can.

MORE SATISFACTION

This is one type of satisfaction. The second type of satisfaction is equally marvelous. It is the satisfaction for sins the Lord Jesus made at the cross. Our sin has earned each one of us a debt of eternal punishment. “The wages of sin is death,” and they are fearful wages indeed. The debt of sin is a debt that far exceeds our ability to pay. If that debt goes unpaid, we will end up cast out of God’s presence for all eternity in hell.

We owed because of our debt of sin and could not pay it. God could pay it but didn’t owe it. What was to be done? In the wisdom of God, Christ became a man. In a moment of time, He who was God from all eternity also became a member of the human race in what is known as the incarnation. As a man He could suffer and die and pay a debt He didn’t owe. His death on the cross has an infinite value to cancel the debt of sin. Because of His sacrificial death, all who believe in Him may receive the forgiveness of sins. This is the second type of satisfaction. It is the satisfaction for sin that the Lord Jesus made at the cross. Because of this, sinners who come to Christ may have their slates wiped clean. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38).

Where are you looking for satisfaction? Are you going through life looking for satisfaction in places you’ll never find it? Are you trying to find it in sin, which will only further alienate you from God? Or will you come to Christ so that you may know His measureless love? What you do with Christ will make all the difference in your life for time and eternity.

She’s Got a Ticket to Ride is another song with lessons hidden in it.

Saved By Chance?

It is not uncommon for many people to have brushes with death, or to experience narrow escapes. When they do escape with their lives, they are grateful to be alive, often referring to the experience as “miraculous.” They have the sense that their lives were spared by a higher power ... some will attribute it to God, and many others to “luck” or “good fortune.” As we look at some narrow escapes, let us remember who is really in control. The Bible tells us with absolute certainty that it is God. “In whose hand [God’s] is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).

Falling Dirt Bike

A Texas man, Rick Hogge, was enjoying his annual dirt biking trip with some friends in Colorado. Even with 20 years of experience, he was nervous about going up a narrow trail with part of it covered in rocks. What made it worse was that there was a steep cliff on one side.

When he came to the rocky spot, his helmet-mounted camera videoed what happened next. His bike lurched to the left and flew off the trail, tumbling down the cliff. Mr. Hogge fell off his bike and tumbled down the cliff, flew through the air before hitting a flat rock that jutted out, flew through the air again, finally landing in the middle of what is called the Devil’s Punch Bowl. He had tumbled at least 60 feet, maybe even 70 feet, before landing in the water. Amazingly, he sustained only a slight scratch and bruise which disappeared the next day. He was able to swim to a ledge and climb out with the help of a friend.

What was Mr. Hogge thinking as he went over the side of the cliff? In his own words, “Next there was a cry out to God and I told myself, ‘This is how you’re going to die,’ and then I hit the water.” As he was going down, thoughts of his children filled his mind, and he later told news outlets that “he was part of a miracle and felt so blessed to be alive” and to watch his children grow up.

Mr. Hogge had almost lost his life, but God was gracious to him. Think of how many people fall off an 8- to 12-foot ladder and break their neck or other bones, sometimes even losing their lives. This is a reason why our all-wise God tells us, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Hurtling Train

Alexander Evans was just going about his daily work as an Amazon delivery man. It wasn’t just another day — it was his thirty-third birthday. What he didn’t know was that he would narrowly miss, by inches, death from an oncoming Amtrak train that was travelling at 80 miles an hour.

As he approached a railroad crossing in the rural town of Ixonia, Wisconsin, he naturally looked both ways. It was a dangerous crossing (even the locals admit that), with no lights, signals or gate. His view was somewhat obstructed because of the angle of the road he was on, but he thought it was clear and proceeded to cross. The problem was that he was deaf in his left ear and that was the side the train was coming from. Too late, he finally heard one long blast from the locomotive and saw the passenger train barreling towards him. In his own words, he “tried to get as far away as he could.”

He got just far enough away to save his life. The train hit his truck just behind the driver and passenger seats, making a clean slice of it, scrunching up the rest of the truck and carrying it down the tracks. He felt “air and pressure” while the 129 passengers on the train felt a bit of jolting and movement. It took nearly four hours to peel the truck from the locomotive before they could continue their journey. Mr. Evans escaped with bruising and soreness and was “more than thankful” to be alive! Officials say it’s a miracle he survived.

Mr. Evans had no idea he would nearly lose his life on his thirty-third birthday. This is why we need to be prepared to meet God at a moment’s notice. In a split second of time, it could be too late, and you would drop into hell for all eternity if you didn’t know Christ as your Savior. This is why God says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Crashing Into a Semi

In another midget vs. giant accident, a 47-year-old woman smashed into the back of a semi-trailer and managed to survive. Her 2014 silver Toyota sedan did not. It was totally smashed and crumpled with the roof peeled off, looking just like a piece of paper would if you crumpled it in your hand.

She had been travelling on Highway 31 near Kenosha, Wisconsin, when she smashed into the back of the semi-trailer, which police figured was travelling at no more than 10 miles per hour. The 31-year-old driver of the semi blamed his slow speed on another slow-moving vehicle in front of him.

Pleasant Prairie Police called it their “holiday miracle” because it happened on Wednesday, December 22. The lady was able to walk away with minor injuries. “You can label this a holiday miracle,” the police said. “Every part of that vehicle was wrecked except where she was sitting.”

Marguerite Phillips, who was driving towards the accident, stopped when she saw the destroyed car. “I was trying to keep her calm. She was able to walk away, but she was just in shock. Some angels were working full-time to help her.” This kind lady was able to stay with her, calling 911 and her family, waiting with her until her daughter arrived at the scene.

There is a verse in the Bible that tells us of God’s tender care for us. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22). This is because God made us to know Him and to love and serve Him. We learn to know, love and serve Him through His Word, the Bible. It tells us that God sent His Son Jesus to die on Calvary’s cross and shed His blood for our sins. Because Jesus is, and always was, sinless, perfect and holy, God accepted His sacrifice for our sins on the cross. When we accept and believe this by faith in our hearts, we receive the forgiveness of sins, and we have peace with God. “Being justified [made right] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Lost Hiking

Jeremy Humphrey, 41, woke up to the news from his wife that a woman was lost in the Valley County wilderness near McCall, Idaho. The situation was serious, as she had been missing for nearly a week. Laura Dipietro, with her dog Flora, had gone hiking on July 3. Five days later, she was reported missing when she didn’t show up for work.

Now it was July 10, and Valley County Search and Rescue teams were busy searching through the mountains for Laura and Flora. When Jeremy heard the news, he was certain that he could not only help, but he was “100% positive” that he would find them!

He had good reason to believe this. Jeremy was an ultramarathon runner, which means that he ran longer than the standard 26.2 miles, sometimes running up to 100 miles! At 41, Jeremy often went on “adventure runs” in the mountains, never less than 6 hours at a time, and was in the best shape in his life. He was also very familiar with the area that Laura and Flora were lost in.

Nearly 25 miles and 10 hours later, Jeremy called out Laura’s name and got an answer! Though Laura and Flora were by a lake, they had had nothing to eat for at least four days. After sharing his energy bars and calling for help, Laura and her dog were soon airlifted to safety. When Jeremy found her, he said she was in rough shape, and “it was time, it was getting serious.” Jeremy was so thrilled that his skills of moving through rough terrain quickly could be used to save a woman’s life.

Jeremy’s physical prowess and feat of running through the mountains for 10 hours straight is truly amazing. But what the Lord Jesus did in leaving the palace of His glory to come down to earth to die for our sins is of so much more value — eternal value! Jeremy gave up several hours of his time, but Jesus gave His life for us, so that our souls could be saved for eternity.

Jesus tells the parable of a man that had 100 sheep and lost one of them. Leaving the 99, he went out and searched for the one lost sheep. When he found it, he laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Then he came home and called all of his friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” Then, Jesus makes a comparison. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:3-7). Have you repented of your sins and trusted God to forgive you for Jesus’ sake?

Near Death at the Hockey Rink

Nadia Popovici was a hockey fan who had grown up in Canada and then moved to Seattle. She was eager to attend the Seattle Kraken’s first home game. She had no idea of the life-saving role she would play in one person’s life!

During the game, she sat behind the Vancouver Canucks’ bench. As time went on, she happened to notice an irregularly-shaped mole on the back of a Vancouver staffer’s neck, Brian “Red” Hamilton. Since he couldn’t hear her through the Plexiglas barrier, she typed a note on her iPhone Notes app, telling him that he had a mole on the back of his neck that was possibly cancerous and that he should see a doctor.

At first, “Red” brushed it off, but then he thought, What harm could it do to have it checked out? So, he went to the team doctor, who removed the mole. It turned out to be malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer! The doctor also told Red that if he had waited four to five years, “he wouldn’t be here.”

You can imagine how thankful Mr. Hamilton and his family were! He and the Canucks wanted to thank Nadia, but they didn’t know who she was, so they tweeted a message to their fans, asking for their help in finding her. A few hours later, Nadia’s mother called her with the news that the Canucks were looking for her because she had helped to save a man’s life!

When the Canucks next played the Kraken in Seattle, not only did Red get to thank Nadia, but both teams gave her $10,000 toward her medical school expenses. Red was so thankful for Nadia’s timely warning, and Nadia was happy that Red had been spared a terrible diagnosis. Nadia later said that she noticed the classic signs of danger: “irregular borders, a little bit of discoloration and a pretty large diameter.”

What if Nadia hadn’t bothered to say anything? She actually debated this in her mind, eventually coming to the conclusion, “I thought, you know, it can’t hurt just to say something.”

The Most Important Escape

This is why the gospel is preached. People around us are heading for a lost eternity, where they will suffer forever and ever. Just as Nadia pointed Red to the doctor, we point people to Christ. He is the only One who can save us from our sins. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Faith and repentance — repentance of your sins and faith in Jesus Christ — they go hand in hand; you cannot have the “gift of God” without both!

These people’s lives were not spared because of “chance” or “luck”! They were spared because God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Each day that we have life is a gift from God. God is giving us all the chance to put our faith and trust in His Son Jesus and to come to Him in repentance. God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Man is without excuse! All these things speak to us — creation, conscience, our God-conscious spirit, “second chances” and, above all, the Word of God, the Bible. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

The answer is that we cannot escape God. We must all stand before Him and bow the knee. We will meet Him as our Judge or as our Savior. What will your decision be? Decide for Christ today, while you are yet able! Tomorrow may be too late!

Saved From a Muddy Death

Amanda Antonio nearly lost her life when her car swerved off the road and onto a grassy edge, flipping over several times before landing in a deep ditch filled with mud and water. She had lost control of her car after another driver had cut her off.

Amanda told a news station that it was all a blur, but when she did stop, she realized that she was in a desperate situation. Not only could she not get the doors open, but she didn’t know where her phone was because she was upside down in rising water.

At first, she panicked – but then she realized that wasn’t a solution to her problem. So, she used her Apple Watch to ping her iPhone, which she then found underwater and not working. She was able to dry it off on the car seat and call 911. “There’s water getting [in] the car and I can’t get out. I’m freezing,” she can be heard saying on the 911 recording.

Wanting to get a picture of the exact situation, the dispatcher asked Amanda how deep the water was. Amanda replied that it was up to her chest. They then tried to use Google Maps to try and pinpoint her location, but, because it was dark with thick fog, the deputies were having a hard time finding her.

Amanda understood the desperate situation that she was in and wisely called for help. She understood that time was running out! But, friend, what about you? Spiritually, we are all born into the same exact situation as Amanda. We are weighed down by our sins, small and great, which separate us from God’s holy presence. If we do not repent of our sins, asking God to forgive us for Jesus’ sake, we will go into the pit of hell when we enter eternity. We need to have our sins forgiven so that we can have eternal life!

During the 20-minute call, Amanda could be heard gasping for air, and toward the end, she begged the dispatcher, saying, “I’m so scared. Please tell them to come faster. Please help me. My phone’s dying, it’s at 5 percent.”

It took the deputies a good fifteen minutes to spot the overturned car sinking in the mud through the thick fog. Then they had to figure out how to get her out. They were unable to pry open the driver’s door because of the mud. Knowing that they were running out of time, they went over to the other side and managed to pry open a passenger door. Amanda’s life had been saved in the nick of time!

Not Able to Save Ourselves

Deputy Chris Sullivan told the news station that “Amanda absolutely saved her own life that night.” It was a nice comment, but it wasn’t quite the truth! Amanda herself had this to say of her rescuers, “I just want to thank all of you guys for helping me that night and just without you guys there’s no way I would have made it out of there by myself.”

Amanda was right! She could not save herself. She needed help, and fast!

And so do we. Our state before God is truly desperate! “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isaiah 1:6).

It’s true, because “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). In love, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to shed His blood and die on the cross for our sins. Because Jesus was perfect, pure and free from any and all sin, God accepted His sacrifice of suffering and death on the cross for sin. When we believe and put our trust in Jesus, repenting of our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us, and we receive eternal life! “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).

God is very kind, making salvation readily available to all. There is no need to doubt or wonder whether you have eternal life (peace with God) or not. “He that believe[s] on the Son [has] everlasting life: and he that believe[s] not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abide[s] on him” (John 3:36).

When we have peace with God and are certain of our salvation, it brings such joy into our hearts that we can 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 fear, and shall trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:2-3).

She's Got a Ticket to Ride

“She’s got a ticket to ride” is the jaunty refrain from a hit song from the 1960s. The refrain is repeated a whopping 14 times during the song. Chances are, once you hear the song, you will never forget the refrain.

There are two reasons why a line might be repeated so many times. The first is that repetition creates music in our ears. The second is that the line has an important message that the writer wants emphasized.

Here is an important message we all need to hear over and over again so it remains imprinted in our minds: “We all have one ticket to ride.” That is, we each get one ticket when we are born into this world, and we get one ride through this life. One ticket, and one ride, and then when it’s over our eternal destination is fixed. It is important to hear this because we don’t get any do-overs. We can’t repeat our journey through life, and we can’t fix anything left undone.

One ticket, and one ride through life, and the worst thing people may leave undone in life is that they never come to God in repentance and faith. Never coming to repentance and faith in Christ, when their one ride through life is over, they will be sent out of the presence of God forever into the darkness of hell.

One ticket, one ride through life, and all those who remain impenitent and in a state of unbelief will exit this world forever to a lost eternity.

You have one ticket to ride. Your ride will not last forever. One ticket is all you get! What you do with the Lord Jesus Christ in your one ride through life will determine where you spend eternity. On the cross the Son of God gave Himself for sinners. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). If you are ever going to get to heaven, you need to come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through faith in Christ, the worst sinner can get off the track that leads to destruction and get on the road that leads to life. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” the Lord Jesus said; “no man come[s] unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

God can save the worst sinner, but there is a class of people who won’t be saved: people who refuse to repent and turn to God by faith. Sadly, the darkness of hell is reserved for them. They live ignoring God’s love, they die rejecting God’s grace, and they will exist without access to God’s love for the rest of eternity. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

One ticket, one ride and then it is all settled for eternity. You have a ticket to ride. In this short life, please come to the Savior to receive the life that only He can give.

The lyrics of Turn, Turn, Turn help us to see another vital truth.

Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge

We are all familiar with the bridges that cars drive over, and perhaps we’ve used a pedestrian bridge, but have you ever heard of a bridge built just for animals?

The Cascade Mountains in Washington State are a long mountain range with many high and jagged mountains, as well as stunning waterfalls. Because the Cascade Mountains are so rugged, very few people live in them, but they are full of wildlife such as bear, elk, deer, mountain lion, bobcat and many other types of wild animals. Some of these animals like to migrate in the summer months high up into the mountain peaks looking for food, and then they return to the lowlands in the winter.

The problem with this is that a wide highway with many lanes called Interstate 90 was built slicing across these migratory paths. This road acts like a barrier keeping animals from where they would like to go. Over the years there have been countless accidents where animals have been hit by speeding vehicles. Often, not only the animals have been killed or injured, but also the drivers and passengers. A high fence was built along both sides of the highway, but the fence didn’t keep the animals away. They found ways to jump over or go under the fences.

A Clever Solution

Something else had to be done. One solution experts came up with was to build a very large wildlife bridge over the well-travelled interstate highway. By walking over the bridge, animals could safely cross to the other side.

The bridge they built is called the Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge and is as wide as a four-lane highway, but instead of being covered with concrete or asphalt, it is covered with dirt, rock and trees, just like the surrounding area. Engineers added extra sound proofing so animals wouldn’t be spooked by the loud noises of trucks and cars passing beneath it.

Does the bridge work? Yes, video camcorders installed on the bridge have captured countless images of elk, bears, bobcats and cougars passing over it. They have even installed infra-red camcorders to record animals crossing it at night. Videos of animals passing over the bridge can be seen by the public on the Internet. Many animals have been saved, and many accidents avoided.

Did the bridge prevent every animal from jumping the fence and being hit by cars? Sadly, no, but it really has cut down on the number of accidents in the area.

Another Bridge

I would like to tell you about another bridge. This bridge has the ability to save the lives of everyone who uses it. The Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge cost over six million dollars to build, but this bridge cost far more. It cost the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Two thousand years ago Christ came to this earth and laid down His life so sinners could have a way to go to heaven. God in His incredible love for humankind was willing to pay the supreme price for them.

A need existed for the Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge. A far greater need existed for Christ to come into the world. We have all been born into a world full of sin — disobedience to the God who made us.

Sin may seem to us like our natural habitat. It may seem like we were meant to live in sin until the day we die. But this isn’t true. God wants us to leave our sins behind and come to Christ. In fact, a verse in the Bible reads, “The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

In the Lord Jesus, sinners can find the forgiveness of sins, and a new life so that they can genuinely start living for God. We were intended to love and honor God. Until we come to Christ, our hearts will be forever restless, always seeking that missing something that will make us happy, but never finding it.

It may seem like many people are content to live in sin until the day they die. But deep down inside us something is always telling us sin is wrong. That is why there is so much unrest, uneasiness and searching in this world of ours.

Those who remain in their sins are heading to certain judgment. If they continue in the direction they are headed, they will one day stand before the great white throne and hear the dreadful sentence of a misspent life. All will face a result like this: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Sin, which so many people feel acclimated to, has a price tag attached to it, and what a price tag it is — everlasting fire.

Animals jumping the fence and running across I-90 run the risk of being hit and killed by fast moving cars. Every day of their lives, sinners run the risk of dying and passing out of this world into a lost eternity. Is that a risk you want to take?

God doesn’t want us to go on living separated from Him. He wants us to cross over from our sinful life to a new life in Him. He wants us to start living righteously through faith in Christ. He is willing to help every person who calls out to Him. He has never once failed to answer a prayer of faith.

So that you could leave your sins behind, Christ gave His life at Calvary. Millions and millions of people have come to Christ and are now with Him. You too may have the hope of joining their company if you come to Christ. But apart from the One who died at Calvary, you don’t have a shred of hope.

It was a wise thing to build the wildlife bridge at Snoqualmie to prevent accidents. God in His incredible wisdom sent His Son into the world so that people could be saved through Him. The suffering, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus is like a bridge because through it people can leave their sins behind and start on their way to heaven. Will you come to the Lord Jesus to be saved? The Lord Jesus said, “Him that come[s] to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Not just a few, but all can be saved as the next story shows.

Tent Stakes

There are groups of people who live in tents as they travel from place to place searching for pasture for their flocks. They are called nomads. Not too many people live as nomads these days. But we are all nomads in a certain sense. Our life is shockingly short compared to eternity. We have no permanent home here. No matter how deep we might want to drive our tent stakes into the ground, they will be pulled up, and we will be forced to move on. We are on our way to a permanent eternal destiny. There is nothing that can stop us from taking this journey. Each person will spend eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. It is a binary choice, either this or that. There is no other.

The Bible solemnly declares that each person will come into judgment for the things they have done in life. Sin is not the innocent plaything unbelievers make it out to be. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23 solemnly reads. Those who go on in their sins until the day they die will be sent out of God’s presence into the darkness of hell.

The miseries and sufferings of hell will be forever. This is why it is so important to repent and come by faith to the Savior of sinners. On the cross, the Lord Jesus won a great victory over sin, death and hell. He won this victory by suffering for a world of lost sinners. He is ready to share the results of His victory with all who believe that He is the Son of God.

For those who freely turn to Him, He has the marvelous gifts of forgiveness, grace, eternal life and an inheritance in heaven. The Lord Jesus truly is the “Prince of Life” (Acts 3:15) because only He gives the gift of life to the world.

No matter how deep you may attempt to drive the tent stakes of your life into this Earth, they will be pulled up. This Earth is only our temporary home. We are just passing through. We are on our way to an eternal destination. Where will you spend eternity?

Touched by a Seal

Falling off a boat is frightening, especially at night, and especially in freezing cold water. It is even worse if you happen to be miles from land. This is the exact situation that Scott Thompson, a Southern California boater, found himself in one pitch black night in February 2022. To add to all of his distress was the fact that he was only dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

Scott instantly realized that he was in a desperate situation. At first, he tried to swim as hard as he could to catch up with his boat. But he quickly realized the futility of that plan as his boat quickly motored away from him.

It was at this point that real despair set in. He thought of his wife and wondered what she would do without him to support her. He thought of his son and two daughters who would grow up without him. And he also thought, “Great, this is how I’m going to die. Today is the day I’m going to die.”

Even though Scott was an expert diver and experienced swimmer, he realized he needed help and inspiration. Both would come in the most unexpected of ways!

Hope

Suddenly, Scott heard a splash in the water and felt something nudge his leg. “It was a medium-sized harbor seal,” Thompson said. “The seal would go underwater and he came up and nudged me. Like a dog comes up and nudges your leg.”

Scott took this as a divine sign that he could and would survive against all odds. He decided to swim to the nearest oil platform, which was far away, but closer than land. Encouraging and motivating himself, he swam through the long night hours. Five hours later, he arrived at the oil platform, freezing and exhausted.

The tow boat crew that recovered Thompson’s boat was amazed that he survived. “Even putting on a wet suit, being prepared, getting in that water, and swimming to the platform was horrendous,” Channel Watch Marine Paul Amaral said. “I can’t imagine being in the water with shorts and a T-shirt at night. There was no moon. I mean it was pitch black.”

Thankfully, Scott Thompson’s life was saved because he was able to swim to the brightly lit oil platform, which shone as a beacon of rescue in the black night.

Every one of us is born into this world which is black with sin, sorrow and death. We all need rescuing and there is only one Person who is able to rescue us.

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [Jesus] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Are you trusting in Jesus for your soul’s salvation? Don’t wait until your life is hanging in the balance. Come to Him today!

Treasure at Your Fingertips

Stunned, an expert from the fine art company called Agnews, based in London, held the sketch in his hands. He recognized the distinct signature. The paper felt like the quality of paper used in the early sixteenth century. The quality of craftsmanship was superb. Could it be that he was holding a 500-year-old masterpiece in his hands?

The man who had asked him to come to his home and look at the sketch had purchased it along with some other art prints two years before at an estate sale. He paid $30 for a stack of them. At the time he thought it was a quality reproduction of an original piece of art. Then a couple of years after he had bought it, something about the sketch bothered him so much he decided to get it checked out by an expert.

The art expert later said of the moment he saw it, “It was either the greatest forgery I have ever seen — or a masterpiece.”

They had the piece of art checked out by other art experts. They all agreed the sketch was an original piece of art from the early sixteenth century by the renowned Renaissance artist, Albrecht Dürer. These experts also estimated the value of the sketch as upwards of $50 million dollars.

The subject of the sketch was the virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus while sitting in a grassy field.

The sketch bought for $30 was a genuine masterpiece worth a fortune. This meant the man who bought it would pass from very modest means to becoming extraordinarily wealthy.

True Rags to Riches

Wouldn’t it be great if everybody at least once in their lives could make a “Rags to Riches” discovery? Well, the good news is that by God’s grace they can!

Each one of us can make a discovery that has the power to utterly transform our lives from poverty to riches. This discovery has to do with the subject of the Albrecht Dürer sketch. In the sketch the virgin Mary is holding the baby Jesus.

The Bible gives an account of the miraculous birth of Jesus. It says that an angel appeared to Mary when she was engaged to Joseph and said, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS” (Luke 1:31).

Astonished at this, Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34).

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

Mary in a remarkable act of faith answered, “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). Nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy. The baby grew up and was obedient to His parents in everything. The family lived in obscurity in the hill country of Judea. He grew up learning the skills of a carpenter in Joseph’s shop. He never went to a university. At the age of 30, He began a public ministry.

He went up and down the countryside of Israel preaching the kingdom of God. Great crowds hung on every word He said. His words had the power to ignite the love of God in His hearers’ hearts. He healed the sick, lame and deaf, and He even raised the dead. Then after 3½ years of public ministry, He was betrayed, condemned unjustly and crucified.

Before His crucifixion, He clearly foretold the suffering He was to experience. He was slain on a cross, and His dead body was laid in a grave. But death, which has an absolute hold over the rest of mankind, couldn’t hold Him. Three days later, by the power of God, He arose from the grave.

The baby that once sat on His mother’s lap had grown up, died and then miraculously come back to life. He showed Himself alive to His disciples for 40 days before ascending into heaven. What’s more, He promised in the future to return and judge the world in righteousness.

This in a nutshell is the life of the Lord Jesus. It’s the story of God the Son coming to the world in human flesh to redeem mankind. It is the story of God’s supernatural intervention so that all can come to know and adore Him.

God wants to have the truth of the gospel presented to every man and woman. Those who hear Him, believe and repent undergo a rags-to-riches transformation. They pass from the poverty of living in sin’s darkness and condemnation to forgiveness, pardon, acceptance and life. “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

It is absolutely necessary for sinners to be justified — declared right in the eyes of a holy God — in order to make it into heaven. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

Without faith in Christ, men and women are living in a state of condemnation by God, and if they die in this state, they will pass into an eternity of abject suffering and misery in hell.

The expert was stunned when he picked up the sketch and saw what looked like an original Albrecht Dürer piece of art, and the man who had bought the art for $30 was even more astounded when he found out he could sell it for the fabulous sum of $50,000,000. How much more should each one of us be astonished at the great love God has for us in that He gave His Son to die for our sins?

Fifty million dollars is a lot of money, but it will be worth as much as the dust on the soles of your shoes when God judges the hearts of men. Only faith in the Lord Jesus delivers us from the death and condemnation our sins deserve. It truly has the power to make us rich for eternity!

The story of Christ coming into the world and giving His life on the cross for sinners is a masterpiece worthy of our God who is infinite in love, wisdom and power. It is such a masterpiece that all should bow down and worship God because of it.

It is no forgery or invention of men. What a mistake people make when they think so. Little do they realize they have treasure at their fingertips. In this life all they have to do is to repent and believe in Christ to gain the incredible gift of eternal life. After death, there’s no chance they will ever be given that opportunity again.

The gospel is God’s plan of salvation for lost sinners. Won’t you believe it and come to know God’s love? “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe[s]” (Romans 1:16). It’s the greatest discovery any person could ever make in his or her lifetime.

Two-Thousand-Year-Old Wine tells more of how good God really is.

Turn, Turn, Turn

Turn, Turn, Turn is the title of a hit song from 1965. The remarkable thing about the song was that the lyrics, for the most part, come directly from the book of Ecclesiastes found in the Bible. The song has been sung at serious occasions such as weddings and funerals ever since. It is appropriate for such occasions because, when someone dies or when someone is married, a major change, or a turning, takes place in the lives of those involved. Some of the lyrics are as follows:

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather
stones together
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

Although all the words to the song are very beautiful, I just want to draw your attention to the simple refrain: “Turn, Turn, Turn.” It is one word repeated many times, but the significance of that one word “turn” cannot be overstated. That one word “turn” expresses the idea of a major change. I would like to explain to you two different ways you need to “turn.” They are both produced through the goodness of God.

First, God wants you to “turn” from the darkness of sin. We live in the world God has made, in bodies He has given to us, with minds He has given us to think and feel. None of these are evil in themselves. What is evil is the stubborn, selfish, prideful use we have made of them. When things are not used for the purpose for which they were intended by the Creator, the result is sin and darkness.

The first turning that God would have us make is to have a deep change of mind towards sin. This change is called “repentance.” Without repentance we will be living in opposition to God. He won’t give us eternal life when we hang on tightly to our sins and resist His grace. Without this turning, we are children of wrath headed into eternal punishment.

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin” (Ezekiel 18:30). What God said of Israel in the past is true now for every member of the human race. This is the first turning that needs to be made — the turning from sin. When we hear what God says about us and simply agree with what He says about us in His Word, we’ve turned to Him in repentance. The learning to live without sinning comes after we’ve received a new life from Him.

The second “turning” that God wants us to make is for us to turn to Him. It is the turning that takes place when a soul living without faith turns to the One who is responsible for all the good that has ever been or will ever be. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). The prophet Zechariah wrote, “Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you” (Zechariah 1:3).

These two turnings — the turning from sin and the turning to God in faith — must take place before a person can be right with God. They are God’s instructions, and His goodness is at work to make those turnings happen. But God has another part in the justification of a sinner. First, He forgives the sinner. Their sins are blotted out and not held against them. Second, He provides a new life that delights in pleasing Him.

Are these things in your life? May the words, “Turn, turn, turn,” echo in your heart over and over again, until you decide to turn to the God who loves you.

Don’t go through life without this turning. If you miss out on heaven, it won’t be because God didn’t love you and seek you out. It will be because you refused His love and call to repentance. No matter how deeply you may have revolted from God, it is not too late to turn to Him. “Turn ye unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted” (Isaiah 31:6).

“Turn, turn, turn,” and come to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will find the grace that brings salvation.

Two-Thousand-Year-Old Wine

In 1953, undersea divers working with Jacques Cousteau from his ship, the Calypso, dove down into the depths of the Mediterranean, off the coast of France and discovered the wreck of an ancient Greek trading ship. Most of the ship had rotted away, but amazingly much of the cargo remained on the ocean floor.

In the wreckage they found thousands of clay jars called amphoras. These amphoras were used to store trading goods such as wheat, oil and wine. Many of these amphoras were brought up by divers to the deck of the ship Calypso.

To their surprise, they discovered some of the amphoras still contained wine. An archaeologist on board determined the amphoras were about 2000 years old. The divers were curious about what the two-millennia-old wine might taste like. They poured some into a glass and took a sip. The wine tasted awful and they spit it out.

Permanent Joy

In the Bible wine is often associated with joy. “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased” (Psalm 4:7). Wine may grow old over thousands of years and lose its taste, but there is a joy described in the Bible that will never grow old.

The joy referred to is nearly 2000 years old, and it is as fresh today as it ever was. It is the joy of walking close to the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing His love. Nearly 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus gave His life on the cross so that sinners could know God’s love.

By God’s grace, those who were once sinners may come to love the Lord Jesus. When they pass out of this world, the joys of heaven will be so great that mere earthly bodies would never be able to contain it. This is one reason why believers will receive resurrection bodies. These resurrection bodies will be well suited to the joys of heaven. The amphoras were clay jars that held wine. The transformed and glorified bodies of believers in Christ will be like amphoras that hold the unspeakable joys of heaven.

How about you? Do you want to know the joys of walking with the Savior? Do you want to know the joys of heaven? Of spending eternity in the presence of the Lord Jesus? Of seeing God face to face? Then in your heart you need to look to the Savior who died on the cross and arose from the grave. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22).

Ever since He died nearly 2000 years ago, this world has been going on much like it always has. But the day is coming when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back to Earth to set all things right. This means that everybody living on Earth — and everybody who has ever lived on Earth and passed away — will come and stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord Jesus, who was rejected and crucified, will become the judge of the whole earth.

He will send out of His presence all who haven’t had their sins washed away: the wicked, the godless, the cruel, the deceitful. Those who reject Christ and His message of grace will be sent out of His presence forever into the darkness of a lost eternity. Never again will they hear an entreaty for them to get right with God and leave their sin behind. Never again will God’s Holy Spirit strive with them to turn from their evil ways. After appearing at the judgment seat of Christ, they will be cast out of His presence forever and experience the everlasting sorrows of hell. What a loss!

On the other hand, those who repent and turn to the Lord in faith will be welcomed into God’s everlasting kingdom. They will hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21). I want to hear the Lord say to me, “Enter thou into the joy of the Lord,” and I hope you do too.

A Christian writer once wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” God wants everyone to experience that joy. He wants no one to miss out. But that joy is contingent on a soul believing in the crucified Savior who tasted death for all men. Will you place your faith in Jesus Christ so the joy of knowing the Savior can be yours? The joy of knowing Christ will never grow old. It has the power to stay fresh for all eternity. “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

Jacques Cousteau and his divers discovered the 2000-year-old wine at the bottom of the Mediterranean. It didn’t taste good. Two thousand years ago Christ died on the cross for sinners. His death, by which sins are put away, and His resurrection, which is proof that God accepts His sacrifice, have the power to bring joy to the hearts of every man and woman. Won’t you consider what He has done on your behalf and then in the words of King David, “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8)? The joy of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior surpasses every other joy and will never grow old!

We really don’t have time to waste if we are to benefit from God’s goodness, as Tent Stakes makes clear.

Unwelcome Guests

A family in Atlanta was going about their normal day when suddenly ...

The Fishers had a wooded backyard with a creek going through it. They were very careful to teach their four children about the dangers of the outdoors, including poison ivy, spiders and, yes, even poisonous snakes. They were taught to be careful where they walked and especially what they stepped on.

But certain animals can be just about impossible to see because they can camouflage themselves so well. This is especially true of the copperhead snake. When they are curled up on a rock or buried under a pile of leaves with just their eye sticking out, it is very easy to miss them!

One day in August 2014, 2-year-old Levi Fisher was following his father and three siblings home. Suddenly, he let out a piercing scream, a scream of pain that every mother would recognize. Racing outside, Levi’s mother scooped him up in her arms — and saw a three-foot-long snake slithering away out of the corner of her eye! The skin of the snake blended in perfectly with the rock, making it impossible for Levi to see.

Rushing inside, she immediately called 911. Her husband called out, “It’s a copperhead!” It had bitten Levi twice on the back of his right hand.

Venom starts to do damage immediately. By the time the ambulance got there, Levi’s hand was “swollen and bruised beyond recognition.” By the time he arrived at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta nearly 18 minutes later, the venom had travelled up his arm and half way to his heart. Levi was a very sick little boy!

He was immediately put on an IV and given morphine to dull the pain. Venom is especially toxic to children. Levi was given 24 vials of antivenom and had to spend four days in the pediatric intensive care unit before he was released.

Even then, he had a long road of recovery ahead of him. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta released a blog post in which Levi’s mother explained: “In the months afterward, we logged countless hours visiting with a hand surgeon, a physical therapist, a wound care specialist and a hematologist. Copperhead venom thins the blood of its victims, and it would be nearly 3 months before Levi’s blood clotting factors were back in the safe range.”

It is critical that snake bites be treated immediately, or serious injury or even death can be the result of them. Even so, it is absolutely necessary that our sins be forgiven, or spiritual death and eternal separation from God will be the result. God sent His Son Jesus to die on a shameful cross and shed His precious blood for our sins. But we must receive God’s forgiveness and put our faith in Jesus alone. We must truly repent before God. This is the ONLY way to have eternal life. The person who has their sins forgiven can honestly say with a free and happy heart, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Medical wisdom says that you should do these things if you receive a venomous bite. They are:

Do NOT apply a tourniquet.

Do NOT cut into the wound or attempt to squeeze out the poison.

Do NOT submerge under water.

Clean the wound with a washcloth.

Get to a medical professional immediately.

God, in His wisdom and love, says that His children (those that have their sins forgiven) should do these things:

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Read God’s Word every day! Know what the Bible really says!

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Praying is how we speak to God. We should make it a habit to speak to Him every day and all through the day.

“Flee also youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). God is warning us to RUN from any immoral temptation. This means don’t look, don’t even get close to it, but avoid it altogether. In love, God says, “Don’t hurt yourself!”

“Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). To be able to forgive is one of the signs that you belong to the family of God. What an example we have in how much God has forgiven us!

Can you say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). You can, if your sins are forgiven and you have peace with God!

Unwelcome Guests gives one last important lesson from snakes. 

Unwelcome

Guests

A man recently bought a beautiful home in Poolesville, Maryland, for 1.8 million dollars. The home sat on 25 acres. The house was made out of stone and timber. It had eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and was three stories tall. With a little decorating and renovating it would be an excellent house to entertain guests.

However, uninvited guests invaded the house and upset all the plans. One day in November, the homeowner squeezed through a trap door to inspect the crawl space. He looked around the crawl space with a flashlight.

To his dismay, he saw his basement was crawling with rat snakes. There were so many of them, they were impossible to count. Rat snakes in the region like to spend winter sleeping under rocks or in hollow trees, but in this case many had found their way into this poor man’s crawl space.

The man got out of that crawl space in a hurry and slammed the trap door down tightly behind him. He didn’t want any of those snakes slithering their way into the living quarters of his house.

Being a take-charge kind of a fellow, he felt like he had to do something. The idea of sleeping in a house with a passel of rat snakes made his skin crawl.

He didn’t want to wait for an exterminator to deal with the problem. He took the matter in his own hands. He filled a five-gallon metal bucket with hot burning coals and poured it on the gravel floor of his crawl space.

“That will fix them,” he thought.

He figured the smoke from the burning coals would fill the crawl space and drive the snakes out. Confident his plan would work without a hitch, the man drove to town to run errands.

Later in the evening a neighbor driving by saw flames and dark smoke billowing out of the windows of the home. The fire from the coals had spread to some combustible material stored in the crawl space, and from there leaped from floor to floor, engulfing the whole house in flames.

Seventy-five firefighters fought the blaze for hours. One of the firemen later said he thought he saw a rat snake slithering away from the orange glow of the flames but he couldn’t be sure.

The dream house burned to the ground, and all that is left of it is charred stone walls, dust and ashes.

A Foolish Mistake

Everybody is likely to make a foolish mistake in life, but the challenge is to make as few of them as possible. The man mistakenly underestimated the intensity of heat radiating off the coals and foolishly destroyed his own house. The fellow must have felt foolish for what he did.

You know, a lot of people are making a different type of foolish mistake in another area of life. They are underestimating God’s hatred which burns against sin! The Bible says, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), and, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

“Ah, God’s wrath will never be turned against me. That is such an old-fashioned notion. Surely we are past that as a society,” or so a great many people would like to believe. But they are dead wrong. God will hold each person accountable for their every action in this life.

A verse in the book of Psalms speaks directly to this point. “God shall wound the head of His enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses” (Psalm 68:21). It was a foolish thing for the homeowner to dump the burning coals in his basement, and it is a foolish thing for anyone to go on in their sin too.

The time to repent is now! Turn away from sin or it will certainly destroy you. If you knew how God’s wrath burns against sin, you wouldn’t waste another moment before renouncing it and placing your faith in Christ.

If you go ahead and sin like you have nothing to worry about, you will find out firsthand that you are making a mistake as foolish as pouring a bucket of live coals into your crawl space. It is only a matter of time before God’s wrath will be seen in the fire of His judgment.

God would much rather pardon souls than condemn them to a lost eternity. “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 55:7). “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

All of us have done wicked things that have earned God’s wrath, but because Christ came into the world, each man, woman and child has the opportunity to find forgiveness of sins and to start to live for God. Although none deserves it, all may come to Christ and receive the gift of eternal life.

The homeowner, through a foolish act, burned down his beautiful home. Through a foolish love of sin, souls are headed for the fires of hell, which will never be put out and from which they will never escape.

The right thing for the homeowner to do when he discovered the snakes was to call an exterminating company. The right thing for men and women to do when they discover they have sin infesting their hearts is to call out to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior and He has what it takes to deal with these hearts of ours. “We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). The problem of sin is too deadly, dangerous and difficult for men and women to tackle.

The Lord Jesus alone can deliver us from the guilt and power of sin. Those who come to Christ can say with King David, “Great is Thy mercy toward me: and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13).

Thank God that, for people whose hearts have been infested with sin, we have such a Savior!

The Vanishing Fishing Boat

A 55-foot clam boat, the “Bing Bing,” had made its way into the waters of the Massachusetts coast. As they were making one of their clam hauls, the boat began to tip to one side — and continued tipping until it capsized, completely disappearing under the water in a cloud of smoke.

“Normally, boats will haul to one side when you’re hauling back, and this boat just kept leaning,” Joe Roderick, one of the fishermen told CNN affiliate WCVE. “The next thing I know, the rail — which is about 5 or 6 feet from the water — was touching the water.”

The three fishermen on board were tossed into the water and had no time to make a Mayday call, nor did they have time to put on protective gear. Instead, they were forced to cling to a black inflatable hose that had come off the boat — which was used to stir up the bottom of the sea floor — in the freezing 42-degree water. All they could do now was to wait for help to arrive.

They were in the water for about 45 minutes before help came. It is how the help came about that is truly amazing!

Only one Call for Help

Pam Harght was on a Zoom meeting for work in her third-floor office in her home in Marshfield, which is about 30 miles south of Boston. About 2:30 in the afternoon, she happened to look up and glance out of one of her windows which had a surprisingly clear view of the sea, which was about a mile away. Something caught her attention — a boat that seemed to be taking on water.

As she continued to watch, the boat suddenly disappeared, vanishing from view in a cloud of dark smoke! The whole incident had happened in a matter of 60 to 90 seconds. Pam was sure that others had seen it and that rescuers were on the way, but she did not see any response.

Shocked, Pam quickly excused herself from the Zoom work call and called 911. She was sure that help was on the way, but just to be sure ...

As it turned out, hers was the only call to 911. It would be the salvation of three men’s lives!

Personnel from the town of Scituate and the U.S. Coast Guard were quick to respond, using an aerial drone to spot the men, who were about a half mile off shore, surrounded by a patch of pink diesel fuel. They were just in time! Not only were they suffering from severe hypothermia, but they had also swallowed a lot of salt water and diesel fuel.

“We had three victims clinging for life,” said Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy. “They were helpless.” All three were taken to the hospital, with one being released the next day, and the other two having a good prognosis.

The fishermen and rescue workers alike were quick to praise Pam for her quick thinking and for taking action. Had she not done so, three lives would have been lost. Pam herself said, “All of it is just sheer luck and nothing worked in their favor, except the fact that I happened to be looking out the window.”

We should know that the Bible tells us differently. God has numbered our days, and we are powerless to go beyond them. “Seeing his [mankind’s] days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee [God], Thou hast appointed his bounds [life] that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5). Our lives are in God’s hands, and “sheer luck” has nothing to do with it!

This is why God both wants and tells us to prepare to meet Him! God even explains just how short and fragile our lives really are. “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).

Were it not for God’s mercy, these men’s lives would have ended. If your life ended today, would you be prepared to meet God?

Touched by a Seal gives another amazing rescue story that emphasizes how fragile life really is.

Wandering Soul

Oh cease, my wandering soul,
On restless wing to roam;
All this world, to either pole,
Hath not for thee a home.

Behold the home of God!
Behold the open door!
Oh, haste to gain that dear abode,
And rove, my soul no more.

There safe thou shalt abide,
There sweet shall be thy rest;
And every longing satisfied,
With full salvation blest.

What a Savior

Come to the Savior; hear His loving voice;
Never will you find a Friend so true;
Now He is waiting; trust Him and rejoice;
Tenderly He’s calling you.

Blest words of comfort, gently now they fall:
Jesus is the Life, the Truth, the Way;
Come to the fountain; there is room for all;
Jesus calls you; come today.

Softly the Spirit whispers in the heart;
Do not spurn the Savior’s offered grace;
Gladly receive Him; let Him not depart;
Happy they who seek His face.

Light in the darkness, joy in any pain,
Refuge for the weary and oppressed;
Still He is waiting, calling yet again:
Come and He will give you rest.

Where to Find Success

uccess — we all want it. But the challenge is, where, and how to find it.

Some people measure success by the number of toys such as boats, RVs and vehicles they own. But those things are susceptible to wear and tear, breakdowns and rust, and are a faulty indicator of success.

Other people measure success by how they look in the eyes of others. Are they praised, looked up to, or esteemed in the eyes of others? Then they feel successful. But peoples’ hearts are so variable, changeable and gullible that we all know deep down inside that this is not a good way to measure success.

Others will measure success by the amount of money they can accumulate. But wealth often makes itself wings and flies off like an eagle across the heavens. Therefore, wealth isn’t a foolproof indicator of success.

Deep Down Satisfaction

Maybe you’ve got some other ideas on how to measure success. But the truth is we all have a deep longing in our hearts for success. Deep inside us we all want to fulfill the purpose for which we were made.

What is that purpose? We would all do well to think long and hard about this important question. Let me suggest to you that the purpose for which we were made is to worship, honor, love, obey and enjoy the God who made us and holds our very breath in His hands. Anything short of this will never do.

But a problem has come up between us and God. God is righteous, holy, and good, but we have fallen short of all these things. We are sinners. We have deeply offended Him. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). By nature and by our actions we are sinners separated from God and headed towards eternal death and punishment.

Left to ourselves we would remain in a state of spiritual darkness until the day we died. But thank God He didn’t leave us to ourselves. He has acted in a marvelous way to bring those who have sinned back to Himself.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world seeking for sinners. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He gave His life at Calvary so that sinners could have a way to return to God.

He is this world’s great Redeemer and the price He paid to redeem us was His precious blood shed at the cross. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Sinners who repent — accept God’s view of their sin — and turn to God with faith in their hearts, will find in Jesus Christ a new life only He can give. This new life enables them to live for God. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).

Without Christ we are headed to a lost eternity in the darkness of hell. With Him in our lives we are headed towards heaven and the company of other men and women who have received God’s forgiveness of sins.

Finding True Success

People today are measuring success in so many different ways: by the grades they receive in school, or the amount of their salaries, or by any of a million other measurements, but what will all this success be worth if they lose out on eternity with Christ? Nothing! In all likelihood these “successes” may end up blinding their hearts to the need of the Savior.

Ultimate Failure

“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). Do you want true success in your life? Then you need Christ in your life. You need the One who died and rose again and has the gift of eternal life to give to those who believe in Him. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Seek Him first and foremost in your life and every other blessing will follow. No blessing is so great in life as knowing Him who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man come[s] unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

If you experience success in this world and do not have Christ, you will always be, at best, searching for something more than you have. Come to Christ through faith and you will never be poor in things that really matter. You will share in the victory that the Lord Jesus won over death and sin at the cross. Success is found in Christ alone. Success is found in doing the will of God.

You were made to love, honor and adore God. This is the very purpose God gave you when you were created. Come to Christ and have your sins washed away so that you can begin to love God truly today!

Echoes of Grace: 2022

Table of Contents

20 Lives Lost

Abundantly Able to Save

Almost Scammed!

The Cat Colony of Ediz Hook

Change!

A Copperhead Strike!

Counterfeit Wine

Crash Landing onRailroad Tracts

The Dickin Medal for Gallentry

Eight Minutes and Thirty-one Seconds

Eyes in the Trunk of Their Car

A Flaming Car

Global Climate Change

The History of the Dungeness Lighthouse

How Shall We Escape?

I Will Sing The Wondrous Story

The Jefferson Bottles

Kindness

Loving Kindness

Ohio's "Vax-A-Million" Program

One Hundred, Sixty-Six Thousand

Paso Por Aqui! (Passed byHere)

Polar Ice Caps

Remarkable Little Travelers

Satisfaction

Saved By Chance?

Saved From a Muddy Death

She's Got a Ticket to Ride

Snoqualmie Wildlife Bridge

Tent Stakes

Touched by a Seal

Treasure at Your Fingertips

Turn, Turn, Turn

Two-Thousand-Year-Old Wine

Unwelcome Guests

The Vanishing Fishing Boat

Wandering Soul

What a Savior

Where to Find Success