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I remember a film that was produced not long after the Berlin Wall had been erected to keep East Germans from escaping to freedom in the west. The title of the film was "The Tunnel." It was a true account of the daring escape of some who were desperate to leave the oppression of East Germany. I did an Internet search to see what I could find about the film and the event it portrayed.
This is a true story. It is 1961, the same year that Communist East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall. East German Harry Melchior is already suffocating in the stench of oppression. He wants out, but his beloved sister Lotte is afraid that an escape attempt into West Berlin would be too dangerous for her young daughter.
Harry reluctantly leaves Lotte behind, but swears that he will return to rescue her. Once safely in the West, Harry teams up with his best friend Matthis, an engineer, and they plan their nearly-impossible project. Nine harrowing months and 145 meters later, despite cave-ins, flooding and East German spies, the tunnel is completed as the team breaks through the cellar of a building in East Berlin. Having defied the ever-present dangers of failure and death, Harry and his team now guide Lotte, as well as 28 others, into the freedom of the West.
This story reminded me that man has put a wall between himself and God. On one side of the wall is God, offering the abundant life -- life with purpose and meaning, and eternal life.
On the other side of the wall of sin is man, with his suffering, and evil and death. This has been the case from the first man and woman, Adam and Eve to the present time. But God has provided an escape to freedom.
In the Bible, Hebrews 12:2-3 says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Also Hebrews 2:3 says, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"
A Look At Man's Side of the Wall
On man's side of the wall is a self-centered life. I don't watch professional wrestling, but I have seen enough of it in the past. Have you noticed how every one of them thinks the world revolves around him? They don't take a win or defeat in stride. They gloat over the win and give excuses for the defeats and put every other wrestler down in an effort to elevate self.
That is an example of our human nature at work. For most it may not be so exaggerated, but self is still at the center of plans and activity. And guess what. The self-centered person is usually an unhappy person. Often such a person denies, ignores, makes light of, or excuses his or her sin.
The self-centered life cannot provide purpose and fulfillment. Real meaning is absent. Many enormously wealthy people who are able to meet any material desire are unhappy and do not have a sense of fulfillment in life. The suicide and divorce rates among them are high.
The Self-centered life is separated from God. Instead of listening to God and obeying Him, Adam and Eve trusted on their own will. They listened to the devil and chose what was attractive to them. Today, self-centered People ignore God or openly rebel against Him. We all have been guilty of this. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23 NIV).
The self-centered life leads to eternal death. In Matthew 23:33 Jesus says to those who refused to repent, "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" He said this to religious leaders who taught one thing for the people, but acted differently for themselves. Jesus was more patient with other people. But he was intolerant of hypocrisy.
We have looked at man's side of the wall of sin. Now let us consider...
The Great Escape to the Abundant Life of Freedom and Security
God is real and on His side of the wall is love. First, there is God's love for us. Then there is the love of the redeemed for God and for others.
On God's side of the wall we can find adequate and satisfying direction to life. There we can have real meaning and victory in life. Romans 8:35-39 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
When I was in the pharmaceutical business, in the early to mid 1960s, I was trying to design my own life. As national sales director and vice-president, I thought I was in charge of my life -- and that was the problem. When I let Christ take charge and set me back on the right track, it became a life of victory and joy. I have often been busier and worked harder, but I'm also happier, because I'm doing what God wants me to do and letting Him make of my life whatever He wishes.
On God's side of the wall we find fellowship with God. God created man for fellowship. This fellowship with God is restored when we trust His Son as personal Savior and Lord. When we wander away, the fellowship gets strained, not because God has withdrawn but because we have. Romans 8:14 says, "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God," and asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" The following verses let us know that His love is so strong that no one can snatch us away.
On God's side of the wall we receive eternal life.
Jesus says in John 3:14-15, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." and in the 17th verse he further states, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
In John's vision of heaven, as recorded in Revelation chapter 21, he gives us a glimpse of the home in which we will dwell. You can tell that John gets excited as he begins to describe heaven. He chooses descriptive words that will help us to get a grasp of its beauty -- words with which we can identify, earthly gems and precious metals in their most lustrous appearance, so that we might get a small idea of the beauty of heaven, and of life in heaven. God has provided the best for His children.
Jesus Christ is the only way of escape from man's side of the wall. Jesus dug the tunnel by his life, his sacrificial death and his victory over the grave. He will safely escort all who believe to the side of freedom and eternal life. His way is the only way. He is the only way to the Father's house (heaven).
Romans 8:1-2 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." and Romans 5:6-8 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The Bible boils it all down to this: Make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.
Freedom Carries Responsibility
National citizenship. You have responsibilities for any freedoms you may enjoy in your country. You must respect the rights of others. You are to pay taxes for the good of everyone and the security of your land. When a person is called on to fight in a war to protect the nation, it is his or her responsibility to go. You are to earn your own way and assist the less fortunate. In other words, you are to work to make your country better. If you break the laws, there is a penalty to pay. The penalty is assessed for the benefit of all society.
Family Citizenship. The family with a father, mother and children help us to better understand God and our relationship to Him. The parents with authority and, hopefully, love are to discipline, nurture, protect and guide their children. Children with this type of parent learn to respect and honor and obey the parents. They should be able to sense the care and enjoy the security. There is a mutual care and acceptance of responsibilities.
Members of God's family are citizens of His kingdom.
We are to let Him rule our minds and hearts.
We are to let Him use our lives and talents however He chooses.
We are to support the work of His family -- God's kingdom.
We are to relate the good tidings of God's kingdom to others.
Romans 1:16a says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
God wishes to provide freedom for all who are enslaved by sin. He has dug the tunnel, provided the cross. He arose from the grave and lives! Jesus gave himself on the cross and conquered death that you and I might go free. Today can be the day of salvation for you.
If you would like to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior but still have questions about it, feel free to write me. Just go to the Contact Us page on this site. I will be happy to hear from you. I am the only person who sees the correspondence from this web site and I will keep your information in confidence.
-- Don
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer but he took a liking to the young man and hired him. A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set by the fireplace. The farm implements had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn had been properly locked, so even the animals were calm. It was then that the farmer grasped the meaning of the young man's words, "I can sleep when the wind blows."
Because the farmhand had performed his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. Consequently, when the wind blew, he had no fear. He was able to sleep in peace.
This young farmhand, having been faithful and diligent, had a conscience that told him he need not worry. He could sleep through the storm.
But can a person trust his/her conscience? Can you, with confidence, live by your conscience? Will your conscience always guide you in the right direction? Let's look at that whole idea.
First, perhaps we need to define conscience. Andrew Blackwood says, "Conscience is the God-given power that shows a man what is right and what is wrong, impels him to do the right and not the wrong, approves him when he has done the right, and rebukes him when he has done the wrong."
Does that sound like the conscience cannot be trusted? But Blackwood goes on to say, "Such is the ideal, but it takes no account of sin. What water does to the works of a watch, sin does to the conscience of man."
Everyone has a conscience. God made us with a conscience. The conscience, like our soul, raises us above the animal level. The animal was given instinct; man was given a conscience. But the conscience can be seared, hardened or perverted so that it does not do a perfect work.
When totalitarian leaders give orders to liquidate people who are in their way, is that proof that some people do not have a conscience? Not at all. Rather, it is proof that the conscience can be trained to give consent even to evil. Paul, an apostle of the Lord, who wrote several letters contained in the New Testament of the Bible, testified that before his conversion he thought he was doing God a favor by persecuting Christians. After his conversion, the Holy Spirit healed his conscience, or gave him a new one.
Here is what Paul had to say about it (2 Corinthians 1:12). "Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace."
Exactly what is the conscience? We could say, "The conscience is that part of the human spirit that acts as our moral guide, leading us to right actions as well as showing us when we have done something wrong." At least that is how the conscience should work. But can you really trust your conscience? That depends.
The Conscience Can Be Corrupted.
For convenience we can think of the conscience as a compass needle. The conscience is like a compass that points us to right actions. Everyone has a conscience, whether he/she is a Christian or not.
Genesis 20:1-7 (in the Bible) tells of Abraham's encounter with the pagan ruler Abimelech. When the Lord God showed Abimelech, the Philistine, that Sarah was Abraham's wife and not his sister (as Abraham had told him) Abimelech protested that he had taken her into his harem with a clear conscience. God agreed that his conscience was clear, showing us two things: (1) Abimelech had a conscience and (2) knew that he had done right by following it. The Lord acknowledged the truth of both these statements.
Today, even non-Christians can make right decisions by listening to their conscience. But the conscience can be corrupted. And it is to some extent for all who are outside of Christ. A person can do wrong and still have a clear conscience. That was the case with the apostle Paul before he became a Christian, when he thought he was pleasing God by persecuting Christians. Otherwise he was a morally upright religious man.
So, everyone begins life with a "working" conscience, but because our spirits are separated from fellowship with God by sin, a change begins to take place. Sin begins to mar and to twist our consciences so that they no longer point to 'North' or guide us to right actions.
Paul describes this process in Titus 1:15 where he says, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupt." And in 1 Timothy 4:2 he says: "Such [false] teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." In both passages Paul is saying the same thing -- sin distorts the human conscience, which therefore becomes corrupted.
Even the seared, or corrupt, conscience can sometimes be appealed to for change of action. For example, the 8th chapter of John (in the Bible) tells of some men who were about to stone a woman who was caught in adultery. Their consciences were so seared that they ignored the man involved, ignored their own shortcomings, and seemed to think nothing of committing murder. Jesus pricked even those calloused consciences with the statement, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7). The men began laying down their rocks and walking away.
Deliberately and repeatedly ignoring your conscience will eventually result in its total failure, as if the needle fell off your compass.
The Conscience Can Be Restored.
So we have seen that everyone has a conscience and that although it starts off guiding us correctly, sin soon throws it "out of alignment" as it were. As you might expect a great change takes place when someone turns to Christ and everything becomes new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Hebrews 9:9-14 shows us that by his death on the cross Jesus provided the means by which our consciences could be cleansed, something that was not possible through the Old Testament sacrificial system. This cleansing allows us to "...draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)
This happens when we are born again, when our spirit is renewed and fellowship with God begins. "All things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) That means that when we turn from our own self-centered way and let Jesus take charge of our lives, we don't need to worry about the sins of our past. They are forgiven when we trust Jesus Christ, God's Son, as Savior.
The Christian may begin to neglect the reading of God's word, neglect his/her prayer life and drift away from a close walk with God. The conscience loses its sharpness and becomes less reliable. But God can change that if we will let him.
There are many examples in the Bible. Here is one. King David had begun to focus on himself and his position. He drifted from the close communion with God. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and in the cover-up had her husband sent into the hottest part of a battle so he would be killed. God sent His prophet, Nathan, to confront David about his sin, David was remorseful. He wrote the 51st Psalm, expressing remorse and asking God for forgiveness and mercy and restoration. His conscience had become so calloused, as to approve what was evil. He turned to God and its dependability was restored.
The Conscience Can Be Trained.
Our renewed consciences need to be trained. To achieve this, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God work together.
1. The Conscience Can Be Trained by the Scripture. As we read and study the Bible our consciences are trained by what we learn, so that gradually we sin less and grieve the Spirit less.
A very challenging track & field event in the Olympics is the decathlon. There are 10 events that span the entire field: sprints, hurdles, middle distance, distance, weights, etc. The unusual feature is the scoring. In other events the athletes compete only against each other. In the decathlon the athletes compete against standards as well. In each event a high mark is set as "perfect." To reach that figure is to score 1,000 points. Each inch or each fraction of a second under the mark takes away so many points. A high school boy may win 1st place and a gold medal in a district meet by vaulting 11'6", but the decathlon athlete must add two feet to that to score 1,000 points.
What I am saying is that the world may give approval to man's morals because he does better than someone else. But God's standard can never be lowered. True, man can never reach it. Perfection, absolute perfection, is beyond him. But God cannot lower the standard. However, by His grace and matchless mercy he can and does lead us on to victory.
God has given to each of us an instrument within, which is the conscience. To each of us He has also made available His Law and the rest of the Bible.
2. The Conscience Can Be Trained by the Holy Spirit. Jesus has also given us the Holy Spirit and our conscience can be trained by Him. If the Scripture tells you to do or not to do something, then obviously you don't need to search any further. However, there are a multitude of things that we experience each day that the Scriptures do not cover directly. If they did the Bible would be a rule-book as large as the Encyclopedia Britannica. It is precisely because God wants to train us to trust Him and grow up as His sons and daughters that He has not given us that kind of a book. Christianity is not a religion of rules. It is a religion of relationship!
So the second way in which our consciences are trained is by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us in John 16:12-15 that when the Spirit of Truth would come, He would guide us in all truth. This is, of course, more subjective than using the Scriptures and you will find that the Holy Spirit deals with us all as individuals according to what stage we are at in our relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit and the Scripture working in conjunction with your personal communication with God (prayers) will train your conscience to care for others and be sensitive to their needs and feelings.
Paul covers this subject in at least three passages in the New Testament (Romans 14:13-23; 1 Corinthians 8:"4-13; 1 Corinthians 10:23-33). These passages of Scripture speak of the problem the Corinthians had with regard to eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Corinth was a city that was full of pagan temples and much of the meat for sale in the marketplace had been sacrificed to an idol first. Paul says that there is nothing wrong with the meat, but this does not mean that it is always right to eat it. He indicated that they should be sensitive to the needs and feelings of other believers who may not understand that the meat was still OK to eat. We should always be sensitive to the needs of others.
Perhaps your conscience has been telling you something today -- not only what you should not do but also something you should do. Is your conscience telling you that all is not right between you and God and you should do something about it? This is the day to set things straight and have a clear conscience before God.
If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, perhaps your conscience is telling you to accept Christ and His way of life. When you do so, He will give you eternal life. When you die, you will leave this physical body and receive a spiritual body and go to live with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in heaven.
If you need further help in making your decision to follow Christ, feel free to contact me. Just go to the Contact Us page of this web site and write me a note. No one reads this mail but me and I will keep our conversations confidential. Nothing will be shared without your express permission.
If you are an inactive Christian, a properly schooled conscience will be telling you to become an active witness for the Lord.
Take care.
-- Don
Things are not always what they seem.
Did you ever see a magician perform the illusion that someone or an object was floating in space without any visible means of support? That is an illusion of levitation. I don't believe there is such a thing as actual levitation.
To make my point that things are not always as they appear to be, I'm going to show you how to make an illusion. There is no magic involved and you have everything you need to make this illusion take place.
I'm speaking of the illusion of levitation. you are going to create the illusion that something appears out of thin air, floats without any visible means of support, and then completely
vanishes!
Ready? OK, stick your index fingers of both hands together, touching fingertips together, as though they are pointing at each other. Got it? Good. Now with fingertips touching, bring both hands closer to your face, at eye level. Focus on the joint where the fingers touch. As you draw your fingers closer to your face, and as you focus on the joint where the fingers touch, you will eventually see an optical illusion materialize. It looks like a little hotdog (wiener) joining your two fingers!
Now, slowly pull your fingers apart. Not too far! Just about a half inch, and look at what you see! The hotdog is floating between your fingers!
Now, let's make it completely disappear. Slowly pull your fingers apart even more. As you do, watch what happens to the hotdog. It's gone. WOW -- you have seen something "appear," "levitate," and then "disappear," and all the while you were watching carefully, with both eyes wide open.
What can we learn from this experience? Well, first of all, we know that our eyes don't always tell us the truth. In fact, if we use our "experience" to be the only truth in our lives, we are in serious trouble. Our experience just told us that we saw something that is absolutely impossible, and in fact, did not happen. To an onlooker's view, you were just moving your fingers around. The onlooker saw nothing float in front of you. And second, we can know that it is very easy to trick our physical senses. It is a good thing that God gave us a spiritual side to our lives as well, because it is with the spirit that we discern good from evil, and truth from the lie.
2 Corinthians 4:2 (in the Bible) says, "We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
We are to live and speak the truth. At the same time we recognize that a lot of what we experience is not the truth. Things are not always what they outwardly appear to us. We have to dig deeper. How often do we judge another person without really finding out who the person is and what he or she is about? We often jump to wrong conclusions, like Jesus' disciples in John 9:1-5 when they wrongfully concluded that a man's blindness was because of sin.
In John 7:24, Jesus says, "Stop judging by mere appearances." And 1 Samuel 16:7 says that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.
The unfriendly and unlovable person may be in need of a friend who cares. The one who seems aloof, uncaring and not wanting to associate with others may be shy and inwardly hurting for a friend. God's plan may include you to help the person to know that you care and that he or she can have the "Friend that sticks closer than a brother."
When we experience someone having wronged us. We first must determine that it was not just a misunderstanding. Sometimes it is obvious, but when there is room for doubt we need to go to the person to clarify his/her actions, relating what we have experienced. Even when what appears to be is correct, rather than passing stories around, the Bible tells us that we are to go to the person. Then what happens?
After Jesus' words of caution about leading others astray, he said, "So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." (Luke 17:3-5 -- in the Bible)
How does one do that? That's what the disciples wondered. Their reply was, "Lord increase our faith!" That's how we do it. On our own it seems impossible sometimes, but no matter how often a person has offended us, when the person expresses sorrow, we are to forgive and just turn the matter, with our feelings, over to the Lord.
We may need to take the initiative and go to the person who offended us and set the tone for restoring a good relationship.
Try to live peaceably with others. Sometimes you have to "turn the other cheek." Where do you get the strength to do this? The same source as the disciples recognized -- from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, look at Romans 12:14, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."
Each Christian is to be a missionary of sorts. A missionary generally has to first reach out to meet the felt needs of an individual. In the context of meeting felt needs, the missionary is able to address spiritual needs of which the person may even be unaware.
Be alert to physical needs. Be alert to spiritual needs. Remember the mission to which you and I are called.
Let me tell you about Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant, kinda private, and very bright. He became a Christian before leaving college. Here is part of the story.
Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They wanted to develop a ministry to the students but were not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to visit there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt and wild hair. The service has already started so Bill starts down the isle looking for a seat.
The church is completely packed and he cannot find a seat. By now the people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down, right on the carpet. Although this was perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened before in that church.
By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is really thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his 80s, has silver hair, a 3-piece suit and a pocket watch.
He is a godly person, very elegant, very dignified. He walks with a cane, and as he starts walking toward this boy, the people are saying to themselves, "You can't blame him for what he is going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and his background to understand some college kid on the floor?"
It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused upon him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, "The minister can't even preach his sermon until the deacon does what he is going to do." And now they see the elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.
Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says, "What I am about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."
Lots of us have much to learn when it comes to acceptance. Try to look past outward appearances and see the person inside. Just show people acceptance and love. This will help them understand, and respond to, Christ's love. This attitude will also help develop a dynamic congregation that God can use in your community and beyond.
Note: Instruction's for the illusion used at the beginning of this article are available at Eric Reamer's Illustrated Illustrations.
Take care and bless the Lord,
-- Don
It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea.
But there was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life. Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean.
For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long. But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred.
In Captain Eddie's own words, "Cherry," that was the B-17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, "read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off."
Now this is still Captain Rickenbacker talking..."Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it."
And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. You know that Captain Eddie made it.
And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast...you could see an old man walking...white-haired, bushy-eye-browed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls...to remember that one which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle...like manna in the wilderness. -- "The Old Man and the Gulls," Paul Aurandt, Heaven Bound Living, 1989.
How do you express your gratitude to those who befriend you? Many people today just look out for themselves and act as though they deserve whatever they need, want or can acquire, without expressing appreciation to others who help them.
In the United States, we observe a special day of thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. We are reminded that we should remember to be thankful all year long. The day is usually celebrated with a special meal at which friends or relatives are invited. The most popular meat for this meal is turkey.
Here is how it all began.
The first American Thanksgiving didn't occur in 1621, as many believe, when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with a group of friendly Indians. The first recorded thanksgiving took place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it wasn't a feast. The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60. The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.
We are to be thankful to God for all He has provided. We recognize His power and wisdom. We see that in this great big magnificent universe He created. We thank him for allowing us to be a part of His creation, for the air we breathe and the food we eat. Thank Him for the reminders of His greatness -- the stars at night, the thunder and lightning, the birds and the animals, beauty of the flowers and His many other wonders. We thank God for family and friends.
Here are some ways we can thank God. Take good care of the creation he has entrusted to us. We can be kind to others and be grateful for their kind acts. As God has helped us in our need, we can reach out and help others in their need by sharing our time, energy and wealth.
In a tremendous act of love, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to live as a man among the people so that we would know God better. Jesus' mission to earth was a redemptive one. He was to become a sacrifice for our sins and provide eternal life for all who will believe in him and let him direct their lives.
Heaven is a holy place and sin cannot enter heaven. However, every person has sinned. This disqualifies us from ever entering heaven. Our sin condemned us to an eternal fiery hell when we die. But God's love is so great that he provided a way for us to avoid hell and spend eternity with Him in heaven when we die. He sent His Son to pay our sin penalty for us.
Jesus, God in man, lived a perfect life on earth. He, who had no sin of his own, offered himself to be killed on a cross as the sacrifice for our sins. He took our sins upon himself. All who believe and entrust their lives into his care are clothed in his righteousness. Therefore we appear before God as righteous. It is not our righteousness, but His. Jesus Christ conquered death and came back to life three days after his death. Forty days later he ascended into heaven with God the Father. He conquered death for us. His followers will one day be in heaven with him. You can be one of them. Here is how:
1. Recognize that you are a sinner.
The Bible says in Roman 3:23, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
2. Repent of your sins.
Repentance is a remorse for your sins and a turning from them to God. The Bible says in Acts 3:19, "Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out."
3. In an act of commitment to Jesus Christ as your Savior, ask Jesus to take control of your life.
Jesus said in John 6:47, "He who believes in me has everlasting life." To believe in is to trust, or "believe into him." It's not just to believe the facts but, in believing the facts, you trust yourself to what you believe. For instance, you might believe a ladder will hold your weight, but you have not trusted it (believed into it) until you place your weight on the ladder.
You can ask Jesus to take control of your life by talking to him. Right where you are you can say something like this: "Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins. I realize that you are the perfect Son of God who, out of your love, died as the sacrifice for my sins and rose from the grave. Please come and take charge of my life. I commit myself to you, to live as you direct. Thank you for saving me, Amen."
When you sincerely ask Jesus to take charge and direct your life, you are "born again." This is a spiritual birth through which you become a part of God's family. God's Holy Spirit will permanently indwell you to guide you and help you understand. He will renew your conscience and help you to better distinguish between right and wrong.
I encourage you to get a copy of the Bible, especially the New Testament. The Gospel of John is a good place to begin. Then Acts and Romans would be ideal as the next portions and perhaps Hebrews. After that, just have a regular habit of reading God's word.
You can talk to God anytime you wish. He is a loving Father and will hear your prayers. As you trust Him, he will strengthen your faith and give you strength and wisdom to face the trials and difficulties that life offers.
Find a church and become a part of the family of local believers. Let God use you there. Jesus instructs his followers to be baptized. Baptism does not save you but it is an act of obedience and a public testimony of your commitment to Christ. The act of baptism pictures the death and burial of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to life. It also pictures your death to the old life and your resurrection to walk in the ways of Christ. Scriptural baptism is by immersion. I suggest a Baptist church if one is near you. The church does not save you, but your spiritual growth and worship of the Lord will be enhanced. You should not wait to share with someone the decision you have made.
Here are a few words from Jesus for you to ponder:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23).
One last word: You will fail miserably sometimes. The devil (Satan) will not leave you alone. Don't be discouraged. Take those failures to God. Ask Him to forgive you and strengthen you. He will. You will not lose your salvation because of it. God will not kick you out of his family. A caring parent will not put their child out of the family each time he/she disobeys. But it is meaningful to the parent when the child comes and says, "I am sorry. Please forgive me." I think it means much to God when we come to Him that way.
Please let me know of your decision. If I can help you with your commitment, just go to the Contact Us page and send me a note. Take care.
-- Don
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