THE CAGE
There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Sunday morning he came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak..."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there, son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply.

"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.

"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time." "But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?"

"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy.

"They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"

"How much?" the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly. "How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"

"How much?" He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."

Jesus said, "DONE!"

Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked down from the pulpit.
 

THE FUNERAL

Consumed by my loss, I didn't notice the hardness of the pew where I sat. I was at the funeral of my dearest friend -- my mother. She finally had lost her long battle with cancer. The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times. Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held a box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak, comforted me at my father's death, encouraged me in college, and prayed for me my entire life. When mother's illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me, the 27-year-old middle child without entanglements, to take care of her.

I counted it an honor. "What now, Lord?" I asked sitting in church. My life stretched out before me as an empty abyss. My brother sat stoically with his face toward the cross while clutching his wife's hand. My sister sat slumped against her husband's shoulder, his arms around her as she cradled their child. All so deeply grieving, no one noticed I sat alone. My place had been with our mother, preparing her meals, helping her walk, taking her to the doctor, seeing to her medication, reading the Bible together.

Now she was with the Lord. My work was finished, and I was alone. I heard a door open and slam shut at the back of the church. Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor. An exasperated young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me. He folded his hands and placed them on his lap. His eyes were brimming with tears. He began to sniffle. "I'm late," he explained, though no explanation was necessary.

After several eulogies, he leaned over and commented, "Why do they keep calling Mary by the name of 'Margaret?'" "Because that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary. No one called her 'Mary,'" I whispered. I wondered why this person couldn't have sat on the other side of the church.

He interrupted my grieving with his tears and fidgeting. Who was this stranger anyway? "No, that isn't correct," he insisted, as several people glanced over at us whispering, "Her name is Mary, Mary Peters." "That isn't who this is." "Isn't this the Lutheran church?" "No, the Lutheran church is across the street." "Oh." "I believe you're at the wrong funeral, Sir."

The solemnness of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man's mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter. I cupped my hands over my face, hoping it would be interpreted as sobs. The creaking pew gave me away. Sharp looks from other mourners only made the situation seem more hilarious. I peeked at the bewildered, misguided man seated beside me.

He was laughing too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit. I imagined Mother laughing. At the final "Amen," we darted out a door and into the parking lot. "I do believe we'll be the talk of the town," he smiled. He said his name was Rick and since he had missed his aunt's funeral, asked me out for a cup of coffee. That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral, but was in the right place.

A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church where he was the assistant pastor. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time. In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter. In place of loneliness, God gave me love. This past June, we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary. Whenever anyone asks us how we met, Rick tells them, "Her mother and my Aunt Mary introduced us, and it's truly a match made in heaven."
 

SMOKE SIGNALS

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and in which to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

The weary man asked his rescuers:   "How did you know I was here?"

They replied:   "We saw your smoke signal."

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, the next time your little hut is burning to the ground -- it just may be the smoke signal that summons the grace of God. The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and in which to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

The weary man asked his rescuers: "How did you know I was here?"

They replied: "We saw your smoke signal."

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, the next time your little hut is burning to the ground -- it just may be the smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

SCARS

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother, in the house was looking out the window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. >From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go." You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic, but, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. If you have Christ in your life, you have become a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins, and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not - and will not - let you go.

What Must I Do To Be Saved

What must I do to be saved? This is the most important question one can ask; for the answer one receives and accepts will make the difference between being lost and eternally separated from God, or having eternal life and fellowship with God. Fortunately, this question is asked and answered in the Word of God, the Bible.

The Apostle Paul and Silas were thrown in jail in the city of Philippi for preaching the gospel. At midnight they sang and prayed until God broke down all the doors and broke the stocks which held their feet with a great earthquake. The poor jailer, frightened and convicted of his sins, came to these two preachers and asked this question.

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

To which the preachers said:

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
(Acts 16:31)

This is God's plan of salvation, which is the only plan He has given so that sinners can be saved.

There was hope for this jailer because he was convicted in his heart of his sinfulness. He saw himself as he really was: a lost sinner in need of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Like the jailer, you are a sinner. The Bible emphasizes that fact in Isaiah 53:6:

"All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;"

And in Romans 3:9-12 it says:

"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.'"

Romans 3:23 teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" And a little later in the same chapter, verse 18, He said that those who do not believe in Him, God's Son, stand condemned already.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all are sinners. No matter how good you and those around you think you are, you are a sinner. The sinner remains lost and in need of saving until he accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The first step in coming to salvation is admitting in your own heart that you are a sinner, lost, separated from God.

Once you have come to acknowledge the truth of this, then you are ready to learn God's answer to your question, "What must I do to be saved?"

You are in a fatal state that has dire eternal consequences. You are a sinner, alienated from God, destined for hell, and you cannot save yourself. The only thing to do is to trust completely in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Do not trust in Jesus plus whatever good deeds you may do, religious rituals, water baptism, Sabbath-keeping, church membership, your faith, or your repentance. For whatever "righteousness" we can muster is but filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). Trust in Him alone. When you do this, you will then have God's promise of salvation.

Simply believing in the existence of God, or that Jesus is Savior and Lord is not enough. For that is no better than the faith of demons. They believe that and tremble (James 2:19). You can believe that taking medication prescribed by your doctor will maintain your life without actually taking it. Mere intellectual assent to the truth about Jesus is not sufficient; you are to believe on Him, that is, depend completely upon Him, trust Him.

None of us, no matter how much good we may do, deserve salvation. There is nothing you can do that will make you worthy of it. You cannot be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, for the Scripture clearly shows that you have not kept them.

James 2:10 says: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Romans 3:19-20 says: "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."

The same thing is told in Galatians 3:11 which says: "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'"

1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."

The Bible clearly teaches repeatedly that there is no salvation through human goodness, since no one is righteous or seeks God (Romans 3:10-11). You are not saved by giving money to the church or to the poor. You are not saved by volunteering your time to charitable activities. You are not saved by living a moral life.

Titus 3:5 says: "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."

Ephesians 2:8-9 says: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

It can be readily seen in God's Word that no one deserves saving and no one can save himself. Salvation must be by grace or no one would be able to receive it. In fact, it takes blood to pay for sin, for Scripture says:

"Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

"All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Isaiah 53:6)

The Apostle Peter declares that sinners are bought by the blood of Christ:

"You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Every animal sacrifice offered in Old Testament times on the altar illustrated this: that man, a guilty sinner, must have his sins paid for by the shedding of blood of an innocent. Jesus was the Lamb of God. He died for sinners just like you, securing salvation for them as a gift.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Church membership will not save you. Water baptism will not save you. Reforming your behavior will not save you. Engaging in religious activities will not save you. The observance of certain days or other rules and regulations will not save you or keep you saved.

The Bible plainly teaches that "all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30), and again, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). This was the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus, of Peter and of Paul, that men should repent. Repentance is an integral part of salvation.

Repentance does not mean being sorry you were caught. It is not just being sorry for your sin. Repentance is not "fire insurance", or taking an action to get away from God's wrath.

To repent literally means to have a change of mind toward God and toward sin. It means agreeing with God regarding the truth of your own sinfulness. Repentance means not excusing your sins or seeking to justify yourself, but admitting, like David in Psalm 51:4: "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge." Repentance means to earnestly turn from your sins, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in Jesus Christ.

While God desires that you to have a penitent, broken heart over your sins, no amount of emotion or lack thereof will make you right with God. You should be sorry for your sins and ashamed of them. However, Scripture teaches that "the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation." (2 Corinthians 7:10) -- the right kind of sorrow leads to immediate repentance, but mourning is not itself repentance.

The jailer's sorrow for his sin led to genuine repentance, which moved him by faith to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He was saved at that moment, and his whole family was saved the same way. So salvation is a gift that is granted by God at the moment a person turns to Jesus Christ in repentance and total trust.

Being saved by faith apart from works seems so easy, and it is. Many believe it is too easy and erroneously seek to add to God's plan of salvation. Godly living comes as the result of accepting Christ as Savior and Lord. Do not depend, then, on what you do, but on what Jesus did and promises to do for you.

Must one who accepts Christ by faith have a change of heart? Most definitely. But that is God's part, not yours. In order to have this change of heart you need to be born again. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus in John 3, He told him that the only way one could be saved that person had to be born again. Being born again changes your heart and mind, making you a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The change in your heart is according to God's work in your life, not your efforts. Your are to simply believe on Him. And even this ability to believe, to trust, to have faith, comes as a gift from Him. Salvation from start to finish is of the Lord, and not according to your own merit, abilities, or power.

After you are saved, you will get a peace and joy that transcends all understanding and circumstances in life. Instead of living a life in opposition to God, you desire to serve Him by obeying His command to be baptized, reading His Word, sharing the great news of the gospel with the unsaved, and otherwise living a life that is pleasing to God. This brings about continual fellowship with the Lord, and provides joy in the Christian life. And you can thank God that salvation is settled once and for all.

Everyone who is saved ought to publicly confess Christ. Matthew 10:32 and Romans 10:9 plainly teach that God will claim as His child any of us who claim Christ as Savior and Lord. We simply confess with the mouth what we have already trusted in our hearts. Concerning this Romans 10:10 says:

"For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

To claim Christ as your Savior and Lord simply means that you trust in Him from your heart. When you have received Him, you have done everything necessary to be saved. Remember, Acts 16:31 says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved". The Bible teaches in numerous places that salvation is promised to those who believe. Carefully read the following Scriptures and see that this is taught over and over again.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14-16)

"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24)

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life." (John 6:47)

"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43)

"And through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." (Acts 13:39)

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:30-31)

Trust in Jesus today, while you can. Have the kind of trusting faith in Him that an infant has in its mother while being cradled in her arms.

If you had committed a crime and were thrown in jail, probably the first thing you would do is hire a lawyer in whom you had confidence and trust him with the entire matter of your defense. According to the Bible, before accepting Christ as Savior and Lord, you are a criminal in God's sight, abiding in His wrath and destined for hell. But God has provided an Advocate to defend you. Jesus is that Advocate, for the Bible says:

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2)

Jesus will not only be your lawyer to defend your case; He has already paid the penalty and you may safely trust Him to have you immediately pardoned and justified before God! Why not simply trust completely in Jesus as your lawyer? He is the best advocate anyone could ever have, and no bill will come to you. His rates are free!

Consider your eternal destiny. Will it be a joyful life beyond imagination in heaven with God, or misery beyond description in hell? Jesus holds out His hands to you in invitation. No matter where you have been or what you have done, come to Him and He will welcome you with open arms. Do not harden your heart in refusal; do not say, "Tomorrow I will come to Him." Tomorrow may never come.

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1)

"Behold, now is 'THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,' behold, now is 'THE DAY OF SALVATION.'" (2 Corinthians 6:2)

"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." (Hebrews 3:7-8)

God has given you life to this moment, but there is no promise of another opportunity tomorrow. Please accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, right now!

One who trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior should publicly claim Him before men. "For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:10)

After trusting Jesus Christ you should join a well-balanced, Bible-believing church and be baptized. It is my hope that you will find such a church and attend it faithfully.

Summary

You are not saved by your good deeds. You are not saved by being a member of a church. You are not saved by being sincere. You are not saved by your intelligence.

What must you do? You must believe in Jesus alone; you must trust Him alone; you must accept Jesus' sacrifice for your sins alone and nothing that you do in any way.

Though there are no rules or steps to becoming a Christian, the following is a Biblical summarization of what you need to know and do:

1.   You must recognize your sinfulness before God:

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned". (Romans 5:12)

2.   You must recognize that your sin has caused a separation between you and God:

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2)

3.   You must believe that Jesus is the only way to God:

"I am the way, the truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)

4.   You must ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins because He has the authority to forgive you of your sins:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'". (Matthew 28:18) Jesus told you to ask Him for your requests: "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it". (John 14:14) Jesus is the one who forgives sins: "'But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins -- He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home'." (Mark 2:10-11)

You must receive Jesus. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."

5.   You must turn away from your sin

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30); and to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

If you want to be saved you must accept Jesus as your Savior. Pray to Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart. He will because He loves you.

Salvation is only a prayer of faith away.

If you believe these things, you can pray a prayer like the one below, to receive Jesus into your life, keeping in mind that merely saying a prayer in itself does not save you, for prayer is not like a magic charm or incantation. Only faith in Jesus Christ alone saves.

"Father in heaven, I come to you confessing that I am a sinner, completely lost and without hope. I repent of my sinful ways and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe in my heart that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, that He completely paid for all of my sins by His death on the cross, and that You raised Him from the dead. I confess that Jesus is my Savior and Lord. I trust in Him, and Him alone, for my salvation. I believe that through His shed blood I have eternal life. I will pray, study, meditate and live by Your Word the rest of my life. Father, I ask that You fill me with the Holy Spirit. Please come into my heart and save and sanctify my soul. I love you, Lord, and offer myself to You completely and without reservation. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen."

If you prayed a prayer like this and meant it with all your heart, YOU ARE SAVED! You have been "born again" spiritually as a child of God. Your sins have been washed away and you are a person with a new nature.

After receiving salvation, you should join a Christ-centered church that preaches the gospel and be baptized. You should also pray and read your Bible daily, and regularly assemble with fellow Christians at your church.

Suggestions for Christian Growth:

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

Go to God in prayer daily. (John 15:7)

Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11); begin with the Gospel of John.

Obey God moment by moment. (John 14:21)

Witness for Christ by your life and words. (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8)

Trust God for every detail of your life. (1 Peter 5:7)

Holy Spirit -- allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness.
                   (Galatians 5:16-17; Acts 1:8)

God's Word instructs us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (Hebrews 10:25) Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians.

If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

In the course of your new life in Jesus Christ, you will continually struggle with sin. Sometimes you will, in a moment of weakness, succumb to temptation and sin. Please do not lose hope or be discouraged. Know that you are not alone and that other Christians go through these struggles. The Apostle Paul faced the same thing in his walk with Christ. Of his life he said,

"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:18-24)

But Paul does not leave it there. He goes on to say,

"Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."

While you will always struggle with sin until the day the Lord comes to take you home to heaven, do not lose heart. If you turn to the Lord in repentance and confess your sins, He will forgive you and make you clean again. 1 John 1:9 says,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

As a new child of God you can be assured of salvation. Salvation is not a "maybe" or an "I hope to be". It is a sure thing that is based on the promises of God's Word. The Apostle John said:

"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:11-13)

Also as a new child of God you can share the same assurance that the Apostle Paul had:

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
 

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The Four Spiritual Laws

Understanding Atonement

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel with the banks, allowing ships to pass thru freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing the train to cross.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place for the trains to cross. One evening the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, when thru the dimming twilight he caught sight of the train lights.

He stepped to the controls and when the train was within a prescribed distance, he turned the bridge into position. Although to his astonishment, he found the locking control was not working. If the bridge was not locked in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends and cause the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. And this would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a control lever which he could operate manually to lock the bridge in place. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed.

He could hear the rumble of the train, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength. Then, from the direction of his control shack across the bridge, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him.

His first impulse was to cry out to the child, " Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. In the same instant, he almost left the lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever in time for the train to pass safely. Either the people on the train or his little son would have to die. It took a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way. No one on board was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. Neither did they see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked before, to tell his wife how they had lost their son.

As we comprehend what this experience must have meant to this man and how it affected him, we begin to realize what our Father in Heaven must have had to endure when He sacrificed His Son, (the most innocent man ever) to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son was crucified? We must think about how it must affect Him when we speed along through life with little thought or appreciation for that sacrifice.

A Father's Love

After a few of the usual Sunday hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon, he briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that morning. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father and son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized." The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story. "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life - to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, "I love you, son!" he threw the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered. By this time, the teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father, he continued, knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us. Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line He is throwing out to you." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian." "Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face. He once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You see, I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."

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