Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

The Helping Hand


    The Amtrak "Sunset Limited" rolled on in the night through the bayou country. Bayous, rivers and bridges were the main features of the flat landscape, and the train was making good time. Nearing the end of the long trip from the west coast, the passengers were sleeping in comfortable berths or reclining chairs. Then - the jolt, the shock, the wild "roller coaster" motion, and the terrifying awakening. The train was suddenly plunged into the deep, dark water of Bayou Canot.

    One car was only half submerged. The panic-stricken passengers inside were choking and blinded by smoke from a car burning near them. Amid the groans and cries of the injured someone yelled,

"We're all going to die!"

    One young man, Michael Dopheide, borrowed a key-ring flashlight from a fellow passenger. Following its faint gleam, he scrambled to the higher part of the car. A piece of timber from the bridge had crashed through a window. Climbing outside, Dopheide clung to the timber and called to the others to follow.

Holding on with his left hand, he reached out with his right hand to help people scramble through the window. Grasping firmly, he lowered them feet first into the water - a drop of about six feet. Those who could not swim to safety were perched on pieces of wreckage and floated across to a bridge support.

    All told, about thirty people grasped that extended hand and were pulled from the wrecked car to safety. Gus Maloney, whose injured wife was rescued by Dopheide, said, "If there were any way to reward him, I would. We'll be forever grateful."

    There is another hand stretched out-a hand stretched out to you and to me and to all souls in peril of eternal death. God says,

"All day long I have stretched forth My hands."

All day, all night, those hands have been stretched out to rescue souls in danger. That hand is stretched out still and the way to eternal safety is still open. Only take it and, like Gus Maloney, you will be forever grateful.

    "Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?" (Isaiah 50:2.)

    "The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save." (Isaiah 59:1.)

"The blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin."
1 John 1:9

[Soldier4Christ]

My Only Chance

    One June day in 1969 the USS Constellation lay out in the Pacific Ocean about 200 miles off the coast of San Diego. Two flight crewmen went out on the flight deck to saddle up on their F-4 twin-engine two-place fighter bomber. They climbed into the aircraft and turned it on; the huffer came up and blew hot air through the turbines as the raw fuel was poured in. The pilot hit the igniter switch; the fuel was ignited; the turbines were tuning up - two General Electrics at 17,000 pounds of thrust each - straining at the cable and ready to launch.

    The pilot saluted the flight deck officer; he saluted back and then touched his forefinger to the ground. This was the signal to the man in the tower who then gave the signal to the man underneath. The buttons were pushed and 85,000 pounds of material were hurled off that flight deck into what was supposed to be a flying attitude in less than two seconds - 0 to 200 knots.

    I was sitting in the back of that airplane. When we came to the end of the flight deck the nose of that aircraft was supposed to be pitching up. It was pitching down. You have 80 feet - seconds - less than seconds. I saw the flight deck rising above me on the right. I saw the gyro getting blacker and blacker and knew there were just seconds left.

    I pulled the handle. The back canopy lifted off and I shot out. The pilot in the front seat was yelling, "Eject! Eject!" but he was talking to himself - I was already gone! His canopy went off and he went out too.

    There was a rocket seat under me that shot me up 250 feet into the air, and on that June evening I was going around in circles! I saw the stars and then I saw the ocean, and then I saw the stars again. Then my whole seat appendage came off, as it's programmed to do, and the chute popped open.

    I was pretty close to the water, but I was going 200 knots, and when I hit the water, I hit it at a lateral angle with velocity. Somehow I rolled. I popped the two little cords on my life vest that activate the CO2 cartridges to inflate the life vest. I rolled a little bit and I popped the cock fittings to get rid of my chute, but somehow in the roll the shroud line from my chute had gotten caught in the back of my survival vest and I couldn't get it loose.

    I got my equilibrium and looked up and saw the ship going by me. (The ship was 1000 feet long with 5000 men aboard; it was a seagoing city.) As it passed by me I could see the men up on deck throwing their little hand lanterns down. It was just about dark and they saw me down there so they were throwing down their flashlights so that the helicopter crew would know where I was.

    I was trying to get the cord untangled from my harness, but it wouldn't budge. The ship went by and the first wave from the ship swamped me. I went under the water and I didn't know if I was coming up. I came up for a breath and, as the ship went by, the big screws were right near me.

    The helicopter came right to where I was struggling in the water. The pilot could see where I was and, hovering right over my head, he dropped down on a line the harness that I was to get into to be lifted up to the helicopter. He was really close to me so I grabbed the line, but I was still attached to the parachute and it was all under water. The pilot shouted down through his megaphone, "Pilot, get away from your chute!" because he didn't want to be dragged down into the Pacific Ocean as well.

    I didn't really want to let go of that line, because I'd already been under the water a couple of times, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to be lifted up with the chute attached. So there I was in the Pacific Ocean, treading water for all I was worth. That was the last place I wanted to be, but I had no choice. I let go af the line and backed off, and the helicopter pilot pulled up the line and sent down a swimmer to come around in back of me and loosen that cord that I couldn't get loose of myself.

    I just got my nose above the water when there was the swimmer right beside me. He wasn't shouting at me with his megaphone, giving me instructions on how to swim to land 200 miles away - I couldn't do it.

    He wasn't telling me how to scale the wall of the ship to get back up where I belonged - I couldn't do it.

    I was absolutely helpless and at the mercy of what someone else could do for me. So the swimmer came down and got me untangled and then I was able to take hold of the harness they had sent down.

    If you have never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are in a worse position right now than I was at that moment. You can't get loose from your sins. You're going to drown in them. You're heading for the depths of judgment with your sins still dragging you down. The sins that you have committed have put you where you are today, and the worst is yet to come.

    The very things that I had depended upon were dragging me under, and you may be in the same position. Your good intentions, your good works, your accomplishments are all a load on your back which is dragging you down to judgment. I had one chance and one only, and that was to lay hold of what had been provided for me right there at that time.

    Now imagine the situation if I were treading water and saying, "I'm going to try a little longer," or, "I'm going to wait for another helicopter." How long are they obligated to sit there and wait in patience and grace for me to take hold of what was perfectly suitable for me? How long is God obligated to strive by His Spirit with the world of men? I can guarantee that God's offer of salvation is available to you right now, but I can't guarantee you tomorrow.

    I took hold of that harness and they lifted me right up into the helicopter and took me back to the ship. And I was thankful - I was really thankful. And I'm thankful that God has reached right down to where I am and given me the Saviour. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

    It cost the Navy a certain amount to provide that helicopter to rescue me that day. What did it cost God to provide the Saviour of sinners for you and me? The Lord Jesus went to Calvary's cross. The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And He is still inviting you to come to Himself and offering you a free and perfect salvation and an eternity with Himself in heaven.

    It is all free to you, but it cost God the death of His Son to make it available. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. He is available today that you might be saved.

[Soldier4Christ]

A Soldiers Story


  The army was advancing. A soldier stationed on the ridge was signaling when a bullet struck him and he fell, a crumpled heap, into a shell hole.

   This soldier had been a sailor before going into the army. He was proud of his strength, contemptuous of the weakness of others and cared only for his own interests. Now his strength was turned to weakness, and as the weary hours dragged by there seemed little hope of rescue. His line had been driven back, and he was all alone.

   The effort of supporting his body and preventing it from sliding down into the water at the bottom of the shell hole exhausted him. About midnight he saw distant figures outlined against the sky; they were newcomers replacing his men. They knew nothing of his position, and this made his rescue seem more hopeless than ever. It was terribly hard to keep awake and fatal to fall asleep.

   Near dawn shelling began again. One shell fell so close behind him that the explosion nearly blocked up the hole in which he was. The water rose to his chest. Now for the first time it was possible to wet his parched tongue and soothe his raging thirst, but, should he fall asleep, drowning was inevitable.

   Running through his mind now came the strains of a song cheerfully sung on former occasions: "Where do we go from here, boys?" Gradually the words became pointed and the thought was impressed on his mind: he was going somewhere and soon. "Where?" And again,
"Where?"

   His body was trapped in the mud, his strength was gone and his careless soul was on its way out. Out he was going, naked and stained with the sins of thirty years, into the presence of a holy God with nothing to plead and no one to intercede.

   The terror of death fell on him, and he made frantic efforts to escape from what seemed to be his grave. Again and again he called out for help. No answer. I cannot die, he thought. I am not ready to die!

   No method of approaching God offered itself. "What can I do? I must do something!" he said desperately.

   Into his mind now came an answering thought: "Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee."

   Not recognizing this as a reply to his question, he still kept muttering, "What'll I do? What'll I do?"

   Again came the thought:

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee"
(Psalm 50:15).

   "Who should I call? It must be God. The sentence must come from the Bible. But if it is God, He must be speaking to His own people - not to me. I don't know Him!"

   Something must be done soon, but how to begin? Where is God? At last he began to form his request: "O God, if there is a God, and if He can hear one out of the ten thousand that are crying to Him this morning, and if He will listen to such a voice as mine, hear me. If this is in the Bible, and can be stretched to cover me, this is my day of trouble and I am calling."

   This done, panic began to recede and sleep was falling upon him when he heard someone say, "Who are you, buddy?"

   "7th Battalion," he replied.

   A period of silence, and then again: "Where are you?"

   He roused himself to answer, "Over here."

   Finally two men, crawling over the mud, reached the place where he was trapped. Their combined efforts dragged him out of the shell hole. They tried without success three or four ways of carrying him back to their post, but were compelled to stop because snipers fired as soon as they raised their bodies. They had to leave him to try and make his own way out. After pointing to the dressing station more than half a mile off, they returned to their own posts. The wounded man could not lift his body from the ground, so he lay on his face and, by digging his elbows into the ground, he dragged himself forward a foot at a time.

   Several times an airplane passed overhead, machine-gunning the front lines, but each time it reached a point above the crawling body the firing ceased. Was this due to the need to reload, or was it due to the promise, "I will deliver thee"? At last he reached a point where other soldiers could see him, and with a final effort he raised his body and shouted. When next he came to himself, he was in a base hospital.

   One of the first things he did was to ask for a Bible and look for the promise that had proved to be so true. He was told he would find it in Psalm 50, verse 15, and when he turned to it and read it, he was deeply interested in the concluding words: "And thou shalt glorify Me." He resolved to do this as long as he should live.

   As he said many times, "It is better to walk to God in health and strength than to crawl like a worm through the mud to His feet!"

It's the grandest theme -
Let the tidings roll
To the weary heart,
To the sin-sick soul.
Look to God in faith,
He will make you whole.
Our God is able to deliver you!

[Soldier4Christ]

ABIGAIL BECKER

  "We should be passing the Long Point Light house any moment," cried Captain Hackett to the men on the ice-covered deck of the schooner. The ship, the Conductor, was sailing through a raging blizzard and his voice carried only a short distance before it was drowned out by the greater noise of the wind whipping through the sails. As the bow plunged in and out of the rough sea the captain rubbed the sleeve of his heavy jacket to break loose the ice and snow which was coating his face. It was hard to see, and all eyes on deck strained toward shore hoping to catch sight of the lighthouse or some landmark by which they could steer. At times the visibility through the storm was a half mile; more frequently , the men on deck could see less than a hundred yards.

   Suddenly the bow of the ship struck a submerged sandbar with terrific force. The men were flung across the deck by the force of the impact. The gusts of wind quickly tore the canvas sails of the helpless ship into rags. The yawl, which was carried on board the schooner as a lifeboat, broke loose from its lashings and was swept overboard. The wind and the waves pounded the ship , pushing it over onto its side. Straining to save themselves from drowning, the seven men aboard scrambled up into the rigging. From there the stranded crew could sometimes catch a glimpse of the faint outline of the shore several hundred yards away. The Canadian shore, well known to the lakemen, was one of the most desolate stretches of Lake Erie.

   From the only cottage along several miles of shoreline, a women, Abigail Becker, spotted a smashed yawl as it was thrown up on the beach. Her husband had left early that morning for work many miles away, and she was alone with her small children. Seeing the broken yawl as it was thrown ashore, she ran out barefoot into the freezing cold to investigate. Over the crashing surf she spotted the men hanging perilously to the disabled ship's rigging. Running back into the cottage, she told her children not to be frightened because she had to leave them alone for a while.

   Acting swiftly, she collected pieces of driftwood and soon had the orange flames of a bonfire leaping skyward. She hoped the men on the rigging would see the fire and be encouraged to keep up the fight for life.

   Abigail Becker knew that the cold would kill the men if they weren't rescued within a short time. During a brief lull in the storm the woman cried out with all her strength , "Only swim! I'll fetch you to shore. But swim!" She repeated the message several times hoping the men would understand and do what she was asking.

   One of the men stripped off his jacket and boots and plunged into the icy water. He swam with difficulty through the high waves. A few strokes from safety he started to go down. Abigail Becker broke through the surf and swam out to the man and hauled him safely to shore. She brought him to the fire and wrapped him in blankets and poured him a cup of tea from a pot of water boiling over the fire. In a matter of minutes the sailor regained his strength and she learned he was the captain.

   Another man let go of the rigging in an attempt to swim for shore. This man didn't make it far before he showed signs of weakening, and the captain went out to help him. The captain no sooner reached the man when both of them appeared to have difficulty staying afloat. Into the icy water again went Abigail Becker, still wearing only a flimsy dress. The two men had disappeared under the water. She dove and found them beneath the surface and with a tremendous effort brought them safe to shore. This brave-hearted woman repeated her efforts until all seven men were safe on shore.

   "Only swim! I'll fetch you to shore. But swim!" was her repeated cry. Her plea to the perishing sailors is like the Saviour's plea to a perishing world . Earnestly He is entreating sinners , "Only believe! I'll fetch you safe to heaven. But believe!"

   Why is it so important to believe? Because all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Every one of us who does not know the Saviour is in a state of spiritual shipwreck and in danger of perishing. That is why faith in Christ is so necessary. If you do not know the Saviour you are in jeopardy of losing your never-dying soul. Should your grip on life be loosened and you pass out of this world, it will be for ever too late to be saved. To P E R I S H means to
P    ass
E    ternally
R    uined
I    nto
S    atan's
H    ell

   Sin has so ruined us that there is nothing left that we can do to save ourselves. The Lord Jesus died on Calvary's cross, finished the work of redemption and rose again. What does redemption mean? It means, "Deliverance with power." When the Lord Jesus Christ died He provided a way that we might be delivered from all the trouble sin has brought us into.

   Ephesians 1:7 says: In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. When anyone truly believes on the Lord Jesus as the Son of God they receive the forgiveness of sins. No longer will they have to dread the punishment from God which their sins deserve. Also, when we receive forgiveness we can know God as a loving Father who will never desert us. This was not possible before. The sins which we had committed were a barrier between us and God to keep us apart. When we are forgiven the barrier is taken down and we are able to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.

   "It is finished!" cried the Lord Jesus on the cross. It was one of the last sentences He spoke before He died. He was speaking of the work of redemption, that is, of the work by which sinners would be "delivered with power" from the deadly consequences of their sins. The work is complete. Because of that finished work of redemption, the moment a sinner believes is the moment he is passed form condemnation to forgiveness.

   The people of Long Point Bay still honor Abigail Becker. In commemoration of her amazing feat more than 120 years ago her portrait hangs in the Abigail Becker Ward of Simcoe Town Hospital. Will you be one who honors the Lord Jesus for the great work He accomplished on the tree? Or will you pass out of this world without ever having believed on the One who paid such a great price to save you?

  "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

[Soldier4Christ]

Collision Course


   One after another the F-14 fighters braced on the catapults, revved their engines to a screech and were flung off the bow of the 87,000-ton carrier John F. Kennedy which was steaming through the Ionian Sea about 70 miles off the coast of Sicily.

    It was a routine maneuver. The U.S. Sixth Fleet was operating in the area, and aboard the Belknap, a guided-missile cruiser which was following the Kennedy, all was quiet. "Taps" had sounded and the men were settling into bed or beginning a quiet game. After all, they were on a U. S. ship surrounded by other U.S. ships in a non-combat zone. What could possibly go wrong?

    Perhaps this describes your life. There are many things in this life which can lull us into a false sense of security. You may feel secure and comfortable in your home, in your job, or with your friends, or with your own abilities, or even with your religion. The Bible tells of one who was caught up in his accomplishments on this earth and had great plans for his future down here on earth, but he never gave a thought to eternity. God said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:20).

    The Kennedy radioed orders to the Belknap to go to "plane guard position," a position just behind the aircraft carrier. If an accident occurs and a plane goes into the water, the ship behind the carrier can quickly recover the pilot. So the Belknap began to turn. At the same time, the Kennedy began to turn into the wind so that the planes could more easily land on her deck. When both ships finished their turns they were headed, not in the same direction with the Belknap following, but toward each other.

    The Kennedy's flight deck sticks out 75 feet above the water. Like a huge knife it cut though the Belknap's stacks. The Belknap cut through aircraft refueling lines that were hanging down from theKennedy's flight deck, and jet fuel poured out over the entire length of the Belknap. The fuel also poured down the stacks and right into the great boilers that powered the ship. In the terrible explosions that followed, six men on the Belknap and one on the Kennedy lost their lives, 25 men were wounded and 55 men went overboard.

    There were warning signs that would have saved them from disaster if they had heeded them. For instance, there are red and green running lights which indicate which side of the ship is starboard (right) and which is port (left). For some reason, warning signs like these were either misread or ignored. God has given you and me some warning signs. He tells us clearly in His Word that we are on a course to destruction!

"Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
(Matthew 7:13-14)
"There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Destruction and misery are in their ways." (Romans 3:10,11,16) Our old enemy, Satan, would have us working our way to heaven or believing that somewhere inside we are good enough to enter heaven. But God warns us that we are lost sinners, every one of us, and that we can never be good enough to earn heaven! Romans 3:23 says:

"For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God"
and Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses [our good works]are as filthy rags."

    The Belknap lost all power and was helpless. Other ships like the guided- missile cruiser . Ricketts made valiant attempts to help. They were all limited as to what they could do. But God is not limited. In His love He has provided a way by which we can be saved! John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus Christ bore the terrible punishment for sin on the cross so that He, in His great love, could offer you a free pardon. When you receive Him as your own personal Saviour, His shed blood will wash you clean from all sin (1 John 1:7).

    Damage to the Kennedy was slight, and they were back in operation in about twenty minutes. However, the Belknap was so badly damaged that it had to be towed back to Philadelphia and be completely rebuilt.

    We are happy that every one of the 55 men who went overboard was saved from those fiery waters. How about you? Have you heeded the warning signs that you are headed on a collision coarse with everlasting destruction? Will you look to Him who alone is able to save you?

[Soldier4Christ]

Rattlesnake!


Thirteen boy scouts listened intently to the snake handler's presentation. Thirteen pairs of eyes were fixed, first on the speaker, then on the bulgy blue bag on the table. The great moment came, the bag was opened, and handler Sam Clark prodded almost seven feet of angry rattlesnake onto the table.

     Swiftly coiling, the great snake waited. Suddenly there was one careless gesture, one hand too close to the tense snake, and the snake handler jumped back holding his hand.

     The snake slithered to the floor and turned toward the scouts.

     "Up on your chairs- stand up on your chairs!" the scoutmaster shouted. The scouts obeyed-fast!-but Sam Clark stepped directly in front of the snake. Pushing and shoving it with his foot, he kept turning it away from the scouts. It took the bitten Clark about ten minutes to bag the slippery snake again, and the boys were safe.

     The scouts were safe, but Sam Clark was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital and then into intensive care.

     Telling of it later, the scoutmaster said, "I think what Sam did was way beyond the call."

     The diamondback rattlesnake is rated as "the most dangerous snake in North America." The very sight of one is likely to cause hysterical cries and shouts of "Look out! Run! Somebody get a gun!" But Sam Clark, already badly bitten, faced the deadly snake again to save the boys. And he did save them, at a bitter cost to himself.

     Isn't that just a little bit like our Lord? We were at the mercy of a deadlier "serpent" than the rattler. (The Bible speaks of the devil as "that old serpent.") The Lord Jesus came between us and him, and offered Himself in our place. He gave His life that we might live. We have only to accept His life that we might live. We have only to accept His sacrifice for us and (like the thirteen grateful scouts) thank Him for what He has done for us.

     "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." Psalm 116:12, 13. That is all He asks of us!

[Soldier4Christ]

"God, Please Don't Let Me Drown!"

Heavy summer storms had filled to overflowing the drainage canals in a southern city. So much water was a mercy to the For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13farmers in the parched area, and a delight to all who enjoyed water sports. Yet, unprotected by lifeguards as these streams were, they were a real danger to the careless and a worry for many anxious parents.

   Among those playing in her neighborhood canal was a teenage girl. She was not a very strong nor expert swimmer, but she seemed unaware of danger. Even when the swift center current caught and swept her downstream, she believed she could fight her way back to the bank.

   How like the soul drifting away from God this is! To enjoy "the pleasures of sin for a season" he drifts in the current of the world, trusting to his own ability to return to the safety of early counsel or Christian teaching. Just so have many made shipwreck of otherwise promising lives.

   At last, realizing her inability to overcome the force of the current and seeing the ever-widening expanse of the swift waters, the frightened girl screamed for help. A young fisherman on the bank saw the struggling girl and plunged in, hoping to reach her. He was not a very strong swimmer, but he fought the current in his effort to help until he himself was exhausted and had to be rescued. He said: "I had to try! There was nothing else to do."

   Another observer on the bank threw an empty five-gallon container to the girl. She grabbed it as it bobbed past her, and encircled it with both arms. Yet the relentless flood swept her on.

   About two hundred yards further downstream and still in the swift center current, the poor girl seemed to realize fully her helpless situation. Within sight was the great culvert filled to overflowing with the flood-stream from the canal. Once within that watery trap no human help could reach her.

   Did the thought of her only possible Helper now come to her? Did He, the soul's only sure Refuge, present Himself to her?

   The few watchers on the bank were startled into action by a desperate scream:

"O God, PLEASE don't let me drown!"

   On the banks of the canal stood two men watching the struggle in the water. Neither was a good swimmer, and both were painfully aware of physical disabilities. Yet at the hopeless cry one of the men muttered, "I may die first, but I can't just let her drown."

   Throwing off his coat and shoes, he plunged into the yellow flood and started swimming. Letting himself be carried by the current as much as possible, he reached the frantic girl. He feared that, in her panic, she might drag both of them beneath the water, but both her arms were still desperately hugging the empty container. Grasping her as best he could, he fought against the rushing water while keeping his grip on the now half-conscious girl. Halfway to the bank, exhausted by his efforts, he was met by his friend and another man. Together they were able to pull both rescuer and rescued to safety.

   The course of this world is flowing ever more swiftly towards destruction. Caught in its relentless tide, rushing helplessly onward, why not cry as that girl did, "O God, PLEASE don't let me drown"? In Christ Jesus alone is eternal life; why not cry to Him now to be your Saviour and your sure Refuge from life's storms?

   He has promised that "him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

"The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost."
Luke 19:10

[Soldier4Christ]

WHO IS THE OWNER?

Imagine one evening hearing a commotion in the street. Imagine opening the door of your house and seeing the street covered by silver coins. This is exactly what happened to a community in Miami, Florida, one December evening. People raced out of their homes to gather up as many coins as they could carry off. Some even stripped off their shirts so that they could pile the money and carry more. An armored truck carrying a small fortune in coins had tipped over, spilling coins everywhere for a block. By the time police had cordoned off the area, nearly $500,000 had disappeared.

    One bystander who had watch the frenzy told police, "I believe the poor people in this community deserved what they got."

    Another man from the neighborhood told reporters, "The cash was a gift from heaven for hardworking people."

    Perhaps you are thinking that these people didn't have any shame. But think for a moment. Are the hearts of these people so different from the rest of us? We live in a world that has been created by God, and everything in it belongs to Him. Instead of acknowledging Him and His ownership of all things, including us, we have lived our lives as if He didn't exist.

    All of us at least part of the time have pushed Him our of the picture, even as those people pushed the lawful owners of the money out of their minds. All that we have, even our lives, has been given to us. Yet in a thousand ways we have said,

"Our lives are our own;
we will do what we want with them."

    Only one Man has lived a life in which He perfectly acknowledged God in all His ways. That Man was the Lord Jesus Christ. He lived His whole life of about thirty-three years for God. He did miracles the likes of which the world had never seen before. He raised the dead, He gave sight to the blind, He commanded a storm to stop and it obeyed Him. In Him, love and power combined as in no other man. He went about preaching God's Word to the poor. He did not despise anyone. A poor blind man begging by the side of the road was as important to Him as an army officer who commanded a hundred soldiers. He took time to talk to a sinful, despised Samaritan woman as well as to a respected religious leader.

    In the eyes of men who sought position, wealth or power, He was of little worth. He did not fit into their plans. They saw no beauty in Him. However, God gave a far different account of Him when He spoke from heaven and declared, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him" (Matthew 17:5)

    One of His followers betrayed Him, leading His enemies to Him. They took Him, gave Him a false trial and condemned Him to death. They let Him down a dusty street outside the city of Jerusalem and nailed Him to a cross to die.

    After six hours He said, "I thirst." A soldier filled a sponge with vinegar and put it into His mouth. After receiving the vinegar He said,

"It is finished."

Then He bowed His head and died.

    Now, what was finished? He finished being the only sacrifice that God will ever accept for sin. On that cross He bore the punishment for the sins of all who would trust in Him.

    Good works can never undo the sins we have done. Those who dare to think so underestimate God's hatred of sin. But one look to the Saviour, in faith, is all that is needed to make the vilest sinner clean and fit for eternity - an eternity where there will be joy unspeakable in the presence of the One who died for them - an eternity where praise will swell up in every heart, because they understand with a marvelous fullness the love of God-an eternity in a city where the street and city are of pure gold and where only those whose names are written in the Saviour's "book of life" may enter.

    Would you have your name written in this book and walk the street of gold? Then you must believe in the Lord Jesus as the only Saviour of sinners - the Saviour for you. The moment you believe is the moment your mane is written in the book of life. However, if you never come to the Lord Jesus by faith, you will bear the penalty of your sin in "outer darkness:[where]there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." You will never enter the city where the street is gold. "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15)

    With so much to lose and so much to gain, don't delay. Come to Christ at once. "This man receiveth sinners" (Luke 15:2)
 
"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

[Soldier4Christ]

Get My Mother In!     Door

A well-known preacher was getting ready for bed one night when he heard a knock at the front door. Upon answering it he found a little girl drenched with rain. As he stood looking into her thin, haggard little face, she said, "Are you the preacher?"

"Yes, I am," he replied.

"Well, won't you come down and get my mother in?" she asked.

The preacher answered, "My dear, it is hardly proper for me to come and get your mother in. If she is drunk, you should get a policeman."

"Oh, sir," she quickly replied, "you don't understand! My mother isn't drunk; she's at home dying, and she's afraid to die. She wants to go to heaven, but doesn't know how. I told her I would find a preacher to get her in. Come quick, sir; she's dying!"

The preacher could not resist the appeal of the little girl, so he promised her he would come as soon as he was dressed.

The little girl led him into the slum district to an old house, up a rickety stairway, along a dark hall, and finally to a dismal room. There the dying woman lay in the corner.

"I've got the preacher for you, Mother. He wasn't ready to come at first, but he's here. You just tell him what you want, and do what he tells you, and he'll get you in!"

Too weary to sit up, the poor women raised her feeble voice and asked, "Can you do anything for a sinner like me? My life has been lived in sin, and now that I'm dying, I feel that I'm going to hell, but I don't want to go there; I want to go to heaven. What can I do now?"

Looking at her sin-weary face the preacher thought: What can I tell her? I have been preaching salvation by reformation, but this poor soul has gone too far to reform. I have been preaching salvation by character, but she hasn't any. I know what to do. I'll tell her what my mother used to tell me as a boy. She's dying and it can't hurt her even if it doesn't do her any good.

Bending down beside her the preacher began: "My dear woman, God is very gracious and kind, and in His Book, the Bible, He says, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

"Oh," exclaimed the dying woman, "does it say that in the Bible? My! That ought to get me in. But, sir, my sins, my sins!"

He was amazed at the way the verses came back to him. "My dear woman," he continued, "the Bible says that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.

"All sin, did you say?" she asked earnestly. "Does it really say ALL sin? That ought to get me in."

"Yes," he replied, kneeling down beside her. "It says all sin. God's Book also says: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15.

"Well," she said, "if the chief got in, I can come. Pray for me sir!"

The preacher bent down and prayed with the poor woman. Just as she was she came to Jesus, who never turned anyone away, and she got in.

"And in the process," added the preacher, "while she was getting in, I myself got in. We two sinners, the preacher and the poor woman, entered salvation's door together that night."

The Lord Jesus Jesus says: I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. John 10:9. Again, Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37.

The Lord Jesus is the door. He does not say a door. The church is not the door; the Ten Commandments are not the door; reformation and good works are not the door; the blessed Mary, mother of Jesus, is not the door. Jesus is the only door, and to enter heaven a sinner must come through Him to have his sins forgiven and washed away.

The preacher's good living didn't get him in, nor did the poor woman's bad life keep her out. Both were sinners -- for all have sinned (Romans 3:23) -- and as such they entered through the same door to life and peace, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

[Soldier4Christ]

John 3:16

    One cold winter night a boy stood in the street of Dublin, homeless, friendless and cold. He had begun to run with a street gang, and that very night they had agreed to meet in a certain street, at a certain hour.
    As he stood at the appointed place, waiting, shivering with cold, a hand was suddenly laid on his shoulder. Was it the police? In the dark he could only see a tall form standing by him, and he shook with fear. But a kind voice said: "Boy, what are you doing here at this time of night? You have no business in the streets so late; go home - go to bed."
    "I have no home, and no bed to go to."
    "That's sad, poor fellow. Would you go to a home and a bed if I provided one?"
    "That I would, sharp!" replied the boy.
    "Well, in such a street, and at such a number, you will find a bed."
    Before he could finish, the boy had started off. "Stop!" cried the voice, "how are you going to get in? You need a pass, no one can go in there without a pass. Can you remember that the pass is 'John 3:16'? Don't forget, or they won't let you in. 'John 3:16.' There, that's something that will do you good."
    Joyfully the boy rushed off, repeating the words, and soon found himself at the place indicated and looking up at a pair of large iron gates. Then his heart failed him, they looked so grand. How could he get in there? Timidly he rang the bell. A gruff voice asked, "Who's there?"
    "Me, sir! Please, sir, I'm John 3:16," in very shaky tones. "All right, in with you; that's the pass," and in the boy went.
    He was soon between sheets in a warm bed, and as he curled himself up to go to sleep, he thought, "This is a lucky name, I'll stick with it!"
    The next morning he was given breakfast before being sent out into the streets, for this home was only for the night. He wandered aimlessly, hoping to avoid meeting his old companions and thinking about his new home when, carelessly crossing a street, he was run over. A crowd collected. The unconscious boy was placed on a stretcher and carried to the nearest hospital. He revived as he entered, but asked his name and address he could only answer "John3:16."
    After his injuries had been attended to he was carried up into the accident ward. In a short time his injuries brought on fever and delirium. Then was heard in ringing tones and often repeated, "John 3:16! It was to do me good, and so it has!"
    These persistent cries aroused the other patients. Bibles were pulled out to see what he meant. Here one and there another read the words:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
    As those poor, suffering patients read the loving words and heard the unconscious cry - "It was to do me good, and so it has!" - their hearts were touched and God used that text then and there for the conversion of souls.
    Consciousness returned, and the boy gazed around him. How clean it looked, and how quiet it was! Where was he? Presently a voice from the next bed said, "John Thr-ree Sixteen, and how are you today?"
    "Why, how do you know my new name?"
    "Know it! You've never ceased with your John Thr-ree Sixteen, and I for one say "Blessed John Thr-ree Sixteen!"
    It sounded so strange to the boy's ears to be called blessed - he for whom no one had ever cared.
    "Don't you know where it comes from? It's from the Bible, God's Word to man."
    "Read it to me," he said, and as the words fell on his ear he muttered, "That's beautiful! It's all about love, and not a home for a night, but a home for always."
    He soon learned the verse, saying, "I've not only got a new name, but something with it."
    On a bed near him lay an old man who was very ill. He groaned aloud, "I'm such a sinner. I'm not fit to die. What shall I do? Oh, what will become of me? God, have mercy!"
    The boy heard his miserable words. Poor old man, he thought. He wants a pass. "Patrick," he called, "I know something that will do you good - quite sure - it done me good."
    "Tell me, tell me quickly," cried Patrick. "If only I could find something to do me good."
    "Here it is! Now listen, John 3:16. Are you listening?"
    "Yes, yes; go on."   

"John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
    Through these words Patrick found peace in his dying hour, and entered into everlasting life - another soul brought to Christ in that hospital by means of a single verse blessed by the Holy Spirit.
    "John 3:16" recovered. God blessed his simple faith, and when he left the hospital, friends placed him in a school and made education possible. He became an earnest worker for the Master, with John 3:16 as his favorite text.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Matterhorn
The Matterhorn

    Edward Whymper, a famous Alpine climber, had for many years been ambitious to be the first to scale the Matterhorn. Many times he had reached the great shoulder on the Italian side, but he had never reached the top. In July, 1865, he was prepared for another try, the more eagerly because a party of Italians were to attempt it also on the same morning.

    His party consisted of four climbers, with three guides. They were Edward Whymper himself, Mr. Hadrow, Charles Hudson (an English clergyman) and a young climber, Lord Francis Douglas. The guides were two brothers, named Tangwalder, and a famous guide, Michael Croz. All went well. The top was reached, and for the first time man stood on the peak enjoying the wonderful view and-as Whymper described it- "one crowded hour of glorious life!"

    Then they roped themselves together again to descend in the following order: Michael Croz, the guide, first; Mr. Hadrow next; then Charles Hudson and Lord Francis Douglas; the senior Tangwalder in front of Whymper and the younger Tangwalder in the rear. Carefully they began letting themselves down the precipice. Michael Croz, out of sight of the rear members, was helping Hadrow to find a footing over the yawning abyss, when a startled cry rang out. Hadrow had slipped and fell onto Croz, hurling him off his slender foothold. Hudson and Lord Douglas were dragged after them, but experienced climbers above tightened the rope between them and stood firm to bear the shock.
The Matterhorn

    The rope ran its length and the blow came, but the cord snapped like a thread! The horrified climbers above saw their friends spreading their arms and legs in a hopeless attempt to stop their slide over the precipice. They fell 4000 feet to the great glacier below!

    For nearly an hour the remaining three stood in horrified silence-paralyzed. The guides began to weep, saying they could never attempt that fearful descent. Whymper, however, nerved them to the effort, and hours later they arrived in Zermatt to tell their sad story.

    The broken rope was examined. Why had it not held? Ah! It was only sash-cord! It now lies in the little museum at Zermatt, where I recently looked at it with great interest. Alpine Club ropes are distinguished by a red strand running through them. How was it that an inferior cord was carried on such an occasion? It remains an unexplained mystery.

    It has often been said that the truth as to the precious blood of Christ runs like a RED CORD through the Bible.

    Certainly the Word of God plainly says that there is no salvation for sinners except through the blood of Jesus. It is written, "Without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22), and if sin is not remitted or put away and we die in our sins, we are certainly LOST. We must fall into the abyss-the blackness-the bottomless pit.

    Are you joined to the Lord by this unbreakable cord? Or have you some other cord to which you cling? Every other cord will break when the mighty strain comes. Do not trust in you own goodness while the heart is unchanged, or to the good opinion of others. None of this will work. It must be genuine repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus who died for us and whose blood cleanses from all sin. "The blood of Jesus Christ [God's] Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7)

    If we are joined to Him, nothing can separate us nor break the threefold cord of grace and blood and faith that binds us to Him. "They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:28) is what He says of those who have put their trust in Him. They are safe-safe for time and for eternity.

[Soldier4Christ]

Roosevelt's Mistake

    During the Spanish-American War Theodore Roosevelt, much attached to his men, was greatly concerned when a number of them fell ill. Hearing that Clara Barton (the lady who devoted herself to the work of nursing the wounded soldiers) had receiver a supply of delicacies for the invalids under her care. Colonel Roosevelt requested her to sell a portion of them to him for the sick men of his regiment.

    His request was refused. The colonel was very troubled. He cared for his men, and was willing to pay for the supplies out of his own pocket.

    "How can I get these things," he said. "I must have proper food for my sick men."

    "Just ask for them, colonel," said the surgeon in charge of the Red Cross headquarters.

    "Oh," said Roosevelt, his face breaking into a smile, "that is the way, is it? Then I do ask for them." And he got them at once.

    Often the colonel's mistake has been repeated in connection with the matter of salvation. People seem to expect to receive it in exchange for something that they can offer. One brings an earnest prayer; a second brings a vow or promise to turn over a new leaf; a third brings an inwardly-made resolution to live a better and purer life; a fourth thinks that before he can receive salvation he must produce some evidence of his sincerity in the shape of an improvement in his conduct; a fifth imagines that he can abtain it by adherence to an orthodox creed and conformity to certain religious observanced.

    Now the truth is that God's salvation can only be had as a free gift. Why should there be any difficulty in understanding this? The words of Scripture are very plain:

    "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" Rev. 21:6

    "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Rom. 6:23.

    Pride rebels against such terms. It would rather pay, however small the price. But God is too great to sell His blessing, nor could any man merit salvation in the smallest degree, however long he might try. God is prepared to meet the sinner with His hands full of the richest blessings, if only the sinner will come with empty hands to receive it as a free gift. Will you?

"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:8,9.

"Not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us."
Titus 3:5

[Soldier4Christ]

"Why Didn't You Pay My Ransom?"


    In March of 1987, eight-year-old Marco Fiora was kidnapped and taken away from his mother at gunpoint. For seventeen months he was held for ransom in a mountain hideout in Italy while his captors demanded a two-million-dollar ransom. When paramilitary police had gotten close to the hut where the boy was held, his captors placed him on a mountain trail with the order: "Walk!"

    The police found him on that mountain trail. His hair had grown past his shoulders. Around his left wrist were marks left from the chain which had held him to the wall, and he was wearing the same tee shirt which he had worn on the day he was kidnapped.

    The national news media carried the coverage of the boy's recovery. Church bells were rung, and many people wept when they learned he was safe.

    However, the mother's joy was dampened when her son was returned to her and he looked at her without any emotion in his brown eyes and asked,
"Why didn't you pay the ransom?
You don't want me back, do you?"

    "He didn't even say 'Mama' to me; he was so cold," his mother later said.

    The kidnappers apparently had told the boy that his parents didn't love him because they were not willing to pay the ransom. The ransom sum the men had demanded was far beyond what his parents were able to pay, but the kidnappers had repeated their lie to the boy so many times that he had begun to believe them.

    In time, hopefully, the boy's heart will be healed and he will again be able to feel and show affection towards his parents.

    The question, "Why didn't you pay the ransom?" can never be asked of God, for He paid the supreme ransom for our sakes. Nor can anyone doubt His love, because of the cost of that ransom.

    "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many," the Lord Jesus said. The ransom required to set men free from the power of sin and death cost far more than all the silver and gold in the world; it cost "the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot."

    Through sin, death had such an iron grip on mankind that the only way to break it was for the Son of God to come and die in the sinner's place. When Christ died on the cross He fulfilled the promise that God made through Hosea, an Old Testament prophet: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death." This referred not to physical death only, but to the second death of endless and eternal separation from God.

    Because "Christ Jesus ... gave Himself a ransom for all," the good news goes out to all men telling them of a free salvation. It is offered to all, but only received by those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God with all their hearts.

    The gospel of God's grace reveals as nothing else ever could the immense love in God's heart. He proved His love beyond all doubt at the cross. That same love that brought Christ to the cross to die for sinners is active in the world today. God in love is calling sinners to repentance and faith in Christ through the preaching of the gospel. He "is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Oh, won't you respond to that love which is far above any other, and come to Christ Jesus?

"Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ." 1 Peter 1:18,19

[Soldier4Christ]

"Treacherous Footing"



A northeasterly wind had been blowing for days. It blew the ice which still lingered on Lake Michigan in March to the Illinois shore. The ice came in chunks about the size of a car, sometimes smaller and sometimes larger, and never in exactly the same shape. It piled up along the beaches and breakwaters creating a lonely, inhospitable landscape. A band of white ice lined the shore for perhaps fifty yards; beyond it the lake stretched for what seemed like forever with a few isolated ice floes dotting the horizon.

   Edmund Furo finished up his work at the Resort Lodge at Illinois Beach State Park. Before driving home he decided to walk on the beach. For days he had been watching ice chunks pile up. Every day he had seen the band of ice growing thicker.

   On a whim, Edmund stepped from the beach to a piece of the ice. When it didn't move, he felt safe to step to the next one which was wedged against it. He saw that the beach was near at hand, and the ice seemed solid, so he kept going. Edmund figured that, with a little caution, there wasn't any chance of his falling into any of the cracks in the ice.

   You may be thinking to yourself that what Edmund was doing, walking on the ice, was foolish and that you would never do anything like that. However, if you don't know the Saviour and what it is to have your sins washed away, you really are foolish too; you are walking through life on dangerous footing.

   Now, if you are not saved, the ground you are walking on is dangerous because, if you should be called out of this world, it would be forever too late to receive the Lord Jesus as your Saviour. Heaven's gate will be barred against you. You will have guaranteed to yourself a lost eternity by your rejection of Christ.

   The time to receive Christ is now: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life!"

   Another reason why walking through life without Christ is so dangerous is the treachery of sin. Like the ice Edmund was walking on, sin is slippery - treacherous. Edmund never thought he would fall, and if it were possible this moment to go into hell itself and ask those who inhabit it if they ever thought they would have ended up there perhaps all would answer passionately:

"No! Never! I never thought I would come here."

   Edmund didn't expect to fall either, though as he walked further out he began to see small patches of water - cold, grey water - between the chunks of ice. Suddenly he slipped and fell through a crack in the ice which was barely large enough for his body to slide through. He tried to pull himself out of the hole, but the sides of the crack were too steep. He pulled until his gloves ripped and the flesh on his fingertips tore away, then the undertow dragged him under the ice.

   Twice Edmund managed to surface for air before the current pulled him beneath the ice again. About a hundred yards from shore he surfaced next to a chunk of ice whose side he was able to climb up.

   He sat there wet and shivering for three hours, not daring to move, before he was spotted by a couple on the beach. They contacted the Coast Guard, who picked him up in a steel basket lowered from a helicopter and covered him with heating pads as they flew him to a hospital.

   Edmund was saved. And if you would be saved from your sins and get off once and forever from the treacherous footing all sinners walk on, you must come to Christ.

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out,"

the Saviour said. The blood He shed at the cross means so much to God that when a person believes on the name of Jesus that person is saved for eternity. "The blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin." If sin has been dragging you under, or if you are only now realizing that you are on slippery footing, you need God's salvation offered through Jesus Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Flameout Over Portland"


When United Airlines Flight 173 from Denver to Portland crashed with 178 passengers and 8 crew members, only ten people lost their lives in the crash.

  The plane crashed in a residential area, but no one on the ground was killed or even injured. Two houses were crushed by the plane, but both were vacant - the only vacant houses in the area.

  The plane passed over the raised roadbed of Burnside Street, which was between the two houses, and it passed under two high-tension electric power lines. After its first impact it actually stopped in only two times its length, though it had trimmed off fir trees 60 feet high a full six blocks away. The two houses acted as a cushion before striking the firm ground, and the first one deflected the plane and acted as a spring to slow it down quickly. Only minutes before the crash, a false signal tripped the overload relay switch and cut power from one of the two 57,000 volt power lines.

That plane crash is well called: "The Burnside Street Miracle!"

  Virginia Webb lived with her family next door to the crash site on Burnside Street. The following account by Mrs. Webb shows how wonderfully God takes care of those who trust in Him.
   "My sons Danny, 11, and Andy, 7, had just come in the door from collecting for their paper route. Moments before, they had walked past the spot where the plane crashed.
   "There was a sudden flash, followed by more flashes and crashing sounds, and the whole house shook. My six children were terrified and screaming; I got them calmed down and told them to sit together in the middle of the living room.
   "Then I went outside expecting to find a bad car wreck. Instead, people were streaming over our fence, screaming for help. There sat a DC-8 where our neighbor's house had been. It was unbelievable!
   "When my husband got home from work, we gathered our children together and knelt in prayer, thanking God for His protecting hand on our family. We feel our family was spared by the grace of God."

  The hand of God brought about a wonderful set of circumstances to deliver so many from a fiery death.   God say's,    "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." Psalm 50:15.    Just as the passengers on Flight 173 had prayed to God and were delivered, so we can call upon Him and be saved from our sins. That is because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved.   "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6