Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Way of the Master Minute - Titanic Survivor

Titanic Survivor
If you are a Christian, see yourself as a survivor of the Titanic. All around you, people are sinking into the freezing waters of death. There's room in the lifeboat. What are you going to do? You must make every effort to save them. Nothing is more important. Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, said, "The salvation of one soul is of infinitely greater importance than preserving the lives of multitudes. Let us in our several stations keep these things in mind, sparing no pains in God's service, and the event will prove that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. For six thousand years, He has been multiplying pardons, and yet His free grace is not tired nor grown weary. Certainly Divine mercy is an ocean that is ever full and ever flowing." There goes another minute. Gone forever. Go share your faith while you still have time.

Amazing Coincidence

In 1898, 14 years before the Titanic made her maiden voyage, Morgan Robertson published his book, Futility or the Wreck of the Titan. This was the story of an "unsinkable" massive ocean liner, which like the Titanic, was on its maiden voyage from Britain to New York in the month of April, with 2,000 people on board. While it was also attempting to cross the Atlantic in record time, it too struck an iceberg and sank. Not only were the ships' names very similar, but most on board also perished simply because there was of a lack of lifeboats.



But most remarkable of all, the story of the Titanic has incredibly close parallels to the biblical plan of salvation. Just as the great pleasure ship struck an iceberg and sank, this great world—with all its inhabitants, is slowly sinking into the cold grip of death. As with the passengers of the Titanic, only those who believed that they were in impending danger looked to the lifeboats, so only those who believe that they are in mortal danger will look to the Lifeboat of the Savior, Jesus Christ. The great "iceberg," which will take the world to an icy grave is the Moral Law—the Ten Commandments.
 
Here is the evidence that we are sinking: Jesus said that if we look with lust, we commit adultery in our heart. No one who has had sex out of marriage, or any liar, or any thief will enter Heaven. The Bible says that if we hate someone, we are guilty of murder. We fail to put God first. We make a god in our image. We break all the Commandments. If we stay with the "ship," we will perish on the Day of Judgment, when all of our sins come out as evidence of our guilt. God, however, is rich in mercy and doesn't want anyone to go the Hell. He made a way for us to be saved. Jesus Christ, the One whom the Bible calls the "Captain of our salvation" gave His life so that we could have a place in the life boat. He took our punishment upon Himself—suffering on the cross for us. We broke God's Law, but He paid our fine. Then He rose from the dead, defeating death. The moment we repent and trust in Him alone for our eternal salvation, God will forgive us and grant us the gift of eternal life.
 
Don't hesitate. You may leave it too late! It was reported that some of the lifeboats that left the ship early were only half full. This was because many on board refused to believe that the —unsinkable— Titanic was sinking. They perished because their faith was misguided. Don't be like them. Believe the gospel. Repent and trust Jesus Christ today, read the Bible daily, obey what you read, and God will never let you down.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Romans 8

Good morning everyone! It's a wonderful morning here in Irvine! We didn't make it to church this morning cause my friend's husband is sick, so I thought I would just have my own little worship time, since I'm up anyway (and roommate back home woke me up at 7am). :-) The reading was powerful: Romans 8.  And of course verses 38 & 39 got me singing: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Prayer for today: "Dear Lord, give me the strength to be weak so I can release anything that prevents me from seeing how deeply You love me. Open the eyes of my heart so You can reach me wherever I may be, to take me wherever I need to go. Remind me that it's only when I rest in Your promises that I can wage war to defeat the enemy. Thank You, Lord, for never giving up on me. In Jesus' Name, Amen."  

"Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see You, I want to see You." :-)