by Richard Mansel

A young man once received a short wave for his birthday. Weeks later he turned it on and heard a transmission: "Mayday! Mayday! This is the Blue Dolphin, One Seven Seven. We have encountered a storm! (static) taking on water (static) Mayday! Mayday! Any ships in the area, please (static)."

Then there was silence. A chill came over him as his heart pounded. Their terror was now his.

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus told a parable about the rich man and Lazarus, a beggar. Both men died and Lazarus went to be with God while the rich man went to Hades.

The rich man was tormented in the flames and cried out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:24, NKJV).

The rich man was told that there was a barrier between him and God that no one could pass through. There was no hope for his lost soul. Turning his thoughts to his loved ones, he begged that Abraham would send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them not to come to Hades. Yet he was told that if his brothers would not listen to the prophets or the word of God, then they would also ignore someone who returned from the dead.

Soberly we read Revelation 20:10, "And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The term "tormented" refers to the intense pain and agony of torture.

In Luke 13:3, Jesus says, "unless you repent you will all likewise perish." Jesus will come get his disciples and take them to heaven with him (John 14:1-6; Matthew 25:31-46). Those who are not washed in the blood of the lamb will be lost (Mark 16:15,16). We do not want to go there. Nothing we can ever conceive will match its horror.

In this parable the rich man made mistakes and is begging us not to make the same mistakes. Would we be swayed if a voice spoke out from beyond the grave?

Imagine a funeral scene. The preacher says the deceased man is in a better place and lauds the life of the gentleman. Then a shriek comes in the unmistakable voice of the dead man saying, "Please, somebody help me! I'm in agony in this flame! Please help me!" Pandemonium would result. Theories would abound. Charges would be laid and investigations conducted. Yet little would change in the lives of those who heard the cry, sadly.

The rich man had waited too late to come to Christ. If he had sought Christ with as much ferocity as he sought water, he would never have been in the flames.

Jesus said he was the living water and the bread of life and the Jews ignored him. Years later when they were under siege, trapped in Jerusalem killing one another for food, they could have understood what Jesus meant. But then it was too late.

Please don't wait until it is too late for you, because Hebrews 9:27 says, "it is appointed unto man to die once and after this the judgment."

by Phil Sanders

David Barton said, “We know that between 1992 and 1996, Christian voter turnout declined in America 17 percent. We know that between 1996 and 2000, it declined an additional 23 percent, so we’ve had a 40 percent drop in Christian voter turnout over the last four elections ... Because of the attrition of Christians over the last four elections—we’ve lost several godly, God-fearing {people} out of the Senate.... So, part of {the problem} is that we don’t get Christians to the polls.” Pundits on television are saying the election favored conservative candidates, because Americans voted more strongly for moral issues in this election than in many years. Eleven states overwhelmingly voted in favor of traditional marriage values. Perhaps one lesson of this election is in seeing what godly people can do when they find the courage to speak up against moral evil. For too long Christians have sat silent while the politically correct badgered them into retreat. If there was ever a time in our land when God needs a strong, clear voice to speak out against evil and for good, it is now! Postmodern America would like to tell God to “shut up” and “go away.” This is not really new. Ancient Israel faced some of the same kinds of problems. When they demanded Samuel give them a king, God knew they had forsaken Him for other gods (1 Sam. 8:8-9). Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers (2 Chron. 28:6). In the days of Jeremiah, God mourned, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). God looked for a man to stand in the gap before Him in the days of Ezekiel, but He found no one (Ezek. 22:30). Thankfully, there were godly souls who did stand in the gap today, souls who said no to sin and yes to God’s way. The greatest need of our day is for godly people to point to God for all the answers to life’s questions. There is a great need to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that we as a nation of people might see the truth and come back to our God. Your voice matters.

by Don Ruhl

Read Isaiah 43 and 44

Isaiah announces that the Lord has something to say. Before Isaiah reveals it, he identifies God, saying that He is the One who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, referring to Israel's deliverance through the Red Sea (Isa. 43:16, 17). Then the prophet announces the Lord's declaration,

18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Isa. 43:18, 19, NIV).

Just because God delivered Israel by parting the waters of the Red Sea, does not mean that now He is restricted to saving them in that way alone. No, He prophesies here of doing the opposite. In the first instance, He parted water making it dry, but now He promises to make a dry place with water!

It is dangerous to think that God can only work in the ways that He worked in the past. This was the mistake of Moses. He hit the rock to bring water for the Israelites, so, when they needed water again, God said speak to the rock, but Moses hit it. That cost him entrance into the Promised Land.

How has God helped you in the past? He may decide to do it differently next time. He is the Helper and we are the recipients. Remember the saying, Beggars cannot be choosers.

by Don Ruhl

Read First Thessalonians Chapter 2

I have heard and read many things on Church Growth. However, there is an item that I do not recall the experts giving as an ingredient. If it has been, it is so rare that it does not ring a bell. When you read the passage below, think of what you know of the entire New Testament, of how the church operated in the Book of Acts, and of how all the writers of the New Testament books express themselves to their readers.

8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us (1 The. 2:8, NIV).

Church Growth material usually speaks of various programs that the church can do, and many of those things are very good, but I never see or hear the truth above stated, that is, that we give our lives for the people we are seeking to convert. Yes, give them the gospel, and give them other things they may need, but sometimes we may give those things in exchange for giving ourselves, and people can detect that. Find someone, other than a family member or good friend, to whom you can give your life, and see what happens.