by Barry Newton

Standing as a near timeless sentinel, the Rock of Gibraltar has become a symbol of permanence and stability and therefore an icon of security. People need security and Jesus knew that.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered to the crowds a source of security far greater than even the apparent timelessness of this enormous monolith rising out of the water. After having outlined the necessity to lay up treasure in heaven and not upon the earth (Matthew 6:19-24) and knowing that such teachings could create fear and insecurity, Jesus empowered the path of truly serving the Master as he taught about the security God provides.

While the lives of pagans may be driven by the worries of laying up treasure upon the earth ("What shall we eat? What shall we drink? With what shall we be clothed?"), the person who strives to lay up treasure in heaven need not have his or her soul weighed down by such wearisome burdens. Jesus promised that the heavenly Father already knows that we need various necessities and that God will provide for our us if we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Matthew 6:32-34 For those whose allegiance and love is directed toward God and not toward the passing phantom promises which emanate from the created world, their Master will supply what is needed.

If security for living life can be portrayed as an unchangeable monolith, then certainly the knowledge that God does not lie and that His promises provide reliable security is the greatest monolith of all. Furthermore, most definitely one significant chunk of this giant rock entails the promise that the LORD will furnish our needs if our hearts’ treasure is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

In times of economic uncertainty, where might a person look for security and peace of mind? Different people will look to different sources. Jesus called us to replace the worry that can inhabit our minds with the peace that comes from knowing that God will provide for those who serve Him. Today we might not see where tomorrow's lunch will come from, but God can open doors and transform opportunities overnight. After all, our God is the Creator.

by A. A. Neale

Today Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the world in a balloon. The millionaire adventurer drifted across the Southern Hemisphere to avoid problems with unfriendly countries. With good weather and an uneventful ride, he completed his trip in 13 and 1/2 days.

"The best flight is not the most exciting flight. This flight has been boring," mission controller Joe Ritchie told the Associated Press.

But the first five weren't boring. Fossett made five earlier attempts in six years trying to be the first soloist. He kept on until he made it.

My life may be boring, and it may have its exciting moments, but the the challenge is getting there. I'll even be the first to have lived MY life. Surrounded by friends, well-wishers, and fellow travellers, I am still, in many senses, a soloist. No one can go it for me.

I may crash and burn on some of my attempts. But I will start over again. I know what I want to accomplish. I know how to get there. I know where "There" is.

I want my picture in The Heavenly Press with the joyous news that this insistent adventurer has finally completed his charted course across the face of the world to reach his destination. Not an end, but a beginning. Not merely a conclusion of many years' hard work, but the flowering of a new life.

Congratulations, Steve Fossett. I'm right behind you.

". . . obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet. 1:9, NASB).

by Randal Matheny

Yesterday Brazil won its fifth World Cup championship. Here in Sao Jose dos Campos, the celebrations seemed calmer than in past wins. Maybe the Brazilians are getting used to winning. Old hat. After all, nobody had ever won four championships. Now, with five wins under its belt, Brazil is in a class all by itself.

Perhaps that's what Paul means in Romans 8:37 when he says that Christians are "more than conquerors through him who loved us" (NIV).

What does it mean to be more than a conqueror?

F. F. Bruce says the word means "super-conquerors." Emil Brunner claims this strong and untranslatable expression signifies "excessively victorious." It could mean a supreme victory or a most glorious victory.

Maybe it's "all of the above."

The context of Romans 8:37 is opposition. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Paul asks rhetorically.

With Christ, we have also been given all things. As a result, nobody or nothing will separate us from the love of Christ. Nobody. Nothing.

The Christian family is not a five-time winner. It is an all-time winner. An every-time winner. In a class by itself.

Want to join the team?

by Emmett Smith

But let's get back to Jesus' conversation with the Jews in John chapter 8. After their indignant insistence that they were not in bondage, He said, "every one who commits sin is the slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain permanently in his master's house, but a son does. If then the Son shall make you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:34-36 WEY).

So the choice is ours if we can only see clearly enough to make it. We can choose to serve the Lord and be freed from sin's bondage, or we can choose to serve the devil. But we can't avoid the choice. "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice".

by A. A. Neale

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools unconstitutional.

For those not familiar with the Pledge of Allegiance, it reads thus, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Members of both major political parties expressed strong disapproval of the panel's position.

I thank God for this ruling.

It seems to have focused, again, attention to what kind of people we need to be. Not only as a nation, but individually.

I don't consider the U.S. as any Christian nation privileged above the others. God is served by his people in every nation of the world. He created his church as his special nation to show his character and proclaim his might act of salvation in Jesus Christ.

But God can only be pleased when people in places of authority recognize his existence, accept his sovereignty, and pledge to adhere to those principles revealed in Scripture. And the closer a nation gets to that point, the better.

A nation under God means to acknowledge him as God and to heed his word. May it be so!

A person can be thankful to be an American. Even more, any person, regardless of nationality or residence, can thank God for his salvation in Jesus Christ.

"Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:25, NASB).

Thank God!