by Richard Mansel

The Museum of Natural History in Washington houses the Hope Diamond. It is a vivid, dark blue diamond that weighs 45.52 carats and is valued at over $200 million. Accordingly, it is one of the most viewed artifacts in the world. But it is likely that within the ground in some corner of the world is a diamond of greater value.

Michael Jordan, Henry Aaron, Wayne Gretzky and Walter Payton were arguably the greatest who ever played their individual sports. Yet, it is likely they will be surpassed.

There is nothing truly matchless except Christ. No one could ever take his place. In Luke 2:33 Joseph and Mary marveled at things spoken of him. In John 7:15 the Jews marveled "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" (NKJV). In John 7:46 we hear more amazement, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" In Mark 2:12 we read, "Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw anything like this!'"

Jesus was matchless in his personality. Consider that there was nor never shall be a time when he has not existed. "His goings forth are from old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).

He has made a greater impact on the world than anyone who ever lived. Ronald Reagan said, "(Christ) had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors, all the generals and admirals, all the scholars, all the scientists and philosophers who have ever lived, all of them put together."

Jesus was matchless in his performance. James Hewitt said that "what death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death." He lived a perfect life and to this day, he still moves men's hearts.

Jesus was matchless in His promises. Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). He said he would rise again and he did. He promised he will come back and he will (John 14:1-6; Titus 1:2).

Jesus was matchless in his power. He stilled the stormy seas (Mark 4:35-41) and can change our lives as he has the world, if we will allow him to do so (Revelation 3:20).

A story is told about Christian Herter who was running for re-election as governor of Massachusetts. One day he arrived late at a barbecue. Due to his schedule he had missed breakfast and lunch and was famished. As he moved down the serving line, he held out his plate and received one piece of chicken. He asked the lady, "Excuse me, do you mind if I have another piece of chicken? I'm very hungry." Sternly she said, "I'm supposed to give one piece to everyone." He said, "but I'm starved!" She repeated, "only one piece to a customer." Herter got impatient and said, "Madam, do you know who I am? I'm the governor of this state!" She put her hands on her hips and said, "Do you know who I am? I'm the lady in charge of chicken! Now move on!"

We think we are so smart and powerful, yet our abilities and intelligence are puny compared to God. 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

No one will be saved unless he says so (Acts 2:47;Matthew 11:28; 2 Peter 3:9). He is Lord over all! Read Revelation 20:7-10 and be amazed at his power. Even Satan will be powerless against him.

by J. Randal Matheny

We learn it quickly as children. "I can't!" The exclamation of fear, of doubt, even of certainty that we are not able to tackle what dad, mom, or the teacher required of us. Often, it was an excuse to avoid the effort of what we could do, but were too lazy or stubborn to do.

Perhaps that's part of why Jesus wants us to be like little children, to say "I can't" when it comes to the Kingdom of God.

• I can't earn enough credits to win God's approval and wow my way into Heaven.

• I can't figure out the mind of God without going to the single place he's put his revelation, in the Bible.

• I can't put up with my brothers and sisters in Christ (never mind them putting up with me) without the grace and example of the Lord.

• I can't handle the tremendous task Jesus has left with me, to preach the gospel to the world.

Even Paul agrees with me. "And who is equal to such a task?" (2 Corinthians 2:16, NIV).

So we should all quit and forget the whole thing, right? Wrong.

Only when I cry "I can't" can I pick up the staff of God's power and proclaim "I can."

"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant -- not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

So, yes, ...

• I can receive God's approval and wing my way to Heaven, because Jesus lived a perfect life and gave himself as my sacrifice.

• I can know the mind of God by listening to the voice of Christ.

• I can bear patiently with my fellow Christians by the love of the Spirit. And they can even make room for me.

• I can fulfill the task of evangelism, because God's love motivates me and my gratitude never lets my efforts flag.

I can't. I can.

Because God can in me.

by Phil Sanders

When Nazi Germany marched into Austria and "annexed" Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s, Adolf Hitler gave notice as to his dangerous and frightening intentions.

The response from the rest of Europe, however, was even more startling. They did nothing. France shrunk from fear, Russia tried to cut a deal, and Italy joined forces. The Swedes and the Swiss said they were neutral. Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister of England, and his political friends followed a policy of appeasement. Basically, they ignored the threat, gave Hitler his way, and hoped against hope that "war" would go away. It did not.

Hitler grew in power and tyrannized most of Europe. Chamberlain resigned in shame. Britain stood alone against the Fascist regime. It was only when the resolve of Britain and America stood up to evil that any end to the war could come. Millions of men, women, and children lost their lives due to apathy. No one wanted another world war, but only war could stop a ruthless dictator.

Satan has lied, connived, deceived, and bullied his way into our schools, our media, and our courts. The god of this world has flexed his muscles, and it may seem that he is unstoppable. It is more than lives at stake; it is souls. If we do nothing, surely many will lose their souls for an eternity. We must preach and teach and serve and love and care, until every soul hears the Word and knows the love of God.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us hope and life. His marching orders for us is to take the message of hope, the gospel, to every corner of the world (Mark 16:15). To believe there is no threat is to deceive ourselves. We cannot be silent.

If the message of Jesus has grabbed our hearts, given us hope, relieved our guilt, and immersed us in grace, let us not sit silent while the world remains ignorant.

We cannot be neutral about sin. We cannot bargain with or appease the devil. All our human effort will fall flat; people need God. Only the blood of Jesus can wash us clean. If we do nothing to tell a lost and dying world about Jesus, then surely they will perish.

Do you know someone who needs the Lord? Don't sit quietly, doing nothing. Speak a good word about Jesus. Tell him of His love and grace. You may open a door to life everlasting.

By Michael E. Brooks

"For you have the poor with you always; and whenever you wish you may do them good; but me you do not have always" (Mark 14:7).

I have been in Bangladesh again for three weeks as I write this. Even before I departed the U.S. I was seeing on the news and in the papers that the monsoon rains had begun early in South Asia and were heavy. When I arrived I found flooding to be a problem, and during these past weeks it has increased to the point that it rivals past records. Two thirds of the land in the nation is affected, with over thirty million people either displaced from their homes or suffering from interruptions of drinking water and sewer services and food supply. Several hundred have died from the flood or from flood-caused disease. This weekend I will travel to Dhaka to distribute a small amount of relief funds to families of a congregation that have been displaced by the floods.

Jesus showed great compassion for the poor in his ministry on earth. Lazarus, a poor beggar, received his "good things" after this life ended – those things which were denied him on earth (Luke 16:25). In his parable of the judgment, the righteous were shown to be those who gave food to the hungry and otherwise assisted the needy (Matthew 25:34,35). In the stories of great feasts, it was the poor who became the invited guests (Matthew 22:8-10).

Elsewhere in the Bible the duty to help the poor is emphasized as vital to "pure religion" (James 1:27). Christians are to "be ready for every good work" (Titus 3:1), and to "learn to maintain good works" (Titus 3:14). "Good works" is a phrase often associated in the New Testament with helping the needy (Acts 9:36). The prosperous are to "do good ... be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share" (1 Timothy 6:18).

Christianity has emphasized the need to help the poor from its very beginnings. Thousands of hospitals, relief organizations, orphanages and other benevolent works have been established by believers in Jesus. Yet poverty remains. No government, religion, or social system has succeeded in removing it, or even significantly reducing the numbers of the poor. Millions of people are hungry, homeless and largely helpless.

Natural disasters account for some of this. When floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes hit population centers, people are displaced and supplies of necessary things are interrupted. In places like South Asia, where the population is so large and natural disasters so frequent, this means that the people never completely recover, and need is always present. The flood of 2004 followed rapidly upon those of 1998, 1988, and many previous.

Some have taken the words of Jesus in Mark 14 to suggest resignation and acceptance of this situation. There will always be poverty, don't worry so much about it. Do good when you can, but there are more important matters for the church to be involved in. I suggest that this is a misunderstanding of the context of Jesus' statement. He chided the apostles for not doing the good deed available at the moment. If they were so concerned with the poor, why had they not already been helping them? It is easy to make excuses. "We cannot do this today, for there may be another and greater need tomorrow." That seems to have been the attitude of the Twelve. Jesus refused to allow it. Rather he commanded, "Meet the need that is before you; do the good that you can do, now."

Yes there are always the poor. And our responsibility is to love them and help them, whenever and wherever we can. We cannot remove poverty from this earth. But we can feed one family, educate one child, shelter one village. We must use the opportunities and the resources we have, not finding excuses in the impossibility of doing everything.

by Tim Hall

Who can blame Patricia Berg for being upset? In the early morning hours of June 29, she was awakened by noises. It sounded like someone was trying to open her sliding glass door, so she dialed 911 to request help. Her call was quickly answered, and for a few moments her concerns were noted. Then there was silence on the telephone. For almost two minutes there was no response from the man at the call center. Finally Patricia got his attention again, and police were summoned. Patricia is convinced the man responsible for arranging emergency response fell asleep at his post. An investigation is underway.

Sleep is a problem for many. So many things vie for our attention, and some of us find it difficult to break away and go to bed. Others have trouble sleeping because of medical problems. It's understandable when people nod off; most of us have experienced such times. But if you're a key person in a crisis situation, you've got to somehow find a way to remain alert.

The Christian's first response to this story is "I'm so thankful God is not that way." For the faithful, God is our 911 call center, the one to whom we turn in times of emergency. What if there was doubt about whether or not he was at his post? What if our prayers went unheeded as snoring was heard in heaven? But we have unshakable confidence that God is not that way. He never falls asleep at his post.

The psalmist affirmed this truth in Psalm 121: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:1-3, NKJV). No, God is not like people. People with good intentions can't always resist the urge to sleep. God, however, is always at his post. He's on call 24-7-365.

But Christians should not end their reflections on this news item just yet. God is faithful, yes, but what about those to whom he has entrusted the care of others? God has placed responsibilities for caring for other souls upon his people. Are Christians trying to show diligence at their posts?

Consider this statement of the Christian's responsibility: "Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord; looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God ..." (Hebrews 12:14,15). Diligence is what all 911 workers must have. It's also what Christians must exercise in their monitoring of one another. When a brother or sister in Christ sends signals of spiritual distress, is anyone in the family paying attention?

Here's another instance of the same charge: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). The first Christian mentioned in this verse is in danger. Help is needed if that person is to survive. Will the "spiritual" be on call, though? Or will they be found snoozing while brethren are gasping nearby? Falling asleep at one's post is a serious matter.

Patricia Berg is okay. Police did not find any evidence of attempted entry into her townhouse. But if the danger had been real, she might not have survived - because someone was asleep at their post. How many have died spiritually because their brethren were not alert to their cries for help? What do we expect God to say to such sleepyheads?