Operation Planet Earth
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18, 19, NIV.
I had boarded a ship as a deck passenger leaving Palau, bound for Guam. On our second day out we encountered waters stirred up by a passing typhoon. Perhaps I was too naive to be scared, as hour after nauseating hour I rode the bow of the ship up and down through the crests and troughs of the high seas. One day word leaked out that we had lost radio contact with land. We were lost at sea!
More recently I was asked to see an AIDS patient to insert a central line for intravenous access. He had destroyed every detectable vein by shooting drugs. As I reviewed the man's history, I felt moved to ask him why he used substances that he knew were so devastating. His reply: "I like them."
Two stories. Two examples of people "lost at sea." One not knowing the serious state of affairs at hand. The other knowing it but expressing no desire for rescue.
Lost at sea seems to describe our society today. Many fail to realize that they can have a better way of life, a way offered by a God who created them in love and in love emptied heaven of its most precious possession for their rescue.
I see Jesus, commander in chief of the armies of heaven, sitting at the right hand of God on the throne in Command Central, directing human affairs through this terrible time of judgment. As the world reaps the harvest of its planting, as its armies complete their work of destroying the earth under the command of Satan, every resource at heaven's command concentrates on rescuing the faithful. Every angel, every agent and power of heaven, awaits assignment from Jesus to deliver us.
But that's not all. God has extended to us the high honor of joining the powers of heaven, of serving as instruments in God's hand in reaching out to save our fellow human beings. What a privilege! None of us need be lost at sea in any way.
What part are you playing in helping to rescue those "lost at sea" on Planet Earth?
I had boarded a ship as a deck passenger leaving Palau, bound for Guam. On our second day out we encountered waters stirred up by a passing typhoon. Perhaps I was too naive to be scared, as hour after nauseating hour I rode the bow of the ship up and down through the crests and troughs of the high seas. One day word leaked out that we had lost radio contact with land. We were lost at sea!
More recently I was asked to see an AIDS patient to insert a central line for intravenous access. He had destroyed every detectable vein by shooting drugs. As I reviewed the man's history, I felt moved to ask him why he used substances that he knew were so devastating. His reply: "I like them."
Two stories. Two examples of people "lost at sea." One not knowing the serious state of affairs at hand. The other knowing it but expressing no desire for rescue.
Lost at sea seems to describe our society today. Many fail to realize that they can have a better way of life, a way offered by a God who created them in love and in love emptied heaven of its most precious possession for their rescue.
I see Jesus, commander in chief of the armies of heaven, sitting at the right hand of God on the throne in Command Central, directing human affairs through this terrible time of judgment. As the world reaps the harvest of its planting, as its armies complete their work of destroying the earth under the command of Satan, every resource at heaven's command concentrates on rescuing the faithful. Every angel, every agent and power of heaven, awaits assignment from Jesus to deliver us.
But that's not all. God has extended to us the high honor of joining the powers of heaven, of serving as instruments in God's hand in reaching out to save our fellow human beings. What a privilege! None of us need be lost at sea in any way.
What part are you playing in helping to rescue those "lost at sea" on Planet Earth?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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