Topic(s): Bible Study, Science

A man’s view of origins affects his view of ethics. Two young men in Illinois once took little Bobby Franks and killed him as an experiment. Clarence Darrow defended the young men and insisted that they were not responsible for their deed. He said they had been taught that men have descended from animals and to them their experiment was no more than killing a cat in the laboratory. He charged that the teaching they had had was responsible. The young men should have been punished, but their teachers ought to have been punished, too. Young person, choose your beliefs wisely. Your life—and eternal life—may well be at stake.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ” —Genesis 1:27

Christ's Blood

Topic(s): Jesus

Solomon sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep on just one day at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:63). This would produce a pool of blood that would fill a swimming pool 100’ long x 75’ wide x 5 1/2’ deep. (Source: E.R. Brannon had Auburn Veterinary School figure the total using sheep and bulls one year in age). Yet all combined—plus all that were offered through 1500 years—could not take away one little sin (Hebrews 10:4).

Truth

Topic(s): Unity

It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals than to speak falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. Truth is reality, not relative.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” —John 8:31–32

Under and Up

Topic(s): Sin

In the spring of 1979, the towboat Cahaba was hauling several barges of coal down the flooded Tom Bigbee River in Alabama, USA. The current was flowing fast as the boat’s pilot approached the Demopolis Rooster Bridge. Due to the river’s strong current and high waters, it was too dangerous to try to bring the barges through the bridge span. So the crew released the coal barges from the towboat with the intention of picking them up on the other side of the bridge. After releasing the barges, the pilot, Captain Jimmie Wilkerson, managed to back the vessel upriver in order to navigate over to the other side of the bridge, where the channel span was located. However, the boat moved slightly off line and the current swung the boat sideways, slamming it into the bridge. The current was so strong that it forced the boat down under the water.

To the astonishment of onlookers, the towboat passed under the water, under the bridge, and popped up, upright, with the engines still going and the pilot at the wheel (and holding on with all of his might), on the other side!

Why did it come back to the surface in an upright position? Because Warrior Gulf Navigation of Mobile, Alabama, the owner of the Cahaba, ballasted all of their vessels with three to four feet of cement in the bottom of their hulls. As Captain Michael L. Smith explains, “The boat was like a little yellow rubber duckie, and came back up like a duckie oughta do.”

The incident of the Cahaba is a vivid reminder that life can often go horribly wrong, but if we have the right “ballast,” we can get through it and emerge upright on the other side.

Sin is what ultimately destroys our “ships” (our lives, Romans 6:23; James 1:14–15). But God seeks to equip us with a ballast that will save us from the current of sin. The ballast is His Son Jesus, who died on the cross so that we might have forgiveness of sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). He will save those who believe in Him (Acts 16:30–31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30–31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9–10), and be baptized—immersed—in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

He will continue to carry us to safe harbor if we will allow Him to also be our Pilot (1 John 1:7). The water is rising . . . the current is strong . . . But if you will seek security in the Ballast, He will lead you home! —David Sargent

Smile

Topic(s): Humor

My mom has a lead foot, so I was not surprised when a state trooper pulled us over as we were speeding through Georgia. Hoping to get off with a warning, Mom tried to appear shocked when the trooper walked up to the car.

“I have never been stopped like this before,” she said to the officer.
“What do they usually do, ma’am,” he asked, “shoot the tires out?”