No Body

 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name in heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

    It was a clear, sunny day Saturday, so when I glanced out my kitchen window, I wondered why I saw fog. However, I quickly realized it was smoke. Our neighbor's house was on fire!

    As David dashed outdoors, I called 911. "Do come quickly!" I implored to the dispatcher. "I believe the man is inside!" Other neighbors joined my husband in an effort to gain access, but the smoke was too thick, the flames too intense. Moments seemed eternal as we waited for the firefighters' arrival, and we cried in helpless grief. We were powerless to save him; he perished that day. 

    Sadly, I gaze now across the blanket of snow at the stark, skeletal frame of our neighbor's house. Bouquets of flowers join some balloons and a teddy bear in his yard - expressions of the neighborhood's mourning - but I am dismayed to say I never met the man whom I occasionally saw over the fence. And now he is gone. The opportunity to share my faith went up with the black smoke. 

    Like our little crowd of concerned citizens that fateful day, we, without Christ, are powerless to save from hellfire and damnation, either ourselves or others. But, thank God, the story doesn't end on this morbid note. 

    The Bible says it best: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5: 6-8)

    Salvation is found in nobody else, and the reason for this is simple: Christ died but there is no body. The grave is empty, only the graveclothes were there. He is risen from the dead! (Luke 24: 1-6) Jesus won the victory over the power of the grave and, when we place our trust in Him, nobody can snatch us from His hand. (John 10:28)  Only Jesus Christ has the credentials, as God's perfect Son, to have sacrificed Himself in our place. Nobody else.

    I do not know if my neighbor had accepted this free gift of salvation; hopefully, he had. I wish I had spoken to him about it because what if nobody had? My urgency to share my faith should have matched the emergency nature of the call I had made. 

    Dear God, forgive me. Help me to be somebody who cares.

My God and My King!

 "When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain...The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary." Psalm 68: 7, 17

    Processions of pomp and regalia are so impressive. Think of a victorious march of uniformed soldiers in a ticker tape parade, or a splendorous bride with metered step going forth with a twenty-five foot train in her wake. Swells of "Pomp and Circumstance" set the tone for many a graduation as mortar boards are happily flung skyward.

    Grand as those may be, imagine being cordially invited into the sanctuary of the Most High, to witness the spectacular pageantry of the procession of God as recounted in Psalm 68:

    "Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and my King into the sanctuary." (verse 24)

    Imagine, perched on the edge of your seat with a craned neck, you've been rolling your program into a tube as you nervously await the splendid display of His Majesty. Though you are in the nosebleed section, wild horses could not tear you away as you bite your bottom lip in anticipation. Finally...

    "In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the young women playing the timbrels." (verse 25)

    Oh, can you hear the magnificent swell of music? Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty! All stops have been pulled out as reverberations of glorious praise flow from the choir. Trumpets may sound; let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

    "Praise God in the great congregation; praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel." (verse 26)

    By now, you are on your feet, hands held to the heavens as pure worship courses through your body. Like David dancing with abandon before the Lord, you are jumping out of your shoes. None of earth's grand displays could compare to this parade of glory.

    "There is the little tribe of Benjamin leading them, there the great throng of Judah's princes, and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali." (verse 27)

    Those around you excitedly point to the cadence of the tribes. You can hardly believe what you're seeing! Not even Solomon in all his splendor is arrayed as one of these. 

    I can only imagine those things which God has prepared for us in the heavenly realms. As I watch the tender snow falling from above, my imagination takes me to the storehouses of snow where my God and my King reigns eternally. The asphalt street on which I live will be replaced with a ribbon of pure gold, as seen from the window of the heavenly mansion, my new abode. 

    Nothing can compare to seeing Jesus, the One who laid down His life for me and crowned me with love and compassion, without Whom I haven't received an invitation to the procession of God. Though I'd like to be one of the singers, I will be content to just be there. 

    Will you join me?

"Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with a mighty voice. You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" Psalm 68:32, 33, 35

My Pilot

"Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are going to drown!' He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm." Matthew 8: 23-26

    Air travel is a lesson in complete surrender. It begins with the humiliation of doffing one's shoes, dutifully waiting, like cattle in a corral, as a squad of strangers examine personal belongings while unsung notes of suspicion are sung in the minds of travelers. There's a tingle of fear that one will not be accepted, set aside and rejected, never to reach one's destination.

    Something akin to this happened to me on my way home from Houston. As I stepped through the metal detector, I was singled out. My bag was searched. The jar of peanut butter I wanted to bring home was confiscated. As I endured this, alone in an intercontinental airport, the temptation to worry nagged at me, but I silenced it by quoting Psalm 31:15: "My times are in your hands." The peace of God settled me right down and I made it to the gate on time. 

    After the hustle of boarding, I settled into my seat by the window. As usual, the flip-flop feeling in my stomach began to kick in, reminding me of my acrophobia, but I squashed it by quoting Psalm 56:4: "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." The peace of God settled over me once again as I watched the activity on the ground from my lofty vantage point.

    The power of the airliner's ascent pushed me back into my seat as we soared through seemingly impenetrable cloud cover. No visible touchstone could ground my perspective; in faith, I relied on the pilot to see us through. Up, up, up we soared until the glorious landscape of the second heaven proclaimed the power of God. Sunshine soaked fluffy mountains of white in a surreal world where angels traverse. I felt the wonder of my inclusion into this spectacular sight as the words of Psalm 19:1 came to mind: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." The peace that passes all understanding enveloped me like a downy comforter. Fear was soundly dismissed.

    Surrendering to God's plan and purpose seems contrary to life's ways as an adult, but when I sit back in my seat like a child in the family sedan, only then can I enjoy the ride - not because I know the way, but because I know the Pilot. 

    Upon my exit in Cleveland, I thanked the pilot with the yellow stripes on his sleeves for getting me home, but he was just the co-pilot. Jesus brought me safely to my destination.

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life's tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee:

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.