Friday, July 31, 2015

WATCHING AND LEARNING


I was browsing in a used book shop when an irate customer stormed in & loudly demanded a refund. When the man couldn't get what he wanted, he began swearing at the clerk.

He continued the tirade for several minutes as a girl of 7 or 8 stood passively at his side. Eventually he stomped out of the store, cursing as he went, with the little girl following close behind.

I wondered if the girl was his daughter. If so, what did she learn from her dad that afternoon?

More important, the event caused me to ask, "What does my daughter learn from me at home & all the places we go together?" She learns a lot more from watching my behavior than from all my little talks about life & God.

The Bible says: "Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord." (Eph 6:4  CEV)

There are children watching us today, deciding what to believe about life & God. What are they learning from us?

"Actions speak louder than words."  -  William Tiptaft.

- D C McCasland (preceptaustin.org)

Thursday, July 30, 2015

INSURANCE


A little boy on his father's knee said, "Dad, is your soul insured?"

"Why do you ask, my son?"

"I heard Uncle George say, that you had your house insured, & your life insured; but he did not believe you had thought of your soul & he was afraid you would lose it. Won't you get it insured right away?"

It was all too true & the question led the father to seek the divine guaranty of his soul's well-being.

- (moreillustrations.com)

"Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property, and obedience is the premium which we pay for it".  - William Penn.

1Co 15:20 (GNB): "But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised."

"The permanence of God's character guarantees the fulfillment of his promises."  -  A.W. Pink.

Eph 1:14 (GW): "This Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our inheritance. We have this guarantee until we are set free to belong to him. God receives praise and glory for this."

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

STAINED WITH BLOOD


Dr. George W. Truett tells of a funeral he was asked to conduct of a 16 year old girl. The mother told him: "Dr. Truett, she was our only child."

"Yes, but you sorrow not as others that have no hope," said the minister.

But the mother answered, "That is where the trouble is, we have no such hope. Our daughter was not a believer."

The mother wept bitterly while she continued her story. "While it is true that her father & I were both members of the church even before she was born, it is also true that our darling girl lying in that casket, never heard either of us pray. She was not saved & we fear that she is lost & her blood will be upon us."

Then she became hysterical in the thought of a lost daughter.

Relating the incident later, Dr. Truett asked, "Who would dare say that her blood would not be upon them?"

Father & mother both professing believers, but had never prayed in their home! May God have mercy on children coming from such homes!

- The Elim Evangel. (moreillustrations.com)

Eze 33:6 (KJV): "But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."

Eze 33:4 (KJV): "Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head."

MY SOUL. I HAVE LOST IT.


Someone has illustrated the value of a soul with a modern parable in this manner.

A householder took a trip into a far country & left with his servant a child & the child's clothes.

After a while he returned & the servant said to him: "Sir, here are all the child's clothes. They are in excellent condition – clean, mended & pressed. But as for the child, I do not know where the child is."

So in the last day some will say: "Lord, here is my body - I have neglected nothing that belongs to it. It is strong, well & beautiful. But as for my soul. I have lost it."

- The Presbyterian. (moreillustrations.com)

"Suppose you could gain everything in the whole world, and lost your
soul. Was it worth it?" - Billy Graham.

Jesus said: "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him should have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40 MKJV)

Monday, July 27, 2015

THE EFFECT OF PROSPERITY


"We are all caught in a trap. It goes like this: Our religion promotes the good character qualities of hard work & honesty; hard work & honesty usually mean that a man gets ahead; getting ahead involves making money; making money implies success & luxury; success & love of luxury can come between the man & God.

This means that you & I are in a dangerous position. We are 'successful' people. We are reasonably 'well-off.' We are tempted to love our luxuries more than our Lord.

For the material success that comes from our hard work & honesty is hard to control. In fact, it can lead us to wanting more & forgetting God."

 (From 'Kings in Shirtsleeves' by William P. Barker) moreillustrations.com

Psalms 62:10 (MKJV): "…If riches increase, do not set your heart on them."

"If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life."  - Billy Graham.

DELIGHTING IN HUMBLE SERVICE


Mary listened with quiet envy as the speaker at the women's retreat talked in glowing terms of the way the Lord had marvelously provided for her need.

Mary wished that would happen to her.

Later in the retreat, she was spellbound as another speaker told of the amazing opportunity the Lord had given her to testify & how several women in deep despair had opened their hearts to Christ.

Mary longed for God to use her in a powerful way, but she didn't expect it to happen.

Mary's routine involved getting her husband off to work & her children to school, caring for her home, working a couple of days a week & helping in their church. She didn't think there was much opportunity to be used mightily by God.

With all the emphasis on the spectacular these days, it's easy for us to lose sight of the fact that God is the God of everyday living. It seems that we're always looking for some great display of His power in our lives. But what the Lord desires is for us to focus on doing His will from our heart each day, delighting in humble service for Him.

- (preceptaustin.org)

Eph 6:7 (ISV): "Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people."

"It is true that we may desire much more. But let us use what we have, and God will give us more."  - Adoniram Judson.
  

Friday, July 24, 2015

CHURCH ON THE ISLAND


A man was marooned on a desolate island. After he had been there alone for five years he was found & rescued.

As he climbed into the rescue boat the curious rescuers noticed three grass huts.

“We thought you were alone, why are there three huts,” they asked.

The man replied, “The first hut is my home; the second is my church.”

“What about the third hut?”

“Oh, that’s the church I used to belong to!”


"When the horse is dead - dismount!" - Rick Warren.

"A good church is a Bible-centered church. Nothing is as important as this - not a large congregation, a witty pastor, or tangible experiences." - Alistair Begg.

Act 2:44 (CEV): "All the Lord's followers often met together, and they shared everything they had."

MEEKNESS


A missionary was once questioning his class of boys on the meaning of Matt. 5:5, (that says: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.") and asked, "Who are the meek?"

 A boy answered, "Those who give soft answers to rough questions."

- The Biblical Illustrator (moreillustrations.com)

"The meek are not those who are never at all angry, for such are insensible; but those who, feeling anger, control it, and are angry only when they ought to be." – Theophylact.

Col 3:12 (CEV): "God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient."

"Meekness is power under control". - Warren Wiersbe.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

RUNNING OUT OF GAS


One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly stopped. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas.

The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.

Even though Christians have access to God’s unlimited power, if we do not avail ourselves to it we will run out of power.

- (
ministry127.com)

Act 1:8 (GNB): "But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

"When a man has no strength, if he leans on God, he becomes powerful." - D.L. Moody.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

CONSEQUENCE OF DISAGREEMENT


Intending to raise cattle, a family from New York bought a large farm out West.

When their friends visited & inquired about the farm’s name, the would-be rancher replied: “I wanted to name it the 'Bar-J'.  My wife favored 'Suzy-Q', one of our sons wanted the 'Flying-W' & the other liked the 'Lazy-Y'. So we’re calling it the 'Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.'”

“But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked.

“None survived the branding,” was the reply.

- (ministry127.com)

2Co 13:11 (ESV): "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, AGREE WITH ONE ANOTHER, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

Monday, July 20, 2015

GRUMBLING AND THANKING


A man had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would ask the blessing.

One day after his usual combination complaint-prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?”

“Why, of course,” he replied. “He hears us every time we pray.”

She paused on this a moment, and asked, “Does He hear everything we say the rest of the time?”

“Yes, dear, every word,” he replied, encouraged that he had inspired his daughter to be curious about spiritual matters. However, his pride was quickly turned to humility at his daughter’s next question.

“Then, which does God believe?”

- (ministry127.com)

Php 2:14 (CEV): "Do everything without grumbling or arguing."

"We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction."  - Harry Ironside.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES


A number of years ago retired NASA engineer Edgar C. Whisenant wrote a book called '88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.' 

The book, which he self-published, placed the expected date of the Rapture between 11th & 13th of September, 1988 & became a massive bestseller. By the time the end of the year was reached, more than 4.5 million copies had been sold. He was certain he had the date right.

His later books predicting the Rapture in 1989, 1993 & 1994 did not sell nearly as well as the first one - but he kept right on making those predictions despite the clear teaching of Scripture that we are not meant to know & nobody knows the exact date or time of Christ’s return.

One of the things that set fools apart, however, is that they continue to make the same mistakes over & over again. They never learn from their errors, no matter how painful their experiences may be. That is because they are committed to their folly.

Pro 26:11 (GNB): "A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit."

- (ministry127.com)

"A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them."  -  John C. Maxwell.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

It Is Well with My Soul


One of the best-loved hymns of the faith, “It Is Well with My Soul,” was written by Horatio Spafford.

Mr. Spafford, a wealthy businessman in Chicago, lost much of his real estate holdings in the Great Chicago Fire.

After the fire, he sent his wife & four daughters on a ship to Europe, intending to join them later, for a time of rest as well as to assist Moody & Sankey with a revival in Great Britain.

But the voyage was struck by disaster & Spafford received a cable from his wife with the painful message, “Saved alone.”

Spafford quickly made arrangements to join his wife. When they reached the spot where his daughters had drowned, Spafford marked that sad event with words of hope:

“When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’”

These powerful words written in the midst of such pain are a reminder to us today that, even though we may be enduring great suffering & hardship, it is not the end of God’s plan for us.

Sometimes God’s children get discouraged because it appears that life is going better for those who are doing wrong. Yet the end result of both paths is already settled.

Those who fear God will be able to say, “It is well.”

Those who oppose God will quickly find that the end of their path is death & destruction.

Keeping the end result in mind helps us to keep doing right.

- '101 Hymn Stories' by Kenneth Osbeck (ministry127.com)

1Th 5:18 (GW): "Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God's will in Christ Jesus that you do this."

Friday, July 17, 2015

FAVORITE SCRIPTURE


The story is told of a Sunday class that had been asked the question, "In your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture?"

A young man said, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1)

A middle age woman said, "God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

Another woman said, "In this world you shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome this world." (John 16:33)

Then Mr. John, who was 80 years old, stood up & said with as much strength as he could muster, "and it came to pass 85 times in the Bible."

The class started to laugh a little thinking that old Mr. John's lack of memory was getting the best of him. When the snickering stopped, he said.

"At 30 I lost my job with six hungry mouths & a wife to feed. I didn't know how I would make it.

At 40 my eldest son was killed overseas in the war. It knocked me down.

At 50 my house burned to the ground. Nothing was saved out of the house.
At 60 my wife of 40 years got cancer. It slowly ate away at her. We cried together many a night on our knees in prayer.

At 65 she died. I still miss her today.

The agony I went through in each of these situations was unbelievable. But each time I looked in the Bible I saw one of those 85 verses that said, 'and it came to pass.'

I felt that God was telling me, my pain & my circumstances were going to pass & that God would get me through it."

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)


"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength." - Robert E. Lee.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Just Going to Church Is Not Enough


A little boy asked, “Dad, did grandfather make you go to church when you were my age?”

His father said, “He sure did. We went every Sunday.”

The boy said sadly, “Well, I bet it won’t do me any good either.”

It is not enough to just go to church. We must apply the Bible to our everyday lives.

- (ministry127.com)

"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile." -  Billy Sunday.

Jesus said: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Mat 7:24-27 ESV)

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A LIFE OF GOOD HOPE


One of the first explorers who sailed to South America went around a cape on a stormy sea. His ship threatened to go to pieces; so he called the place the 'Cape of Storms'.

But Vasco da Gama, who came later, changed the name to the 'Cape of Good Hope', for he saw ahead of him the jewels and treasures of India.

You can call this a life of storms if you wish. But if you can see the glorious redemption of eternity ahead of you, you can call it what it is only in Christ - a life of good hope.

- (ministry127.com)

"Through the dark and stormy night, Faith beholds a feeble light Up the blackness streaking; Knowing God's own time is best, In a patient hope I rest For the full day-breaking!"  - John Greenleaf Whittier.

Rom 12:12 (CEV): "Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying."

BEAUTY


Betsey Patterson of Baltimore was regarded as the most beautiful woman in America & the charm of her beauty was acknowledged in the highest circles of Europe.

 In 1804 Napoleon's youngest brother, on a visit to America, became infatuated with Elizabeth & married her; but the marriage was afterward annulled through the influence of Napoleon.

Writing in middle life to a friend, she confessed, "I am dying with boredom. I am tired of reading & of all my ways of killing time. I am tired of life & tired of having lived."

Toward the end of her career, Betsey Patterson said, "Once I had everything but money. Now I have nothing but money."

Such was the sad confession of a woman who had great beauty of body & delighted to adorn that body, but had no inner beauty of the soul - what Peter calls the "hidden man of the heart" (I Pet. 3:4).

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 11:22 (BBE): "Like a ring of gold in the nose of a pig, is a beautiful woman who has no sense."

"Although we will never be perfect in this life, it's God's passionate desire to continually transform our hearts and lives to reflect the beauty, love and holiness of Jesus." - Chip Ingram.

Monday, July 13, 2015

AN ATHEIST


The story is told of an atheistic barber who was talking to a pastor.

The barber asked the pastor, “If there is a loving God, how can He allow poverty, war & suffering?”

Just at that moment a untidy man crossed the street.

The pastor said, “You are a barber & claim to be a good one. How can you allow that man to go unshaven?”

“He never gave me a chance – never came to me!” the barber replied.

To which the pastor said, “Exactly, men are what they are because they reject God – they don't come to Him!”

- (ministry127.com)

1Pe 2:4 (CEV): "Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone that people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored."

"An atheist can't find God for the same reason that a thief can't find a police officer." - Author unknown.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

SKIPPING CHURCH


One Sunday morning, two men are out in a boat, fishing.

After several hours on the lake without catching a single fish, one of the men says to his friend, “You know, we probably should have stayed home and gone to church this morning.”

The other man says, “Well, I could have stayed home, but I still couldn’t have gone to church.”

“Why’s that?” asks his friend.

“My wife is sick,” the fisherman answers.

- (ministry127.com)

"There wouldn't be so many non-church goers if there were not so many non-going churches." - Billy Sunday.

Heb 10:25 (CEV): "Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer."

Thursday, July 9, 2015

SAND & STONE


Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument & one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire & started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”

The friend who had slapped & saved his best friend asked him, “after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand & now, you write on a stone, why?”

The friend replied “when someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

Pro 17:9 (GNB): "If you want people to like you, forgive them when they wrong you. Remembering wrongs can break up a friendship."

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS


A self-righteous man once boasted to a Christian friend of his, “You know, John, I’m not such a bad fellow. There are many worse than I!”

His friend replied, “Paul, you are measuring yourself by the wrong standard. You measure yourself by the harlots & drunkards & you feel quite satisfied by comparison. But go & measure yourself alongside Jesus Christ & see how you make out.”

The life of the Lord Jesus shows us how crooked & defiled our own lives really are. It is no wonder God says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

-  John Phillips - (ministry127.com)

"Self-righteousness is the devil's masterpiece to make us think well of ourselves."  -  Thomas Adams.

Rom 4:3 (GNB): The scripture says, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."

The Wisdom of Humility


Samuel Morse was born into a preacher’s home in New England just two years after George Washington was elected the first president of the United States.

After finishing his education at Yale, he went to England to hone his painting skill. Upon his return to America he was recognized as a gifted artist & was soon in much demand.

Morse’s wife died while he was away from home painting in Washington, D.C. He did not receive the news until it was too late. In his heartbreak, he turned away from painting & began trying to develop a means of rapid communication over great distances.

This eventually led to his discovery of the telegraph. Despite his fame and the many honors that came his way, Morse wasn’t proud or boastful.

He later wrote, “The more I contemplate this great undertaking, the more I feel my own littleness & the more I perceive the hand of God in it & how He has assigned to various persons their duties, Hence our dependence first of all on God, then on each other.”

- Samuel Irenæus (ministry127.com)

John 15:5 (GNB): "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me."

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The Responsibility of Fatherhood


A young pastor in Ohio also worked at a feed processing plant in order to make ends meet. Each night when he went home, his boys would look at him & say, “Boy, Dad, you sure are dusty!”  He would grumble to himself, but then smile & say, “Yes, I sure am dusty.”

One Saturday morning, as he was washing his car, he looked over & saw his oldest son, 4 years old at that time, begin to pick up small stones from the driveway & rub them onto his pants.

The father asked, “What are you doing?”

“I want to be dusty like you dad,” came the reply.

As the pastor was telling the story he said, “At that time, I realized that if a son would look up to his father for being dusty, he would look up to dad for anything.

What a responsibility.”

- Russ Lawson (ministry127.com)

"I say to all fathers - be as good as you can be - because your sons and daughters will follow in your footsteps."  -  Duane Chapman

Gal 6:5 (GW): "Assume your own responsibility."

Sunday, July 5, 2015

CRISIS


An Englishman traveling through Sri Lanka says: "As I was dining in a home I was startled to hear the hostess ask her servant to place a bowl of milk on the deerskin near her chair.

I knew at once there was a cobra in the room, for they prefer milk to anything else. We also knew that a hasty movement meant death, so we sat like statues.

Soon, to our amazement, a cobra uncoiled itself from my hostess' ankle and swiftly glided toward the milk, where it was quickly killed."

What a triumph of self-control over the external! 

But if we use the same quiet trust in Christ as this woman did in the bowl of milk, when the serpent of all evil approaches us, internal triumphs over him would be more numerous than they are now.

- Record of Christian Work. (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 24:10 (GNB): "If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed."

"If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been." - Robert H. Schuller.

Friday, July 3, 2015

CHURCH ATTENDANCE


The father had never missed church or Sunday school in 23 years.
The mother had a perfect record for 11 years.
A son has not missed for 12 years.
A daughter has been at the evening service every Sunday for 8 years.

What's the matter with the family, anyway?

~Don't they ever have company on Sunday to keep them away from church?

~Don't they ever get tired on Sunday morning?

~Don't they ever have headaches, or colds, or nervous spells, or tired feelings, or sudden calls out of the city, or weekend parties, or business trips, or picnics, or any other trouble?

~Don't they ever have a TV, so that they can get some good sermons from out-of-town preachers?

~Don't they ever get a lot better out of reading a sermon out of a book?

~Don't they ever get disgusted with whatever it is that their minister preaches?

What's the matter with this family anyway, and why are they so happy and cheerful?

We leave it to you to answer.

- Southern Churchman.  (moreillustrations.com)

"Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man."  - D.L. Moody.

Heb 10:25 (GNB): "Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer."

"If Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." - Adrian Rogers.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

VALUE CHRIST


In 1799, Conrad Reed discovered a seventeen-pound rock while fishing in Little Meadow Creek. Not knowing what it was made of, his family used it as a doorstop for three years.

In 1802, his father, John Reed, took it to a jeweler who identified it as a lump of gold worth about $3,600. That lump of gold, which was used as a doorstop for three years in North Carolina, is one of the biggest gold nuggets ever found east of the Rockies.

Until its composition was determined, its value was unknown.

- John Hairr & Joey Powell (ministry127.com)

Likewise, "Christ is never fully valued, until sin is clearly seen. We must know the depth and malignity of our disease, in order to appreciate the great Physician."  - J.C. Ryle.

Heb 10:29 (GNB): "What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve!"

"Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all." -  Augustine.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES


In 2009, Fred Winters, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois, was shot & killed during a Sunday morning service by a disturbed young man.

The tragedy shocked the church & the pastor’s family, but it did not destroy their faith. The next week the newly-widowed Cindy Winters was interviewed on a national news broadcast.

When asked about her husband’s killer, she said, “I do not have any hatred or even hard feelings toward him. We have been praying for him. One of the first things that my daughter said to me after this happened was, ‘You know, I hope that he comes to learn to love Jesus through all of this.’ We are not angry at all, & we really firmly believe that he can find hope & forgiveness & peace through this, by coming to know Jesus. And we hope that that happens for him.”

Source: cbsnews.com, March 16, 2009 (ministry127.com)

Jesus said: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, and hate your enemies.' But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven….. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you?.... " (Mat 5:43–46).

NO WAY HOME


I once read how, in the spring of 1981, Carl McCunn, a young wildlife photographer was flown into desolate northern Alaska (USA) to photograph the natural beauty and mysteries of the tundra. He took along 500 rolls of film, several firearms, and 1,400 pounds of provisions.

As the months passed, the words in his diary changed from wonder and fascination into a nightmare. In August he wrote, "I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure. I'll soon find out."

In November, sensing the hopelessness of his situation, he shot himself and died in a nameless valley, by a nameless lake, 225 miles northeast of Fairbanks. An investigation revealed that though he had carefully planned his trip, he had made no provision to be flown out.

Difficult to imagine, isn't it? How could anyone be so foolish? He made every provision for his journey except how to get home! Unbelievable! 

"How tragic," we say. And yet, how many people make every provision for life here on earth but no preparation for their departure? God has warned us that there is life after death ... after which is God's judgment.

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

Heb 9:27 (GNB): "Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God."

"Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgment come: the victory is Christ's and yours through Him." -  D.L. Moody.