My
parents were visiting and my father was telling
stories from his youth. Here is one of his stories:
When I was 16 years old, I was
swimming off Old
Orchard Beach, Maine, in the ocean, when I got caught in a
riptide and started to drown. Instantly, my life swiftly swept before my face like the pages of a book. One page showed how I had gone to church five days a week with my family, but that was 'not good enough.' Another page showed that I had read my Bible, but that was 'not good enough.' Another page showed my prayers, but that was 'not good enough.' All the ‘good’ things I had
ever done would not save me!
Romans
3:10-12 “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
As
the current pulled me further out, I felt myself sinking for the last
time into the depth of the ocean. I finally cried out to Jesus to save me!!
Immediately, Jesus, who shed his blood on the cross for our sins, saved me. There is nothing I could do to save myself. Only Jesus can save!
James 4:14 “Whereas
ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away.”
Suddenly,
a life-boat appeared and a kind man reached out and pulled Tony to safety. When
they got back to the beach, a friend excitedly said, “You’re saved! You’re
saved!” Tony emphatically replied, “Yes, I’m saved, twice saved! Jesus, saved me!”
Romans
3:23 “For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans
6:23 “For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of sin is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
John
3:16 “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Maybe
you never had a close call like me, yet you know that if you were to face a tragedy and die, you would be lost for all eternity. Have you been
saved? “And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Hebrews 9:27). Not everyone has the chance to be saved twice like me; death can
come too quickly to cry out to God!! If you are not saved, ask Jesus to come into your life. He will abundantly pardon. He will save you just like he saved me. He will completely transform your life into something new.
September 20th,
2011
Judith
Beautiful story!
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