Salvation

Salvation

"Don't Put It Off, John!"
Speaking to his physician, John cried in great perplexity, "I might not live a week!"
"Of course you may not, John, but very likely you will, and the medicine will be in the house; it will keep; and if you find yourself getting worse, you could take some. I shall not charge anything for it. If you should feel worse tomorrow you might begin even then."
"Sir, I may be dead tomorrow!"
"When would you propose to begin your medicince then, John?"
"Well, sir, I hoped you would tell me to begin today."
"Begin today, by all means," consented the doctor, kindly. "I am glad to see you realize how foolish it is to put off taking this medicine." And then the physician, reflecting upon their past conversations about spiritual matters, inquired, "But are you not being just as foolish when you put off taking the medicine which the Great Physician has provided for your sin-sick soul? I plead with you, John; don't put it off!"

Considering Noah's Ark
Did you ever wonder...
Was the ark REALLY big enough for all those animals? On first glance, the figures can be frightening. At the time of this writing, science has classified one million different species of animals. With seven of every clean and two of every other kind, it would seem we need space for at least 2,500,000 animals on the ark. Can we just faith it? First, let us note the ark was no toy boat, but a gigantic barge with a volume of 1,396,000 cubic feet (assuming one cubit equals 17.5 inches). The ark had a carrying capacity equal to that of 522 standard stock cars.
(1) What about the multitude of animals, you may ask. Most of that list of a million are worms, insects, one-cell animals and sea creatures who would have no need to be on the ark. In fact, "there was need for no more than 35,000 individual vertebrate animals on the ark."
(2) Chipmunk to elephant, let us assume the average size of an animal on the ark to be a sheep. Currently the railroad can fit 120 sheep on a stock car. Doing some fast figuring, the ark needed only to carry 292 stock cars worth of animals. Plenty of room for Noah, his family and extra hay.
Today God provides room for all men to find salvation at the cross. Noah pleaded with men to, "Get on board the ark," and they did not understand until the flood came and took them away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:39). Will there be spare room for those you know who could have made it? Are you doing your part? No Half-Measures With Him
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). New status, new life, new creation-we must not separate these blessings. They belong together, and are given to all who are in Christ.
A simple illustration may help. If a vagrant comes to us in dire need, down and out, in rags and tatters, and sick, even starving, it will be good to give him a bath and a change of clothing, but not enough. For he is ill and undernourished. So, in addition, he needs food and hospital treatment. Similarly, we come to Christ down and out, in the rags and tatters of our sin, spiritually sick and starving. In Christ, we are at once made welcome and accepted, and given a bath and a change of clothes. God sees us as righteous in Christ. This is our new status. But it is only the beginning. The Good Physician knows we are sick. So he puts His Spirit within us to give us new life and health, and He feeds us with His Word until we grow strong and vigorous. There are no half-measures with Him.

What John 3:16 Did
Shortly after the Korean War, a hungry waif wandered the darkened streets trying to find shelter from the bitter cold of winter. A night watchman noticed his plight and said, "GoMa (child), go to yonder house and say to the one who answers the gate, 'John 3:16.'" "But I do not know what John 3:16 is," replied the lad.
Nevertheless, desperation took him to the gate and brought that strange expression to his lips. He did not understand, but he whispered, "John 3:16." The lady smiled and took him into her warm home. The lad was puzzled as he thought, "I do not know what this John 3:16 is, but it sure makes a cold Korean boy warm."
Seeing his gaunt cheeks, the lady soon had him seated before a steaming bowl of soup. As he ate, the lad thought again, "I do not know what this John 3:16 is, but it sure makes a hungry Korean boy full."
After a bath, he lay there on the warm bed with tears flowing down his cheeks, "I do not know what this John 3:16 is," he thought, "but it must be the most wonderful thing in the whole world. It makes a strange lady love a lonely Korean boy."

Imperfect Christians and the Perfect Christ
Two fellow travelers were seated together in a railway compartment engaged in earnest conversation of a religious nature. One of them, a skeptic, was evidently trying to excuse his unbelief by exposing the various evils which afflict Christendom, detailing with pleasure the hypocrisy and the craft, and the covetousness and divisions found in the professing church, and then he pointed to some of the leaders as the most markedly corrupt of all.
In front of them sat a Christian who was compelled to hear all this. He knew the accusations to be true-too true to be concealed from the most charitable mind-so all he could do was to bow his head and bear the deserved reproach. Soon, however, the accuser, anxious to extend the circle of his audience, addressed this fellow passenger in front of him.
"I see you are quick to detect evil," said the Christian, "and you read character pretty well. You have been uncovering the abominable things that have turned Christendom into a wreck, and are fast ripening it for the judgment of God. You have spared none, but given all a good measure. Now, I am a Christian and love the Lord Jesus and His people. Not a word shall I offer in defense, but I solemnly challenge you to speak the first word against the Lord Jesus Christ Himself."
The skeptic was surprised. He seemed almost frightened and sheepishly replied, "Well, no! I could not find fault with Him. He was perfect."
"Just so!" said the Christian. "Therefore was my heart attracted to Him, and the more I looked, the more I found I was not like Him at all, but only a poor, guilty, sinful man. All of the evil which professed followers of His may do cannot turn me away from Him. My salvation hangs on what He has done, and not on what they are doing." Are You Refusing Your Inheritance?
While a student at Yale University, Eugene F. Suter, Jr.'s father died, leaving him an estate of $400,000. When Eugene refused the inheritance, the trustees of the estate insisted he take it, and even took him to court to force him to accept the money. In an unprecedented case held in New York City, Judge William T. Collins reluctantly ruled that the young man had a legal right to reject the $400,000. The order legally cut off the 22-year-old student from all future interest in the family fortune, leaving him without an income.
There are a lot of people in this world who are refusing a far greater inheritance than Suter did. God has offered us the opportunity to be joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of eternal life, and so many are refusing to profess belief in Christ and to be born again. Like Suter, they will be cut off from all future benefits from their Father's estate. Will your inheritance go unclaimed?

Grounded?
Some years ago in a little western town, a crowd of men gathered about a store window through which they saw a large American eagle. It was fastened by one of its feet to a chain which was secured at the other end by a ring in the floor. Held captive this way for some months, it had become seemingly indifferent to its condition. While the men were looking at the huge bird, a tall, young mountaineer pushed his way through the crowd and entered the store. He asked the proprietor what he would take for the eagle, and the owner said, "Two dollars."
When the young man took the money from his pocket and paid the price, the keeper of the store unfastened the chain and handed the eagle to his new owner. Followed by the crowd, he carried the great bird down the street until he came to a signboard, and on top of this, he placed the one-time child of the skies. But the great bird remained motionless and the crowd was disappointed. It had been bound so long to this earth that it did not seem to care to fly any longer.
Suddenly, high above the mountain, the sun struck its eyes, and the eagle seemed to remember that it was an eagle and that its home was up yonder among the crags and the cliffs. It lifted first one foot and then the other as if to make sure of its freedom and power; then it lifted first one wing and then the other. With a shriek and a bound, it flew away, and higher and higher it ascended until it was lost in the face of the sun. The crowd cheered.

Importance of Choice
A sailor and a miner lost control of the rowboat they were maneuvering above a waterfall. The swift water started hurling them to destruction. Someone from the shore flung a rope to the two as they were tossed from their boat into the pounding current. At that same instant, a floating log shot by. The sailor grabbed the rope and hung on, but the miner seized the log and wrapped himself around it, ignoring the rope. The man grasping the log was borne irresistibly along to his destruction. The other man was pulled safely to the shore.
The gospel message is that Christ is on the shore, throwing us a life-saving rope. So many things seem to float by that are attractive, but life shows them to be fatal. Isaiah pled for Israel to grasp the hand of the Lord which is with His servants.