a rescue line

I was watching Fox News the other day when they were reliving the Katrina disaster. A striking scene was all the people on the top of houses surrounded by flood waters, stranded. If something didn’t happen many of those people would have died, but then, in flew helicopters to drop a line and pull them to safety, they were saved. That is what is called being physically saved. No one ever objects, in fact, we all cheer, when we see those helpless folks being lifted to safety. However if you walk up to a person on the street and say, “excuse me sir, but are you saved?” Well you know what that can lead to. The fact is we have a physical body and a spirit as well. From today’s devotional in Charles Stanley’s Pathways to His Presence, here is his take on our spiritual state:

People fall into one of four categories:

We are saved and we know it.

We think we are saved, but we’re not.

We don’t claim to be saved

We are not saved, but would like to be.

Let’s take a minute to clarify the meaning of being saved, spiritually. You can believe in God or not, but if you don’t believe in Him, it doesn’t make Him go away. If you believe in God and you’ve read the Bible, you know that all of us have fallen short of what God wants us to be, that’s called sin. Yes we are all sinners, yes, all of us. Are some worse than others? Sure, but it doesn’t take away your sin, if your next door neighbor is a serial killer. God wants all sinners to be forgiven, 1 Timothy 2:4. How can we be saved? We can’t earn it or be good enough, we have to accept His Son Jesus and accept His forgiveness, John 3:16. He has told us that we must confess our sins, accept His Son, and confess Jesus before man, Romans 10:10. (Ex. The Pilgrim’s Chronicles)

So it is pretty simple, acknowledge your sins, confess your sins, repent, (be genuinely sorry for your actions), accept the forgiveness offered though Christ. Tell others this Good News. Enjoy eternal life.

So if you were on the roof and the flood waters were about to wash you, your house, and your life away, would you grab hold of the line lowered to you?

Why save the body and let the spirit go?

the pilgrim

*Photo note: F5 film camera, 80-200 f 2.8 ED lens, Fuji Velvia film. Layered landscape at Lake Powell, sunrise.