Jesus Saves
In October 2019, Tyler Moon took part in a 10-mile race in Minneapolis. Wanting to declare his faith openly, Moon decided to put “Jesus Saves” on his race bib hoping to inspire someone in the crowd. Instead, the bib’s message would prove to be eerily prophetic that day.
The 25-year-old had a heart attack and collapsed around mile 8 of the race. About a dozen people rushed to help him, administering CPR and calling an ambulance. Among them, a runner named Jesus Bueno, a certified registered nurse. He was one of the first to reach Moon and to help save his life.
"Jesus Saves” is a popular slogan. We see it on bumper stickers and on signs at athletic events. I often wonder if people who see that phrase really know what it means.
It means that Jesus suffered and died on a cross to save us from our sins. It also means that to be saved we must accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, placing our faith and trust in him alone for our salvation.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
The Heart And Soul of Christmas
I have many happy memories of taking my Mom to Manhattan at Christmas time to look at the department store windows. I will never forget the windows one store had one year. The first window had a scroll which read, "The Smell of Christmas is in the Kitchen." The scene was an old-fashioned kitchen with a black stove and food cooking on it.
The second window was titled, "The Taste of Christmas is in the Dining Room." There was a long table laden with mouth-watering food.
The third window showed a beautiful tree decorated with ornaments and lights, little toys and popcorn strings. The scroll read, "The Color of Christmas is in the Tree."
The fourth window scroll said, "The Sound of Christmas is in the Carols." This scene was a group of animated figures singing Christmas carols.
Then came the store's main entrance. I noticed that, after passing those windows, most people went into the store to do Christmas shopping. However, if you ignored the entrance and kept on going, you would have seen one more window. The scroll in this window proclaimed: "But the Heart and Soul of Christmas is Here!" In this window was a stable with shepherds, wise men, Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger.
A lot of people miss the true meaning of Christmas. They get so caught up in the shopping, the food, the decorations, and the gifts, that they fail to see the heart and soul of Christmas: The story of the babe in the manger, of God with us!
"And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
A Day In The Life Of A Pastor
One of the essential responsibilities of the pastor is to visit the sick. Recently, I set out for the ICU to visit a man who was recovering from complications brought about by a heart attack. I arrived at the front desk only to be told by the nurse that he was upstairs for tests and wouldn't be down for a while, but that his daughter was in the room waiting for him to return. So I went in and introduced myself to her as the pastor of a church where her mother and father occasionally visit with friends.
She was thrilled to meet me and so appreciative that I would come to visit her dad. We hugged, then I assured her that there were a lot of people praying for her father. As we waited together we began to talk about the weather, grandchildren, how the Miami Heat were playing, etc. We were having a great time getting to know each other.
Finally, I asked her about a particular therapy I knew they had planned for her father. "My father isn't receiving that therapy," she said, tilting her head slightly and staring curiously at me.
"Oh, well...umm...," I fumbled, "I'm pretty sure that's what I was told."
Then she asked, "What was the last name of the man you came to visit today?"
Yikes! The receptionist had given me the room number of another man with the same first name as the man I was actually there to visit! Can you say AWKWARD! As I slinked out the door I profusely apologized for the misunderstanding.
What is so interesting to me about this little mishap is the way it pointed out the significance of a shared relationship. We had connected over what we thought was a common relationship. Once that relationship was removed, the connection went with it.
Isn't that exactly what Jesus was warning us of when He said, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Without a relationship with Jesus, we have no connection with the Father.
Mitchell Dillon, founder of Illustration Exchange