When Your Hut is on Fire.....

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief,and anger.

He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

The Moral of This Story : It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

To God Be the Glory!

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A Sure Hope

Konrad Adenauer, a former chancellor of West Germany, said " If Jesus Christ is alive, then there is hope for the world. If not, I don't see the slightest glimmer of hope on the horizon". then he added, "I believe Christ's resurrection to be one of the best-attested facts of history.

Christ's resurrection and ours go together. So reasoned the apostle Paul in
I Corinthians 15. And if Christ didn't rise from the grave, what's left? Empty preaching (v.14), false wtinesses (v.15), a futile faith (v.17), unforgiven sins (v. 17), no life after death (v.18), and hopelessness (v.19).

But Christ did rise from the grave. Paul asserted the proof for the resurrection in verse 1 throuhg 11, listing many credible witnesses who saw the risen Lord: peter (v.5), 500 people (v.6), all the apostles (v.7) and Paul himself (v.8).

When the Greek philosopher Socrate lay dying, his friends asked, "Shall we lie again?" He could only say, "I hope so". In contrast, the night before author and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded, he wrote in his bible, "From this earth, this grave, this dust, my God shall raise me up."

If we trust in Christ as our Savior, we won;t say, I hope so" about ourbown resurrection. Jesus' resurrection gives us a sure hope.

Dennis de Haan

Rejoice in glorious hope!

Our Lord the Judge shall come

And take His servants up

To their eternal home

John Wesley

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