One Solitary Life

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years, He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.


This essay was adapted from a sermon by Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia (pp 123-

Jesus Bled Enough

On a Thursday afternoon, a young woman came by the office to give me something. She was going to put it in the offering plate, but decided to just hand it to me.

I was in a meeting, so she left it at the front desk.

On the outside it said, “Jim White,” and underneath, “Be careful…sharp objects inside.”

On the back it read, “I thought I was going to put this in an offering plate but I think it would be best to give you directly.”

I opened the envelope, and inside a plastic bag were razor blades.

And a letter.

I asked her if I could share it, and she said I could:

“I have been coming to your church on and off now since I was in 5th grade. I am now 23…When I was 12 years old I started cutting myself. Now my arms are covered in an overwhelming amount of scars, but I am proud to say there are no open cuts. I have not cut for probably a year now, but I still have razor blades that are hidden around my room…

“I quit when I was about to cut one day but heard Jesus in my ear saying, ‘I bled enough.’

“He took my pain on the cross and I no longer needed to take it out on myself.

“But I realized by holding on to razor blades I am not fully letting go of the pain and addiction to cutting. I want to fully let it go now...

“It says in the Bible, ‘Cast all your anxiety on him for He cares for you.’ So I’m doing that today. This is an offering plate and I am offering to Jesus today more than any amount of money I could ever offer Him. These are all my razor blades that I have keep hidden around in different places of my reach just in case.

“I am handing it over to God and I trust you also with this as well. Thank you for all you and this church have done in my life...”

And then she signed her name.

I have those blades in my desk drawer.

I will keep them there for as long as I pastor.

James Emery White

Editor’s Note

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which he also served as their fourth president.  His latest book, The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated, is now available on Amazon .  To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, visit www.churchandculture.org , where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world.  Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite .

Do Believers Need Christ To Obey On Their Behalf?

Do We Need Christ to Obey On Our Behalf?

By Albert Kang

Some people claim that once they are saved and justified, they are also simultaneously sanctified. They do not see the difference between Justification and Sanctification. In fact, in their belief, they can do away with Sanctification all together.

They believe that it is purely the one-sided work of God without the need for man to respond or be accountable. This is because of the misunderstanding that if man is made responsible then it means ‘work’is involved. "Work" is a bad word in spite of what James stated, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18).

There is confusion between the "works of the flesh" and the "works of faith". The first one depicts that we have to work for our salvation. The second means that because we have been saved by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior through faith, then the result of this redeemed life is receiving the empowerment to obey God and unto good works. These 'works' mentioned here have nothing to do with our salvation. In our justification, it was Jesus plus nothing. No amount of human efforts or works can bring forth our salvation. 

James was very clear when he said that 'HE' will show 'HIS' faith by HIS “works". He was declaring that he was fully responsible for how he serve God. So whatever works that James did, it was his own works and not that of Christ. Christ did not do for what James was supposed to do. Christ did His works so that we now can do our works. That was why Paul said that a workman needed not be ashamed. Of course, he was being empowered and helped by the Holy Spirit but those works were still his own.

There is a personal responsibility and personal obedience involved here. Our good works are the result of God's power working in and through us. We cannot blame God if we do not obey and do good works. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10). In Ephesians 6:8, Paul added, “… because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Here we learn that after our salvation, our good works are important and that God does reward those who are faithful in carrying out His instruction.

The new teaching states that whether we produce good works or not, it does not matter to God. There is no condemnation and there is no reward. Therefore, no matter what man does, God does not care or at least He is not concerned. Why? That, according to them, is because God only looks at the obedience and works of Christ and not that of the believers. This misconception totally absolves all believers of any need for personal obedience and holiness. 

One adherent of such belief told me that because of the 'obedience of Christ' - that is Christ obeying on his behalf, it subsequently resulted in this man being grateful to God and so now he does not live in sin.  That, I said, also happened to all us when we first encountered Christ and believed in Him. We have been 'Born-Again' and are also very grateful and do not live in sin too. A sense of gratitude is great but ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who helps and empowers us to overcome all temptations.

We should know that even though during our conversion, God accepted us as who and what we were, but He still wanted to change us by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ. Paul wrote, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Why are the adherents of this belief asked to go back to the cross again and again? Why do they need Christ to obey for them when they can now do so? This understanding has come about because such group teaches indirectly that all believers are totally depraved and have no ability or capacity to obey. Even if they were to obey, their obedience is tarnished and thus cannot be acceptable to God. Ultimately, the under-lying understanding is that since the believers have to be ‘justified by obeying the law’, and they are never able to do so, they then have to perpetually depend upon Christ to obey for them. 

This belief is absolutely against justification by faith which is ‘apart from the law’. Paul said, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law”. (Romans 3:28). Are we, the believers, still under the law so much so that Christ has to keep obeying for us? If not, then why is this group constantly referring back to the finished work of Christ whenever they sin? The finished work of Christ is ‘Gospel’ or ‘Good News’! If you have preach the Gospel to yourself every time you sin, then are you really free from the law?

We believe that by faith we are saved and law got nothing to do with our salvation. Once we are being set free we are ‘free indeed’ (John 8:36). Then after being set free, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to produce good works – just like what is found in James 2:17-18 - it is not possible to have faith without producing good works. God has given us the Holy Spirit who in turn grant us the capacity to obey because He has made us new creatures in Christ, totally Born Again, free from the condemnation of the law, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our emphasis now as redeemed people of God is not to keep running back to the cross but move forward by the Holy Spirit promised by our Lord. Calvary cross is meant for justification but the Holy Spirit is given for the work of sanctification.

Paul emphasized in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit enables all believers to lead holy lives, dedicated to the service of God and conformed to the likeness of Christ.

We can now personally relate and talk to God because He is our Father in heaven. We can also please God as an individual. We can offer ourselves as ‘living sacrifice” ( Romans 12:1-2). We can love God as a true child of His. And God will reward our obedience and also our efforts to serve Him faithfully (Matthew 19:29). And daily, through the sanctifying process, we are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory. Yes, we have Jesus. It is His obedience that saved our souls and now He has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can be like Him, living in the obedience to God.

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:2).

You Are Complete

Jesus is the Redeemer
You are rescued!
Jesus is the Bread of Life
You are fed!
Jesus is the Light of the World
You are guided!
Jesus is the Door of the sheep
You are accepted!
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
You are cared for!
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
You are filled with hope!
Jesus is the Mighty God - You are safe!
Jesus is the Way - You are secure!
Jesus is the Life - You are whole!
Jesus is the Truth - You are certain!
Jesus is the True Vine - You have everything you need!

You are complete in Him. Colossians 2:10 NKJV

Was Jesus Christ married? Did Jesus have a wife?

The papyrus dates from the fourth century — roughly 350 years after Jesus’s life and death.

The recent discovery and translation of the fourth-century "Jesus' wife papyrus" has reopened the discussion as to whether Jesus had a wife / was married. The "Jesus' wife papyus" says, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife ...'" This discovery is interesting in that it is the first Gnostic writing to explicitly state that Jesus had a wife. While a couple of the Gnostic gospels mention Jesus having a close relationship with Mary Magdalene, none of them specifically state that Jesus was married to her or to anyone else. Ultimately, it does not matter what the "Jesus' wife papyrus" or Gnostic gospels say. They have no authority. They have all been proven to be forgeries invented to create a Gnostic view of Jesus.

If Jesus had been married, the Bible would have told us so, or there would be some unambiguous statement to that fact. Scripture would not be completely silent on such an important issue. The Bible mentions Jesus’ mother, adoptive father, half-brothers, and half-sisters. Why would it neglect to mention the fact that Jesus had a wife? Those who believe/teach that Jesus was married are doing so in an attempt to “humanize” Him, to make Him more ordinary, more like everyone else. People simply do not want to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; 10:30). So, they invent and believe myths about Jesus being married, having children, and being an ordinary human being.

A secondary question would be, “Could Jesus Christ have been married?” There is nothing sinful about being married. There is nothing sinful about having sexual relations in marriage. So, yes, Jesus could have been married and still be the sinless Lamb of God and Savior of the world. At the same time, there is no biblical reason for Jesus to marry. That is not the point in this debate. Those who believe Jesus was married do not believe that He was sinless, or that He was the Messiah. Getting married and having children is not why God sent Jesus. Mark 10:45 tells us why Jesus came, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Do you want to learn about the true "wife" of Jesus? If so, please read our article on "What does it mean that the church is the bride of Christ?"

Recommended Resource: Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture.

Source: GotQuestions.org

Joy Unspeakable

Joy must be very important because it is often encouraged and taught in the Bible. 

It is more than feeling happy. It is definitely more than giggling and laughter. 

Joy is a deep satisfaction that you have made the right decision, especially in the direction of God's will. 

It is the harvest of the seeds of faith that you have sown some time ago. It is the fruit of the Spirit. 

Most importantly, joy is Jesus! 

Let Jesus embrace you today and let your joy be full.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory," 1Peter 1:8

Rev Albert Kang

Jesus In Your Eyes?

Evangelist Reinhard Bonkke

During the years of our tent crusades in Africa my music-minister Adam Mtsweni and I were looking for a new platform organ and went from shop to shop in the city of Johannesburg. 

It was noon, and there was one more shop we were heading for. On arrival I saw a salesman hanging around during the lunch-break, and I thought he had hardly noticed us. 

My colleague and I went from instrument to instrument, but suddenly that lone salesman stood in front of me. His eyes were wide open and his face as white as a sheet. “Sir”, he stammered, “I can see Jesus in your eyes.” 

I was dumbfounded. “How can this be?” I thought, “a total stranger says he can see Jesus in my eyes?” 

We had something like a revival in the music-shop, and when I left walking to the car I said, “Lord, I will never understand how something like this is possible.” 

Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me “No problem! Jesus lives in your heart, and sometimes he likes to look out of the windows!” 

What a wonderful truth. In John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” 

REINHARD BONNKE

What Should We Do When We Feel Insignificant and Worthless

One of the toughest things in life is the feeling of being useless and therefore insignificant. When it seems like nobody appreciates us anymore and a sense of worthlessness sweeps not only over our countenance but our souls. It is much easier to be physically handicapped than it is to feel this sense of worthlessness - as though we have nothing of value to offer to anyone. That leads to depression and deep inside, we suffer a quiet deprivation and silent grief.

What should be done to get rid of this struggle within our souls for significance and recognition? The realistic approach is to face this head-on. It seems so ridiculous but to ignore or avoid it is just as ridiculous. The monster that we fear always hides under our bed. The demon that we dread always hides in our shadow. This unwelcome intrusion into our consciousness must be encountered with the presence of Christ.

When the deep darkness of our lonely struggle seems to overwhelm, the light of Christ shines ever brighter. Though we do not see or even feel His light but it shines in our rejection. We may want to control the intensity of that light and make it brighter for us to experience but the gentle hands of Christ guide our hands away from the control. He will shine accordingly and He will flood our life. His light is not to blind our rage and screen our fear. His light is to expose these and then replace them forever. He says, "Peace be with you, my child and rest well in my sweet embrace". When we learn to let go of ourselves to Him, we inadvertently let go of our misery too.

Long time ago, He had already seen our needs and that was why through the Holy Spirit, He placed this loving voice in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest".

The Lord understands us so thoroughly that He placed promises in His ancient manuscripts to assure us that long before we feel the rejection, He had provided the answer.
"Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me." (Psalm 27:10). 

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15).

Look at a very insignificant man, Blind Bartimaeus, who was rejected by society and struggled alone in his blindness and poverty. Are we in a worse condition than he was? 

Handicapped and totally rejected - even his cry for help was rejected by the people around him. They told him to shut up but the poor man had been silent for a very long time.
For years, he feebly voiced for a few small coins so as to put some food into his hungry stomach.

For years, he was pushed around and even abused when he accidentally blocked the way of some important people.
For years, he walked to his little corner in the whole wide world and sat alone in the sun, hoping for a kind soul to drop some spare change.

For years, he felt that he was a nuisance and contributed nothing to society.

In the midst of his misery, his alert ears had picked up many rumours from passersby about a miracle-making prophet, Jesus. Then the moment that changed his future suddenly appeared.

The crowd was shouting that the miracle man was passing by. That was when this beggar decided that enough was enough. He refused to be silent anymore and began shouting - making a desperate plea for his miracle, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:47). In that momentous encounter, the loving words of Jesus took away the scale that covered this man's eyes and soul. He was significant after all. Who had such a privilege to be heard by the mighty Creator of the universe? His eyes were opened and the first person he saw was his benefactor - Jesus. He then followed Jesus along the road (Mark 10:52).

The Light passed by Jericho that day and it was a blind beggar who caught that Light.

In our struggle for significance, we have few choices. We can wallow in the mud of our misery and allow the weight of this immense burden to squeeze the spiritual life out of us or we can look for the Light. We can search high and low in all the wrong places and wrong people for our significance or we can catch the Light. Today, thankfully the Light is not passing by because He is here to stay. We are allowed to cry to Him but we are not allowed to keep crying as though He is never here with us.

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20).

When He holds us in His gaze and reaches to heal, we should bow and be quiet. Even inside of us, the tumultuous storm rages, but we have to be patient for that loud voice of authority. "Peace, be still" will soon echo over our inner trepidation. The miracle will happen in the midst of our silent struggle.

His peace is an overwhelming peace! Our inner healing will begin in the peace or 'shalom' of Christ. Instead of embracing our pain, we now can embrace the Healer of our pain. Instead of looking for temporal comforters, we have been promised the Holy Spirit who is our everlasting Comforter (John 14:26). The world cannot reject us because we do not belong to it. We belong to the most high God - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father in heaven, I pray for my friend who is reading this article to feel your love. I pray that he or she will experience you in such a personal way. Even though my friend may feel loneliness and insignificant in many ways, but I know that you will speak to his or her heart right now. Thank you, Lord, for loving my friend and letting him or her know that he or she is forever special to you. In the name of Jesus, I commit this friend unto your hands. May he or she experience that deep healing and love that you now have for him or her. Amen.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Albert_Kang

Knowing Your Enemies

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Matthew 12:22-24


Your enemies are not people who hate you but those who cannot be happy for your success. 

They try to devalue every good thing that God has blessed you with and only highlight your flaws and past sins. 

They are the ones who call the miracles of God that come through your ministry as the works of Beelzebub. 

Do not waste your time trying to explain your position to them. Stay focused on God's assignment for you and fulfill God's purpose in your life.

Associate with people who celebrate what God has blessed and made you to become and not with those who merely tolerate you.

Rev Albert Kang

Prayer To See Jesus

Jesus, I want to see You, for no other face can show me the Father, and no other light can reveal His image. I want to know what it fully means to have the eyes of my heart opened to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to be in awe of Your glory. Reveal to me the grace upon Your countenance, the joy within Your spirit, and the love that moves Your heart toward mine.

Lord, I seek to move closer, to see clearer, and to be drawn nearer to You—where there are gaps in my understanding of who You are, close them; where there are blanks, fill them in; where there is a lack of clarity, bring things into sharper focus.

Jesus, I know that in You there is no lack, for I am complete in You; there is no emptiness, for I am made full in You; there is no fragmentation, for I am made whole in You. Thank You for being the image of God that I can see, the provision of God I can receive, and the light of God that I can follow.

May You find in me a faith that is growing, a trust that is building, and a love that is deepening day by day. Jesus, I wait upon You, come to me; I listen for You, speak to me; I look to You, show me; I lean on You, keep me. I thank You for being the hope of my heart, the joy of my life, and the reason why I live.

Roy Lessin

Scriptures: Revelation 4:11, John 1:3, Ephesians 1, Colossians 2:9-10, Hebrews 1, 12:2, Philippians 3:8-13

Atheist Who Went to Hell and Was Saved Gives Riveting Testimony

Matthew Botsford and his wife, Nancy.

The bullet pierced the back of his head and Matthew Botsford didn't have a chance of surviving the single shot. He was dead. While his earthly body gave up, his spirit was already trapped in hell and there was no way out.

Botsford spoke to The Christian Post about his experience when he says he was taken to hell. While he was being tormented, a hand came down to his rescue and simply said "it's not your time." He was in a coma for 27 days and lived to testify that hell does exist and that it is definitely not a place anyone wants to go to, especially when it wasn't intended for humanity.

The following are excerpts from the interview.

CP: Can you tell us about your life before the accident? Did you believe in God?

Botsford: No, I did not believe in God. I knew God existed but I didn't have a relationship with His son. During college I turned my back; I was my own boss kind of thing.

CP: Did cops ever catch the person who killed your business partner and injured you?

Botsford: Yes, they were caught on the scene. There were three of them, and they had dropped their driver's license on the scene so the police eventually tracked them down. They went to prison for a couple of life sentences.

CP: Did you ever meet them?

Botsford: I did meet them because when I was still in the wheelchair there was a murder trial so we were in court.

CP: So tell us about hell, what is the first thing you want people to know?

Botsford: I want them know it's real. I have seen a lot of literature coming out and hitting the "bestsellers" lists and removing the fact that hell is a real place. I want people to know that hell is a serious thing. Hell was never intended for us; God doesn't want any one of us to go there. He wants all of us to come to Him through repentance. It's a simple thing. We believe that Jesus is the son of God and we should have a relationship with Him. It's important to spend time with Him and get to know His word. It's all based on relationship.

I want people to know that hell is real and it's a place that definitely has to be avoided; it's a place of eternal torments.

CP: What happened in hell?

Botsford: After I got shot, the last thing I remember feeling was as if you heated up a hypodermic needle and started getting it on the top of your head. Well, when the bullet came on the back of my head, which it's still in the right lobe to this day, I felt a very painful feeling. My whole body just collapsed, they documented me dying three times. I was in a coma for 27 days.

What I experienced in hell, I immediately was in my full bodily form. I looked like myself but I didn't have any clothes on and I was hung like crucifixion style in a very deep abyss. All I could see beneath me was very red, it was very hot. I was chained on both my wrists and I had shackles on my ankles. I knew I was in some sort of cavern. It was pitch black. I knew I was going to be there forever. I knew there was nothing I can do to get myself out of it. I didn't know the name of Jesus so I never prayed, you know "Jesus, please save me."

I didn't have that opportunity. I didn't know the name of Jesus. I saw these pairs of eyes start to come at me from various directions and the Lord told me recently that these demonic entities, each eye was its own demon but they travelled in pairs because Satan mocks what Jesus did for us. For example, Jesus sent disciples two by two to evangelize and here Satan sends demonic things, two by two and they would know everything about me. They knew things that I did in my past, they would mock me, and they would torment me. They knew things like messing around with pornography, they knew all of that and they would judge me. That was interesting about it because these demonic things had been cast into hell and here I'm being judged by them. Some of them would come around my backside and they had had very long fingernails, if you could call them that and I would feel them stretch out off of its very flesh. They were doing everything to me.

We are created in the image of God; so here I am in hell, in their realm and as I'm hanging there I see this lava flow. I was reading the other day Revelations where it talks about fire and brimstone and brimstone is actually sulfur and for sulfur to create a lake flow it has to be on a high boiling temperature just like lava. So it would flow into this cavern-like area when it approached me, before I came down to this great big abyss some of it would splash off because of the sheer of flow, the lava would actually be contacting my legs and I could smell and feel my own flesh burn off and what was more tormenting than that is that it would re-form. I'm not in time anymore; I'm in an eternal realm. Time doesn't have anything to do with it there.

My flesh was re-formed and there was this continual mocking, this sense of hopelessness, and evil in all sides. There was nothing good there. It was totally void. Even in life, if we are having a bad day we kind of know that something good is around the corner. There was nothing good around the corner. I had no memories of my wife, no memories of anything good. It was just a pure distance; the soul was just kept but then things changed.

My wife, we had been married about three years at that time. She didn't know the Lord either. When she went to my hospital bed, she said, "Lord, bring back my husband and I promise to stay with him for the rest of his life, whether it's in a wheelchair, institution or whatever it may be, I promise to stay with him." 

What I saw happen in hell, on my side of existence was I saw fingers started to come in from the outside. Then I saw it was an entire hand; I knew it was a man's hand, the right hand and something inside of me, in all of this torment I knew this was the hand of rescue and then when His right hand started to descend toward me it dropped this great white light, and I heard the most magnificent music, angelic choir; I love music but it was nothing like I heard before.

When the hand came near me, just like King Kong, when he puts his hand around her waist, so it lifted me up and the shackles fell off. I didn't know if it was the hand of God but this hand grabbed me by the waist and the blackness left. Everything disappeared. I knew at that moment that I was going to be okay. Then I heard a voice and this voice simply told me, sounding like the clap of thunder, rushing waters and a bolt of lightning, all combined together and it simply said, "It's not your time."

I was in a coma for 27 days and in rehab for years. I am walking today. Fully healed. Now it's all up to Him.

CP: Do you have something to say to skeptics?

Botsford: The only thing I can say is I guess, I would ask them the question. This is one of those things that kind of makes you speechless. How do you know you love someone? You just know. You just know. What I experienced, I experienced. It wasn't oxygen deprivation to my brain; it wasn't any drug induced or anything like that. Believe me, I know what I experienced and I know the pain I was experiencing and the terrors that I was seeing so that's in all, if you can tell me in words how you love somebody, you just do, you just know.

CP: Are the images as fresh as they were when you were there?

Botsford: Very. Very. Very. There are times when I don't speak about it because it's like a movie, it just rolls and it feels like I'm there. Whenever I speak about it whenever I testify, it's there. What's unique is that the Holy Spirit always tells me that there is more that you don't know yet because it's kind of like the word of God and God Himself. We can never know His fullness, there is always so much more.

We want to do all that we can do, especially in these times and let people know that hell is real, it exists and it wasn't intended for us. It was for the devil and his angels.

CP: Are you familiar with Rob Bell? What is your opinion?

Botsford: I haven't read any of his books; I have read a lot of opinions about it. Without myself actually reading it, I can't have an opinion of it. I know it's stating things such as love wins and love does win. That's why Jesus came and died for us all. That was love. God said to His son, "Come down from your throne, you have to go down there in human form to redeem all of mankind and I'm going to give mankind a choice whether they can assist you or not." That's love, it does win.

CP: What about Bin Laden?

Botsford: That made me sad. Militarily and humanitarianly speaking it's a great thing, but when people die, that makes me sad unless I know they knew God and loved Jesus and they did what they were supposed to fulfill on this earth, when they fulfilled their plan that God gave them; then I'm not sad. I just don't think that the life he was living was fulfilling the plans that God had intended so that makes me sad, to think that maybe he would be where I was.

CP: What is your ministry about?

Botsford: Yes, it's Seeds of Love ministry. We love speaking to kids, we love speaking to older folks. What we love about it is that it's the perfect time for it to come out now. We have a book, A Day in Hell: Death to Life to Hope, that chronicles the whole thing. But the subtitle of it, it's Death to Life to Hope. It's not about hell; it's about the loving relationship with the Father.

CP: Why did God say it's not your time?

Botsford: Because I believe we all have an appointed time and that wasn't mine but I also want to say this really fast. During the whole proceedings, my wife and I forgave the gentleman that did the shooting. I firmly believe that they only acted according to what was in their heart. They were following the wrong path; they were following Satan's deeds. They were drunk and intoxicated and angry and shot some people outside a restaurant. While we were waiting for a taxi, the shooting happened.

Forgiveness, it's so important. It allowed me to come out of the coma; not forgiving would've probably not allowed me to come out of the coma because you know, the doctor’s predictions was that I was most likely [going to] be institutionalized because of the track of the bullet. I would've been in a vegetative state.

CP: Do you have any further comments?

Botsford: I think I got it all out. Jesus is the way.

A Polish Pastor, A Jewish Doctor and A Gestapo Officer

From the pages of The Wall Street Journal comes the story of a Polish man named William E. Wallner who became a Lutheran minister in Prague. 

Author John Murray writes: "By 1939, Wallner was leading a Lutheran parish in Prague. Shortly after Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, a doctor in Wallner's parish was sent to a Nazi concentration camp...The doctor, a Jewish convert to Christianity, encouraged his fellow prisoners 'to die bravely, with faith in their hearts.' As a result, the doctor became a target of Gestapo officers.

"Although struck with an iron rod until one of his arms had to be amputated, the doctor would not be quieted. Finally... 'one Gestapo officer beat the doctor's head against a stone wall until blood was streaming down his face.' Holding a mirror before the doctor, the Gestapo officer sneered: 'Take a look at yourself. Now you look like your Jewish Christ.'

"Lifting his remaining hand up, the doctor exclaimed, 'Lord [Jesus], never in my life have I received such honor—to resemble You.' Those would be his last words on Earth.

"Distraught by the doctor's proclamation, the Gestapo officer sought out Wallner that night. 'Could Pastor Wallner help him, free him from the terrible burden of his guilt?'

"After praying with him, Wallner advised, 'Perhaps God let you kill that good man to bring you to the foot of the Cross, where you can help others.' The Gestapo officer returned to the concentration camp. And through the aid of Wallner and the Czech underground, he worked to free many Jews over the years that followed." In fact, he helped save more than 350 Jewish children from death at Nazi hands."

The power of the risen Christ can transform lives -- a Polish minister, a Jewish doctor, a Gestapo officer. He can even change you and me.

A Beautiful Modern Parable of Grace

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

The day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time"

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.

Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes"

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship..

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr.. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr.. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"

Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO!

Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason,bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room..

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.

When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade.

Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said,"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, pleaded to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life.

And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. "

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Author Unknown 
Source: Various Internet sites; earliest found was at www.edevotions.org.