Saved or Lost?

 

The Titanic went down April 14, 1912 in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage.  There were hundreds of casualties and communication was poor in those days, so the White Star Line posted two white boards outside of its office in Liverpool.  One board read in large letters, "Known to be lost" and the other read, "Known to be saved".  Anxious folk would try to find the names of their loved ones on one of the two boards.  Hey, spiritually speaking, which list are you on? Are you on the “Known to be lost” list or are you on the “Known to be saved” list?  And did you know that your name can be moved from the “Known to be lost” board to the “Known to be saved” board?  To get your name moved is a simple, but profound transaction that you must make with God.  If you put your faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, He will take away your sins and in return give you His eternal life.  Your name can be moved from “Lost” side to the “Saved” side by trusting in Jesus Christ and in Him alone.  The apostle John said in I John 5:12, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”  You see, it’s all about Jesus.  It always has been; it always will be.

A Secret

 

“An Old Man in Military Costume” was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1630 and is obviously a portrait of an old man in his uniform.  Some say it could have been a portrait of his father.  But this painting by Rembrandt has a secret that has only recently been revealed.  During a routine cleaning in 1978, a ghost image was detected by technicians.  Using X-ray and atomic spectrograph, they discovered an underlying portrait of a young man!  Evidently, Rembrandt had painted a portrait of a young man, but later repurposed the canvas, painting a portrait of an old man over top of the young man.  After 350 years (and modern technology), the secret came to light!  The canvas held not one but two paintings by the Dutch master.  Hey, your sinful heart holds secrets as well.  But God can regenerate your sinful heart, remove those skeletons, and restore the pure heart that God Himself had originally made.  Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  The old sinful self has hidden God’s inner self that has been covered up for years.  Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the new creature that is in Christ Jesus.  Hey, let Jesus make your old portrait into a brand-new picture!  Jesus can give you a beautiful, new life … a new life in Him!

Silver Minnows

 

Years ago, my daughter went to Hilton Head for a week of relaxation at the seashore.  On her way, she stopped by our house for a visit.  As she sat in our living room Friday evening, she said, “I need to change the color of my toenail polish.”  I asked her why, and she said, “My polish is silver - just about the color of little minnows.”  Good thinking, Becky, good thinking.  And that reminded me of when Peter and Jesus had to pay their taxes.  Jesus told Peter to throw a fishing line into the water.  And just a moment before, I can imagine a fish gobbling up a shiny coin off the sea floor – just about the color of Becky’s toenails - and then taking Peter’s bait and being hauled on board Peter’s fishing boat.  Jesus told Peter in Matthew 17:27 to “… go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”  I’m sure Peter was surprised.  And if Becky hadn’t changed her toenail polish, I’m sure that she would have been surprised too as she swam in the ocean.  But then again, Jesus knew all about Peter and fish and coins and Becky and … well, you get the picture.  Just trust Jesus.  He knows everything.  Today, yesterday, and tomorrow.  Really.