Last night we had the opportunity to hear Steve Green in concert. It was a great event filled with powerful music. Not only does he possess an incredibly strong and disciplined voice, but the message of each song was so clear and compelling. (By the way, his a capella presentation of “A Mighty Fortress” was worth the price of a ticket.)

Throughout the evening, he spoke about the blessings of our salvation, the fullness of God’s grace, and the hope of the resurrection. Each topic was an encouragement and a challenge for daily living. Several times when speaking about salvation, he used a significant term – rescued. Saved, redeemed, reborn, delivered…all are descriptive of the work that God has done in the lives of those who are His own. Yet, there is something very striking about the concept of our rescue.

I quickly thought of Air Station Clearwater just down the road. Almost every day I look up to see a thundering C-130 or a HH-60 helicopter heading west from the largest and busiest Air Station in the US Coast Guard. Frequently, we watch the evening news with a report of boaters rescued from the waters of the Gulf.

Can you imagine the experience of being capsized and lost at sea? The waters increasingly chill your body’s temperature. The waves seem to grow taller with each passing minute. Your muscles fatigue, begin to ache, and soon cease to function. You realize there is nothing you can do to keep your head above water. The end is near and certain.

Suddenly in the distance you hear the chopping sound from the blades of a Jayhawk helicopter. From it you can see a cable with a rescue swimmer descending to your position. He speaks words of assurance as he secures a lifeline around you. Steadily you are lifted up out of the stormy waters into the security of the waiting helicopter. As the craft lands and you step out onto solid ground you take in the magnitude of what has just happened. Your life has been wonderfully saved. You have been rescued.

The psalmist never envisioned a helicopter, but described our spiritual rescue with compelling terms.

“He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. [17] He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.” Psalm 18:16-17

More than from just earthly enemies, the Lord has rescued us from our spiritual adversary. When Christ died, He broke the bonds of sin and freed us from the clutches of Satan himself. He lifted us up from our miserable condition and placed us in a sure place.

Often the one rescued returns to the Air Station to meet the crew that carried out the rescue. With a heart overflowing with gratitude, he realizes all he can do is say “thank you.” No repayment is possible, because none could ever measure up to the gift of a lived saved from sure destruction.

How can we ever cease to praise the One who has truly rescued us? What a powerful message God’s children have to share with those around us!

This week the Associated Press issued another in a series of urgent bulletins. The basic message: Time is running out! Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made a pressing appeal for Americans to respond before it is too late. What could possibly be so important to warrant such a barrage of warnings from the federal government? People who have not yet made the transition to digital TV face a Friday deadline to upgrade – or be faced with the terrifying prospect of blank TV screens.

Night and day for eighteen months, the words have slowly scrolled across our screens. When broadcast television converts to digital, analog receivers will no longer be able to pick up a signal. It appears the government is concerned about the uproar that might occur when people suddenly realize they cannot watch tonight’s episode of CSI or “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Can you imagine the chaos that would follow the complete and instantaneous removal of our television signal? What if it included satellites, cable and broadcast TV? What would America do? Sure, television is a tool that can connect us to noteworthy events in the world around us. However, more often than not, it is simply the vehicle that brings various forms of entertainment into our homes. Sometimes harmless, usually mindless, and often downright offensive.

When I read the latest warnings, I began to wonder. What if believers treated the reality of the Lord’s return with the same urgency that the federal government treated this event? The Lord Himself reminds us that “as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:37). He describes people who were eating, drinking, and celebrating as if they had no concerns at all – until Noah entered the ark. Those same people who ignored the warning were swept away in the great global flood. He then offers the sobering reminder that “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:39).

We have a clear message: Jesus is coming again! We have an urgent message: His coming is imminent! We have an alarming message: He will come without further notice! We have a sobering message: We must be prepared now to meet Him! Perhaps we should put out an urgent bulletin to the people that surround us each day. God has promised the return of His Son. Today is the day to prepare.

Two weeks after the new year I am now resolving to be more consistent in posting to this blog. I regularly think of concepts that seem like good foundations for notes or articles, but rarely jot them down, develop them, or post them to this site. Perhaps I will begin to record the simple ideas rather than wait for them to grow into their ripe potential. I write a brief article for our monthly newsletter at church and have recently been privileged to write an article for families in the Gulf Coast Family magazine . Those seem to take forever to complete as I am never quite satisfied with the article until a deadline looms large.
And so, I will be more spontaneous and less exacting about what I post here in the hopes of posting more often. We’ll see how long this lasts.

Each week I find myself looking forward to Sunday. I consider it a great privilege to be able to proclaim that Jesus is our risen Savior, especially on a day that marks the resurrection. It’s exciting to think that someone may hear the Gospel and respond for the first time in his life. I am blessed to be able to stand in front of a congregation and preach the same Gospel that the Apostle preached centuries ago.

But Paul Dwight Moody, the son of famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody, reminds us of a truth in the Easter sermon that he preached in 1910:

“All Christians should be preachers of the resurrection, for it is at the very core of our faith. If Christ rose not, then preaching and faith are alike vain, and of all men are we the most miserable. And though we may not be called upon to herald it in great cathedrals or crowded churches, still by life and word we are to declare that the Lord has risen.”

It is indeed our privilege to present the resurrection of Christ to those around us. But it is more than just an opportunity, it is our responsibility. Moody goes on to say:

“Every man or woman who takes upon himself the name of Christ honestly, subscribes to the belief that He rose from the grave and thereby witnesses to that belief. And this we must preach. And if the resurrection is real to us, we will. We must declare that the Lord is risen – that we have seen the Lord. And if we have, we will; for every true vision contains in it that which makes its beholder an evangelist. For the person fresh from contact with the living Lord there is only one thing to do: tell about it. Tell about it he will; the very light on his face would reveal that he had seen the Lord if his lips were dumb.”

If we believe it, we must preach it. Let someone hear your testimony this week. Demonstrate the love of God to someone in need. Invite a friend to attend church services with you this weekend. Allow your Christian witness to be seen and heard by those at work, at school, or in your family. We must all be preachers of the Good News!