Imagine, if you can, living in a world without birds, animals, flowers, grass, mountains, rivers, oceans, blue skies, and starry, moonlight nights. Fortunately, it isn’t so.

Our world is a beautiful place filled with fascinating creatures. Take a kangaroo, for example, the strangest “grass hoppers” you could ever wish to see. The smallest ones are only a foot tall, the largest seven feet, and fossil bones show that some in the past were twice as big as these.

A baby kangaroo is only about an inch long at birth. Immediately it clutches its way up to its mother’s pouch where it lives until it can take care of itself. Fully grown it has large powerful hind legs, small front legs, and a powerful tail that helps balance it as it hops. A tall kangaroo can jump up to 25 feet and hop along at 30 miles per hour.

Another fascinating native of Australia is the koala which looks and feels like a cuddly teddy bear. Though often called a bear, it isn’t one. Like the kangaroo, the koala is a marsupial that carries its young in a pouch. The baby koala stays there for about six months and then rides on its mother’s back until it is self-sufficient.

Think, too of the magnificent eagle that can soar thousands of feet in the air, the unusual New Zealand kiwi—a bird with hair-like feathers that doesn’t fly. Consider, too, the almost voiceless pelican whose enormous bill makes a perfect “fishing net.”

Another fascinating creature is the limpet mollusk that is found along the coast of North and South America. This tiny, boneless animal lives in a shell and is so tenacious it can survive ocean depths up to three miles and, while attached to a rock, its strength is a thousand times its body weight.

Or consider the human body with its millions of tiny blood cells that carry food and oxygen to every part of the body through a network of some 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and minuscule capillaries. Consider, too, the marvels of the human mind—how it thinks, feels, communicates, recalls, makes choices, and directs the whole of a person’s life. No computer has ever matched the wonder of the human brain.

We could go on forever learning about the infinite marvels of creation just in our world, let alone the entire universe. Did this all happen by chance? It seems to me it would take a lot more faith to believe this than to believe as David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for the marvels of nature that I am aware of—not to mention the myriads of marvels I am totally unaware of? And how can I ever thank you enough for creating me and inviting me to be a part of your family for time and eternity? Help me to so live that my life will also declare your glory. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 19:1.

2. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

As far as following God was concerned, Jonah failed hopelessly. He defiantly did the opposite of what he knew he was supposed to do. But did God reject him? No. God allowed him to experience failure. Getting thrown overboard and being swallowed by a whale (big fish) brought Jonah to his senses real quick. When he was ready to listen, “the Word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.”

And so it is with us. No matter how many times we feel we’ve failed or blown it, God will continue to call us to himself. However, it is much wiser to “listen up” quickly so we don’t have to get hit over the head with a “4 by 4″—or be swallowed by a “whale of a problem” for God to get our attention.

So, if you feel you have failed, be encouraged. Now is the time to give God a chance. “He’ll mend even a broken heart if you’ll give him all the pieces.” God calls us all to follow him, so why not respond to his call and, if you haven’t already done so, ask him to come into your life as Lord and Savior? He can make a much better job of your life than you can if you will trust it to him. For help, be sure to read “How to Know God” at the link below.*

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you are a God of second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, and sixth, and seven times seventy) chances. Please help me to always live in harmony with your will so I will always be in tune to hear your word to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jonah 3:1-3 (NIV).

*”How to Know God” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/christian

Yancey explains how the ancient Israelites lived for many years with visible evidence of God in their midst, but of all the thousands who left slavery in Egypt, only two survived seeing God’s presence.¹

If we cannot look at the sun, how can we look directly at God? We can’t and live, at least not while we are still living in our sinful condition. But we can see God in Jesus, his beloved Son, who came to earth as a man so we could come to God through him—and see God and live.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, one day we will see God and Jesus face to face. As Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes.”²

Note: to make sure you will see God face-to-face be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the assurance that all who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and believe in you will in the end time see you face to face and know you as you truly are. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. See Numbers 14:30 (KJV).

2. Job 19:25-27 (NIV).

3. John 1:1,14 (NIV).

It was a stormy night, a personal friend shared, and we were awakened by an extremely loud clap of thunder. After the initial fright, checking the kids and the house, we went back to bed and to sleep.

Then came the voice. I was certain I heard someone speaking. “Sit up and take in a deep breath,” it said.

I only half-awoke and thought I must have been dreaming, so rolled over and went back to sleep.

The voice spoke again with more insistence, “Sit up and take in a deep breath.”

This is weird, I thought, so again rolled over and went back to sleep.

“SIT UP! Take in a deep breath!” the voice spoke again with great urgency.

So I sat up and took in a deep breath … and smelled smoke! I was fully awake in an instant … awakened my husband … rushed to wake the children … we had the oldest one phone 911 (for emergency) … my husband took over the phone … the operator asked if the lights were working … my husband said they were going out one room at a time.

“Get OUT of the house immediately,” declared the operator. “Your house has been struck by lightning.”

As quick as a flash the family rushed outside … immediately the house exploded and burst into flames. It took firemen six hours to put the fire out. The house was totally destroyed … but the entire family was saved.¹

Talk about a God-wake-up call!

Surely this was a God thing. Fortunately the members of this family were committed followers of Jesus Christ and even though they lost their house, their lives were saved. Furthermore, God has used this happenstance to touch and encourage many thousands of others.

God doesn’t usually speak to most of us in an audible voice. He doesn’t have to because his “wake-up call” is spoken to us repeatedly in his Word, the Bible.

“Wake up!” God says to every one of us, “Flee from the wrath to come”² (God’s judgment of a world that has turned from Him to go its own sinful ways). “Wake up!” “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.”³

“Wake up!” “I will come again,” Jesus said and promised to take all who believe in him to be with him in heaven forever.⁴ “Wake up!” Jesus is coming again … it may be today. If it were, would you be ready? Again Jesus said, “I stand at the door [of your heart and life] and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”⁵

Whatever you do don’t miss God’s wake-up call. Have you opened the door of your life and invited Jesus, the Son of God, to come into your heart and life as your God and your Savior? If not, may I urge you to do that today—right now—by praying a simple prayer such as the following:

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I hear your wake-up call as faint as it may be. I confess that I am a sinner and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. I invite you to come into my heart and life as my God and my Savior. With your help I repent of and turn from my sinful ways. Thank you for hearing my prayer, for forgiving me of my sins, and for coming into my heart and life as my Savior. Help me to live for you always in all ways. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: If you prayed this prayer, please let us know by clicking on: http://tinyurl.com/pgntm and we will send you a few practical articles (without charge) to help you in your Christian life. (Be assured that we will never give any information about you to any other person, organization, or business.)

For more help click on: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian for the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious.”

1. Linda Hook
2. Matthew 3:7.
3. Hebrews 9:27.
4. John 14:3.
5. Revelation 3:20.

How easy it is to take God’s blessings and provisions for granted. I’ve lived in Southern California for several years and have experienced earthquakes that shook more than the good old terra firma I was standing on. And frankly, the more “firma” the less “terra”! I’ve seen ravaging fires that destroyed scores of homes, riots that destroyed scores of properties, and floods and mudslides that also caused great losses.

Southern California is little more than converted desert, and what absolutely amazes me is where does all the water come from to meet the needs of 16+ million people? I’ve lived through several years of drought and still there was enough water. Most of the water comes from the most marvelous water storage system ever created and it’s not from the many man-made dams and reservoirs, as wonderful and as necessary as these are. It’s from the snow that stores water for many months of the year and releases it basically as it’s needed. If it weren’t for the magnificent mountains and the amazing supply of snow, Southern California would still be a desert.

It also amazes me how so many people complain about rainy days when we get good rains in such a dry and thirsty land—rains that fill up the rivers, dams, and reservoirs and store billions upon billions of gallons of water in the form of snow over thousands of square miles of rugged mountains—rains that keep us alive!

All God has to do is turn off the sky’s faucet or blot out the sun for long enough and every living thing would die.

As the Levite priests said, truly God gives life to everything.

Suggested prayer: “Thank you, God, for the incredible blessings you provide for all of us all of the time. May I ever be mindful of these manifold blessings that come from your hand. And above all that you have given me, please give me a thankful heart. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Nehemiah 9:5-7 (NIV).

The following was circulated in an email some time ago but has a timely message that is good to be reminded about.

As the large ship cruised ahead through the night darkness, a message from ahead was received: “Make a course adjustment to avoid a collision.”

Immediately the ship responded: “I am an admiral. You make a course adjustment.”

“I am a petty officer. You make a course adjustment,” came the reply.

“I am an aircraft carrier. You had better turn quickly,” the admiral commanded.

The petty officer responded: “I am a lighthouse. You are the one who had better turn.”²

For the Christian, God’s Word is our guide through all of life, through the good days as well as through the dark nights. Every instruction, every commandment is there for our protection, for our safety, for our well-being. We disregard it to our peril. As Solomon wrote, “Despise God’s Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed,”³ and again, “Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection.”⁴

God’s Word is the “course adjustment” lighthouse for us. If we’re heading in a dangerous direction, we are the ones who need to heed the directions and change course.

Suggested prayer: “Thank you God that ‘Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ Give me the good sense and the courage to always follow in your ways so my life will never be shipwrecked. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 119:105 (NIV).

2. Source unknown.

3. Proverbs 13:13 (TLB)(NLT).

4. Proverbs 30:5 (TLB)(NLT).

One of today’s great tragedies is that as a nation, the U.S. is moving farther and farther away from God as more and more we are pushing God out of our society. God certainly is no longer LORD of our nation. In removing God from our society we are removing—or have already removed ourselves—from God’s protection. The question today is not where is God—He is where He has always been—but where are we?

Much of today’s national problems started, or at least were greatly accelerated, when we banned the Bible from public schools. As a student report stated, “In 1963, when the Bible, the Christian’s standard of absolute truth and morality, was banned from the schools, a great ideological shift began. … As the American people soon found out … Sexually transmitted diseases went up 226%. Violent crimes went up 995%. Unwed birth rates went up 325%. Divorce went up 111%. Unmarried couples living together went up 536%. Child abuse went up 2300%, and illegal drug use went up 6000%…. I don’t think that we have seen the end of this, either. Our country will collapse if Christianity is extinguished, and therefore morality is snuffed out.”²

Think too, of the relentless attacks against the U.S. in recent years by radical Muslims whose religion, Islam, declares itself to be a religion of peace and yet we are vividly reminded every year how, “On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States…. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.”³

True, not all Muslims are terrorists, but where is the real outcry from moderate Muslims who oppose worldwide terrorism attacks promulgated by Muslim terrorists? According to a report on Wikipedia, there have been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks since 2001. See a partial listing of these online at: http://tinyurl.com/8n7bvsd. It is frightening!

America, we need to awaken! As our moral decline is accelerating, so is our moving father and father away from God and His protection. As George Washington, in his Farewell Address, stated, “And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please send a great spiritual awakening to the U.S.A. so that our eyes will be open to see the direction this once great Christian nation is heading. Help us to see and face the truth, for only the truth will set us free. And let your work begin in me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 33:12, 16-17 (NIV).

2. “The Bible: In and Out of School,” Jessica S. http://tinyurl.com/9pp86xg. Jessica quotes the following source for her statistics: http://tinyurl.com/9altkvy, and states that author, Dr. Hovind, got them from Wallbuilders (http://www.wallbuilders.com/).

3. History.com website at: http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.

“Max Lucado in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily. A hospital was not too far away—across the river—but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.

“The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.

“Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death and came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that Jesus, after he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, arose from the grave. Because of this your Word assures me that if I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I will also rise from death to live with you in heaven forever. Please help me to be sure that I am a real Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you are not sure that you will be raised from death, please read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NLT).

2. SermonCentral.com at: http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Easter-Illustrations-PowerPoints#illustrations

What does it mean for the word of the Lord to come to us? That is; how does God call people today? Quite probably it is different for everyone who has ever been called of God for special service.

Speaking personally, I could count on one hand the times that I have felt that God challenged me “with a ‘special word’ from the Lord.” No, I’ve never heard an audible voice from heaven, nor have I ever seen any “writing on the wall.” The first occasion was when I was in the hospital following a minor accident on a construction site. I was all stitched up and feeling pretty sore when I turned on my bedside radio and “just happened” to pick up the only religious program on air for that entire day. The moment my radio came on these were the very first words I heard: “If I should stand before the Master tonight, would I empty handed go?”

Wham! It felt like an invisible arrow had pierced my heart. For 2-3 years I had been struggling with “the still small voice within” drawing me towards Christian service and ministry. I just hadn’t recognized it as the call of God. As I look back, however, had God not been calling me, I would never have been struggling with it. But on that hospital bed there was no more doubt in my mind. I “heard” God’s call loud and clear and prayed, “Okay, God, you win. I know what I need to do.” That was the day I made the decision to go back to college to train for Christian service. For some of us God has to hit us over the head with a “4 by 4″ as it were in order to get our attention.

True, God doesn’t call everyone to be a Jonah, a missionary, a pastor, or a specialized Christian worker, but he does call every one of us to be a faithful servant and witness for Jesus.

So, if you should stand before the Master tonight, would you empty handed go? Or would you hear God’s welcome, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord?”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have called me to be a faithful servant and witness for you. Please help me to be faithful in service and effective in my witness, and please use me in some way to help bring others to you so that when I meet you face to face I will not be empty handed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jonah 1:1-2 (NIV).

“Back when Beth and I lived in Altadena, California,” writes Pastor Tod Bolsinger, “just down the street from us was a bakery called ‘Patticakes.’ It was one of those amazing places where everything looks as good as it tastes and virtually every breakfast item included chocolate. But make no mistake, nothing there was cheap. Everything was delicious, beautiful and frightfully expensive.

“I remember sitting there one morning eating a chocolate muffin and drinking a latte while a young couple came in to get a quote for a wedding cake. The owner pulled out a book that featured articles from Bon Appetite praising her wedding cakes, showed them spectacular professional photographs of cakes she had made in the past, and then finally the price sheet.

“I watched this all and smiled. The bride was looking at the groom pleadingly. Her face saying, ‘Honey, wouldn’t this be beautiful? This is exactly the kind of wedding cake I have always wanted.’ He looked like he was choking. Being a guy, I know what he was thinking as he looked at that price sheet, ‘A cake? How about a killer big screen TV? It’s about the same amount of money.’ But he was a smart boy; he kept his mouth shut, even as he tried to calculate how many months’ salary would be gobbled down by people in less than 15 minutes.

“And right at the very moment when the unspoken tension was the highest, the bakery owner appeared with a tray of assorted pieces of wedding cake that they could sample. Two bites later, eyes rolled back in his head in chocolate induced ecstasy, the cheapskate groom was ordering this cake for everyone he had ever met.

“You see the difference was in the tasting. Once we taste what we really want, the cost is not the issue.”²

How equally true this is with God. When we come to him through Jesus Christ, confess our sins to him, and ask for his forgiveness, we can truly taste and see how good God really is.

As David, the Psalmist, wrote, “What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. I said to myself, ‘I will confess them [my sins] to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”³

Dear reader, if you have never tasted the goodness of God, I urge you to come to him today, confess your sins to him, ask for his forgiveness, and invite God’s Son, Jesus Christ, into your heart and life. For help, please read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” and you, too, can experience the same relief and peace that David tasted. It’s at www.actsweb.org/christian.

Again, as David said, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man [and woman] who takes refuge in him.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place so all my sins can be forgiven, and so I can receive your gift of eternal life to be with you in Heaven forever. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 34:8 (NIV).

2. Tod Bolsinger, Tod Bolsinger’s Blog, “It Takes a Church,” http://bolsinger.blogs.com.

3. Psalm 32:1-2, 5 (TLB)(NLT).