You may have read about some city workers in Hamilton, Canada, who were trimming trees along a certain street. In one tree they found a nest with several baby robins in it. They decided not to trim this tree until the nest was empty.

When it was abandoned, the workers returned. In the nest they found a piece of paper, along with dried twigs, the robins had used to build the nest for their babies. On the paper were printed the words, “We trust in the Lord our God!”

In life when things get rough as they sometimes do, it pays to remember how Jesus said that God was aware of every sparrow that fell to the ground and that we were of much more value than many sparrows. This was to let us know that God cares when we are hurting. As the hymn writer expressed it:

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth and song;

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

O Yes, He cares; I know he cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares.²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in my times of sadness and distress help me not only to know that you care, but also to feel your loving care in the very depths of my being. And please give me loving friends who will support me through these times—not to preach at me or give me advice, but just to be there—and be as Jesus to me. And help me to do the same for others who are going through tough times. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus in Matthew 10:29-31 (TLB)(NLT).

2. Frank E. Graeff

Steve, a genius with computer technology—from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone—had a profound impact pretty much on the entire world with his incredible computer-related inventions. He will be known among the greatest of inventors. Interesting that in 1993 he said, “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me.… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful—that’s what matters to me.”¹

That’s certainly a worthwhile goal, but what if Steve died without knowing Christ as his Savior? All his remarkable achievements in this life would amount to nothing—even though his inventions have helped spread the Christian gospel around the world. As Jesus warned us all when he said, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”²

I heard Steve say in a TV interview that sometimes he believed in God and sometimes he didn’t, but only he and God know where he is now. I surely hope he is in heaven. One word of wisdom Jobs shared when he made it known that he had cancer was this: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

How true this is. Time is limited. Life is short—and we only have one shot at it. If, per chance, your time was up today, would you be prepared for life beyond the grave—to meet God?³ If not, I urge you to make that preparation right now. For help, read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Same principle applies to Christians: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”⁴ As Christians we won’t be judged for our sins because God has forgiven us for all of these because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, paid the penalty for us by dying in our place on the cross. What it does mean is that we will have to give an account of our life to Jesus Christ regarding how we lived for and served God since we became a Christian.

When I stand before the judgment seat of Christ, I trust and pray that I will hear his welcoming words say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your lord.”⁵ I encourage you, too, to make sure that you are living in harmony with God’s will and faithfully serving him so you won’t be embarrassed and disappointed when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your assurance of life after death, and that you are preparing a home in Heaven for all who trust you as their Lord and Savior. Thank you, too, for your promise of a rich reward to all who believe in you and have served you faithfully. Please help me to be certain that my name is written in your book of life so I will not be left behind when Jesus returns. And please help me to serve you faithfully in the here-and-now so that I will not be embarrassed when I stand before Jesus to give an account of my life and service to you. So help me God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Special NOTE: Should you die today and are not absolutely sure that you would go to Heaven, but would like to be sure, you can be by accepting Jesus as your Savior and in so doing receive God’s forgiveness. You can make and record that decision today by going online to http://tinyurl.com/gods-invitation. Or, again, for further help read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” at http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Also, if you have already accepted Jesus as your Savior and would like to re-commit and re-dedicate your life to God and promise with His help to serve him more faithfully, and thereby not be embarrassed when you stand before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ, I encourage you to make that commitment today. You can do this by going online to the same link at: http://tinyurl.com/gods-invitation

1. CNNMoney/Fortune, May 25, 1993.

2. Mark 8:36 (NKJV).

3. Amos 4:12 (NIV). God’s message to ancient Israel also applies to you and me.

4. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB).

5. Matthew 25:23 (NKJV).

I have read that one of Denmark’s leading sculptors had a consuming ambition to sculpt the greatest stature of Jesus Christ ever made. He began by painstakingly shaping a clay model of a triumphant, majestic figure. “This will be my masterpiece,” he stated on the day the model was completed.

However, during the night, a heavy fog rolled into the area and sea-spray seeped into the sculptor’s studio through a partially open window. In the morning, he was shocked to see his model. The droplets of moisture that had formed on the statue created the illusion of bleeding. The head had drooped. The facial expression had melted into compassion. The arms drooped and expressed welcome. The artist was horrified and was aghast at having to start all over again.

As he kept looking at his statue of the Savior, his thoughts began to take a different shape. He realized that this image of Christ was much closer to reality. He then wrote his caption and placed it under the figure: “Come unto me!”

Indeed, that is the call of Jesus to each of us today, “Come unto me.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear Jesus, ‘Just as I am without one plea / And that thy blood was shed for me / And that you bid me come to thee / O Lamb of God I come, I come.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: For further help click on the “Know God” button link below to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” on https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV).

“In their cruel march through Cambodia to destroy much of its infrastructure, the Khmer Rouge enslaved, killed, or otherwise caused the deaths of millions of Cambodians. When they reached one village, they forced everyone out of their huts and lined them up to dig a deep pit. The villagers realized they were digging their own mass grave. Anyone who tried to run or hide was shot on sight and dragged to the edge of the pit that was being dug. When the pit was finally finished, the soldiers ordered the people to turn and face the pit. As the people stood, helplessly awaiting their execution, they began to cry out in some desperate plea for help. Some screamed to Buddha, some to ancestors, to demon spirits, and some even for their mothers.

“Then one woman, drawing on the distant memory of something her mother told her, began to cry out to one she called ‘the God who hung on the cross.’ Surely this one who had suffered so himself might have compassion on those about to die. Soon, the screams around her became just one desperate wail—crying out to the God who hung on the cross. And then there was silence. As the people slowly turned, they realized the soldiers were gone. And ever since that day, they were, as the book says, ‘waiting for someone to come and tell them more. More about the God who hung on the cross.’”²

It was September of 1999 when a Cambodian pastor came to tell these people about Jesus and learned this story from an older woman who grabbed his hands and said, “We’ve been waiting for you for twenty years.”

It was Jesus Christ’s death on the cross that paid the ransom price for your sins and mine. Only through him can we ever come to God and be freely forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. If you have never done this, be sure to click on the “God’s Invitation” button link below, or on http://tinyurl.com/gods-invitation, to find out how to do this.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for the cross of Christ, and for Jesus Christ who gave his life in my place so I could be freely forgiven and receive your gift of eternal life. Grant that my life and the way that I live it will be a thanksgiving offering to you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 12:32 (NIV).

2. From the book, The God Who Hung on the Cross, by Doris I. Rosser Jr. & Ellen Vaughn as told by Ron Hutchcraft. http://www.hutchcraft.com/

Many readers would have seen the 2004 Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. Many raved about it. Many sharply criticized it claiming that it blamed the Jews for crucifying Jesus and, as a result, would stir up renewed anti-Semitism. Others claimed that it was far too violent.

Yes, I saw the movie. Yes it is violent. And yes, it does appear that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and yet it was the Romans that violently beat and crucified him.

No matter how violent or how brutal the physical torture of Christ, as gruesome as that was, no movie, no painting, no book, no article, or no sermon could ever depict the far greater suffering of the Christ when he, the holy and divine Son of God, took upon himself the sin of all mankind and who, while hanging on that cross, was forsaken by God the Heavenly Father. As humans we cannot even begin to imagine the depth of this pain and suffering that Jesus Christ endured to pay the penalty of our sins—and to save us from a lost eternity in hell.

The fact is that Jesus gave his life willingly. No Jew, Roman, or anyone else could take his life from him. He was the Son of God. He could have called on ten thousand angels to save him. But he didn’t because he was giving his life as a ransom for your sins and mine. The Jews of his day and the Romans were only the instruments of his torturous death. It was for your sins and mine that he gave his life and suffered such intense agony.

As God’s Word says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Because of Christ’s death for us, God now offers you and me a total pardon for all our sins and the gift of eternal life. So the crucial issue is NOT who killed the Christ, but have you accepted God’s full and free pardon and the gift of eternal life? To help you do this, be sure to click on the “Know God” button link below to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” or on https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your Son, the Christ, to die for my sins? And Lord Jesus how can I ever thank you enough for suffering such an agonizing death to pay the penalty for all my sins? Lord I believe. Have mercy on me, a sinner, and save me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Again—be sure to go to https://learning.actsweb.org/christian to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian.”

1. Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV).

In his book, Seven Signs of the End Times, Mark Hitchcock shares the following: “I heard a story recently about two pastors standing near the side of a road holding up a sign that read, ‘The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it’s too late!’

“As the first driver sped by, he hollered, ‘Leave us alone, you religious nuts!’

“From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a big crash. One pastor turned to the other and said, ‘Maybe we should just put up a sign that says, Bridge Out Ahead.’”²

And as Hitchcock added, “It does appear to me, as I read the signs in our world today that the bridge is out.” Because of this, it is imperative that we let people know that they need to turn around and receive Christ and God’s forgiveness before it is too late.

In August , 2011, the death of one of today’s leading Evangelical Christian leaders, John Stott, was announced. His passing was a sad loss.

About John Stott, Chuck Colson of BreakPoint wrote, “In 1967, at a time when most Evangelical [Christians] were content to remain safe behind the walls of their churches, ignoring the larger world around them, Stott wrote a book entitled, Our Guilty Silence.

“In it Stott made the case that because the Gospel is ‘Good News’ we are under an obligation to share it with others. This sounds obvious, but in 1967 this kind of witness, and that kind of engagement with the larger society was the last thing many Christians wanted to do. They much preferred their comfortable worship and cultural isolation.”³

And Jerry Beavan, early advance organizer of the Billy Graham Crusades, in his American News Commentary, quoted Joel C. Rosenberg, New York Times bestselling author, who said, “America is in trouble, morally, spiritually and financially. Yet no one seems to have any answers. The politicians seem clueless. The media certainly doesn’t have any answers. Academia seems more out of touch than ever. Sadly, far too many

Church leaders are asleep, as well—or too timid, or drifting off course spiritually and theologically—just at the time they could and should be powerfully proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only real hope of mankind. God hasn’t failed us. We have failed God.”⁴

Christian friends, if ever there was a time to reach friends, families, and people around the world and across the street with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ—the only hope for our sin-sick world—it is today. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently stated it: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” May God deliver us from “our guilty silence.”

To make it simple for you to act and be involved in reaching others for Christ please do the following:

1. Forward this issue of Daily Encounter to all your Christian friends.

2. Join with us as a People Power for Jesus Partner—it’s so easy to do, so effective, and without any financial cost. For details see: https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power02.php.

3. Also, be sure to use some of the ACTS Business Witness Cards that are available for a small donation. See them at actscom.com/witness_cards.php. Especially see “Have a God Day” and “Thank You for Your Friendly Service” cards.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I am available for you to use. Please deliver me from the sin of ‘guilty silence’ and give me the courage to help reach friends, family, contacts, and others with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please do your work through me and make me an attractive and effective witness for Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB)(NLT).

2. Mark Hitchcock, Seven Signs of the End Times, Multnomah Books, © 2002. P.100.

3. Chuck Colson, BreakPoint, http://tinyurl.com/4y6do6t.

4. American News Commentary, August 10, 2011.

A Daily Encounter subscriber shared, “When we were on vacation in the UK last month, my daughter and I were walking down a side street where there was a church. It was raining. On the side of the church was a man sitting with a dog. The man was selling some kind of magazine—maybe the kind that some homeless people sell for spare change. The dog was lying down under an umbrella. I asked my daughter if we should give the man some spare change, but neither she nor I had any readily available, so we walked by.

“The next day we walked down that same street and the man and dog were on the other side of the street and we walked by again. That night I felt that God convicted me and it was as if he said to me, ‘You passed me by two times, will you pass me by a third time?’ So the next day I went to that street, got a larger denomination coin out, and gave it to the man. He wished me a very good day and as he did, I could see he had some kind of visual impairment. I realized afterwards that I actually had been the blind one. I had missed ‘God Himself’ sitting there as it were, in the rain, next to a dog who was sheltered by an umbrella.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to be sensitive to those who are genuinely in need and realize that when I lend a helping hand, in your sight it is the same as if I were doing it for you. So help me God so to do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 25:37-40 (NKJV).

In “Character Counts” Michael Josephson writes, “Consider the parable of a doctor driving through a poor part of town. He was in a hurry, so he ignored a young boy who tried to flag him down. But, as he slowed for a traffic light, his car was hit by a brick. The man got out of the car and screamed, ‘You’ll go to jail for this!’

“The boy cried, ‘Take me to jail, but first please call someone to help my mom. She’s on the floor in our apartment and I think she’s dying. We have no phone and I couldn’t get anyone to stop—I didn’t know what else to do.’

“Filled with shame, the doctor rushed to the woman’s aid and saved her life with CPR. Of course, he didn’t call the police, and he made sure the boy was taken care of as his mom was taken to the hospital.

“When the doctor got home and told his wife, she said, ‘Well, that dent will cost you $1,000 to fix.’

“‘No, it won’t,’ he said. ‘I’m not fixing the dent. I’m going to leave it as it is to remind me that not everyone in need has a brick.’”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be sensitive to the needs of people with whom I come in contact every day. I am available, please make me usable, and use me today to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:27 (NLT).

2. Michael Josephson, Character Counts.

A pastor asked the question: “Please help me unravel this question I was asked at our last Bible study. Can a good God do evil? For example, the Bible says that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and also that God created Pharaoh for purpose of destroying him. I am yet to find a good explanation myself and need your help to share with my congregation.”

“Dear Pastor, regarding questions like these I go back to Pharaoh in Moses day when he refused to let God’s people leave their slavery in Egypt. In spite of the many plagues God sent on the Egyptian people, the Bible says that Pharaoh kept hardening his heart. Time and again Pharaoh hardened his heart against God, Moses and the children of Israel. In other words it was Pharaoh who hardened his own heart and then God gave up on him and confirmed the hardening of his heart.

Also, when the Bible says that God will send unsaved sinners to hell, it is really sinners who send themselves to hell because they have chosen not to, or failed to, confess their sins and ask God for his forgiveness.

Where it says that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, because Saul rejected God’s plan for him, God didn’t stop this evil spirit from coming on Saul. I’m sure that an evil spirit would like to come upon every Christian who is faithfully serving the Lord, but God blocks it because we are trusting and serving him.

It’s the same here in the U.S.A., the more we as a people reject God, the Bible, and Christianity, the more we will further accelerate the moral decay that is happening throughout the land. In so doing, we remove ourselves from God’s blessing and protection. It’s not that God sends the catastrophes that come upon us, but rather, that we remove ourselves from his protection and blessings, and as a consequence we reap the natural consequences of going against God’s will.

The same principle applies to individuals—if we reject God and go against his will—we will remove ourselves from God’s blessings and protection and will reap the natural consequences of our sinful behaviors.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that all of your laws, rules and principles are for my safety, protection and well-being. Please help me always to live in harmony with all of your ways and, in so doing, reap the rewards of your blessing on my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, amen.”

1. Exodus 8:32 (NIV).

2. Exodus 9:12 (NIV).

In July of last year, three young tourists when visiting Yosemite National Park were swept over the 317-foot Vernal Fall. One of the tourists, a young woman, was no doubt drawn by the alluring beauty of the raging waterfall and the fast moving Merced River below after a record winter snowfall. Tragically she slipped on a rock above the falls. Two friends reached out to rescue her and the trio was swept over the edge.

At the bottom of the trail leading to the Vernal Falls there is a sign warning about the fast moving water. Also, when entering the Yosemite Park, visitors are given a news paper warning about water hazards and to stay away from fast moving water.

Furthermore, at the top of the Vernal Fall there is a guard railing and a metal safety barricade marked with a warning. Tragically the victims of this tragedy ignored all the warning signs, climbed over the barricade, and fell to a horrific death.²

How foolish we say, and yet, I wonder how many warnings in life we ignore. The greatest tragedy of all is when we ignore all the warnings in God’s Word, the Bible—and especially so if we ignore God’s warnings about life after death.

For example God’s Word reminds us that “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment [of God].”³

Furthermore, as God said to the nation of Israel, the same applies to every one of us: “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel … prepare to meet your God.”⁴

And to Christians: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”⁵ Yes, this word is for Christians. We will not be judged for our sins because Jesus paid that judgment price on the cross for us when he died in our place. But we will be judged on the basis of how faithfully we have served God since we became Christians—and be rewarded accordingly.

Again, in the words of Jesus: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”⁶

Whatever you do, do not be like the tourists who disregarded all the warning signs in the Yosemite National Park and fell to a horrific death, and disregard God’s repeated warnings, and ignore God’s only remedy to assure us from a lost and hopeless eternity in hell—which is to “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”¹

For help be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will clearly see all your warnings in your Word, and give me the wisdom to accept your gift of forgiveness for all my sins and with this the 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. Acts 16:30-31 (NLT).

2. http://tinyurl.com/3oea8tl

3. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

4. Amos 4:12 (NKJV).

5. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV).

6. Matthew 10:28 (NKJV).