Impending Attack

1 Corinthians 15:52 (New American Standard Bible)



In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.






Alertness is imperative. The failure of the United States at Pearl Harbor is a tragic picture of failed watchmen. United States officials and commanders failed to pay attention in the critical weeks, days and hours prior to 7:55 A.M., December 7, 1941. If those in strategic leadership had realized the necessity to listen and beware, the results of the attack on Pearl Harbor could have been drastically different.


In meetings with both the Secretary of the Navy and the President, Admiral Richardson of the Pacific Fleet alerted them to the danger of the United States fleet remaining at Pearl Harbor. He was wary that the Japanese would realize the United States military's vulnerability and would act quickly to take advantage of the situation. His warnings, however, were ignored and he was dismissed shortly thereafter.


The commanders at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short, were alerted to the impending danger of war on October 16, November 24 and November 27. Not believing an attack was possible, they only took precautions against Japanese sabotage. In fact, instead of strategically moving to the logical point of attack in the northwest, the entire fleet was moored in the harbor. Some personnel were even allowed to go on shore leave. Would it have made a difference had they stayed awake and remained sober at their posts?


Four hours before the attack, a United States destroyer in the Pacific sighted a Japanese submarine. Evidently not being alert to the imminent danger, no one on the destroyer reported the attack. Also, an army private (practicing on the radar set after its normal closing time) notified his superior officer of an approaching large squadron of planes. The lieutenant, however, neglected to listen and beware, but instead passed it off as being the group of B-17s that was expected from the United States.


The enemy gained the greater portion in this attack. More than 2,300 American servicemen were killed and over 1,100 were wounded; two battleships were destroyed and six others were heavily damaged; several lesser vessels were put out of action and more than 150 United States planes were wrecked. The Japanese lost less than 100 men and sacrificed only 29 planes and five midget submarines. Their task force escaped without being attacked.


The lack of alertness and false estimation of the enemy's capabilities and intentions were primary reasons this attack resulted in such devastation. Military and civilian officials in Washington, as well as the commanders at Pearl Harbor, had failed to observe and pay attention to the many warnings of impending attack. Their neglect to listen and to beware of the approaching danger allowed the enemy's plans to be successful.


Frequently, we believers ignore warnings from Scripture and the Holy Spirit. The cost is often great.


Dear Lord we pray that we would always be ready. Help us to stay alert to the warring signs around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Facing Life's Storms Head On.

2 Timothy 1:7 (New International Version)

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

It has been a while since a powerful magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. The confirmed death toll is over 13,000. In the midst of all the horror stories are occasional heroic tales of survival and rescue. One of the most fascinating is that of Susumu Sugawara.

The 64-year-old Sugawara is the owner-operator of a small boat named "Sunflower." After the massive earthquake and in view of the tsunami warnings being broadcast, he had to make a quick decision. Should he head for high ground on his island of Oshima? Should he put his boat to sea and try to ride out the fury? His chose to launch his boat and head for deep water offshore.

"I knew if I didn't save my boat," he told a CNN reporter, "my island would be isolated and in trouble." So he ran to his 42-year-old craft that can hold about 20 people at a time and went full-throttle toward the deadly waves that would kill people whose names and faces he knew. Then he saw the wall of water.

Accustomed to waves ten to twelve feet high, this one was fully 50 to 60 feet high. Sugawara knew that he and his boat could easily wind up at the bottom of the sea. He drove straight for it - "climbing the wave like a mountain," as he put it. And the mountain seemed only to grow bigger and bigger. There was a huge crash of water over him. Only then could he see the horizon. He had survived!

Sugawara made his way back to his now-devastated Oshima. For the month since, he has been a lifeline by making hourly trips to the mainland to ferry people and supplies. If people can help pay for gasoline, he accepts money. If they have lost everything and can pay nothing, he still welcomes them aboard.

I don't know if the Japanese captain made the reasonable and right decision on that fateful day. But the report shows he lived through the ordeal. His helping others with a sense of sensitivity to their suffering is something the rest of us can only admire from a distance.

As we look at this man we can learn from his story. Against hesitation and fear, it makes more sense to ride into the teeth of life's challenges than to run away.

There is a cash-flow crisis. There is an unexpected problem with a product. A major supplier has failed, or a major customer has bailed. Some executives kick into denial mode or ball up in a fetal position. Their companies fail. Leaders steer right into the problem and act with integrity to name and face the problem.

Or maybe the problem is far more serious. A spouse says the marriage is over. The police or hospital calls with a parent's worst nightmare about an arrest or accident. Maybe you get a diagnosis that sounds like a death sentence. Do you run and hide? Self-medicate with drugs or alcohol? Or do you steer into the teeth of the storm and pray for courage you have never had to display before?

One of our First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, put it this way "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face,"

Dear Lord we pray that we would have the strength to head life’s storms head on. We pray that we would remember that You are there with us and will guide us and give us strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Price of True Freedom.

Galatians 5:1 (New International Version) 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Through no fault of her own, she found herself a slave to the undesirable passions of the ones she called "family". Bruised and broken by the hardships of her life, lost in the clutches of someone else's sin, she had nowhere to turn. She desperately needed a positive role model in her life; but there simply wasn't one to be had.

Then she became introduced to the music of a popular songwriter and artist. Everything about this singer, from her clothing, her manner, her style, even the words of her songs, spoke of disenchantment and rebellion against authority. This was something the disillusioned teen could relate to. She proceeded to dress like this singer, to talk like her, to style her hair like her, to want what she wanted, to dream what she dreamed. She had finally found her role model. But it didn't bring her the happiness she craved.

The seemingly endless cycle of abuse finally came out into the open, and the law brought it to an abrupt end. But now the secret was out. All of her family knew. All of her friends knew. The shame was more than she could endure. The nightmare had ended, but a new one had begun.

She decided to place a phone call to another country. She had family there. Family who barely knew her. Maybe they wouldn't realize what a stigma she had become. Maybe they wouldn't be afraid to help her out. "Can I come to visit you?" was the desperate plea.

To her surprise, the request was greeted with enthusiasm and she was invited to find shelter in their home. A series of miracles brought her through immigration, and in this new land, this new home, surrounded by love, she began to blossom.

It was a glorious day when she discovered that human fathers don't always accurately portray our Heavenly Father. She hungrily grasped salvation, and little by little she was filled with light from above. This was visible in her countenance. The dark shadows under her eyes vanished. Her smiles became genuine. She was able to talk about the past, and the simple act of confessing the things that had haunted her liberated her from the invisible burdens that had been weighing upon her shoulders. She was able to forgive those who had hurt her so badly, and for the first time in her life, she experienced true freedom. From a rose, trampled to the ground, she transformed into a butterfly.

A few years later, she met and married a wonderful Christian man, and they now have two beautiful children who are growing in the shelter of the Lord. Jesus indeed changes people who are enslaved to sin, into free sons and daughters of the Kingdom.

God's Word is quite clear that anyone who sins is a slave. This includes you and me: "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (John 8:34 NIV); "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin." (Rom 7:14 NIV); and "For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." (2 Peter 2:19 NIV)

However God's Word also speaks of another kind of slavery, one that sets people free from sin: "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." (Rom 6:22-23 NIV); "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." (Rom 6:18 NIV); and "Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom 8:2 NIV)

Those who discover who God truly is and accept Him into their lives discover abundant freedom: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36 NIV)

Even though those who accept Jesus' gift of salvation become slaves to God, our loving Heavenly Father doesn't consider us as His slaves, but as His sons and daughters, heirs to His kingdom! "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." (Gal 4:7 NIV)

Dear Lord we pray today that we would surrender all to You. We no longer want to be slave to the sin nature. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Potter's Hand

Jeremiah 18:1-4 (New Living Translation)

1 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 "Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you while you are there." 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again. 

The Christian author Phillip Keller wrote in one of his books about a time when he was traveling around the border of China and Pakistan. He was told that this was the area where the finest Chinese pottery was made. He remembered verses like the ones above and asked if he could go see some of it being made. 

The potter took him to a shed behind the house where he prepared the clay. It was not merely clay but had grass clippings, etc. mixed in. When the man opened the door the smell of the rotting material almost knocked Phillip down. The man went inside, mixed up a lump of clay and then took it inside to his wheel. 

He worked with the clay to make a vessel. He noticed a tiny rock in the wall of the vessel he was forming. He knew the vessel would not hold up with that foreign matter in it so he took it out. Then he had to mash the clay into a lump and start again. 

When the vessel was formed the man reached back to grab a string behind him which was hanging on a nail. He dipped this string in water, looped it around the base of the vessel and cut the vessel away from the rest of the clay. 

The potter then placed the vessel on a shelf. There it sat until the potter knew it was time to put it into the fire. The potter knew how many times it needed to be fired before it could be of use. 

This is a good parable of the Christian life. There is one difference, though. The master Potter does not barge in and grab a lump of stinky, filthy clay. He stands at the door and knocks. You must place yourself into the potter's hand.

Dear Lord we want to have You mold us and make us into what You want for us to be today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Time is Short.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (New International Version)

For he says, 

   “In the time of my favor I heard you,

   and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

   I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

There’s an old story told about three apprentice devils who were taking their final exam in front of Satan. 

“Before I let you loose in the world,” Satan said, “I need to know what deceitful message you are going to whisper in the ears of people so that they end up here in hell.” 

“That’s easy,” said the first devil. “I’ll tell them there is no heaven.” 

“That won’t work,” said Satan. “Whenever people look at the beauty of the earth and feel the wonders of creation, they know that heaven exists. FAIL!” 

“I’ll tell them that there’s no hell,” said the second devil. 

“That won’t work either,” said Satan. “The world is full of so much pain and suffering, injustice and cruelty that people know hell exists as a place of punishment for the unrepentant and wicked. FAIL!” 

The third devil thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll tell them that there’s no hurry.” 

“EXCELLENT!” Satan declared. “People will be fooled into believing that there’s plenty of time to change. Hell will overflow with lost souls! PASS!” 

And the angel said: “There will be no more delay!” 

Are we ready for Christ’s Return if He comes back today? 

Dear Lord I pray that we would not delay in sharing Your love with those in our life. We pray that our eyes would be open and our hearts ready to share Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What is your Pursuit?

2 Peter 3:11 (New International Version)

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

In August 1961, Paul Toaspern was a theologian living in West Berlin. Suddenly, the Soviets decided to erect the concrete Berlin wall dividing East Berlin from West Berlin. Quickly recognizing the situation, Toaspern took his young family and moved to East Berlin, the opposite direction from the thousands of refugees who were pouring into the West.

Toaspern realized that the church in East Berlin would be persecuted and would need his theological expertise and his passion for missions. He quickly became one of East Germany's Christian leaders.

In 1986, American preacher Robert Roxbergh visited Toaspern. Roxbergh asked: "How are your kids doing? Are they at university?"

Toaspern replied: "Oh, they don't go to university. My children are very bright and academically would go far in university, but they will not join the Young Communist League, so they cannot go to university. But praise God, they're all training for the ministry."

Roxbergh then asked: "How about your parents, Paul?"

Toaspern answered: "Oh, my parents are dead. The sad thing is that when they were dying, the government wouldn't let me back to see them, so I had to shout to friends over the wall and ask how they were doing."

Toaspern willingly gave up his freedoms to follow Christ.

Holiness and godliness have a price, but the price is small in comparison to knowing Christ more deeply. Today in prayer, pursue Jesus Christ in every area of your life and seek to live a holy and godly life.

Dear Lord we pray today that we would always strive to pursue after You and the things that You have for us. Help us not waver in our pursuits. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Tomato Good or Bad

Psalm 34:8 Help us make the 

Taste and see that the LORD is good;

   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

A crowd of curious, expectant people gathered around the county courthouse in Salem, New Jersey. The county fair was in progress, and they jostled one another in eager anticipation, for they were about to witness a daring feat.

Soon a man appeared on the steps, holding in one hand a beautiful red-ripe fruit which had been part of the fair's decorations. Members of the crowd whispered excitedly to one another as he held it up for them to see.

"Is he really going to eat it?" some asked, incredulously.

The man was Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson; the year was 1820; and the fruit was-a tomato, called in those days a love apple and considered deadly poison. Love apples were tokens of courtship or lawn decorations. Young men gave them to their girl friends, who would afterward wear the seeds in sachets around their necks. The fruit was admired for its beauty, but no one-repeat, no one-would dream of eating it.

The crowd gasped in horror as the colonel deliberately placed the tomato in his mouth, and ate it with apparent relish. They waited breathlessly, expecting soon to see him writhing in agony, dying on the courtyard steps.

But nothing like that happened. Instead-

He ate a second tomato, explaining, as he ate, that tomatoes were delicious either cooked or raw. He praised their color and texture. Then he invited the onlookers to join him in his meal, and a few of the braver ones went forward. Soon they too were pronouncing the tomatoes good.

The news spread rapidly, and eventually tomatoes graced most of the tables of the world, an accepted article of diet everywhere.

If Colonel Johnson had not eaten that tomato, it is possible that people would still be admiring "love apples" and shrinking with horror from the thought of tasting how good they are.

Dear Lord we pray that we would be willing to do the things that we know are right. Help us make the right decisions. We pray that our boldness will bring others to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.