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“A Disaster Waiting for Participants”

Thoughts for Today:

Back a number of years ago my father-in-law Terry and I decided to take a canoe fishing trip down one of the rivers near our home in northern Idaho. On the surface that doesn't sound too extraordinary except neither one of us had ever set foot in a canoe, and being new to the area, we weren't familiar with any of the rivers. I thought this would be a great way to get some experience. It was a trip which I called "adventure", however my wife labeled it "a disaster waiting for participants".

After a couple of days of careful preparation, my wife dropped us 15 miles up-river from where she would pick us up later that evening. Her last words to me were, "I love you, please don't get hurt, and try to bring my Dad back in one piece." For the most part I am pretty careful when I do things to not put other people's lives or property at risk, but Terry and I share a spirit of adventure so off we went.

At first the river current was slow moving so it gave us a chance to get familiar with navigating the canoe -- we caught some nice sized fish, had lunch and were having a great time. Then the current picked up a bit, the water began to move faster and faster. The friend who gave me instruction on canoeing had warned, "In fast moving, swirling water, the canoe might turn front to back, if that happens, just go down backwards until you can safely turn it around. If you try to do it in the middle of the current you will probably flip over -- and that won't be good." Sure enough that's what happened. We were caught in some boulders and as we struggled to free ourselves, a strong current caught the stern of the canoe and backwards we rushed down the river.

I told my father-in-law to put his paddle down and hold on tight, "We're going to have to ride this one out!" It was one of the more exciting rides I've had. As we careened off boulders, traveling backwards down the rapids, I remembered my wife's label for our adventure: "a disaster waiting for participants".

As I read our passage today: "Do you think you will escape God's judgment?", I couldn't help but think back to that particular moment -- our canoe ride backwards and out of control down the rapids -- would we escape unhurt from my wife's prophetical judgment? Would we find disaster? Fortunately for us, our trip worked out well -- we were patient, waited for the right opportunity, turned the canoe around and avoided capsizing. All in all it was a great time and successful adventure -- measured in no broken bones, concussions, or loss of life and property.

I view the un-saved just like our canoe ride that day -- people are going backwards through life, out of control, down the rapids, crashing into boulders -- and they hope to escape unhurt? What's the plan? Hope that there will be no final judgment by God? Even Terry and I got some instruction on what to do if or when things went wrong. Wouldn't it be a good idea to at least get some information about something we know we will all face -- death? Why wait any longer?

Questions to Ponder:

Living life on this earth without Jesus is just like what my wife said about our trip, "A disaster waiting for participants." As Terry and I traveled backwards down the rapids neither one of us knew whether we would ultimately tip over Ð unlike life on this earth Ð we all know we will face death. Final judgment by God awaits us all. Have your sins been redeemed? Have you placed your faith in the only One who has the power to save us from disaster? What are you waiting for?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.