39 Seconds . . . 

On day six of the ill-fated mission of Apollo 13, the astronauts needed to make
a critical course correction.  If they failed, they might never return to Earth.  To conserve power, they shut down the onboard computer that steered the craft.  
Yet the astronauts needed to conduct a thirty-nine-second burn of the main engines
in order to make the course correction.

But, how would they steer the craft in the direction that they needed to go?

Astronaut Jim Lovell determined that if they could keep a fixed point in space in view through their tiny window, they could steer the craft manually.  That focal point turned out to be their destination – Earth!  

As shown in the 1995 hit movie, Apollo 13, a controlled burn commenced and for thirty-nine agonizing seconds, Lovell focused on keeping the earth in view through the tiny window.  By not losing sight of that fixed reference point, the three astronauts avoided disaster and safely returned home.

Because of SIN, YOU and I need to make a critical course correction!
With our sin, we are headed toward CERTAIN destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).  However, God has provided a way by which we can be saved from our sins, so 
that WE can reach OUR intended destination – Heaven!

OUR fixed reference point for THAT destination is Jesus, God’s Son.  Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.  No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  Jesus opened the way to Heaven by dying on the cross 
for our sins (Hebrews 9:26).  In order to receive the benefits of His sacrificial death - we must place our faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6), repent of our sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).  

THEN, in order to STAY on the right course we must “fix our eyes on Jesus, 
the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”   (Hebrews 12:2).

Thirty-nine seconds.  The clock is ticking!  Will YOU make the necessary course corrections toward home?

God bless you!

David A. Sargent, Minister 

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:

                      HTML version:  subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net
                   TEXT version:  subscribe-livingwater-text@lyris.dundee.net

Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com

Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org