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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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From DEATH to LIFE Fydor
Doestoevsky is one the greatest novelists of all time.
He describes an experience In
October, the prisoners were removed from their cells
and led to waiting carriages. They were not sure of
their fate, but assumed the sentence would be light.
When the carriages stopped, the prisoners were led
onto a square and lined up on a platform. The
men were sentenced to be shot.
They were dressed in peasant shirts and hoods
for the execution. The first three men in line were
led to some stakes and tied to them.
The soldiers took aim, and held their
positions. Then suddenly a drum roll was heard, and a
messenger from the Tsar rode in on a horse, with the GOOD
NEWS of a pardon for Doestoevsky and his fellow
prisoners. They were taken back to prison, with the
intention of being sent to prison in In a letter to his brother Mikhail, Doestoevsky describes his new outlook towards life that was gained from his experience. "When I look back on my past and think how much time I wasted on nothing, how much time has been lost in futilities, errors, laziness, incapacity to live; how little I appreciated it, how many times I sinned against my heart and soul - then my heart bleeds. Life is a GIFT, life is happiness; every minute can be an eternity of happiness." * Our condition IN SIN is much like that of Doestoevsky: Because of our sins, WE are sentenced to DEATH! “For the wages of sin is DEATH” (Romans 6:23). However, a message from God has been sent from heaven with GOOD NEWS: God’s Son, Jesus Christ, has been executed for OUR sins. “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). The GOOD NEWS (the “Gospel”) is that Jesus’ death on the cross can satisfy the debt of our sins if we will: believe in Him and trust Him (Acts 16:30-31), repent of our sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). The Good News is that if we will continue to follow Him that He will continue to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7). From DEATH to LIFE: Jesus makes ALL the difference in our outlook for the future. With this new perspective, we are able to find true joy and the precious nature of life. Do YOU have this hope? You can – through Christ! David A. Sargent, Minister Church of Christ at Creekwood *
Source: adapted
from Scott Higgins. Information from To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
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