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Wash!
In
1818, Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born into a world
of dying women. The
finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to
the scourge of "childbed fever."
A doctor’s daily routine began in the dissecting
room where he performed autopsies. From there he made
his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers
without ever pausing to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis
was the first man in history to associate such
examinations with the resultant infection and death.
His own practice was to wash with a chlorine solution,
and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537
babies, he lost only 184 mothers—about one in fifty.
He
spent the vigor of his life lecturing and debating
with his colleagues. Once he argued, "Puerperal fever
is caused by decomposed material, conveyed to a wound
…
I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proved
all that I have said. But while we talk, talk, talk,
gentlemen, women are dying. I am not asking anything
world-shaking.
I am asking you only to wash … For God’s
sake, wash your hands!"
But
virtually no one believed him... Doctors and
midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of
years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was
going to change them now! Semmelweis died insane at
the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his
colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle
of a thousand women ringing in his ears.
"Wash
me!" was the anguished prayer of King David
(Psalm 51:2). "Unless
I wash you, you have NO part with me," said
the towel-draped Jesus to Peter (John 13:8)*
Without
our being washed clean, we ALL die from the
contamination of SIN.
The
ONLY thing powerful enough to wash away our sins is
the blood of Jesus Christ, for He died on the
cross for the forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 26:28).
He has promised to wash way our sins when we believe
in Him (Acts 16:31), turn from our sins in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) in His name (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
He will CONTINUE to cleanse us from our sins as
we CONTINUE to walk in the light of His Word (1 John
1:7).
'And
now why are YOU waiting?
Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins,
calling on the name of the Lord.' (Acts
22:16 NKJV)
Our
SIN condition is 100% fatal. For your
OWN sake, wash!
God bless you,
David
A. Sargent /
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
* Boyce Mouton
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