Don't give upby John & Marti Fischer"Don't give up; please don't give up." Those were the words uttered in the mind of a dying man but never heard outside his head. And for 45 minutes, two flight attendants didn't. They took turns administering CPR on the man's heart and alternately breathing air into his lungs. 45 minutes of either futility or life support - no one knew. All they knew was, the man had had a heart attack and stopped breathing while on a flight, and the pilot had radioed the nearest airport, but it took 45 minutes to go through the whole landing procedure.45 minutes, sometimes sliding along the floor as the plane lurched upon impact. The landing was rough, but the women kept on. Sometimes tempted to quit, but never yielding. An emergency medical team met the plane in the airport, and with the proper machines, they were able to get a strong pulse and revive the man.How do I know this? One of those flight attendants was my wife. It's one of her most memorable moments as a flight attendant, her job when I met her. And as she and her co-worker came off the plane they were greeted by applause from the passengers who waited for them so they could show their appreciation. It was Marti's fantasy come true. The only thing missing was the six o'clock news.But the most remarkable thing about this story was what she found out later. She found out that the whole time they were keeping him alive, the man was semi-conscious. He could hear everything; he just couldn't open his eyes or speak. And the whole time he kept thinking, "Don't give up on me; please don't give up."We all have spiritually resistant friends and relatives who appear, for all we know, to be spiritually dead. We might assume them to be in the category that Paul described as those who are not being saved, but are perishing. And yet how do we know for sure that they might not be only spiritually comatose - unable to speak, but still crying out from some place deep inside: "Don't give up on me; please don't give up."That's why you never give up on anyone. Even the most resistant, obnoxious, foul-mouthed unbeliever might still be one who, deep down inside, is being saved. Don't give up on them. Spiritually breathe for them. Right up until the very end, because you never know.John FischerThe Catch Online
Dear Lord, I just can't help but love You,
For You have been my dearest friend.
Before You made the world You chose me
For life in Heaven without end.
I freely go to church to worship,
And never have to run or hide.
When just a child I learned about You,
And had a Bible as my guide.
My heart goes out to all the people
Who've never heard about Your love;
Or how You paid the price to give them
Eternal life in Heaven above.
If they should claim You as their Savior,
Then prison cells could be their fate,
With death and torture ever looming,
From guards whose lives are filled with hate.
I must confess I sometimes wonder
If I would be as brave as they.
Would I be bold, and claim my Jesus,
Or would I try to run away?
I pray that You would give me courage
To share my faith with all the lost,
And help me always to be willing
To follow You, what e'er the cost.
By Betty Jo Mings
 | Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know. |
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