Thursday, March 20, 2014 Moments Together for Couples MARCH 20 But Is It Enough? Through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. HEBREWS 9:12 It began as a short, one-night romantic getaway for Martin and Gracia Burnham. It turned into a year-long nightmare when armed Philippine rebels burst into their cabin and took them hostage. These humble, hardworking missionaries, whose hearts had been wedded to their work in the Philippines, now found themselves with a handful of other captives, trudging at gunpoint through the tropical jungles of this island nation. By the time it was all over, Martin was dead from a stray bullet fired during their rescue. Gracia escaped but was a widow. There are many amazing accounts of faith recorded in Gracia’s autobiography, In the Presence of My Enemies, describing the events and emotions of those harrowing 12 months. But one of the most haunting was one she shared with us one day in a radio interview. As their hostage odyssey neared Easter, Martin and Gracia were told by their captors that a sizable amount of ransom money had appeared in the camp. Gracia’s family had collected it, hoping against hope that it would be sufficient to satisfy the terrorists’ demands. But in the typical fashion of irrational diplomacy, the leaders of the group called the couple over and made this curt pronouncement: “There is a ransom that’s been paid for you, but we’ve decided it’s not enough.” That really struck me, especially with “Easter” and “ransom” being mentioned in such close proximity. How tragic would it be to go through life, not knowing for sure whether Christ’s payment—His ransom for us—was enough. What if our lives, instead of being safe and secure in the arms of His forever provision, were still teetering in limbo, subject to the changing whims of an unpredictable, unjust God? Thankfully, we won’t have to worry. His ransom has already been declared complete and acceptable on our behalf. DISCUSS Recall for a moment what it was like to be lost, under the penalty of sin and in need of a ransom to be paid by the Savior. PRAY Thank Him for the ransom that was paid and a full and totally guaranteed salvation.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:49:04 +0000
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