The angel which I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by the one who lives for ever and ever--who created heaven and the things which are in it, the earth and the things which are in it, and the sea and the things which are in it--"Time will be no more." But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God is finished, which He proclaimed as good news through His servants the prophets. Rev. 10:5-7.
My friend Jim was walking through the American cemetery overlooking the Normandy beaches in northern France. Thousands of American soldiers lost their lives on June 6, 1944, and during the days that followed. Young boys, full of hope and promise, would risk all in a land far away from their family, homes, and friends in order to liberate a distant country from the evil empire that was Nazi Germany.
As he walked among thousands of neatly lined white crosses, one in particular caught Jim's attention. It read:
Burnell W. Coolen
Pvt. 8 Inf. 4 Div.
Massachusetts, June 21, 1944
He realized with reverential awe that the soldier had died exactly six years before his own birth. Because Private Coolen was willing to die on Jim's birthday, Jim was born free instead of under the tyranny of the swastika. As Burnell W. Coolen lay dying in Normandy, he could not have possibly imagined that more than 60 years later his name and heroic deed would appear in a book read all over the world. But that is how acts of dedication often receive their reward. Long after the actor has passed from the stage of life, his or her acts of courage still inspire others.
In the New Testament the "mystery of God" is the gospel, something hidden in ages past but brought to light through the proclamation of Jesus Christ (Rom. 16:25, 26). According to the book of Revelation, a great final proclamation of the gospel will take place just before the blowing of the last trumpet. That gospel tells us that another was willing to die for you and me, far away from His home, so that we could live in freedom and make a difference in this world.
Lord, I want to walk in the footsteps of the One who died for me. I take up His marching orders as I approach the final events of earth's history. Help me to keep in step with His cadence today.
My friend Jim was walking through the American cemetery overlooking the Normandy beaches in northern France. Thousands of American soldiers lost their lives on June 6, 1944, and during the days that followed. Young boys, full of hope and promise, would risk all in a land far away from their family, homes, and friends in order to liberate a distant country from the evil empire that was Nazi Germany.
As he walked among thousands of neatly lined white crosses, one in particular caught Jim's attention. It read:
Burnell W. Coolen
Pvt. 8 Inf. 4 Div.
Massachusetts, June 21, 1944
He realized with reverential awe that the soldier had died exactly six years before his own birth. Because Private Coolen was willing to die on Jim's birthday, Jim was born free instead of under the tyranny of the swastika. As Burnell W. Coolen lay dying in Normandy, he could not have possibly imagined that more than 60 years later his name and heroic deed would appear in a book read all over the world. But that is how acts of dedication often receive their reward. Long after the actor has passed from the stage of life, his or her acts of courage still inspire others.
In the New Testament the "mystery of God" is the gospel, something hidden in ages past but brought to light through the proclamation of Jesus Christ (Rom. 16:25, 26). According to the book of Revelation, a great final proclamation of the gospel will take place just before the blowing of the last trumpet. That gospel tells us that another was willing to die for you and me, far away from His home, so that we could live in freedom and make a difference in this world.
Lord, I want to walk in the footsteps of the One who died for me. I take up His marching orders as I approach the final events of earth's history. Help me to keep in step with His cadence today.
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