Daily Devotional for February 20, 2019
Without Christ We’re Sunk
“If I were a fish, I know where I’d go exploring,” Tommy said as he watched his dad clean the fish tank. “Shipwrecks!”
“If you want shipwrecks, Truk Lagoon is the place to go.”
“I don’t want to explore sunken trucks,” Tommy said. “It’s ships I want to see!”
Dad laughed. “No, Truk Lagoon is a battleship graveyard.”
Tommy sat on the edge of the couch. “Whoa! I gotta hear about this lagoon.”
“In 1941, Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii, was attacked. Eighteen battleships were destroyed, and the US declared war. Eventually, we found the enemy naval base—in Truk Lagoon.”
“Was it as big as the US base in Pearl Harbor?”
“Ten times bigger,” Dad said.
“Did we attack?”
Dad nodded. “For two whole days. It was called Operation Hailstone. Sixty enemy battleships were sunk—and two submarines. It’s the largest battleship graveyard in the world.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Tommy stood. “Someday I’ll dive there.”
“Just watch out for thousands of live bomb shells still on ships,” Dad said. “And the man-eating sharks.”
“Bombs? Sharks? Maybe I won’t dive there,” Tommy said. “I bet that was the biggest victory ever.”
“It was huge,” Dad said. “The best part was that our enemy surrendered—and afterward, our countries became good friends. But it’s sad that we had to go to war before that could happen.” Dad reached for his Bible. “Wars are one of the painful results of humans letting sin into the world. Worst of all, our sin made us enemies of God.”
“But He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from sin,” Tommy said.
Dad smiled. “That’s right. And you surrendered to Him.”
“I sure did,” Tommy said. “And now we’re friends, not enemies!”
“Exactly,” Dad said. “Jesus won the victory over sin and death when He died and rose again. When we surrender by placing our trust in Him, we become His friends instead of His enemies. As His friends, we share in His victory and have His peace in our lives.”
“I’m glad I surrendered to Jesus,” Tommy said. “Otherwise, I’d be sunk!” – Matt Shoemaker
How about you?
Are you a friend of God? Have you surrendered to Jesus, who won the war against sin and death? Our sin made us enemies of God, but Jesus died and rose again so we could be His friends. Stop fighting a battle that’s already been won. Surrender to Jesus so you can share in His victory and live in peace.
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