Rescue Part 1

(This is the first of two posts on this topic. I’ve included the original song “Rescue Me” to accompany these blogs)[audio mp3="http://chrisatkins.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Rescue-Me.mp3"][/audio]When I was 2 years old, my parents took our family to a company picnic. The owner of the company my Dad worked owned a lake home, and the gathering took place there. Even though I remember nothing about this incident, my family recounted that sometime during the course of the event I discovered a long dock that stood on the shore of the lake. I made the dangerous choice to step onto the dock, all alone, with no abilities or training in swimming. I kept walking until I stepped off the end of the dock and into the deep water, unable to swim. Here I was, a 2-year old child, in over my head and in need of rescue.  By God’s grace I was spotted and pulled to safety from what could have ended my life.Right now, in our midst, countless people are in deep waters of life, over their heads, in need of rescue. Some cry out from the depths of consequences that came as the result of their own past choices. Others plead of dire circumstances that occurred because of the hurtful or evil actions of someone else.Perhaps you are one of them.I’ve got good news for you: God is the ultimate Rescuer, and He can save you when you seek Him and His Hand in your desperate times. God’s heart aches because of the pain of those drowning in life’s deep waters. He doesn’t care what you did or didn’t do in the past. God doesn’t turn a deaf ear to you because you weren’t perfect or religious.  The Truth is that God loves you and earnestly desires that you turn to Him. Jesus Christ is more than able to take you out of the pit you are in and set you on a new path and trajectory for your life and eternity. He has done it over and over again in the lives of people I know who once thought they were beyond help but now stand in new freedom, hope, and life. He has done the same for me.Psalm 107 recounts story after story of how God delivered people out of dire circumstances.  The writer tells of people trapped in wandering homelessness, hunger, thirst, bondage, prison, foolish choices, storms, and more who were set free by God.  There is one common thread in all these accounts. It is this:“Then they cried out to the Lord…”Psalm 69 is a good prayer to voice in times when we are threatened or overwhelmed. If you are in deep waters, I encourage you to offer this as your personal cry to God:

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.You, God, know my foolishness; my guilt is not hidden from you.But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me upOr the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant;answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
Come near and rescue me;deliver me because of my foes…The Lord hears the needy
 and does not despise his captive people.”Psalm 69: 1-3,5,13-18, 33

Whatever you are going through, no matter how painful or desperate, please know that God is there for you, waiting for you to turn to Him, fully able to help you in your time of need. The God who created the universe stands ready to move on your behalf.  Jesus Christ is God’s answer to the deepest need of your life, and can break your chains and rescue you from all that threatens to destroy your life and future.Seek God’s face, cry out to Him, and open your hand and heart to his saving power. In God’s grace and power you can enjoy a new life above and beyond the circumstances that challenge you today.God bless you!ChrisSave

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Rescue Part 2

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Undying Love