Save One Life

Recently I read a story about the life of Nicholas Winton. I have not heard about him before until now. It all started when he was invited by a friend to Czechoslavakia to visit some refugee camps instead of going for his ski holidays. It was 1938 when Hitler was annexing regions in Europe and Jews and political opponents were fleeing. One result of this was the neglect of children especially from Jewish ancestry. As a result of this visit he decided to mount operations to rescue these children who were given permission by parents that were prepared to release their children to him for a better future. Upon his return to England, he managed to convince the government, found foster homes and raised funds to transport these children. He did all these whilst managing his day time job in the stock exchange. In total, he brought in at least 669 children. The rescue attempts finally stopped in Sept 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and Britain declared war on Germany. Winton's humanitarian act was a secret, even to his wife until 1988, when she found a scrapbook with all the names and photos of the children. Several thousand children, grandchildren and great grandchildren owe their very existence to this brave man.

In 2002, a documentary entitled "The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton" was produced and shown on Czech TV. Winton was honored later by the president of Israel, the citizens of Prague and eventually knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. A ring that was given to him by some of the children, that he wears, best summed up his act: "Save one life. Save the world." (Talmud, the book of Jewish law)

God changes the world with people like you! You may not save 669 lives but you have lives of people that you influence daily (like your children). Perhaps one of these could become a Winton that will save many others for eternity! You may think that you are just an ordinary person. But in the hands of the extraordinary God, you are someone special that can make the difference to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. Amen!

Ps. Ben

What Do You See?

At a recent prayer meeting in Sarawak, a photograph was taken by Pastor Lam Kee Hing at sunset that shows the outline of something. Let me know what you see in this photo. Is there any significance of this display in the heavens that was related to their prayers of God's people?

Maranatha!

"Maranatha" is the Aramaic expression for "Come, O Lord" (1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20) It is an expression used as a prayer in the early church that anticipates the coming of the Lord Jesus. In the Corinthian context, there is a warning of judgement for those who do not love Jesus. In fact there is a curse pronounced. When the Lord returns, judgement is certain and those who do not love Him will definitely not be spending eternity with Him! For those who love Jesus we can pray this prayer as it will be a joyful reunion.

In an interview recently, the former PM (now Minister Mentor) of Singapore shared that he meditates each night for 20 minutes using the word "Ma-Ra-Na-Tha" as a mantra to calm himself down to sleep! He is not a Christian but was taught these words by a Christian. He is aware of the meaning although he is not a believer. He says he finds the sound soothing! Meditating on some mantras may seem to bring about temporary relieve for some, but true peace can only come from knowing the Prince of Peace. We can only pray that God will reveal Himself to this man who just celebrated his 87th birthday (16 Sept) It's not too late to repent until we breathed our last breath or when the Lord returns! May the grace of God be upon us all who long for our Lord's return!

Yes, Maranatha!

Ps. Ben