A soldier who fought in the war was finally coming home. He called his parents to give them the great news, "I’m coming home" he told them. "I’m bringing someone with me but there’s something you should know about him. He stepped on a land mine and was hurt pretty bad. He lost an arm and a leg and he has nowhere else to go - can he live in our house?" His parents replied "Son, you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with the handicap of having only one arm and one leg would be a terrible burden on us. After all, we have our own lives to live and such a person would be nothing more than a hindrance to our own happiness," and at that point their son simply hung up the phone. Three days passed and they had still heard nothing more from him. On the fourth day the phone rang and the mother ran quickly to answer it. It was a call from the San Francisco police department - their son was dead. He had committed suicide. They were asked to fly out to San Francisco to confirm the identity of the body. They were driven to the city morgue and it was indeed their son. The parents were both filled with tremendous grief, and then horror, as they also discovered something else they didn’t know - their son - had only one arm, and one leg. They did not realize that it was himself of whom he was speaking when they had told him over the phone that such a handicapped person would be nothing more than a terrible burden on them. He had nowhere else to go - and so being completely heart-broken, he had killed himself.

Fortunately for you and I there is someone who doesn’t care what we look like or who we are. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love regardless of how "messed up" we are and He welcomes us into His family Forever! That person - is Jesus Christ! If you have not asked Him into your heart is there any reason why you can’t do so right now, at this very moment? Don’t you ever feel that you are not worth loving or that you are not worth saving. BECAUSE OF HIM all you need to do is go to that blood-stained Cross in true repentance and there you will find comfort, hope, peace, and eternal life. BECAUSE OF HIM it is at the Cross where truth and mercy meet....the truth that we are sinners....and the mercy of His Love to forgive us of our sins. BECAUSE OF HIM it was at the Cross where the ultimate transaction of all time took place, the life of the Son of God - for the sins of the entire world! We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son upon the Cross but we must never LEAVE Him there upon the Cross because we serve a LIVING Saviour Who rose from the grave and defeated death to become the hope of all mankind. The Cross destroyed the power of death and through it we become heirs with Jesus Christ. The Cross sets us free from loneliness, hopelessness, fear, and worry BECAUSE OF HIM! The way that a person comes to know Jesus is through the Cross, by going to the Cross and repenting of your sins. To repent means to "change." It means that you change the way you are living and head in an entirely new direction. It means that you ask God to forgive you of your sins, you ask Him to come into your heart, and then through faith and trust you give Him complete control over every area of your life so that one day you will enjoy eternal fellowship with Him in Heaven.

Heaven is going to be a wonderful place not just because of the things that WILL be there, it is also going to be a wonderful place because of the things that will NOT be there - no hunger - no thirst - no sorrow - no tears - no sickness - no pain - and no graves.... and all - BECAUSE OF HIM!

Time passes so very quickly my friends. The older you get the faster it goes and many people want to reach out and bring it back - but you can’t do that - you can not "re-live" your life. However, you CAN receive a Brand New Life, and an eternal home in Heaven - and it's all possible.... because of HIM!

God bless you,
Mark Shutts


Please contact us if you need