Shielded from the Storm

15-year-old Brandon Miller was sitting on the couch when his mother came running inside, screaming for everyone to get in the hallway immediately and lie down.  A tornado was approaching their home in Pleasant Grove, AL, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Brandon and his dad grabbed the mattress off of Brandon’s bed, and the family huddled together under it in the hallway.  Within seconds the tornado ripped the roof off of their home.  As the wind whirled and debris swirled, Brandon noticed that the force of the wind began pulling his 14-year-old sister up into the air!

“My sister started to fly off… I grabbed her around the middle of her body and just hung on," Brandon recalled.  Brandon, a Junior Varsity pitcher for Hueytown High School, made another save, but this save was not in a baseball game; it was his sister’s life.

When the tornado had passed, Brandon and his family crawled out from under the mattress – alive and well.  Imbedded in the mattress that served as a shield from the storm were dozens of large, jagged shards of wood and glass that could have seriously injured or fatally wounded the Miller family. *

Due to OUR wrong choices, we find ourselves facing the deadly storm of SIN and its punishment.... 

But because of His great love for us, Jesus became our Shield of protection and salvation.  “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree [i.e., the cross]…; by His wounds [we can] be healed”
(1 Peter 2:24).  Jesus will save all of those who will embrace His offer of salvation through their trusting obedience.

Jesus will be the Savior and Shield to those who: place their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, as one continues to walk in the light of His word, the blood of Jesus will continue to protect the Christian and provide cleansing from sin (1 John 1:7).

Won’t YOU accept the Savior’s offer of salvation and allow Him to be your Shield from the destructive forces of sin?

David A. Sargent, Minister