Near Disaster: Years ago my daughter Teri and I were swimming at the Municipal Pool in Oak Ridge, TN (FYI: probably the coldest municipal pool in America—it’s fed by an underground stream!).  We stopped at the crowded float out in the deepest water, where the lone male lifeguard was busily “saving” good-looking girls!? Suddenly, a few yards away, we both saw a young boy drowning—repeatedly struggling to stay afloat long enough for a brief breath, then disappearing beneath the surface. At that moment he didn’t need a good example, a teacher, a doctor, a “forever” friend, or even a special relationship. He desperately needed a “savior,” someone to save him from imminent, certain death! I swam to him; Teri and I dragged him onto the float and helped him breathe. Then a very strange thing happened. Maybe he was embarrassed, but without a word he suddenly jumped up and dove back in the water, struggling back toward the shallow water. By the time we could alert the lifeguard (still awfully busy), the boy was standing near the edge of the pool.

Sadly, far too many Americans have been told that they need Jesus Christ to be their Good Example, Teacher, Doctor, Forever Friend, or they need to establish and enjoy a really unique relationship with Him. Scripture tells us Jesus came to SAVE us FROM the horrible, temporal and eternal penalty of our sins and to SAVE us FOR the “Good Works” God has prepared for us before He even created us (Eph. 2:8-10).

Everybody is “spreading something.” Believers, as we spread the Gospel, the Greatest News of ALL in Jesus Christ, let’s tell the TRUTH for a change and see how that works!