15 May Using your parachute

Two skydivers jump from a plane at 15,000 feet. Both are wearing parachutes. One of them folds his arms, ignores the rip cord, and says to himself: “I’m perfectly safe because of my parachute.” He is still saying these words as he hits the ground at 100 mph. The other sky diver knows he will be safe only if he actually does something. He pulls the rip cord and lands safely.

We may know whether about the Christian faith. We may respect Jesus and agree what he did on the cross is the answer to our deepest needs. But until we actually ask for his help and commit our lives to him, it is like falling with a closed parachute. We need to take urgent action. We need to pull the rip cord while there is still time.

The rip cord is this: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” There is nothing else we can do. We cannot save ourselves – we can only throw ourselves on what Jesus achieved for us on the cross. He has done everything that we need.
How do we know this is true? We can stake our lives on the promises given to us in the Bible and proved in real life by hundreds of millions of Christians . . .

The Lord upholds all those who fall
• Jesus “ is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy . . .”
• He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him.
If you are ready to come to the cross for the help you need, there are two steps you need to take now. The steps are called repent and believe. As Jesus said: “Repent and believe the good news!” What do these two steps mean?

Repent
This will mean taking time to examine how you live. You will need to ask God’s forgiveness for all that is wrong in your life-and ask him to save you and set you free. Repentance means that you turn away from your sin to God. If you change your position, then Jesus will change your situation.

Believe
Faith is an act, not a feeling. You decide to believe. Every person has to pull that faith rip cord. If you do that now, the Lord will not delay by investigating your suitability, your worthiness, or your past.

No matter who or where you are, in the nick of time as you repent and believe, the parachute opens with a bang, and you are safe – for real.
One believing call, in simple language which you would use in calling upon a friend for help, addressed to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation, is the way the parachute of salvation opens. God himself will intervene for you. He promised it. Pull the rib cord quickly, wherever you are.

Taken from Our Link, July-Aug 2002.