This week we have an Easter message from my Uncle Malcolm, in Jesus we have eternal protection in the storms of life.
JM Rowland,
5, Tichborne Street,
Leicester
6/4/1941
Safe Because I’m Sheltered – to South Leicester Juniors – To Leicester Central Juniors & Inters.
First of all I want us to think about 3 stories of people who were ‘safe because they were sheltered.’
The first two stories are well known ones from the Bible, & I shall ask you a few questions about them!
- First of all there is the story of Noah. We can imagine how the people of the time laughed at Noah as he built his ark. But Noah had received a command from God and he carried on. When the rains came, he entered the ark with his wife, sons & daughters in law & God shut them in. They were safe because they were sheltered by the ark. (Genesis 7.23)
- The second story is the story of the first Passover. You remember how Pharaoh had continually refused to let Israel leave Egypt in spite of all God’s signs given by Moses. Finally God decided, when all other methods had failed, to kill all of the oldest children throughout Egypt. But how were the Children of Israel to escape this punishment? They were to kill a male lamb, without blemish & of the 1st year & sprinkle its blood on the door posts & lintel of their houses. When the avenging angel saw the blood he passed over that house. (Exodus 7. 12 – 13) The Children of Israel were safe that night because they were sheltered.
The third story is not in the Bible. It occurred fairly recently in one of our bombed cities. A house had collapsed & trapped in the wreckage were a mother & some children. A young air raid warden recently promoted from a messenger tunnelled his way into the ruins until he reached the trapped people. Then he covered them with his body so that they were protected from any falling bricks etc until eventually they were all rescued. The warden a hot shower, went for a few hours rest & turned up at work as usual next morning. It was his turn on duty at the post that night & so he turned up there as well. Well, that buried family was safe, that night, because it was sheltered by a brave man.
We too are in danger of death – eternal death – if we are not sheltered. ‘All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3.23) ‘The wages of sin is death.’ (Romans 6.23)
During this coming week (Easter Week) we shall be thinking of another story, the story of the God has provided a shelter for us, the story of the Cross. There is only one reason why the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary – to provide a shelter for us from our sins, so that we might be safe because we’re sheltered.
Hymn 156, ‘There is green hill far away, outside a city wall, where the dear Lord was crucified and died to save us all.’