But this particular day, just as the material became critical the screwdriver slipped.

The hemispheres of uranium came too close together. Instantly the room was filled with a dazzling bluish haze. Young Louis Slotin, instead of ducking and thereby probably saving himself, tore the two hemispheres apart with his hands and thankfully interrupted the chain reaction.

By this instant, self-sacrificing act, he saved the lives of the seven other people in the room. As he waited for the car that was to take him to the hospital, he said quietly to his companion, “You’ll come through all right. But I haven’t the faintest chance myself. It was true. Nine days later he died in agony.

Self sacrifice. Why do people do it? Self-Sacrifice is defined as the relinquishment of one’s own interests or wishes in order to help others or advance a cause. The Bible gives us numerous accounts of those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Christ. The Bible actually calls this a “living sacrifice.” Peter was one such person. He once healed a well-known beggar and from that, five thousand men came to believe on Jesus Christ. The religious rulers & elders went nuts. They arrested Peter & John and demanded to know, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

So Peter told them – It was “in the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Period. Of course, that didn’t set well with these religious rulers but it was too late. People were being turned “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” and these rulers were afraid of the people.

So the rulers severely threatened Peter & John and commanded them not so speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Peter & John’s response? “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Period-again!! Peter continued his life of self- sacrifice – teaching, preaching & healing people in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

He is listed as one of the early church martyr’s. It seems that people have always had a aversion to truth-tellers!

So why would Peter sacrifice himself like this? What cause could possibly be worth his life? The answer is pretty simple – he cared deeply for the souls of people. Peter caught the vision of Jesus for people! Check out Romans 5: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man…but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That’s people love at it’s apex.

Everybody knows in their heart of hearts that eternity exists. Ivan the IV of Russia was such a cruel man that they called him “Ivan the Terrible.” He married 7 wives and

abused them all. He was immoral and violent He used to grow animals off the Kremlin walls just to watch them die.

When he died in 1584, historians record that they shaved his head and dressed him for burial in the robes of a monk, hoping that God would think that Ivan the Terrible was a monk, and thus allow him into heaven. Pretty crazy stuff. The only problem with that is that there’s only one way to heaven and it’s not by lookin’ good!

Charles Spurgeon (1934-1892) once made a remarkable statement: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring then to stay…and let not one go unwarned and unplayed for.” Selah!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at Dpcitychurch.org

The post True Brave Hearts appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The truth is, all of us, in one way or another, fit into Stevenson’s story about these two personalities. Most of us seem to have split natures more often than we care to admit. But thankfully, we’re not the only ones suffering from this malady. Even the Apostle Paul struggled between good and evil.

Reading through Romans 7, we see how much he clashed with these two “persons.” Vs. 21 gives us this interesting insight to life from Paul: “I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” Poor Paul – poor us!! As he discovered, there is a war being waged in all of us between good and evil. Between the things we want to do and don’t do and the things we don’t want to do, and do.

Imagine the total frustration Paul must have felt when he finally throws up his hands in total exasperation and declares these famous words = “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer, of course, is that Jesus Christ can and does!!

The ancient Roman Emperors were known for their ability to think up hideous forms of punishment for criminals. One of their punishments was that of binding the corpse of a murder victim to the back of the murderer. So, shackled to his victim — hand-to- hand, waist-to-waist, and foot-to-foot — the murderer was forced to live out the remainder of his days directly bearing the weight and putrefying stench of the dead body he carried around with him day and night. In time, the rotting flesh would become rife with disease, infecting the killer and leading to a horrible and grisly end.

Paul’s analogy was that without Christ, we are shackled to a dead body – our sinfulness. Thankfully, Jesus Christ has freed us from sin’s penalty and the Holy Spirit frees us from sin’s power. This is the truth that sets us free. But, of course, to enjoy freedom, we need to apply these truths to our daily lives.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Over my dead body.” There are some who claim this has historical background dating back to the days when one king would always need to die before another could ascend to the throne. So the term, “You will become king over my dead body” came into play. This often happened by murdering the ruling king. Literally, one person would need to die for another to reach their goal. But again literally – this is the only way believers enter the kingdom of heaven – over the crucified body of Jesus Christ who died for us as he willingly laid down his life in place of ours!

In March of 1974, Japanese Lt Hiroo Onoda, a World War II holdout for nearly 30 years, emerged from the Philippine jungles. He told Japanese newsmen he hadn’t come out before because he hadn’t received the order. His brother Toshiro was part of the search party who finally located Hiroo and gave him the good news that the war

had ended. Imagine fighting a war for 30 years without knowing that it was over. Crazy isn’t it?!

But this is the same news the Apostle Paul was giving us. The war is over – our sinful nature is dead. It’s been defeated if we will only turn to Jesus in those critical times of decision! Romans 6:11 says it outright – “You should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” Great news — we no longer have to be slaves to sin, those counted among the living dead.

Imagine if I bought a new car battery but kept the old one – because …well – I’ve had it a long time and I like it. Imagine attending a funeral and walking past the casket and winking at the corpse! Again – pretty crazy thinking!

Living dead or alive to Christ? As always — our choice!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurchg.org

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Finishing the meter check, the senior challenged the younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to their truck. As they came running up to the truck, they realize the lady from that last house was huffing & puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath, she replied, “When I saw two men from the gas company running as hard as you guys were, I figured I’d better run too!”

You must admit that’s an eye-roller! But for some reason, it made me think about the clash of kingdoms we have between good & evil — God & the Devil. Both are in hot pursuit of one main thing – your and my souls. It’s a race to see who will prevail with mere humans who are often clueless as to what’s really going on!

I recently read the Beatitudes again. The famous sermon was delivered by Jesus and recorded in the Book of Luke. The word beatitude comes from the Latin word meaning blessedness. Jesus repeats the phrase “blessed are” over and over – eight times total.

Up to that point, the Jewish people had been raised on long lists of strict rules taught by the Scribes through the law of Moses. But no one had ever been able to fulfill all the requirements of the law and obtain righteousness. Now, Jesus was taking these impossible laws – boiling them down to their truest essence – with promises of provision from God rather than judgment. The listeners were mesmerized. They could hear the truth in Jesus’s words – they could feel the difference.

Here are the first four Beatitudes: “You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding. You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal. You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning. Count yourself blessed every time someone smears your name to discredit Me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort.” And the list continues . . . blessing after blessing!

Contrast those in the race for souls with the Devils beatitudes. Ohhh yeah – he has a list too. Here are just a few from his list: Blessed are those who are too tired or too busy to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians – they are my best workers. Blessed are those who are easily offended – they will soon get angry and quit. Blessed are those who are the complainers – I’m all ears to them. Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God’s work – for they are my helpers. Blessed are you who, when you read this, think it’s about other people and not yourself – I’ve got you too!

The whole purpose of Jesus’s message was to offer a new way – revealed truth & everlasting life. Jesus was offering the seekers in his audience a glimpse of the power His Spirit could work through them. The Kingdom of Heaven was truly within their

grasp. Jesus showed them what it looked like so they would hunger for the freedom His salvation would bring! The truth is, there are two kingdoms and which one you eventually end up in is your choice!

There’s a fascinating story of Bishop Philip Brooks – author of “O, Little Town of Bethlehem.” When he was seriously ill, he requested no friends come to see him. But when an acquaintance of his – Robert Ingersoll, a famous a in right away. Ingersoll said “I appreciate this very much. Especially when you aren’t letting any of your close friends in to see you.”

Bishop Brooks responded, “Oh, I’m confident of seeing them in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you!”

Choose your ‘blessings’ wisely ~    Selah!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org

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   The man was extremely kind and Penn was moved by the gesture  – he later shared this: “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, do you really think it’s not worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward?

   “How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” Penn then offered this example: “If I believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you – and you didn’t believe it – there’s a certain point that I tackle you – and this is more important than that.”

   Penn is absolutely right about evangelism. Do we really believe the Gospel? And if we do, do we care enough to share it with others? So – here’s the question – is the gospel of Jesus Christ good news or bad news? It’s good news! It’s the best of news!! 

   Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has taken our place, risen from the dead – and so can we! We can live in eternity with Him forever. And all we have to do is place our trust in Him. What amazing news! But if that’s true – and it is – then why are we so reluctant to tell people? Why do we often treat the Good News as if it were bad news?

   If hell is real, should we not warn people? If heaven is easily possible to attain, should we not divulge that good news? Our bodies are just an ‘earth-suit.’ They will eventually grow old and die, but our spirit, which is tied to our soul, will survive that death. Paul said in 2 Corinthians that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” — if you’re a Christ-follower. 

   Sharing this good news (the Gospel) should be a natural overflow of our Christian life. When we have joy unspeakable and are filled with His light — that tends to leak out. Basically, your life becomes the message!

   A guy recently traveled to a customer site for his work as a computer programmer. He met, along with five other programmers, in a conference room where they had set up some computer terminals. Their makeshift office was right next to the cafeteria and during the course of the long afternoon, he walked over to get some coffee. He found a vending machine; it had coffee, cappuccino and espresso, along with vegetable soup. He looked and looked for a place to put in his money and finally located a little sign – “No coins required.” 

   This seemed a bit odd but he punched in his selection (cappuccino) and out popped the little cup and a couple seconds later – here came the cappuccino. It was free!! He wasn’t sure whether or not it was an employee benefit or just a way to keep their people “caffeined-up.” He didn’t know and he didn’t care. Free coffee! So what did he do next? He went back in the room and told everyone else! That’s what you do when you have good news! 

   Lee Strobel once noted, “I’ve seen far too many Christians who are more than willing to travel halfway around the world to volunteer for a week in an orphanage but who cannot bring themselves to take the personal risk of sharing Jesus with the co-worker who sits day after day in the cubicle right next to them.”

   Bottom line = Don’t snooze with The News!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org

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Jessica Tapia will receive $360,000 in a settlement with the Jurupa Unified School District in Riverside County, as reported by The Press-Enterprise.

She was placed on administrative leave in 2022 and fired in 2023 after “refusing to abide by state law prohibiting discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming students,” as reported by Patch. Tapia said the policies are incompatible with her Christian faith.

“I chose to stand for truth and my religious beliefs by informing my school district that I would not comply with their directives that would require me to lie to my students about their gender, lie to their parents about that information and allow boys into my girls’ locker room,” Tapia said in a social media post announcing the settlement.

In a statement to The Press-Enterprise, district spokesperson Jacqueline Paul said “the district has not admitted any fault or wrongdoing as part of this settlement.”

“The decision to settle this case was made in conjunction with the district’s self-insurance administrators and in the best interest of the students, such that the district would be able to dedicate all of its resources and efforts to its student population regardless of their protected class,” the spokesperson added.

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