Wow, it’s been quite a cold snap!  We had heavy snow last weekend with hazardous driving conditions.  Chicagoland saw temperatures dipping below this week!  With the wind blasting from the north, the wind chill was nearly 20 degrees below zero! Those are deadly conditions!  The National Weather Service says that in these conditions, frostbite to exposed skin can occur in only five minutes!  Let’s be careful out there!

Let me ask you a question.  If you HAD to drive out in this weather and your car HAPPENED to break down what would you do?  I’d probably call AAA to get my car towed. But what would you do if you were in the middle of nowhere with no phone service?  What then?  I would probably just hop right back in my car and wait…  But then you see the lights of a car!  The driver says, “Hop in!  Let me take you to the nearest gas station!”  What would you say?  Would you say, “No, thanks.  I’m just going to stay here and freeze to death.”  Of course you wouldn’t!  You’d say, “THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! I’m jumping in!”

Unfortunately, when it comes to our faith life, many people do not yet know how deadly it is without Jesus.  Many people are stuck, walking around in the cold, without any protection from the eternal elements of sin that lead only to death.

You may already know what it means to be rescued by Jesus!  He came into our cold, dark world filled with sin and saved us!  We have been brought into His protection and warmed by His love.   Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  

What would you do if you saw someone stranded out in the cold? Of course, you would stop and pick them up! Do you know someone who has been left “out in the cold” and does not yet know the love of Jesus?  Why not show them even greater love and come alongside and pick them up and take them to their Savior Jesus? Jesus is here to rescue us!

Stay warm in Jesus’ Love!
Pastor Maske