“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that
he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that
he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” – Hebrews 2:17
In August of 1977, John Everingham, an Australian journalist working in Laos,
was expelled by the Communists. He was engaged to marry Keo Sirisomhone, a
Laotian woman, but he was forced to leave her behind.
For ten months John carefully planned how to rescue Keo, and one day the
following May he set out on his mission of rescue. Outfitted with facemasks,
fins, and a scuba-diving tank equipped with two breathing devices, he plunged
into the rain-swollen Mekong River, which separates Laos from Thailand. Because
of the murky water, there was zero visibility below the surface, and John had to
use a compass that was on his facemask. He battled swirling currents, crawling
along the muddy bottom, where he was occasionally tossed about by whirlpools.
When he finally surfaced, he discovered that he had underestimated the current.
Not only was he still several hundred feet offshore, but he was being carried
past the sandbar where Keo was waiting, disguised as a fisherwoman to avoid any
suspicion. Exhausted, Everingham swam back to the Thai side. This time he
entered the river further upstream. After another grueling swim, he crawled out
on the bank, but Keo was no longer there.
Everingham yelled at the top of his lungs. She turned and saw, and ran back down
the beach. Then the real work began. Keo had never learned to swim, so her
fiancé put a life vest around her neck and one of the breathing regulators in
her mouth. With their faces at the surface of the water and a quick-release
strap binding them together, they pushed hard into the river. After a desperate
struggle that seemed to last a lifetime, they made it together, falling
exhausted on the bank on the other side—safe in Thailand!
Christ has carefully planned and carried out our rescue plan. He came in human
form, suffered and died for our sins. Today in prayer, thank Jesus for His plan
of salvation that He freely offers to us.
“Anyone can devise a plan by which good people go to heaven. Only God can devise
a plan whereby sinners, which are His enemies, can go to heaven.” – Lewis Sperry
Chafer
God’s Word: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to
the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his
will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the
praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:11-12
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2004, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN HEBREWS
pkennedy6@yahoo.com
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