In this email to his former pastor in California, a Naval Officer expresses what facing danger and death is teaching him about life.

“Here in Norfolk, it was certainly a hollow feeling that we experienced when the Cole was attacked. Just two months prior to the attack, the Cole was at the next pier over from us here at the Naval Station. Given that our ship is moored next to the destroyers (and hence, we tower over them), our Captain has made it a policy to open our flight deck to the families of sailors leaving on deployment with other ships.

On a morning back in August, family members of the Cole said goodbye from our flight deck. I've seen this played out with other families and ships as well in my five short months aboard the Nassau. I can never get accustomed to seeing a spouse crying or a child screaming because Mommy or Daddy is slowly leaving for the next 6 months.

The loss of shipmates on the Cole has certainly left a very deep impression upon me. When I saw the list of names and ages of those killed, I couldn't help but think of the guys in my division, many of whom are 19 or 20 years old. I don't know how most are, but I think that our country has become somewhat complacent because we're told we live in such a "safe" world. Perhaps this was our wake-up call……for I certainly don't bother to think that leaving port in Norfolk will be my last time to see these great United States. I'm sure that those killed on the Cole didn't think so either.”

James 4:14 KJV “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

With new genetic tests, women will soon be able to screen their eggs for potential defects and throw out those they don't want. Geneticists are already saying the new technologies could fundamentally change the way people procreate. Greg Stock, a professor of biobehavioral science at the University of California-Los Angeles, has stirred debate by predicting that sex as a means of making babies will be dead in 20 years. "People will no longer leave their children's health to the chance meeting of sperm and egg," Stock said. "It will become more like fashion. There will be great diversity and great differences in what people value and what people want."

The implications are religious and ethical as well as scientific, and to some it seems the new methods are tampering with Mother Nature. "How many years before this kind of science, left unchecked, leads to a pre-selective process?" asked Father Dick Benson of the Los Angeles diocese. "It's unnatural to allow humans to control their own evolution."

Medical ethicists, too, are concerned about where this technology could lead. They fear a society in which people with preferred physical characteristics are elevated above those born naturally. Complicating this even more is the cost of in-vitro genetic screening. If only the rich can afford it, we might end up with two kinds of people: those whose parents paid for perfection, and those who had no choice but to let nature take its course.

13 years ago, Mark Paisley faked his own death to avoid charges of burglary and fraud. He left a note in his car, which was parked along the Delaware River near Philadelphia in 1991. Paisley was found to be alive and well when he was arrested recently in California.

Pennsylvania State Police officer Glenn Blue, who works for the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, said he had always suspected Paisley was still alive because no body was ever found. Blue made periodic checks on the case over the last three years visiting Paisley's brother Joseph, who lived in Tennessee.

Originally, Blue thought Joseph might be the fugitive until he discovered another man named Joseph Paisley living in San Francisco. The California Paisley turned out to be Mark Paisley using his brother's name. Mark had been arrested on minor fraud and theft charges. When he was arrested on fugitive charges he admitted his true identity.

Officer Blue says Paisley will be returned to Pennsylvania where he will face the original charges plus a charge of attempting to avoid prosecution. Blue says cases where fugitives are caught after living under an alias happen once or twice a year, but says the Paisley case was special. He says, “It is unusual for it to be quite this elaborate."

—Reuters, Fugitive Who Faked Suicide is Found Alive. May 13, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Paisley faked being dead so he could get on with his life—a real irony. Yet without Christ, many people are living “dead” lives. They aren’t faking their death—they are faking life.

Ephes. 2:5 (NLT) “that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!)”

2000 Olympic boxing champion Beksat Sattarkhanov died New Year's eve in an automobile accident at the age of twenty. Very few details were available on the accident. Sattarkhanov gained international attention when he upset Rocky Juarezo of the United States to win the gold in Sydney. So young and so strong, with a lifetime of dreams and opportunities ahead of him, yet he died. The sad truth is, from the moment we are born, we are old enough to die.

James 4:13-14 "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

In October 2002, baseball fans were treated to seven exciting games in the World Series, before the Anaheim Angels won their first championship. During the Series, several players admitted they were under incredible pressure to win, but were able to keep their perspective because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

John Schmidt and his 100-mile-per-hour fastball helped the Giants claim the first game of the series. Afterwards Schmidt said, “You just put your hope in Him, all the other stuff doesn’t matter, y’know. And that’s what I try to do.”

Before taking the mound in game two, Giants Pitcher Russ Ortiz said, “I am always strengthened by His presence in my heart. And just by reading His word, and knowing that through His promises -what He said- he is always with me.”

Angels player Orlando Palmeiro said that in games like the World Series, everybody thinks the game is the most important thing. To Palmiero, Jesus is always the most important thing. He said, “And I need to realize that whatever I’m going through, and whatever it is that God wants to mold me to be, is what I need to go through to become the servant He wants me to be.”

—www.cbn.com, World Series: Angels, Giants, ’Keep Grounded’ with Jesus Christ. Andrew Know, November 1, 2002. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

These guys remind us that whether you are an “Angel,” “Giant,” or just an ordinary person, Jesus is the source of true hope and life.

John 10:10 NIV “The thief comes only to steal and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Is it possible to be dead, and yet still be walking around? Ask 71 year-old Gloria Wicker. A letter from her bank sent the Clovis, New Mexico woman to the hospital when suffered chest pains. What was in the letter? It said that she had died about a month earlier.

Wicker said she spent several hours on the phone trying to prove that she was alive. She was frustrated trying to get past automated phone systems to speak to a human being at the bank to straighten out the mistake. She said,“ There was no message that said, ‘Press One if you have been declared deceased and your assets frozen.’”

The problem apparently began at the office that processes Wicker’s pension. The plan sent a letter to the bank, and the bank stopped her payments. Wicker said the effort to convince the bank and pension program that she was alive, likely brought on the chest pains. Fortunately, the bank corrected the problem and now recognizes that Wicker is alive.

Is it possible to be dead, and yet still be walking around? Not the way that Gloria Wicker was, but that is how the scripture describes those who live without Christ.

Ephes. 2:1-2 NASB “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, [2] in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

When I say the words, "hello Dolly," do you think of a musical or do you think of the first cloned animal a sheep named "Dolly?" Currently, researchers are toying with the idea of using this technology to bring back extinct species. A cow in Sioux City, Iowa is pregnant with a rare Asian gaur fetus. (A gaur is an animal that resembles an Ox in appearance.) Scientists took the egg of the cow, stripped it of its DNA and fused the egg with a skin cell from a gaur. In effect, they've created an embryo that the cow's uterus will accept that is genetically a gaur.

Technically, "Noah," the name of the fetus, has no father, it was artificially induced to begin dividing and growing. Should scientists use cloning to preserve a species? What about to bring a species back to life? What about humans? Should there be human cloning? Why is that a line we're not willing to cross?

Genesis 1:27 NASB "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

You've all heard the punch line to the question, "What do you want to hear people saying at your funeral?" The answer, of course is, "Look, he's moving."

For a man in Kazakhstan, that old joke is no laughing matter. He was apparently electrocuted while trying to seal some power cables and was buried alive by his friends in a shallow grave. Two days later, he regained consciousness and hitchhiked back into town in time to attend a funeral feast in his honor.

—http://www.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/central/12/07/fringe.electrocute.reut/index.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Not many people get that kind of second chance. Life is a precious gift from God. Every moment counts. This December 2000 news story teaches me two truths: 1.) We should live every moment for all its worth. 2.) We should surround ourselves with friends that know the difference between life and death, lest we be buried alive.

James 4:14 NASB "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."

A hospital worker preparing a drowned toddler for the funeral home noticed that the boy was breathing, more than an hour after he had been declared dead. 2-year-old Logan Pinto apparently wondered away from his babysitter and fell into a canal near his home in Rexburg Idaho. The child was submerged for nearly thirty minutes before police found him a half-mile downstream. Though and officer gave him CPR, and emergency workers tried to revive the toddler, all efforts failed, and they pronounced Logan dead.

The hospital gave his mother and stepfather a few minutes to say goodbye. Then, a nurse began to prepare the body for the funeral home. When she looked at the toddler, she noticed his chest was slightly moving and realized that Logan was alive. Rexburg Police Captain Randy Lewis says, "I'm just amazed and overwhelmed with what took place. They aggressively worked with him for quite a bit of time, and of course it's a bad situation when you have to let the parents know that their son has passed away." Lewis said despair turned to joy when emergency workers learned the boy was alive. He added, "I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it hardly, especially after leaving there and seeing what had transpired. I don't know how to explain it. It's joyous and relieving."

—Associated Press, Nurse Finds Vital Signs in Child Pronounced Dead, May 28, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

John 5:24 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Many of us spend hours each week trying to keep our homes clean. As much as we clean, the job is never done. Dust is everywhere. It gets behind the refrigerator, under the bed, and builds up on the TV screen. Dust is part of the air we breathe. Though it seems to be routinely common, an analysis of household dust has shown that some of the dirt lying around the house can be fairly exotic.

Most of the dust in our homes is tiny particles of skin, clothing, or carpet. The process of living stirs it up every day. New studies have shown that some of the dust in your home is soil that gets tracked in from outside, and traces of salt. Even thousands of miles from the sea, wind carries salt driven into the wind by crashing waves at the shore. These salt particles often become the basis for many of the rain drops that fall around the planet. Researchers also found that some of the dust floating around is the remnants of volcanic eruptions and forest fires. Transatlantic winds often pick up dust from the Sahara desert and spread it across the ocean where it gives raindrops a light pink tint.

Most homes even have a bit of dust from outer space scattered about. Tons of disintegrating meteorites and comets rain down on the earth every year. A magnet will often pick up this dust. Some of the dust lying around the house is alive. Studies have a portion of household dust is pollen, fungus spores, and even dormant bacteria seeking a place to land and grow.

Though we may simply wipe or vacuum away dust, it reminds us that the world is smaller than we think, and only our temporary home.

—http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=211. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Psalms 103:14-17 (GW) "He certainly knows what we are made of. He bears in mind that we are dust. [15] Human life is as short-lived as grass. It blossoms like a flower in the field. [16] When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears, and there is no longer any sign of it. 17 [17] But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord's mercy is on those who fear him. His righteousness belongs to their children and grandchildren,"

A new government report says life expectancy in the United States has hit another all-time high at 77.6 years. At the same time deaths, from heart disease, cancer, and stroke continue to drop. The report also contained some worrisome news. Half of Americans in the 55-to-64 age group, the oldest group of the baby boom generation, suffer from high blood pressure and 40 percent are obese. Statistics indicate this group of Americans is in worse shape than people born a decade earlier, when they were in that age group.

Life expectancy in the United States has been rising without interruption since 1900. The increased lifespan is attributed to several factors, including advances in medicine and sanitation, and declines in some types of unhealthy behavior such as smoking. Health officials plan to continue to draw attention to unhealthy behaviors. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says, "Its never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle to enjoy a longer, healthier life."

—http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1388212, U.S. Life Expectancy Hits All-Time High. by Mike Stobbe, December 8, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 6:25-32 (TEV) "This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? [26] Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? [27] Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? [28] "And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. [29] But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. [30] It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! [31] "So do not start worrying: 'Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?' [32] (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.

68 year-old Tom Byrne could be an instant millionaire if a Florida land deal goes through, but the retired sales executive says he does not want to sell his interest in a mobile home park. Bryne is one of several landowners in a south Florida mobile home park who are resisting selling their property to a land developer.

Surrounded by million dollar homes, and high-rise condos, the 43-acre Briny Breezes mobile home park is a relic of a simpler time in Florida. The Briny Breezes brochure calls it a "self-governed mobile home community of kindred souls." Residents of the Palm Beach County town drive around in golf carts, waving to each other and chatting about the next neighborhood outing which might be water aerobics at the community pool, shuffleboard near the clubhouse or a night of bowling. A developer wants to convert the property into condos, a marina, and a luxury hotel.

Most of the residents, including Byrne admit they can't do much to stop the deal from going through. Though Byrne stands to make a little over one million dollars on property he paid $150,000 for two years ago, he says some things are more important than money. Byrne says, "You just can't buy a way of life. This is my home."

—http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/trailer-park-residents-face-dilemma/20070102145709990002?cid=2360. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 6:25 (GW) [25] "So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothes?"

In some of the impoverished sections of Mexico, residents frequently take the law into their own hands. Recently, one resident decided to fix a pot-hole left by the heavy rains and closed down a road to do it. His neighbor didn't appreciate his efforts. The argument escalated and a gunfight ensued resulting in 4 people losing their lives over a pothole.

—http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061010/od_nm/life_mexico_dc_1 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

What a waste. There's no way that one pothole was worth four lives. These men died needless deaths.

Unfortunately, just as these men died needlessly, so many people lose their souls needlessly.

Psalms 49:7-10 (BBE) "Truly, no man may get back his soul for a price, or give to God the payment for himself; [8] (Because it takes a great price to keep his soul from death, and man is not able to give it.) [9] So that he might have eternal life, and never see the underworld. [10] For he sees that wise men come to their end, and foolish persons of low behaviour come to destruction together, letting their wealth go to others."

A 24-year-old Australian philosophy student recently sold his life on eBay. Nicael Holt sold his name, phone number and all his possessions including clothes, CDs, a surfboard, laptop, childhood photos, and a "nice lamp" he had been given by a former girlfriend. In his ad, Holt said the winner would be entitled to a four-week training course in how to be him, including surfing lessons, and two months of on-call support afterward. The package even awarded the winning bidder the right to spend Christmas with Holt's parents, and an opportunity to meet all Holt's friends and potential lovers. The winning bidder paid $5790 (US dollars) for the right to become Holt.

On a separate website, Holt sought donations for charity, and tried to explain his actions. He said he was motivated by boredom and intrigue as to what constitutes a life and what made him what he was. Holt admitted his legal identity; passport, qualifications, and future inheritance were not included in the deal. He said he hoped to make the point that the amount and type of things for sale in the world are insane and wasteful. Holt wrote, "I'm still racking my brain to come up with the answer or any answer as to why I did this?"

http://dailynews.muzi.com/news/ll/english/10034452.shtml, Australian sells own life on Internet, January 30, 2007. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 10:30-38 (CEV) "Even the hairs on your head are counted. [31] So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows. [32] If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. [33] But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don't belong to me. [34] Don't think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. [35] I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. [36] Your worst enemies will be in your own family. [37] If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. [38] And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples."

A North Carolina man is recovering after his truck veered off the road and demolished a church building in Selma, North Carolina. Doctors are convinced that running into the Temple of Joy Church actually saved Jerry Wood's life.

Wood's doctors say the man had a heart attack seconds before the accident, and his heart stopped beating temporarily. The impact of running into the building jolted the heart back into action. They told Wood that he probably would not have survived if he had not run into the side of the church building.

Wood says he doesn't remember much about the accident. He says, "I go through the stop light, it was green, and that's the last thing I remember. It's almost like 'Zip!' and it was just so peaceful." Wood says he is grateful for the second chance at life, and will now have the opportunity to watch his grandchildren grow up.

The church building was condemned following the accident, and must be torn down brick by brick before the congregation can rebuild. Temple of Joy's Pastor James Neal doesn't mind the loss of the building. He said, "Well, timing is everything to God. Right place at the right time, right individual." he added, "I'd rather for the building to shock him back to life then for him to be dead and gone."

—http://www.wral.com, Selma Wreck Actually Saves Man's Life, January 26, 2006,

Isaiah 55:3 (NKJV) "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David."

To most drivers, parking a car involves a bit of intuition, and a bit of art, combined with skills developed from years of practice. A London professor says parking like many other daily activities can be reduced to a combination of mathematics and variables. Simon Blackwell of London’s Holloway College has developed a mathematical equation to help drivers find the perfect parking spot. Blackburn balances the car’s curb-to-turning radius, alongside the wheel base and length to determine exactly how much space a driver needs to squeeze into a tight parking space.

Blackburn developed his formula after a London newspaper published a survey showing 57 percent of commuters lacked confidence in their ability to park their car. The survey found 32 percent of drivers would drive further from their destination or to a paid parking lot just to avoid trying to squeeze into a small space. The average driver might find the array of square roots, brackets, and symbols a bit intimidating, Blackburn says applying the formula to basic parking guideline, you can work out exactly when to turn the wheel to slide perfectly into a parking space. Blackburn adds, “Parking the car is something that most of us do on a daily basis, and we all get frustrated with it sometimes. This was the perfect opportunity to show how we apply mathematics to understanding something that we all share.”

--Mathematician Finds Formula for Perfect Parking; http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/12/14/mathematician-finds-formula-perfect-parking , December 14, 2009, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

All due respect to the professor, parallel parking is hard enough without trying to run a calculation through my mind as I attempt to avoid hitting the car in front and behind me. Life, like parking, may be able to be reduced to a formula, but when we do that, we’ve reduced life itself. Living rightly flows from following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and following the faithful of example of those who have gone before, not following do’s and don’ts.

Philippians 3:17 (GW) “Brothers and sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have given you.”

Carl Frederickson is a man looking for adventure in life. When Carl was young, his imagination was sparked by a great adventurer whose motto was, “Adventure is Out There.” When Carl met his wife, Ellie, they dreamed of great adventure together. Their greatest dream was to travel to South America and build a house on top of Paradise Falls in Venezuela. Ellie had created an adventure book to chronicle the adventures she envisioned she and Carl would have. The beginning pages contained the wild hopes of youth, followed by a section, which Ellie planned to fill with memories from the adventures to come.

Unfortunately, time and circumstances got in the way, and Carl and Ellie never had the chance to go to Paradise Falls and live their dream. After Ellie’s death, Carl looked through the opening pages of Ellie’s adventure book, seeing the title, “Things I am going to do,” and imagining the empty pages beyond Carl decides to make the trip he and Ellie always dreamed of. He ties thousands of helium balloons to his house and sets off for Paradise Falls.

In the course of the adventure, Carl meets Russell, a fatherless boy-scout character, and encounters a strange rare bird, which Russell nicknames Kevin. When Carl meets his boyhood hero and finds the adventurer is willing to eliminate anyone who stands in his way of revealing this rare bird to the world, he faces a dilemma. With the helium slowly leaking from his balloons, Carl must hurry to get the house into position on the falls. If he stops to help Russell rescue Kevin, Carl’s dreams are in danger. He must make a decision over whether to fulfill a promise to his departed wife, or embrace a dangerous mission to save his new friends.

OPTION I: Play Clip from UP, Chapter 27 Message from Ellie, 1:10:20 to 1:15:01 and make application.

OPTION TWO: Describe clip and make application.

After Russell confronts Carl, Carl withdraws into the house, seeking solace in the past and the dreams of yesterday. Dejectedly, he walks through the dark hallway realizing the house and his dreams are grounded, with no way to complete the adventure he always hoped he would. As Carl enters the living room, he sees a carved bird which Ellie treasured lying on the floor. He passes it, and sets up the chairs he and Ellie shared many happy hours in. As Carl sits down, he picks up Ellie’s adventure book. Silently, he thumbs throw the first pages containing the childhood dreams, which now appear lost. He pastes the picture of Paradise Falls back into the book, and sadly starts to close the pages. As Carl closes the book, he notices the corner of a picture on the pages he thought were empty. He opens the book and discovers Ellie has posted pictures of their wedding, a day in the park, and other happy memories on the following pages. A smile crosses Carl’s face as he thumbs through the pages. On the last page, he discovers an unknown message from his departed wife. Ellie wrote, “Thanks for the adventure. Now go have a new one! Love Ellie.”

Carl’s expression changes as his thoughts turn back to Russell and Kevin. He picks up Russell’s merit badge sash and looks at it. He runs out to the porch, calling for Russell. As Carl looks up, he sees Russell sailing away with a few more of the needed helium balloons. When Russell sees Carl, he declares, “I’m going to help Kevin, even if you won’t.”

Carl calls after Russell trying to stop him. “No Russell, No!” As the boy sails away, Carl tries to get the house to fly once again, but it is just too heavy. In frustration, Carl throws a chair off the porch. As he does, an idea strikes him. Carl begins to throw out everything left in the house. He throws out all of the old baggage that weighs the house down. As he throws the refrigerator off the porch, the house lurches and then begins to rise. Carl cheers as the now empty house takes flight. He grabs the control ropes and guides the house in a new future and a new adventure with his friends.

APPLICATION: The abundant life Jesus promised is not we hope to discover some day. Abundant life through Jesus is available every day when we decide to pursue it. Abundant Life is the adventure of everyday living, but we have to let the baggage of the past go first.

Chapter 27, Message From Ellie, 1:10:20 to 1:15:01 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

John 10:10 (NKJV) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

In Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God, Francis Chan writes “Stan [Gerlach] was giving a eulogy at a memorial service when he decided to share the gospel. At the end of his message, Stan told the mourners, ‘You never know when God is going to take your life. At that moment, there’s nothing you can do about it. Are you ready?’ Then Stan sat down, fell over, and died. His wife and sons tried to resuscitate him, but there was nothing they could do—just as Stan had said a few minutes earlier.”

--Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God, P. 46. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

James 4:13-14 (HCSB) “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.”

Bureaucrats have discovered the underlying question about the value of human life is politically and emotionally charged. For years, the government has used the term, “value of a statistical life.” The so-called price tag became a political hot potato in 2002 when the government reduced the value of elderly people by 38 percent compared to people under the age of 70. In 2004, the Environmental Protection agency reduced the value of life for everyone from $7.9 million to $7 million dollars. When the media discovered the change two years later, the agency was criticized by politicians and ridiculed by comedians. In 2009, the value was raised back to the earlier figures.

Statisticians say trying to put a value on life is ethical and dangerous because people often overestimate some risks, like cancer, and underestimate others such as heart disease. Recently, the EPA has worked toward changing the term to “value of mortality risk.” Instead of using dollars to represent a theoretical life, the regulations will estimate the cost in “dollars per micro risk per year, moving the focus to the regulations rather than lives. The EPA’s chief environmental economist, Al McGartland says people are troubled by the question of valuing human lives. With the new proposal he says, ”We’re not putting a value on a human life.”
After cutting the value of life, EPA ditching the term,

--http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110120/ap_on_sc/us_sci_value_of_life, January 20, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Matthew 6:25-26 (HCSB) (25) “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

Over the years, Evangelist Billy Graham has spoken to million around the world. His crusades have taken him to at least 185 countries, and his words have inspired and encouraged world leaders and everyday citizens alike. As Graham prepares to turn 93, he is still working to change lives. Although, he is frail with Parkinson’s symptoms, restricted to walkers or wheelchairs, and has difficulty seeing, he is still an author and spiritual leader.

Billy Graham’s latest book, entitled, Nearing Home, Life, Faith and Finishing Well, will be his thirtieth. A comment by the evangelist made in an interview several years ago inspired the book. He said he had been taught how to die, but no one had ever taught him how to grow old. Graham says his desire for his new book is that it will be a handbook he did not have, something that is spiritual, pragmatic, and fearless. Graham describes the book as a “mash-up of Psalm 23 with a 21st century how-to on growing old. He wants everyone who reads the book to discover why they’re still alive and uncover the spiritual strength to face debilitation and loss. Graham said, “The Bible says that God has a reason for keeping us here; if He didn’t, he would take us to Heaven far sooner.”

--Billy Graham's new book a spiritual look at growing old; http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-10-04/billy-graham-book-nearing-home/50593782/1; September 28, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Philippians 1:21-24 (CEV) If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die, I will gain even more. (22) I don't know what to choose. I could keep on living and doing something useful. (23) It is a hard choice to make. I want to die and be with Christ, because that would be much better. (24) But I know that all of you still need me. That's why I am sure I will stay on to help you grow and be happy in your faith.

The Parsis are a group of people practicing the Zoroastrian religion living within today's India whose attitude toward life is succinctly expressed by one woman when she said, "There's no life without money . . . nothing at all for the poor"!

There is an abiding ache within the soul of most people for an inner joy that seems to be contemptibly elusive, which can lead to hopelessness. Because we are in Christ we can trust His words. We are promised as we abide in Him, no matter our circumstances in life, that we have life and that life is available to us to be lived to the fullest.—Jim L. Wilson and Larry Floyd

"The Invisible Parsis: The Poor of a prosperous community (From Five Parsi Films)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v+Q-iZbiiIEiU&feature=endscreen
@ minute 4:46 within the clip; date accessed: Nov. 4th, 2012

John 10:10 (HCSB) “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

In 2009, Mark Templin went to the hospital complaining of chest pains. He seemed to recover, but returned a week later complaining of problems with his vision, memory, and speech. The medical center gave him a CT scan and informed him that he had terminal brain cancer. Templin was so shocked that he quit his job, sold his truck, and held one last birthday party anticipating his imminent death.

He went back for more tests and discovered he did not have cancer, but had suffered a series of small strokes instead. He sued the doctor and hospital for negligence and won. He was awarded almost $60,000 in damages. In his opinion, the judge in the case wrote, “It is difficult to put a price tag on the anguish of a man wrongly convinced of his impending death.” —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Man awarded $59K for being wrongly diagnosed as near death, By Claudine Zap, http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-awarded-59k-incorrect-death-diagnosis-181616160.html, Accessed May 10, 2013

Matthew 10:29-31 (ESV) (29) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (30) But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Euthanasia is an accepted way of life in Belgium. In 2010 and 2011 more than 2,000 Belgians ended their life with doctor-assisted death. The sad thing is not all were terminally ill. The law allows for doctor-assisted death if a person has “physical or emotional pain that is unbearable.” The loose guidelines have led to death for many reasons. But now the country’s senate has passed an amendment to the euthanasia law that will extend the right to doctor-assisted death of minors.

Respect for the sanctity of life is lost in Belgium. Now instead of leading the little children to Jesus as he asked, they are sending them to meet him prematurely.--Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NASB) Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (17) If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

When Geraldine Fasnacht says that she loves to fly she isn’t talking about in airplanes. Fasnacht, 33, jumps off peaks high in the Swiss Alps. Wearing a wingsuit with fabric stretched between her torso and outstretched arms and legs, she glides forward three or four yards for every 1 yard she descends. When she nears the ground, she opens her parachute for a soft landing.

The sport is exceptionally dangerous, and researchers estimate that 7 percent of the world's wingsuiters die every year in accidents. Several of her close friends have died while wingsuiting but Fasnacht says “the transcendent euphoria she experiences on each trip is worth the risk. ‘I would rather die if cannot live my passions.’"

Life is precious and has value. To reduce one’s life to thrill seeking is to diminish the purpose the creator has for each of us. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Proverbs 14:27 (HCSB) (27) The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

Michelle Wilkins, a 26-year-old Colorado woman answered a Craigslist ad for baby clothes. When she arrived she was attacked by a woman who cut her seven-month fetus from her womb. The mother survived the attack, but the baby did not. The suspect faces eight felony charges, including unlawful termination of pregnancy. She was not charged with murder because Colorado does not recognize unborn children as persons. Coroners could not prove the child lived outside the womb, thus in Colorado the baby was never a person that could be murdered.

The baby was a person to Michelle. She was a person to her daddy. She was a person to her grandparents. She was a person to the attacker, who wanted a baby. Only to the state was little Aurora not a person. -- Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Evan Rodriquez is a NFL free agent. In December of 2015 he and his wife Olivia were due to have their first child. They found out their unborn daughter has anencephaly. She would likely be born without portions of her brain, a life defect that often limits life to days.

Evan and Olivia rejected abortion telling the WFTS in Tampa Bay that they pray every morning together. “We felt like who are we to determine a baby’s life,” Evan said. “We are going to leave it in God’s hands.”

Trusting God is not always easy to do, especially in the face of a situation like this. The Rodriquez family is an inspiration to trust the Lord in tough times. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Job 12:10 (HCSB) The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

Dutch officials last year allowed doctors to prescribe a lethal injection of drugs to a woman in her 20’s who was a child sex abuse victim and wished to die. The woman suffered abuse between the ages of 5 and 15. “She had developed post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anorexia, chronic depression, and hallucinations.” According to doctors she was “totally competent” but said her condition was incurable. The only standard necessary for an assisted suicide in the Netherlands is that a condition be “unbearable and incurable.” It is increasingly including depressed individuals and lonely senior citizens.

Life is precious. No person should be given up on because of their depression. The easy way is not always the best way. We are firm on the side of life. –--Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (HCSB)“Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him; for God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.”

Marjorie Dannnfelser, president of the Susan B Anthony list, speaks to the pro-choice mantra of personally opposing abortion but supporting a woman’s right to choose. U.S. Senator and candidate for Vice President Tim Kaine’s says that he “personally” opposes taxpayer funded abortions but will support running mate Hillary Clinton’s attempt to overturn the 40-year ban. Dannnfelser said, “You cannot be personally opposed to the destruction of innocent human life and take no action to stop it.”

This is a perfect example of our walk not matching our talk. We want to have some things in life both ways. Where life is concerned though, you are either in support of keeping it or killing it. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Psalm 127:3 (HCSB)“Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, children, a reward.”

Cryogenics is a growing industry because of the number of individuals who believe that science will eventually eliminate all disease and provide a means of reanimating a deceased human being.

True believers of cryogenics pay up to $200,000 for their entire bodies or heads to be frozen in temperatures below -150 C. —Jim L. Wilson & Scott Gourley

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/does-cryogenic-preservation-work-and-how-much-does-it-cost-everything-you-need-to-know_uk_582ed68ce4b09025ba31ddbb

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (HCSB)“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.”

A new study from the University of Vermont suggests eating hot peppers can help you live longer. In the study, researchers looked at the health and diet data of more than 16,000 Americans for nearly 19 years. They discovered that “those who regularly ate hot peppers were 13 percent less likely to die over that period than those who didn’t eat such peppers.”

OK, so we can add spicy peppers to things like a healthy diet and exercise to the list of things that may delay death, but that’s all good habits can do—delay death. What happens after death is determined by what we do with God’s free gift of Salvation. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

John 3:16 (HCSB)“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Just released data from the Netherlands indicates that in 2015 there were 7254 assisted deaths. The really alarming statistic however is that 431 of those were people who were “terminated” without their permission.

On both ends of life, before birth, and near the end, doctors are taking life from babies and the elderly. The loss of these lives is a tragedy. —Jim L. Wilson & Rodger Russell

https://www.spuc.org.uk/news/news-stories/2017/july/netherlands-431-euthanised-without-consent-in-2015

In the movie “The Last Samurai,” Nathan Algren, played by Tom Cruise, embraces the samurai culture he was hired to destroy. The way of the Samurai was being replaced by modern weapons and military tactics. The young emperor, manipulated by the nation’s generals, found himself at odds with the leader of the Samurai, Katsumoto, his former teacher and friend.

In the climactic battle between the last samurai and the modern army, Katsumoto is defeated. Algren, who fought with him, appeared before the emperor to present him with Katsumoto’s sword. The young emperor knelt beside him and asked, “Tell me how he died?” He answered, “I will tell you how he lived!” —Jim L. Wilson and Daniel Furukawa

No one controls how we are born, and most do control how they die, but all choose how we live.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,

The late Billy Graham (1918 -2018) proclaimed the Gospel to millions of people in his lifetime. His rewording of D.L, Moody’s quote is a fitting tribute for his life. “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” It was Grahams desire that his funeral be his last crusade and that even through his death many more would be ushered into the kingdom of heaven. —Jim L. Wilson & Stephen Alexander

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’

Hospice is a ministry of death. Hospice workers care for patients in their last days of life. They focus on symptom relief and giving quality to the patient’s last days. In her new book, With the End in Mind (Little, Brown, 2018) British physician Kathryn Mannix gently introduces readers to hospice. She profiles one patient who fled the Netherlands for England to escape constant suggestions that “many people would prefer not to live in this state,” and records his brilliant response: “[He] agreed that he did not wish to live in that state: this was not his choice. But if the only way to live was in that state …”

Mannix does not argue directly against euthanasia as a solution to end-of-life suffering. But then, she might not have to: Showing readers her infinitely better solution is its own rebuke to the death-as-cure idea.

God gives life to us. It is a precious gift to be lived until the day we die. As believers, we can help our brothers and sisters to the very end, not hasten their death with medicine. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

“Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”