As of July 1, 2003 a new lifesaving technology became available to millions of Americans. Personal locator beacons similar to beacons used by mariners and aviators, allow lost hikers, campers, and others to be tracked in an emergency when they carry the devices.

When activated in an emergency, each beacon emits a signal that can be tracked by a worldwide satellite search and rescue system. Around the world, emergency locator beacons have led rescuers to more than 15,000 people since 1982. Now anyone can obtain a beacon at outdoor sports and electronic retail outlets at a cost between $300 and $500. The new beacons have advanced features including global positioning system technology, which makes it easy for satellites to pick up distress signals and relay accurate location to rescuers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operate the satellite system that receives the signals. Regulations require owners of the beacons to register with NOAA. The registration includes important information such as name, address, phone number, and the number of the specific beacon. When a signal is received, it would then be checked against the registration database containing information about the person in distress.

NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher says, "Personal Locator Beacons save lives. Their availability presents a significant public safety benefit for the millions of people in the United States who explore the nation's wilderness every year."

—Associated Press, July 1, 2003, Emergency Locator Beacons Now Available, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

With the same intensity that a we would search for a person in distress, Jesus searches after the lost.

Luke 19:10 NASB "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Three Mexican fishermen who disappeared while on a short shark fishing trip were rescued in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, after spending 9 months on the open sea. The men said they survived by eating raw fish, ducks, and seagulls, drinking rainwater, and reading the Bible. They were picked up halfway between Hawaii and Australia after drifting 5000 miles from a fishing village north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Antonio Aguayo, a local sport-fishing guide said the men took only enough fuel for a few days and ran into an unexpected storm. He thought they might have used up their fuel traveling in the wrong direction, thinking they were headed back to shore. Aguayo said the people of the tiny fishing village are celebrating the men's survival. He said, "God is so great that he helped them all the time. Everybody is excited. They don't know how it happened that they are alive." Aguayo added, "Nobody has ever been lost for so long and been alive to tell about it. Not even Christopher Columbus stayed on the ocean so long."

—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686595/posts. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 15:24 (ESV) "'For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate."

Jim Connor's custom banjo was lost, but was recently found thanks to eBay and a friend with sharp eyes. Connor who was once a member of the Kingston Trio is now the supply pastor at brown's Presbyterian Church in Virginia. Connor had designed the instrument himself, asking the builders for a carved heel and special neck decoration. He even told them exactly what kind of tone-ring he wanted in the banjo's resonator.

Connor said, "It was a one-time banjo. The company even called it the 'Jim Connor Custom banjo.'"

Thieves took the banjo in 1971 when the New Kingston trio was too tired to unpack their van after a New York City performance. They left the van parked in a hotel garage with everything inside. The next morning the van was empty. Connor got over the lost of the instrument, but never forgot it. Recently, one of Connor's friends recognized the distinct markings when they saw the instrument on the Internet and told Connor about it.

When eBay learned the instrument had been stolen, they stopped the sale. Connor said he considered how much he would have to spend for a lawyer and a trip to New York, and decided to pay the seller a fee to regain the instrument. The men met at a Maryland coffee shop and had a good talk. The seller said a relative of his had purchased the banjo at a used furniture store in Harlem. Since it was stolen, the seller wanted to cooperate. Connor said the instrument was either well cared for or had never been used and he was surprised to get it back. Connor added, "I had gotten over the disappointment of having it stolen. I didn't feel like saying anything ugly. I think I have a kind of spiritual feeling, like 'Thank you, Lord, but it sure took a long time!'"

—http://www.wtop.com/?sid=887972&nid=25&top5=1. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 15:6 (GW) "Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep!'.

When Miami Florida engineer Isaac Daniel heard that his son was missing from school in 2002, he started thinking about a way to locate people in emergency situations. Though the situation with his son turned out to be a case of miscommunication, Daniel followed through on his idea, developing a sneaker with a built in Global Positioning tracking device. The GPS sneakers can be monitored around the clock and instantly locate the wearer anywhere on earth.

The new GPS shoes are available, but expensive, costing more than $325 a pair, and 24 hour monitoring is an extra $20 a month. Daniel's company makes the shoes in adult sizes now and will add a children's version soon.

—http://www.nbc4.tv/technology/10936157/detail.html; Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 15:4-6 (CEV) "If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? [5] And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder [6] and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.'"

The tiny Scottish village of "Lost" will change its name because souvenir hunters keep stealing the city's road signs. Over the past five years seven signs, costing about $400 each, have been stolen. The signs have been spotted as far away as Montreal and Brazil.

Local Councilor Bruce Luffman says, "For many years now, the sign has continually been taken because all it says on it is 'Lost.'" He adds, "Many people want to have their photograph taken by it looking bewildered, and every so often it gets taken." Luffman says deliveries often lost because some delivery drivers have no idea where "Lost" is, and it is very confusing. The hamlet will be renamed Lost Farm which will hopefully keep the signs from disappearing.

—Reuters, Hamlet Tires of Thieves Stealing Lost Property; February 27, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

A book due to be returned to the library in Lincoln, Nebraska during the days of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency was returned at the end of July, 2002. Someone anonymously dropped the copy of “Miss Abby Fitch-Martin” into a library book drop, more than 13,500 days past its due date.

Barbara Hansen of the Lincoln City Library says, “ The theory is someone was cleaning out a relative’s house that passed away and found the book.” Records show the book was checked out by a patient at a local hospital through a now-defunct Hospital Book Service. The due-date card was still in the back pocket of the book and was stamped, Feb. 17 1965. The library index card listing the borrower’s name disappeared long ago.

The book was withdrawn from circulation years ago. A bookmark provided one of the first clues as to how long the book had been missing. It listed four branch libraries that no longer exist. Hansen said the fine on the book would total about $3,400, but the library will not try to collect the late fee.

—Associated Press, July 30, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

In September 2002, the United States Navy rescued 62-year-old Richard Pham 300 miles southwest of Costa Rica. He told them his mast and motor had been destroyed by a storm and that he had spent three months adrift, surviving on rainwater collected in buckets, and roasting seabirds on a small grill.

In January 2003, the Coast Guard rescued Pham again. This time he was 20 miles west of Orange County California. Pham had no communications or navigation equipment on board. Coast Guard spokesman, Lance Jones says, Pham “was lost and disoriented. He told us he left Long Beach three days ago and was in the process of trying to make his way back.”

After the September rescue, several people who heard Pham’s story came to his aid. Bio-engineer Erwin Fruend gave Pham a new 26-foot boat equipped with a radio, flares, compass, and Global Positioning System.

When he learned of the second rescue, Fruend said, “I’m sad to hear he’s confused and disoriented. If he used the navigational equipment I gave him, he wouldn’t have been lost.”

The Coast Guard escorted Pham to Dana Point, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles Harbor. Coast Guard authorities say Pham may also face a fine of $1500 for not carrying a distress signal.

—Associated Press, Sailor Rescued From Pacific for 2nd Time, January 31, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

How often do we ignore the guidance God gives us? If we insist on trying to find our own direction, we will wind up confused and disoriented and in the worse case, lost. But if we are willing to follow, His hand will guide us through life.

Psalm 139:9-10 NIV “ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

When tornadoes left a path of destruction around southern Oklahoma City in May 1999, many things were lost, including pets. After six years, some families are still locating items they lost that day. One family recently located a dog that had been missing for six years.

Ginger, a Dalmatian puppy belonging to the Collins family, was lost in the storm. Though the family often wondered what had happened to her, they never expected Ginger was still alive. Amy Collins happened to be looking at a Dog Rescue Site and thought she saw her dog. Collins said, "I thought, 'there's no way this dog can be in there.'" On Easter Sunday, Collins and her family went to the shelter just in case and discovered that the dog was their long lost pet. The dog recognized the family's scent instantly and went crazy when she saw them.

As they talked with the rescue personnel, Ginger's story unfolded. Not only did Ginger survive the tornado, a car had hit her requiring that she have hip surgery. One family that adopted Ginger abandoned her. They moved away and left her tied to a tree. Ginger bears the scars of other encounters. At some point, someone shot Ginger, and she still has buckshot embedded in her back. Her face also bears the scars left from a fight with a pit bull. Collins said, "She's had some miles on those feet." The family had a microchip implanted in Ginger's back. If she ever gets lost again almost any veterinarian or shelter can scan the chip and bring her home.

—http://www.nbc4.tv, Family reunites With Dog Lost in 1999 Tornado, May 4, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

This family was fortunate that they found their dog, they never really put forth any effort; they just assumed she was lost forever. God doesn't do that with us. He seeks us until He finds us.

Luke 19:10 KJV "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

The sheer numbers of the death tolls and the counts of displaced families give us some insight into the breadth of devastation from Hurricane Katrina, but the only way to get a feel for the depth of the tragedy is to look into the faces of those affected. Snowball's story has tugged on the heartstrings of people around the world and reminded us that each number represents a person.

When authorities put one family on the evacuation bus, they made them leave behind their small white dog. When police took the dog, a young boy cried, "Snowball". He kept crying until he vomited, but authorities would not allow the boy to take the dog with him.

The circulation of the sad story prompted an outpouring of emotion from pet lovers around the country. Though authorities initially said they did not know where the boy or the dog ended up, people began to search to reunite them. One woman set up a reward offer to encourage the search for Snowball.

Several days later, press sources reported the good news that Snowball had been located and was safe. The Louisiana SPCA rescued 43 dogs and 16 cats from the Superdome and brought them to a temporary shelter. Apparently, the dog was one of an estimated 3,000 animals brought into the shelter system in Louisiana following the storm. U.S. Department of Agriculture Terry Conger told a local newspaper that Snowball would be reunited with his owner.

—http://www.msnbc.msn.com, (Associated Press Contributed), Dog taken from sobbing boy at Superdome located, newspaper reports, September 8, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Just as that one dog mattered to the little boy, each one of us matters to God, even if we feel we are insignificant.

Matthew 18:12-14 (NASB) [12] "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? [13] "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. [14] "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

An English woman whose son was abducted 27 years ago has been reunited with him after he turned up on the Internet social network site, Facebook. Avril Grube said the last time she saw her son Gavin was when his father took the boy on a outing to the Zoo. Instead of going to the zoo, her husband defied a court order and took the boy into Hungary.

Since Hungary was part of the Soviet Block in 1982, no progress was made in Gavin’s recovery. Grube, and her sister Beryl Wilson have spent the last three decades trying to trace Gavin some way. Wilson said her sister endured sleepless nights not knowing if her son was dead or alive. Wilson said her sister has a big heart and love her children very much, but her health had suffered a great deal. Wilson added, “Then one day in October, I put his name into Facebook and found him. I e-mailed him but it took a while for him to respond and when he did he gave me his phone numbers.”

Mother and son were reunited recently. They managed to communicate though Gavin had forgotten the English he learned as a boy, and Grube does not speak Hungarian. Grube did learn her family has expanded, because she has a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren yet to met.

--Facebook reunites mother with long-lost son, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6386101.ece ; May 30, 2009, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Luke 15:24 (HCSB) because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

Option one - Play Movie Clip- Titanic scene after Jack dies and before Rose is rescued Titanic is at 2:52:13 to 2:53:40 or chapter 28 - 7:09 to 8:35.

Option two – Describe the scene
A mate on one of the lifeboats is in the front of the boat with a flashlight surveying the bodies all around to see if anyone is still alive in the cold water.

The mate in the boat says to his crewmembers, “Do you see any moving?” A crew member responds, “No sir, none is moving, Sir.” “Check them,” cries the mate. “Bring that oar up here” says the mate. Quietly the mate says, “Check them to make sure.” The crew member picks a dead body up to make sure and slowly releases it and says, “These are dead, sir.” The mate says, “Now give and head easy.” The boat slowly makes its way through the masses of frozen flesh. One of crewmembers gently moves the bodies as the boat makes its way through the sea. The mate says, “careful with your oars, don’t hit them.” Then he yells, “Is there anyone alive out there?” Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone alive out there?” The mate then comes upon a baby and her mother dead in the ocean and says, “We waited too long.” He then turns to his crewmen and says, Well, keep checking them, keep looking.” The mate says one last time, “Is there anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?” The picture fades with the lifeboat with only a few people in it rowing through the multitude of frozen dead bodies.

APPLICATION –We need to be like that man with the light willing to search in the cold darkness for souls. We need to be the one screaming in the darkness “Is anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?” We need to tell the lost and dying about our hope, our light, our Savior Jesus Christ.
--Titanic is at 2:52:13 to 2:53:40 or chapter 28 - 7:09 to 8:35.Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jamie Cheramie

Luke 15:3-7 (NASB77) And He told them this parable, saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

63-year-old Jeanne Schnepp got stuck in raging waters during a fishing trip and her partially deflated raft hung on some brush leaving her with no way of escaping the river. Five days into her ordeal, a passing fisherman happened to see her. Schnepp said the brush she was trapped in was only a few hundred yards from a concrete bridge. She could hear cars passing by and people talking, but no one could see her or hear her cries for help. She was missing for so long that her sons assumed she was dead.

The only choice Schnepp had was to wait and hope someone would find her. She waited through hot days and cold nights, as well as two thunderstorms. The only thing she had to eat or drink was two canned soft drinks and a bottle of water. Finally a local fishermen coming to his favorite fishing hole, saw something unusual and found the missing woman. Schnepp’s son Clint said his mother was recovering fine. He added, “She’s always out doing something that she probably shouldn’t have been doing. Like this.” Describing the site where his mother was found, Clint Schnepp said, “If you weren’t on that bank directly above her looking down, she was hidden.”

--Woman missing 5 days found on raft, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32468862/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/;Tuesday, August 18, 2009. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

How many people are around us calling out for help? Unless we take time to look, they may never be found.

Matthew 18:12-14 (CEV) “Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go look for the one that had wandered away? (13) I am sure that finding it would make you happier than having the ninety-nine that never wandered off. (14) That's how it is with your Father in heaven. He doesn't want any of these little ones to be lost.”

Authorities in Australia say an elderly man set out to get a morning newspaper, and ended up driving 400 miles after he accidentally turned onto a major highway. 81 year-old Eric Steward drove for 9 hours before he stopped and asked for directions. Steward eventually approached a policeman at a gas station, and admitted he did not know where he was. He asked the officer to call his wife and talk to her for him.

After he was reunited with his family, Steward said he took a wrong turn and just kept going. He told reporters he did not need a satellite navigation device because he had only been lost once before. Steward added, “I just went out on the road to have a drive, a nice peaceful drive.”
--http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE5AH48D20091118; November 18, 2009, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

There are many people just like this man, lost and completely unaware of where they are in life.

Luke 19:10 (GW) “Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.”

“In order to reach her office job, the 43-year-old Canadian woman gets on the same bus every morning and rides it to a distinctive downtown square. She then exits the bus and walks 30 yards to the tall building in front of her. At day’s end, she follows these simple directions in reverse to get home. Any change, and she will become hopelessly lost.

“It’s been like this her whole life. Despite normal cognitive development, friends or relatives led her to school every day throughout childhood. In adulthood, she needs a guide to go to the grocery store, movies, or anywhere besides work.”

Doctors and Scientists who have studied her situation state, “Certain forms of brain damage, including Alzheimer’s, can rob adults of their ability to form mental maps. But this woman was the first published case of a person seemingly born lost.”

--“You Can Take The Blindfold Off Now,” Backpacker, May 20, 2010 p. 81 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

While they may not suffer from this physical malady, all people are born lost, and in need of a guide to direct them to Jesus.

Romans 5:18 (NLT) “Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life.”

For an Oregon woman and her children their GPS device turned out to be a curse and a blessing. Melissa Batz and her children were about 15 minutes away from reaching their destination on a camping trip when their GPS unit sent them on a detour. The family drove onto a backcountry road, and soon got stuck in a late season snowstorm. They were able to hike up a nearby hill and get through to 911 on a cell phone.

Rescuers found them quickly because the same GPS unit provided them with the exact latitude and longitude coordinates. After spending the night in a nearby hotel, the family was finally able to get to their intended destination.

--GPS Unit Leads Another Family Astray, http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/gps_unit_leads_another_family.html ; May 25, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Matthew 18:12-13 (HCSB) “What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? (13) And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray.”

According to reports from the cell phone industry Americans lost nearly 30 billion dollars worth of mobile phone equipment in 2011 alone. The list of places phones were likely to disappear included coffee shops, workplaces, and restaurants.

The security firm’s report concluded that the average American losses a phone once a year. Lookout offers an application to help people locate lost phones, but only about half of those phones are ever recovered. The cost of lost phones in huge, with the average replacement value between two and three hundred dollars each. On top of that, there is the cost of the information that can be stolen, because every time a phone is found, the finder is likely to access the information it contains. Lookout co-founder Kevin Mahaffey says his company offers a valuable service. Mahaffey said, “Each day, $7 million worth of phones are lost by Lookout users alone, and if unrecovered, it would take a significant tool not only on our wallets, but on our psyche, too.”

--Lost cell phones added up fast in 2011, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-03-22/lost-phones/53707448/1 ; March 23, 2011, Submitted by Jim Sandell

Luke 15:8-10 (CEV) (8) Jesus told the people another story: What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won't she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? (9) Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, "Let's celebrate! I've found the coin I lost." (10) Jesus said, "In the same way God's angels are happy when even one person turns to him."

Bob Russell’s 1967 Austin Healey 3000 was stolen from his Philadelphia area apartment 42 years ago. Since then, Russell has eyed every Healey that passed him wondering if it might be his old car. Several years ago, he started checking internet sits in hopes of one day finding the long lost car. Even the latest technology didn’t offer much hope of finding the vehicle after over 40 years, but recently Russell happened to check the online auction site, eBay, and found his car being offered by a dealer in California. He immediately called the unsuspecting dealer to tell them they were offering a stolen automobile. He had kept the original key and title and had signed papers from several friends, attesting to the fact that he never sold the car. The dealer didn’t believe Russell at first, and offered to sell it to him for $24,000.

After four weeks of haggling with the dealer, Russell was able to obtain a copy of the original police report. When they realized the identification numbers matched, California authorities impounded the car. Russell and his wife went to get it and paid $600 in administrative fees, plus another $800 to have it shipped back to their home. Russell says he didn’t mind paying a little to have the car returned. He plans to restore it. In its current condition the Healey is worth $20,000 to $30,000. Restored, the value would be closer to $50,000. Russell can’t wait to get started on the project saying, "It still runs, but the brakes don't work well. We're going to put it back the way it was." "It's a bit of a relief," he added. "Nothing's ever linear -- you're up, you're down, you're being whipsawed back and forth, and suddenly it's over." --Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Man finds car stolen over 40 years ago on eBay, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/12/man-finds-car-stolen-over-40-years-ago-on-ebay; July 12, 2012,

Luke 15:8-9 ESV "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.”'

Danielle Caroll lost her wedding ring at work while washing her hands with her young students. They were using “a slippery hand cleaner,” and she thinks the hand cleaner caused her ring to slip off her finger into the trash. When she realized she lost it, she searched in the trash, but it was gone. She left a note on a garbage truck, letting the driver know that she believes her ring is in the truck.

Gary Gaddist, a NYC Parks Department employee told her that he would look, but that it would be nearly impossible to find. The impossible happened. He found it among tons of garbage. God specializes in finding the lost—Jim L. Wilson

NYC garbage man sifts through tons of trash to find woman’s wedding ring. By Eric Pfeiffer http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/nyc-garbage-man-sifts-tons-trash-woman-wedding-201935273.html Accessed 8-27-12

Luke 19:10 (HCSB) “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

On December 28, 1996, Cho Shung-chul fell in a manhole in Seoul, Korea after a drinking binge. Knocked unconscious by the fall, he came to, disoriented. For the next eight days, Cho wandered through the city sewer system looking for a way out. He stayed alive by drinking sewer water and wrapping himself in plastic bags to fend off the cold. “It was pitch-dark down there,” Shung-chul said. “I scrambled for the way out and yelled repeatedly for help, but nobody came.” The ordeal ended when someone finally did hear the unfortunate man’s weak cry for help coming up from the sewer. --Jim L. Wilson and Jarrell Jones

-- http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1996/Man-Rescued-Eight-Days-After-Falling-into-Manhole/id-13aa3398adc0fe44aabc58e0f64e6024 (accessed 2-28-13)

People get themselves into dreadful situations because of sin. Are we looking and listening for the lost, or are we so busy about our everyday lives that the cries of the lost go unnoticed and unheeded?

When World War Two veteran Irving Mann received a letter saying that his dog tag had been found in a field in France, he didn’t believe it. Mann served with the 90th infantry in occupied France in 1944, and assumed his dog tag fell off while he was digging foxholes. Mann says he doubted the person who sent him a letter saying that they had found his dog tag until they gave him the serial number on the tag. He knew there were a lot of scams going on, but if the serial number was correct, it had to be real. He wrote back and the woman who found the tag in her field mailed it to him. When asked about getting something back that had been lost for almost 70 years, Mann said, “Any (doubting) thoughts I had disappeared immediately when I had the dog tag in my hand. In 69 years, that field has been ploughed, tilled, planted. How many times did they turn that ground over and over again preparing it to grow? For my dog tag to show up after all that time, I consider that remarkable.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Dog Tag Returned To US Veteran After 69 Years, http://www.oddnews.org/77-odd-news/2607-dog-tag-returned-to-us-veteran-after-69-years.html, Accessed June 6, 2013.

Luke 19:10 (CEV) The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost."

In a newspaper column dealing with Faith and Values, author Jodi Detrick offers encouragement about the things or people in life that we may count as lost. She says the story of a wedding ring that was lost and then recovered over 50 years ago still inspires her. She tells how one of the men who worked with her father at a sawmill, had the job of gathering scrap lumber and other combustible debris and loading it onto a conveyor that carried the waste into a burner to be incinerated. When his finished work, the man realized that his wedding ring was missing. He feared it had fallen off onto the conveyor and had been burned with the trash. After the employees searched the mill and did not find it, they feared the worse. Several days later, Linda, Jodi’s sister was playing near the burner and opened one of the lower doors. No one knew why she was so fascinated by the ashes, but as she poked around in the burner, she saw something shiny inside. She reached in and pulled out the lost wedding ring. The man was excited to have the ring returned. Jodi says reflecting back on the story, she is reminded not to give up hope on lost things or people, because when we keep looking there is a glimmer of promise that the lost can be found.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Don’t give up on lost things or people, by Jodi Detrick, http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021053128_faith detrick25xml.html, Accessed May 25, 2013.

Luke 19:10 (CEV) The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost."

Like the prodigal son, KC decided to take what was his and go to the far country. The 14-year-old dog got loose from his owner while on a walk outside their suburban Detroit home. When he came to his senses he was far from home on out on the ice of Lake St. Clair, 4 miles from shore. Discovered and rescued by the Coast Guard the dog was soon reunited with his owner.

There is joy in recovering a lost animal. There is more joy, in recovering a lost soul. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Luke 15:7 (HCSB) (7) I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.

In the motion picture, “Finding Dory,” Dory has short-term memory loss and becomes separated from her family. The entire movie focuses on Dory’s relentless pursuit to find her parents. In Dory’s pursuit, she begins to remember small bits about her home. Eventually, Dory finds her way back to the same area she last saw her parents. Dory notices shells and remembered that her parents used them to help her to remember where home was. She begins following these shells, and at the end of the line, he finds a home. From this home are lines of shells going in every direction. Contemplating where to go next, her parents appear in the distance. Seeing Dory, they take off toward her, embracing one another.

For she was once lost, but now has been found. —Jim L. Wilson & Jeff DeGiacomo

Luke 15:20 (HCSB)“So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.”

An unidentified man was walking home in the early morning hours in Minneapolis. He was using the walking maps on Google maps when he misunderstood the directions for crossing the Stone Arch Bridge near Minneapolis’ downtown. He walked out on the frozen Mississippi river where he fell through ice into the frigid river. Minneapolis firefighters rescued him out of the river. According to emergency responders, emergency workers treated him for mild hypothermia.

Who was at fault for this misdirection? Was the man lost because of his own carelessness or because of Google maps? In the end, it does not matter, he still needed to be rescued. In Luke 15 Jesus tells three stories of lostness. One, the coin, was lost by carelessness, one, the sheep, by wandering away, and one, the son, by a rebellious act. When it came to looking for the lost, all needed to be found.

That is our situation. Jesus said God is seeking the lost, no matter how the lostness occurred. — Jim Wilson and Rodger Russell

In April of 2021, Lori Stephens saw some pictures from her family’s past vacations on a Florida Charter boat company’s Facebook page. As it turns out, she had lost a waterproof camera while paddle boarding in Florida. Seven years later, Dustin Molina, a Manatee Tour guide spotted the camera in the sound in Crystal River. He retrieved it and posted some of the 2380 pictures from the memory card on Facebook to see if he could locate the owner and return the family memories to them.

Stephens recognized the photos and is planning to pick up the camera on an upcoming return trip to Florida.

She wasn’t looking, but she found something that she had lost. Jesus is intentionally seeking for the lost.