A judge in Miami Florida recently issued a ruling granting the United States Government the right to reclaim a piece of the moon returned to Earth by the crew of Apollo 17, and later stolen from the government of Honduras.

The moon rock, about the size of a grape and encased in plastic was seized from a Florida businessman in 1998. The man had offered to sell the rock for $5 million dollars, and insisted he had purchased it from a retired Honduran military officer.

The moon rock was given to the nation of Honduras by President Richard Nixon in 1973 as part of a NASA program to inspire future generations. US District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled that the rock was stolen and then smuggled into the United States in violation of Customs Laws. He said, therefore ownership of the rock had never legally changed. Officials have not said if they plan to return the rock to the government of Honduras, or display it elsewhere.

—Reuters, U.S. wins Back Moon Rock, March 27, 2003, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

We belong to God. He created us in His own image—we are His. For a time, it might have appeared that ownership of our soul had changed hands, but He has redeemed us by the precious blood of His son. We are His.

Titus 2:13-14 NIV “…looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Two college bound teenagers recently decided the best way to earn some extra spending money was to sell a week of their time to the highest bidder on EBay.

Secretly hoping for fortune and adventure, Chip Davis and Chris Pullen posted an ad with a heading reading, "Buy us for one week to do those tedious tasks you hate!" The selected a minimum bid or $1 and waited to see who would respond. The teenagers told friends they were not worried about who might purchase their services. Davis said, "I didn't care who won, as long as we didn't have to clean someone's sewer or something. That wouldn't be too exciting for a whole week."

The young men's enthusiasm waned as the auction progressed with no new bids during the last four or five days. In the end, someone from their own hometown purchased the teen's services for $246.50. The teens plan to split the week into seven one-day sessions because they are leaving for school soon. When asked about the experience, Davis said, "It was anticlimactic at the end. I don't think I'll do it again."

—Associated Press, Desperate Teen Sell Themselves on EBay, August 10, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV) "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,"

There is a desire deep within the heart of man for redemption, and he will do almost anything to get it. The family of a man who died in a car crash a few years after stealing the bell of a church in Southern Albania recently returned the bell saying the theft doomed the robber. The family gave the bell to Peco Ndoni, a member of the church where the bell was stolen in 1997, and asked him to make sure it was returned to the church.

Since the fall of Communism, church bells have been stolen because they are old and valuable to antique collectors. Treasure hunters have also stolen bronze bells thinking they contained gold to make the bell ring louder over a long distance. Before the church can use the bell again, they will have to replace a section cut out to see whether the metal mix contained gold.

Ndoni said the man's family believed that because he brought down an object sacred to God his punishment was the loss of his life. Ndoni said, "They hoped returning it would somehow relieve their sorrow for the loss of their relative and redeem him."

—Reuters, Dead Thief's Family Returns Church Bell, December 16, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

The family of this man was right to return the stolen bell, but neither his actions before he died, nor the actions of his family could redeem him. Redemption only comes through Jesus.

Ephes. 1:7 (NASB) "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,"

In a recent magazine interview, President George W. Bush said he thought evil people can become good, but added that as for Al Qaida mastermind Osama Bin Laden, "This guy's soul is so corroded, there's no way." He added, "As for as I am concerned there's nothing redeemable about him."

In the interview appears in Ladies Home Journal the President agreed with the interviewer that there are indications America is experiencing a spiritual reawakening. He said people are "a bit more religious in America" these days.

—Associated Press, Bush: Bin Laden's Soul Is 'Corroded", July 4, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

The truth is every human being has a 'corroded' soul. The Apostle Paul says each of us were enemies of God. Though there was nothing redeemable in us, Jesus died for us, and purchased our redemption and his blood is powerful enough to save the worst of us—even a man with a corroded soul.

Romans 5:7-8 (NIV) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Fifty years after he was named evil incarnate and 30 years after his death, Walter O’Malley’s private papers reveal that Brooklyn Dodger fans have been blaming the wrong man for their beloved team’s departure to Los Angeles. Fans accused Dodger owner O’Malley of being a traitor to his hometown of Brooklyn for moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957.

Recently uncovered papers revealed that it was Robert Moses, a New York City politician, who refused to allow a new ballpark in Brooklyn. Moses stopped every attempt by O’Malley to replace the old and aging Ebbets Field.

In one newly revealed letter O’Malley wrote, “Bob (Robert Moses) became an enemy when he sabotaged our plans to build a stadium in Brooklyn. He became a benefactor when his opposition became so violent that we left Brooklyn and happily became established in California.”

--From the book Forever Blue, by Michael D’Antonio, as quoted in Sports Illustrated, March 9, 2009 p. 60; Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Sometimes we do the right thing but people do not see it. They accuse us of things we did not do and are unable to defend ourselves for one reason or another. Innocence does not always relieve us of consequences. Jesus was accused of crimes he never committed, thus being crucified he was able to pay the penalty for our sin.

1 Peter 2:15 (ASV) “For so is the will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”

A West Virginia Pastor has announced plans to convert a former adult entertainment establishment into a church. Pastor Art Hage is heading up an effort he hopes will transform the former bar into a lighthouse of hope in the community. The club has been known for some very seedy acts in the past. In addition to being a strip club, it is also the site where a lottery winner was drugged and robbed of a half million dollars several years ago. After that event, the establishment lost its liquor license and then eventually went out of business. It is been a vacant hull on the city streets for over a year.

Pastor Hage needs to raise $795,000 to repurpose the building. He envisions a new rehabilitation center serving 200 to 300 families. He hopes the new center will help those who have been victims of gambling, drug addiction, and other immoral practices. Hage says the goal is to help as many people as possible. He added, “It has such a bad reputation and we feel like we could make it good.”

--Pink Pony Strip Club to be turned into a church; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/12/pink-pony-strip-club-becoming-church_n_1143851.html; December 12, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

1 Peter 1:18-19 (CEV) “You were rescued from the useless way of life that you learned from your ancestors. But you know that you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don't last forever. (19) You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb.”

A maximum security penitentiary in Louisiana has allowed the inmates to produce and perform a passion play called The Life of Jesus Christ. It has changed the atmosphere of the prison, once known as “America’s bloodiest prison.”

Inmates are discovering the gospel message in the Life of Christ. This is a great example of what Jesus can do for you, today. “This is like the gospel coming to life for me,” said Serey Kong. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Romans 3:24 (HCSB) “They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

After a stampede at an Ohio concert killed 11 people, a December, 1979 appearance by the rock group, The Who in Rhode Island was cancelled. 17-year-old Emery Lucier was so upset when he heard the news that he knocked over a chair in his high school classroom. Now 50, Lucier will have the opportunity to redeem the ticket he has held on to for the past 33 years for another concert with the group at the same venue where the original concert was to have been held. The manager of the Dunkin Donuts Center said he decided to honor the tickets from the first show to benefit the Special Olympics. Any tickets from 1979 the venue receives will be donated to the organization which plans to offer them on an e-Bay auction in August.

Lucier said he has held on the tickets for decades and has never had another opportunity to see the group perform. When he heard he could exchange his old ticket for a new one, Lucier dug through a box and found it with 65 other stubs from concerts over the years. The one from the cancelled show in 1979 was the only one that wasn’t ripped.-- Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

The Who fans trade in 1979 tickets 33 years later, Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press, http://news.yahoo.com/fans-trade-1979-tickets-33-years-later-224447571.html, Accessed August 1, 2012.

Psalm 130:7 (HCSB) “Israel, put your hope in the LORD. For there is faithful love with the LORD, and with Him is redemption in abundance.”

Three weeks into the 2013 New Year, 33% of Americans admitted they’ve already broken or cheated on their New Year’s resolutions. This demonstrates the near impossibility of turning over a new leaf.

Making a life change that puts one on a heavenward path is especially tough. In fact, it is impossible. That is the job of a life changing experience in Jesus Christ. Re generation, not or resolution is the way to real life change. Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Donna Rice was the woman involved in the 1987 scandal that ended the presidential hopes of Gary Hart. Her testimony is one of biblical proportions.

Growing up as a Christian, serving as a summer missionary, Donna admits that late in her college career she began to make little wrong turns and ended up in the scandal that rocked her life.

Turning away from the seamy life and back to the Lord was a long trip. She went underground for seven years before taking a job with the anti pornography group Enough is Enough. Today she is the CEO and is making a difference in the battle for Morality. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Luke 15:18-20 (ESV) (18) I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. (19) I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ (20) And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

There are a lot of ways to be saved, but there is only one way to salvation. Amy Stiner, 37, of Machias, Maine, who was five months pregnant, and her friend Melissa Moyer, 38, of Sunbury, Pa., became lost while hiking. The Maine Warden Service rescued them and returned them to their vehicle which they had left at a state park.

When they were leaving the park, Stiner made a wrong turn and in the fog and rain she drove into Pond Cove. “They called on the phone that they were in the water and the car was filling up.” They needed to be saved again.

This time though, help came too late. I hope they had the one salvation that really matters. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/24/maine-rescued-hikers-die-drive-into-water/2584257/

Acts 4:12 (NASB) "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Toyota admitted that they made some misleading statements about unintended acceleration. The federal judge ordered the company to pay $1.2 billion federal fine for the settlement of the criminal investigation. The amount is the largest penalty for an automotive company, and the judge put the company on three-year probation. Toyota has to pay off the penalty.

How great it is when another pays off our debt. – Jim L. Wilson and Yuet S. Flavia Wong

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-toyota-billion-dollar-justice-department-
settlement-20140319,0,7794824.story#ixzz2wdQJCSvC

Romans 3:23-26 (ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (25) whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (26) It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one

Chuck and Elicia James decided it was time for their daughter to have a dog. Their beloved Reckless had disappeared over a year and a half ago during Hurricane Sandy. The whole family had been heartbroken. “It was like losing a family member,” commented Chuck. For their daughter’s 10th birthday they went to the New Jersey SPCA to adopt.

The first dog they saw looked familiar. Reckless recognized them immediately, jumping three feet in the air. Chuck said, “There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

Luke 15:4-7 (HCSB) (4) “What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? (5) When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, (6) and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ (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 1967, Manhattan lawyer Ivan Schneider brought a Jaguar XKE convertible. Schneider says that car was one of the first and best looking luxury cars he ever owned, and it also the only one to be stolen. The car disappeared in March, 1968 and did not resurface until a routine export report check through a stolen car database discovered that the car was stolen. When the Jaguar was discovered it had already be sold and was in a cargo container being shipped to the Netherlands. Agents had the ship brought back to California and retrieved the car. Schneider said he thought the call from authorities was a prank at first and after agents assured him it was real, he got excited. Schneider, who is now 82 years old, says records indicate the man who was sending the car to the Netherlands had bought it about three months earlier from another man who had apparently had it for 40 years. He says, more research is being done to see if the car’s trek from New York to California can be traced more precisely. Schneider said the car is rusty and scratched, but still worth about $24,000 and he plans to restore it. He added, “I’ll use it as a Sunday car.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

46 years later, owner to get stolen Jaguar back, By Justin Pritchard, http://news.yahoo.com/46-years-later-owner-stolen-jaguar-back-053602924.html, Accessed September 18, 2014.

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.

Amsterdam has such a big problem with bicycles being thrown into the city’s canals that it is a full time job fishing them out to redeem them. Every day a crew patrols the canals in a boat with a large claw attached. They dredge the bottom of the canal pulling in the bikes and other items that wind up in the canals. The tradition of throwing things away in the canals dates back a long way in Amsterdam, but after 1860 the people began to make an effort to keep them clean. Diane Kleinhout a spokesperson for the agency tasked with keeping the canals clean says the bicycles and other items had stacked up high enough to scrap the bottom of boats, so the agency was hired to clean them out. The agency estimates they pull 15,000 bicycles out of the canals each year, and all of them are recycled and redeemed. Kleinhout said, “I joined them lasted week and we found a real professional camera, and a sign for traffic and a scooter. It was a nice catch of the day.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Psalm 44:26 (NKJV) (26) Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies' sake.

A South African businessman was surprised when the police called him about his 1988 Toyota Corolla. Derick Goosen was surprised to learn that the car had been recovered at a vehicle roadblock in the northern part of the country. Goosen hadn’t thought about the car in years because it was stolen in 1993 and never recovered. The vehicle had been seized after an officer noticed that the engine number had been scratched off. The officer was able to reconstruct the number and eventually traced the car back to Goosen, the original owner. Goosen was surprised and happy to get the vehicle back. He said, “I’m going to wash it and drive around in it. Everything inside is still in perfect order. I can’t believe it.”—Jim L. Wilson and by Jim Sandell.

Stolen car returned to South African owner after 22 years, http://news.yahoo.com/stolen-car-returned-south-african-owner-22-years-181649808.html, Accessed August 5, 2015.

Lamentations 5:21 (NASB) “Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old,”

A piece of space history that was thought to have been destroyed resurfaced and will be recovered. According to an article in the online magazine Motherboard, NASA officials believed the prototype lunar rover, built in 1965 had been scrapped. The next day, a classified ad showed up in an Alabama newspaper advertising an auction on the unique vehicle. The rover was originally spotted by an Air Force historian who was visiting his mother. He took pictures of the vehicle and alerted NASA. Before officials arrived, the vehicle was sold to a scrap dealer, who recognized what it was and decided to redeem it rather than turn it into scrap metal. A spokesperson for the auction says NASA officials have verified that it is genuine, but the dealer must be sure he has a legal title to the rover before he sells it. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Lunar Rover Lost ... and Found: NASA Moon Buggy Saved by Scrap Dealer
by Robert Z. Pearlman, http://www.space.com/30967-nasa-moon-buggy-saved-scrap-dealer.html, Accessed October 29, 2015.

Psalm 40:2 (HCSB) “He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.”

Superbugs that are resisting even the most powerful antibiotics, are infecting people and livestock in China. Some Microbiologists warn that it may only be a matter of time before universal drug resistance is widespread and existing antibiotics will become obsolete.

“This isn’t going to happen overnight, and the number of infections involved are relatively small,” says researcher Jim Spenser, “But it highlights the urgent need for new treatments for these organisms and the limited time that we have to develop them.”

One disease has already infected the entire human race. Fortunately, Jesus provided the remedy for this life killing disease with His own the blood. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 John 1:7 (HCSB) “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Ken Myers is the author of All God’s Children & Blue Sued Shoes as well as the host and producer of the Mars hill Audio Journal. In a recent interview with Marvin Olasky of World Magazine he talks of America’s cultural heart attack.

Myers says, “We believe in nothingness—that is, we believe that anterior to our choosing, to our wills, there’s nothing to guide our wills. So sheer willing, the sovereignty of the individual itself, is the ultimate reality. In the vocabulary of sexual preference like that of the pro-choice movement, choosing is the ultimate reality, and nothing guides our choosing.”

Choosing means nothing if there is not some basic standard beyond ourselves for the choices we make. That is one reason choosing Jesus Christ is so beneficial. There is a reality of a savior beyond just our choosing. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Marvin Olasky, Cultural Heart Attack: The Decline of American Culture And What it Means for the Future. World, March 19, 2016

Joshua 24:15 (HCSB) “But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”

Danny Duchene had been in prison for twenty years serving a double life sentence when he first read Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. The book changed Duchene’s life and led to the beginning of a “Purpose Driven Church” group in the prison, and the introduction of the Celebrate Recovery program, which became the standard program in Duchene’s prison as well as many others. In the 13 years since Duchene life was changed, the same programs have changed thousands of lives in prisons as they followed the example of the programs Duchene helped to start. Rick Warren then asked the parole board to release Duchene so he could add him to the staff at Saddleback Church. When they agreed, Duchene became a pastor at the church. When the church installed him, he shared his journey with the church as part of series of sermons titled, “The Miracle of Mercy.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Rick Warren Appoints Just-Freed Prisoner as Saddleback Church Pastor, By Johnnie Moore, http://www.charismanews.com/us/56249-rick-warren-appoints-just-freed-prisoner-as-saddleback-church-pastor , Accessed April 4, 2016.

Titus 2:14 (HCSB) “He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.”

A new initiative in Egypt allows residents to redeem their trash for extra cash. Many Egyptians stood in line in the capital city of Cairo carrying bags of old books, plastic water bottles, and other recyclable materials to exchange for extra money. The country was seeking a way to reduce huge piles of garbage when two lawmakers introduced a plan to encourage recycling by paying people to bring in their garbage.

One of the lawmakers behind the idea said the project is part of long term plan to bring a comprehensive and environmentally-friendly waste management system to the country. An investor in the project said it will take time before people learn how to separate their waste properly, but added, “I think that unused garbage is wasted money, that’s why I liked the idea. “—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

Isaiah 64:6 (HCSB)“All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.”

In the aftermath Natural Disasters, people often asked "where is God?" Many people think that God is absent or has left them because of the devastation. One response to that has to do with action rather than talking. The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams respond with urgency to the affected areas to help meet physical and spiritual needs for those in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael. These storms left deep wounds in North Carolina and Florida. However, with these wounds comes healing. Through this disaster relief work, at least 174 people came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God took this tragedy and used it to change eternity through the obedience of those called to serve. So, where is God? God is right there in the middle of the mess leading people to his son, Jesus. —Jim L. Wilson and Brian Hicks

John 16:33 (CSB)“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

An unusual pair of glasses rescued from a landfill in New Zealand turned out to be more than 300 hundred years old and were worth more than the finders imagined. The Tip Shop is a store operated by the city council of Wellington and often auctions unusual items rescued from the trash. The glasses were spotted by a worked and posted on an auction site. The glasses, known as Martin’s Margins, were designed by optician Benjamin Martin in 1756. His design had an unusually thick frame because Martin believed exposure to sunlight would damage the lenses. The frames did not have a maker’s mark, so it was not clear if they were made by Martin. The winning bidder, Aaron Smylie, paid over $5,000 to get the glasses and said he bought them as a tribute to his friend who died after a long battle with cancer. He said they would often video chat and his friend liked to use a filter that gave her round glasses and whiskers in their conversations. Symlie said, “I like quirky stuff anyway, and that appealed to me, but it was more the emotional side I guess I just got carried away with the auction.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/06/15/Unusual-antique-eyeglasses-rescued-from-landfill-sell-for-5000/4941592248050/

Matthew 20:28 (CSB) “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

A researcher at the Oxford Library in Britain uncovered a fragment of lost wisdom from a 12th century French poem in the binding of another book. Tamara Atkins was researching the reuse of book during the 12th century when she found a fragment from a poem, entitled, “Siege d’Orange” The poem tells the story of the siege of Orange, a city on the Rhone Valley, and is part of a cycle of narrative poems about a legendary hero, named Guillaume d’Orange. Atkin said the same book included a fragment from another medieval romance story that was originally published in the 12th century. She said, “It’s fantastically exciting to discover something that’s been lost all this time, but I do think it is also worth simultaneously holding the thought that actually, the only reason these fragments have survived is because at some point, someone thought the manuscripts in which they appeared were not valuable as anything other than waste.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/11/18/long-lost-12th-century-poem-Siege-dorange/1121637270453/

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.