Bible Studies
Raised From The Depths
In July of 1863, the weapon left the Theater Street dock in Mobile, Alabama. Nearly forty feet long, with a diameter of five feet, the submarine was powered by eight men turning a hand-cranked propeller. The boat, designed by a lawyer from New Orleans named Horace Hunley, passed sea trials. Then, it was split in half and shipped to General Beauregard in Charleston, South Carolina, by rail. He needed a weapon that could sink Union ships blocking the harbor. Hunley designed his boat to tow an explosive at the end of a 200-foot line. After diving below an enemy vessel, the sub would ascend, and the explosive would be pulled into the side of the surface ship. While practicing this maneuver, Hunley buried the sub in the mud of the harbor. The entire crew died. The Confederates raised the boat and refitted it with a 20-foot spar attached to her bow. She would now have to ram vessels, with a torpedo filled with black powder on the spar's tip. The refurbished submarine left port again, and on February 17, 1864, the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic, a Union steam-powered sloop-of-war. The Hunley never returned to port, but in August 2000, it was raised from its watery grave near SullivanÕs Island. Much of it was in good shape, for it had been under three feet of mud and silt. It was set in a tank at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston. During the week, archaeologists restore her. There are tours each weekend.
Although the crew of the Hunley did not expect to die in their mission, the calling of Jesus Christ included His death, burial, and resurrection. That mission was ordained by God at the foundation of the world. Jesus came not to condemn us. He came to save us.
Though he was rejected by the nation of Israel, Jesus went to the cross and torpedoed sin by His death. And ChristÕs emergence from the grave is proof that God is satisfied with the payment Jesus made for sin, for we are justified because He was raised from the dead.
Unlike the crew of the Hunley, who were fighting to keep slavery in place, Jesus came to set us free from the penalty and the power of sin. He makes us new! Before, as natural men, we did all we could to avoid God. Now, alive to God, we want to draw near to God, and our wills are in flight to please Christ. It is the greatest throb of our hearts. If it is not, we should question our own sincerity. As citizens of Heaven, we contemplate the awesome goodness of our God and King with new minds. We desire to communicate with God in prayer, and we long for fellowship with our fellow saints. Though we are bordered by sin in our present surroundings, we will be free from its presence when we physically die and are taken to Heaven, where Jesus is preparing a place for us. Yet now, He has given peace to our borders so that we may invade enemy territory and deliver His message of hope. Rejoice, child of God, for youÕve been raised and seated with Christ. Rejoice, you reconciled, and retrieve.
Mountain Time Moment
He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:6 HCSB
Complete article with verse links in blue at:
http://home.comcast.net/~philemon25/Ephesians206.pdf
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