The salvaged video footage recorded from his helmet shows Ivan going from matter-of-fact calmness to understandable panic.

“THE MISSING PIECE”

There’s a bizarre story of a young lad who loved to take apart the family’s household appliances so he could see how they worked. His parents encouraged his curiosity (as they reasoned it was better than spending hours playing games on Xbox) just as long as their son put the equipment back together again in perfect working order.

His parents went out one afternoon for a few hours leaving the teenage boy at home alone – and this young, inquisitive tinkerer thought he would challenge himself. He decided to take apart the family’s antique grandfather clock.

He carefully swirled his screw-driver and twisted his favourite tools to have all of the vintage mechanisms lying across the lounge room floor. He admired the craftsmanship of the inner-workings of a hundred-year-old clock, and he was careful to remember where each part went.

As he put the antique timepiece back together again he felt a rush of adrenaline. His parents had warned him away from the heirloom clock for years as they feared the teenage boy would damage it, but now he’d been able to examine it without their knowledge and his parents would never know.

But, the feeling of achievement began to disappear as he neared the end of the restoration. The young lad had one piece left over and he had no idea where it was meant to go. As he considered an attempt to take the clock apart again he heard his parents’ car coming up the family driveway, and so he ran upstairs to his bedroom and thrust the left-over mechanism under his pillow.

That evening as the family ate dinner the antique clock operated as it always did. They watched a long movie together and the clock continued to strike the bells of the hour with military precision. As the family prepared for bed after a long day the boy’s worries began to ease. He sensed he’d escaped any parental discovery of an expensive heirloom’s unauthorised dismantling.

At midnight, as the teenager lay in bed thinking about the close-call, the clock began its usual chimes. The young lad counted them to help get to sleep – nine, ten, eleven, twelve…. thirteen, fourteen! The boy sat up in his bed. The clock continued ringing…. eighteen, nineteen, twenty. The boy – once again his body surging with adrenaline at the probability of being discovered – jumped out of bed. “Bong…. Bong…. Bong….” – Thirty-six times, thirty-seven times…the clock continued as if it would go on for eternity. He grabbed the missing piece from under his pillow and began to run down the hall towards his parents’ bedroom unsure of what he was going to say.

The teenager banged on the bedroom door, and with the chimes still ringing through the family home he yelled out the first thing that came into his head: “Wake up, everybody! Wake up! It’s later than it’s ever been!!”

This wry story is, in a way, a reminder of the Bible’s promise of eternity. Jesus of Nazareth spoke with His followers about having a sense of urgency regarding the coming of the Kingdom of God. He discouraged any delay in surrendering our sins to Him as our Saviour, and then seeking His ever-lasting forgiveness as we align our lives with Him.

To illustrate this sense of urgency Jesus told a story of five maidens who were sleepy, foolish and complacent, and another five who were wise and stayed ever-alert to the coming of their master. Jesus concluded the story by saying to His Disciples – “Keep watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which I am returning.” (Matthew 25:13)

So, for believers in the return of Jesus Christ there is a message. And that message is: “Wake up! It’s later than it’s ever been”

(Read about another teenager from three hundred years ago who showed incredible faith in her Saviour despite her deplorable circumstances)

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About this blog: Pastor David Riley is a Seventh-day Adventist minister residing on the Gold Coast in Australia. This article is from his “Reverential Ramblings” series – which you can subscribe to by clicking “follow” on this website.

DR. JOHN HUNTER’S PROPHECY OF HIS OWN DEATH

John Hunter was a celebrated Scottish medical doctor of the 18th-century. He was a pioneer in the field of surgery and was appointed as the personal physician of King George III. Towards the end of his life Hunter was appointed as the surgeon-general of the entire British Army.

But Dr. John Hunter – like all of us – had his faults. One of his assistants who worked with him towards the end of his life described John Hunter as ‘warm but impatient, readily provoked, and when irritated not easily soothed’.

Dr. Hunter had a problem with anger, and he suffered with a heart condition.

When he discovered his heart problems were often brought on by anger, Hunter complained:

“My life is at the mercy of any scoundrel who chooses to put me in a passion.”

This personal lament of Dr. John Hunter proved to be prophetic. At a meeting of the board of St. George’s Hospital in London in 1793, Hunter became entangled in a heated argument with other board members. He stormed out of the meeting, and dropped dead in the next room.

“My life is at the mercy of any scoundrel who chooses to put me in a passion” Hunter had grumbled only a short while before his own death.

Dr. John Hunter’s untimely demise at the age of 65 is a cautionary tale to anyone today who allows their own emotions to be determined by the whims and inclinations of others.

There’s an ancient proverb found in the Bible that says: “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to have self-control of your own emotions than to be in control of an entire city.” (Proverbs 16:32).

BROKEN BATONS

Arturo Toscanini was the Beyonce of the operatic world for the first half of the twentieth century. For over fifty years Toscanini was the world’s leading conductor of orchestras, and was the headline performer at Milan’s famous “La Scala” and New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Apart from his musical genius, Toscanini was legendary for his fits of rage. If rehearsals weren’t going perfectly, the Italian maestro would scream and swear and throw whatever item was closest to him.

The librarian who looked after all the sheet music in one of Toscanini’s orchestras became quite distressed by Toscanini’s habit of hurling expensive musical scores at the musicians when he became angry. After a few episodes of expletive-laden rage, the librarian observed that one of the first things Toscanini did when he lost his temper was to take his conductor baton in both hands and attempt to break it. If the baton snapped, Toscanini would calm down and the rehearsal could continue. If the baton didn’t break, Toscanini would become even more enraged and rush around grabbing the expensive sheet music tearing it to pieces and hurling it at his musical colleagues.

So the orchestra librarian developed a cunning plan to minimise both the emotional damage to the orchestra and also the expensive waste of musical scores. The sneaky librarian made sure all of Toscanini’s batons had a slight crack in them so Toscanini could break them easily whenever he started one of his childish rants. Once Toscanini broke the baton he’d calm down and the music (and musicians!) would be saved from further abuse.

Our world today is filled with anger. We see it online in our dialogue, we see it on our roads in our driving, it’s in our political diatribes, and unfortunately anger is also occasionally invited to our our own dinner tables. Yet unchecked anger is an emotion that has no place in the words and actions of a follower of Christ.

There’s an ancient Jewish saying found in the Bible: “A fool vents all his feelings, but the wise  bring calm to all circumstances” (Proverbs 29:11). And someone close to Jesus of Nazareth wrote to first century Christians saying, “All of us must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and even slower to get angry. Anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” (James 1:19-20).

Anger may break batons and even bones, and it often damages our bond with our loving Creator.

The Apostle Paul wrote something to the Philippians I remind myself of whenever I feel the red mist of anger descending:

“Let your gentleness be known to all men because the Lord is at hand.

Be anxious about nothing, but through prayer and with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God – and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5-7)

As Alexander Pope once said, “To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves.”

When Queen Victoria was a young girl she understandably didn’t quite understand the full responsibilities of being the next in line for the throne of Great Britain.

The story is told of the young Victoria’s private tutors becoming frustrated as they tried to prepare her for the role of being Queen one day. These teachers were unable to motivate the young princess to concentrate on her lessons and take her studies seriously.

Finally, one of her teachers became so exasperated with the young girl, he sternly reprimanded her: “This is not the way the future Queen should behave!”

Upon hearing this, it’s reported that the young Victoria went quiet for a few moments and then said quietly “Yes. You are correct. From now on I will be good.”

And she was.

The realisation by a young girl that she had inherited this high calling immediately gave Victoria a sense of responsibility. This sense of duty profoundly affected her conduct for the rest of her life.

This royal story from two hundred years ago reminds me of the Apostle Paul writing: “Don’t you know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? It is because Christ died for you that you are holy.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

And the Apostle John had a similar realisation when he wrote: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

When we realise we are a son or daughter of the King of the universe that should compel us to take our earthly duties more seriously.

Perhaps we should respond to our calling from Christ with the same words as a young Queen Victoria: “Yes. From now on I will be good.”

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About this blog: Pastor David Riley is a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and lives on the Gold Coast in Australia. This article is from his “Reverential Ramblings” series – which you can subscribe to by clicking “follow” on this website.

Want to read more inspirational stories of faith from this series? Click here to read the amazing reason one Olympic rower stopped in the middle of an important race.

DEATH BY DICTATOR

The African country of Uganda was a violent place during the 1970’s under the dictator army general Idi Amin.

Colin Chapman, in his book “The Case for Christianity” quotes Ugandan bishop Festo Kivengere’s account of the 1973 execution by firing squad of three men from his diocese: “February 10th began as a sad day for us in Kabale. People were commanded to come to the stadium and witness the execution. Death permeated the atmosphere. A silent crowd of about three thousand was there to watch. I had permission from the authorities to speak to the men before they died, and two of my fellow ministers were with me. They brought the men in a truck and unloaded them. They were handcuffed and their feet were chained. The firing squad stood at attention.

As we walked into the center of the stadium, I was wondering what to say. How do you give the gospel to doomed men who are probably seething with rage? We approached them from behind, and as they turned to look at us, what a sight! Their faces were all alight with an unmistakable glow and radiance.

Before we could say anything, one of them burst out: “Bishop, thank you for coming! I wanted to tell you. The day I was arrested, in my prison cell, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my heart. He came in and forgave me all my sins! Heaven is now open, and there is nothing between me and my God! Please tell my wife and children to accept Him into their lives as I did.”

The other two men told similar stories, excitedly raising their hands, which rattled their handcuffs. I felt that what I needed to do was to talk to the soldiers, not to the condemned. So I translated what the men had said into a language the soldiers understood. The military men were standing there with guns cocked and bewilderment on their faces. They were so dumbfounded that they forgot to put the hoods over the men’s faces!

The three faced the firing squad standing close together. They looked toward the people and began to wave, handcuffs and all. The people waved back. Then shots were fired, and the three were (dead). We stood in front of them, our own hearts throbbing with joy, mingled with tears. It was a day never to be forgotten. Though dead, the men spoke loudly to all of Kigezi District and beyond, so that there was an upsurge of life in Christ, which challenges death and defeats it. The next (weekend), I was preaching to a huge crowd in the home town of one of the executed men. Again, the feel of death was over the congregation. But when I gave them the testimony of their man, and how he died, there erupted a great song of praise to Jesus! Many turned to the Lord there.”

Bishop Kivengere’s experience in witnessing the death of three men – who had unexpectedly committed their lives to Christ – not only changed his life but also the lives of many others.

But those three executed prisoners were simply mirroring the death of the Messiah. Jesus’ submission to death by execution on a cross by Roman dictators two millennia ago has impacted the lives of billions since.

Jesus “died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10) 

About this blog: David Riley is a Christian minister residing on the Gold Coast in Australia. This article is from his “Reverential Ramblings” series.