Men and women were made to know God deeply and intimately. When sin severed the link between us and God, it left an aching God-shaped void within the heart of each person. Universally religious, human beings strive to fill that gap. In some countries religion has been brutally suppressed, in others terribly perverted, and in still others it has become a vain attempt to find God. Most religions involve people trying to climb up to God. But He is too great for small humans to reach, and too holy for sinful humans to contact. Fulfilling the five pillars of Islam, keeping to the eight-fold path of Buddhism, learning and living by the Hindu teach­ings, being faithful in attending Mass or confession, working to be religious, or even seeking to obey the Ten Commandments is not God's way to draw us to Himself. The Bible says, 'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us ...' (Titus 3:5). A drowning man does not want a crowd standing on the sea shore shouting instructions as to how to swim, especially if those instructions are contradictory. But if someone were to dive in and rescue him, that would be different. God has taken the initiative. Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners, which includes all of us. Whilst other religions try to point the way to God, Jesus said, 'I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' (John 14:6). Or as someone expressed it: 'If all the religions are right then Jesus is right, and if Jesus is right then all the other religions are wrong! Right?' Christ alone was sinless. He alone was big enough to carry and pay for the sin of the world as He died on the cross. He alone can forgive a person and bring him or her to God. It is possible to visit the graves of the world's greatest religious and political leaders. Christ too, was buried. Three days later, He rose from the dead. There is an empty tomb where Jesus lay. The risen Christ towers above the rest of humanity and surpasses all other leaders. He alone can establish a relationship between us and God. Religion is human kind's sincere desire, but a vain attempt to reach God. Christ is God's only bridge from us to Him. Are you trusting in what you are doing or in what Christ has done to save you? R.Carswell The Bible says, 'Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved' - Acts 4:12

An Incredible Revenge “In 1943 I was condemned to death by a German military tribunal" (The grey-haired man giving his testimony spoke quietly, even apologetically.) "I had a wife and four children, so the sentence was com­muted to a term in a concentration camp in Germany. Nine months later I weighed 80 pounds, my body was cov­ered with scars, and my left arm had been broken and had set without medical attention. "On Christmas Eve I was in the hut with other men when the camp commandant sent for me. I found him sitting at a table prepared for a Christmas dinner. He made me stand at attention during the whole meal, which lasted an hour, and he tormented me because I was a Christian and preached to my fellow prisoners. I was greatly tempted by the devil, who said to me, 'Dapozzo, do you still believe the 23rd Psalm?' I prayed to God — and was able to answer, 'Yes, I do.' "An orderly brought in coffee and a packet of small cakes. The camp commandant began to eat them. Then he said, 'Your wife is a good cook, Dapozzo!' "I did not understand, so he explained, 'Every month, for seven months, your wife has sent you a parcel of cakes and biscuits. I have eaten them.' "Then I was greatly tempted. I knew that my wife and children were short of food and that, from their inadequate rations, she had scraped enough flour and fats and sugar to send me something. This man was eating my chil­dren's food! The devil said to me, 'Hate him, Dapozzo!' Again I prayed — and I could not hate him, I wanted him to give me a small piece of biscuit, not to eat, but that I might look at it and think of my children but he ate everything. He cursed me. "I said, 'You are a poor man, camp commandant, and I am rich, because I believe in God and am saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.' He got very angry and sent me back to the hut. "When the war was over I began to look for him. Most of the camp commandants were shot; he es­caped, and was in hiding. I sought for him for 10 years, and at last I found him. I went to see him with a Protestant minister. He did not recognize me. I said, ' I am number 175. Do you remember Christmas Eve, 1943?' "Then he was afraid and so was his wife. He said, ' You have come to take your revenge.' I said, ' Yes,' —and I opened a parcel. In it was a large cake. I asked his wife to make coffee, and the four of us ate and drank together. The man began to weep and begged for forgiveness. I told him that I forgave him for Christ's sake. "One year later both he and his wife sought salvation and are now professing Christians. "The little Salvation Army hall in the corps at Rome, Italy, was very quiet as he spoke, for the Spirit of God was passing over us and speaking to us, and when that happens, man must be still before God. By Lt-Commissioner Francis Evans - taken from the Canadian War Cry and reprinted in the New Zealand War Cry.