The Titanic’s Last Hero

You may not have heard about John Harper, a little known hero who helped those on the “indestructible” Titanic as it sank 99 years ago this month.

At 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, an iceberg scraped the Titanic’s starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six water-tight compartments. The frigid sea poured in. On that night, 1,522 people were lost at sea. Of the 712 people saved, 189 were men of the crew. Only half of the 20 lifeboats were full, and they did not rescue others for fear of capsizing.

John Harper shouted, “Let the women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats!” Harper, a widower, handed his six year old daughter Nana to an upper deck captain with instructions to get her in a lifeboat. Nana was eventually rescued.

For the next two hours and forty minutes, Harper relentlessly shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone he met. He even took his lifejacket and gave it to another man. After the ship had sunk, Harper was thrust into the bone-chilling water. The last person Harper talked to testified, “Harper was struggling in the water but cried out to me, “Are you saved?” I said “No.” Then with all the strength he had left, Harper shouted out, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” Harper then slipped away and went to be with the Lord. That last person who was converted to Christ was later rescued by the S.S. Carpathia’s lifeboats.

As followers of Jesus Christ, our life is no longer our own. John Harper knew this. He also knew that God had already given him eternal life through Christ and with Christ forever.  

My heart is stirred by Harper and what he did. I pause and ask, have I died to self and to this temporary earthly life so that Christ reigns in me? so that others will hear about Christ from and through me? How can we live like John Harper? And like Moses, who chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Moses considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26).

What are you and I looking to and living for?

Cell Phone Dangers

A few weeks ago I was in a room full of over 200 people at a wonderful church missions conference. The stories the various missionaries were telling were very moving - the kind of stuff the Holy Spirit uses to transform and lead if we will but listen.

I could not help but notice the three lovely teenage women sitting next to me. While one missionary spoke, the young woman beside me kept checking her cell phone and texting someone. I'll call her Brittany.

What Brittany likely did not understand were two important things. First, her constantly checking her phone while someone else was speaking was rude. Consider that if you were talking with someone, and they suddenly got up and left while you were talking, how would you feel? That is what Brittany's texting was like. Texting is similar to "leaving" because when you text, you mentally leave and your mind is elsewhere.

Second, Brittany missed out in a huge way because she was not fully listening. Her texting also distracted me and possibly others. These missionaries who shared personal stories are no ordinary people. Their lives and faith and obedience inspire. When we don't give our full attention to these dear saints of the faith, we often miss the nugget that would touch our soul, ignite our faith, answer our unspoken question or thought, and spur us on to greater things that will last for eternity. That's a danger when we don't turn our cell phones off. 

Philippians 2:3-4 instructs in a better way. "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

What would help us sometimes not just focus on ourselves and those text messages we think we can't live without? You may well miss something important God has for you. Special things from the Holy Spirit often come to those who are undistracted and truly listening.

Be Alert

This week I bought groceries at the commissary (military grocery store). The man bagging my groceries was a retired Air Force man in his seventies who also delivered the groceries to my car. Then I tipped him a dollar as I usually do. What was unusual though was his response to my question, "How has your week gone so far?"

Humbly, he replied, "It's a right fine day when I didn't come home with a tag on my toe."

Wow. He was grateful to be alive. He well understood that many military men have come home in a body bag with a tag on their toe (to identify who they are). These brave men paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Suddenly, that put some things into perspective for me about what is truly important.

It also reminded me of what I recently read in Matthew 13. Jesus is telling his disciples about the final Day when He will come again as Judge over all. He will seperate forever the sheep (true believers) to heaven and the goats (non-believers) to hell, along with Satan and his host. Next, Jesus implores his diciples in verses 33-37 to "Be alert" for no one knows when that Day will come. Nor do the vast majority of us know the day He will call us from this life. Jesus says "Be alert" four times! 

In your life, is there any unfinished business to attend to? Has any worldly thing perhaps become too rooted in your heart? Oh how I long to invest in eternal things that will last beyond my life. The Bible talks about three things that are eternal: God, His Word, and people. Let's be alert. He is coming.