"16 Minutes Away"
On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle "Columbia" crew disintegrated in the sky over east Texas and western Louisiana. According to news reports, this spacecraft was just 16 minutes away from a "picture-perfect" landing at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Sixteen minutes separated these people from continuing their lives on this earth with their families and friends, and the welcome that "heroes" receive. Now, they're in eternity awaiting the judgment decree from our Lord, "the righteous judge." (John 5:22, 27; 2 Timothy 4:8)

Sixteen minutes is not a long time. It means very little to a culture in which TV shows normally last about 22 minutes (excluding commercial time). Sixteen minutes is only 960 seconds. During a day, we could waste those seconds as easily as fire burns a piece of paper. If we are on a long drive, or an airplane flight, and we hear we have 16 minutes to our destination, do we not usually settle back, and feel comforted by the fact that we are "as good as there"? Perhaps those seven astronauts thought the same thing. But they were wrong.

What might you do if you were certain that you had only 16 minutes to live? Might you take steps (such as praying and repenting) to make certain you were right with God? Or might you take steps (such as trying to restore old friendships) to make certain you were right with your fellowmen? In truth, we do not know whether we have sixteen minutes left to live! We do not know when we will die. We have no promise of what today might hold (Proverbs 27:1). At one point in his life, David declared, "...there is but a step between me and death." (1 Samuel 20:3) How true that is for all of us.

We do not know when our lives will end, but we can be prepared. Are YOU prepared? (2 Corinthians 6:2; Mark 16:16)

"...What a Day May Bring"
In the long ago, Solomon said, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1) The older one gets, the more he/she realizes how true this short statement is. Many people we know and love have, in a matter of minutes, had their lives irrevocably changed. It is no different for those who lost their lives when the space shuttle "Columbia" disintegrated on February 1, 2003.

With the space shuttle just moments from landing in Florida, who could have guessed that those crewmembers would die in a great "flash of light" in the sky? Before that instant, all seemed to be going well with the crew and the ship. Nothing of any consequence was reported, and, according to the latest reports, no one sensed any reason for alarm. In the days since the space shuttle disintegrated, I have heard one NASA expert say that there had been 88 safe, space-shuttle launches and landings since the "Challenger" explosion in 1986. With such a safe "track record," why would anyone think anything could go wrong with this flight? Yet, the "unthinkable" happened!

For all of our advances, and for all of our technology, let's not forget that we cannot control as much as we might like to think we can. Solomon said, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

We would do well to give glory to God, thanking Him for our lives, and the day in which we have to live. Let us plan, recognizing that what we plan will happen "if God wills" (James 4:15).

Is your life right with God? Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38)? Are you faithfully serving the Lord each day (1 Corinthians 15:58)? If not, let me implore you to change and to do it soon! Let's not get comfortable in this life, for we don't know what might happen today. Every day, lives change forever in a heartbeat. Therefore, February 1, 2003 was not the first time the truth of Proverbs 27:1 has come home to all of us, and it will not be the last; it is just the most recent. Let us hear and fear.

"Where Were You?"
I have been here long enough for the above question to have some meaning to me. I remember where I was, and what I was doing, when I heard the news that the space shuttle "Columbia" had disintegrated over east Texas. Do you remember where you were? Though we are now many months removed from the event, I remember where I was when the first of the two World Trade Center Towers was attacked. I remember where I was when the space shuttle "Challenger" exploded, and I remember when Ronald Reagan was shot. (We'll stop there!) I imagine many of our dear readers can remember where they were for these events, and perhaps, going back in history, others such as John Kennedy's assassination, "D-Day," and other events.

"Where were you?" is a question often asked when some terrible event occurs in our society. However, could it not also be asked when good things occur?

Where were you when you first heard the gospel preached and you realized that God's word applied to you? "Where were you?" when you obeyed the gospel? "Where were you?" when your children (grandchildren?) were obedient to the faith? If you have already experienced these things, I am sure you remember them in vivid detail. What comfort and peace such knowledge ought to bring to our souls.

Sadly, many in this world are not Christians. I am afraid that they, like the rich man of Luke 19, will be remembering the words of Christ, but it will be too late (Ex: "Son, remember..." v. 25). Rest assured that those who die in their sins (John 8:24) remember when they heard the gospel preached. They remember the opportunities they let slip by. But after we die, it's too late to change. Perhaps some, on the other side, will recall a bulletin article that implored them to become God's child before it was too late; but they continued on their way, and were not saved.

Friend, DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!! Don't allow another minute to pass by without getting your life right with God. If you're not a Christian, become one today. Go through Christ, the door and the way, before it is too late (John 10:7,9; 14:6). We do this by believing that He is God's Son, repenting of past sins, confessing Him as the Lord and Savior, and being baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:36-38, 8:35-39, 16:30-34, 22:16, etc.). If you need to repent of past wrongs, and return to the Lord, leaving the "gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity" (Acts 8:23), do so now while there is still time. Repent of your sin, confess it, and ask God for forgiveness while you still have the opportunity to be right in His sight (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9). Dear reader, where are you today spiritually. In the end, that's all that will count.

(Edited KMG)