Something was whimpering . . . it caught the ear of Staff Sgt. Jeff Brinley as his boat was passing flooded homes in New Orleans. Then he saw what it was - a starved and exhausted black puppy, standing with all four paws on a 2by4 board. Jeff lifted the two-month-old little dog into the boat and made a place for him to lie down on some military gear. Later he scrawled his own name and phone number on a piece of cardboard, tying it to the pup, which he had already named Lucky. He hoped to see the dog again.
The National Guard unit from Ohio had been conducting search-and-rescue missions by boat in the flooded and devastated city following hurricane Katrina. Most of the surviving people had already been rescued from the floodwaters. But now, instead of people, the Guardsmen were finding many four-legged pets that had been left behind by owners. Some were dogs that had been tied up. The Guardsmen would rescue those they could reach by boat, and they tossed food to any they couldn’t reach. Some dogs even swam to the boats to be rescued. But this puppy could only whimper. He was probably too young to know how to swim or just too scared.
What boy or girl wouldn’t rescue a whimpering, tired little puppy in need of food and a place just to lie down? There was no doubt the puppy wanted and needed human help; he whimpered when he saw the boat passing. But do you boys and girls understand that because you are sinners, you need to be rescued too? You are caught in the floodwaters of sin. However, there is a caring, loving Saviour who sees you and your need and is just waiting to rescue you. You only need to tell Him that you want Him to save you. He will hear your call and wash you clean of every sin stain. The Bible says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:11Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (Isaiah 59:1)).
The Guardsmen turned all the dogs over to an animal rescue group from Arkansas. From there many of the dogs were transferred to other animal rescue groups from other states that made visiting trips south to take any adoptable animals back to their own cities.
At the end of his unit’s search-and-rescue mission, Jeff went home to Columbus, Ohio. At the same time Lucky also traveled northward, ending up in the care of PAWS Chicago, another animal rescue group that was finding homes for some of the rescued pets.
One day after Jeff got home, his telephone rang. It was PAWS Chicago contacting him to tell him that Lucky was in their care and was safe, healthy and ready for a new home. Somehow that piece of cardboard tied on the puppy with Jeff ’s name and phone number had stayed with the dog through his travels. Jeff soon made the trip to Chicago where he and Lucky were reunited. Lucky now has a good home and a loving master who is kind and takes care of him.
Any boy or girl or grown-up who calls to the Lord Jesus to be saved from their sins will one day soon be reunited with their Saviour. He promises to come and take all those who belong to Him to His home in heaven to live with Him. It says in 1 Thessalonians 4:1617, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. . . . Then we which are alive . . . shall be caught up . . . in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Have you let the Lord Jesus rescue you? If not, you only need to call to Him to be saved and to have a home in heaven. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:2121And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)).
ML-02/05/2006