REFLECTIONS

WORDS
that Work

T
he true story of the mutiny on the British ship from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it
Bounty has often been retold. One part that shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall pros-
deserves retelling was the transformation per in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10–11).
caused by one book. Nine mutineers with six native
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Tahitian men and twelve Tahitian women put ashore
on Pitcairn Island in 1790. One sailor soon began dis- God’s Promises
tilling alcohol, and the little colony was plunged into As the deep blue of heaven
drunken orgies and violence. Brightens into stars,
Ten years later, only one white man had survived, So God’s great love shines forth
surrounded by native women and half-blooded chil- In promises
dren. One day, in an old chest from the Bounty, this Which, falling softly through
sailor found a Bible. He began to read it and then to Our prison bars,
teach it to the others. The result was that his own life Daze not our eyes, but with their
and ultimately the lives of all those in the colony were Sweet light bless.
changed. Discovered in 1808 by the USS Topas, Pitcairn Ladders of light, God sets against
had become a prosperous community with no alcohol- The skies—
ism, no crime, and no jail. Upon whose golden rungs we step by step
Arise.
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—Author Unknown
Several friends were telling each other a little about
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themselves. One of them said, “My story is unlike other
men.” He continued: “I was a pickpocket. One day I God has given us “exceeding great and precious
saw a man with a definite bulge in his hip pocket. `A fat promises, that through these you may be partakers of
billfold,’ I thought, and soon it was in my pocket. When the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4 NKJ).
I arrived home, I was disgusted to find that it was only
a book. Later, out of curiosity, I opened it and began to
read. It was a Bible. Before long, I had discovered God’s The Word of God can change hearts and
love for me in its pages, and accepted Jesus Christ as minds, something no atom bomb or molotov
my Savior. This book changed my life.” cocktail or any number of bullets has ever done!
In God’s Word you can find the answer to every
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question, every problem you will ever have in life.
From the Bible ... Many people struggle through life needless-
This is what God says about His Word: “For as the ly, when only a little more time spent with God’s
rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do Word would bring the peace, faith, and happi-
not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring ness they seek.
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and —David Brandt Berg
bread for the eater, so shall My Word that goes forth

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Reflections © 1995 The Family
David Brandt Berg (1919–1994) was founder of The Family.
Visit our Web site at www.thefamily.org.

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R300 GP—March 2004 Topics: death, Heaven, loved ones waiting on the other side, faith