P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

LOOKING FOR THE MISSING BULLET

One of the most thrilling stories I've ever read is the incredible book, I Will Die Free, by Noble Alexander and Kay Rizzo. Noble spent twenty-two YEARS in a Cuban prison for the crime of being a Christian minister.

And as we close our celebration of National Bible Week, one chapter in that riveting story is especially meaningful. All during those 22 years of incarceration and persecution, you see, Noble was involved in holding together little groups of believers. These Cuban political prisoners would actually form churches. Even though the threat of torture and bayonet stabbings and executions was always there, he somehow managed to keep serving as "the Preacher."

One young man in his little group was named Carlos Sanchez. And during a period of extended confinement at La Reforma Work Camp, the prisoners were assigned to work in citrus farms, harvesting the delicious fruit. Of course, not a single bite was ever to pass THEIR lips; if the guards saw a prisoner stealing fruit belonging to "the people," the whine of a sniper's bullet was instantly heard.

Well, this Carlos very surreptitiously struck up a conversation with a couple of the local villagers as they worked side by side picking the fruit — even though talking was forbidden too. And of course, this beat-up prisoner with the unstoppable religious fervor couldn't help but share that faith with his workmates.

A few days later, one of the farm boys quietly slipped Carlos a brown paper bag. "Shhhh! A Bible," he whispered. "Hide it!" Carlos quickly buried the little package at the edge of the citrus grove.

Suspicious, some of the guards questioned Carlos and searched his cell but didn't find anything. A week later, when he was assigned to the same citrus field, Carlos found the secret spot and dug up his precious Bible. Wrapping it up in some tattered plastic that used to be an empty fertilizer bag and covering it with his metal dinner tray, he tucked the contraband package inside his shirt.

This was just what the already suspicious guards had been watching for. Two seconds later a shot rang out; Carlos fell forward on his face, cutting his lip on a sharp stone. Several guards and the "(quote) political instructor" rushed forward, seized the fallen man, and pushed him into a truck.

Noble Alexander, watching the entire saga, was heartbroken. Another Christian comrade had passed to his rest.

But that night when he returned to camp, there was Carlos alive and well! With quite an amazing story to tell.

At the military hospital, the guards had dragged their bleeding captive into the doctor's office and stripped off all his clothes. The doctor noticed the slight cut on his lip and gave Carlos a cursory once-over glance. "Why do you bring this man here?"

"We shot him in the chest!" the political instructor snapped. "He was trying to escape."

"That's ridiculous," the doctor replied. "All he has is a cut lip. There's no bullet. Take a look for yourself."

The guard was livid with disbelief. "My man shot him right in the chest," he screamed, as though he was about to miss a stuffed toy prize at a carnival contest. "How could he miss?"

At that moment they both looked down at the tattered package that had fallen to the floor when they stripped off Carlos' prison clothes. There was the plastic, and inside it the old, worn-out Bible. Looking inside the Bible, they found it: a spent bullet. "Aha!" the political instructor crowed in triumph. "I told you we shot him in the chest."

Carlos, who had been listening with great interest, finally spoke up. "May I see it?" Flustered, the instructor handed the Bible to him and he looked through the pages which the bullet had damaged. Finally he came to the last page, where the bullet had finally stopped. There was a tiny dimple on Psalm 91, verse 7, which reads like this:

"A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."

Well, you would think that could be the end of the story right there . . . but it really isn't. Can you imagine the impact this had back at the prison, especially with that little Christian church group? Men who had never before been interested in spiritual things, inmates who had been beaten down with discouragement, sure they would never get out of the Castro prison system — suddenly found new hope. Attendance at the ragtag church services exploded, as new believers and curiosity seekers alike flooded in to see the miracle man and the miracle Bible with the bullet hole in it.

Friend, I don't know how many physical bullets have been stopped by physical Bibles through the centuries. Noble Alexander's isn't the first such story I've heard. But I can tell you this: more bullets have been stopped than we can ever imagine.

There are bullets of hatred that have been stopped by a Bible verse quoted just in time. Bullets of gossip that have threatened to rip through a church or a home or a group of workers . . . but the Word of God stopped them. Bullets of discouragement that threatened to cut down a person during a time of personal despair — but then hit that shield of Scripture. Verses like Second Corinthians 12:9:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

Who quoted those very words? The apostle Paul. The PRISONER Paul, who was afflicted by a mysterious handicap that caused him tremendous discouragement. Talk about a speeding bullet ready to cut a man down! But then that promise from Christ came to the rescue. "My grace is enough for you, Paul," Jesus promised. "All My power is available during your moments of greatest weakness."

How about bullets of temptation? Three times in a row, Lucifer loaded his .457 Magnum and aimed it right at Christ. "Do you feel lucky?" he sneered. He thought he had enough ammunition to cut the Savior down for sure. But three times in a row Jesus pulled out the shield of God's Word. Even though it wasn't National Bible Week, He had the Bible in His heart, in His mind. Three times in a row Jesus was able to say to His enemy, "It Is Written." And those three powerful, bullet-proof words deflected every shot.

Friend, let me encourage you today, as we close up this series celebrating National Bible Week — pick up your Bible and take advantage of its amazing powers. The Bible can defend you, but only if you pick it up. Martin Luther once said:

"The Bible is like a lion. YOU don't have to defend IT; just let it loose. It will defend itself."

That's well and good. But it can't defend YOU unless it's in your hands and in your heart. Nobody ever quoted Scripture verses that they hadn't read. Even Jesus couldn't do that, and neither can you. The words in the Bible can only serve as your shield when you strap them on.

We've been mentioning all this week the eight million people who have returned to the Bible because of National Bible Week. So many people who had abandoned their Bibles are returning. And perhaps there are many other people who had a very shallow experience in the Word of God — the proverbial reading of a single verse with their hand on the doorknob before heading out for a busy day in the rat race of life. Wouldn't this be a wonderful moment, right now as we face the Christmas season, to actively seek a DEEP relationship with God through His Word? Today, Friday the 24th of November, 1995, is a wonderful time, the PERFECT time, to choose that deeper experience.

Let me share with you the personal testimony of Mr. Jeffery W. Comment, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Helzberg Diamonds AND this year's Chairperson for National Bible Week. Listen:

"As I get a little older and look back on life, my appreciation for God's love and direction just continues to grow. I also realize that God expects me to be wiser and more obedient in the days ahead. It's that expectation that has made the BIBLE my primary source for finding the sovereign provisions that God has for me. Only the BIBLE can give the rich and wholesome truth that is of God. It is my extreme privilege as Chairman of the 1995 National Bible Week to encourage you to turn DAILY to the Bible for truth and direction."

You know, in a way the study and the science of the Bible is my job, my profession. I'm a BIBLE teacher here on the radio. But right now on this Friday during the Thanksgiving break, I want to commit myself to more Bible study because of my own personal need. I NEED God's Word so much. I need more, much more. I want to feed on God's Word more, FEAST on it more . . . starting immediately. This December and right into 1996, I want to do OTHER things LESS and read God's Word MORE. Ken is right here next to me nodding his head. Together — and with YOU, friend — we want the power, the bullet-stopping strength of God's Holy Word in our lives and in our witness.