The World's First Heart Transplant...Or Was It?

by SisterAngie

The world’s first heart transplant was performed by a doctor named Christiaan Barnard of South Africa. Interestingly enough, Barnard grew up in a home of meager resources. His dad was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. After having a brother die from heart problems at the age of five, he was determined to become South Africa’s leading cardiac surgeons.
He eventually performed South Africa’s first kidney transplant and later experimented with heart transplants in animals. Over fifty dogs received new hearts!

Finally, on December 3, 1967, the world’s first successful heart transplant was performed for a man who had incurable heart disease. Can you imagine being in the position of that first person to undergo such a surgery? Barnard was quoted as saying, "For a dying man it is not a difficult decision because he knows he is at the end. If a lion chases you to the bank of a river filled with crocodiles, you will leap into the water, convinced you have a chance to swim to the other side."

When I first heard of this special date in history, I could not help but think about our amazing God, the master heart surgeon. In Ezekiel, He promises, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." He sure did that for me!

Before I knew Jesus, I had no problem telling lies and had many idols in my life. My heart was hard indeed. I desperately needed a new one. Praise God, I did not have to wait in a long list of potential recipients and qualify through rigorous guidelines and criteria, not to mention the over $200,000 cost for such a major surgery!

The sword of the Spirit, God’s word, was the perfectly sterilized implement that was used in my supernatural heart transplant. One night I laid my husband’s Bible on my lap and asked God that if Jesus was real, to show himself to me. As my eyes fell on Isaiah 41:10, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. These were the words of hope I had been looking for all of my life. I realized God was not far away, but close and personal, an answer to all the fears I felt in living so many years on my own without Him.

As with any recipient of a new physical heart, I had a fresh lease on life filled with hope, joy, and a promise that when my actual heart sounds its last beat, I will live beyond this natural life! Until then, we must endeavor to “Keep thy heart with all diligence…” both spiritually and

A Saved Patriot

A gentleman in our church sings a beautiful song in honor of our country and our Savior every year which I love! I can't share the lyrics due to copyright constraints, but it tells the story of Old Glory from a Christian perspective. Many churches have a Christian flag and the colors are the same; red, white, and blue.

The main meaning behind these colors, in a Christian's life, are these;

Red is for the blood of Jesus, who willingly offered to pay our sin debt.
Romans 5:8, " But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Just as our soldiers willingly offer themselves to go into battle for our freedom, Christ went to battle for our freedom from sin.

White is for our forgiveness, as he washed away our sins.
Isaiah 1:18, " Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Ephesians 1:7, " In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

Romans 5:8, " But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. "

Our soldiers go into battle, already knowing that not everyone in America is thankful for our freedom. People still commit crimes and are sent to prison everyday, but our soldiers stills fight for our freedom. Christ already knew we were sinners, and he still offered to pay our sin debt.

Blue is for royalty as we can become a child of God, born into his family.

John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"

The people of our nation, although from different nationalities, still come together under one flag and are proud to be an American. The people of this land are Americans, and we are truly a family in this nation. When a person confesses that they are lost without Jesus and choose him to be their Savior they become a part of the family of God. We are all under one banner, his banner over us is love!

Remember that old Sunday School song?

He brought me to His banqueting table,
His banner over me is love
He brought me to His banqueting table,
His banner over me is love
He brought me to His banqueting table,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love.

He lifted me up into heavenly places,
His banner over me is love
He lifted me up into heavenly places,
His banner over me is love
He lifted me up into heavenly places,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love.

Jesus is the Rock of my salvation,
His banner over me is love
Jesus is the Rock of my salvation,
His banner over me is love
Jesus is the Rock of my salvation,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love.

If you have never prayed and trusted in Jesus to be your Savior, you may do so today.

1. Confess that you're not perfect. The Bible calls that sin.
Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

2. Realize that your sin has a payment.
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ is Lord."

3. Understand that Jesus willingly died for you , even though He already knew you are a sinner.
Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth is love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

4. Here's the best part! Just call upon him!
Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Simply express that to the Lord as you pray,
"Dear God, I know that I'm not perfect and you call that sin. I understand that sin must be paid for with death, but I don't want to pay for my own sin. I willingly receive Jesus' death on the cross as the payment for my sin. Please forgive me and thank you Jesus for dieing for me. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

If you just now received Jesus as your Savior, please let us know by replying below. Just as we raise our flag this Fourth of July and are proud that we have our banner of freedom, we can also know that His banner over us is love!

A Date to Remember

I'm honored to bring you this month's story to The Faith Factor. This story occurred when Miss Monica June was just a baby, so she asked me to write about this date to remember.

There was a time when Miss Moni's dad didn't walk with the Lord. He had previously been introduced to the Lord in 1990, but his relationship with the Saviour didn't have a stable foundation. After many years of trying to live life his own way, like so many of us do, he was faced with needing to make a change.

There was a time when he wasn't in our lives at all. He had chosen to walk his own journey without the family and we didn't know if he was dead or alive. We prayed every day that God would send a Christian into his life. We knew that even though we didn't know where he was, God did know. There was a night when I had tucked Lady Jess into bed, prayed with her, and kissed her goodnight. She was about five years old at the time and I could hear talking coming from the room. Of course, being the mother that I am I thought she was still up playing when she should have been sleeping. I approached the door when I realized she wasn't playing. I cracked the door just slightly and quietly. As I peeked inside the room I saw her down on her knees next to the bed praying with tears in her eyes and barely a breath as she said, "Daddy, please bring my daddy home!" She was crying so hard she could barely speak.

She was using force to bring her prayers to her lips and she prayed again, "Oh God PLEASE save my daddy, I miss him so much. Please bring my daddy home."

As a mother I wanted to rush to her side and hold her in my arms, but I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me, " Let me be the one who holds her." I closed the door and I walked away. I knew this was a moment that she needed to have with the Lord. I didn't ask her about that moment until she was a bit older. It wasn't long after that when I received a letter from my husband. He explained that he was in another state and that he started attending church. The pastor there counseled him to, "go home and make right with your wife and children. Be the husband and father God wants you to be." Within a few weeks he had moved back to our area and lived with his dad. We continued to pray for him and he sought work in our community.

A dear gentleman of our church named Mr. Kempton, who is now with our Lord, faithfully visited the girls' daddy. He would pick him up for church and help disciple him. One Saturday morning as we arrived at the church for our outreach ministry, we saw Mr. Kempton walk in with her daddy. (The church also had men's Bible study that morning.) She looked up at Mr. Kempton and with gleeful delight and sincerity said, "Oh Mr. Kempton, thank you so much for bringing my daddy to men's Bible study." This dear saint of God began to cry. He was so touched by Jessica's sweet countenance.

About a week later, on a Saturday night, I began to pray with ferverance and detail. I begged God for the soul of my husband. I knew that he had a previous relationship with the Lord, but his life lacked evidence of salvation. I recalled a verse that promised me that I could come boldly to the throne of God.

Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."(KJV)

I sought the Lord for my husband to not only come to church the next morning, that he would come forward during the invitation to be saved. I prayed for a man named Mr. Colombo to be the one that would met him for prayer and that he would be baptized. This was a very tall order after seeing my husband walk away from God for such a long time. I was asking for what others called, 'The Impossible'. I ended my prayer with thanksgiving and went to bed.

The next morning was Sunday. We went to church as we did every week and when we arrived my husband was there for Sunday School. Jessica and Moni were in their classes and I taught a class during that time as well. The second hour was the church service and I sang in the choir while the kids remained in their children's church. After the preaching was over and the invitation had begun a woman asked me to prayer with her. I went to pray with this sweet lady and then when I returned to my seat, all my friends were staring at me with smiles on their faces. One friend motioned to me to come pray with her. As I knelt down she began to cry out these words, "Your husband just got saved Lisa!" I was astonished! "Where is he? Who prayed with him?" She replied, "Mr. Colombo prayed with him! I saw his lips moving, I could see that he was praying top be saved!" I began to sob uncontrollably. I asked her to pray that he would be baptized and she said, "He is, look" As she pointed I saw Mr. Colombo leading him to the back room to be baptized.

She prayed and praised God for this tremendous victory and then I went to get my children from their classes. As I knocked on the door and the teacher opened she saw the tears in my eyes and was concerned, "What's wrong Lisa?" With a release of emotions I answered back, "My husband got saved today!" She began to cry herself and she turned to shout to Jessica, "Jessi, your daddy got saved come quick!!!" All the children rejoiced as Jess ran to the door with giddy laughter. We ran back to the auditorium and the lights were dim. We went to the very front row where Jess hopped on the lap of the friend who had just prayed with me. Suddenly, my five year old Jess began to sob.

Our friend asked her why she was crying and she was crying so hard that she had to once again force the words out, "I'm just so happy my daddy finally got saved!"

As my husband entered the water, I shouted like a cheerleader at a football game, "THAT'S MY HUSBAND!!" I was so happy that I couldn't hold back the excitement. A soul had been saved! The entire church cheered as well. It was a date to remember. Each time I tell this story I cry and as I sit here now typing this for you, I have piles of tissue at my side. We thanked God for the victory that we saw that wonderful Sunday morning and our family was restored. But not just our family, it was the family of God that had been healed. Our church family had prayed for so long! It has been many years now, but whenever I tell this story the emotions flood back as if it was yesterday.

Is there someone you have been praying for? Does it seem like God isn't hearing your prayers? Have you lost hope and given up on ever getting the answer you desire? There was a time when I had given up as well, but a woman once wrote in my Bible, "Don't Give Up Praying! Mrs. Delashmit" She was the wife of an evangelist who had at one time been a Hell's Angel. God gloriously saved him and his testimony is one that my husband never got to hear before Dr. Delashmit went to be with our Saviour. However, he has listened to his testimony on tape many times and has given the tape to many others to listen to.

My husband now works at a Recovery Mission aiding and counseling men with broken lives and helping them to restore their own families. It is clearly evident that he walks with the Lord now and we have been so blessed by the new man God gave to our family.

Mark 9:29, "And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."(KJV)

You can order tapes and CD's of Dr. Jim Delashmit's songs at Valley Baptist Church.
To hear the story 'From Dope to Hope', of how God delivered Dr. Delashmit from the life of a Hell's Angel, you can contact me. I had been saved during a night that he preached in our church. I'll be sharing my salvation story in an upcoming issue. If you would like your salvation story to be featured in GGM, send your story to us.

If You Are Real, Show Me

There once was a little girl who had a good life. She had a warm safe home, loving parents, food a plenty, trinkets and toys to occupy her days, and lovely clothes to wear. All her needs were fully and completely satisfied, but there was something amiss in her life, a void which could not be filled.

So, as the little girl grew in stature she began to try and fill that empty hole with all the enticements and foolery that the world had to offer. These vain attempts to satisfy an unexplainable yearning in her heart only proved to create greater turmoil and strife. Fear became her friend and constant companion.

The now young lady felt very lonely and began looking for love. The problem was that she looked in the most inappropriate places. No matter how hard she tried, all the cravings and desires of her soul could not be satisfied. Instead, more pain and emptiness was heaped upon her depraved heart. She yearned for approval and lost herself in pleasing others. She was completely lost.

While utterly alone and devastated by all the trappings of the world and people therein, she met a nice man who seemed different from all the others. He exuded love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, qualities that she desperately wanted to acquire, but thus far had been elusive.

The nice man so generously taught her about the One through whom these things could be found…to be found…oh how she longed to be found!

As a grown woman, one who had shared the company of many a book, she picked up a new Book…the Book which was spoken of when she married the nice man who was full of the fruit she wanted to taste. She cried out to the Author of the Book, “If You are real, show me.” Her eyes fell onto a page which read. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Suddenly, her cheeks were wet and her heart was flooded with hope she had never felt before. Her life was soon filled with joy unspeakable. The Prince of Peace, named Jesus, filled her new heart and the barren places of her soul. Fallow ground was broken and like a seed planted in fertile soil, faith sprung up along with the other sweet fruits of the precious Spirit. Fear was cast down and instead of pleasing people, she began to please Him who died in her place.

And so the story continues. It is being lived out by me, Angie. This restored life perseveres, growing in grace and nurturing a new generation of children who God so generously bestowed in our care. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

GGM is giving this lovely Angel charm to one special reader, USA only please, when you blog about this article and bring the link back to us here. Simply paste the link into your post below. Be sure youleave a link where you or your mom can be contacted.

Each month we will share a salvation story from one of our authors. We would like for you to participate and share the day your relationship began with Jesus. If you'd like to submit your salvation story, contact our Editor today and let her know.

Believe

Do you know Christ as your personal Savior? If you died today, do you know 100% for sure you would go to Heaven? Have you ever received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life?

Realize That God Loves You and has a plan for your life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

The Bible Says That All Are Sinners and Our sins have separated us from God. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

God made man in His own image. He gave man the ability to choose right from wrong. We choose to sin. Our sins keep us from God.

God’s Word Also Says That Sin Must Be Paid For “For the wages of sin is death....” Romans 6:23 Wages means payment. The payment of our sin is death and hell, separation from God forever. If we continue in our sin, we shall die without Christ and be without God forever. The Good News Is That Christ Paid For Our Sins. All of our sins were laid on Christ on the cross. He paid our sin debt for us. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, and He arose from the dead. He is alive forevermore.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 We Must Personally Pray And Receive Christ By Faith. The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

Pray And Receive Christ As Your Savior and Lord,

"I know that I am a sinner and that my sin has a payment. If I died today, I would not go to heaven. Forgive my sin, and I accept your death as the payment for my sin. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he came to die in my place. Thank you Jesus and thank you God for forgiving my sin. Help me live for you from this day forward. In Jesus’ Name, Amen."

The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13Being "Saved" means that Everlasting life begins when we receive Christ as our Savior.

I trusted Jesus as my Savior on January 24, 1995. It was a Tuesday night at a revival meeting in our church. Do you have a memory of the day you trusted Christ? Was your moment just now as you read this message? Please reply and let us know so that we may rejoice with you.