RESCUED FROM A FIERY CAR
Thirty years ago, two NYPD detectives in Harlem spotted a car billowing smoke. They flagged down the car, which had a young mother and two young children inside. Just then, the engine burst into flames, and they pulled the three out and got them to safety. Earlier this month, one of the two children in that car—Denise Gomez, who was two at the time—achieved her dream of emulating the heroes who had saved her life, and she became a NYPD officer herself. The two detectives who rescued her are now retired, but they attended the ceremony where Denise received her badge. They were surprised to learn that she would carry the exact badge as Eric Ocasio, one of the officers who had pulled her from the car. Ocasio said, “To know that, thirty years later, Police Officer Gomez became a police officer due to our actions that day is very special and near and dear to my heart.”
RESCUED FROM A FIERY FURNACE
After uttering one of the most profound expressions of faith in the Bible, three young men known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown alive into a blazing furnace, which was supposed to execute them. But the God in whom they had placed their unwavering faith, a faith they would hold to whether He rescued them or not, delivered them from the flames. The miracle was a powerful testimony to a pagan tyrant, who gave glory to God.
Questions
- What’s the greatest thing you’ve ever seen a police officer or other service worker do?
- Who is someone you admire so much that it has brought change to your life?
- How can we know whether our faith is as courageous as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?