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  document.writeln("<span class=\"body\"><b><span class=\"headings2\"><span class=\"actsititle\">Abandoned and Forgotten</span></span></b><br>");
  document.writeln("<span class=\"actsilinks\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.print()\">Print this page</a></span>");document.writeln("<br><div id='actsartcl1'>");document.writeln("<p class=\"myparagraph\" align=\"left\">\"S<span class=\"body\">everal years ago Shiite Muslims in the Middle East held American Tom Sutherland captive for four years. Much of his time was spent in solitary confinement. In his speech following his release he asked an unforgettable question, \'Do you know what it\'s like to be in prison? To be held hostage? To be held a captive? It\'s very lonely. You worry that people will forget you. I felt abandoned. I didn\'t think anybody even knew I was in prison.\'</span></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">\"During his imprisonment, Tom could hear a radio that the guards had. It was tuned into the BBC.... Every day Tom listened intently to the news, hoping and praying that he would hear the newscaster talk about him and tell the story of his imprisonment and his innocence. But he never heard his name mentioned, so he assumed that nobody at home even knew he was being held hostage. </p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">\"Finally, after four years of captivity, Southerland was released. The government flew Jean, his wife, to the area so they could be reunited. They were so excited to see each other. A few days later, they flew home to San Francisco. As they were getting off the plane, Tom was amazed to see all the lights, television cameras, reporters, people holding signs, and a huge crowd. Tom turned to his wife and said, \'Jean, look at all these people. There must be a celebrity on the plane with us. See if you can spot who it is.\' Jean replied, \'Honey, they are all here for you! This is all for you!\'</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">\"When his wife told him that, Tom Southerland started crying and couldn\'t stop. He sobbed like a little boy. He couldn\'t believe it. He said, \'I thought everybody had forgotten me. I didn\'t think anybody knew I was in captivity. I felt completely abandoned. I didn\'t think anybody cared. Thank God I was wrong.\'\"<sup>1</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\" align=\"center\"><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-left.gif\" height=\"19\" width=\"20\"><span class=\"headings2\">I felt completely abandoned.<br> ");
document.writeln("                  I didn\'t think anybody cared.</span><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-right.gif\" height=\"19\" width=\"20\"></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> Without having been in the same situation, one could never fully identify with Tom. Perhaps to a lesser degree many of us could in that there have been times when we felt all alone, unloved, that nobody cared, and that we wouldn\'t even be missed if we died. And how devastating it must feel for little children who have been abandoned&#8212;many of whom grow up to become delinquents and/or criminals. And how desolate for adults who have been abandoned by their spouse! </p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">Abandonment is one of the most intense forms of human suffering. For many it is so intensely painful that they end their life in suicide. Tragically, suicide is not the end of life&#8212;it is just the end of life on earth. This is because God has assured us that our spirit lives forever either with God in eternal life, or apart from God in eternal punishment.<sup>2</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> And can you even begin to imagine the intense suffering of Jesus at that first Easter time 2,000 years ago when he experienced the ultimate abandonment&#8212;abandonment by God? In his intense agony on the cross he cried out, \"My God, my God, why have your forsaken me.\"<sup>3</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">And why was Jesus abandoned by God? It was because he had taken on himself the sin of the world&#8212;all the sins of mankind. In this condition he had separated himself from God and was in the place of abandonment by God. Jesus did this for you and for me as he was paying the death penalty that was justly ours. Only when that penalty was fully paid, and Jesus rose again was he out of the place of abandonment and back in the presence of God.</p>");
document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">Page 2</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\">What worse fate could there ever be than to feel abandoned by God for all eternity? There is none. But dear reader, always remember, no matter what, God has not forgotten YOU! He has not abandoned YOU! So whatever you do, don\'t abandon God.</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"> This is why it is imperative that the message of Easter be known and understood by all mankind&#8212;otherwise millions of people will eventually feel abandoned by God.</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"><span class=\"headings7\">God is a God of perfect holiness 	</span><br>");
document.writeln("                  <span class=\"body\"> Many people argue that if God is a God of love, how could he allow such suffering that exists in the world today&#8212;let alone send people to Hell&#8212;the place of ultimate abandonment? They don\'t realize that God is also a God of perfect holiness in whose presence no sin or sinners can ever survive. As some germs cannot survive in light, neither can mankind with the disease of sin ever survive in God\'s presence. It just isn\'t possible. In God\'s presence the \"light of his infinite holiness\" will automatically consume all that is evil.</span><br>");
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document.writeln("                <p class=\"headings7\">God is a God of perfect justice 	<br>");
document.writeln("                  <span class=\"body\">Furthermore God is not only a God of infinite holiness, but also a God of perfect justice. Unlike some human judges who, at times, make a mockery of the judicial process with their imperfect judgments, God\'s judgments are always just, perfect and right. And the just judgment of all sin is death&#8212;both physical and spiritual&#8212;the latter of which is eternal separation from, and abandonment by, God in Hell&#8212;whatever and wherever Hell is. This much we do know, Hell is a place from which there is no escape&#8212;ever! </span></p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"><span class=\"headings7\">God is a God of perfect love 	</span><br>");
document.writeln("                  The wonderful news is that because God is also a God of perfect love, he gave his own Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for all mankind\'s sin. When Jesus died on the cross, he literally died in your place and mine, so we could be forgiven for all our sins, and receive God\'s gift of eternal life in Heaven to live with him forever.</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"> In reality, God doesn\'t send people to Hell. We send ourselves there if we fail to accept God\'s full and free pardon. Furthermore, it\'s not so much that God abandons us. It is we who abandon God when we reject his pardon and turn our backs on him.</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\" align=\"center\"><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-left.gif\" height=\"19\" width=\"20\"><span class=\"headings2\">Accepting Jesus\' death on your behalf<br>");
document.writeln("                </span><span class=\"headings2\"> and his pardon, is obtaining your <br>");
document.writeln("                  \"Passport into Heaven.\" Whatever you do, <br>");
document.writeln("                  don\'t leave earth without it.</span><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-right.gif\" height=\"19\" width=\"20\"></p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\">Admitting and confessing your sinfulness to God, believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all your sins, and accepting God\'s pardon, is how you obtain your \"Passport to Heaven.\" Whatever you do, don\'t leave earth without it. Forgiveness and eternal life is then God\'s gift to you. </p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"> A simple, sincere prayer such as the following is all one needs to do to obtain his or her \"Passport to Heaven.\"</p>");
document.writeln("                <blockquote>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"style10\"> <span class=\"body style12\">\"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. Please forgive me for all my sins and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life to be my Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please give me the desire and the help to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus\' name, amen.\"</span></p>");
document.writeln("                </blockquote>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\"> If you genuinely prayed this prayer, please fill in the form online at: <a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php\">www.actsweb.org/decision.php</a> to let us know, and we will send you helpful articles all without charge. And be assured, we have a strict privacy policy, and will not give, share, sell any information about you to anyone, anywhere.</p>");
document.writeln("                <p class=\"body\">1.	From <a href=\"http://www.esermons.com/\" target=\"_blank\">www.eSermons.com</a> <br>");
document.writeln("                  2.	See Matthew 25:46. <br>");
document.writeln("                  3.	Matthew 27:46 (<em>NIV</em>).</p><br>");
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  document.writeln("<p style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;\">This and other articles by Richard (Dick) Innes <a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/articles/\" target=\"_blank\">can be read online</a>.<br><br>Copyright &copy; 1990 - 2024<br /><a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/\" target=\"_blank\">ACTS International</a></p>");
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