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Themes Good Works Cannot Save CAVE-IN! Richard worked in a small town in West Virginia as a coal miner. He was one of the hardest workers in the entire mine. If there was a difficult job, Richard would try it. One Friday afternoon in May of 1985, Richard and two of his co-workers chatted down in a compartment of the mine. Suddenly, they heard a terrifying crash. "Oh no!" cried Richard, "It's a cave-in!" The three men dashed to the farthest corner of the room. Giant rocks tumbled and smashed through the door, blocking the entrance to their compartment. Large chunks of earth and rock rained down from above their heads until the men were completely trapped. "How do you think we will ever get out of here?" asked one man named Leroy. "The only way we will ever get out of here is if someone comes and rescues us" replied Brad, another worker. Richard never said a word. He was working. He had taken out his pick and started chipping away at the only uncovered wall with the aid of his helmet light. The other two soon joined him. "If we can just break through to another compartment, we'll be free," said Richard. It was hard work. As the hours slowly passed, so did Richard, Leroy and Brad's strength. They were exhausted. Suddenly, they heard a sound above them. At first, it was muffled, but then very clear. "Is there anyone down there?" "Yes! Yes!" Leroy and Brad cheerfully replied. Not much time passed until emergency workers had cleared enough space to drop down a rope to rescue the coal miners. Leroy grabbed the rope firmly and the rescue team pulled him to safety. Brad also eagerly grasped the rope and they hoisted him up. They were both saved! The rope descended one more time. "Richard! Take the rope!" yelled Leroy. However, Richard was still hacking through the rock. "I think I'm almost through," he quickly responded. "Please take the rope. Those rocks are going to fall on top of you if you don't hurry," Brad warned. "One more minute," said Richard. Just then, the roof above Richard's head crumbled and buried him in the corner of the compartment. Richard was dead. Everyone went home very sad. If only he would have taken that rope when they called him, he would have been saved. Unfortunately, this happens all the time. Most people are working to be saved and be in Heaven. Some are working at going to church and others at being kind to their neighbors. Jesus is calling people to turn from their works and trust Him for salvation. People ignore His calls. They want to work their way to Heaven. This is impossible. Many die in their sins because they will not come. You cannot make it to Heaven by being a good person, reading the Bible or even praying every day. You can only go to Heaven by trusting the Lord Jesus as your Savior. He is saying to you today, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
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The Music of Glorybound
