Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester,OK

Do You Know the “Prince of Peace?”
“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. Nations will no longer fight against each other, nor will they train for war.” – Isaiah 2:2-6

There are many “stories” that have circulated through the centuries, that remind us that Jesus is the “Prince of Peace.” We sing about it, preach about it, but when it happens that people who are at war suddenly find themselves drawn together as brothers we consider it a miracle. There is nothing miraculous about it…it is just Jesus being Jesus! The following is one of my favorite examples of this. I hope you enjoy it!

It was 1943. Captain Jeff Graham was flying a bombing mission over the Philippines. Suddenly his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft guns. The plane was severely damaged, Cpt. Graham knew that he would not be able to make it back to the base and would have to crash land the plane. Of the crew of six, two survived the crash. Jeff Graham being one of the two, but was immediately captured by enemy soldiers. They took everything that was on him – including a small pocket bible his mother had given him before he shipped out.

Although he had grown up in a Christian home, as an adult Jeff had not embraced the faith of his parents. He was unaware that it was even in his belongings – his mother must have put it in bag without his knowing it. He had been at his assignment for about two months when he happened upon it. When he found it he saw a note that his mother had attached. This is what it said:

“My dearest Jeff, Your father and I have tried our best to lead you and teach you in the ways of Christ. I know that you have chosen to not believe and cling to ways of Christ –although it is our prayer that when the time comes you discover the faith that we have firmly held to for these many years. May God protect you and I hope and pray that you find Him before you need Him.”

Jeff had been in the prison camp for close to six months. He had been beaten, starved, watched helplessly as many of his fellow Americans died. One night, hungry, lonely, he was at the brink of mental collapse. He was quickly losing hope of even surviving. It was then Jeff remembered the letter from his mother and for the first time prayed for Christ to come into his life. He was still hungry and tired, but the loneliness and depression ceased. And now all he wanted to do was survive and let his parents know of his new faith!

About two months later, it was around one o’clock in the morning. Jeff was wakened by the rattling of his cage door. The sudden light startled him – but what he saw startled him even more. Standing above him was the commander of the prison camp. His name was Nagamori. Nagamori bent down, reached into his coat pocket. Jeff was almost certain that Nagamori was reaching for revolver and that his life was over. Instead, what he saw was the bible his mother had given him. Nagamori spoke in broken English; “You read this to me!” Not knowing exactly where to begin, Jeff chose to start with the gospels. He would read a few lines while Nagamori listened. If there was something that Nagamori did not understand, Jeff would stop and attempt to explain it. In reality, Jeff was learning as much or even more than Nagamori.

This same scene was played out for the next several nights. It was during one of those sessions Nagamori stopped Jeff, bowed down and simply said, “We pray! We pray for Jesus to be Savior!” And they did! Both Jeff and Nagamori prayed that Jesus would come into their hearts.

From that moment Jeff’s life would change, along with the other prisoners still remaining. Their treatment improved greatly and the nightly sessions between Jeff and Nagamori continued.

About a year after being captured, Nagamori approached Jeff and told him that American forces were close to taking over the area. He had been given orders to kill all the prisoners and then fight the oncoming forces to the death. “I wish to do neither,” Nagamori said. And with that he surrendered to his prisoners.

The captives were now the captors! American Marines did arrive and would take the Japanese to an American prison camp. Before leaving, Jeff had one final session with his new friend. As the prisoners loaded into a waiting truck, Jeff gave Nagamori his bible. The two men, enemies in war, but now brothers in Christ actually embraced.

Jeff came home and with his new found faith was called into full-time ministry. After nearly 30 years of preaching, Jeff was given the opportunity to teach a bible class at a Bible College…in Japan! He jumped at the chance and would spend the next three years in Okinawa. One day, after class Jeff saw an old Japanese man walking toward him. It did not take him long to recognize him – it was his former captor, and friend, Nagamori. They embraced as if they had known each other for all of their lives. Nagamori’s English had greatly improved and they would spend the next three hours talking about their lives, their families and most importantly, their faith in Christ. As Nagamori began to leave he reached into a bag he had carried with him and presented to Jeff a gift. “Open when you get home,” he told him.

Jeff had no sooner walked inside the door of his apartment when he opened the package. A huge smile broke across his face along with tears of joy. It was his bible. It was worn, held together by tape and string with several pages missing. But inside were also hundreds of pictures.

A letter attached explained that these pictures represented the people that Nagamori had led to Christ over the years. It was then that Christ reminded Jeff that under the harshest of circumstances – he had placed his faith in Christ. And had been gloriously rewarded!
Pastor J. T. Carnell