“No, General, I never really have,” James said after a moment of reflection.
“Would you like to, sir?”
“Honestly, General, I’m not entirely sure what that means.”
“Would you like me to walk you through it, sir, briefly?” Stephens asked.
James nodded, a bit self-consciously.
The general reached over and picked up the small leather Bible on his nightstand, then, with the president’s permission, took a seat on the bed.
“Mr. President, the Bible says God loves us and has a wonderful plan and purpose for our lives. In John 3:16, Jesus said, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ In John 10:10, Jesus said, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,’ that it might be full and meaningful.”
The general flipped forward a few pages. “But the Bible also teaches that man is sinful and separated from God, and that’s why we don’t know Him and experience Him like we want to. Romans 3:23 tells us, ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ Romans 6:23 says, ‘The wages of sin is death.’ That’s the bad news. The good news is that through faith in Jesus Christ, we can have our sins forgiven. We can know we’re going to heaven. We can have a personal relationship with God Himself, all because Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty for your sins and mine.”
James thought carefully about the verses he was hearing as the general found another set of passages and began reading again.
“The Bible says, ‘God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ It also says, ‘Christ died for our sins…. He was buried…. He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…. He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred.’ Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’
“But here’s the key, Mr. President. The Bible teaches us that it’s not enough just to know that God loves us, or that we’re sinners, or that Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins. It’s good, but it’s not enough. The fact is, each of us must individually receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Then, and only then, will we be born again into His family, into His Kingdom. Only then can we truly know and experience God’s love and His plan for our lives.
“John 1:12 says, ‘As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.’ And the apostle Paul told us in Ephesians, ‘By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.’”
Stephens turned the pages of his marked-up Bible one last time, and James noticed he landed in the third chapter of the book of Revelation. He expected a lesson on the End Times. He was surprised when, instead, the general read words of Jesus that James had never heard before. “‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.’”
The general looked him in the eye. “Mr. President, do you believe Jesus is the only way to God the Father?”
James thought about it and realized that for the first time in his life, he really did. He nodded and said, “I do.”
“Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the complete penalty for your sins?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you believe that He rose from the dead on the third day, just as was prophesied in the Scriptures?”
James nodded again and said yes.
“And are you sure you’re ready to confess to Him that you’re a sinner, that you need His forgiveness, and that with His help, you’re ready to repent of your sins and follow Him, no matter what it may cost?”
Twenty-four hours earlier, James knew, that wouldn’t have been true. Six hours ago, as well. But now it was. His heart was racing. He wanted to give his heart to Christ like nothing else he had ever done in his life.
“I think I am ready,” he said.
“Wonderful,” the general said.
At the general’s encouragement, the two men got down on their knees and bowed their heads. Then Stephens told the president he was going to lead him through the same prayer he had prayed more than a decade earlier.
“Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you for rising from the dead. I believe you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I believe you are the only way to heaven, the only way to the Father. And right now, as an act of the will, by faith, I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins. Thank you for giving me eternal life. Have mercy on me, Lord. Show me your will. Teach me your Word. Guide me by your Holy Spirit. Take the throne of my life, Lord Jesus, and make me the kind of person you want me to be. In your holy and precious Name I pray, amen.”
62
A day passed, but none of the tension did.
Lee James was struggling to adjust to his new role as commander in chief. Burt Trainor had just been sworn in as vice president of the United States, though James had asked him to continue serving as secretary of defense for continuity. Change was coming fast and furious, but time was running out. They had to make decisions.
General Andrew T. Garrett paced the war room. Deep under Seoul in a reinforced steel and concrete bunker, he was safer than his men. Safer than anyone in South Korea. But unlike any of them, he knew what was coming, and that knowledge was eating a hole through his stomach. He was on medication. It wasn’t working. The pain was severe, and it was growing. But he had no choice. Hostilities were going to break out any minute. Either the North was going to strike first or the U.S. was going to unleash the nuclear option and end this thing once and for all. The time to decide was at hand.
He scanned the array of clocks on the far wall, above the satellite monitors and maps of the DMZ. It was now 5:21 a.m. Thursday, September 3, in Seoul.
In Babylon, it was 12:21 a.m.
In London, it was 9:21 p.m. Wednesday, September 2.
In Boston, it was 4:21 p.m.
At Crystal Palace, deep inside Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, it was now 2:21 p.m. on Wednesday.
In Sacramento, it was 1:21 p.m.
Garrett could barely believe how much the world had changed in the last forty-eight hours, or how much it would change in the next forty-eight. Indeed, it had been less than thirty-six hours since President Oaks had been assassinated by his own body man. Caulfield was dead. Briggs was dead. A Secret Service agent whose name presently escaped Garrett was dead. Now the United States of America had a third president in as many days, and the country didn’t even know it yet.
The general and a group of other top military commanders had watched the swearing-in ceremony on secure videoconference. But they had all been sworn to secrecy. At least for now. America was at war. There were national security considerations at stake. A public announcement would be made soon, they’d been told. But as USPACOM commander Admiral Arthurs had reminded them, “loose lips sink ships.”
A staff sergeant waved down Garrett’s attention. “General?”
“Yes, Sergeant.”
“The president and vice president are on the line, sir. So is Admiral Arthurs. They’re all ready, sir.”
Garrett nodded, took his seat at the head of the enormous conference table, and signaled the rest of his generals to take their assigned seats. The videoconference system was suddenly down — a bad omen, he thought.