Sacrifice

What is it Worth to You?

[104 words] The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life–knowing that under certain conditions it is not worth while to live.” Jesus lived in word…

Inconvenient

[368 words] Power was off at the house and church building (and other places) Sunday night until about eleven o’clock Monday morning. Inconvenient! I came into work Tuesday morning ready for a day of working on sermon and class notes and found that the power had knocked out the church internet and phone lines. Inconvenient!…

How Deep the Father’s Love

[263 words] (Lyrics By: Stuart Townsend) How deep the Father’s love for us,How vast beyond all measureThat He should give His only SonTo make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss;The Father turns His face awayAs wounds which mar the chosen One,Bring many sons to glory. Behold the Man upon a…

Giving Ourselves First to the Lord

[300 words] Christ gave Himself up for us, and so, we live this life in our flesh by faith in the Son of God (Eph 5:1; Gal 2:20) to the service and blessing of one another. As husbands, we give ourselves up for our wives (Eph. 5:25). As fathers, we give ourselves to the nurturing…

What Does It Cost You?

[312 words] A certain group of teens wanted to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless. They decided that for a week they would live like homeless people live. However, the activity was postponed due to weather! Isn’t that ironic? They said they wanted to live like the homeless, but don’t the homeless get…

Your Problem is You!

[298 words] Who is your biggest opponent? Who gives you the most trouble? From whom do most of your challenges and struggles come? You may already have the culprit identified. Chances are, you may be wrong. You likely have looked this person in the face today, probably more than once. It was that person looking…

People and Challenges

[402 words] Why is that so many people take the challenge to run in a marathon, but won’t enter the race of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)? Why is it that so many people develop the skill of self control to engage in an athletic contest, but fail to develop that skill when it comes to their…

Can You Hear Him Calling Your Name?

[451 words] While I was in school at Harding, I worked on the campus to help pay my expenses. I occasionally worked with a young man from Germany named Edgar Knobel. The name should give a clue to his nationality. Edgar and I had some unique situations in our conversations. He had his German accent…

It Is Finished

[486 words] When talking about His sheep and how He was the Good Shepherd, Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have…

The Christian and Sacrifice

  [311 words] The religion of Jesus Christ is rooted in sacrifice. Recall the words of John 3:16 and take note of the sacrifice that God made for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In…

The Big Buyout

[320 words] The line starts to form around 4:30 in the morning. The goal of the people in line is to buy up the stock of doughnuts at Donut City, a small, family-owned shop in Seal Beach, California. By 7:30 the doughnuts have all been purchased. The motivation of the buyouts: to allow the shop…

He Emptied Himself Completely

  [448 words] Pride. There is a necessity in our culture today for pride in our country, pride in a job well done, and pride in the accomplishments of our children. But along with the recognition for such pride, there should also be a label warning of the dangers which accompany pride. Solomon, in his…

Cleansing Through Blood

  [231 words] And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5, NKJV). Blood is typically something we wash off, not something we wash with. As an…

Tell the Story of True Suffering

  [319 words] A sports news network reported an NFL’s investigation showed an offensive lineman for one of the teams was harassed by one of his teammates last year. An investigation ordered by the league said it found evidence that a player had been the subject of racial slurs and bullying during his time with…

Take a Bullet for Jesus!

[247 words] Years ago when Warren Sapp was describing his love and devotion for his coach, Tony Dungy, he said, “I would take a bullet for him–if it wouldn’t kill me.” The Bible teaches us to be so devoted to Jesus and His cause that we’d be willing to die for Him. Perhaps you’re familiar…

A Lesson from a Child

[440 words] A certain father was trying to teach his son the value of sacrificing for the things we really want in life. At the moment the boy could think of nothing grander than to own a BB gun. His father wanted to help, so he told the son that he would double anything that…

What Did Jesus Give Up For Us?

[491 words] We often talk about what all Jesus gave on our behalf, i.e. He gave His blood (Matt. 26:28; Acts 20:28). And it is right and good to focus on what Jesus gave. But I would like to focus for a few moments on the things Jesus gave up for us. The text in…

The Challenge of the Four Chaplains

[299 words] In a recent article, Phillip Morrison retold the story of four chaplains in the U.S. military who died in heroic fashion on the same day. George Fox, Alexander Goode, Clark Poling, and John Washington had just graduated from Army Chaplains School at Harvard and were headed to Europe for their first WWll assignments.…

The Palmyra Massacre

[290 words] One of the darkest chapters of the Civil War is “The Palmyra Massacre.” In 1862, the Confederate Army released 45 Confederate prisoners from a Union stronghold and arrested an Union sympathizer, Andrew Allsman. Union Provost Marshal William R. Strachan re-took the post and demanded that Allsman be returned or 10 Confederate POWs would…

What Are You Willing To Do?

In order for many of us to achieve our goals and dreams of this life, we must be willing to do things. In order to become a teacher, I had to graduate from high school and college with the appropriate degree. To live a healthier lifestyle, one must be willing to exercise, choose what they…