Remember The Sacrifice

By Bill Crowder

Read: 1 Cor. 11:23-34
Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. —1 Corinthians 11:24
Bible in a year:
2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26

Every Memorial Day, we remember those who have died in the service of their country. In the United States, a place where such remembrances carry a deep and emotional significance is Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, DC. Arlington is a serious place where, due to the passing of aging war veterans and the ongoing conflicts around the world, there are currently about 25 military funerals every day.

This is particularly difficult for The Old Guard—members of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment who serve at Arlington. It is their task to bear the bodies of the fallen and honor their sacrifice. The members of The Old Guard never forget the price of liberty—for they are reminded of it every day.

Believers in Christ have been given the Lord’s Supper as a reminder of what our freedom from sin cost the Lord Jesus Christ. As we partake of the bread and the cup, we fulfill His command to “do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24). But in the sober celebration of the sacrifice of Christ there is joy. For we need not leave our remembrances at the Lord’s Table. Living our lives for the Savior can show the world that we will never forget the sacrifice He has made for us.

Thank You, Lord, for dying for me
On the cross of Calvary;
Help me always to remember
What You did to set me free. —Sper

Remembering Christ’s death for us should cause us to live for Him.

Clean Up The Environment

By Joanie Yoder

Read: Ephesians 4:17-32
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification. —Ephesians 4:29
Bible in a year:
1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62

What a frustrating problem pollution is! Everybody suffers with it, yet everybody contributes to it.

Pollution takes many forms, but one type is often overlooked. Charles Swindoll calls it “verbal pollution,” passed around by grumblers, complainers, and criticizers. “The poison of pessimism,” Swindoll writes, “creates an atmosphere of wholesale negativism where nothing but the bad side of everything is emphasized.”

A group of Christian friends became concerned about this form of pollution and their personal part in it. So they made a pact to avoid critical words for a whole week. They were surprised to find how little they spoke! As they continued the experiment, they actually had to relearn conversation skills.

In Ephesians 4, Paul called believers to that sort of decisive action. He said we are to “put off” the old self and its conduct that grieves the Holy Spirit (vv.22,30) and “put on” the new self that builds up others (v.24). As we rely on the help of the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), we can make those changes in our conduct, our thinking, and our speaking.

If we want to be rid of verbal pollution, we must choose to change and ask for God’s help. It’s a great way to start cleaning up our spiritual environment.

What! Never speak one evil word,
Or rash, or idle, or unkind!
O how shall I, most gracious Lord,
This mark of true perfection find? —Wesley

Help stamp out pollution—clean up your speech!

Unseen Workers

By Julie Ackerman Link

Read: Romans 12:1-10
We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. —Romans 12:4
Bible in a year:
1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59

As I was giving myself a manicure, I started feeling sorry for my right hand. It does the most work, but my left hand gets the most attention. My right hand applies nail polish smoothly to my left-hand nails, but my left hand, lacking skill and coordination, does not return the favor. The polish on my right hand is always smeared and messy. One hand does the better work, but the other hand gets all the attention and honor.

As I worked on my fingernails, my thoughts turned toward something much more important—the people in my church, many of whom are highly skilled at tasks that make others look good. These hardworking folks, however, seldom get noticed, because their work puts the attention on someone else. It seems unfair that those who do such good work get little appreciation.

Truly servant-minded believers, though, don’t see it that way. They give preference to others (Rom. 12:10) because they know that God sees what others do not—and that He will reward those whose work is unseen by others (Matt. 6:4,6,18; 1 Cor. 12:24).

Is someone else reaping the benefit of your hard work? Be encouraged. God rewards those who work “invisibly” to make Christ visible to the world.

The service that we do for God
May go unpraised by men;
But when we stand before the Lord,
He will reward us then. —Sper

No service for Christ goes unnoticed by Him.

Our Only Hope

By Richard De Haan

Read: 1 Thess. 4:13-18
We should live . . . godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope. —Titus 2:12-13
Bible in a year:
1 Samuel 7-9; Luke 9:18-36

An anonymous author wrote, “When I was first converted, and for some years afterward, the second coming of Christ was a thrilling idea, a blessed hope, a glorious promise, the theme of some of the most inspiring songs of the church.

“Later it became an accepted tenet of faith, a cardinal doctrine, a kind of invisible trademark of my ministry. It was the favorite arena of my theological discussions, in the pulpit and in print. Now suddenly the second coming means something more to me. Paul called it ‘the blessed hope.’ But today it appears as the only hope of the world.”

From the human standpoint, there is no solution for the struggles of the world. Leaders are naturally frustrated in trying to deal with the increasing problems in society. The only complete and permanent solution is found in the return of Christ to earth. When He comes, He will set up His kingdom. He will rule the nations in righteousness, and “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14).

As we await our Savior’s return, let us keep on praying, working, and watching, while “looking for the blessed hope”—our only hope for this world.

And for the hope of His return,
Dear Lord, Your name we praise;
With longing hearts we watch and wait
For that great day of days! —Sherwood

As this world gets darker, the promised return of God’s Son gets brighter.

Devotions: A New Normal

By Julie Ackerman Link

Read: Romans 6:1-11
Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4

Bible in a year:
Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50

After my doctor announced that I had cancer, I tried to listen to what he said, but I couldn’t. I went home, pulled a blanket over my head, and fell asleep on the couch, as if sleeping could change the diagnosis.

When I finally gained enough strength to tell my loved ones, my friend Judy Schreur said something especially memorable. After expressing her sympathy, she said, “This is what will happen. You will feel really bad for 3 days. Then you will get up, figure out what you have to do, and get on with your life.” Then she added, “I think it has to do with death, burial, and resurrection.”

At the time, I didn’t believe it. I was sure that life as I knew it was over. Nothing would ever be the same. I couldn’t imagine feeling normal again. But she was right. Three days later I woke up and realized I didn’t feel quite so bad. And little by little, despite the physical misery of chemotherapy treatments, my emotional and spiritual condition improved significantly. I “died” to my old reality and was “raised” to a new normal.

Thankfully, God is in the business of resurrection. For those who have died in Christ, the death of one reality means resurrection to a new, glorious normal so that we can “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).

Jesus redeemed us and died in our stead;
In Him we died and rose from the dead.
No longer is death a thing that we dread;
The old is behind us, the new is ahead. —D. De Haan

To be “in Christ” is to share in His life, in His death, and in His resurrection.

The Power Of Praise

By Paul Van Gorder

Read: Isaiah 61:1-3
The Lord has anointed Me . . . to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. —Isaiah 61:1,3

Bible in a year:
1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56

Praise is powerful! When Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne was troubled with a coldness of heart toward the things of the Lord, he would sing the praises of God until he felt revived in his spirit. Those in his household were often able to tell what hour he awoke because he began the day with a psalm of praise.

One day, while he was trying to prepare his heart for preaching, he wrote in his journal: “Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? . . . Lord, You know all things . . . . I’ve felt so much deadness and grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Toward evening I revived. Got a calm spirit through [singing psalms] and prayer.” McCheyne had been uplifted by praising God.

Perhaps you feel as if you are mired in what John Bunyan called the “slough of despond.” Lift a song of praise to the Lord. The psalmist said, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever” (89:1). When we do that, the praise will flow not only from our lips but also from our heart. The Lord delights to give “the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:3).

Yes, “it is good to sing praises to our God”—at all times (Ps. 147:1).

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
To His feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing. —Lyte

If you find yourself wearing a spirit of heaviness, try on a garment of praise.

Is It True?

by Cindy Hess Kasper

Read: Galatians 1:1-9
They received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. —Acts 17:11

Bible in a year:
Ecclesiastes 10-12; Galatians 1

Trust, but verify.” My husband loves that quote from Ronald Reagan. During his time in office, the former US President wanted to believe everything he was told in his political dealings with others. But since the security of his country depended on the truth being told—he strived to verify everything.

Acts 17:11 tells us that the Bereans had a similar attitude about knowing the truth. “They received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” In other words, the Bereans didn’t simply believe what someone else was telling them. They also verified it on their own—on a daily basis.

That’s important for us to consider as well. Whether we receive our Bible teaching through church, Sunday school, radio, or TV—we need to test what we hear against God’s inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We are to “be diligent to present [ourselves] approved to God, . . . rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2:15). If we do this, we won’t become prey to those who teach “a different gospel,” and those who “want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-7)—false teachers who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).

Remember, trust—but verify!

Protection from false teaching comes
The more we read God’s Word;
For once we know the Scripture’s truth,
What’s false will sound absurd. —Sper

Knowing what’s true is the first step in knowing what’s false.

The Power Of Love

by David C. McCasland

Read: Zephaniah 3:14-20
The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love. —Zephaniah 3:17

Bible in a year:
Psalms 126-128; 1 Corinthians 10:19-33

The documentary film Young@Heart gives a rollicking look at a senior chorus of 24 singers whose average age is 80. Filled with humor and poignant moments, the film includes this remarkable singing group’s deeply moving performance at a New England prison. When the concert concludes, the singers walk into the audience, greeting the surprised prisoners with handshakes and hugs.

The inmates’ unexpected amazement at this personal touch reminds me of the book of Zephaniah in which the prophet brings a powerful message of God’s presence and love to His people during a dark time: “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (3:17).

According to Bible teacher Henrietta Mears, Zephaniah “begins with sorrow but ends with singing. The first of the book is full of sadness and gloom, but the last contains one of the sweetest songs of love in the Old Testament.”

God’s love for us is always astonishing, especially when it touches us at a low ebb of life. During our darkest times, the Lord comes to us with His joy, His love, and His song.

If your heart is filled with sadness,
Or you struggle with despair,
Turn to God, who’ll bring you gladness
When you sense His love and care. —Sper

In God’s garden of love, you are His forget-me-not.

Reminders Of Love

by Anne Cetas

Read: John 19:1-7, 16-18
God is love. —1 John 4:8

Bible in a year:
Psalms 132-134; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

After the US entered World War II in 1941, Estelle tried to talk her boyfriend Sidney out of joining the Army. But he enlisted and began his training in April of the following year. For the next 3 years he wrote her love letters—525 in all. Then in March 1945, she learned that her beloved fiancé had been killed in combat.

Although Estelle did eventually marry, the memories of her first love lived in her heart. To honor that love, she published a book of Sidney’s wartime correspondence more than 60 years later.

Like those letters, the Lord has left us with reminders of His love—the Scriptures. He says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jer. 31:3).

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9).

The Bible also tells us that “Christ . . . loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25).

“[Jesus] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:14).

“God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Read God’s Word often and be reminded that Jesus loves you and died for you.

With lovingkindness I have drawn you,
Proving that My love is true;
Do not neglect to read of that love,
Written in My Word for you. —Verway

Nothing can compare to the love of God.

The Only Place To Start

by Dave Branon

Read: Galatians 1:6-12
If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. —Galatians 1:9

Bible in a year:
Psalms 54-56; Romans 3

When a publishing company asked me to write an endorsement for a new book, I said I’d be glad to. It appeared to be a helpful effort directed to young people, challenging them to live for God in a changing world. But as I read the book, something troubled me. Although it had lots of Scripture and great spiritual advice, it didn’t explain that the starting point for any relationship with God is salvation through Jesus Christ.

The writer seemed to imply that the essence of living spiritually in modern society is based totally on action—good deeds—and not on saving faith in Christ. I didn’t write the endorsement.

The culture of the church is changing rapidly. Often left behind in the rush to find exciting new ideas is the essential nature of the gospel. The apostle Paul was astonished that people so readily embraced a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:6). What he preached was not from man, but a direct revelation from Jesus Himself (vv.11-12).

We must never let go of that true gospel: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again for our justification, declaring us righteous before God (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-4). This alone offers the “power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). If we want to live for God, this is the only place to start.

No one can say he doesn’t need
Forgiveness for his sin,
For all must come to Christ by faith
To have new life within. —Branon

Faith is the hand that must take God’s gift of salvation.

The Waggle Dance

The Waggle Dance
READ: John 4:27-36

Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. —John 4:29
How do bees lead one another to nectar? Scientists say it’s all about the “waggle” dance. The theory was regarded with

skepticism when it was first proposed by Nobel Prize-winning zoologist Karl von Frisch in the 1960s. But now, researchers in

the United Kingdom have used tiny radar responders attached to worker bees to support von Frisch’s theory. They’ve confirmed

that the bee orients its body toward the food source and uses the intensity of its waggle dance to signal the distance to

other bees.

The woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well also found a way to lead the rest of her community to what she had found—living water

(John 4:10). They were drawn to discover why this woman with five ex-husbands and a current live-in was saying, “Come, see a

Man who told me all things that I ever did” ( v.29).

As the crowd was on its way, the One who on other occasions had called Himself “the bread of life” (6:48) was telling His

disciples that His food was found in doing the will of God (4:32,34).

Jesus is living water and food for our soul. Joining Him to do the will of God and finish the work He has given us to do is

the ultimate source of nourishment. — Mart De Haan

Keep your witness bright and clear,
So the world may see and hear
God’s salvation far and near,
That others too may know Him. —Hess

When you have found food for your soul lead others to the Source.

Believing

A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life

came from his outspoken Christian friend. The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend’s sermons, but he

heard them often.
One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as the pool had big

skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.
The young man climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and

extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall. The shadow of his body was in the shape of a cross.
Instead of diving, he knelt down and asked God to come into his life. As the young man stood, a maintenance man walked in and

turned the lights on. The pool had been drained for repairs.

I WILL MOVE THE ROCK

I WILL MOVE THE ROCK

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The LORD told the man he had work for HIM to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The LORD explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.”

Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. “Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.”

And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the GOD. “LORD,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the LORD responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and
to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done.”

“I, my friend, will move the rock,” says the LORD.

At times when we hear a word from GOD, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what GOD wants is just simple obedience and faith in HIM…

“By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains; but it is still GOD who moves the mountain.”

Belly Laughs

Belly Laughs
By John Fischer

Not long ago I spent three days in a hotel in rural Indiana. In the lobby of my hotel was a group of six women who spent the better part of a day laughing and carrying on while they worked on a sewing project together. These six women, ranging in age from fifty-five to eighty, shared an obvious camaraderie that evidenced itself in their animated conversation, laced with a generous supply of laughter—what I would call belly laughter, a deep-from-way-down-inside-because-we’ve-gone-through-so-much-together laughter that was highly contagious. And when I saw their Bibles come out, I knew I had to find out more.

I almost fell in on them I was eavesdropping so close, but one of them caught me and invited me in. That’s when I found out they were at one time all from the same town and were meeting back at this hotel as a sort of semi-annual reunion. I could see why they would make the effort because they indeed had something special going here.

When I asked them why they were still meeting, I received a litany of divorce, cancer, dead husbands, and lost children that would have kept a sitcom supplied with material for more seasons than Friends ever dreamed of. There was history behind those belly laughs. There was an obvious spiritual center to this group, but not a rubber stamp. There was a Roman Catholic, a southern Baptist, a Methodist, a Pentecostal, and two who named no church affiliation, yet I couldn’t help thinking that they were having church there, and it was a church I wouldn’t mind joining.

The “youngest” and spunkiest among them was quite clearly the eighty year-old who was actually the excuse for this particular get-together having just turned eighty that week. I commented about how she didn’t look a day over sixty-five. That’s when one of the other women quipped: “Oh she’s eighty, alright. Why do you think she’s been trying to thread that needle for the last 15 minutes!” Belly laughs followed with birthday girl, the loudest.

What held these women together wasn’t just a religious experience, it was their shared human experiences as well, their love and respect for each other and their ability to let each other’s character come out of the box where I would wager it stays most of the time when they are not together like this.

I actually found myself being jealous of what these women had, until I realized I could have it too. It requires commitment, stark honesty, love, acceptance, and refusal to judge one another. It requires needing and serving one another. This is something we all need.

Letter from Jesus

As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated.

During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer. It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don't know the meaning of the celebration. I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts.

But, do you want to know something? I wasn't invited.

I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside, they closed the door in my face .. and I wanted to be with them and share their table. In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me. Since I wasn't invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a grand time.

To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, saying: "Santa Claus, Santa Claus"as if the party were in his honor!

At midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and do you know no-one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me. What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one?

I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left. Every year it gets worse. People only remember the gifts, the parties, to eat and drink, and nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you.

Today, I only want that you believe this with all your heart. I want to share something with you. As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party. I'm still making the final arrangements..

Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invite, will be left outside. Be prepared because when all is ready you will be part of my great party.

See you soon. I Love you!

Jesus
Share this message with your loved ones, before Christmas

Down to the Water

Down to the Water
By John Fischer

Think about your baptism today. And if you haven’t been baptized, you will want to be, if you are a believer in Jesus.

I was baptized in a lake on the campus of Stanford University with a small crowd of believers and unbelievers looking on. It was a warm Sunday afternoon in March 1971. Two of my best friends put me down. I still have somewhere a picture of them pulling me up out of the water. I had the picture blown up to an 8 X 10 and framed on the wall of my office at the time. It was, and still is, my “credential” for life.

I had been baptized before at age 9. I was “sprinkled.” That means the minister dipped his hand in some water and sprinkled it on top of my head. Getting baptized again as an adult wasn’t an issue of doctrine or theology; it was an issue of passion. I was watching all my friends and a whole bunch of new converts get baptized and I wanted to join them. I felt a little like Peter when he protested having Jesus wash his feet and Jesus said that he couldn’t be a part of Him unless he let Him do this, to which Peter replied “Well then, give me a bath!” or something to that effect. I understand that. I wanted to get all wet. I wanted to identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus and I wanted to identify with my new family in Christ.

When you are baptized you go down. You put yourself in the hands of someone else and they fold you back under the water. Now they could keep you there and you’d really die, but they pull you back out as a symbol of your death to your old way of living, and your rising to a new way of life trusting in the Spirit of God. And there is great joy in this.

You go down a sinner and come up a saint. You go down guilty and come up forgiven. You go down dead and come up alive. You go down alone; you come up in the family of God. It’s really a big deal. If it hasn’t happened to you, you need to consider it. If it has, you need to remember.

That’s a big part of this—remembering. Whenever you are tempted to doubt your faith, remember. Whenever you think that what you just did, God could never forgive you for, remember. Whenever you are tempted, remember. Whenever you think you are alone, remember. It happened to you in time and space. You were baptized into this and you have witnesses. Just as Jesus was crucified and raised again at a point in time in the real world, you were identified with Him as well, and with all those who have believed in Him from all time all over the world.
That’s a big deal; and a pretty big family, indeed!

Does God cry?

A little girl once asked, "Mommy does God cry?"
"Don't be silly, God can't cry baby," her mother replied.

"But what about when He looks down from Heaven above
And sees all the people who needs His love?

And what about when He looks down and sees
The playground kids fall and scrape their knees?

Or how about Aunt Jane who can't have baby girls or boys?
Or what about the poor kids who gets no Christmas toys?

Maybe God would cry if He lived with my friend Tommy.
Whose daddy beats and bruises him and his mommy.

Or maybe if He looked down and saw people being killed,
I think He'd surely have eyes that are tear filled.

But I think most of all, mommy, what would have made God cry,
Is when He looked down at the cross and watched His baby die."

The mother stood in silence as her eyes filled with tears,
For she knew her little girl was wise beyond her years.

Staring into deep blue eyes, the mother found courage to say,
"Yes baby girl, I think God looks down and cries every day."

God Bless you and keep you safe in Jesus' arms!

I Am a Servant

I Am a Servant
By John Fischer

I am a servant; I am listening for my call…” Larry Norman

The Apostle Paul loved to call himself a slave of Christ. This is the highest form of servitude—one in which the servant has no rights but to do the will of the master. What made this unique was the fact that this position was held with great joy and privilege. This is hard for us to understand in a culture where slavery is such a bad word. But to be a slave of Christ is a whole different thing than to be a slave of a wicked taskmaster.

Paul is happy to be a slave of Christ for at least two reasons. 1) God is a loving God who treats him with dignity. This “slavery” is the opposite of demeaning; it is uplifting and places him as one who has been entrusted with the secret things of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). Even amidst the abuses of slavery in this country there were stories of privileged slaves who were treated with dignity and given responsibility over their master’s estate. Some of these chose to remain as servants even after being emancipated. This would be something of the position Paul is speaking of.

And 2) to serve Christ is the good and natural response to God’s forgiveness and grace. Once we realize all that we receive from God is a free gift—that God found us in our sin and picked us up, forgave us and gave us new life—serving God is the natural response of a heart and a life set free.

This spiritual servitude only has negative connotations in a culture that is obsessed with asserting the rights of the individual. Civil rights, human rights, gay rights, minority rights—we hear about this constantly. Instead of asserting our rights—even if we have the freedom to do so—we are choosing to set them aside for a greater thing: the opportunity to serve the living God. What are you setting aside in order to serve God?

In the end, we either serve God or try to be god by having everyone serve us. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Down But Not Out

Down But Not Out

2 Corinthians 4:8–9
8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Before you were a Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated.

But after you became a Christian, when something bad happens to you, you still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you!

You cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Yes, it is a bad situation and you are in a tight spot, but Christ in you is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and He says to you, “It will all be all right. I will provide a way out for you.”

You know you are not defeated because Christ in you is your victory (1 Corinthians 15:57), and He says to you, “You are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory, for you already have the victory in Me.”

In the past, before you knew Christ, when you were down, you were out. But now, when you are down, you are not out because Christ in you is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) “Hope” in the Bible means “a definite positive expectation of good”.

So Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of a glorious marriage! Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of a glorious family! Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of glorious health for the rest of your life! Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of a glorious life!

Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of all the glories of God revealed to you! Hallelujah

Greater than Jesus?

Greater than Jesus?
By John Fischer

Our significance is found in our service, and the less anyone knows about it, the better. How backwards is that?

I would normally think that my significance would be found in picking up the newspaper this morning and finding my name in it. Or that it would be significant to be honored by receiving an award in front of thousands of my peers with a viewing audience of millions.

But Jesus says that receiving the praise of men means nothing compared to receiving the praise of God, and those who receive the praise of God are those who lose themselves in the service of others—people who disappear in the serving. I bet there is going to be an awards ceremony in heaven to beat all ceremonies, and the people honored will have never been known on earth beyond the circle of those whose lives they touched.

One of Christ’s most surprising acts was the example He gave of washing His disciple’s feet. It was a deliberate visual aid. The big deal was not that the disciples’ feet were dirty; it was that Jesus had something He wanted to show them. This was a daily custom, since everyone wore sandals and the roads were dusty. We are not told who usually did this. It was the host’s responsibility (Luke 7:44), and probably performed by a no-name servant. But John said that in this one act, Jesus “showed the disciples the full extent of His love” (John 13:1). For this, He took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, got down on His hands and knees and methodically, one by one, washed the disciples’ feet. Peter protested, but it didn’t do any good.

And when He was done, Jesus put His robe back on, sat down with them and told them to never forget what they had just seen. It was their responsibility to wash each other’s feet. “A servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them” (John 13:16 NLT). And since Jesus was their master and the one who was sending them with a message, they could never rise above this example without positioning themselves as greater than He. Their significance was going to be in their service, not in their position or recognition.

So keep this picture in your mind today and look for ways to quietly serve the needs of those around you. No horn blowing. No awards. Because in this is your greatness.