Loving Sacrifice

Posted on January 8, 2013 by jesustrek
Beth Warren & Ben Pratt

Beth Warren & Ben Pratt

3-year-old Ben Pratt received an early Christmas present last year when the nurse who had cared for him since he was born gave him one of her kidneys. Beth Warren was Ben’s primary nurse while he was at Kentucky Children’s Hospital in Lexington, and she grew close to Ben and the rest of the Pratt family.

Family members had volunteered to donate a kidney for Ben, but none were found to be suitable donors. Warren said that the decision to give Ben a kidney was not a difficult one for her. She said, “I knew this was God’s plan for us.”

Ben is doing fine since the surgery. He feels better than ever, and will be able to live a much more normal life thanks to this loving sacrifice.

Ben’s mother, Shayla Pratt, says that what Warren did for her son was amazing. “We’ll be eternally grateful for that.”

We Christians will be eternally grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross, when he gave his life to save us. We know that this was God’s plan for us.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”—1 John 3:16.

Maybe you will never have the opportunity to donate a kidney, but we all have many chances in life to show sacrificial love to those who need it. As followers of Christ, this is what we are called to do.

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Crime and Punishment

Posted on January 7, 2013 by jesustrek

capital punishment

Carl Rollins, a Democratic State Representative from Midway, Kentucky, will introduce legislation that would abolish the death penalty in Kentucky. His bill calls for the term “capital punishment” to be stricken altogether from state law.

Such legislation has been proposed from time to time in Kentucky in the past several years, but it has never gained enough support to pass.

Taking the opposing view, Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders points out that most Kentuckians favor the death penalty for some cases, and he argues that a sad truth is that capital punishment is a necessary punishment for society’s most evil criminals.

This is an issue that is being discussed all around the world, and even Christians are divided about what stance to take.

A careful reading of Romans 13:1-5 seems to justify the use of the death penalty. This passage of Scripture not only seems to allow the governing officials to put certain criminals to death, it perhaps mandates that they do so.

I’m open to listen to other opinions on this issue. What’s your take on it?

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Best Comeback

Posted on January 5, 2013 by jesustrek
Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

It could be a close race for comeback player of the year in the NFL.

On the one hand, we have Peyton Manning, who has led the Denver Broncos into the playoffs after sitting out a year and undergoing multiple surgeries to his neck. Manning quickly regained his old form and had an excellent season at quarterback.

On the other hand, you have to consider Adrian Peterson. The Minnesota Vikings’ star running back went down with a devastating knee injury just a little over a year ago. However, Peterson returned from major surgery and came within 9 yards of breaking the all-time record for yards gained on the ground in a single season. With his spectacular effort, Peterson also helped his team make the playoffs.

However, the best comeback of all time has to be when Jesus came out of the empty tomb! That gets my vote!

“He is not here; he has risen!…”—Luke 24:6.

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Unwanted Invaders

Posted on January 4, 2013 by jesustrek

 

silver carp

silver carp

Asian carp were brought to the United States to eat algae in ponds and wastewater treatment plants, but these prolific fish have migrated up the Mississippi River and are causing quite a bit of concern. Besides threatening to squeeze out the native fish, the silver carp, which can weigh up to 70 pounds, have a habit of jumping several feet out of the water when they are startled. This has led to some unwanted surprises for many fishermen, boaters and skiers, some of whom have been injured when struck by these huge fish.

The invaders are spreading rapidly, and no one seems to have a good solution to the problem.

 

In a similar fashion, sin threatens to take over the lives of many people. It starts out in a seemingly innocent way, and then spreads relentlessly, causing unexpected harm along the way. It squeezes many good things out of our lives and injures us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

 

Fortunately, there is a perfect solution for this problem. Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. By trusting in him, we can stop the unwanted invader of sin from taking over our lives.

 

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”—Romans 6:6-7.

 

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Flip Side

Posted on January 3, 2013 by jesustrek
Patti Page

Patti Page

Singer Patti Page has died at the age of 85. Page had many hits, but she is probably remembered most for “Tennessee Waltz”, one of the best-selling recordings ever.

It was a fluke that “Tennessee Waltz” became a hit. Page loved the song, but Mercury Records, which had her under contract, wasn’t so sure about it. Finally, Mercury agreed to put it on the B-side of a Christmas song. Now, no one remembers that Christmas song, but “Tennessee Waltz” eventually sold over 10 million copies. That’s not bad for a B-side release!

God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes he uses the “flip side” to accomplish his purposes. Abraham thought that Ishmael was a good idea, but Isaac was what God had in mind. Saul/Paul assumed that the church should be eradicated, but God wanted it to spread across the world. The crowds wanted Barabbas in their lives instead of Jesus.

There are many examples of how God’s plan ultimately turned out to be something completely different from what people had in mind.

Have you ever had this happen in your life? Do you have an interesting “flip side” story to tell?

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Unlikely Leader

Posted on January 2, 2013 by jesustrek
L-R: Luck, Griffin III & Wilson

L-R: Luck, Griffin III & Wilson

Three rookie quarterbacks have led their NFL teams into the upcoming playoffs. Andrew Luck sparked the Indianapolis Colts, who had a dismal season last year, to a surprisingly good showing. After his team got off to a slow start, Robert Griffin III carried the Washington Redskins to a division title. And Russell Wilson’s stellar play has his Seattle Seahawks ready for the post-season.

Luck and RG3 were expected to do well in the NFL, considering that they were chosen number one and two respectively in last year’s draft. Yet most experts pick Wilson’s Seahawks to have the best chance of these three teams to advance in the playoffs. This is remarkable since Wilson was the 75th pick of the draft, and came into training camp as the number three quarterback on the Seahawks’ roster.

It just goes to show that we can sometimes be surprised by someone’s leadership potential.

It is interesting to read about Samuel’s mission to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16). David, the youngest son, wasn’t the most likely choice. As a matter fact, David seems to be almost an afterthought! But this passage of Scripture reminds us that “…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Let’s keep this in mind as God raises up the next leaders in his kingdom.

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Clean Slate

Posted on January 1, 2013 by jesustrek

clean slate

Many people see the arrival of the New Year as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start. It is a chance to put mistakes in the past and look forward to a future of making better decisions.

The Bible is filled with stories of people who took advantage of a second chance. After an amazing adventure at sea, Jonah decided that he would go and preach in Nineveh after all. David put a disastrous moral failure behind him and asked for God’s forgiveness. Given a second chance, Peter overcame his denial of Jesus and became a dynamic force in the early church. A spectacular encounter with the risen Christ allowed Paul to redirect his horribly misplaced zeal.

God’s amazing grace is so much greater than even our worst sins. No matter how badly you may have failed in 2012, remember that the New Year offers a clean slate. In fact, the Lord gives us a chance every day to begin all over again.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”—Lamentations 3:22-24.

Let’s be thankful for second chances, and renew our commitment to the Lord in 2013.

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Resolved

Posted on December 31, 2012 by jesustrek

New Year resolutions

Whenever a New Year approaches, many people consider making resolutions about how they intend to do things differently in the coming year. Christians often make promises to make changes that will allow them to follow Jesus better than ever before.

The idea of Christians making resolutions is nothing new. Peter once resolved to Jesus, “…I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37). However, shortly after making this bold proclamation, Peter denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus (John 18:15-27).

Peter was despondent that he had failed to keep his resolution, but the resurrected Jesus accepted him and gave him something important to do in his kingdom (John 21:15-22).

When it comes to being resolved to do something for Jesus, our actions are more important than our words. But even when we fail to live up to our good intentions, Jesus is willing to forgive us and give us another chance.

Have a blessed 2013!

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His Presence

Posted on December 28, 2012 by jesustrek

Jesus at church

A little boy had to miss church one day because he was sick. His mother stayed home with him while his father took the other children to church.

It happened to be Palm Sunday, and when the family returned home they were carrying palm branches that had been given to them at church. When the little boy asked about the branches, he was told, “People used them to greet Jesus as he passed by.”

“That’s just my luck!” the boy exclaimed. “The one Sunday I miss church, and Jesus shows up!”

Jesus promises to be with us always. Sometimes we have to be reminded that he is among us, whether we recognize his presence or not.

One of the best times to experience his presence is when we are worshipping with others who believe in him.

“…Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”—Matthew 28:20.

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Morning After Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2012 by jesustrek

boy crying

Our friends’ six-year-old son woke up crying the day after Christmas. When his mother asked him what was wrong, he replied, “It’s not Christmas anymore!” She consoled him with the fact that he had received many presents, and pointed out that you can’t expect to get gifts every day of the year. Still crying, he said, “It’s not about the presents! I’m sad because it’s not Jesus’ birthday anymore!”

If only those of us who are supposedly more mature could keep our focus on the reason for the season like this young boy!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”—Hebrews 12:2

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