The Burning Question:
Who taught you the most about dedication or sacrifice, and what did you learn from them?
Morning Devotional:
Have you ever had that horrible feeling that you forgot something?
I did this weekend when I was balancing my checkbook. I was cleaning out my wallet, fishing out all of the receipts that had accumulated over the past couple of weeks when I had this thought occur to me. Was my driver’s license up to date? I quickly went to that pocket of my wallet, pulled out my license and sure enough, yes it was – I had renewed it just this year. After congratulating myself for overcoming the senior moment, I also checked to make sure the organ donor box was checked – something I always do on my license.
I know a number of people who have benefited from organ donation. I have friends whose son had a heart transplant when he was a young boy. My own father benefited from a cornea transplant in the mid-1990s. Passing on the gift of a better life to someone suffering from a medical condition through that kind of sacrifice is a no-brainer to me. When you take that train of thought and consider what today represents, the weight of sacrifice grows.
We don’t tend to think much about personal sacrifice these days. We are very much a me-first society. That’s why on days like today I do stop and consider those who purposefully make the choice to put others above themselves, like our nation’s veterans. I can’t imagine the price they pay to leave family and friends behind to serve in our military and put themselves in harm’s way for the cause of freedom. I also stop and give glory to Jesus, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who made the ultimate sacrifice for us by dying on the cross so that we could be set free from the bondage to sin and receive eternal life with Him.
In John 15:13, Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Don’t forget to thank a veteran today for the sacrifice they made for you so you could live in the freedom we have as Americans. Also, don’t forget to thank the Savior who gave His very life for you so you could live forgiven and free for eternity.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: Who came to Saul after he fasted three days in Damascus?
Answer: Ananias (Acts 9)