We Could Learn a Lot From....

* Ruins in the city of Tangier in Morocco


Marcellus and Casian (circa A.D. 298)

In A.D. 298 in the city of Tigis (now called Tangier) there was a Roman Centurion by the name of Marcellus, who was a Christian. The Centurion was observing a banquet where there were sacrifices being offered to the Roman gods. Marcellus declared in a loud voice: "I serve Jesus Christ the eternal king." He proceeded to throw down his arms and added that "hence forward I cease to serve your Emporers, and I scorn to worship your gods of wood and stone, which are deaf and dumb idols. If such be the terms of service...then I refuse to serve." Marcellus was sentenced to death at his trial. A court clerk by the name of Cassian was busy recording the testimony of Marcellus when he angrily threw down his pen and notebook. When asked why, he came to the defense of Marcellus and declared that the sentence was unjust. He too was cast into prison, and he too was sentenced to death that same year in the same court where he had worked. He testified of the Christ as well. The two men were executed, but received their just reward in Christ's kingdom as martyrs for His cause.

Most people don't...

* Spend a little extra time outside of their schedule to listen to a stranger in the supermarket who is having a hard day.

* Wear themselves out in a kitchen because they believe that good food feeds hearts and warms bellies.

* Help their enemies.

* Serve overseas caring for lepers.

And yes, most people don't.....

* Build an Ark like Noah.

* Go up against a giant like Goliath who is three times your size and trust in God for their protection like David.

* Wash others dirty feet as Jesus did.

Finally, absolutely no one would be willing to.....

* Send their Son to be in harm's way for strangers.

* See that Son later have to endure a painful, humiliating public execution to die for the world's sins.

*****Except for God, that is****** He would be willing to, and He did.

If You Continue to Serve Yourself....(Quote of the Week)

I have not posted a Quote of the Week to this blog in quite some time so I thought I should. I came across this little gem in a teaching series by Pastor Andy Stanley, who is the son of Pastor Charles Stanley, who was posted about here: http://ordinary80.blogspot.com/2009/08/we-could-learn-lot-from.html However, his son Andy Stanley has an effective ministry in his own right. In one of his teaching series, he made the following quote: If you continue to serve yourself, it won't be long before you are, in fact all by yourself. In other words, if you continue to do things for your own goals, only think of yourself, and only care about people for what you can get out of them, then yes, you will alienate them. This message of Mr. Stanley's is quite contrary to the "me-first" culture that we are all experiencing and are in.

One more easter thought...

Just wait three days

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Sitting in her usual place inside a small archway was the old flower lady. At her feet corsages and boutonnieres were parading on top of a spread-open newspaper. The flower lady was smiling, her wrinkled old face alive with some inner joy. I started down the stairs—then, on an impulse, turned and picked out a flower. As I put it in my lapel, I said, “You look happy this morning.” “Why not? Everything is good.” She was dressed so shabbily and seemed so very old that her reply startled me. “You’ve been sitting here for many years now, haven’t you? And always smiling. You wear your troubles well.” “You can’t reach my age and not have troubles,” she replied. “Only it’s like Jesus and Good Friday . . . ” She paused for a moment. “Yes?” I prompted. “Well, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, that was the worst day for the whole world. And when I get troubles I remember that, and then I think of what happened only three days later—Easter and our Lord arising. So when I get troubles, I’ve learned to wait three days . . . somehow everything gets all right again.” And she smiled good-bye. Her words still follow me whenever I think I have troubles. Give God a chance to help . . . wait three days.

NOTE: originally posted at http://www.ourprayer.org/three-days

A little belated but...

Happy Easter Everybody!

What makes a Christian education Christian?

I had this rather interesting question posed to me during one of my required discussion forums for my online seminary classes at Liberty University. Here was my response:

To sum up, the purpose of Christian education is basically to produce, both individually and collectively, better followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. I agree with one of the previous posters that "what makes education Christian" really does, indeed, lie in ensuring that Christ is the key ingredient.

Of course, one can be "educated" in a variety of areas, and just to be does not necessarily make the education Christian. One example is that I can be educated constantly that we are all just the product of billions of years of random chemical reactions, but that education would be secular and, I believe, untrue. Thus, for education to be Christian, it must have the right content.

Christian education, for it to be Christian, must be, as mentioned in lengthier terms above, Christ-centered. It also must be Bible-based, and it should uphold the Judeo-Christian ideals and promote the sacrificial death of our Savior on the Cross and help believers to have a continued walk with Him and point those who are yet to believe to Him as well. It should also, in my humble opinion, uphold the virtues of Christian service as well. We would all do well to remember that the "Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) In that regard, a true Christian education will always strive to produce individuals who wish to imitate Christ, the supreme example for us all.