The Lord seemed to speak most strongly to me about the great need to share His light. He has given me so much and loved me so much, yet I still find myself neglecting to witness. There is a world around me that desperately needs His love. I know I should be a faithful witness, but sometimes I’m in a hurry or become embarrassed. II Corinthians 5:14 has become a special motivator for me, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.” The love of Christ is all the reason I need to take time and make the effort to share the true Light of the world with those around me. --Becky Calvert

“Responsibility to Christ” involves so much for a man: his choice of occupation and outside interests, his over-riding daily concern for his wife and children, his leadership in their spiritual development and welfare. It determines Whom he will serve. Joshua said: “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). That is impossible unless the husband, “head of the household,” is responsible to Christ. Will he read the Bible and pray with his children so they come to know and understand God from their own father? Will he see to it that the family is actively involved in a local congregation: scheduled services, youth activities, work days, etc.? Will he give guidance to his children in which activities and friends they seek, seeing to it that they don’t so over-commit to activities that they no longer have time for family or church involvement? Will he help resolve conflict within the home based on godly principles, or on his own temperament at the time? As a father whose children are now grown, I’m grateful for when I was submissive to Christ in my role as head of the family, but deeply sorrowful for when I acted on my own independent of Him.  –Chaplain Grant Wolf

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) — “There is a widespread acceptance today of the notion that there are no absolute truths. Yet the unchanging and eternal Word of God directly contradicts that notion. It does not merely suggest good ideas; it declares the very Word of the Lord and sets the standard for everyone in every age. Jesus said, ‘Thy word is truth.’ The intense negative reaction of the world to the Word is yet one more evidence that it is from God rather than from man.” (Dr. Paul Chappell)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) — “Everything that we know about has a beginning except for God Himself. If we accept this fact, then a good question to ask ourselves is what is the beginning of a Christian? No man can rightly say, ‘I’ve always been one.’ Therefore, when and more importantly how does a man become a Christian? Does a man become a Christian by being born into a Christian family, by being baptized or confirmed into the membership of a Christian church, or by keeping the Golden Rule or the Ten Commandments? The straightforward answer to all of these is no.  The authoritative teaching of the Scriptures is that a man is saved by God’s grace through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who by Himself has done all that is necessary for our sins to be forgiven and for us to be reconciled to God.” (Evangelist Gordon Phillips)

In what way has the believer died with Christ?  He becomes so much a part of Christ and His death that the believer actually dies, not physically but spiritually with Christ:  "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." (Colossians 2:12)

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Hebrews 4:14) — Jesus died over 2000 years ago. Nobody has ever referred to him as “the late Jesus”…nowhere in history.  Nowhere has He EVER been referred to in the past tense!  He is the Living God!  When Jesus died on the cross He was thinking of us!