Learning to be Selfless

The Bible says to serve those who cannot pay you back. 

 It says to look for the downtrodden, and lift them up.   

 James 1:27 reads, 

"True religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

 to look after orphans and widows in their distress 

and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

 

I care about people. 

 I want to care more about them, though.  

My Mom and I visit residents in the nursing home that is here by our house.  We go every Tuesday afternoon, just for an hour, and we read the Bible to the ones who never get visitors.  

Jesus cared about the forgotten people, the ones who were really desperate, 

like the woman who had the bleeding problem.  

I know God is pleased that I have not forgotten the ones 

who are hidden away, not noticed, forgotten. 

 Sometimes it is uncomfortable.  

Sometimes there are bad smells, or slobber, and dirt.  

But I am trying to look past all that.  I am learning to be more unselfish.  

That is how Jesus was.  

This is me, going into Brookdale Nursing Home to visit Mrs. Shaw,
who recently got her leg amputated

Camp Hebron: Discoveries Week 2020

Archery at Camp Hebron

Will Your Anchor Drift, or Firm Remain?

 At the 2015 Convention, I led a hymn for the very first time.  I stood behind the podium.  It would have been better if I had  (continued if you click below)...

This is a Repost from my previous blog

You can read about it at my blog from years ago, (my first blog) here at

My Treasure is Jesus: Will Your Anchor Drift, or Firm Remain?:    

double click
 

Holy is the Lamb (Good Friday Post)

Does He still feel the nails, every time I fail?

Does He hear the crowd cry, “Crucify!” again?

Am I causing Him pain?

Then I know I’ve got to change,

“Cause I can’t bear the thought of hurting Him.

And we cry “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb.”

Yes, we cry “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb.”

 

Popular song by Ray Boltz

 



Source:  Google images

 

First Corinthians 11 verses 24 and 25 reads, “And when He had given thanks, he broke

the bread, and said, ‘Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in

remembrance of me.’ And in the same manner, He also took the cup after supper, saying,

‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in

remembrance of me.”

 

 

Every Sunday, we gather to partake of the Lord’s supper, or “Communion.” In this

special part in our worship, we remember our Lord’s death as we drink the fruit of the vine,

and eat unleavened bread.

 

Jesus is the Lamb of God. Just as the Passover lamb was slaughtered to save the lives

of the first born children of Israel, Jesus was killed for the forgiveness of our sins.

Peter and John are recorded in the Bible as calling 

Jesus “the Lamb of God.”

 

Peter wrote that, “We were redeemed with the precious blood

of Christ, like that of a Lamb without defect or blemish” in I Peter 1:19.


Source:  Google Images

 

John wrote about the most majestic Lamb of God. Revelation 5:12 reads, “The lamb

who was SLAUGHTERED is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and Blessing!”

In thinking about the LORD’s suffering and death after the Crucifixion, I know that

Peter and John must have reflected on this assignment that Jesus gave them: “Go and
Prepare the Passover Lamb.”

Later they realized that their friend and leader had to be sacrificed like the perfect Passover lamb for the salvation of the world.

Like Peter and John, I hope that the image of the perfect lamb of God is deeply

engraved on our hearts as we remember what Jesus did for us on the Cross, especially
during the Lord’s Supper each Sunday!

Did you know that you can accept the sacrifice of the perfect lamb as the work of God for

the forgiveness of YOUR sins? The Bible says that if you confess yours sins, repent, and
take on the righteousness of Christ through the death, burial, and resurrection of Baptism,
then you can live your life for Jesus, receiving the free gift of eternal life with the Father,
God! It is a free gift, but it is not cheap!

So let’s remember His sacrifice, and give of yourself to
others in service, and give life to God’s way of living!

It is the best way to live. 
 

The following video is also one which features all of the lyrics to the song above by Ray Boltz.  I believe it is worth viewing, however, it is very graphic : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpHYJScbxCY

Take this for your Comfort...

My Sunday School Teacher is a pretty young man. 

When I say young, I mean 26 years old. 

He is Cool!  His name is Tim, and he is really a Bible scholar.

He knows the Word of God like the back of his hand.

He went to Harding University, graduated, and now he is home, working.

 

He says that the key to obedience is

 

Being Rooted in Faith

 

Tim says that we have to build our faith a little at a time.

 

We have to work on building our faith EVERY day.

 

Even though my classmates and I are only in Middle School,

we have to do things that will help build it, too, like when we

experienced the making of bricks, like Pharoah made the

Israelites do in Genesis.

 

One way I am growing more roots in my Faith is by

having a quiet time every morning. 

 

I do skip it on Sundays, but most every other day of the week,

I start out in my room reading the Bible, or some other

readings that my parents selected for me to

read and think on.

 

I have a journal, and I write down my thoughts, quotes I like,

and even my prayers in it.

 

 

 

This is a picture of my youth group and I
Mixing clay, sand, and hay
like the ancient Israelites
had to do in Egypt
when they were slaves.

 

 

*******Here's A Quote I liked*******

 

 

"Christian, take this for your comfort, 

that there is no change

 in Jesus Christ's love to those 

who rest in Him. 

 

"Yesterday you were on the mount

 and you said, 

"He loves me" 

 

Today you are in the valley of humiliation,

 but He loves you still the same"

.- Spurgeon♥ - A great man and Author 

From my early morning devotional readings

 

 

President Donald Trump, United States of America

The White House

May 14, 2019

Dear Mr. President,

First of all, I want to tell you that I pray for you and our country every single day.  Secondly, I think you are doing an awesome job leading the U.S.A.

I am following your involvements in my Civics Class.  We do not have TV in our home, but I stay current via the internet news.  I was amazed at how some of the News People did not understand what the term “exonerated” meant.  I am sorry that they keep hashing and re-hashing this whole Russia Collusion thing.  I really want you to know that even a young man my age can spot a Hoax when I see it.  So can my peers.  We talk about current political events a lot, and we don’t like the way some political issues are going (i.e., socialism, the new green deal, and Medicare for all).  I do not support any of that.  It might interest you to know that the high school homeschoolers here in Searcy, Arkansas do not, either.  At least the ones who are my age (15).  I know that I don’t pay taxes yet, but I will begin working part time when I turn 16, and I plan to become much more vocal in politics at that time. 

None of this is in any way a criticism of you, Mr. President.  I believe you will be known as the century’s best president!  You are doing so many good things, and even a kid can see the struggles and challenges that you face on a moment by moment basis.  I encourage you to press on!  My grandfather always told me, “Don’t let the turkeys get you down.”  I tell myself that when I am opposed by foolish people.  I don’t know what you tell yourself when the opposition gets fierce, but perhaps this little mantra will bring a smile when the going gets tough for you.  I have your back, at least among the youth here in Searcy!  We support you. If there is EVER anything I can do for you, name it!  I would be proud to help you.  Until you name it, I will continue to do as I have been doing, educating the unwise, correcting political misconceptions, and standing up for Truth!

As in my previous letter, I ask you to please hold fast to your promise that the USA will NEVER be a communist country!  And press on to Make America Great Again.  I will do my part to help in this endeavor.  I have inserted some photos of myself and my activities in the left margin of this letter to help you know my heart.  I hope in some small way I can encourage you to know without a doubt that there are young people in this country who care about you, your work, and your leadership! 

I humbly thank you for taking time to read my letter, Mr. President.

Most respectfully,

Blaize Champion

Ninth Grade Homeschooler in Arkansas

I AM from Exodus 3

                                                                             

 

     Over four thousand years ago, a booming voice proclaimed two tiny but perplexing words to a humble shepherd in the wilderness.

“I AM”

 Moses was hiding in the land of Midian after he had murdered an abusive Egyptian slave driver.  While tending his father in law’s sheep on the edge of a mountain, Moses saw a bush that was on fire, but the branches of the bush were not consumed by the flames.  This made Moses curious.  As he cautiously crept closer to the fire, the flaming bush told Moses to take off his sandals.  The Voice in the bush told Moses that he was standing on Holy Ground. 

Exodus chapter 3 reads,

1.     Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2    And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said,

Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground 

 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

 

I AM… These two words are used many, many times in the Bible.  Jesus described himself using these two words over and over in the New Testament.   But what do they REALLY mean?  I have read that the meaning of these two tiny words may be the most perplexing of all the words in the Bible.

Exodus tells us about how the ONE TRUE and Living God revealed His NAME to mankind in the wilderness near Mount Horeb.  God told Moses who He was, and then commanded Moses to go to Egypt and deliver the Israelites from bondage.  Moses was to lead the Jews into the land God promised to Abraham.  This event became one of the most important things that happened in the history of the Jewish people, because during this talk that he had with Moses, the one true God described himself in his unique name, --------- “I AM.”   

My first Bible Study (Self Initiated)
age 6

 

     In our day and time, the words “I am” have a completely different meaning.  On any given day, I hear people proclaim, “I am hungry,” or “I am happy.”  When meeting a new person, I might say, “I am in 9^th grade.”  But we use these simple words differently than our Creator did when he used them.  We usually use the words “I AM” to describe our feelings or our position. 

There are lots of theories about what God meant when he spoke these two words to Moses, but I believe that we must look at the words and their meaning in the Hebrew language, which was the language of the Jewish people.  It was also the first language that Moses learned as a small boy.  The simplest explanation is that God was telling Moses, “I will be what I will be.”

Look at Exodus chapter 3 and verse 13:

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 This was an important message for the Israelite people because they had been treated terribly as slaves of the Egyptian people for four hundred years.  They knew the promises of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they were starting to doubt that this same God heard their prayers anymore. 

God told Moses to tell the Jews that “I AM” sent him to rescue them from their desperate life.  God wanted his people to know that HE was all they needed, that HE would give them what they needed to escape their slavery.  The one true and living God wanted Moses to tell them that He would deliver them safely to Canaan if they believed and obeyed. 

Basically, God was telling Moses that he would provide them---------- (“I will be)

--- with everything they needed to escape bondage, and then to go and live in the land of milk and honey. 

     “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM.’  And he said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM’

has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).  These were ancient words to an ancient people, but today, they 

are meaningful to us all the same.  I AM has provided a way for us to be delivered from the bondage of our

sins through his son, Jesus Christ.  All we need to do is to believe and obey the gospel, and we will be

delivered, too. 

 

My Presentation for

L2L Speech 2019