But let’s stick with the example of Jesus, and stay with our text—“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. “. Think of that in the light of 2 Cor. 8:9”For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Have you ever thought about what all is implied by the phrase He became poor”? While many desire to be like Jesus when it comes to His supernatural power, sinlessness, wisdom, and ability, etc. not many would want to be like Him in his poverty. Put yourself in His sandals. Imagine eating what He ate, traveling in the same manner as He, being subjected to hostility, misunderstood, falsely accused, beaten, and crucified. I don’t have the words to describe the depths to which Christ went when He became poor.

Now notice the transition–“He was”–“He became”. What he was He had always been. What He became was by His choice. It has been called, “The Great Renunciation” and for good reason (see Phil. 2:5-8). Don’t misunderstand what it meant for Him to become poor. He did not change His purity, His perfection, His power, nor His proprietorship. He owns it all and He can do all things, but for our sake He made the choice to limit Himself and subject Himself to suffering so we might “have life, and ….have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). He became poor in the sense of poverty, prestige, physical pain, etc. His greatest suffering was an inward act, an attitude of His heart that was willing to give up whatever was necessary to accomplish the Father’s purpose.  That’s what we are to emulate. So now ask yourself again, “Am I willing to be like Jesus?”—HDS

There are a great many folks who feel unloved, and some who are unloved by most, but no one can say no one loves them. God loves them. He proclaimed it and proved it (John 3:16).  HDS

Going back to the TV question, there’s another issue you need to consider. What most people don’t realize is that most producers admittedly have an agenda besides making money. They use the programing to sway and shape public opinion by showing things that promote and support their views on various issues. They might present it in the form of humor, drama, or whatever appeals to people, but always with the intent of changing their views. And they are masters at it. But TV isn’t the only means used by Satan. Life is like a mine field and one wrong step can destroy you. That’s why we must “Be sober” and “vigilant“. Psalms 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God’s Word “is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”(Psa. 119:105). —HDS

Mark Twain gave us some good advice when he said, ” Don’t complain and talk about all your problems– 80 percent of people don’t care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them”. –HDS

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”–Romans 6:1–4

Mark Twain, though a gifted author, had a deep disdain for Christianity. It is impossible to read much of his work without seeing his contempt for what he once referred to as a “slaughterhouse religion” because of the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice to pay for sins. Sadly, Twain meant his words as a dismissive critique, when he could have seen in them the hope he needed. For as Hebrews 9:22 says, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

Jesus’ sacrifice for us was part of God’s plan from the beginning of the world (1 Peter 1:19–20). It is not, however, just His death on the cross, but that death combined with the resurrection, that offers us the promise of new and eternal life. The purpose of the sacrifice was not completed until Christ rose again. Once we receive Christ as our Saviour, we have the gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life. This, however, is just the beginning of God’s plan for us. As we join with Christ in death and resurrection, we have the means to live a new kind of life even here on Earth.

The pattern for our life was set for us by Jesus. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). The Holy Spirit provides for us the power and ability to walk as He walked. Everything we need to live like Jesus lived is available to us. Only by identifying with Christ’s death and resurrection can we walk as new creatures in Him.–Paul Chappell

The Christian life is the life of Christ reproduced in the child of God by the Spirit of God who conforms him to the Word of God and enables him to live for the glory of God. It is not what we do for God, but what He does for us, in us, through us, and with us that make us like Christ.–HDS