Saved by Sacrifice

Soldier, journalist, and author David Canyon Webster once penned these insightful words: “Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice.” Sacrifice. It is a term often reserved for the heroes among us—a soldier on the front lines of battle or a fireman who enters a burning building to rescue its victims. From the time we are children, we read stories of such heroes, great men and women who are willing to sacrifice everything to save those things which are precious. One of the places we read of these men and women is the Bible. On the pages of Scripture, one can …

No Tripping (1 Corinthians 8)

It was a moment in Olympic history America will never forget. In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, one of our country’s Olympic track heroes, Gail Devers, had what came to be known as a world famous fall. She was running the 100 meter hurdles and was having a great race, well in the lead and heading towards the finish line. Coming upon the last hurdle, the excitement was palpable as everyone was certain she was going to win gold. Then, as her feet left the ground, she hit the hurdle and never regained her balance, stumbling and eventually falling across …

Stay On Your Own Grass (1 Corinthians 7)

Have you ever listened to someone’s entire phone conversation, but never heard a word the person on the other line was saying? We’ve all been in that situation. Many times we don’t really care to hear what is being said, but sometimes, we really wish we could hear the words of the person on the other line. In fact, some of us may have been known to sneak to another phone and gently pick it up to eavesdrop on the conversation. (I have never done this, of course.) Yes, it can certainly be very frustrating to listen to only one …

Desperate Measures (1 Corinthians 5)

Desperate times call for desperate measures. We’ve all heard this saying, haven’t we? But do you know where it comes from? It is actually thought to be derived from an ancient Latin proverb, “extremis malis extrema remedia.” Just in case you’re not up on your Latin, here’s the translation: “Extreme remedies for extreme ills.” Later the saying turned into “Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.” So what exactly does this mean? While the circumstances of the exact origin of this proverb are unknown, it is believed to have referred to the treatment of physical diseases. This is certainly easy to …

Heaven in the Old Testament

Here’s a recent question I received:

Hi Craig,

The other day, a Jewish friend and I were speaking on the subject of Heaven.  Using only the Old Testament, since my friend is Jewish, where did the Jews go after they died?  I’ve spent some time looking myself, and so far can only find where Abraham and Isaac were “gathered to their people”.  Where would that be?  Looking at when people first died in Genesis, it just says they died.  And when I looked up Heaven, it just talks about “the heavens” in the Old Testament.

Also, I know it speaks of Abraham’s faith being credited as …

Slaves of Jesus (1 Corinthians 4)

It was just a simple contract, written in the spring of 1951 by a young man in California, who happened to be, of all things, a candy maker. It was nothing fancy, not written in fine literary style or with great eloquence. But nevertheless, it was a contract that changed the course of history. So, what made this contract so significant? Well, there were two things. One was who the contract was made with, and the other was the peculiar commitment that it contained. These two things made this an extraordinary contract that ended up changing the world forever.

Let me …