Sacrifice - Isaiah 53

Webster's defines sacrifice as the "destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else; something given up or lost." Every day people sacrifice something for the sake of something or someone else. One might sacrifice time with family for the sake of a job. Another may sacrifice much for the comfort of others or a particular religious conviction. A familiar example would be parents. Parents sacrifice their time, energy, and efforts for the sake of their children. No doubt most, if not all, parents would even sacrifice their own lives for the safety or life of their children.

However, would any of us sacrifice our own innocent children for the sake of a criminal? This is what God did for sinners. He allowed His perfect child, Jesus, to be scarified for the sake of His people. Isaiah 53 calls Christ, "a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." Verses 4-5 states, "Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Christ made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up His life for the lives of those He loved.

A hymn recently sung in church offers wonderful praise for Christ's gift of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life:

Once the world's Redeemer, dying, bore our sins upon the tree;

On that sacrifice relaying, now I look in hope to thee.

Father, take me, all forgiving, Fold me to thy loving breast;

In thy love forever living, I must be forever blest.

Please feel free to share something you've created based on this week's theme of sacrifice. You may want to focus on someone who has sacrified for you; your parents, family members, or friends, all of these given to you as a blessing from God. Or perhaps you'd like to focus your effort solely on Christ's work on the cross. Whatever you prefer, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. It would be a tremendous blessing for you to share your work with us!

Thank you for your continued support of our challenge blog. We treasure each and every comment and work! Stay tuned for news of our new design team, being announced in the next week!

Hazel
Kim
Lythan
Ruth

Esther

Christian discipleship

This time is my (Hazel's) choice of topic.

Our theme is

Discipleship

Jesus’ disciples were called by Him and became His followers. Jesus final command to them ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:19-20)

When we become Christians we are not only saved by His grace, but also become Christ’s followers, to learn of Him to seek to live a life that reflects obedience. In John 15, Jesus said that His disciples should bear much fruit and show love one for the other. This may seem a tough call, but in Galatians 5 Paul talks of the fruit of the Spirit, so it is in His power that we can bear fruit and become more like our Saviour who we follow. Christian discipleship involves following Christ and learning from Him – a lifetime’s journey. If you look to the right, you will see that as part of the SALT team each of us wishes to know Jesus more clearly, love Him more dearly and follow Him more nearly, each and every day.

As usual, we would love to see your artwork on some aspect of discipleship. Please leave us a comment with a link to where we can come and see it.

Our Design Team call is still open until 15 February - details are here.

Hazel


Esther

Kim

Ruth

Lythan