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Cushion or Cross

January 17, 2023

Listen Now

Yesterday, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He was the leader of the civil rights movement in the United States and also a devoted pastor. On January 30, 1956, segregationists bombed his home because he stood up against segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. Three days later, he preached a sermon called "It's Hard to be a Christian." Here are a few highlights from that sermon. It has much to inspire us today as it did then.

The great orator said, "We have substituted a cushion for a cross. We have substituted the soothing lemonade of escape for the bitter cup of reality. We have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds."

Using the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said, "The question of the Levite and the priest were, 'What will happen to me if I stop to help this man?' The question for the Good Samaritan was, 'What will happen to this man if I don't stop to help him?' The thing that determines whether a man is a Christian is how he answers this question. How many times have we degraded our characters, trampled over principles, because we were more concerned about our selfish desires than about the transcendent principles of God?"

He concluded by saying, "Taking up the cross is the voluntary or deliberate choice of putting ourselves without reservation at the service of Christ and His kingdom; it is putting our whole being in the struggle against evil, whatever the cost."

As we honor his work in our nation, let us remember his work was rooted in the character of Christ and the teachings of the Bible.

Steve and Tricia Whitaker

 

Connect with us for prayer or encouragement by sending an email to firstword@thefirstacademy.org


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