March 16, 2006

[Rev. Doc]

More Important Than Life

"While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep."
Acts 7:59-60

George Atley was killed while serving with the Central African Mission. There were no witnesses, but the evidence indicates that Atley was confronted by a band of hostile tribesmen. He was carrying a fully loaded, 10-chamber Winchester rifle and had to choose either to shoot his attackers and run the risk of negating the work of the mission in that area, or not to defend himself and be killed. When his body was later found in a stream, it was evident that he had chosen the latter. Nearby lay his rifle -- all 10 chambers still loaded. He had made the supreme sacrifice, motivated by his burden for lost souls and his unswerving devotion to his Savior. With the apostle Paul, he wanted Christ to be magnified in his body, "whether by life or by death."

Prayer: Ask God to help you to pay any price that others might have the opportunity to respond to His love in Christ.

"Self-preservation is the first law of nature, but self-sacrifice is the highest rule of grace."
~Anonymous