February 21

Hebrews 9:23
It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices then these.

I took a youth group to a play on Good Friday once while I was fasting. All I could think of was how hungry I felt. I was a little cranky, and I found it difficult to concentrate on the play. Suddenly, I looked at the face of the young man who played Christ. His face was contorted with the pain and suffering of our Lord. I looked at a face which truly mirrored everything Jesus had been through, and I was ashamed at myself for the self-pity I had indulged in. When I compared my minor discomforts with the true sufferings of Jesus, I realized I had nothing whatsoever to complain about.

Today's thought: I will think of what I have, rather than what I have not!