Three Great Thoughts by John Wright

A Bad Bargain                                                                              March 15, 2026

          A Sunday school teacher asked her class if they could give Bible examples of anyone making a bad bargain.  The first said, “Esau made a bad bargain when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.”  Another said, “Judas made a bad bargain when he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.”  A third said, “Ananias and Sapphira made a bad bargain when they lied about the price of their land.”  A fourth said, “Jesus said it is a bad bargain when a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul.”

          We might add another to the above list by observing that it is a bad bargain for you and me to trade our hope of heaven for the pleasures, riches, power and glory of this world.  Jesus was shown all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and told he could have all these if He bowed down to Satan.  Jesus knew that would be a bad bargain.

          What kinds of bargains do we make?  Do we trade the worship time for a few hours of sleep?  Do we trade Christian service for idle pleasures?  Let us not trade Heaven for anything!        John Wright                                                                                          

A Congregation of Addicts

          There was a family in Corinth that is mentioned in First Corinthians that is of particular note.  It is the household of Stephanas.  Paul taught and baptized this great family.  What a blessing they became!  They were wonderful helpers to the apostle.  Stephanas supplied a service when it was needed most (I Corinthians 1:16; 16:17).

          This man and his family were so zealous for the Lord and so close to the Master that it was said of them that they addicted themselves to the ministry (I Corinthians 16:15).  Addicted?  What a wonderful term to describe their love and service to Christ.

          As I considered this statement, I thought about the great work being done by Christians who are addicted to the work of the church.  Let us get into the work of the church where we are with all our hearts, so that folks, seeing our good works, can say that we are a congregation of addicts addicted to the Word and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.        John Wright

A Difficult Life?

          Life seems hard at times.  Things don’t seem to go as we want.  Problems arise that become mountains looming before us.  At such a time, we know God is with us to strengthen and support us.  Talking to Him helps us carry our burdens.

          John, the Baptizer went to live in the wilderness of Judea, an inhospitable terrain inhabited by wild beasts.  His clothing was made from animal skins, and his food was locusts and honey gathered in the wild (Matthew 3:4).

          The Word of the Lord came to him there; not telling him of a softer life ahead, but telling him of a great work that had been prophesied by Isaiah (40:3), Malachi (4:5-6) and others.  The work was to be very demanding, going against the religious thinking of the day.  He would have enemies and would finally be killed for his message (Matthew 14:10).

          Knowing how hard his life would be, he put his whole heart and strength into the task.  His was a work nobody else could do.  Your work and mine is a work nobody else can do – that of trying to convert our family members and friends.         John Wright