Living Sacrificially
We have just come through the holiday season, and for many of us it was a time of traveling and gathering with family. Amid all the festivities, we reminded ourselves of why we were celebrating.
Over two thousand years ago, Jesus was born so that He could live among us and die for us. He left His perfect kingdom where He held all power, riches, and the worship of angels. He was born as a vulnerable baby to a poor carpenter in a barn, and was first greeted by shepherds, who were societal outcasts. He grew up among depraved humanity, which despised Him and condemned Him to a criminal’s death, even though He hadn’t once sinned.
Why would He do that for us? He had no obligation, no reason why He had to save us. He created us, and when we rebelled against Him, He responded by taking the consequences of our rebellion on Himself. He loved us so much that He left the perfectness of Heaven, so that He could experience life on earth, knowing full well that He could destroy us if He wanted to. But instead, He sacrificed His life for us, so now we give ourselves as a living sacrifice for Him.
Living for Jesus includes telling others about Him. Jesus left Heaven for us, so surely we can get out of our comfort zone to witness for Him. Jesus lived with humans all His life and somehow still loved us, so we should love others enough to tell them about salvation. Jesus gave His life to save us, so we should live our lives as a witness for Him.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to work for Lighthouse Publishing, but I also remind myself that I need to live for God every minute of my life. I owe Him everything, so I can’t just put in some time at this organization and count that as enough for one week. I pray that every day someone can see Christ in me.
I also pray that the work we do here at Lighthouse is a help to some soul. Thank you for each of your prayers and support as we continue working to show the love of God to the people behind bars.
—Carinna Martin, Mail Processing
Issue 48 Status
Very soon after you receive this newsletter, we expect our next magazine issue to have arrived in our warehouse. We have been blessed by your generous financial support, and are able to order this printing ahead of schedule.
The cost of printing Loaves & Fishes issue #48 is projected to be around $24,000. We project the shipping cost to be around $9,000, for a total printing and shipping cost of $33,000. Our current bank account balance is around $30,000, so we are able to order the printing of issue 48 a few weeks ahead of schedule. If funds allow, we project to ship by the end of February.
It is an honor for us to steward these funds on your behalf in such a way as to bless Christian believers in prison with information that can bring about needed change in their lives. Thank you for trusting us with your valuable resources.
2022 Items Shipped Report
2022 Financial Report
2022 Cost per Magazine Issue
The cost to publish and distribute each issue of Loaves & Fishes magazine in 2022 was 42¢.
Responses from Prisoners
“Thank you for your wonderful, uplifting discipleship magazine for prisoners! I share all the Christian material I receive.”
—Athena Kuykendall, Wayne McCollum Detention Center
“May I please receive a devotional magazine? I am 43 and have finally become honest with myself and asked God for forgiveness and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I have never felt better in my life.”
—Matt Anthony Strohm, Armstrong County Jail
Responses from Distributors
“The women love when your publication arrives. They enjoy the colorful issues and encouraging content.”
—Chaplain Julie Bell, Iowa Correctional Institution for Women
