The Gospel According to You

By Gerald Cowan   We write a living gospel,     Adding to it every day     By every thing we do     And every word we say.   We write it in the eyes of those     Who see how we treat each other     And who we think is worthy      To be called a sister or a brother.       We write it in the hearts of those      Who hear us promise as we pray     Then close our hands and hearts     To those who struggle in the way.   Others estimate our wealth     By how we act and live.     They estimate our spirit’s health     By what to man and God we give.   Way of the world and way of God     Is easy to compare.      They know the place we give the Lord     By what our lives declare.   You write a living gospel, and      It may be false or true.     What does anybody read in     The gospel according to you?

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

Let Christ and God Be Seen in Us

By Gerald Cowan   No perfect mirror now exists To show the Savior’s mind and heart Or picture perfectly the God Who, in him,  from the very start Showed us Himself in word and deed. Then, by the Holy Spirit’s art A sacrifice was offered that  Grace and salvation would impart.   In Jesus Christ we can see God; In him we see our Father’s face. In him we see the God of love,   Of mercy, joy, and peace and grace Who knows and meets our ev’ry need.  Our ev’ry loss He will replace.  In him we see what we should be;   Our human lot he did embrace.   There is no doubt, no doubt at all That God our Father wants to see His Christ in us, His Son our Lord. Redeemed and sanctified and free, With all entanglements of sin Removed from us. Secure to be,  And anchored by a perfect hope That stretches to eternity.   There also is no doubt that those  Who know from Christ we take our name Should never see or hear in us  What may bring Him reproach or shame. Do not misrepresent the Lord,  Lest for our sins He get the blame.    Instead make sure all see in us The good that will enhance His fame.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

Remember Now

By Clifton Angel   When I’m 20 years old, And looking back on my teens, Will I smile on my past, Or be ashamed of what I’ve seen?   When I’m 30 years old, Looking back on the last nine, Did I give glory to God, Or make it all mine?   Once I’ve reached 40, And making my trek through life, Have I left a trail of blessings, Or caused a myriad of strife?   When I’m 50 years old, Looking back on the years, Will I grin of the godly joy, Or frown on the painful tears?   When I’m 60 years old, And time is fleeting by, Would I enjoy another forty, Or would I rather die?   When 80 is here at the drop of a hat, But my mind is not at all, Will my grandchildren know the great life I led, Or will they look at my life in appall?   If God provides that I reach 90, And my life withers like a clover, Will I thank Him for my longevity of life, Or would I rather just start over?   When I’m 100 years old, And the young stand amazed at my age, Will I even have my memory, While God recalls all the mistakes I’ve made?   Will you take heed to these words, My dear and precious friends, And begin preparing now, For what your life will be in the end?   “Remember now your Creator In the days of your youth,” Such powerful words from the Spirit, Who, for our lives, has provided all Truth.

- Clifton Angel preaches for the Coldwater Church of Christ in Coldwater, MS. He may be contacted through that congregation's website: http://www.coldwatercofc.com/

Jesus Christ Personified

By Edd Sterchi   Inspired men prophesied. He came to earth and complied, and on God’s will totally relied. But by men He was denied, unjustly tried, and horribly crucified. He cried, and died. Blood poured from His side. But death could not preside, and was nullified. Now in heaven glorified, He is our eternal guide, through whom we are sanctified, forever with Him identified, our eternal salvation completely supplied, and our blessings multiplied. And now you must decide – Do you want His blood applied?

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

Our Lord is Always There

By Gerald Cowan   When your day is dark and dreary, You see no light, anywhere. Beyond the clouds the sun is shining,  For it always shines somewhere. Just because you cannot see it, Doesn’t mean it isn’t there.   Beyond the clouds our God is working, Giving strength that we may bear The griefs and sorrows that beset us, Giving grace through all our care. Just because you cannot see Him Doesn’t mean He isn’t there.   When your life is filled with heartache, Each day brings a load of care And no one else can lift your burden, Christ will all your sorrow share. He will work together with us, Helping all our load to bear.   Take your troubles all to Jesus. He’s as near as whispered prayer. Just because you cannot see him, Doesn’t mean he isn’t there. Hasten to his place of safety. He is waiting for you there.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

THE GREAT ETERNAL GOD

By Gerald Cowan   Before the hills appeared, Before the rivers and the seas, Before the clouds were formed, Before the stirring of the breeze; Before a man was born, Or any other living thing; Before the rain or snow first fell, Before the flowers of spring; Before the paths of earth By mortal men were trod – Before it all, from everlasting was The Great Eternal God.   When everything on earth Decays and disappears, As darkness of the night Dissolves when daylight nears; When all the starry universe Burns up and fades away With nothing left to measure time, No sense of night or day; When challengers and skeptics all Lie dead beneath the sod – Through everlasting there will be The Great Eternal God.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

Is It The Lord Who Speaks To Me?

By Gerald Cowan   How will I know it is the Lord Who speaks the words I hear? Are they direct from him, these words That sound within my ear?   How can I sort through all the words And voices that I find Competing for attention and For notice in my mind?   They all may seem well-reasoned, sound, Believable, and true. Each one is urgent, pressing me. What then am I to do?   How to decide which way to go, Which of the paths to take? Will I be able to change course If I an error make?   The only words that I can trust To be from Him I love Are words that He himself inspired And sent down from above.   With voices that do not repeat God’s word I’ll not agree. Unless I know it comes from Him It finds no place with me.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

God’s Embrace and Mine

By Gerald Cowan               I wish the world could be a friendly sort of place             Where smiles instead of frowns would sit upon each face,             And every heart would feel the warmth of God’s embrace.               I wish that all could share the faith of God’s dear Son,             Redeemed and joined together perfectly in one             Great body by His cross, to share in what He’s done.               His bloody cross has made us able to be free             From failure, guilt, and shame for what we’d come to be.             We now can walk with him, and heav’n we yet may see.                But wishing that the world could share the Savior’s grace             Will not enable one to see the Father’s face,             Nor will it help one soul to find his proper place.               No one saves another’s soul. Each one must save his own.             By walking true within the path the Lord has shown             We show the way to others. No one walks alone.               The Lord is always with us. With his perfect love             He binds us all. Each will continue drinking of             God’s Holy Spirit ‘til we’re safe in heav’n above.               I want to make the world a friendly sort of place,             And so I’ll try to keep a smile upon my face,             And hope that others feel God’s love in my embrace.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

How Great is God

By Gerald Cowan
 
It could not just have happened
Or been here eternally.
God made the world, made ev’rything,
Then put all things in their place
Where they must stay by His decree.
 
When God made man He made him for
Dominion over creatures
In the earth and sky and sea.
He gave to man His spirit and
Promised fellowship to all
Who, through Christ, from sin are made free.
 
God gave His Son as sacrifice
For those whose lives, though sin-scarred,
Come to Him to be made free.
He grants imputed righteousness
To all who will obey Him
And maintain their integrity.
 
God’s Holy Spirit then is giv’n
To dwell within that person
Who has chosen His to be.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Stay within the faithful one,
Unhidden light that all can see. 
 
How great is God! How great His Son!
How great His Holy Spirit
Who now lives and moves in me.
Since that first day I gave to Him
The life I owe to Jesus
He keeps it for eternity.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

Some Things You Should NEVER Be Sorry For

By Gerald Cowan

 

Being honest with God.

Always telling the truth.

Your faith in Christ.

Living a pure life.

Acknowledging and repenting of sin.

What you give to the Lord’s cause.

What you do in service to Christ.

Doing your best.

Hearing before judging.

Thinking before acting.

Being patient.

Being courteous and kind.

Helping a fallen brother.

Being merciful.

Correcting those who are in error.

Being willing to forgive.

Being loyal to the church.

Standing upon your principles.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

All in All

By Edd Sterchi

 

    The song “You Are My All in All” has always been a favorite of mine. In part the song declares:

      You are my strength when I am weak

      You are the treasure that I seek

      You are my all in all

      Seeking You as a precious jewel

      Lord, to give up I’d be a fool

      You are my all in all

Truly Jesus should be our all in all, for He can fulfill all our needs. In speaking of Jesus, the apostle Paul stated in Col. 3:11, “where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” Christ is all – nothing else is needed.

    If Christ is your all in all, then why not give Him your all – all the time!

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

Roil the Oceans

By J. Randal Matheny

 

Roil the oceans, folding ages,

The deep and heights clash and heave;

Rock the mountains to sink and melt,

The elements burn, and earth is ended.

 

Rush this filthy, finite world

To doom, to the final day of the Lord;

Raise no hope for the planet of here,

Impatient to die in noisy darkness.

 

Race ahead to a languid heaven,

Renewed by God, with never a night;

Run from destruction, toward your strength,

From gales of wrath, to gates of glory.

- J. Randal Matheny edits and writes UPLift, an inspirational ezine. He

may be contacted here: <http://randalmathenycom/>. When reprinting this
material, please include the following: 
Copyright (c) 2021 J. Randal Matheny
All rights reserved. You may forward the
email to friends as is. You may not alter
it in any way or remove any text or
attributions.

Seasons and Eternal Day

By Gerald Cowan

 

My spring of youth has come and gone.

It will not come again.

The strength of summer did not last.

‘Twas short and sweet, but then

It went away like dew on flow’rs

Warmed by the rising sun,

Or like the light of day will go

When evening has begun.

           

A renewed urgency I feel      

Since autumn came to call.

Unless I find new energy,

Autumn may be my fall.

My blood is thin. Can I withstand

The stress of winter’s cold

When stumbling ways give evidence

That one is growing old?

 

Accept each season, like each stage

Of life, when it arrives.

The heav’n of God is yet to be,

In that our hope survives.

My spring will never come again.

My summer went away.        

When fall and winter too have passed

Comes God’s eternal day.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

PROCEED SLOWLY

By Ron Adams

This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to

hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not

achieve the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20

The often quoted saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to

tread,” is from AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM by Alexander Pope in 1709. And

there are several verses in the Book of Proverbs that point out the

foolishness of being in a hurry without due regard for inevitable

consequences.

He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is

quick-tempered exalts folly.

Proverbs 14:29

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger

calms a dispute.

Proverbs 15:18

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his

spirit, than he who captures a city.

Proverbs 16:32

A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to

overlook a transgression.

Proverbs 19:11

BE LIKE HIM

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and

abounding in lovingkindness.

Psalm 103:8

- Ron Adams publishes F.Y.C., a monthly publication. Bible references are from the NASB except where another translation is referenced. Back issues are archived at http://ra10ar.com Be thoughtful and kind. All rights reserved. © 2021

There, Their, and They're

By J. Randal Matheny

 

It's all the same difference to me,

It's easy to say what we see.

But to write what we say,

I might cry foul play,

My spell checker passes all three!

 

[A friend sent me a limerick today on "Homophones," and he inspired me to bop out this one. (http://is.gd/homophones)

- J. Randal Matheny edits and writes UPLift, an inspirational ezine. He

may be contacted here: <http://randalmathenycom/>. When reprinting this

material, please include the following: 

Copyright (c) 2021 J. Randal Matheny

All rights reserved. You may forward the

email to friends as is. You may not alter

it in any way or remove any text or

attributions.

The Good, Great, Glorious God

By Edd Sterchi

 

When I think on God

All the things I should,

I readily see

That God is good.

 

When I speak of God.

And His awesome state,

I am proclaiming

That God is great.

 

When I dwell with God.

Fulfilling Christ’s story,

My life of joy shows

That God is glory.

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

When Your Life is Gone

By Gerald Cowan

                                    When life has closed its door on you

                                    And you have gone to your last sleep,

                                    No longer present on the earth,

                                    Will any miss you, any weep?

  

                                    The self-absorbed may answer, “Yes,

                                    I will be missed; there will be tears.”

                                    But why? Will they be tears of joy

                                    Or tears of sorrow, pain, and fears?

                                    If you are missed it may imply

                                    That you touched other lives for good,  

                                    Encouraged and supported them

                                    And healed their hurts as Jesus would.

                                    If not missed what will that imply?

                                    You went on your own selfish way,

                                    Saw nothing but your own desires?

                                    Perhaps did not for others pray?

                                    On what you gathered for yourself

                                    Your legacy does not depend

                                    But on the lives you marked for good,

                                    To whom and how you were a friend.

 

                                    When life is gone and you must meet

                                    God’s Christ, the Lord who judges all,

                                    Then what you did for others will

                                    Determine if you stand or fall.

                              

                                    When life is gone you will not weep

                                    Nor for missed treasures raise your voice.

                                    If Jesus says, “You come with me

                                    To heaven,” then you can rejoice.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

Open My Life

By Gerald Cowan    
   
Open my eyes Lord, let me see
People in need, where e’re they be.
Enlighten me and fill my mind
That I may be eyes to the blind.

Open my ears to all Thy truth
And to the souls who cry to Thee,
And may their cries so touch my heart
That I to them will grace impart.

Open my heart to share Thy grace
With all the world so loved by Thee,
And from my heart lift up my voice
With all who weep, all who rejoice.

Open my hands and let me work
That I may give to those in need.
Shelter and food so let me share
That none can doubt how much I care.

Hands to the helpless I would be,
Until the world from want is free.
Feet to the crippled, weak and lame — 
I lift them up in Jesus’ name.

Open my eyes, my ears, my mouth;
Open my hands; open my heart;
Open my life that all may see
The blessed Christ who lives in me.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

You Can Rejoice!

By Edd Sterchi

You may not have much in pocket or purse

And before it gets better, it could get worse

Yet you can rejoice – You can rejoice!

You may not have health as well as before

And your illnesses could multiply more

Yet you can rejoice – You can rejoice!

You may not have what others may own

And what you do have, away may be flown

Yet you can rejoice – You can rejoice!

You may not have the most rewarding career

And you may be stuck with it – no ending near

Yet you can rejoice – You can rejoice!

You may not have the perfect home life

And deal with vexing kids, husband, or wife

Yet you can rejoice – You can rejoice!

If God has saved you through the blood of His Son

Then life’s setbacks mean nothing – the victory’s won.

Through any situation – any – bar none

You can rejoice – You can rejoice!

- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/

The Prophet Zechariah Raised His Eyes

By J. Randal Matheny

The prophet Zechariah raised his eyes,

And saw a flying scroll, to his surprise.

The scroll said every thief would be expelled,

The other side, all liars would soon be felled.

"But in our age is God not love and grace?"

The anger of God at sin does time erase?

Did God lift Satan to sit at his right hand?

"But human we are: we're weak against sin to stand."

To choose Sodom above the Lord is weak?

Is weakness to love Gomorrah's filth, to seek

Out sin for pleasure, to cheaply sell the soul?

I soon expect to see that flying scroll!

— ‹‹ @@ ›› —

     This poem, at first, seems harsh and negative. So what's it doing in a motivational site? In the darkness, light stands out starkly.

     Your greatest opportunity to shine is where the darkness is strongest.

     When others are making excuses for bad and sinful behavior, your sterling conduct stands out.

     When others give in easily to temptation and go with the flow of the crowd, your stance for truth sounds

far and wide.

     We thank Ed Boggess for his Just-A-Minute meditation today that served as inspiration for this poem and whose language provided much of the actual text. http://is.gd/eJKHzy

     Let's stand with Ed and with Zechariah to be the true people of God in a world where "Christian" has little meaning left. We can show what the word truly means.

- J. Randal Matheny edits and writes UPLift, an inspirational ezine. He

may be contacted here: <http://randalmathenycom/>. When reprinting this

material, please include the following: 

Copyright (c) 2021 J. Randal Matheny

All rights reserved. You may forward the

email to friends as is. You may not alter

it in any way or remove any text or

attributions.