By Don Loftis
The media is filled with products
which promise great results for minimal efforts. We are told
that we can lose 20 pounds without any exercise and can eat
all the foods we want, if we take one little “miracle pill”
a day. We can make $100,000 a year by working only 10 hours
a week, if we join a popular on-line business group.
A lot of folks must feel the same
way
about their religious involvement. They desire all the
spiritual blessings (forgiveness, peace, fellowship, hope,
etc.), as long as they can drop in to worship once a month
and give their $50 a year. They want to be spiritual giants
tomorrow without giving up any of the pleasures of the world
today.
Jesus warned His listeners, “Enter
through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is
broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who
enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is
narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
(Mt. 7:13-14). Later He said, “If anyone wishes to come
after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily
and follow Me.” (Lk. 9:23). Paul understood the true price
tag of loyalty to Jesus and passed that message along to a
young preacher named Timothy by stating, “Indeed, all who
desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (
II Tim. 3:12).
It is difficult to swim upstream,
but Christians are called to challenge and resist the evil
within culture. The Lord shapes our lives more through
adversity and temptation than prosperity (James 1:2-4).
Bargain religion is destined to fail, because Jesus demands
more. Remember, we were redeemed not with cheap grace but
with the blood of the Son of God.
- via The Encourager, the weekly bulletin for the
Calvert City Church of Christ, Calvert City, KY. Lance
Cordle preaches for the congregation. He may be
contacted through the congregation's website:
http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com
By David R. Ferguson
Many lonely sailors have been cheered by
the flashing signal from Minot's Ledge Lighthouse off the
coast of Scituate, Massachusetts. The signal that flashes
intermittently spells out the words "I love you" in nautical
code. Several years ago the Coast Guard decided to replace
the old equipment. They announced that for technical reasons
the new machines would not be able to flash the "I love you"
message any longer. The public, however, protested, and the
Coast Guard relented. The old equipment remains and
continues to send its message of love to the ships out at
sea.
This is a great story with an even
greater message, but the greatest message you can ever hear
is this: "God loves you.” The message that should be on the
lips of every Christian as they move about amongst their
friends and acquaintances is, “God loves you.” The Bible
says “God is love” (1 John 4:8). That we are loved by God is
a fact that all people need to know. Let us take a few
moments now and listen as the Apostle John, the beloved
Apostle, drives this point home.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,
and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is
love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might
live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved
God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen
God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love
is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7-12 [ESV])
When we read these words penned by John
we gain a remarkable insight into the very character of God.
Love is Who He is! Love is a fundamental quality of God. In
fact, it is so fundamental to the character of God that
without love God would not exist. And the alternative is
equally as true. God is love, which means that love is God.
Love would not exist without God being and existing!
When I read this story of Minot’s Ledge
Lighthouse I cannot help but be reminded of God and His love
for mankind because not only does the word of God define our
Lord as a God Who is love, it also tells us He is light.
John tells us in 1 John 1:5 [ESV], “This is the message we
have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light,
and in Him is no darkness at all.” So just as that
lighthouse of love off the coast of Massachusetts has been
sending forth its beam of love and guiding countless sailors
through many a dark and turbulent night out at sea, God’s
word sheds His light and His love upon all of mankind,
leading us through the turbulent waters of sin, sorrow and
dismay, and into the salvation of His Son, Jesus Christ.
- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Lakeland Church of
Christ in Mattoon, IL. He may be contacted through the
congregation's website:
http://lakelandchurchofchrist.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
By Bill Brandstatter
Jesus was referred to in the Bible
as the Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6) What does the word
“peace” mean Biblically? Was Jesus the person to end all
wars and stop all conflicts?
When I look at peace, I also think
about the current situation in the Middle East in Syria and
in Egypt. Of course, religiously, I think about Jesus the
great Prince of Peace who brought division into the
religious world of His day. (Mt. 10:34) Let us look at some
things that must be done so that peace in any area can be
achieved. These items could apply to peace in the home,
country, heart, or any place where peace is desired.
First, there must be the right
disposition. A person who doesn’t want peace is not going to
agree to anything that will promote it. Christians should
surely have a disposition toward peace. Paul admonished, “If
it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably
with all men.” (Rom. 12:18) A person who is always concerned
about his way will never feel real peace.
Second, there must be the right
desire. Obviously this point is forever connected to the
first. Christians ought to not only desire peace but seek it
and pursue it. (1 Pet. 3:11) We must pursue the avenues of
peace whenever possible. (Rom. 12:18)
Third, there must be the proper
design. The word “design” is used here to mean purpose. If a
person just makes a show of peace to please someone, that
peace will not last. The kind of peace Jesus can give is
nothing like the peace the world may offer. (John 14:27)
Some may seek certain avenues such as drugs, alcohol, or
other illicit means in order to get peace, yet those are all
the wrong avenues. A husband who stops drinking or running
around just to shut up his nagging wife is doing so for the
wrong reason. Peace must be for the right reason and from
the right motive.
The peace that God gives passes our
understanding; (Phil. 4:7) but, in order to have this peace
that passes understanding I must be faithful to God. I must
understand that my purpose in life is to glorify God. (1
Cor. 6:19, 20) God did not put me here just to enjoy life
and to be comfortable. I am to serve him. (Rom. 12:1) In
doing this I can enjoy a peace that the world does not know,
but that all Christians know and enjoy. (Rev. 14:13) I must
first become a Christian like Jesus wants me to. He stated,
“He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark
16:16) Then I must live a faithful life. (Rev. 2:10) When
death comes, I will then have a special peace, a rest for my
soul. (Rev. 14:13).
– Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ
in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the
congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/
By Larry Pasley
“Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a
camping trip. As they lay down for the night, Holmes said,
‘Watson, look up and tell me what you see.’ Watson said, ‘I
see millions and millions of stars.’
Holmes asked, ‘And what does that tell
you?’ Watson replied, ‘Astronomically, it tells
me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially
billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is
great and that we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful
day tomorrow. What does it tell you Holmes?’
Holmes answered simply, ‘Somebody stole our tent.’”
People are bad about overlooking the
obvious in religion also. The religious world is full of
people who have studied the bible all their life and yet
missed key points in God’s teachings.
Almost every book of the New Testament
has statements that show that the doctrine of “Once Saved
Always Saved” is false and yet many in the religious world
have overlooked the obvious. Heb. 6:4-6
The necessity of baptism in becoming a
Christian is prevalent throughout the New Testament and yet
many still claim that it has nothing to do with salvation.
They are overlooking the obvious. Mk. 16:16
The connection of obedience to our
salvation is also dominant in the scriptures but many still
hold to the doctrine of “Faith Only”, overlooking the
obvious. Jas. 2:24
Still others teach as doctrine the
traditions and teachings of men, never recognizing the
difference. They overlook the obvious. Mat. 15:8
May we not fall into the trap of
overlooking the obvious in our desire to live our lives
pleasing to God.
- Larry Pasley serves as a minister with the Jackson Street
Church of Christ in Alexandria, LA. He may be contacted
through the congregation's website at
http://www.JacksonStAlex.com
There was a barber that thought he should
share his faith with his customers more than he had been
doing lately. So the next morning when the sun came up
and the barber got up out of bed, he said, “Today I am going
to witness to the first man that walks through my door.”
Soon after he opened his shop the first
man came in and said, “I want a shave.” The barber
said, “Sure, just sit in the seat and I’ll be with you in a
moment.” The barber went in the back and prayed a
quick desperate prayer, saying, “God, the first customer
came in and I’m going to share my faith with him. So give me
the wisdom to know just the right thing to say to him.
Amen.”
Then quickly the barber came out with his
razor knife in one hand and a Bible in the other, while
saying, “Good morning, sir. I have a question for
you. Are you ready to die?”
- via THE SOWER, a
weekly publication of the Arthur Church of Christ, Arthur,
IL. Ron Bartanen, who serves as minister and editor, may be
contacted through the congregation's website:
http://www.arthurchurchofchrist.com
"A suburban mother's role is to deliver children -
obstetrically once and by car forever after." - Peter De
Vries.
"Mothering is a very absorbing occupation when little people
in a household multiply, and how well a woman handles those
demands depends on her sense of personhood." -Gladys M.
Hunt.
"Let France have good mothers and she will have good sons."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
"What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way to the
coffin." Henry Ward Beecher.
"All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." -
Abraham Lincoln
"There are few jobs, if any, that carry as much significance
as that of being a mother." - Dick Innes
"When a woman is twenty, a child deforms her; when he is
thirty, he preserves her; and when forty he makes her young
again." - Leon Blum
"The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and in a sense
tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's
side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from
the mother, and to become fully independent." - Erich Fromm
"It is . . . sometimes easier to head an institute for the
study of child guidance than it is to turn one brat into a
decent human being." - Joseph Wood Krutch
"The mother who listens to all the unfunny 'knock-knock'
jokes and the vivid description of the student who threw up
in the lunchroom is the same mother who will be listening as
her teenager tells her about his classmates who are trying
marijuana and going to motels." - Sandra Humphrey
"One of the easiest traps for a mother to fall into is that
of over-caring for her family to the exclusion of outsiders.
To take care of your family is, in itself, a good thing. But
it falls far short of God's love, because it can quickly
become an exclusive kind of love." - Eugenia Price.
". . . many in today's world are attempting to communicate
that having children, being a wife and mother can never lead
to fulfillment. This, of course, is in direct contradiction
to the Scriptures and it runs counter to God's principles."
- Gene Getz
"Children turn into people. They speak rationally if
aloofly, lecture you on your manners, condescend to teach
you about eclectic criticism, and incline to get married.
And there you are, left with all that learning you have so
painfully accumulated in twenty-odd years and with no more
progeny on whom to lavish it." - Phyllis McGinley
"A woman, who creates and sustains a home, and under whose
hands children grow up to be strong and pure men and women,
is a creator second only to God." - Helen Hunt Jackson.
"When we soberly face the demands of motherhood, we may well
be driven to despair or evasion, nonetheless the creative
urge is undeniably there." - Elaine Stedman
- All About Families; via The
Family Friend, a monthly newsletter published by
the Calvert City Church of Christ, Calvert City, KY.
It is an excellent resource for articles relating to the
family. To learn more consult the congregation's
website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com
By Lance Cordle
My recent experience in working with the
administration and other workers at a local performing arts
center has caused me to think about the concepts of
restriction and access. 99% of the time that I visit that
building, I am an average person, either paying a price to
enter, or given very limited privileges as a visitor to
offices. However, as a representative of those who rented
the facilities, I was given broad access to many areas and
resources of the building. I found myself in rooms and
corridors that I normally would not have. I even discovered
an open door that I could enter that not too many people
knew about as they were entering the front doors.
My work with computers also leads me to
another perspective of access on which to meditate.
Sometimes when I am working online, I will attempt enter a
part of a website and a warning flashes to the screen:
“Access Denied!” For whatever reason, I do not have the
authority to enter that particular part of the website. I
must respect that and move on to other parts that I can
enter.
Both of these illustrations help me in
scriptural application. I read in Scripture of the blood of
Christ that was shed for me and can cleanse me from my sin
(Hebrews 9:23-28; 1 John 1:7). However, that blood is not
cleansing everyone today, even though it is for everyone.
Therefore, there must be access given to us so that we might
be cleansed by it. Paul was told to “Rise and be baptized
and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).
Later, Paul wrote that we are “baptized into his death”
(Romans 6:3, 4), and he was speaking of the death of Jesus.
It is logical to see that the point of access into the blood
of Christ is the baptism of a person into Christ. That
blood, once accessed, provides the payment of the debt for
our sins (Romans 6:23) and the cleansing power for past and
future sins (1 John 1:7).
In addition to the initial access
mentioned above, the blood of Christ gives us access to the
throne room of God! How great a privilege it is for us to
know that we can approach God freely and at any time with a
request that we may have. The words of Hebrews 4:16
encourage us: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help in time of need.”
How about you? Can you confidently affirm
that you have entered Christ by way of being baptized into
Christ and his death, thereby gaining access to his blood?
Can you confidently bow your head in prayer and know that
God will hear you and help you?
- Lance Cordle preaches the Calvert City Church of Christ in
Calvert City, KY. He may be contacted through the
congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com
