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.
By Ron Thomas
Are there is
reasons for you to be grateful to the Lord? There are many reasons for each of
us to be grateful to the Lord. Let us be reminded of some of them. First, that
we are reading this, we can be grateful to the Lord that we have our eyesight.
Perhaps it’s not very good (for varied reasons), but we at least have it. We
can be grateful to the Lord because we can read and understand what it is that
we are reading. Perhaps we did not finish high school and our reading
comprehension is not very good, but we can read and even improve on our reading
capability if we desire. We can be grateful for the life we are living. “You
have no earthly idea how hard my life has been! How can I be grateful for that?”
The fact is, you have your life; think about the many who have lost a loved one
and the life they once had seems to be so empty. You can get up and go to work,
you can stop by a store and purchase something to eat, you can sit out in a
lawn chair and enjoy the birds flying and tweeting in and around the trees, you
can watch the boys play backyard football at a neighbors house, you can mow the
lawn, weed the garden, harvest the garden, build a snowman—you have life, and
for that you need to be grateful to the Lord.
You can be
grateful you’re surrounded by people you love, even those not of your physical
family. Are your parents still alive? Be grateful for that. Are you children healthy
and happy? Be grateful for that. Do you have employment that can provide for your
needs? Be grateful for that. Have you been deathly sick? Perhaps it’s hard to
be grateful for that, but maybe in this terrible sickness, you’ve had
opportunity to reflect in a way you never have before; be grateful to the Lord
He has given you an opportunity to observe and experience things in a new way.
Are you a
Christian? If you had nothing else for which to be grateful, you can be grateful
for that. Think about this for a moment. Without the Lord, your hope is in
what?
Without the Lord
your purpose for living ends when your life is over with no promise of the
eternal rest He gave to each who love and obey Him. Without the Lord you have no
real message of hope to give to any other. Without the Lord your understanding
of love is incomplete and physically oriented, not eternally so.
Psa 146:1 Praise ye Jehovah. Praise Jehovah, O my soul....
Psa 146:2 While I live will I praise Jehovah: I will sing
praises unto my God while I have any being....
Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of
man, in whom there is no help....
Psa 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish....
Psa 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his
help, Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:...
Psa 146:6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that
in them is; Who keepeth truth for ever;...
Psa 146:7 Who executeth justice for the oppressed; Who
giveth food to the hungry. Jehovah looseth the prisoners;...
Psa 146:8 Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind; Jehovah
raiseth up them that are bowed down; Jehovah loveth the righteous;...
Psa 146:9 Jehovah preserveth the sojourners; He upholdeth
the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down....
Psa 146:10 Jehovah will reign for ever, Thy God, O Zion,
unto all generations.
Praise ye Jehovah. It is good to be reminded of such things.
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 between Israel and Palestine. Will there ever be peace in
that area? Of course, religiously, I think about Jesus, the great Prince of Peace,
who brought division into the religious world of His day. (Matt. 10:34) Let us
look at some things that must be done in any area for peace to 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 to 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)
By Joe Chesser
It’s that time of year again when holiday
greetings arrive in the mail and are shared just about everywhere we go. We see
greetings extended on marquees and billboards, in front yards, and in all kinds
of businesses. From just before Thanksgiving through Christmas to just after
the new year, these six weeks or so are the “greetingest” time of the year.
Unless you are a true grinch or a scrooge (a grumpy person who is mean-spirited
and unfriendly), you just have to love this time of the year.
Christians should never be like a grinch or
a scrooge ... no matter what time of year it may be. In fact, Christians should
be the “greetingest” people on earth all year long.
Just glance at Romans 16. The word “greet”
is used 17 times in this chapter alone. If I counted correctly, 35 specific
people either received or sent greetings, and several others are mentioned as
associated with these people. In addition, in his letters Paul sent his
greetings to people in the churches at Corinth, Philippi, Colosse and
Thessalonica, plus in writing to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The Hebrew writer sent greetings to all of
God’s people, as did James; Peter said to greet one another, and John sent
greetings from himself and others (Hebrews 13.24; James 1.1; 1 Peter 5.14; 2
John 13; 3 John 14).
All of these greetings indicated a loving
and personal connection with fellow believers in other places. The greetings
were genuinely given simply because they shared a common connection in Christ.
They were brothers and sisters, and that alone made it personal. It didn’t
matter that they didn’t know each other’s names. It didn’t matter that they had
never met, nor probably ever would. As John wrote, “The friends here send their
greetings” (3 John 14), or as the Hebrews writer said, “Those from Italy send
you their greetings” (Hebrews 13.24). To Titus Paul wrote, “Everyone with me
sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith” (Titus 3.15).
Generic? Yes. But even so we clearly sense the love they all shared with Christ
... and with each other because they “love us in the faith.” “All the saints
send you greetings” (Philippians 4.22). I wonder if we feel that same
camaraderie with Christians in other congregations ... nearby or far away? But, when possible, the Bible also encourages us to greet each other by name (3 John
14). As noted above, it is impressive how many people in Rome alone Paul
greeted by name.
These greetings indicate more than shaking
hands when we see each other, more than a mere courtesy. They indicate a
sharing of hearts, a friendship, a brotherhood. Perhaps that’s why the New
Testament letters repeatedly encourage the church to “Greet one another with a holy
kiss” (Romans 16.16; 1 Corinthians 16.20; 2 Corinthians 13.12; 1 Thessalonians
5.26; 1 Peter 5.14). Cultural expression or not, a holy kiss represents the
importance of greeting each other with hearts that are united in Christ.
How we greet each other says a lot about
how we feel toward each other. Once again, our hearts are involved in our
actions. Greet one another with the love of Christ.
