July 2015, Vol. 34, No. 7 Archives

Love

[258 words] It was said about Jesus, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end” (John 13:1). People talk about falling in love and falling out of love. Children tell each other, “you are not my best friend any more.” But when you think about Jesus loving…

Heavenly Sunlight

[459 words] “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matt. 4:16). The world can be a dark place. “The whole world,” John wrote, “lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). Satan, the “prince of this world” (John…

Deserving Salvation?

[220 words] Some seem to act as though they deserve salvation on the grounds that they argue so strongly against earning salvation. Some seem to think they are right because they argue so strongly against those who think they are right. Some seem to talk as though grace is reserved only for those who…

What is God to You?

[227 words] “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods” Psalm 95:1-3. We are to gather to…

One Thing

[208 words] There are many voices competing for our attention. There are many destinations pleading for our arrival. There are many products and companies begging for our money. Yet only one voice matters. Only one destination is of any consequence. Only one being can inform us as to what to do with and how…

You Do Good by Thinking of Others

[168 words] “…And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.” (Acts 28:14-15) When’s the last you “traveled” to “Appii Forum” and “The Three Inns”…

Some Bible Questions to Consider

[171 words] • Exodus 32:36 – “Who is on the LORD’S side?” • Psalm 113:5 – “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high…?” • Isaiah 6:8 – “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” • Mark 8:37 – “…what shall a man give in exchange for…

Very Religious People

[154 words] When the apostle Paul was in Athens he made an interesting observation. He said “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.…

Why in the World Do We Have VBS Anyway?

[274 words] I know that VBS is a challenge. I mean if you have been around children for any length of time you know if you get 70 (or more) children together – you have your hands full. But it is important! This week, I fired up my computer’s Bible search engine and began…

What is the Message of the Church?

[74 words] Using an acrostic of the word “church,” we can clearly see that the church is to have an important message in everything she does: Christ Has Undoubtedly Risen Creating Hope Because of this, we should desire to worship, work, and walk the way the Lord desires! Because of this, we should tell…

What is Your Life About?

[121 words] We have been studying the book of Philippians in our young adult class on Sunday mornings. We recently covered Philippians 1:21 where Paul makes the statement, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Avon Malone observed that we must ask ourselves the question, “What is my life?”…

Let Us Pray

[373 words] How many times have we heard this expression as a prelude to a collective journey of the brethren into the presence of God? I wonder, is it used so much that we forget its importance? Here are some instances of corporate prayers found in the New Testament. In Matthew 26 and its…

Start Early, Do More

[157 words] A neurologist at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan has done research that reveals the great capacity of growing human brains to absorb information. He discovered that by age 2, the infant’s cortex is operating at adult levels. At age 4, that child’s brain is twice as active as the adult brain and…

Thugs Long Gone

[83 words] “God brings down rulers and turns them into nothing. They are like flowers freshly sprung up and starting to grow. But when God blows on them, they wilt and are carried off like straw in a storm” (Isaiah 40:23,24). Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin—thugs long gone. World rulers have terrifying power,…

An Illustration of God’s Grace

[434 words] Shortly after David became king of Israel, he remembered a promise he had made to Jonathan and Saul concerning their descendants. To Jonathan, he promised to protect his life and to show lovingkindness to his house forever (1 Sam. 20:12-17). To Saul, he vowed not to cut off his descendants after him…

Cleansing Through Blood

[231 words] And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5, NKJV). Blood is typically something we wash off, not something we wash with. As an…

Draw Near

[210 words] “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). This verse from James is very closely related to what he said in 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation.” Temptations come against us fast and hard. And the devil has an army of assistants who pressure us…

Fussy Little Christians

[121 words] Dr. Vance Havner has aptly described the present generation of Christians thus: “We are a generation of proud, fussy little Christians, experts but not examples. We know too much, or we think we do. We have heard all the preachers and read all the books. It is hard these days to be…

That the World May Believe

[320 words] Perhaps the Bible’s greatest enemy is preaching; preaching that makes the Bible appear to be a book of conflicting, contradictory doctrines. Robert Owen, the notorious atheist said in controversy with Alexander Campbell that the reason he was an atheist was because he had read so many conflicting doctrines all of which claimed…

Heart Religion

[141 words] Since only a religion of the heart has value, let us see what the Bible includes as part of heart religion. According to the Holy Scriptures heart religion is: Heart-felt. With the heart man loves (Matthew 22:37) and desires (Romans 10:1). Good feelings by themselves are not an indication that one is…

I Don’t Know and I Don’t Care!

[366 words] Many years ago, I heard Leroy Brownlow (author of “Why I am a Member of the Church of Christ”) use this illustration. “What are the two main problems in the church?” The question was answered with, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” He hit the nail on the head. Indifference is…

‘Hot Wheels’ and a Burning Conscience

[237 words] Just down the street from where I grew up was a drug store that sold “Hot Wheels” cars. That was great news to a little boy who loved to play with and collect “Hot Wheels.” One day I saw a car that I just had to have. It was on a shelf…

Do You Love Jesus?

[140 words] Love is essential for one to be a Christian. So if we are to be a “good” (faithful) Christian then we must love Jesus. Jesus said that loving God with all our hearts is more important than any other commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). Yes, it’s even more important than faith (1 Cor. 13:13).…

Honor and Obey Shepherds

[315 words] Shepherds are a gracious gift from God. God has always known the need for His people to remain faithful to Him, and how difficult, in the face of temptations, it can be for them to do so. Moses, a faithful servant-leader in all God’s house (Heb. 3:2), knew first hand the importance…

Spiritual Sight

[257 words] The hymn writer Fanny Crosby gave us more than 6,000 gospel songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of six weeks, she never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, “I think it is great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many…

A Prayer for Parents

[361 words] Each of us know that prayer is very important. In our own lives we will pray at different times and for different reasons. We pray at meal times, when someone is having troubles in their lives (such as sickness, death or making difficult decisions). We also know that our Lord and Savior,…

21 ‘Steps’ to Salvation?

[130 words] This list may surprise many people, especially those who believe we are saved only by faith. The Bible specifically states that there are 21 parts to our salvation from sin. Here is the list, along with the passages that prove the statements. (These are in no particular order.) 1. God (1 Timothy…

Tell the Story of True Suffering

[319 words] A sports news network reported an NFL’s investigation showed an offensive lineman for one of the teams was harassed by one of his teammates last year. An investigation ordered by the league said it found evidence that a player had been the subject of racial slurs and bullying during his time with…

The Hardest Words to Say

[179 words] I must have been sick on the day they taught phonics in school. If I don’t recognize a word by sight, I can find some amazing ways to mispronounce it. I cringe when I have to use certain words because no matter how much I practice, I’m not sure how it will…

This World is Not My Home!

[505 words] It just makes sense that the Lord’s people should discuss their future destination. It also makes sense that we talk about heaven because of the terrible things that happen in our world which remind us that life is short. As a favorite song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just…

On the Lighter Side (July 2015)

Don’t Monkey With Me! A boy with a monkey on his shoulder was walking down the road when he passed a policeman who said, “Now, now young lad, I think you had better take that monkey the zoo.” The next day, the boy was walking down the road with the monkey on his shoulder again,…