July 2016, Vol. 35, No. 7 Archives

‘In Him’

Ephesians is a book every Christian should lay up in his heart. It is about the tremendous privilege we have as Christians. It is about the great blessings we enjoy as a result of being Christians. It is about the huge challenges we face because we are Christians. And it is about the eager anticipation…

Are You Living Up to Your Clothing?

It’s Friday evening a little after sundown when he walks through the front door after a long day at work and announces his arrival, “Hi honey, I’m home.” “What took you so long? Supper’s been ready for an hour,” his wife says rather loudly from the kitchen. He walks in the kitchen and explains, “Oh,…

Looking Back

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). I remember as a young boy learning the proper techniques in lawn care. The first few times on a lawn mower was with my father. He pointed out various…

His Truth Marches On

The indictment of Isaiah against his generation, a people who had temporarily succeeded in turning truth upon its head, is no less applicable today: “Woe unto them that call evil good; and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them…

Let Go of the Past

The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped inches from a department store window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, “Look mister, don’t ever…

The Word of God

The empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome are decaying in the dust; the avalanches that Napoleon hurled upon Europe have melted away; the pride of the Pharaohs is fallen; the pyramids they raised to be their tombs are sinking in the desert sands; Tyre is a rock for bleaching fishermen’s nets; Sidon…

The Speeding Ticket

Recently, a man in Florida went to great lengths to get out of a simple speeding ticket. When the police officer who pulled him over was out of earshot, the man dialed 911. He told dispatchers that a murder was about to take place. He passionately described how a person was holding a gun and…

Prayer

If Jesus felt the need to pray to the Father, surely we need God’s help in our own lives. God knows our needs even before we ask, but still He wants us to ask (Matt. 6:8); and Jesus tells us “that men always ought to pray” (Luke 18:1). James wrote that the fervent prayer of…

Easy Come, Easy Go

Most of us are astonished at the amounts of money earned by professional athletes. Despite making millions of dollars, many of these famous athletes end up declaring bankruptcy. A 2009 Sports Illustrated documentary concluded that as many as 78 percent of NFL players face financial difficulty within two years of retirement. NBA statistics were as…

We Need Each Other!

[264 words] There is an indelible and universal truth as it pertains to the church. We need each other. In fact, the Bible is adamantly clear that without the contribution of each member, the church does not properly function. Thus is the substance of Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 12. The church in Corinth struggled…

Baptism

A man is stumbling through the woods totally drunk when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He proceeds to walk into the water and subsequently bumps into the preacher. The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, whereupon he asks the drunk, “Are you ready to…

Why Go to Church?

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one…

The Wrong Kind of Deterrence

Anti-death penalty groups argue that capital punishment does not prevent further crimes. They are wrong. The Bible says the death penalty is a strong deterrent (Deut. 13:6-11; Ecc. 8:11; Rom. 13:4). If anyone thinks fear of reprisal doesn’t work, then let him consider the effect of fear in a different context: the fear of being…

Our Citizenship is in Heaven

The spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ was never fully comprehended by the Jews. In fact, I seriously doubt if most Christians truly comprehend the depth, richness, vastness and greatness of this everlasting Kingdom. God has always been the Sovereign over His creation and thus Israel needed no “earthly” king.…

Maintaining the Connection

Summertime is in full swing, and with it the tendency for families to drift from closeness within the church because of family travel and activities. Here are a few suggestions to help maintain that connection. I will use the term “home church” for convenience and lack of a better one. Resolve that you will be…

It Just Happened!

The story is told of a science professor who constructed a planetarium, a precisely scale model of the universe. A student came into his office and asked him who made it. The professor said, “No one.” The student laughed and asked again, “Come on, who make this fantastic piece of precise work?” The professor replied,…

Live Now to Secure Forever

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34). A person’s life can be divided up into four chunks of time: the past, the present, the future and eternity. The devil draws attention to the past and the future; God draws attention to the present and eternity. Therefore, the devil wants to take our focus off…

No Rules

Have you seen the ads that stress, “No Rules?” I think one ad is for beans and the other is for a steak house. There may be others that I have not seen yet. But think about it just a minute. What kind of world would we have if there were no rules to live…

Difficult to Keep Up

Just recently someone asked this preacher about a couple of modern speech translations. Friends, there are so many new ones appearing on a regular basis that it is difficult to keep up with each one. Some are good, some are just okay, but some are seriously flawed. The good ones seek to get as close…

12 Things Fathers Do Which Provoke Children to Wrath

[210 words] “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). Fathers do you discourage or anger your children? The scriptures clearly reveal God’s warning to fathers of…

What We Share

Racism is sinful. Racism is foolish. Racism is illogical. Instead of a discussion of our differences, let us take the time to focus on what all men share. We share a common heritage / ancestry (Genesis 3:20; 9:1). Ever y man, woman and child on the planet is a genetic relative. We share a common…

Faith Comes by Hearing

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Pertaining to personal salvation, there is no subject more necessary than faith. In Hebrews 11:6 it is written, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He…

Are You On the Lookout?

Back in my high school days, I had some friends who convinced me to be a monitoring judge for a road rally. There was a course set throughout the county for contestants to decipher clues and then drive down certain roads ending up back at a designated place. The judges were strategically placed in secret…

God Cares

When all the world seems to forsake you, And there’s chaos in all your affairs; When you’re blue, disappointed and lonely, Of one thing be certain… God Cares! When your plans and your dreams come to nothing, And your troubles show up in pairs, That’s the time to use your last ounce of faith And…

God and You

“On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land” (Acts 27.27). Your attitude and behavior in any and all circumstances ought to be governed by your relationship to God. Paul had been in a ferocious storm on the sea for nearly…

Five Links of Fellowship

1. Gathered TOGETHER (Matt. 18:20). 2. Knit TOGETHER (Col. 2:2). 3. Perfectly Joined TOGETHER (1 Cor. 1:10). 4. Striving TOGETHER (Phil. 1:27). 5. Caught Up TOGETHER (1 Thess. 4:17)…. We are sorry, but this content is for Annual and Lifetime members only. You either are not yet a member (Register), have yet to confirm your…

On the Lighter Side (June-July 2016)

Lunch Time Joey: “I don’t want to take my little sister fishing. Last time I didn’t catch a single fish.” Mother: “I’ll talk to her. This time she won’t make any noise.” Joey: “It wasn’t the noise. She ate all the bait!” Click It or Ticket A lady who was speeding was pulled over to…