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  • John Henson 11:37 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

    Ezra’s Prayer 

    When Ezra the priest prayed in the ninth chapter of his book, he was not pointing out the sins of others. He did not tell God he was right and everyone else was wrong.

    Ezra was ashamed and embarrassed for the sins that had been committed (Ezra 9:6). When he said, “Our iniquities have risen above our heads,” he painted the picture that Judah’s sins were drowning it. He was right. Sin can overwhelm us and drown us under its wake. Unless we recognize we need help rising above the tide, we can drown in sin!

    Judah failed to realize its idol worship and its disregard for God and his laws had destroyed the nation. But it was just as King David wrote, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people,” (Psalm 14:34 NASB). Ezra said in his prayer that the guilt of Judah had grown “to the heavens,” (Ezra 9:6b).

    Not only was Judah drowning in sin, but also its iniquities were responsible for its captivity in Babylon and its lack of independence from its current Medo-Persian ruler (Ezra 9:7). This sin was not just Judah’s inability to admit its wickedness 70-years before its captivity, but for its refusal to admit its sin even when it had returned from Babylon.

    There is a contrast here. Although Ezra clearly admits the sins of which Judah is guilty, his heart is lifted in thanksgiving for God’s grace. Ezra said, “But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, (Ezra 9:8a). God saved Judah not because he was required to do so, but because God loved these people. So, he will extend grace to them; God will grant Judah a revival in its bonds.

    Judah had once had “a peg in his holy place,” but it had been pulled out. For many years, the Jews had been bereft of the sacrificial system designed to cover its sins. Its place in the house of God had been removed because of the sins that enslaved it. But, now, Judah was given back its place. God, through his tender mercy, had allowed a remnant of Judah to return to Jerusalem. It would again have “a peg in his holy place.”

    Ezra also notes that “our God has not forsaken us,” (Ezra 9:9). Through the 70-years captivity Judah suffered, it was always God’s design and desire to bring his people back to Jerusalem. God showed his lovingkindness is doing this, even though the Jews would fail him again. He did this because from this remnant, there would come the Messiah who would save us all. Even though God knew the Jews would fail, he gave them a chance to succeed anyway. Such is the lovingkindness of God for all.

    God is extending everyone the same lovingkindness he gave Judah. Even if you’ve failed God before, he extends to you his grace and love to try again. You may even fail him again, but he is going to give you the chance to serve him anyway. Isn’t that amazing? As long as you are alive he continues to extend this grace and lovingkindness to you because this is what God is.

    The apostle Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8). The Lord God extends his love to you and offers you a second, third, fourth, fifth chance. Isn’t it time you recognized the love he has for your soul and try to serve him again?

     

  • Ed Boggess 9:42 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Did you know that Biotech workers are the most satisfied employees in America? That was the finding from a Career Bliss survey of 200,000 employee reviews from 70,000 jobs all over the country. Biotech is the application of technology to medicine, agriculture and biology. You may be surprised that customer service, school teachers and secretaries were among the top ten. One theme runs through the highest ranking employment: jobs where the worker serves and helps others. Maybe this is part of what Jesus taught long ago: if you would be first, then become a servant. This is Just-A-Minute

     

  • TFRStaff 8:46 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Lifetime Diligence In Service 

    Our slogan this month is “keep on keeping on.” It is an expression about diligent action. But there is so much in which we can be diligent. What, exactly, are the things in which we are to keep on keeping on?

    One of those things can be understood in the actions of Jesus. Acts 10:38 records that Jesus spent His lifetime going about doing good. Jesus, on the occasion of the last Passover meal of His life, taught the disciples that they were to spend their life in service to others (John 13:1-15). It is no wonder then that we find that our reward or punishment pronounced at the judgment will, in part (there are many parts), be based upon our lifetime service to those in difficult situations (Matt. 25:31-46). Some of the types of folks to which we must minister are the hungry, the thirsty, the stranded stranger, the sick, the naked, and those in prison.

    You will notice two or three particular points about those in the above mentioned situations.

    • First, such people are always with us. All of our lifetime, we will hear or know of people in these difficult situations. We will never run out of the opportunity to serve others.
    • Second, to give even a brief relief or comfort to any of these folks will require us to go the extra mile. None of this can be done from our pews or armchairs. That means, that for a lifetime, Jesus wants us to plan enough spare time in our days and weeks that we can use it fruitfully in helping folks such as these.

    Friends, can it be the case that we should not fill our lives with so much that we enjoy and want? Should we, like Job, search out the people around us to whom we can become servants? Would it be better to fill our children’s lives with examples and opportunities for service rather than quite so much recreation, team sports, boys and girls organizations or too much play time?

    Two passages that continually come to my mind as I think about diligence are 1 Cor. 15:58 and Gal. 6:9-10. We are:

    • To be steadfast
    • To always abound
    • In the work of the Lord
    • To not become weary
    • In doing good (as our Lord did)
    • To do good to all men

    So, let’s keep on keeping on.

    Mike Glenn

     

  • Eugene Adkins 6:37 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Acrostic Lesson, bible class teachers, , Characteristics of a Bible Class Teacher, ,   

    An Acrostic Lesson on What Being A Bible Teacher is All About 

    Bible class teachers are an invaluable resource to the church. From young children to adults, a good Bible class has the opportunity to make impressions that often last longer and even go deeper than many sermons due to the nature of the situation. So here’s a little acrostic lesson to encourage those of you who are striving to be good Bible class teachers and something else to consider for those of you who may be thinking about making the effort to teach.

    What Being a Bible Teacher is All About

    “T” stands for time. You cannot be a productive teacher unless you are willing to give your time. Successful teachers spend their time on others. Making time to study and prepare material for class should be a priority.

    “E” stands for energy. No matter the age group being taught, energy should go into the lesson. The best way to get the “potential” energy out of a class is by meeting it head on with some “kinetic” (active) energy.

    “A” stands for ambition. A person must have a self-motivating desire to have a successful class. A student can only get out of a class what a teacher puts into it. Ambitious students start with ambitious teachers.

    “C” stands for care. A teacher must care about their students emotionally and spiritually. When a teacher truly cares about their students and their own responsibilities it can be shown by the above attributes. Actions speak.

    “H” stands for heart. You cannot make someone be a great or successful Bible teacher. Their heart must be in it. Without heart there will be no time, energy, ambition or care for the class. Proper hearts mean proper motives.

    “E” stands for excellence. A successful teacher expects and pushes the students towards excellence. A true teacher desires the growth of the class. What’s a class unless there are expectations? Give the best; expect the best.

    “R” stands for return. A return is what you will get from doing the above. Most importantly, a return is what students will get by watching a good teacher’s characteristics. After all, someone else will have to teach that class one day.

    “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 – NKJV)

    Being a Bible teacher means striving for the spread of the truth one verse and one lesson at a time. Let’s use the time we are given to teach wisely. Someone is depending on you, and someone else will reward you.

    “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” (Matthew 25:23 – NKJV)

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:01 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , long life, , , , , , , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs #8 

    (#8) The Wise Trust God And Improve Their Lives 3:1-12

    Following God’s Wisdom brings out the best qualities in us, as we learn to have total confidence in God’s guidance. Heeding Wisdom will give one:

    Verses 1-2: Longer Life. “My son” is an expression used some 15 times in the first 7 chapters of Proverbs, for it is written as if Solomon is instructing his son. The way to “not forget” law is to “let your heart keep” the commands. This is explained in James 1:21-25 and applied to Christian obedience. Obedience comes from the “heart,” as do all our words (Matthew 12:35-37), sins (Mark 7:21-23), jobs (Ephesians 6:5-8). Blessings promised include “length of days” as in good health, “long life” as in living to old age, and “peace” as assistance to abundance or prosperity. Statistics show that those who regularly go to church live longer.

    Verses 3-4: Better Relations. If “mercy” (feelings for the plight of our fellowmen) and “truth” (factual and accurate knowledge of our, and others’, actions) are written on our heart, we will wear them like jewelry. These two qualities of character are appreciated (“favor and high esteem”) among men and by God. All deep friendships are based upon understanding the friend, and honesty.

    Verses 5-6: Higher Direction. Total trust in God in all our ways is possible because He made us (Genesis 1:26-27), greatly loved us (Ephesians 2:4-7), gave His Son for us (Ephesians 5:1-2). Why should we not believe He wants to help us make the best decisions in our lives? Trust “with all our heart” means we give up our “own understanding” and defer to His direction. It reduces tension to know what to do.

    Verses 7-8: Better Health. To be “wise in your own eyes” is another way of describing “loftiness and arrogance and pride” (Jeremiah 48:29-31), but it takes “fear” (respect, awe) of the LORD, and the desire to “depart from evil” (or leave sinful practices, also known as repentance). By listening to God, we may keep our physical bodies from the dissipation and disease of sins, and live healthier and stronger lives, just as God promised His Israelites (Deuteronomy 15:26). Humility is the way of recognizing realistically our place in this vast world, without hypocrisy.

    Verses 9-10: Better Prosperity.  Thank God first with whatever we prosper, and He will think of us when we prosper. “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). God always has required that giving to Him come before any other consideration, and be freewill (Leviticus 23:37-38).

    Verses 11-12: Better Attitude. A person who wants to be a spiritual “child of God” will accept some things that happen in life as God’s “chastening” (teaching) or “correction” (sometimes hurtful reminders not to stray from the path of good). No parent loves his/her child who will not “correct” (discipline) the child, when needed. These two verses are used to show Christians not to become discouraged at God’s correction, for it proves that God is dealing with them as a child whom He loves (Hebrews 12:3-11).

    All Scriptures and comments are based upon the New King James Version,  unless otherwise noted.

     

  • Ed Boggess 8:14 am on June 18, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Beattitudes,   

    A recent Gallup poll identified Hawaiians as the most cheerful folks in America. Duh! Beautiful sunsets, blue waters, endless beaches, ideal climate; what is there not to like? But you don’t have to live in Honolulu to be happy. I think we folks in Franklin County are a leg up on all the others. But happiness is less about the state you live in as it is about the state between your right and left ear. Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with what we call the Beatitudes. They are a list of nine ways of thinking that will lead to genuine joy and happiness. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek and so forth. The point is a person can depend on outside influences or he can find happiness by right thinking within. This is Just-A-Minute

     

  • TFRStaff 5:04 am on June 18, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    Hugh’s News & Views (Daddy) 

    HUGH’S NEWS & VIEWS

    DADDY

    Daddy was always daddy to me—never dad or pop, and certainly not the formal father. He was only twenty-one years old when I, the oldest of three children, was born. I always remember him as a modest man, somewhat shy, who remained reserved until he got to know the people he was with.

    Daddy obeyed the gospel in October of 1948. I was ten years old at the time and well remember the event. He was baptized in a lake north of town before the evening service of a gospel meeting. When we arrived back at the place of the meeting for the services that evening, Paul Simon the preacher, said, “Brother Fulford, I will call on you to lead our closing prayer this evening.” Two hours or so after his baptism, daddy led his first public prayer! (Note: Churches today who think they have to have a highly organized involvement ministry might take a lesson from this!)

    Daddy loved the Lord, the church, and the Bible. I do not know how many times he read the Bible through, but I know it was many, many times. He loved my mother and his children, and he showed that love in so many ways. He loved good singing, good preaching, and faithful preachers. He enjoyed discussing the Bible with others, especially preachers whom he respected.

    Daddy worked hard all his life and made many sacrifices for his children. He saw to it that neither he nor his family ever suffered deprivation. At two different stages in their lives, mother and daddy raised chickens (in addition to their regular jobs).

    I recall going with daddy to the woods, getting on the other end of a crosscut saw, and cutting wood for the fireplace with which we heated our home in northwest Florida.

    I recall him getting up early and driving me over my morning paper route on rainy days.

    I remember him severely rebuking me for playing the pinball machine at the local bus station. To him I was wasting my time, wasting my paper route money (a nickel a game, as I recall), and worst of all…to him I was gambling! How I talked myself out of a whipping the second time he caught me engaging in that idle, time-wasting activity I will never know!

    Daddy loved corny jokes and good clean fun. One year as the Christmas season approached, he told the Carbine boys (his Florence AL neighbors three boys) that he had heard on the radio that Christmas might be canceled that year. Talk about three crestfallen little fellows! All three of those boys, now successful businessmen in Florence and Nashville (one now deceased), served as pallbearers at daddy’s funeral, and all made nice monetary contributions to various Christian causes in his memory.

    While he knew full well that what he was saying was incorrect, he always referred to bankruptcy as bankruptured. He thought that was a more graphic way of describing the matter. Being a man of modest means and always frugal in his finances, daddy could never understand why people who made a lot of money could be so foolish in money matters as to go backruptured.

    Daddy took pride in his house, yard, and garden. Everything around the house was always neat and clean and in its place. He could not stand weeds, trash, and clutter. He lived by the motto, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” When driving though the countryside, if he saw a piece of property that was not properly cared for he would say it looked like a throwed away place.

    I remember going with him on his preaching appointments to the small country churches in Walton and Holmes Counties in Florida. I remember saying to him on the way to church one Sunday that I would like to preach some Sunday. That day he announced to the congregation that when he returned in two weeks I would deliver the lesson. This was at the PleasantValleyChurch of Christ, south of Ponce de Leon, Florida. I was fourteen years old, perhaps had just turned fifteen, and maybe had made one or two talks at the Liberty Church of Christ in Walton County. But the “sermon” at PleasantValley was among my first feeble, boyish efforts to stand before an audience and present a lesson from the Bible.

    Daddy was not a perfect man; he was human, but I am not conscious of any glaring faults in his life. I never heard him use profanity of any kind, though he had a few slang expressions that he used before he became a Christian. He promptly stopped smoking, cold turkey, when he obeyed the gospel. He often said he could not picture Jesus going around with a cigarette hanging out of His mouth. He was simple in his personal tastes, a little peculiar when it came to his eating, knew nothing of worldly sophistication, but was always a true gentleman.

    Daddy passed from this world to that land that is fairer than day on October 17, 2004, two weeks to the day following his 88th birthday. He had been a Christian for fifty-six years. Precious memories!

    Speaking schedule:

    June 19: Hillcrest Church of Christ, Springfield, TN

    June 26: Wingate Church of Christ, Nashville, TN

    July 3: Dalraida Church of Christ, Montgomery, AL

    Hugh Fulford

    June 18, 2013

     

    • Marjorie Faulkner 8:46 pm on June 18, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Hello, I am a Christian from Australia meeting with the Cleveland church of Christ. I am responsible for our congregational newsletter and am wondering whether you would mind if I included some of the articles which appear in “The Fellowship Room.”?

      • J. Randal Matheny 2:45 am on June 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply

        Hello, Majorie, we’d be honored if you did. If you can, please acknowledge both the author and website URL: fellowshiproom.org. You might also find good material at forthright.net/.

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 18, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , crooked, , , , immoral woman, , perverse things, , , strange woman, ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#7) God’s Wisdom Delivers From Perverse Teachers and Immoral Women 2:10-22

    Verses 10-15: Those who have accepted wisdom, are pleased with knowledge, preserved by discretion (good judgment), kept (protected) by understanding, are prepared to ward off “evil.” “Evil” is described by the four phrases in verses 12-15:  (1) “Perverse” teaching. “Perverse” means “to turn or change a thing from its truthful meaning.” This is designed to misdirect and confuse a right-thinking person. (2) “Leave the paths of righteousness.” These are determined to go their own way. (3) “Walk in the ways of darkness.” Those who hide their sinful deeds either in the dark of night, or in the darkness of ignorance, do not please God.  (4) “Rejoice in doing evil.” Their pleasure is in what is wrong, not what is right. (5) “Delight in the perversity of the wicked.” Not only their own evil deeds, but have pleasure in others who are like them morally. (6) “Crooked,” and “devious” describe them, not “upright” and “truthful.”

    What has been described is why youthful, inexperienced, ignorant, immature children have no business making their own decisions about life without parental guidance and The Word of God! Proverbs 2:10-15 have just described “the wrong crowd” for any good person, and, unfortunately, this “crowd” has descended into “religion,” as the Apostles of Jesus Christ described (1 Timothy 6:3-5; Jude 3-21), and has given it a bad reputation.

    Verses 16-19: Since God created one woman for one man and brought her to that man to complete him, the terms for a married couple has been “the man and his wife” (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6, 9). That said, every woman is “strange” who seeks a sexual relationship with any man who is not her own husband. Sex before or outside of marriage is “fornication,” and sex with anyone already in a marriage relationship with another individual is “adultery” (Hebrews 13:4). The “immoral woman” is one who:

    (1) “Flatters with her words.” This is “oily, slick” speech of a prostitute.

    (2) “Forsakes the companion of her youth.” She carries no learned convictions from her childhood, nor appreciation of men since that time.

    (3) “Forgets the covenant of her God.” She has irreverence for God and His pattern for marriage, and is willing to put this out of her mind altogether.

    (4) “Her house leads down to death.” Disease, affliction, pain and sorrow are inside, not a pleasant future.

    (5) “Her paths to the dead.” All roads lead to her “cemetery.” How can anyone having sex with her say, “Man, that’s living?”

    (6) It’s a one-way street, meaning once she seduces, it plants the seeds of discontent, desire, and destruction in a heart, that seldom can recover. “The paths of life” that are not recovered involve the life of health, happiness, honesty, and heaven. Fornicators and adulterers have violated their bodies and souls (1 Corinthians 6:15-19), and while not impossible, repentance and recovery is very difficult.

    Verses 20-22: Teach the prior judgment of God, and the wise will be warned and advised of conduct to be avoided. God’s Wisdom shows the way of “goodness,” “righteousness” which the “upright” and “blameless” will follow. Rejecting that Wisdom is for the “wicked” that shall be “cut off from the earth,” and the “unfaithful” are to be “uprooted from it.”

     

  • John T. Polk II 11:35 pm on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: "show of humility", , , , , , , Pharisees, , , ,   

    God and “The Pope” Agree! 

              According to the “Living faith” section C of The Huntsville Times, Friday, June 14, 2013, the article on Religion & Church News carried an item titled, “NO, I did not want to be Pope.” It was an interview from McClatchy-Tribune that quoted the 3-month-in-office “Pope” of the Roman Catholic Church, Francis, as saying: “’No, I didn’t want to be pope. A person who wants to be pope does not love himself,’ the pontiff added, in a trademark show of humility.’”  Based upon his comments, God would agree that:

    1. Since “Pope” is a Latin term for “father,” and since Jesus Christ forbade anyone using the term “father” as a term for a spiritual leader (Matthew 23:9), then God would agree that Francis should not be “pope!”

    2. Francis “didn’t want to be pope,” a position which is supposed to be the head of the Roman Catholic Church. But the Apostle Paul claimed that “the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:9-11). Since God’s “mighty power” raised Jesus from the dead and “put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23), then God placed Jesus Christ over His church, not a “pope!” Thus, God would agree that He didn’t want Francis to be “pope” over the church!”

    3. Francis said, “A person who wants to be pope does not love himself.” God’s Word has said that, after “the falling away,” “and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), but whose followers would be “among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10), then Francis must not “love himself” for taking the position of apostasy that God condemns! God would agree that any man who takes such a position “does not love himself” or the truth, either!

    4. Contrary to the article cited above, there is no “trademark show of humility” in anyone who opposes God, sits in God’s temple, or claims to forgive sins which only God can do (Matthew 9:1-8)! Jesus Christ condemned public displays of the Pharisees, which are remarkably like that of a “pope:” “all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues” (Matthew 23:5-6). No “pope” has ever manifested a “trademark show of humility,” while claiming to be equal with God! The real head of the church of Christ, “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). No “pope” has ever humbled himself to die on a cross for the church of Christ! God would agree that there is no “trademark show of humility” in this, or any other “pope.”

    It’s too bad the “pope” refuses to tell his followers what Jesus said would give salvation in Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Will this “pope” agree with God?

     

  • Ed Boggess 10:14 am on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , nondenomination   

    I was visiting the hospital and speaking to a lady who I had just met and introduced myself as a preacher of the Winchester church of Christ. She said, “I know about your denomination but I belong to a different one. I’m a Methodist.” I didn’t try to explain that we are non-denominational. That wasn’t the time or place. But this is a frequent misunderstanding among others regarding the churches of Christ. People see us as a denomination! Why? The general public has a general idea about what makes a church non-denominational: a) it is unaffiliated and independent; b) it is Bible-oriented without a creed or articles of faith or church manual; c) its name is not standard, that is, identifying it as the same wherever you go. Whether this clearly represents what makes a church non-denominational or not, is not the issue. We have to deal with people where they are, not where we think they ought to be! So, are the churches of Christ unaffiliated and independent? The answer is “yes”, if by this we mean that there is no hierarchy that has authority over the local congregation. We have no human headquarters. We don’t answer to the Vatican, Salt Lake City or Nashville! Each church of Christ is autonomous and independent. Each congregation is governed by a board of elders and assisted by deacons and ministers. What about being Bible-oriented? The answer is absolutely “yes”! We have no creed book, no articles of faith and no church manual or some other printed material that defines our beliefs, other than the New Testament itself. However, a creed or manual does not have to be written down. If a denomination’s beliefs are generally known and so rigidly adhered to that anyone who wanders off the beaten path is quickly marked and excluded, though they have no printed creed or manual, they are still perceived by those outside as a denomination. Non-denominational churches are not bound by a creed, written or unwritten, and are thus far more accepting of others who differ. Since there is no official interpretation of the scriptures, there will be various views on the scriptures. This promotes more Bible study and biblical discussion. Furthermore, since a person is not immediately excluded when he offers a different view than the majority, he has time to study and think the matter through. The various beliefs (interpretations) of members are tolerated as examples of the process of growing in knowledge. What about the name churches of Christ? Here is a problem! Church of Christ is pretty standard. We claim that any biblical name is right, but end up using only one! No wonder people see us as a denomination! However, in the world we live in, we must concur with the postal service, utility service, government, etc. Thus, we have accepted this flawed methodology and try to teach people that we are non-denominational in spite of it.

     

    • Michael Summers 2:15 pm on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Some congregations use different names; it sometimes confuses the rest of us. We should focus more, however, on just being the Church that intended. That will help us, I think, to step away from denominating ourselves, as we remember that we’re trying to be the fellowship of believers that Christ redeemed, not just an entry in the telephone book.

  • Ed Boggess 8:30 am on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    What’s going on with Baby-Boomers? Now that they are in their 50’s and 60’s they are divorcing at double the previous rate. Gray divorces make up fully one fourth of all divorces in America. Bowling Green State University professor Susan Brown co-authored a recent report entitled “The Gray Divorce Revolution”. I’m reminded of the story of the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of an elderly couple. The husband whispered in the ear of his hard of hearing wife, “I like it all but the band.” She turned to him and shouted, “I can’t stand you either!” Young or old let us remember that marriage is a lifetime partnership made “till death do us part.” This is Just-A-Minute

     

  • Eugene Adkins 6:33 am on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Matthew 18:6, Millstone, , , Scandal,   

    One of America’s Greatest Scandals 

    It’s a problem that faces all of mankind’s cultures, but in America it seems like an epidemic in particular areas of our culture. I would even dare say it’s one of America’s greatest scandals. What is it? It’s the huge stumbling block of the abandonment of children by their fathers!

    The Bible says in Matthew 18:1-7, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!“

    In verse six the Bible uses a very interesting Greek word, and I almost believe we would be better off if it was transliterated instead of translated. It’s translated as “sin” in the above NKJV, as “offend” in the KJV, as “a cause of trouble” in the BBE and as “to stumble” in the ASV, but if we were to transliterate this interesting Greek word it would be done with the word, “skandalizo.” Can you hear our English word scandal in that?

    In a culture in which there are some who pride themselves in not “needing” a father to raise a child, or having multiple children with multiple women on welfare, or even a “I’ll write a check, but then I’ll write them off” mentality, it’s our children who are bearing the brunt of foolish behavior and thinking. Yes, one of America’s greatest scandals isn’t what’s being done in the single White House – it’s what being done in the millions and millions of American homes every year!

    I also know that every dad isn’t religious, but I do know that every dad has a responsibility regardless of their interest in that responsibility. America has some great dads, and thank God for them, but America has more scandals than what the headlines could cover if they would, for it seems as if in the face of all these “modern families” walking around that we’ve become oblivious to the millstones hanging around our necks.

    And by the way, try looking up the original meaning of scandal…you might be surprised what the word originally meant.

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:01 am on June 17, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#6) God Gives Wisdom to Those Who Listen 2:1-9

    Verses 1-5: The word “if” often is connected by conditions that must be met in order for a “then” to state a blessing or benefit. Since “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), then it is absolutely essential to obtain knowledge. “Fear” here refers to “respect, awe, reverence” of the Lord. Without respect for the One who possesses the knowledge, the student will not learn! To “understand the fear of the Lord,” and “find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5), a person must meet the following conditions:

    Verse 1 – “receive my words;”

    “treasure my commands;”

    Verse 2 – listen to wisdom;

    apply yourself to “understanding;”

    verse 3 – “cry out for discernment;”

    speak out for “understanding.”

    Verse 4 – to “seek” wisdom as one goes after “silver;”

    or “search” for wisdom as one would dig for “buried treasure.”

    Learning is not automatic, nor by osmosis, but comes only by effort and application, just as the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15. Knowledge requires the infusion of God’s Truth, exercising of the mind, and diligent evaluation of action.

    Verses 6-9: “God gives wisdom…” through the following means:

    (1) “From His mouth,” comes “every word” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) which He has written for us to know (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 3:1-2);

    (2) “knowledge,” or accumulation of data from all sources, including the Word of God (Colossians 1:9-10);

    (3) “understanding,” is comprehension of what is learned (Luke 24:44-47; 1 John 5:20).

    God “stores up sound wisdom” for the “upright” who will increase their faith;

    God “is a shield,” or defense for those who “walk uprightly” in obeying the Truth;

    God “guards the paths of justice,” by showing Divine balanced decisions;

    God “preserves the way of His saints,” which is following Christ (Acts 18:25-26; 24:14).

    “Then,” and only then, can a person “understand,” or fully grasp:

    “righteousness,” or the upright way; “justice,” or honesty with God’s Law; “equity,” or evenness of application to all; “every good path,” which always leads to the right thing to do or say. This list in 2:9 may be close to the “weightier matters” in God’s Law, addressed by Jesus Christ (Matthew 23:23).

    Thought: “A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” Proverbs 1:5.

     

  • Michael Summers 11:18 pm on June 15, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    How Well Do We Listen (Especially When We Are Paid Talkers)? 

    Decades ago (never mind how many), I took a vacation from the congregation where I preached to visit relatives in the Midwest. On Sunday morning, as is my custom, I worshiped with the saints, assembling with the congregation where my father’s sister went. After the service, my aunt paid me a most unexpected, and at the time confusing, compliment. This daughter of an elder and sister of a preacher observed, “You listen to other preachers’ sermons better than any preacher I ever saw.” As I said, this confused me, for I knew my weaknesses as a listener well. Yet it also troubled me and provoked the question with which I entitled this entry. How well do we listen when we hear others preach, when we read blogs, when we sit as students in Bible classes that we might teach better (emphasis on might)? It is difficult to hear when one is accustomed to being the authority. David experienced this phenomenon when the prophet Nathan confronted him with the implications of his adultery and murder.(2 Samuel 12:1-14). Peter the Rock must have struggled within when Paul the former persecutor challenged his unethical behavior in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14). Why do we find it hard to listen? Perhaps after-service plans or on-going problems distract us. We may have preconceived notions about the speaker and assume (because he has too little education or too much, because he stutters, because he uses a different Bible translation or writes for the wrong magazine) that he has nothing to say to me. We may assume that our role is to judge the competence and soundness of the speaker, not to learn from the message. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews reminded his readers that God’s word cuts to the heart. When Christ stood at the door and knocked (Revelation 3:19,20), he asked for Christians to respond. When I manage to overcome competition for my attention and listen to preaching half as well as my aunt thought I did, I do so because I realize that I too need the nourishment of the Word. When a speaker’s words offend me or I question his interpretation, I pause to consider whether it is his error or my sin that causes my negative reaction. I try, no matter how much experience or education I have attained, to remain a student of God’s word. I try to hear God’s Word when it is proclaimed, for I need it. How well do we listen? May we learn to listen better so that we may learn to teach better.

     

  • TFRStaff 3:41 pm on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: church model, divine pattern,   

    Hugh’s News & Views (The Pattern Principle) 

    Hugh’s news & Views

    THE PATTERN PRINCIPLE

    God is a God of patterns. In the dawn of time He created a man and a womanAdam and Eveand joined them in holy wedlock, establishing a pattern that forever thereafter was to be followed by all who would choose to marry. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Thousands of years later, when the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus with a question about marriage, He responded by calling them back to God’s original plan for marriage, showing that it not been altered or annulled, and also showing that He was an advocate of the restoration principle, the principle that says that wherein people have departed from God’s will in any matter, they need to return to it (Matthew 19:1-9).

    God likewise had a pattern of conduct for Adam to follow in the Garden of Eden. Adam was to “tend (dress) and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). He and Eve were permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree in the Garden except the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (verses 16-17). Punishment would come with violation of that pattern of conduct, and when Adam and Eve violated the pattern punishment came (Genesis 3:1-24). If we could interview Adam and Eve and ask them if God had a pattern for them to follow, what do you suppose they would say?

    Hundreds of years pass and the wickedness of man became great. God resolved to destroy the world with a flood. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). God gave Noah a very specific pattern for the construction of an ark by which he and his family could be saved (verses 14-21). Noah followed the pattern. “Thus Noah did: according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (verse 22). The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews looked back to this event and commended Noah’s great faith in doing precisely as God had instructed him to do (Hebrews 11:7). If we could interview Noah and ask him if God had a pattern, what would he say?

    More time passes and God speaks to Moses about building the tabernacle. The details of it and its furnishing are given to the point of minutia in Exodus 25:1-31:11. God said to Moses, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain” (Exodus 25:41). And, once more, the inspired writer of Hebrews endorsed this Old Testament event and indicated that it has relevance to the age in which Christians live. “For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5b). If we could interview Moses what do we think he would tell us about God being concerned with patterns?

    When we come to the New Testament, we read of Jesus’ promise to build His church (Matthew 16:13-19). Christ’s church is God’s spiritual temple, comprised of living stones (Ephesians 2:19-22; I Peter 2:4-5). It is God’s house (household; family) over which Christ rules as head (I Timothy 3:15). As Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, so Christ is a Son over His own house, “whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:5-6). If the inferior physical house (the tabernacle) was built according to divine pattern, how much more the superior spiritual house of Christ, the church!

    To be saved from sin and incorporated into the church, one must obey from the heart that “form” of doctrine to which he/she has been delivered (Romans 6:16-18). “Form” is from tupos and means “the representation or pattern of anything” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). Make no mistake about it: God has a divine pattern to which every person must conform who would receive the forgiveness of sins!

    The New Testament sets forth a pattern for acceptable worship (John 4:24; Acts 2:42) and for the kind of life a Christian is to live (Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14). The young preacher Timothy was urged to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (II Timothy 1:13), and Titus was instructed to show himself “a pattern of good works” (Titus 2:7).

    Man desperately needs a divine pattern of conduct. “It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). The world by its own wisdom does not know God (I Corinthians 1:21). Thus, an inspired revelation from God to guide mankind is needed and has been graciously provided in the Bible (I Corinthians 2:8-16).

    Arrogant man can deny that God has a pattern. Self-willed preachers, puffed up by their own human wisdom, can denigrate what they are loath to call “patternism” or “pattern theology.” But God’s divine pattern for man’s salvation (both here and hereafter) stands unchanged!

    Hugh Fulford

    June 11, 2013

     

    • Ron McElyea 9:04 am on June 15, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Very well stated. It’s always amazing that God knows what we need, when we need it and how we can obtain it, if only we will hear and accept His will. Thank you for your thoughts.

  • Eugene Adkins 6:18 am on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , is being good enough to make it to heaven, obedience to the gospel, , ,   

    Good Article About “Good People in all Churches?” 

    Here’s a short article that’s well put when it comes to the topic of distinguishing between “good people” and being saved. It could ruffle some feathers but if it’s used to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)…well, I guess it’d still ruffle some feathers. The article came from the church in Wise, Virginia.

    “Good People in all Churches?”

    The statement that “there are good people in all churches” is usually made as a defense of the existence of the many different conflicting denominations. Certainly there are good people in all the churches. There are good people OUT of churches. There are good people who are infidels. But the question is not are they good, but are they saved people?

    It is good to be good but it is not good enough. One cannot save himself by just being good. He must obey the gospel of Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) to be saved. Cornelius was a good man but he was a lost man! (Acts 10:1-6; 11:14). The good people in human churches are lost people, not because they are not good moral people, but because they have not obeyed the gospel of God. This is why we appeal to good people to leave their human churches and obey the gospel. There is no other hope for these good people. – Earl Fly

    Related Article:

     

    • Loy Pressley 6:57 am on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Good article!!! If the Lord is willing, it will be in our bulletin this coming Lord’s Day. Thank you!!!

      • Eugene Adkins 7:15 am on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply

        Glad you found it useful, Loy. It’s in our bulletin for this coming week too.

    • Scott Shifferd Jr. 1:40 pm on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Good words. He is right.

      People who are truly good and are seeking Christ will find Him (Acts 17:26-27, Matt. 7:7). That is the pattern throughout the New Testament.

    • J. Randal Matheny 5:31 pm on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Well put and succinctly.

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 14, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , complacency, , , , , scorner, , willful ignorance,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#5) Listen to Wisdom everywhere 1:20-33

    Verses 20-21: The word “wisdom” is actually plural, “wisdoms,” but is personified as if a single individual. The Creator, “God,” is also in plural form, but with singular verbs, is spoken of as an individual (Genesis 1:1, 26-27). This may help explain Ephesians 3:10 which says “now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” God’s wisdom is obvious as if it was “shouted” in public places.

    Verses 22-23: “Simple ones” are those who have been duped and deceived into sin, because they have not listened to wise advice. It is the attitude of sinners, some of whom attack wisdom with ignorance and ridicule (“scorners”), some refuse to be corrected (“fools”), throughout the Book of Proverbs. The only way for “sinners/scorners/fools” to be rescued is for them to “turn,” or repent and accept God’s wisdom. This is the theme of the entire Bible, for God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Wisdom’s “spirit” (influence or education) will be poured into the gaps of a person’s knowledge by the “words” (revealed through miraculously-inspired writers in the Word of God, Ephesians 3:1-7) “known to you.”

    Verses 24-25: This is willful ignorance because: the call is refused, the offered hand is snubbed, the counsel ridiculed, the rebuke is rejected.

    Verses 26-27: When the terrible consequences of ignorance, which produce fear and terror, occur, Wisdom will offer rejection in return!

    Verses 28-31: Fools who answered Wisdom’s cry with silence, then face consequences of their decisions, Wisdom will answer back with silence! In the absence of Wisdom, people will suffer consequences of their own decisions, and this is God’s rule for life, for Jesus said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (Matthew 15:13-14). Sinners, who are punished by their own actions, have no one to blame but themselves! Those who survive their self-induced catastrophes, frequently learn to turn to Wisdom in their future.

    Verses 32-33: The Rule of Wisdom is clearly stated in these verses. Jesus will apply this Rule on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 7:21-27).

    Thought: In a crumbling society, “the complacency of fools” becomes a damning phrase to all who continue to vote, teach, approve, accept, or allow what has been done to continue to be done!

     

  • TFRStaff 4:51 pm on June 13, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Commands That Require Diligence In Changing 

    by Mike Glenn

    The text found in Ephesians 4:20-32 is intended by Paul to be a brief synopsis of the changes that must be made when one becomes a Christian. You and I know that change is hard. Leaving sin behind is very hard. Growing in the right actions and attitudes is hard. To do any of this, we must “keep on keeping on” in our pursuit of diligence.

    ·V. 22: We are to put change our former conduct. If you think that is not hard, ask someone who struggles to lose weight or someone who tries to quit tobacco or alcohol. Watch someone strive to go from being lazy to being industrious or someone who cusses constantly to strive to become pure of speech. How about realizing the difficulty of a person who dislikes reading and study to become a diligent student of the Bible. To accomplish any of these requires consistent diligence (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

    ·V. 22-23: We make these changes with a diligent effort to change our thinking. We must stop being deceived by lusts which tell us to fulfill them, which scream that we must be satisfied in their accomplishment. On the contrary, our minds must see these desires as nails in the coffin of hell. Our “renewed mind” must recognize their danger and turn intentionally and surely away toward the practice of Christ-like attitudes and actions (Gal. 5:23-24; 2 Pet. 1:5-7; Matt 5:3-12. In our hearts, sin must become exceedingly sinful (Rom. 7:13) so that our minds win the battle against the law of sin (Rom. 7:21-8:2).

    ·V. 25-31: Honesty must replace lying, love and forgiveness must replace angry retaliation or grudge holding, industry and benevolence is to replace selfish thievery, favorable edifying speech is to replace gossip, slander, backbiting and filthy speech.

    Each of these and many other commands of our Savior require planning, concentration, and follow through. In other words we must keep on keeping on.

     

  • TFRStaff 4:17 pm on June 13, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: beware,   

    Beware of dogs … and people! 

    A new lesson by this title has been added to the Old Paths Archive in English and Dutch, in text and audio:


    http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/056-beware.html


    http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/056-oppassen.html

    Many dangers threaten us, the greatest of which are spiritual.

    May the Lord bless you.
    Roy Davison

     

  • Ron Thomas 8:00 am on June 13, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    A Word To The Wise 

    “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30, NKJV). Think about the method (or methods) used in evangelism. Now compare that method with what we read in this proverb. The best method in evangelism is to live the righteous life of Christ, then tell others who inquire concerning it (1 Peter 1:13-16; 3:15). It may be that methods are useful and helpful, but a better method than this can’t be improved upon. RT

     

  • Eugene Adkins 6:29 am on June 13, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Overcoming Setbacks, , Taking blessings for granted, ,   

    To those who persevere, well done! 

    “Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.” (2 Samuel 21:20)

    I sure could use an extra finger this morning, an extra thumb really. I cut the thumb on my right hand yesterday pretty good. My thumb is still there, but it’s not doing much!

    Have you ever tried to type without using your thumb? Or use a mouse? It doesn’t come very naturally when you’re already used to having it there. There are so many “little” blessings that we can and do take for granted.

    I have often felt great admiration for those who persevere through struggles that people with two functioning hands, arms, legs and feet rarely think twice about. I see the great things that they have accomplished in spite of their set-backs and I think about how hard for them it must have been to kick the word “quit” out of their vocabulary. Yet they did. And they’re striving because of it!

    In a similar vein, I think about those who are striving to live a Christian life in less than favorable circumstances yet there they are, still hanging in there by God’s grace and perseverance. Every day is a new day in their eyes because this is the day that the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24). And although they carry burdens that I do not, they still manage to allow the yoke of Jesus to carry their burdens to Calvary where they stay (Matthew 11:28-30).

    So to those of you who persevere in ways that make “ordinary life” look elementary, well done!

    “God will repay everyone based on their works. On the one hand, he will give eternal life to those who look for glory, honor, and immortality based on their patient good work.” (Romans 2:6-7 – CEB)

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 13, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , gangs, , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#4) Listen to Your Parents, not a “Gang!” 1:8-19

    Verses 8-9: The father, whose work may occupy much time, gives “instruction,” while the mother, whose work principally should be family, gives “law.” The assumption here is that both have spiritually agreed to enforce God’s law as best they might, therefore they are not in conflict with each other, nor undermine the other’s authority with the children. This formula is clearly upheld in the Law of Christ (Ephesians 6:1-4). “Human fathers” also chasten us (Hebrews 12:9) and enforce the discipline of teaching. Societies that encourage, sanction, or teach children to ignore and disrespect their parents or to rebel against them, will not long survive. “Single parenting” is not the best way to raise a child. God has planned for both a “father” and a “mother” to be required, and included, in a child’s proper instruction. The highest percentage of poverty in America is found in single-parent homes, mostly where the mother is the single parent! Properly teaching a child is like fine jewelry.

    Verse 10: No one may be misled into sin without consent. Children are “in the wrong crowd” when they haven’t been shown how to recognize “the wrong crowd,” or to refuse to go along with “the wrong crowd,” or taught to conform and give consent to “the wrong crowd.” Parents who let their children be led by peers instead of by rightful parental advice have abdicated their duty and will be held accountable for it. “Sinners” refers to the willfully disobedient, not an occasional sin.

    Verses 11-14: “The wrong crowd” will propose: (vss. 11-12) anything up to the point of murder to gain their advantage; (vs. 13) stealing anything and everything; (vs.14) becoming an equal partner in all matters. There is no clearer description of “gangs,” “brotherhoods,” “mobs,” “cliques,” “unions,” or any other group devoted to violence. It is truly foolish ignorance to join such power associations, and must surely be referred to by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

    Verses 15-19: Such groups are to be avoided by not taking the first step with them (v. 15); for they are always in a hurry to do their evil (v. 16) and ignore the open net of judgment awaiting them (v. 17); the wicked openly seek blood with no prompting (v. 18); those “greedy for gain” (covetous) are so involved in pursuing “gain” they lose their own lives, and others’ lives, if necessary!

     

  • Ed Boggess 8:02 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    It happened in March (2013). 24-yr-old Dianna Hanson was mauled to death by a lion at a wild-life sanctuary in Fresno County, CA. Hanson’s dream job was to work with the big cats. She was interning at the time. Evidently she failed to realize the risk involved. But if the truth be known wild animals from a goose to a lion are just that, wild, and their behavior is unpredictable. It is no wonder that the apostle Peter warned, “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Hanson paid for her negligence with her life, others will pay with eternity! This is Just-A-Minute

     

  • Ron Thomas 8:00 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Significant Sayings in Jeremiah 

    Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. (20:9) Jeremiah had to contend with his aching heart on a daily basis – and it was no easy matter. He was tired of the people’s response to him speaking the Lord’s will; he determined to do so no more. He could not suppress the Lord’s word, however. His heart was burning within because he knew what was right, and he had a stronger determination to pursue that course than the one pursued by those around him. It is that way with us also many times. We tire of the way people respond to us as live for Christ. To help us get through these disagreeable times, let us consider the alternative. Jeremiah did, and we need to also. RT

     

  • TFRStaff 7:45 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Christian books   

    Charles Pledge’s books 

    From preacher Bill Williams:

    I want to recommend this site to all my friends. It is an excellent resource for good Bible material. I recommend it without reservations. I have known Charles Pledge for more than forty years. He was one of my instructors in school. Please visit the site and encourage others to do so as well. http://www.booksaready.com

     

    • Morris Monkus 10:01 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Good Morning:
      I would really love to join this website. I have been operating computers for 10 plus years and am fairly good at it. I have tried for 15 minutes to register on that site and there is one thing or another wrong each time.

      • J. Randal Matheny 10:03 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply

        We ran into problems also. I’d try the link on the author’s FB account and let him know that the process is problematic.

  • Eugene Adkins 6:37 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Prayer Principles, Questions About Prayer, Spiritual Questions, The will of God,   

    A Thought About Prayer for the Fellows, Fellas and Guests 

    Here’s a thought about prayer that I thought some of you might be interested in commenting on. It comes from an outline I put together for a VBS class on Bible study and prayer.

    “The single goal of prayer isn’t to gain God’s favor or God’s attention – it’s to gain the involvement of God’s will in our life and our life in the will of God.”

    There’s much more to it than what may appear on the surface.

    I’m not saying that prayer shouldn’t be used to ask for necessities or to cry out to God through emotional despair or even thanksgiving. I’m saying this in light of the beginning words of Jesus’ model prayer (your will be done on earth…Matthew 6:10) and Jesus’ comments on the Father already being aware of our needs (Matthew 6:8).

    We have the attention of God (think John 3:16 for a moment), but the question is, “Does God have our attention when it comes to His will?”

    To have our life involved in the will of God and to have the will of God involved in our life should be the primary goal of prayer, should it not? What do you think?

    “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 - NKJV)

    “You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.” (James 4:3 - BBE)

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 12, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#3) The Goal of Wisdom and the Means to the Goal 1:5-7:

    5 “A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel”

    Any class of humanity that refuses to “hear” and “attain” to “increase learning” and “wise counsel” is a class of fools. Sad, indeed, that exploiting the “simplicity” and ignorance of children and teenagers has become an art form (government education, Rock and Rap music, VH1, MTV, Sesame Street, drug abuse, rebellion against marriage and family, abortion, ad nauseum). There will be proverbs to discuss these matters further, but for now, the warning should be heeded.

    6 “To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.”

    A “proverb” is a dominant meaning revealed, an “enigma” is a puzzle to be solved, a “riddle” was a dark saying, sometimes obscure. The queen of Sheba “came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions” (2 Chronicles 9:1). Samson proposed a “riddle,” or dark saying (Judges 14:12-18), to which only he knew the solution. “Proverbs” give explanations to matters which might otherwise remain unknown or unnoticed.

    7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

    This is the central theme throughout this Book, and all the rest of the Word of God! Since “fear” refers to respect and honor, ALL KNOWLEDGE comes from God, and without “the fear of the LORD” there will be no knowledge! All professors, teachers, schools, or subjects that exclude God are total failures at teaching “knowledge.” All people who dishonor God will show their ignorance in many ways. There are some 17 passages in the Book of Proverbs that specifically attach advantages  to “fear of the LORD,” and the wise will notice, but fools will not!

     

  • Stephen R. Bradd 2:09 pm on June 11, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    (19) GOD’S BLESSINGS ARE OFTEN TESTS. 

    19. GOD’S BLESSINGS ARE OFTEN TESTS.
    Here is a second lesson from Exodus 16:4.
    The manna that God provided six days a week was both a blessing and a test. Would the Israelites obey in only gathering what they needed each day (except on Friday), and would they obey in not going out to gather anything on Saturday? Some did not obey; they failed the tests. What about us? Will we use the blessings He bestows in harmony with His will or will we use them disobediently? Money, for example, can be a great blessing, enabling one to give and do good works to God’s glory (cf. Eph. 4:28; I Tim. 6:17-19), but this is only the case if we are its master. If we allow money to possess us, so to speak, the blessing will turn into a curse (cf. I Tim. 6:10).

     

  • Ron Thomas 8:00 am on June 11, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , credible, defendent, ,   

    Tested and Verified 

    I am in a current discussion with a man with regard to God’s existence. Currently, the nature of our discussion is on the credibility of the biblical source in its declaration that God exists. Is the Bible a credible source document for determining God’s existence? The answer is yes.

    Consider the following points in a trial scenario: 1) Every defendant in a trail has the occasion to defend self, 2) The defendant is allowed to submit evidence to support the claim maintained; this evidence can then be checked and/or tested, 3) The witnesses for the defendant are allowed to step up and verify the claim of the accused; again, this can be checked for reliability, 4) This material is submitted to the jury for verdict.

    The Bible has each of these points in its favor. God exists. Those who lived during the time (era) of those described are allowed to present their evidence for that which they claimed (God exists); this can be tested or verified. If that claim can be verified, then the evidence is in favor of the accused. The evidence is then collected, accumulated, and used in the verdict to be rendered. Jesus, as a historical person, claimed the existence of God and that He came from God. That He lived as a historical person only a fool would deny. How will you handle the evidence (cf. John 20:30-31)? RT

     

  • Eugene Adkins 7:18 am on June 11, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Division Within the Body of Christ, Errors of Denominationalism, , The Errors of Division Within the Church, Unity of the Spirit   

    Denominations are not to be Celebrated 

    I know it goes contrary to what many are taught within denominationalism, but the truth of the matter is that denominationalism damages the gospel – it does not promote it (John 17:20-21).

    When you get down to the root of the issue many people in the denominational world know that division is wrong; that’s why they have “interfaith” meetings. But what they fail to understand is that the unity of the Spirit is meant to come before the spirit of unity so the bond of peace is based upon the joining power of God and not man (Ephesians 4:3).

    I can appreciate the fact that many in the religious world are starting to see that division shouldn’t be so. I can appreciate the fact that many are beginning to understand that Christ wasn’t divided and those who profess to follow Him should walk according to this same measure (1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Philippians 3:16). But I cannot appreciate the fact that there are still those within denominationalism who celebrate denominationalism. There is not one single verse in all the New Testament that encourages or extols the so-called benefits of any spiritual division within the body of Christ outside of the correction of sinful living and heretical teaching (1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Titus 3:10-11). The lengths to which some go to justify their divisive teaching, divisive order and divisive influence reveals just how short-sighted their respect is for the unifying word of God.

    At the end of the day setting aside the traditions of men and women for the commandments of God should be one of the many important goals that the church should have. Such was possible in the first century and such could be possible in the twenty-first century if we would only celebrate the right kind of unity that leads to true growth for the kingdom of God and stop celebrating the wrong kind of division that hinders it (Ephesians 4:13-16).

    “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.“ (Acts 2:42)

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 11, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#2) Five Ways A Proverb Helps 1:1-4:

    Just as Jesus explained why He spoke in parables (Matthew 13:10-17), Solomon begins in Proverbs 1:1-4 by explaining why “proverbs” should be understood:

    1. “To know wisdom and instruction”

    God wants us “to know,” that is, to have confidence in helpful information we gain. Certainty is a confidence ignored, minimized, or ridiculed by many in the “Education Profession,” because if pupils are uncertain of what they learn, they’ll keep hiring the “professionals.” But, what makes the “professionals” certain of anything? Teachers of false things emphasize that pupils must be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:6-7). By contrast, however, there is certainty in God’s Word, for He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “Wisdom” may be defined as “learned lessons” which are gained by experience and/or study, either or both of which are easier when God interprets it. “Instruction” refers to the “discipline of teaching” or the “how to” manual. All three of these mean someone whose life follows God’s insight by obeying His instructions, will have certainty in the outcome!

    2. “To perceive the words of understanding”

    Perception is a clear vision of the words of understanding. “Understanding” is horse sense or common sense. Though often missing, it is obvious when it is! Duh!

    3. “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity”

    These first three are how wisdom is obtained: “know,” “perceive,” “receive.” When a teacher gives out proper information, good pupils accept it. Since no one can live long enough to experience everything, “wisdom” is learned either by one’s own experiences, or someone else’s. God’s insight into human behavior cannot be excelled, for it is absolutely accurate. “Justice” is what is right; “judgment” is awareness of responsibility for action(s); “equity” is evenness or consistency.

    4. “To give prudence to the simple”

    “Prudence” is the use of good judgment. “Simple,” once a virtue meaning “honest, without complexity,” in this Book, carries the idea of one who refuses to complicate life with any advice or instruction from God or man! “Simple,” “scorner,” “fool” are interchangeable in the Book of Proverbs (1:22). The “simple” refuse to look ahead with foresight, or judgment based upon consequences.

    5. “To the young man knowledge and discretion”

    “The young man” signifies inexperience, one subject to learning the hard way. “Knowledge” is beneficial information acquired by observation and study. “Discretion” is respect for what is appropriate, or the modesty of good judgment.

     

  • Ed Boggess 8:40 am on June 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    In the last election, Derby, Connecticut John R. Butler was running for a pace on the Board of Appointment and Taxation. However, due to a mistake, John J. Butler, his son’s name, was placed on the ballot. John J. had no interest in the office, never campaigned, yet because of the snafu, he was elected and reluctantly became a member of the board. Everyone makes mistakes. Most are minor slips or flubs. But as John J. and John R. learned, sometimes even minor mistakes can cause major problems. I’ve made some big mistakes in my life and lots of minor ones. But I glory in the truth that no matter what a mess I have made of things, if I will truly turn and seek God’s forgiveness, there is grace and love to be found.

     

  • Ron Thomas 8:00 am on June 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , pure church, , wilma cain   

    Wilma Cain’s Sermon 

    The other day I was sitting in front of the box-fan cooling down after exercising. As I was sitting I looked up at the table (in the Cain Room) and took down the Bible beside the bed, opened it up, and look at the inside front cover. Inside the front cover were notes Wilma Cain made concerning what makes a pure church. Let me share those with you.

    1. Let every member be consecrated to God—1 Peter 2:9-10

    2. Let every disciple separate from all sin—2 Timothy 2:19

    3. Let every evangelist condemn sin wherever found—2 Timothy 4:1-2

    4. Let elders exercise discipline against all who sin—2 Thessalonians 3:6

    5. Let every congregation correct all wrongs—1 Corinthians 5:7

    6. Let all study to gain better understanding of the Word—Ephesians 4:17-18

    7. Let Christians remember that all sin is excluded from heaven—Revelation 22:15

    8. [The] Bible contains all things desirable for man—Abe Lincoln.

    I do not know how old the writing is inside the front cover of the Bible is, but I do know the date that Bert (her husband) gave her this particular Bible (12.25.1943).

    Many of you remember Wilma for the great lady she was (in my biased opinion), and it was the case that every now and again she would give me her opinion on some varied thing—even when I did not ask! If she lived in accordance with the words above—and there is no reason to think she did not—then she would have made a great contribution to the Lord’s church, and the sermon (or Bible class) from which she learned this is a good sermon for her to preach to us today. RT

     

  • Eugene Adkins 7:34 am on June 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    I’m Grateful for God’s Faithfulness 

    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

    All I can say is that I’m grateful that the faithfulness of God can overcome the faithfulmess that we can create.

     

  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on June 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Studies in the Book of Proverbs 

    (#1) What are “Proverbs?”

    “Proverbs” (Hebrew “mashal”) which means “dominant meaning,” but which may not be obvious unless it is pointed out. The New Testament word “parable” means “cast alongside” so that a fact of life helps illustrate a spiritual truth. The English word “proverb” (John 10:6; 16:25) carries the sense of “original, deeper meaning.”  The first time the word occurs (Numbers 21:27), the first proverb made (I Samuel 10:12), the first proverb of experience quoted (1 Samuel 24:13), all speak of observation(s) of life.

    Jesus Christ is known for teaching in “parables” (Matthew 13:3-53), which are true statements of life that illustrate a spiritual truth from God. Parables needed an explanation “because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). In Matthew 7:21-27, Jesus divided the human race between those who hear and obey (“wise”), and those who do not (“fools”). “Proverbs” are true statements of human behavior that are explained by the God Who made us. Solomon divided the human race between those who hear and understand (“wise”), and those who do not (“fools”).

    Though Solomon “spoke three thousand proverbs” (1 Kings 4:32), those that have been written down are in Proverbs 1:1-29:27; Ecclesiastes; and Song of Solomon. Of about 915 proverbs, Solomon wrote about 800, many in the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; 25:1). In 1 Kings 3:5-15, Solomon had asked God for “an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (verse 9), which God granted (verse 12), and that made Solomon the wisest man in the history of mankind, until Jesus Christ, “a greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

     

  • James M. 3:34 am on June 8, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    What Christians do 

    This is probably the first QBT tweet that didn’t confine itself to the 140-character limit. Has it outgrown the medium?

    Instead of alliteration, how about rhyming verbs in this series of five?

    If this were a class or sermon outline, how would you flesh out the points?

     

  • Eugene Adkins 8:39 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Biblical Scholars, , , , , ,   

    How Much Plainer Does It Have To Be??? 

    I just finished reading an article by some supposed “professors” of “history” and “religious studies” (which I’ve noticed is a world of a difference from actual Biblical knowledge even though they call themselves “academic biblical scholars”) that actually contends that the Bible doesn’t say marriage is only between one man and one woman but that multiple forms of marriage are actually acceptable according to biblical teaching.

    Does “Professing to be wise, they became fools,” (Romans 1:22) ring a bell to anyone but me?

    In their futile attempt to promote the homosexual agenda they revealed (I almost spelled reviled) their contempt for anything that the Bible plainly contradicts when it comes to the sins of past, present and future cultures and societies.

    The supposed “proof” of their claim rests upon the fact that individuals such as Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon had multiple wives. Oh how I wish these wolves in sheep’s clothing critics of the Bible would recognize the difference between the Bible’s record of something and God’s approval of whatever is recorded! David murdered people, but that doesn’t mean it was approved of by God!

    If that weren’t enough, the supposed and self-professed ”professors of the Bible” go on to completely ignore the point made by Jesus in Matthew 19:1-10. In the middle of a discussion about marriage and divorce Jesus brings the discussion back to the beginning of the marriage covenant when there was – wait for it – only one man and one woman who were meant to become one flesh! Not two men and one woman, not two women and one man and not three, four or twelve fleshes! There’s no way around it other than to stick your finger in your ears and yell la la la la. A biblical marriage is meant to be between only one man and one woman.

    Entering into marriage is not a command that every man and woman has to follow, but a lawful marriage in the sight of God cannot be entered into without following the commands of God which makes marriage today exactly what it was meant to be from the beginning!

    A person can call the Bible ancient all they want to, ironically it’s not anything new, but this ancient book still contains all the answers for today’s problems and it also contains the words by which every single and married person alike will be judged by regardless of what our modern-day ethical and moral “standards” think about it.

    How much plainer does it have to be. There are none so blind as those who will not see still rings sadly true.

    “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-5)

     

  • Richard Mansel 6:59 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , surveillance   

    Americans are under Surveillance 

    surveillance11

    America is buzzing over all the announcement that our government is spying on all of us under the guise of fighting terrorism. But that is little consolation to millions of Americans who have always feared this moment.

    Anyone who has read George Orwell’s terrifying novel, “1984″ has expected this to happen. However, that doesn’t make it any less chilling.

    The main focus of this post is simple. For now, they are mining our data to look for terrorists. How long before this is used against Christians?

    The government is already engaged as a propaganda machine for the promotion of homosexuality. Activists want to silence everyone who speaks against homosexuality and, if possible, send them to jail.

    How long before the government realizes that the full-scale surveillance of Americans allows them to make that happen?

    We live in frightening times. For decades, we have been asking when persecution will come to our shores. Well, that is no longer an academic question.

     

     

  • Michael Summers 4:49 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: defending the faith, ,   

    Capturing the Connection between Singing, Prayer, and Faith 

    Numerous songs that we sing in our worship teach, praise, or pray. When we sing these songs in worship, we teach one another, we praise God, or we pray together. When we sing songs repeatedly over time, we ingrain their lyrics and their tunes into our minds. Perhaps unconsciously, we assimilate the thoughts in the songs into our beliefs. The Piedmont Road Church of Christ is conducting a sermon series this summers in which speakers discuss the scripture behind the songs that we sing with each speaker focusing on one hymn. When I visited on June 5th, Jody Apple focused on the positive biblical messages found in the hymn “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy.” Such focus adds to the understanding of our faith. Practices like this sermon series or congregational singing workshops (or classes) build awareness of why and how we sing in worship assemblies. In this time when many are challenging the way that we sing, teaching these ways builds a bulwark of comprehension that can resist false teaching.

     

    • J. Randal Matheny 6:00 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      You’re right that giving thoughtful attention to our singing will help us to value it more and appreciate the gift that we have in the congregational voice.

  • John Henson 1:38 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Will God Praise Me? 

    One of the reasons why Facebook and other social media can be so valuable is that my brothers in Christ often give me such great ideas there.

     One afternoon, I was working on a sermon using 1 Corinthians 4:5 as a text. The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

    Bro. Jimmy Wren Sr. read the verse and offered me a thought that enriched my study so much. He wrote, “A question: What if God praises you the same way you praise Him?”

    My brother is so right, and gave me a powerful thought. What if, at the judgment seat of Christ, God praises me the same way I praised him while I was on this earth? Would there be effusive praise, or silence? Would I see my tears of happiness and thanksgiving because of my praises to God, or would I see my indifference and my neglect?

    What will you hear? Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad,” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV). What will I hear from God on that day?

    What about you? 

     

    • J. Randal Matheny 1:40 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      A powerful thought. And a powerful means of communication, social media. Thanks for the reminder.

    • J. Randal Matheny 1:59 pm on June 7, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Reblogged this on Gospel Progress Mission Group and commented:
      John H. sees value in social media from insight received after posting sermon text. His thoughts on praise of and from God merit attention in terms of the church’s mission.

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