Updates from April, 2010 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Daniel Haynes 6:22 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Bible Reading – Acts 28 

    Paul on Malta (28:1-10). The shipwreck victims safely reached the island of Malta, and after Paul survived the bite of a viper, the islanders thought of him as a god. Then Paul healed the chief official’s father, and many of the people came to him and were healed.

    Paul Finally Reaches Rome (28:11-16). After three months on Malta, they finally sailed for Rome. When they arrived, the believers welcomed them and Paul was allowed to live under house arrest.

    Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome (28:17-31). After three days, Paul met with the local Jewish leaders and explained how his teaching lead to false accusations, which eventually forced him to appeal to Caesar. As he tried to convince the assembly that Jesus is the promised Messiah, some were convinced, but others refused to believe. Nevertheless, Paul lived in his own rented quarters for two whole years proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction.

    Practical Lessons: (1) God keeps his promises – Paul made it to Rome (cf. 27:24). (2) Some believe in the testimony of Christ, but others refuse to believe.

     

  • Troy Spradlin 3:08 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Culture Shock Chronicles 

    Journal Entry #38 – Street corner evangelism. I remember this is what got me excited about working in the mission field. The first time I ever came to Paraguay, we went around the city passing out flyers to advertise our upcoming VBS. I was amazed at how many people were so interested in what we were handing out and how open they were to talk about religious matters. (Much different than most of my experiences in the USA). Now, three years later, here I am again, standing on a street corner passing out invitations for free Bible studies. Most people thanked me for the invitation, others just smiled, but everyone took a flyer that I was able to get to! My work is to sow the seed, God will provide the increase. We have already had a few inquiries, so I am greatly encouraged. It sure warms my heart when I see people so interested in the Gospel message!

     

  • Richard Mansel 2:04 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    What if Jesus Were on Facebook? 

    Would we change the way we conduct ourselves if Jesus was one of our Facebook friends? Don Blackwell’s guest article on Forthright gives us something to think about.

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 12:22 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    From Philippi to Thessalonica 

    A passage that will likely go unmentioned by anyone — hence, my choice — is 1 Thess. 2:2: “But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of much opposition.”

    When Paul left Philippi, he seems to have gone without delay to Thessalonica. Luke says he passed “through Amphipolis and Apollonia” on his way there, apparently without stopping (Acts 17:1). (Alternatively, it is evidence for their sincerity.) The mistreatment he suffered in Philippi must have marked him, for him to mention it as he did to the Thessalonians. He and Silas had been beaten “severely” with rods, in public (Acts 16:23). It was in Thessalonica that he recovers from that beating and he must have still bore its marks when he preached in the synagogue of that city.

    It would appear, then, that Paul was “deeply hurt” by the Philippian mistreatment (NASV Study Bible). It would seem that he had to muster the courage to continue to preach in Thessalonica and found it “in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” The term “conflict” this this context “seems to suggest inner conflict which has risen due to external opposition” (R. C. Kelcy, Thessalonians, LWC, 40).

    This is not Paul’s first hardship, however. He has weathered worse. Before this, on his first missionary journey, in Lystra, he had been stoned by Jews from Antioch and Iconium and left for dead (Acts 14:19). Perhaps he had a harder time “suffer[ing] many hardships” (Acts 14:22) injustly at the hands of the Romans than from the Jews.

    However that may be, Paul did find the courage to preach in the next big city down the road, after the humiliation suffered in Philippi. Courage in our God. When men shrink from the trials and mere humans fail in their bluster, we find in our God the stiffness of spine to continue his mission in the world.

     

  • paulaharington 11:12 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Philippians 4 

    Christians need to be the example, not the warning. A couple of prime warnings in the Bible are found in Phillipians 4.

    Paul said, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

    These were church-going Christian women who had been helping the Apostle Paul spread the Gospel. They did great things for the Lord but He didn’t want us to know them for the good they had done. He wanted us to know them for another reason.

    They were hurting the church at Phillipi. We don’t know what they were doing but we do know what they weren’t doing. They weren’t getting along. They weren’t loving each other the way God intended. They weren’t being the godly women that they had been and could’ve been.

    A friend recently sent me this quote, “I’d rather be the one who nailed the hands of Jesus to the cross than the one, who by pride or arrogance, hurt His church.”

    May we never be so arrogant and prideful that we hurt or split the church of God and may we always be the example and never the warning.

     

  • Ed Boggess 11:08 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Nudge: Philippians 2:1-7 

    My biggest problem is spelling it! I always want to get two “l”s and one “p”. Paul says his joy would be complete when brethren would be “like-minded” . . . “of one accord and of one mind”. At first glance this appears as if he is telling us to become like toy soldiers lined up on a store shelf – every one of them alike and the same. But we know that the only way that could be achieved is if we didn’t use out “thinkers”. But God put “thinkers” in each of us and no two think exactly alike. So how can we be “of one mind”? If it isn’t thinking exactly alike, what is it? The context reveals the answer. The one mind we all are to develop is the “mind of Christ”. It is that state of mind where we shun selfish ambition and conceit and esteem others better than ourselves. It is that state of mind that willingly sacrifices ourselves and even our own opinions, judgments and conclusions for the good of others. In our generation it seems the latter is more difficult than the former.

     

  • Ed Boggess 10:54 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Afraid of peanut butter? – JAM 

    Did you know some folks are afraid of peanut butter? Just the sight of a peanut butter sandwich makes some folks break into a cold sweat and head for the door. It’s called archibutyrophobia. Psychologists have taken our fears and analyzed, categorized, and galvanized them into a long list of phobias. These guys make their living off of our fears. If it weren’t for phobias, half the psychiatrists might be out of work. Some psychologists would have us do away with fears altogether. But there are some fears we need to keep. Jesus tells us to fear him who is able to destroy the soul, and the psalmist says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess

     

  • Mike Riley 10:35 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Something About Philippians? 

    The apostle Paul didn’t think he “had it made” as a Christian. He was always “pressing toward the mark” (Philippians 3:14), forgetting the past and looking forward to the future (Philippians 3:13). If we are to be successful as followers of Christ, we must do the exact same thing, remembering that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Paul’s attitude of heart was “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

     

  • Laura 10:26 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Philippians 

    Funny you should mention Philippians. Our preacher is covering that book on Sunday evenings. So far he has completed 7 lessons and just finished discussing Epaphroditus in chapter 2. All of Donnie’s lessons except the last one are online in our media library. It’s all been good, but I think the thing that has made the biggest impression on me is Paul’s unwavering dedication to the cause of the Lord, even while chained in prison. Oh, if we were to have such dedication. We all too often let the little things in life cause us to take our eyes off the mark. Paul is one to be studied and emulated.

     

    • Mike Riley 10:27 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Good points, Laura!

      • Laura 10:53 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Thanks Mike. To me, Paul is the greatest example of repentance in the Bible. Talk about a complete 180 degree turn!!!

  • Ron Thomas 10:13 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Some from Philippians I have made a “creed” of my life is found in 3:12-13. I have bad days, and sometimes those days are hard. Nevertheless, I refuse to have those days defeat me (cf. Hebrews 12:1-2). My bad day does not need to affect you adversely. It is tough enough when I experience it, why should I make you experience it?

    What happened yesterday is history and the liklihood of me remembering it is not very good. Of course, there is a down side to this; as I have trained myself to leave the past in the past, especially the bad, sometimes the good stays there as well. When I need (or want) to recall, it fails me.

    Just the same, a creed of my life is in 3:12-13

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 9:47 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Daily Nudge: Philippians 

    Four short chapters chocked full of good truths. Tell us something today about Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Or his time there. Or about the city. From history to theology to ecclesiology, whatever, but give us a jolt from the gospel in that place and time, so that our spot on earth today may be enlivened and enriched.

    This letter is on my mind because I tried to listen in last night to the live Engage! podcast, featuring Danny Petrillo from Bear Valley on Philippians. My browser kept crashing, however, which I think was due to a bad connection. So I want to go back and listen again later.

     

  • Ron Thomas 8:40 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Critical,   

    People who are critical can be of much benefit to me. However, those who seem to be people wielding much criticism, I quickly disregard. The weak moral, emotional, and spiritual disposition can benefit me (or anyone else) as a person very little.

     

  • Richard Mansel 9:57 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: homelessness,   

    Something to Examine 

    I would like your reaction to something I just read on Facebook. It was a quote culled from Twitter.

    The quote:

    “Why do Christians worship a homeless man on Sunday & then turn quickly away from the first one they meet on Monday morning?”  (Denver Moore).

     

    • Mike Riley 10:48 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Sinful pride resulting in a lack of humility perhaps?

      • Richard Mansel 10:58 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Meaning?

        • Mike Riley 11:20 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink

          The “homeless man” Christians worship on Sunday would have to be Christ (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58). The second homeless man they meet on Monday, would be the homeless man on the street corner, begging for sustenance. Having sinful pride resulting in a lack of humility, would cause them not to render aid to the homeless man on the street.

    • Ron 8:09 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Richard, my thoughts are simply that the quote is a smoke screen. Since I have no context to the remark and assuming that the quote is the entirety of all that was available to you, it sounds like a smoke screen to an agenda. Is it really true that Christian TURN AWAY from homeless people, or is there something else to this the author of the remark fails (or refuses) to say?

      Much skepticism on my part and, perhaps, this is unfair.

    • J. Randal Matheny 9:51 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Like Ron, I get the impression it’s an accusation couched in the form of a question. But it might serve to prompt us to evaluate our manner of doing good. More than that, the greatest tragedy I can think of is seeing the spiritual homeless, those who have no hope of an eternal home, around us at every turn, the world populated with them, and not acting to make a difference in their destiny.

    • Richard Mansel 10:53 am on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      My read of the quote is that it is an emotional accusation lacking substance.

      It is nowhere near that simple. Let us break this down.

      First, how was Jesus homeless, in the way that people are homeless today? He had his family’s home. He had apostles who were with him, who had homes, and had money. Jesus had friends that he stayed with as well as to eat with. Throughout the gospel accounts, we read of Jesus being invited into the best homes as the guest of honor.

      I think we would be safe in saying that he didn’t miss a meal unless he chose to do so. He was the one of the most important people in the country, with disciples everywhere who revered him. Accordingly, do we really think that ALL of them were so heartless that Jesus had to sleep on the streets? I know Jesus said he had no pillow to lay his head on, but that is not the same thing as being homeless like people on the streets.

      Second, name one instance [or even the probability] that Jesus ate out of garbage cans.

      Third, remember the first Democratic convention of the Clintons? Someone, maybe Ann Richards, said that Joseph and Mary were homeless. This liberal fantasy persists today through the Biblically illiterate crowd.

      Fourth, most people are homeless because of substance abuse and mental illness. Are either true of Jesus? Of course, no one would be afraid of Jesus. Yet, that is completely different from being afraid of someone who may be a filthy, schizophrenic criminal drug-user with AIDS!

      Fifth, taking care of the homeless sounds simple. However, a congregation finds two homeless people in the town. They want to do the right thing and be, as Christ would want them to be. They have two options. They can buy them an apartment and all of the down payments, fees, etc. and pay the rent for an indeterminate period. They can pay to house and feed them and HOPE that they get a job and are not going to blow it all on drugs/whiskey. Moreover, the house that the church owns can become a crack den. On the other hand, they can take the homeless people into their homes with their children.

      It is a far more complicated matter than this quote would seem to insinuate.

      Several years ago, homeless activist Martin Sheen ranted to everyone with an ear about housing homeless people. Someone gathered up a group of homeless people on a bus and took them to Sheen’s mansion, so they could live there. Sheen chased them away.

      I don’t know what the answer is, but a discussion is a first step.

    • Richard Mansel 7:06 pm on May 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Thank you for your comments. I would like some feedback on what I wrote in response, please. It would be appreciated.

  • Daniel Haynes 2:49 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

    Proverbs 16:3, NET
     

  • Daniel Haynes 2:39 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Bible Reading – Acts 27 

    Paul and Company Sail for Rome (27:1-8). Following his appeal to Caesar, Paul was placed in the custody of a centurion named Julius and they set sail for Italy. However, the voyage encountered difficult winds before arriving safely at a place called Fair Havens.

    Caught in a Violent Storm (27:9-38). Disregarding the apostle’s warning that the voyage would end in disaster, they set sail hoping to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there.

    Paul is Shipwrecked (27:39-44). Never making it to Phoenix, just off the island called Malta, the voyage suffered shipwreck, but due to Paul’s faith in God, all made it safely to land.

    Practical Lessons: (1) We should have faith in the promises of God. (2) Salvation depends on doing it God’s way. (3) Our faith in God can instill conviction and courage in others.

     

  • Mike Riley 2:39 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Something I Heard That Made Me Stop 

    After our Bible class last evening, I heard one of our elders state during the invitation, “There are no Sunday only Christians – we must be Christians every day of the week.” It’s very true. Some members come to church on Sunday morning, offer their worship to God, live like the devil the rest of the week, and then come to worship the next Sunday to appease their conscience. True Christianity doesn’t work that way. It’s either all or nothing (Matthew 6:24).

     

  • Barbara Ann Oliver 2:07 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    He’s my brother.

    Last night after English class the preacher in Sabanilla drove one of my students to San Jose where he caught a bus to continue his journey home. My student is very rough looking, a bit of an attitude, but very smart.  He has a drug problem and thinks the world owes him.

    So when the preacher told me that he was his brother, I was totally surprised! Two boys from the same house. One chose a life of dissipation and the other chose God.

    It’s all about choices.

     

  • Weylan Deaver 1:58 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Something I recently heard that made me stop? Well, the last couple of days the gruesome and appalling story has been on the radio about a husband in Lewisville, Texas (not far from here) who decapitated his wife with a chainsaw (autopsy confirmed she had been alive at the time). He then called some relatives and confessed, then took a truck from a dealership for a “test drive” and escaped. Police are still hunting him. Some people are so horrific as to leave you speechless–even as accustomed as we are in civilized society to hearing of murders and violent crime.

     

  • Ron Thomas 1:33 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Moses, who did not want to turn from his way when the Lord called to him, now appeals to the Lord to turn away from His wrath (Exodus 32:11-14). The evolution of Moses in a relatively short time.

     

  • Ron Thomas 1:30 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Confusion. When Aaron built (molded) the golden calf, he built an altar to eat and proclaimed a feast to the Lord (Exodus 32:5). This happened to Aaron, is it any wonder why it happens to the multitudes even today?

     

  • philsanders 12:41 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: evangelism Bible Study campaign preaching gospel   

    Randal, you asked if I had something on my heart that I am praying about. Your question made me stop and remember a vow that I made last Saturday with 150 others. I am praying fervently, daily, about the Christ Is the Answer Campaign in Parkersburg, WV on July 26-29. I am the speaker for this campaign.

    Several hundred workers from many states will join together to knock the 40,000 doors of homes throughout Woods Count, WV. Brethren in Belpre, OH across the Ohio River will knock several thousand more. We will be advertizing the campaign and setting up Bible studies.

    In 1967 Jimmy Allen held a campaign in Parkersburg with 2400 people in attendance each evening at the Parkersburg High School Memorial Field House. Nearly 100 people were baptized into Christ. We are hoping after 43 years to do the same. About twenty churches are committed to participate in this Mid-Ohio Valley event.

    Joe Wells of Kaio magazine will be working with youth. Chris Walker will lead the singing. Neil Anderson of the Gospel Advocate will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

    We have been working and praying for this campaign for nearly three years. We are now in the last 90 days before it happens. Please join me in praying for this effort. We hope to light a fire to sweep across the nation. If you would like materials for what we say at the door or the Bible studies we will use, I will be happy to send you copies that you may reproduce.

    God is good.
    Phil

     

    • Sandra Moore 12:55 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Phil, That sounds like a wonderful work and I will be praying also. My father is from Central West Virginia, so the people of West Virginia are close to my heart.

      Sandra Moore

    • Weylan Deaver 1:50 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      God speed, Phil!

    • Mike Riley 2:26 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      We pray that many will be led to Christ because of this united effort.

  • Ed Boggess 12:01 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Religious hucksters – JAM 

    An enterprising snake-oil salesman can still make a fortune. The Moscow Literary Gazette reports a father and son team in the Ukraine amassed a small fortune by selling ordinary tap water. They claimed it had special healing powers. So many people wanted to visit the village that a new but route was set up. But this is not surprising. Religious hucksters have been duping religious folks for years. Whether it is a fake-healing tent preacher, or a diamond studded electronic evangelist, if you shout your message loud enough and long enough, someone will believe you. Paul said, “though I or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8,9). This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 8:59 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Say or do 

    Rather than sending this phrase to my Portuguese-language twitter account, I accidentally sent it to my personal English account. This latter account is also posted automatically on Facebook, where it generated a bit of discussion, more on the point of languages than the content, but perhaps the Kingdom was served by all that.

    There are people who say they’re concerned about sound doctrine, but support false teachers and spread their works. Should we believe what such people say or what they do?

    The question is rhetorical.

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 4:24 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , words spoken   

    Daily Nudge: made you stop 

    What have you heard recently (a subjective adverb) that made you stop and think? Could be a person who spoke it in your ear, or via a public speaker, or a recording or podcast or other mechanically or electronically transmitted message. Not something you’ve read, but heard. Something that really brought you up, gave you a start, froze you in your tracks, grabbed you by both ears. It could be good or bad, sad or joyous, momentous or small potatoes. But it should have elicited a strong response from you.

     

    • Tina 10:41 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      What would God write on your wall???

      That is what I heard last night @ church. We are having a Wednesday night Series. Don Loftis was our speaker. His lesson was on Daniel 5:1-30. The Handwriting on the Wall. We had a guest with us. Don’s answer to the question were varied , anything from God telling us to “be nicer to our spouse down to “Your soul is in jeopardy”. It was a great surmon. Our guest, requested a study guide to help her study. We pray she returns often and studies deeply. Please pray with her for her.

  • Mike Riley 2:25 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , falter, ,   

    America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

    Abraham Lincoln
     

  • Glenda Williams 2:04 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    It took me three years to become a Christian 

    Mother told me if I would get my license when I turned 16 she would buy us a car and I could drive us to church. My daddy wasn’t religious, nor interested, at that time in his life. Mother taught me the truth and after our goals were met, I did drive the 1956 turquoise and white Chevrolet and we went to worship leaving Daddy at home. He called us hypocrites, trying to discourage our new way of life.

    Brother Curtis Duke asked me early on about becoming a Christian and I told him I couldn’t live the Christian life living in what I did at home. At the age of 19, I obeyed the gospel after hearing Jerry Humphries preach at the Elba church of Christ where he had just begun working full time with the church. His sermon was so powerful that cold, winter night. Nothing could have kept me from responding, not even my boyfriend who was with me.

    After becoming a Christian, I started praying to marry a preacher and for my daddy to change his life. God answered both of my prayers in the affirmative and in his time. Daddy was restored and confessed having lived in sin for 30 years. I will be married to a preacher 45 years in December of this year, the Lord willing. I’m still rejoicing and thankful.

     

    • Mike Riley 2:08 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Glenda, what a great story of how the power of the gospel can change lives! A great reason to rejoice and be thankful!

  • J. Randal Matheny 1:03 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , missions forum   

    Area missons forum at HCU 

    See this flyer in PDF format for information about the Shoals Area World Mission Forum 2010 May 15 at Heritage Christian University, Florence AL. Please print it out, place it in your bulletin, post it on the board, hang it around your preacher’s neck.

    I’ll be there. Would love to see you there.

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 12:32 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Prayer requests this evening? 

    Have you anything to remember in prayer tonight?

     

    • Richard Mansel 12:46 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Mike Dyer will have heart surgery on Thursday or Friday.

    • UChenna F. Bekee 1:00 pm on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Please, dearly Beloved Of God, Men of faith and courage, those who have staked their life for the defense of the cause of the Gospel, Hearken unto our calling, unto our cry for help. Hidden treasure Christian High Schools, is in dire need of assistance. We need Funds,to by land, build facilities Vans, Computers, books for this poor kids to read, and a good hostel to house them. Go through our website and see the support page. Please, Help us.

  • J. Randal Matheny 9:14 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Nudges getting old? 

    Just a pulse check here: Are the Daily Nudges getting old for you? We’ve not have much response on some of the recent ones. It could be the nature of the questions, a low level of interest in the particular questions, or it could be Nudge Fatigue. You tell me which.

     

    • Mike Riley 9:45 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Randal, personally, I’ve enjoyed the Daily Nudges, because it allows us to better know one another on a more personal basis. So, they are not old to me.

    • Stephen R. Bradd 10:37 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      The nudges are a good thing in my opinion. I am more inclined to check daily to see what the nudge is than if it was just open ended all the time. Of course, the down side is that sometimes I just don’t have anything to say for certain nudges.

    • Don Ruhl 11:13 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      No nudge fatigue for me, just super busy doing my work.

    • Dave Rogers 12:39 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Randal, I appreciate the nudges even though I almost never actually respond – they give me something to chew on during idle moments.

      • J. Randal Matheny 1:17 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Good to hear from you, Dave, and know that you’re reading. Now that you’ve broken the ice, I hope you’ll join in the conversation.

    • Richard Hill 1:09 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I like the nudge since I need a little push to get going. When I was yesterday’s and today’s nudge I felt like I had already answered those in previous posts. Also much like Don, I’ve been pressed for time. Lord willing, I’ll be in the field all of tomorrow. I’ll try to catch up tomorrow evening.

      • J. Randal Matheny 1:18 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Surely you don’t think I’d repeat a Nudge? And, of course, I’d never forget any single Nudge that I’ve ever posted before. You must be getting old, my friend.

        • Ron 9:19 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink

          Add me to the list; they’re good.

        • Richard Hill 11:41 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink

          Yes, I am getting old, at least according to everyone under 53. I wasn’t referring to repeated nudges. I was referring to posts where I had already included the basic info of those new nudges.

      • Ron 9:19 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Richard, you are scheduled to lead when Randal arrives.

  • Richard Mansel 3:36 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    In the News 

    I have added a new In the News post to my blog to keep us better informed as to attacks on morality, ethics, etc. I hope you find them informative.

     

  • Richard Mansel 3:31 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Waited 

    Like some of you, I waited and procrastinated about becoming a Christian. Every invitation brought great trepidation. Finally, we were living in Fort Smith Arkansas one summer, while my Dad trained for a new job. The day before we moved back to Alabama,  I decided to be baptized. I had a cast on my arm. We did it on a Wednesday afternoon and I had a garbage bag on my arm, so my cast would not get wet. I was sixteen and began preaching the next year. Happy that I made the decision and relieved that nothing happened to me while I dawdled.

     

  • Daniel Haynes 1:36 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Bible Reading – Acts 26 

    Paul Offers His Defense (26:1-32). Beginning his defense, Paul described how in time past he lived as a Pharisee and was hostile to the name of Jesus. Then one day as Paul was going to Damascus, the Lord Jesus appeared to him resulting in a life of service and testimony for Jesus Christ. Now before King Agrippa, he offers his defense testifying that he stands trial for his hope in the resurrection. Governor Festus believed Paul was insane, but Paul denied the charge, and King Agrippa, if it were his judgment, would have set Paul free.

    Practical Lessons: (1) Everyone has the power to change. (2) Our deeds must be consistent with repentance. (3) “Almost Persuaded” is hell’s haunting anthem.

     

  • Mike Riley 1:04 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , baptize, , , , , hesitate,   

    Length Of Time To Become A Christian? 

    Like Randal, I grew up in the church. And like Randal, I was a timid child as well, so I hesitated in being baptized until I was 15 years of age (Jan, 1960). My grandmother was always my great encourager, and thankfully, she was in the audience the Sunday I was baptized into Christ. What a blessing it was to have her witness the occasion. I look forward to seeing her again in eternity!

     

  • J. Randal Matheny 12:07 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Take your stand on the fact that He, who has redeemed you for this end [to rescue souls], will for this end also bless you.

    Andrew Murray, Living the New Life, p. 143
     

    • Tina 3:27 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I like that. It is comforting.

  • Laura 11:33 am on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    Daily nudge: did you delay? 

    I didn’t really delay of my own free will. When I decided that’s what I needed to do, I went to my parents immediately. They thought I was being emotional because I had just returned from Bible camp, and there were quite a few baptisms that week. I was also a young but rather precocious child. So they put me off, wanting to test me. A week later, I was pestering them again after Sunday evening service. We sat down and studied and then went back to the church building that night.

     

  • Ed Boggess 11:16 am on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Shocked? – JAM 

    A few years ago, customers at a bar clapped and cheered as several men gang-raped one of the women customers. These are days when sin waxes worse and worse, when tragedy becomes comedy, when we laugh when we should weep, when we are amused when we should be amazed. Our generation is so bombarded by sin, sex and violence, that nothing shocks us anymore. We have been brainwashed and desensitized. But, there are some things we have no right ever to get used to! What we think is a broadening of the mind is really a stretching of the conscience. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess

     

    • John Henson 1:19 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      “What we think is a broadening of the mind is really a stretching of the conscience.” What a great, true and scholarly statement!

  • J. Randal Matheny 9:45 am on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    Daily Nudge — delays to obedience 

    How long did it take you to become a Christian? The question doesn’t so much ask your age or time in life, young or old, when you became a Christian, but if you delayed to obey the Lord.

    This comes to mind since our NT reading today is from Acts 26, which includes King Agrippa’s famous line to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” (Acts 26:28 NET).

    I know a young man who obeyed the very first gospel sermon he heard. He heard it once, and that was all he needed. Today he’s a gospel preacher.

    I was different. Growing up in a Christian home, I heard what must have been thousands of sermons and classes, on Sundays and Wednesdays, in gospel meetings and Vacation Bible Schools, before I overcame my timidity and was baptized.

    How about you? How long did it take you?

     

  • Glenda Williams 3:43 am on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    I would like to meet you–all of you! 

    Aren’t we all saying basically the same thing?  Love between us has grown through the written words we have read from each other.  Wouldn’t it be fun to plan a time and place to meet some time?  Ah, the place is already determined. Heaven!  Enjoy the iris that bloomed beside our fence recently. If you would like to use my pictures for slide shows or power point backgrounds, you have my permission.

     

    • John Henson 7:47 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Iris is my favorite flower, and is the state flower of Tennessee.

    • Glenda Williams 8:18 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      John, I didn’t know that. My husband is from McMinnville, TN.

  • John Henson 5:13 pm on April 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    Where’s Cardinal Law? 

    What happened to Cardinal Bernard Law, and why has he disappeared from his “diocese?”

    The answer has to do with the Catholic Church’s long struggle with pedophile priests and the hierarchy that has shielded them and kept the authorities at bay for years and years.

    “Newsweek Magazine” reports that Law was rescued by Pope Benedict (formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) when the Massachusetts Attorney General decided the Cardinal should appear before a Grand Jury investigating the incidents of sexual abuse by priests of the church and the subsequent cover up of those cases. Here’s the link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/236934.

    “Newsweek” reports that the pope himself is likely to be served with court papers during his upcoming trip to Great Britain, and the Vatican is pushing hard for the British to accept Vatican City as an independent state so that the pope could be granted diplomatic immunity.

    The problem with this is that the formation of Vatican City as its own little country was done only by Mussolini in what “Newsweek” calls “a sweetheart deal” during Mussolini’s reign of power in the 1940s. There’s never been any official recognition of the Vatican as an independent, sovereign state.

    Should the pope be brought to justice to answer for his alleged cover up of sexual abuse cases committed by priests? Should the pope be held accountable for ordering cardinals and bishops to prevent cases from being reported to the police?

    Should those who call themselves Catholic reconsider the foundation of their beliefs in light of the sexual abuse of children by priests who were supposed to remain celibate by the “infallible” fiat of the pope?

    Socrates was supposed to have said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Shouldn’t people ask themselves if a religious system should be abandoned that denies the truth and tries to keep it from becoming known?

    Concerning false teachers, Jesus said, “Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them,” (Matthew 7:20). Isn’t it time we ask some serious questions and get some serious answers about a system of religion that permits the abuse of children and allows the guilty to hide and escape justice?

     

    • Mike Riley 6:35 pm on April 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      John, you made some great points in this article! If members of the Catholic church would simply search the Scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11), they would find all kinds of things unscriptural about the Catholic church, but the question is, “Will they search?”

  • Daniel Haynes 2:33 pm on April 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Bible Reading – Acts 25 

    Paul Appeals to Caesar (25:1-12). After Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea, and again, the Jewish leaders brought formal charges against Paul. Following a failed attempt to persuade Festus to summon Paul to Jerusalem, they came to Caesarea and brought serious charges against Paul. The apostle maintained innocence of all charges and finally appealed to Caesar.

    Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice (25:13-22). When King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus, he explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion. Following his explanation, Agrippa wished to hear from Paul.

    Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice (25:23-27). Festus brought Paul before King Agrippa, hoping that he might have an opportunity to write the emperor indicating the charges against him.

    Practical Lessons: “The first to state his case seems right, until his opponent begins to cross-examine him” (Proverbs 18:17). This proverb fittingly applies to Acts 21-26 as the apostle maintains innocence of all charges.

     

    • Tina 8:53 pm on April 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Daniel, thank you for posting the bible readings.

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