Bulletin Articles

Although there is much to celebrate in this great nation; there are an increasing number of people who are very unhappy.

In this country we have been blessed above any nation that has ever existed. These blessings have come because in the past this nation trusted in God and was known as a Christian nation. But things have changed and are continuing to change. More and more individuals are putting their trust in pills, psychologists, drugs, alcohol, material wealth, pleasure, and in themselves instead of the living God. Tranquilizers replace the faith in far too many lives. It is estimated that 30 million sleeping pills were taken last night in the USA.

But “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of the drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

To be sure in each life some rain must fall; some days will be dark and dreary. By trusting in God, these moments properly used make for a brighter and better tomorrow. If there were no difficulties, there could be no triumphs. In dealing with life’s problems, Paul writes from his prison cell, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:4,6). Just imagine a prisoner writing such words to men who were at liberty to go and do as they pleased. Another time when Paul was in jail we read in Acts 16:25, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Paul certainly serves as an example of how we should trust in God.

As we are trusting in God we have “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Because of our trust in God, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them even shout for joy, because You defend them” (Psalms 5:11). We should have great joy and gladness to know that we are God’s children “for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Our trusting in God will help us to “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward” (Hebrews 10:35). Let’s “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart” (Proverbs 3:5) so we can go to heaven. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). We cannot even begin to imagine how wonderful heaven will be. So let’s trust in the living God so we can go to heaven.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44 KJV)

Whether we seek God or not is a matter of choice. As creatures made in the image of our Creator, we have a natural desire for God. But we may fail to acknowledge our need for Him, and even if we acknowledge our need, we may fail to do anything about it. Seeking God is not an automatic process; it requires both deliberation and decisiveness on our part.

First, think about the concept of deliberation. The verb “deliberate” means to consider a matter carefully or to take thought by weighing the alternatives. If we do a thing deliberately that means that we do it purposefully, having made the choice to take that path rather than others that might have been taken. Only rational creatures, of course, can act deliberately, and that is why we are responsible for our actions. To be “responsible” means that we are “able” to choose our “response.” Having been endowed with free will, we can consider the possibilities and then make a choice.

Sometimes it is true, however, that even after we’ve considered what we should do, we don’t always choose to do it. For that reason, our deliberation must be followed by decisiveness. In our spiritual lives, few things are of more practical value than the simple ability to make decisions and to make them stick. Starting with little decisions and working our way up to the big ones, we must gradually build the strength of our decision-making muscles.

But what is sufficient to motivate us in these matters? Paul recommended that we keep in mind “the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22), and we must not forget either of these. Yet of these two motivators, the Scriptures place the greater emphasis on the goodness of God (1 John 4:17-19).

What would make a person want to give up everything else in the world in order to know Him? Without any doubt, it is the surpassing goodness of God Himself. And so Jesus said that the kingdom is “like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

In the end, those who seek God are those who choose to do so. It is for nothing less than “joy” that they decide to seek the “treasure” that is God.

Growing up in the inner city, I noticed many adults who, practically speaking, would be characterized by the way in which they walked. Some walked with a deliberate lean and would swing their arm, which we characterized as a “cool” walk.

Even today, we can oftentimes recognize someone who is confident, angry, or even afraid by the way they walk. Spiritually speaking, walking refers to a lifestyle rather than a physical disposition or feeling.

Our focus must be on OBEYING God continually! 1 John 1:7 states “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanseth us from all sin.” Many feel they are Christians, but have failed to obey God. Walking (living) in the light is predicated upon getting into the light.

The Bible records in John 1:9, that Jesus is the true Light (not John the baptizer). The only way to get into the Light (Jesus Christ) is to be baptized into Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:27).

Our Christ-like focus must always be maintained; our walk must be one that is pleasing to God.

• We must walk worthy (Colossians 1:10).
• We must walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15).
• We must walk honestly (1 Thessalonians 4:12).
• We must walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Get in Christ TODAY, before it is too late (Luke 16:20-31). This is your life….. How are you walking?

The New Testament is as clear on this point as it can be: there are five commands that a sinner must obey in order to be saved and thus added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:40-47).

• Sinners must hear the word of God (Acts 2:22).
• Sinners must believe in Jesus Christ (John 8:24).
• Sinners must repent of all sin (Acts 17:30,31).
• Sinners must confess their faith in Christ (Romans 10:9,10).
• Sinners must be baptized to have sins washed away (Acts 22:16).

THE WORD IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP (Acts 20:32) “So now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up…”

In the above passage from Acts 20, Paul was stressing to the Ephesian elders that they could not do their work as elders properly unless they used the word of God properly. If they would use the “word of His grace” properly, it was able to build them up.

Included in this element of the ability of the Bible are such things as the following:

• The Bible can build us up by helping us to grow stronger spiritually (in thought, in word, and in deed; Psalm 19:14; 1 Peter 3:15; James 1:22-27).
• The Bible can build us up by helping us to teach the lost (Mark 16;15,16; Acts 5:42).
• The Bible can build us up by helping us to learn how good it is to help the needy (James 1:27; Galatians 6:10).
• The Bible can build us up by helping us to encourage other Christians (Hebrews 3:12,13; 10:23-25).

THE WORD IS ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE (Acts 20:32)… “and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” You will note that
this is the last part of the verse we studied in the section above. The word of God is able to do everything we need it to do in this life—which includes the fact that it promises us the next life: A HEAVENLY INHERITANCE.

That inheritance is in heaven, it is undefiled, it can never fade away, and it is reserved for all who are faithful in following the ways of Jesus by following the Bible until the end of life (1 Peter 1:3-9). That inheritance is good, glorious, and worth whatever we must obey and endure in order to get there (Revelation 4, 5, 21, 22).

That inheritance is a place that will be populated by the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, all faithful heavenly beings, and all of the faithful since the beginning of time (Hebrews 12:1,22,23).

Why not decide right now to give the Bible a chance to make a difference for good in your life? Why not decide right now to learn and to do all of the commands of Jesus Christ because you want to prove your love for Him (John 14:15)?

For part 1 of this epistle, check out The Word of God is Able (Part 1 of 2)

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7) This verse is just one of many throughout the Bible claiming that the Bible is able—very able—to show us how to safely reach the end of life and to enter the home of the soul by the grace of God.

Jesus also frequently referred to the ability of the word of God. In His temptations with Satan, He replied, “It is written” every time (Matthew 4:1-11). He said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). And He claimed that “the truth” is the word of God in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Here are four things that the word of God is ABLE to do for you:

1. IT IS ABLE TO MAKE YOU WISE UNTO SALVATION (II Timothy 3:15)”…and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

This quotation refers to the fact that the Old Testament was taught to Timothy while he was young (by his mother and grandmother; II Timothy 1:5). The content of the Old Testament is such that it causes the student who uses it properly to look for the One person who fulfills all that the Old Testament says about God’s plan of salvation: Jesus Christ.

Becoming wise unto salvation includes learning about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It includes learning about the wonders of the Bible. It includes learning about the need to obey the will of God without changing or rejecting it in any way. It includes believing what Paul said in the next two verses of II Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2. IT IS ABLE TO SAVE YOUR SOUL (James 1:21)…”Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” In another section of scripture that stresses the power of the Bible (James 1:18-27), the claim is made that this word is able to save our souls. Included in this is the fact that no one can be saved apart from obeying any and all commands given by God that bring us into a saved relationship with God.

The New Testament is as clear on this point as it can be: there are five commands that a sinner must obey in order to be saved and thus added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:40-47).

For part 2 of this epistle, check out The Word of God is Able (Part 2 of 2)

Do you remember the event of the healing of Naaman, the leper, found in 2 Kings 5? This is a deeper look into the results of both respect and disrespect in the lives of ordinary and the not so ordinary people. The ultimate result of respect and respect learned was that a man was healed of leprosy and another stricken with it. God received a follower and God’s reputation was enhanced.

Naaman thought he deserved more respect than he felt Elisha showed to him. Have you ever been that character who thought that others were disrespectful to you? Maybe it was a driver on the road, a teller in the bank, a clerk at the store, your husband or wife or children. Naaman, who came to be healed, almost “cut off his nose to spite his face.” Our respect for others will always keep us from demanding respect for ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). The respect we demand from our children or our employees is for their benefit, not our pride.

Naaman’s servants acted with great respect for their master. With obvious affection for their master, they addressed him with a common term of endearment and respect when they said, “My father…” This same expression is used by Elisha toward Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12. Their respect is so obvious that what they say comes across, not as a rebuke or reproof (though both would have been in order), but more as a plea to not miss this opportunity. While Naaman was being his own worst enemy in receiving this healing, they patiently were respecting his well-being. Such respect is taught by Paul to Timothy and we who wish to be servants of the Lord. Many are their own enemy in obtaining salvation, but we must respect their soul enough to patiently try to win them.

Gehazi committed an act of foolishness in failing to respect the wishes of his master, Elisha. In this case, greed drove his disrespect. Has something you wanted (lust of the flesh, eyes, or pride of life) ever driven you to take advantage of someone, be less than honest with someone, or simply use someone’s goodness for your selfish purposes? All such is disrespectful.

Namaan, by finally treating Elisha’s directions with respect, gained not only his health, but a completely new perspective about God. This is a great example of the importance of perspective. If we look at things God’s way (Matthew 5:48); we will have a respect for others that will benefit us and them.

In the book of Acts we have the account of the conversion of the apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 9, Saul is traveling on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians. The Lord appears to Saul on the road and strikes him blind. In verse 6 Saul asks, “Lord what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The Lord did not tell Saul what he must do, but that someone in the city would tell him “what you must do”.

Let’s see now what Saul (who is also called Paul beginning in Acts 13:9) was told what he must do. In Acts chapter 22, a man named Ananias, came to Saul, taught him, and told him in Acts 22:16, “And now why are you waiting? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Saul was not saved three days earlier while on the road to Damascus, as some people would like for us to believe. Saul up to this point was still lost, because he still had all his sins that needed to be washed away. Paul still had a sin problem. Obedience to the Lord’s command to be baptized was necessary to wash away his sins.

Paul was not told “to pray the sinners prayer and ask Jesus to come into his heart in order to be saved” as many falsely teach today. This is completely foreign to the scriptures. Forgiveness occurs in the mind of God and not on the basis of man’s feeling in his heart. Only when we have done what God has said that we must do, will God forgive our sins. Man cannot devise his own plan as to how his sins are to be forgiven. Our sins have to be washed away in baptism, just as Paul’s sins were. To be baptized for any reason other than for the remission of sins so one can be saved is to reject Christ. A person who has not been baptized for the purpose of having his sins washed away still has all of his sins and is still lost.

If you have not been taught about the church of Christ…the ONLY church Christ promised to build (Matthew 16:17-18). Many have biblical knowledge, but have failed to obey and need to be taught more completely (Acts 18:24-26). If you think denominationalism is ok or “any church will do”; you need to be taught more completely and also baptized into the ONE church that belongs to Christ (Acts 19:1-5).

Many are sincere, but sincerely wrong…Many are zealous, but have gone about to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:1-3).