Get Prepared for Every Good Work

By Janice Taylor

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:19-21)

Today's text is one of the most comforting verses in the scriptures for the faithful Christian. The foundation God laid was Christ. In Isaiah 28:16 we read the prophecy, "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: " Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily." I did a little research on that phrase, 'act hastily' and found it to mean that one who believes will not be afraid of what will happen, be dismayed or in a panic. A person, who puts their trust in that stone, will not be shaken. In 1 Corinthians 3:11, we see the fulfillment pointed out, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

When something was "sealed," it was to prove or confirm and authenticate a document or to prove one's testimony to the fact that he was who he claimed to be. In 2 Timothy 2:19a God said, "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and we can rest assured that Christ does know His followers. In John 10:27-28 we read, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." 

"Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." We are warned to leave sin behind us. The Christian does not immerse himself in a worldly life; he stands strong in the faith and is a light to those around him.

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." There are many faithful and hardworking soldiers of Christ who are those cherished vessels of gold and silver in the great house of the Lord. There are, however, other vessels mentioned in this verse. They are the vessels of Christians who have left their first love and have drifted from the fold. That can be so discouraging for the faithful brethren to see. There are others, who for whatever reason, have begun to preach and teach doctrinal error. Their vessels have become tainted and polluted. This should not cause us to lose hope. God tells us, here, that they can be cleansed! Brothers and sisters who have forsaken the Lord's body are lost until they come to the realization of what they are doing and return to the fold. Paul says if that unfaithful brother or sister "cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." I find that to be a great comfort to know we can continue to admonish and pray for those who have strayed, and they can return to being a pure vessel in the kingdom prepared for every good work.

The Crown of Righteousness

Written with love by Betty Strickland

"Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."  (2 Timothy 4:8)

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" (2 Timothy 4:7).

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)

According to Coffman Commentaries: "A crown is an earthly symbol of the glory, power and majesty of kings, metaphor - fitting symbol of the reward, honor and glory a Christian in the world to come."

This "crown of righteousness" is mentioned in different ways throughout the New Testament.

"Crown of glory" - 1 Peter 5:4

“crown of life" - James 1:12; Revelation 2:10 

To receive the "crown" one must be "in Christ", and there is only one way to get "in Christ.” "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)

In Revelation 2:10, John states one must be faithful regardless of what hardships we face, even death. Do you ever wonder just how you would hold up if threatened with death if you do not deny Christ??? This is one great reason to instill God's word into our very deepest heart and mind, to keep us strong in the event we do come face to face with this evil.

But Paul assures Timothy, and all who read this letter, that we will have a “righteous Judge" in our Lord, who while on this earth was tempted in every way imaginable. Therefore, God has provided a way of escape for us.

Our "righteous Judge" will not have the infirmities like we have. A few months ago, I served on a jury; and the judge sitting in judgment actually dozed off at least one time that I saw. We do not have to worry about our Lord dozing off, for He is "righteous"! He serves as our lawyer and our Judge. What a wonderful day that will be IF we remain faithful to Him and "look forward with love at His appearing”. He will see us through, just as He did Paul.

This question is asked in Coffman Commentaries - "Why should Christians love the appearing of Christ in Judgment?" and answers "It will mean that the glory of Jesus Christ will then be apparent to all men; the time of probation shall have ended; the reward of the righteous shall be received, and God shall rise in holy wrath and cast evil out of His universe". What a great thought! Let us strive to be a righteous servant, that we might arrive where there will be NO EVIL...

When we partake of the Lord's supper, we "show the Lord's death, until He come,” (1 Cor. 11:26). Therefore, we should be very faithful in worshiping God according to His will.

Let us look forward to our Savior's second coming and the faithful receiving that "crown of righteousness.”

There is nothing in the world that any man can do to merit salvation, but we all need it. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Yet knowing that we cannot merit salvation does not exclude us from doing our part to obtain our salvation. Examples throughout the Bible show us that though God does the saving, man must do his part in obeying and following His plan.

Think of Noah. God told Noah He would save him from the flood, but Noah had to build the ark and be in the ark when the flood came. So Noah built the ark and got in the ark and was saved from the flood. Does that mean that Noah saved himself from the flood? Did Noah merit his salvation from the flood? Would God have saved Noah had he not built the ark and got in it?

Think of Rahab spoken of in Joshua. She was an inhabitant of Jericho who helped two spies from the Lord's army escape being captured. (Joshua 2) In return for her help she asked the spies to save her and her family from death when the Israelites came to conquer the city. In verse 11 the spies agreed to "deal kindly and truly" with her. In verse 17 the men said to her, "we will be blameless of this oath of yours which you made us swear, (18) unless, when we come into the land, you bind this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brother, and all your father's household to your own home. (19) So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head."

Joshua chapter 6 (Joshua 6) tells us that Rahab and her family were saved when the rest of the city was destroyed. Did Rahab merit this salvation? Absolutely not! Would she have been saved if she hadn't  put out the scarlet cord and been in her home when they told her to be?

Think of Naaman. In 2 Kings 5 the Bible tells us of a honorable man named Naaman who was stricken with leprosy. Naaman went to a man of God, Elisha, in hope of being healed of his leprosy. When he arrived at Elisha's house, he was told to (vs.10) "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you shall be clean." Being asked to do that enraged Naaman, and he left angry and still eaten with leprosy. He came up with other things he would rather do to be cleansed. He thought Elisha should have come out and called on the name of the Lord and waved his hand over Naaman to heal the leprosy. He thought of other nicer rivers he could have gone and dipped in. Thankfully for Naaman, his servants reasoned with him; and he listened. Verse 14 says Naaman went down to the Jordan river and dipped seven times, just as the man of God had instructed him to do, and only after he did those things, his flesh was restored; and he was cleansed of his leprosy. Did Naaman merit his salvation from the leprosy? Absolutely not! But when he obeyed the command from the Lord, he was cleansed. Would Naaman have been saved from the leprosy if he hadn't  dipped in the Jordan river seven times?

So, we can see that though salvation is not merited, man must follow God's plan to receive salvation.

Matthew 7:21  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

James 2:20b "...faith without works is dead."

So the question is, what must we do to be saved? Hebrews tells us that Christ became the author of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. My goal is to show you through scripture that plan of salvation that is laid out for us so that we, like Noah, Rahab, Naaman and many others, will know exactly what it is we must do to be saved.

Hebrews 5: 8-9 says,  " though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,"

It was the will of the Father for the Son to suffer and die on the cross so that all of mankind might have salvation. Though it was very hard for Jesus to do, He submitted to the will of the Father. He obeyed the Father and, then, became the author of eternal salvation.

Luke 22:42  "saying, 'Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.'"

So the questions are what is that plan, and how do we obtain the salvation of which Jesus became the author?  Exodus chapter 12 (Exodus 12) foreshadows the plan of salvation of which Jesus became the author.  God's people were required to take a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5) and kill it.  Then, they were to put the blood over the doorposts of their houses. (vs.13) "Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."

(vs.23) " For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you."

In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul was speaking to the Corinthians concerning various sins in their congregation and said, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us."

1 Peter 1: 18-19 again tells us how Christ was the blood sacrifice for us, just as the spotless lamb was to be the sacrifice for the Israelites. "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

If Christ is our passover, how do we access His blood? How do we make sure that we, like the Egyptians, are covered with the blood of the spotless lamb?
Romans 6:1-7  "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin."

Until you die in baptism, you are not freed from sin.

Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"

Revelation 1:5, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood"

Romans 6:4, " Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Colossians 2 :11-12, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

1 Peter 3:18 & 21 "(18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

(21) There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"

Is salvation merited? Absolutely not! But just like the Israelites, we have to obey the Lord's commandments if we want to be saved. If the Israelites had not covered their doors with the blood of the spotless lamb, they would have perished. If we are not covered with the blood of our spotless Lamb, then we will perish! As the verses show, the way to access Christ's blood is by being buried with Him in baptism. Once we have been baptized, we have accessed His blood; and if we continue to do His will, His blood will continue to cleanse us.

1 John 1:7, " But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

For the rest of this discussion, let's look at several examples from the book of Acts that show exactly what people did when they were taught God's word, believed it and wanted to be saved:

Acts 2:21 says "And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved."  What does it mean to "call upon the name of the Lord"? In Acts 2 , Peter is preaching to the people of Jerusalem, telling them that they crucified the Lord. Acts 2:37-39, " Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Acts 2:40-41 "And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized"

Why were they baptized? Look back up to verse 38 - "for the remission of sins". Acts 2:41 cont. ".. and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. " Acts 2:47 goes on to say, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Here a couple of questions to consider:

1 - Who was being added? (vs. 41 - Those who received his word were added)
2 - What were they being added to? ( vs. 47 - they were added to the church)
3 - Who added them? (vs. 47 - the Lord added them)

In Acts 8, Saul was persecuting Christians - the Christians scattered and went everywhere preaching the Word.
Phillip went to Samaria and Acts 8:5 says "and preached Christ to them."

Acts 8:6 " And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. "  (What was Phillip preaching to them? Acts 8:5 - "preached Christ to them")

Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."

Next, consider the conversion of the Eunuch. In Acts 8:26-29, an angel spoke to Phillip and told him to catch up with a man in a chariot on his way to Gaza. Acts 8:30-31 "So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"  And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. " Verses 35-36 say, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. "
"Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"

After Phillip preached Jesus, the Eunuch said, "What hinders me from being baptized?"  Then, in verse 37 Phillip replies, "Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."" Verse 38 states, "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."

Though there are more , let's just look at one more example in the conversion of Saul. In Acts 9, we find Saul breathing threats of murder to Christians and had permission from the high priest to capture any Christians he might find.

On his way to Damascus, a light shown from Heaven. Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice from Heaven saying, starting in vs. (4), " Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (5)  And he said, 'Who are you Lord?' Then the Lord said, " I am Jesus who you are persecuting...'  (6) So he, trembling and astonished, said, "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."

Verse 8 tells us that Saul was blind, and verse 9 says that he was three days without sight and food or drink. Meanwhile, in Damascus, the Lord appeared to a disciple named Ananias and told him to go to Saul.  Ananias went to Saul and laid his hands on him.
Verse 18 says, "Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized." Verse 19 goes on to say that then he received food and was strengthened. So, he was baptized before he did anything else - even EAT - after being without food for 3 days.

From this lesson we've seen that obedience is required for salvation. We've looked at the verses that tell us that Jesus was the author of salvation. Throughout the Bible, from the beginning to the end, that plan the He authored is planned for, foreshadowed, came to pass and is available for us today. In order to obtain the salvation that He is offering us, we have to do our part. Over and over in the book of Acts, when a person asked what was necessary for salvation, they were told to repent and be baptized for the purpose of washing their sins away. When they did this and when we do this, we are added by God to the body of Christ. Sadly, many good people do not know this.

Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

What is baptism? "Baptism" comes from the Greek word "baptizo" which literall means - "To dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge, to wash, to make clean with water." (Strong's Greek Lexicon / Strong's number : 907)

Do You Gather With Him

By Amy Brown

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (Matt 12:30)

When I read this verse, I think of a faithful Gospel preacher and good friend who used to often remind us, "If you're not gathering, you're scattering." He wanted to be sure we understood it was one or the other. There is no "in between" or "riding the fence."

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13)

So many times, I have heard people reject Christianity on the grounds that it is "too restrictive" and they do not want to be "slaves" to any person or thing. Sadly, they do not realize that they are already slaves.

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)

In the context of our theme, "Love for Souls," the question becomes, "Are you gathering with Him, or are you scattering (working against) Him?" Are you actively seeking and seizing opportunities to teach others the Gospel, or do you remain silent for fear of ridicule or rejection?

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:15)

Pray for those doors to be opened, that you might recognize such opportunities, and boldly take advantage.

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

Stand in the Ways and See

By Betty Strickland

"Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ " (Jeremiah 6:16)

We say we would never say such as that. Is that your feelings on the matter? Are you sure? When you or I depend on someone, a preacher or a Bible class teacher, to do our studying for us without checking to see if "these things were so" as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11, are we not guilty of the same thing?

We are going to take a look at some of the examples   from God’s word of people that wanted to do it their way rather than God’s way.

First, there is Adam and Eve succumbing to the wiley old serpent in Genesis 3. They were expelled from the garden.

Cain killed his brother and then lied to the Lord and was punished for it. (Genesis 4)

Then there was the great flood in Genesis 7f. Noah spent 120 years preaching to those around him; and, in the end, only 8 souls were saved.

If Israel wanted to possess the land God gave them, they HAD TO listen to the statues and judgments which were TAUGHT them. (Deuteronomy 4:1)

Even when Moses was told to SPEAK to the rock in Numbers 20:8, he struck it twice (verse 11); and in verse 12 God told him, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." and in Deuteronomy 31:2 (Moses speaking), "And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’"  There is a day coming when we all we be judged (Romans 14:10) and I pray none reading this lesson will hear the sad, sad words,"depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"  (Matthew 7:21-23).

We are told today, "It does not matter what we believe, and we are all going to the same place (heaven) just by a different way." Really? It would seem when God has given a direction, there is no such thing as a "different way." We can go to the Scripture again and ask a certain prophet of God we can read about in 1 Kings 13. God told this prophet to go to Bethel and warn Jeroboam of the error of their ways in their worship that was not acceptable to God. After the prophet had given God’s judgment on the altar and worship done in Bethel, Jeroboam attempted to have the young prophet arrested; and his hand withered, the altar split apart as the man of God had delivered the word of the Lord. Well, Jeroboam begs the man of God to "Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." in verse 6. The man of God does so,  and the king’s hand is restored.  Then the king asked the man of God to come home with him for food and drink, and he would give him a reward. To which the young man answers that even for half your houses, I would not go home with you because (verse 9)  "For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’"

Then an old prophet lies to the man of God and tells him God spoke to him and told him it would be alright for the man of God to come back to his house to eat and drink. So, the young prophet takes him at his word instead of doing as God had instructed him and goes back to the old prophet’s house, eats and drinks (1 Kings 13:11-19). Then the word of God truly comes to the old prophet, "Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back.  When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse." (1 Kings 13:20-24)

Then we hear today "Well, my preacher said this or that." That’s not good enough, sister and friends. God said it and that settles it.

Matthew 7:21 -23, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

Christ is THE WAY - "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) And there is only one way to "get into Christ" - "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)

"Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ " (Jeremiah 6:16) Please do not say as those of old said - "‘We will not walk in it.’"

The Testing of Your Faith Produces Patience

By June Smith

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)

The first time I remember reading the above verse, I was a rather young Christian. I thought, "how can this be so? how can we have joy in the midst of trials? who wants to be tested? I believe Jesus is God's son isn't that enough faith?" I thought I had a pretty good measure of patience. Of course, if your faith has not been tested you do not really know if you have Godly patience or not. When we are young we tend to try to "fix things" ourselves and figure them out based on our limited experience. Needless to say, we could avoid many difficulties if we would be patient and wait on God. As James 1:3 (KJV) says, "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

Patience as defined by Unger's Bible Dictionary is endurance, constancy, forbearance, long-suffering, a patient waiting for. Patience is that calm and unruffled temper with which the good man bears the evils of life, whether they proceed from persons or things. It also manifests itself in a sweet submission to the providential appointments of God and fortitude in the presence of duties and conflicts of life. This grace saves one from discouragement in the face of evil as stated in Luke 21:19 (KJV) "In your patience possess ye your souls." and it aids in the development of character as shown in James 1:3-4 " knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

This patience and trusting in God will end in reward in the life to come as we read in Romans 2:7 "...eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;..." Truly this gives us reason to count it all joy when we fall into trials for the patience that will be developed in us, because of the testing will produce in us the patience that will carry us through life depending upon God and not upon self. The final outcome of such patience will lead us to eternal life with God.  

The Lord Still Knows How to Deliver the Godly

Written with love by Betty Strickland

"and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) -- then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations" (2 Peter 2:7-9a).

Have you ever been watching a news program and the things reported really HURT to the heart of you or ever heard others talking of things they enjoy doing or seeing or dressing in ways that offend your vision of the way God desires His people to talk, act or dress?

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4) We cannot act like the world and be pleasing to God. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2) "For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world." (1 John 2:16)

These things are not pleasing to God; and He will not preserve you, if you insist on being like everyone else around you. For you see, once you have obeyed the Lord and go back to living like nothing has changed in your life, you are not doing God's will.  "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning." (2 Peter 2:20) The end is worse than the beginning!

But as God knew "righteous" Lot and delivered him out of sinful Sodom, He also knows His own today, those who are living righteously and living to please Him instead of self. He recognized Lot in all the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even though the world today is coming close to competing with Sodom and Gomorrah,  i.e. same-sex marriage is made legal even in our "Christian nation", the legality of killing babies, calling good evil and evil good, using the Lord's name in vain, and "God still knows His own."

But these things aught not to be! We cannot allow our hearts to become so calloused that these things do not grieve us, as it also grieves God. If we are His people, the things that hurt Him will also hurt us.

We can not look on or fellowship sin,  "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:11) We must STAY in fellowship with God, if we want to gain a home in heaven and want Him to KNOW us and "preserve us."  "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

Do the things you see and hear "Torment your righteous soul"? If so, God will help and keep you unto the judgment and "deliver you out of temptation" because, "Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief." (Proverbs 28:14) KJV

Please, obey the Lord commands.

Romans 10:17,  "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Revelation 2:10, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." KJV

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Praise God in the Assembly of the Saints

By Betty Kimbro

"Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation." (Psalm 111:1)

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights." (Psalm 148:1)

"Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints." (Psalm 149:1)

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God." (Psalm 135:1-2)

These are the words or songs written by the Psalmist by inspiration of God. These are written for our learning. This means these are words written to us to tell us how we are to worship God.

The following verses are written by Paul to the Colossians and the Ephesians.They are also for our learning.

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."  (Ephesians 3: 17-21).

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Colossians 3:16-17)

The Psalmist says in Psalm 150:6, "Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."

Let us Praise God for:

    The beautiful earth He made for us to dwell on.

    Giving us rules (laws) to live by, that we might know right from wrong.

    The Bible, His precious words of life for our guide.

    Jesus Christ, His only Son, who willingly came to earth to redeem us from our sins with His own blood.

    Loved ones, family; teachers and preachers, elders who watch for our souls.

    His excellent greatness.

    Our Avenue of prayer knowing He is always there for us to cleanse our souls to Him.

    Our homes, food, and all our daily needs.

    Healing the sick and restoring their health.

    His everlasting love to us and His promise of a home in Heaven if we follow His commandments.

I have listed only a few of the ways to offer Praise to God. Take time to add your own thoughts as there are so many I know you can add. I love Psalm 121. It gives us even more reasons to Praise Our God for what He has done for us:

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."

May God bless us all as we spend time in Prayer, praising God for His numerous blessings. May we grow up in Him and spread the Word of His Love to All Around us.

Be Renewed

By Dena Ivie

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:23-24).

After one puts off the old man by being baptized into Christ, he / she becomes a new creation.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Being this new person means, we "put off" and "put on" certain things. Study carefully the following verses:

"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" (Colossians 3:8-10).

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Colossians 3:12-15).

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:12-14).

Numerous verses teach Christians how to "be renewed in the spirit of your mind."

Study this example: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1-2).

As we faithfully study God's word, we will be renewed in our minds. As Christians continually renew their minds, there will be growth and increased obedience to "that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

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The Ungrateful are in Spiritual Danger

By Janice Taylor

"because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21)

This is how sin really begins in a Christian's life, isn't it?  People begin to take God for granted. It is like we do with our parents, our spouse and our children. It seems they are the ones we "take things out on" as the saying goes. They are always there. They love us. They are the ones we yell at, nag or complain to. I have heard it said that we know they will love us anyway, so if something goes wrong in our daily activities, we "snap" at our spouse! I must say, I do not "snap" very often, but I do take my husband for granted sometimes. I just know he loves me and is there to do all of the little things he has always done. My friend just lost her husband of over 50 years and has really reminded me to cherish each and every day. If we dread a day without our spouse, how much more should we fear an eternity without God?

The people in Rome knew God; but somewhere along the way, they became neglectful and failed to glorify Him. They began to take Him for granted and were no longer thankful for their blessings. What happened next is the progression of that sin. They became futile in their thoughts. Futile is defined as, "lacking vigor or purpose; inept or ineffective vain, unavailing, useless, in vain, fruitless, hopeless, impractical, worthless, unprofitable, to no effect, not successful."  Their thoughts became useless in the worship of our God. This, of course, led to their hearts being hardened, just as God said it would. In so many verses about people's hearts being hardened, they had once known God!

Brethren, do not allow a desire for the world to grow in your heart. That desire will rule your life, if you let it. You will begin to depend upon yourself instead of the Lord. This will lead to a hardening of your heart, and you will find yourself taking God for granted. Spend a portion of each day in grateful praise and adoration for Him and His love for you!

Peter Warns of Judgment on the Unjust

Written with love by Betty Strickland

"and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,  whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord." (2 Peter 2:9b-11)

Peter is concluding what he started in 2 Peter 2:4, "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;".  If God did not spare the angels that sinned, how on earth can we expect Him to allow sinful man (generic) into His perfect presence? In verse 9b it states the "unjust" are "under punishment", just like the angels of verse 4. They are receiving a foretaste of the punishment that is to come after judgment.

In verse 10 Peter states, "and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries." They have no fear of life here or the here-after. My way or no way, just more of the "ME" mentality. "Whatever I want to do, I am going to do regardless of who says it is wrong - man or God". Laws of men or laws of God, it matters not.

Some of the commentaries say this is talking of false teachers and there-in lies much danger to those that would teach falsely and those that would believe their teaching. WE must be a student of the Word so we will be able to recognize false teaching when we hear it. WE must know enough to remain "godly" and not be judged "unjust."

Now, verse 11: "whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord." Have you ever heard the old saying "Fools rush in where angels dare to tread"? That seems to be about what Peter is saying in this verse. Angels will not dare go where they have no right to go, and neither should we. God is in control; and He will be the judge, the only RIGHTEOUS judge, and for that we should be thankful. "For the LORD will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond, or free."  (Deuteronomy 32:36)  "For the LORD will judge His people, And He will have compassion on His servants."  (Psalm 135:14)

The time to make your life "godly" is now, while there is life in you. In death there is no way to repent and obey God. That must be done while you are still physically alive.

I am not going to try to tell you I understand all there is about life after death. The scriptures do not give us enough information to be perfectly clear, but I do know the Hebrew writer says: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,"(Hebrews 9:27). We must all face death and judgment. The main thing is to be ready to face that judgment when we leave this earth or the Lord comes, which ever comes first.

"For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."" (Hebrews 10:30)

Remember - "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

Do you want "rest" or the "vengeance" of the Lord?

Obey the Lord today

False Teachers Will Be Judged

Written with love by Betty Strickland

" By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;" (2 Peter 2:3-4).

In the beginning of this chapter, we learn Peter is warning about false teachers, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." (2 Peter 2:1).

I chose the KJV for this verse because of the word "damnable," which seems to bring it down to a more severe wording than "destructive" in the NKJV. I can not think of anyone who would want to be included in the group of being "damnable." This verse tells us there will be false teachers among us. All we have to do is listen to the radio or watch a TV religious program to be able to see this in practice.

The first part of verse 3 tell us the reason these false teachers teach the way they do - "covetousness" (making money).  IF they teach as the Bible teaches, they will not have as big of a following as they do; therefore, will not have the most money coming in. People have never wanted to hear the guidelines as God set forth and do not want to hear it even today. God has allowed this practice (from the beginning of time) to continue, but has NOT changed His mind about the end thereof (if un-repented). Peter states, "Their destruction does not slumber."

Now, we learn in verse 4 about the angels that sinned and were cast into hell, reserved in chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.  Jude also states this - "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;" (Jude 1:6).

In Luke 8:31 we learn of "Legion", who begs the Lord NOT to send him into the "abyss", when He expels him from the demon possessed man in Gadarenes. So, the demons know of this place and did not want to be there; and I dare say, neither do we! 

Think about following these sinful angels, false prophets and false teachers. Remember, darkness is the absence of light; and our responsibility is to follow the "true Light" - John 3:19-21 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Just imagine being in eternity, being separated from God and with all the evil that has ever been on earth or cast out of heaven? "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Isaiah 55:6-9 "Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Beware, false teachers!  

Peter Reminds Us of the Days of Noah

Written with love by Betty Strickland

"And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;" (2 Peter 2:5).

After 10 generations, albeit, they certainly lived much longer than men today from Adam to Noah, the world had gotten so terrible, God was sorry He had even made man. I sometime wonder, when reading the news or watching it on TV, just how bad was it then, considering the way human beings are today. We are very fortunate that our God is longsuffering (or not?).

Let us look at some scripture that describes this: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:5,7-8) One man and his family - eight souls...

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."  (Genesis 6:11-12)

Only Noah, his wife and his sons - Shem, Ham and Japheth - with their wives were found in all the earth to be righteous. He gave Noah instructions of what and how to build the ark. Can you imagine the faith Noah had to embark on a job this enormous? God gave him the exact measurements, the exact wood to use, where to put the door and window, how many floors or decks.  He had no power tools as men have today. And in Genesis 6:22 it states that Noah did exactly as God instructed.

"Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation."  (Genesis 7:1)

God then told Noah just how many animals of the clean and unclean to bring on board the ark "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;  also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth". (Genesis 7:2-3)

Peter tells us that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness". (2 Peter 2:5) So for the 120 years it took Noah and his sons to build this ark, he was also preaching to his extended family and friends to no avail; and we get frustrated trying to teach someone the gospel of Christ.

If Noah and his family had not obeyed God (faith in action), they certainly would not have survived but would have perished along with the rest of the world at that time.

"So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive." (Genesis 7:23)

We have a "spiritual ark" today, the church; and just like Noah, we have to obey God's way to enter this church and a way to build this church. And, just like Noah, there is only one way.

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

Hear the truth - Romans 10:17; Believe - Hebrews 11:6; Repent - Acts 2:38; be baptized into Christ - Galatians 3:27 - "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" and live faithfully until the end -  (Matthew 10:22, Matthew 28:20).

I pray we will never be so arrogant to believe that God did not say what He meant and mean what He said... Christ is coming again to receive His own in the air and taking vengeance on those that do not obey Him. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:" (2 Thessalonians 1:8) 

THE TWO VISITORS

The first visitor comes in and everyone hopes he will not sit next to them. He has to go up front to sit because all the back rows are full. How embarrassing! From the way he is dressed, in simple clothes and sandals, it is obvious he's poor - and probably homeless, as well. Everybody hopes the second man who comes in will not notice the first one or think he's a member here. It's obvious the second guest is well off. After all, he's driving a brand new car and wearing a very nice suit and tie. Hopefully, he will also contribute a lot in the collection plate. That poor, homeless guy who walked in off the street surely won't give anything. He's most likely here just looking for a handout, anyway. The properly dressed guest is asked to lead closing prayer. Better to not ask the other one since he doesn't even wear a tie. After the last "amen" everyone is quick to greet the well dressed guest, telling him, "Please, come back soon." As for the visitor with sandals, the people hope that maybe he will just slip away and never come back again. Then:

The first visitor is heard to say, as he exits the building, "I am not a visitor. I am here for every service." He is then seen shaking the dust from His feet and mentioning His name, JESUS.

When a stranger comes into our midst, we should remember the words in the song, "Tell me the story of Jesus ...homeless, rejected and poor..." Our Saviour wants greeters, encouragers and soul winners. Please consider a few other words about that Stranger standing at the door in: Isaiah 53; Luke 9:58 and Matthew 10:14-15. 

A Christian Wife is not Passive/Aggressive

By June Smith

"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." Proverbs 31:10-12

As I began to think about the title of this article, "A Christian wife is not Passive/ Aggressive," I tried to think of women from the Bible who were either passive or aggressive. The woman that came to my mind as an example of a passive wife was Job's wife. Poor Job had lost twelve children, his wealth, his friends had accused him of sinning and he was plagued with boils. His wife said, ". . . curse God and die!" Job 2:9 (KJV) Her attitude is not an example of a woman of compassion or concern.

Christian women should exhibit the same kindness and tenderheartedness toward their husbands as they would to anyone else. We understand that we are to speak things that edify and build up our brethren including husbands. Romans 14:19, "Let us therefore follow after the things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." (KJV)

Wives who show respect to their husbands can expect to be respected in return. Luke 6:31, "And as ye would that men should do to you do ye also to them likewise." (KJV) Do you want your husband to treat you with respect? Then you must treat him with respect. Can you imagine a wife who would prepare her husband's favorite meal and intentionally put too much pepper in it to make her husband pay for some imagined or real slight? Such treatment would be a sign of immaturity and a lack of true love. We read in I Corinthians 13:4-5 "Love suffereth long, and is kind ; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;" A godly Christian woman does not plot against her husband to get even or to get her own way.

When one thinks of an aggressive woman from scripture, Jezebel comes to mind quickly.

That aggressive woman threatened the life of the prophet Elijah. On another occasion when her husband Ahab wanted a vineyard, she aggressively schemed to get it. Her plotting included the death of the rightful owner. She was a merciless, self-seeking woman and her name has become a byword for all that is detestable and undesirable in womanhood. God has, in His wisdom, set the order of the home. Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." (KJV) Worldly wisdom says, "Have it your way." Jezebel had it her way and eventually died a horrible death.

God has given women a role different from men and yet it is a place of honor. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her."  A godly husband loves his wife as he loves himself. We want to be loved by our men as they love themselves. As a man looks after and meets his own needs, he should also do the same for his wife. He should even be ready to lay down his life for her as Christ laid down his life for the church. We certainly should not ruin a relationship like that by being demanding or aggressive.

There is one last woman in the Bible that I would like for us to consider. She was neither passive nor aggressive. She wisely did good for her husband and not evil even though scripture calls her husband a fool. The woman that I am speaking of is Abigail, the wife of Nabal. David and his men had protected Nabal and under their protection he had lost none of his sheep to the enemy. David sent a request of Nabal asking for food for his men. Nabal was insolent and refused David's request. David was angered and was about to avenge this insult from Nabal by taking Nabal's life. Abigail heard of her husband's rude behavior toward David. She knew of David's intent to harm her husband. She quickly gathered up supplies and gifts and rushed to meet David on his way to harm Nabal. She fell at David's feet and begged him to be patient with her husband. She reminded David that God was the avenger of the wicked. She was received favorably by David. Her tact and wisdom saved her ungrateful husband and it prevented David from an act of rage. Now this is a lady that we want to imitate. Even if we are not in the best of marriages, it serves us well to do good to our husbands and not evil. If we do not return evil for evil we can expect God to bless us as He did Abigail.

A virtuous wife's worth is far above money. Her husband can trust her; so he will not suffer loss. She does him good and not evil for a lifetime. Let's remember that ladies, lets do good for our men. Let's truly love our husbands.

Heirs According to The Hope

Written with love by - Betty Strickland

We have all probably read stories or seen movies where folk are arguing and bickering over "who gets what at the death of a family member". Some may have even been in this type of situation. Well, here is one inheritance you do not have to argue over or go to court to receive. That is not to say you just sit back and say "Bring it to me, Lord, I deserve it." Never, never in a thousand years could we deserve the promise of eternal life. So, just how or why do we receive this inheritance?

"Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:7)

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27).

"knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin;" (Romans 6:6 ASV). Jesus came and suffered on this earth that we may have 'life' more abundantly. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) And that life is "eternal life in heaven." "and this is the promise that He has promised us--eternal life." (I John 2:25)

"storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Timothy 6:19)

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22)

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Roman 10:17) "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

"Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."" (Acts 8:37)

"praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47)

*Lay hold on your inheritance of hope by obeying our Lord and Savior. Be at peace with God. 

The Modest Wardrobe

by Dena Ivie

There seems to be no concern for modest apparel in today’s world, and this lack of concern for modesty has filtered into the church. Does this command in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 not apply to women today?

In James 1:17 we are given insight into the nature of God the Father, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."  Did you take note? There is no variation or shadow of turning with the Father! From that one verse, Christians must realize that any command in the New Testament is to be obeyed today!

Many women argue that modesty is something decided by each individual. Yet even the dictionary defines modest as "observing the proprieties of dress and behavior; decent." God has given to us the ability to think and reason; thus, we are able to discern what is decent according to God. The Bible gives us all we need to know in order to understand decency in appearance and in behavior. Note the aspect of behavior needing to be modest, as well as one’s appearance.

Other women use the excuse: "that’s the only clothing being sold today and everyone is wearing it, so it must be considered proper now." Do you really think that excuse will stand before God? Look at what Jesus said "And He said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." (Luke 16:15) Are you willing to become an abomination in God’s sight in order to be highly esteemed by the standards of the world?

Women say they are not able to find modest clothing in the stores. Yes, some stores no longer sell much decent clothing. It may take looking a bit longer, but it is possible to buy decent clothing. Some also express the idea that modest clothing is "too expensive." However, I have found just the opposite; modest clothing is not as expensive as the "latest styles of immodesty."

Older women often are deceived by the idea, "No one looks at older women, so it really doesn’t matter what we wear. Just go for comfort." There is no truth to that idea. All women, regardless of age, are noticed by others. But more important, all are noticed by God and are responsible for obedience to His word.

Attitude controls what appearance and behavior we display. Women desiring to truly please God are willing to be more careful about what is or is not "on display" with each item of clothing worn. (Here’s a helpful hint: stand before a mirror, full length, if possible, and look at top, bottom, sides, and all points between. Turn, twist, bend over, raise, and lower your arms, eyeing yourself from all angles. You may realize you are displaying more than you thought! Sit in a chair in front of the mirror, crossing and uncrossing your legs and note what is seen. Observe carefully every item of clothing you put on.) In Proverbs 27:19, we are told, "As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man." Again, note Proverbs 11:20, "Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their ways are His delight."

If we desire to be pleasing to God and glorify Him, we will gladly maintain a "Modest Wardrobe!" 

O You of Little Faith

By Denise Chaffin

"But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm" (Matt. 8:26).

"You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them" (Ps.89:9).

We sometimes ridicule, or at least question, the disciple's lack of trust in Jesus when we read this incident. But how often do we say we trust in God and then lack the ability to truly demonstrate that trust in our everyday lives? We all know that actions speak louder than words, and words are easy to come by. Jesus' disciples were in the same boat, so to speak, as we are today. Oh, we think we would have understood and believed much quicker; but remember, they had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years. Many men had come, saying they were the Christ, and had proven themselves false in the end. I think they sensed something different in Jesus but did not really understand the nature of the kingdom he preached. They were still thinking in human terms.

Don't we have the same trouble today? We know the King. We believe His word, but we do not fully understand the nature of that kingdom He teaches in His word. We know the physical world and its cause and effect. We are distracted by the cares and troubles of this life. We think that if we live 'just right', life (or our brothers and sisters) should not treat us this way! Our lives become more and more unsettled. We grow despondent. We grasp at medicines, doctor visits, massages, meditation, thinking, "This just isn't working! My life is more a mess every day!" But in the end, it is Christ who is the one who cares. The remedies of this world, while they may help for a while, end up complicating it rather than helping.

We have lost our spiritual focus. We forget who is Lord and master of the universe. We think we can control it; and when things spin out of control, we cry for help. Who is best able to calm the racing heart and the whirling emotions but the one who created them?

A heartbreaking story was related to me recently. A young man, a member of the Lord's body, was sent to Iraq. In a terrible accident, he and two others were wounded, the two mortally. In the chaos that followed, he and one of the other soldiers were misidentified; and he was sent to a hospital under the other man's identity, while his own family was told he perished. He was mourned, they had a memorial service, and all his family and friends began to settle the thought of life without him. Some time later, when he was well enough to have bandages removed and speak their error was discovered. It was a terrible tragedy, with two families left to wonder how such a thing could happen. Every precaution is taken to avoid just such terrible mix-ups. But they sometimes happen anyway.

Unfortunately, instead of the one family thanking God their son was spared and moving on, they grew angry and wondered how He could so cruelly leave them to think their son dead for so long. Instead of embracing their son and turning their situation into an opportunity to share the grief of others in a real way, they turned on the one who, in their minds, had allowed this. Now, certainly God could have intervened and changed everything. But He let the course of human events take place, and human error and chaos of war took their toll. Instead of reliance on God, bitterness, anger, and darkened souls resulted.

In the following passage I believe is the key to letting God's power and majesty reign in our lives. We are human and frail, we doubt and wonder how things happen the way they do; but this man had the right attitude that Mark records in chapter 9 verse 24, "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (KJV) When we are at the end of our rope and unable to trust, that is when we truly must rely on God. When the road ahead is dark and uncertain, when the load seems more than we can bear, we can cry with that father of long ago, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24 NKJV)   

LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN

By Betty Kimbro

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20)

To lay up means to put or place, or hide, store or save something.

Matthew 6:19 states, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal".

What are "treasures"? Something of great value, riches, jewels or purchased possessions. These are earthly treasurers. Our scripture today is taken from the Sermon on the Mount, which is located at the northwestern end of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum. It is a beautiful, quiet place overlooking the Sea. Having been there, I can see how thousands of people could have seen and heard our dear Lord as He spoke to them.

Jesus sat on the hillside watching all the people as He taught them. (To read the beautiful sermon, go to Matthew 5 thru 7.) He begins with 11 verses of "Blessed are...." and continues on telling how we should live our lives.

Our thoughts today are about "laying up for ourselves treasurers in Heaven". We know Jesus was not speaking of material things, because we take nothing with us to heaven.

In  Luke 12, Jesus was speaking to a multitude when someone called out for Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. Jesus said, "Who made me judge over you? Take heed and beware of covetousness.” Then He spoke this parable in Luke 12:16-21, "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”"

In this parable, we see that earthly treasures we horde can never get us to heaven.

The disciples asked Him to explain the parables to them that He had spoken to the people. In Matthew 13:44-48 Jesus says: "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. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,  who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,  which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away."

Then He closes with Matthew 13:49-50, "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Children learn by what they see and hear daily in their young lives. Jesus is always there for us in every situation and will help us to live as we should. These are all treasurers we can 'lay up in Heaven'.

In Matthew 19:16, a young man came to Jesus asking, "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus tells him to keep the Commandments. (This is before Jesus died on the cross, so the O.T. commandments were still in force). The young man said he had kept them from his youth. In Matthew 19:21, Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasur in heaven, and come, Follow Me.” But the young man went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions.

How very sad! Here Jesus, Himself, is telling him what he must do; and he could not give up his possessions.

We are to spend our life, here on earth, serving others so that we can store up treasurers in Heaven for ourselves and be ready to hear the most wonderful words we will ever hear!

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy of your Lord.

The Lord is not slack Concerning His Promise

By Edy Cozort

Throughout Scriptures, one of the main themes portrayed over and over again is that God is faithful.

In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter reaffirmed this for the First Century Christians, as well as any Christian who would ever read his epistle. He wrote, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This promise of which Peter speaks about is that the Lord will return one day to claim His own (John 14:1-3). What an amazing promise from the Lord!

Let us notice a few things concerning these encouraging verses and God's promise. First, the Lord is not bound by time. God, being outside of time, does not have any time constraints on what He chooses to do. This is one of the ways He is able to know the beginning from the end (Isaiah 46:9-10). You might ask, "Why is this important?" It is important because it helps us to understand that God knows when the right time will be for the Lord to return.

Speaking of His return, Jesus said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). Just as God knew when the fullness of time had come to send Christ into the world (Galatians 4:4), He will send Christ back when it is time.

Second, God does not take His promises lightly! Notice that Peter said God is "not slack" concerning His promise. "Slack" in the Greek means "to delay, tarry." Thayer's definition says "to delay, to render slowly, to be long, to tarry, loiter." This fits right in with the point made before concerning God sending Christ back at the appropriate time. We should not be concerned over when God will fulfill His promise, but instead be prepared for that great day.

Great comfort should also be found in the multiple examples of God fulfilling His promises. Examples include: the Seed and Land Promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8); the promise to David that his kingdom would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13); the promise to protect and care for the children of Israel, as long as they remained faithful (Leviticus 26); Jesus' promise to establish His church (Matthew 16:18); the promise of the gospel being taken to the Gentiles (John 10:16) and many other promises. God is a wonderful example of how we should keep the promises we make.

Jesus said, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5:37). James reiterated this when he wrote, "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" (James 5:12). We should all take caution that we do not speak false promises but, instead, keep our promises.

Third, God does not desire for any soul to be lost eternally. We must keep in mind that even though God is longsuffering, there will come a time when His patience with mankind will run out; and Christ will be sent to claim the faithful. Since God does not want any soul to be lost but to come to repentance, He has given man a plan to follow in order to be saved. It is because of God's goodness and His love that this has been made possible (Romans 2:4; John 3:16) . As we journey through this life, may we always look to these words in 2 Peter, as well as other scriptures, to help us keep our focus on the promise of Christ's return.

YOU WERE CREATED TO BE HIS HELP MEET

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Gen 2:18).

When God had finished all the works of his creation, He surveyed everything and pronounced them "good."  However, when he considered the man whom he had made, he found that it was not good for him to be alone.  Therefore he created woman as a help "meet" for Adam.  From creation woman's role was ordained, and in this role, she should find fulfillment.

The literal definition of the term help meet uses a noun "help" and an adjective for "meet," meaning suited.  It is a Hebrew word taken from # 5826, meaning to surround and may be compared with God as helper (Psa. 121:1-2).  In almost every way, woman's nature is a complement to that of man.  Without her, the world would be like Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:4-5; Judges 19:22; 1 Tim 5:14).  While the husband is earning the living, someone, who cares for the husband, the children and the house, needs to guide the house.  Both the husband and the children need her tender loving care to be complete physically, emotionally and intellectually (Titus 2:4).

The literal definition of the word woman means "taken from man" (Gen. 2:23).  Even this fact of creation should preview the marriage relationship.  "THEREFORE (because of this) shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen 2:24).  The very emphatic statement that follows should give all the reason anyone would need for teaching against divorce.  "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6).

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Warnings from the book of Nahum
by June Smith

The book of Nahum in the Old Testament is placed by some in a grouping called the minor prophets. The prophecy revealed in this book is about the coming destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the mighty Assyrian empire. In Nahum 3:1 the city of Nineveh is described as a city of murderers. It is also called a city of lies. The description of Nineveh reminds us of  John 8:44,  "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

The book of Nahum reveals three characteristics of God. First of all, in chapter 1 verses 2-3b, we are told of God's wrath. God is a God of justice. When justice does not prevail it angers him, but he is slow to anger and very patient. Nahum 1:2-3b, "God is jealous, and the LORD avenges;
The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked."

Next, we are told that God is a God of great power in chapter 1 verses 3b-6. He has control over the land and sea. God is mighty and he can do whatever he chooses. No one can stand against his powers.
Nahum 1:3b-6, " In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are thrown down by Him."

The third attribute that we see is God's goodness. His justice is tempered with mercy, as shown in chapter 1:7. For those who trust in him, even though there is evil around them, if they will be faithful to God, he will reward them. We must not make the mistake of thinking that goodness is the only attribute of God. For those who are living an obedient life, there is the blessing of knowing that God is our refuge, our place of safety and protection. Nahum 1:7, "The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him."

The scripture says in Hosea 4:6, "My people destroyed for lack of knowledge". (Hebrews 3:15-19) We have to get back to speaking and teaching the basic teachings of the Bible and making sure that people know the truth so that they will not be pulled away by Satan, who is described as a angel (or messenger) of light. II Corinthians 11:14, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light."

We have to be careful about judging the motives of others, but we also have to let the Bible be the judge when it comes to matters of doctrine and church worship. There are teachers and preachers that teach a message that sounds good. They preach a "cheap grace". They have forgotten that God is also a God of wrath and power, and he expects obedience. Even some who were once preachers of the truth have accepted the idea that God is such a loving God that he will be tolerant and accepting of all and that it does not matter what you do or teach. When we look at the book of Nahum, we see that God is a God of wrath, a God of power and a God of goodness.

As we look back into the Old Testament, we see the children of Israel as they were wondering in the desert after leaving the bondage of Egypt. They were struggling to learn God's ways. Only two of the original adults were allowed to enter the "promised land" because of disobedience. (Hebrews 3:15-19)  It is a sad thing to consider that so many were lost because they would not listen to God and obey. It is a reminder to us that the same God expects us to listen to Him and to obey Him today. We must diligently study to show ourselves approved unto God. (2 Timothy 2:15 [KJV]) We must also remember that we show our love to God by obeying His commands. John 14:15, " If you love Me, keep My commandments."  1 John 5:3 (KJV), "For this is the love of God , that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous."

The Book of Nahum
by June Smith

The book of Nahum says it well,
Words of wisdom for some who clearly fell.
God is a God of wrath and a God of good.
Guard your hearts and minds as you should.

Do not be fooled by men who say,
God loves all and looks the other way.
He is a God of vengeance it does say,
and those who fail will surely pay.

His strength and power we can truly see,
from the things he can do on earth and on the sea.
Warning is given to all on this terrestrial ball,
Instruction is given clearly to us all.

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