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Archive for category October 2011

Christianity In Action

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Mike Riley, October 2011 | No Comments

by Mike Riley

The story is told of a man who once worked for a coal company. Near the company offices was a railroad, and each day, several freight trains would pass by. The man often noticed that the owner of the company would throw chunks of coal over the fence at various places along the track.

One day he asked the owner why he did this.

The owner replied, “An elderly woman lives across the street, and I know that her pension is inadequate to buy enough coal. After the trains go by, she walks along and picks up the pieces she thinks have fallen from the coal car behind the engine. She doesn’t realize that diesels have replaced steam locomotives. I don’t want to disappoint her, so I just throw some pieces over the fence.”

Brethren and friends, this is Christianity in action!

The book of Ruth vividly portrays this principle of giving. When Boaz saw Ruth gathering grain behind the reapers in his field, he commanded them to leave some handfuls of grain for her (Ruth 2:4-17). To her, this was a blessing from the Lord (Ruth 2:18-23).

In the same way, the people whose lives we touch can experience God’s love through our compassion and generosity. This is why we should ask God to provide us opportunities to show kindness to our fellow man.

For we never know what the results of that kindness might be (cf. Ruth 3; Genesis 50:7-26).

Brethren and friends, let us always remember that “kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.”

-Mike Riley  lives in El Paso, TX

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Paul’s Greeting To Philemon (Verses 1-4)

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Larry Miles, New Testament Postcards, October 2011, Philemon | No Comments

by Larry Miles

Introduction: Paul’s Greeting (vv 1-4)

 

There are basically 3 characters featured in the Book of Philemon:

  1. Paul
  2. Philemon
  3. Onesimus.

There are 2 other mentioned in these verses, Apphia and Archippus (mentioned in Col. 4:17), probably wife and son of Philemon.

Verse 1 – The Apostle Paul is a prisoner in Rome; the writing is about 60 A.D. This is during his first imprisonment, recorded in Acts 28. This is one of the 4 “Prison Epistles.” Timothy is with Paul in Rome and sends his greetings.

Paul identifies himself differently in this letter to Philemon than all the other letters he wrote. In the other letters, Paul calls himself either an apostle or a servant. In this letter he calls himself a prisoner.

Paul wanted this letter read for at least 2 reasons:

  • it would hold Philemon accountable
  • and instruct the church on the matter of forgiveness.

H. A. Ironside observed that Philemon is “the finest specimen of early, personal, Christian correspondence.” Philemon affords us the opportunity to read the mail of a first-century Christian.

Wendell Winkler noted that there are eleven references to Christ in the twenty-five verses of this epistle (1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 16, 20, 23). Clearly, Paul wanted us to see Jesus in this story

Verse 2 – This verse mentions the wife and son of Philemon. ESV says “Our sister Apphia.” Col. 4:17 “And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

Col. 4:17 note about Archippus. Paul’s message to him to fulfill his ministry is similar to the exhortation to Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:5. “…do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Every Christian is to proclaim the gospel. Timothy and Archippus are called to do the work of an evangelist.

Chuck Smith wrote on this passage, “Fulfill Your Ministry. ‘Paul’s exhortation to Archippus is a good one for all of us. …God has given you a ministry. He has a place of service for each of us in the body, and it is important that we fulfill those ministries. We fulfill our ministries when we accept what it is God has called us to and then go for it with everything we’ve got, just full-on serving Him.’”

The Church there in Colossae apparently met in Philemon’s home. These verse tell us a Christian family that is dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus.

V. 3 – “Grace to you.” The standard greeting that appears in all of Paul’s 13 NT letters. It highlighted salvation’s means (grace) c.f. Titus 2:11ff. and its results (peace) and linked the Father & the Son, thus affirming the Deity of Christ.

-Larry Miles lives in Louisville, KY

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“Odd Things” I’m Praying For!

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Adam Faughn, October 2011 | 1 Comment

 

by Adam Faughn

But today I’m making an extra effort to pray for three things that are a bit “out of season.” Here they are:

 

1. College students. Yes, they are in school, but we often only pray for them as the semester starts and then again around finals week. But they continue to face difficulty and temptation throughout their days and weeks in school. Pray for them today!

2. Military. I’ll be honest, I neglect our military in prayer far too often. It is easy to remember them on 9/11, July 4, or holidays. But we need to remember them in prayer often and regularly. Why not pray for them today?

3. Friends on Social Media. It is easy to get frustrated with certain status updates, or to be concerned by others. I have seen a few in the last two or three days that have really caused me concern. Some I have contacted (or attempted to). Others I am not that close to. But I can pray for them. I can pray that I have just “mis-read” what is said and that nothing serious is going on. I can pray that, if something serious is occurring, it will improve.

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What “odd” things are you praying for today?  What needs to be added to my list?

-Adam Faughn preaches  for the “Lebanon Rd church of Christ in Donelson, TN

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A High Honor

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Dale Jenkins, October 2011 | No Comments

by Dale Jenkins

Dear God:

Thank you for the joy, the honor and the fearsome privilege of standing before people and preaching Your Word. Some days the burden feels like a 2 ton elephant stomping on my chest, other days I feel I could float to the pulpit – all days I feel honored to be loved by God’s good, patient, forgiving and hopeful people. Today I preached in my beloved Alabama. Tonight a dozen or so of my favorite people in the world were in the audience and I was stuck by the grace of long, deep and meaningful relationships of mutual support. Tonight I sat down beside an elderly lady who I did not know tonight. It’s a habit of mine when I travel – I don’t like the whole preacher sits at the front thing. I asked and when she said I could sit with her we visited as the service started. She introduced herself and then shocked me as she said: “I miss your dad…we all do.” A lump grew in my throat. She said: “Everybody here watched his TV program every week and anytime he preached anywhere near here we’d go hear him.” I said: “I miss him too.” She said: “You are just like him. Today I could close my eyes (I find lots of folks do that when I preach ) and it was just like hearing him.” I wanted to run outside the building and shout! I wanted to break down an bawl like a baby. I wanted to hug her. I said: “That’s about as high a compliment as I can receive.” She said: “It’s as high a compliment as I can give.”

Thank you God.

In Jesus powerful name, Amen.

 

I trust that if they see in me something of value that they first saw in my dad it is because of what he (and I) have learned from the FATHER we share. I pray I will honor both my earthly and heavenly Father…

I am blessed to preach the Gospel and beg your prayers as I remain – – – human.

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How can I Become A Christian?

Oct 1

Posted by admin in October 2011, Paul Merideth | No Comments

by  Paul Merideth

Recently I was asked by an organization to submit to them what my specific response to someone would be if they asked me “How can I become a Christian?” Here’s how it went:

“If some one would ask you, “How can I become a Christian (I.e. Be saved from sin and come into Christ), what specifically would you tell them?

In order to be saved we must first understand that we are condemned by our sin and in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). Thankfully, God, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, has made provision for our forgiveness and freedom from sin. To access this provision we must first learn and engage with the gospel message that through Christ we can have eternal life (John 3:16; 14:6). We must have faith that Jesus is who He claimed to be, the Son of God and Redeemer of humanity (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6). We must be willing to repent/turn from a former life of sin and commit to the Christian faith (Luke 13:3). We must confess/affirm/admit our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Matthew 10:32). And we must be baptized/immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Galatians 3:27). Baptism is the culminating component to the conversion event but it is not the end. Rather, baptism marks the beginning of new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-11). We are added to the church and henceforth seek to live a faithful and devoted life for God’s glory.

 

- Paul Merideth lives in Jeffersontown, KY and preaches for the Watterson Trail Church of Christ

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The Christian and Public Life

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Bud Ridgeway, October 2011 | No Comments

by Bud Ridgeway

I was privileged to speak one day in the absence of my son Jason Ridgeway. (He came down with Bells Palsy and was not able to speak).

Just as God is ‘love, light, and wisdom’ personified, so we should try to imitate our Father.

We start this with a ‘Walk in Love’. Jesus certainly loved us and gave Himself for us and that is an example to truly follow. He offered Himself to God as an offering and sacrifice on our behalf. He was a ‘fragrant offering or sweet-smelling aroma’ to God. We too, as Christians, are a fragrant offering or sweet-smelling aroma to God as we walk in our communities. In II Corinthians 2:15 Paul tells us; “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (NIV) Just as Christ is a fragrance that still can be smelled, so we too must have a fragrance that can be smelled by the world.

Remember that Jesus gave His life for us and we must give our lives for the brethren. We have no problem saying, ‘I would give my life for my wife, parent, child’, but what about just a brother or sister in Christ? Notice what John says in 1 John 3:16 (NIV): “This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers”. This is hard to do, but necessary to do, as a Christian.

Our love must be a pure love and void of any hint of greed or immorality. Even words or jokes suggestive of immorality or greed are unbecoming of those who are ‘saints’ (holy, set apart for God’s purpose). This a serious concern, for immoral or greedy persons have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, but instead will experience the full wrath of God. (Ephesians 5:3-7)

Next, we must ‘Walk as Light’. This is a walk as a light in a world of darkness. This is the same darkness we have all come out of according to Ephesians 2:1-3. We must recognize that as lights we bear a fruit of ‘goodness, righteousness and truth’. By bearing such fruit, we fulfill our role as ‘light’ by ‘proving’ (demonstrating) what is well-pleasing to the Lord. We must stand as a force that no one could help but see. (Ephesians 5:9-10)

As ‘light’ we must necessarily expose ‘darkness’ in the world around us. We are not to have fellowship with ‘unfruitful works of darkness’ – e.g., fornication, uncleanness, covetousness. (Ephesians 5: 3-4) Instead our task is to expose them as we walk as lights in this dark world. People around you must see something different in you that is not in the world and that is “light”. Thus there is a great need to be ‘light’ ourselves, and this is something that comes only from Christ. (Ephesians 5:11-14)

As we ‘walk in love’, and ‘walk as light’ we have to be ‘walking as wise’. Paul uses a word here ‘circumspectly’ which means ‘exactly, accurately, or diligently’. In other words, we must do it right. If we use the wisdom of the world, how are we different? If we take an attitude of indifference of how we worship, how we sing, or how we live our life as a Christian, how are we different? There is no wisdom or walking ‘exactly, accurately, or diligently’. There is only a walk like those around you.

To ‘walk as wise’ requires being filled with the Spirit. While those who ‘walk as fools’ delight in being filled with wine, those who ‘walk as wise’ will endeavor to be filled with the Spirit! Paul describes the evidence of one ‘filled with the Spirit’.

  • One indication is singing praises –Ephesians 5:19.
  • Another indication is giving thanks. This giving of thanks is for everything –Ephesians 5:20
  • A third and final indication in the passage is submitting to one another in reverence for Christ – Ephesians 5:21.

As children of God, and ‘filled with the Spirit’, we are able to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, as we… ‘Walk in love’, ‘Walk as light’ and ‘Walk as wise’. As Christians doing – let’s make our public life an example to the world.

(Much of this was taken from the Online Bible and Mark Copland)

-Bud Ridgeway lives in Fisherville, KY and is the Minister for the Buechel Church of Christ in Louisville, KY

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Is Your Integrity For Sale?

Oct 1

Posted by admin in October 2011, Steve Higginbotham | 1 Comment

by Steve Higginbotham

(Recently) , 11 year-old Nick Smith entered a contest for the chance to win $50,000.00. All Nick had to do was shoot a 3 inch hockey puck through a 3 ½ in hole from 90 feet away. Nick took careful aim, hit the puck with his hockey stick and to everyone’s amazement, the puck went in the hole! It was a one in a million shot that earned this 11 year-old boy $50,000.00…or did it?

You see, Nick actually didn’t take the shot, his twin brother Nate did. Why? Because when Nick’s name was called to take the shot, he was not in the arena, so his identical twin brother stood in for him. No one would have known, except Nick and Nate’s father. Well, on Monday Nick and Nate’s father let the cat out of the bag and admitted to the officials that Nate, not Nick actually took the shot. When asked why he would reveal this secret, the father said “We thought honesty was the best policy, and we wanted to set a good example for our kids.” Again, to ABC News, the father said, “I just think honesty is more important than any prize or money you could get.”

All I can say is, “May their tribe increase!” Now for a question: Would you forfeit $50,000.00 over a technicality that no one would ever notice? Or to cut to the chase, is your integrity for sale? Give it some thought.

-Steve Higginbotham  preaches  for the Karns church of Christ, near Knoxville, TN.  This came  from “Preaching Helps.”

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Life’s Greatest Question?

Oct 1

Posted by admin in October 2011, Ron Bartanen | 1 Comment

by Ron Bartanen

In life one must confront many great questions—Where will I go to college? Who should I marry? Where should I seek employment? How can I prepare for retirement? Where should I invest my money?—but none of these is the greatest question of all. The greatest question of all has consequences beyond the limits of time into the vastness of eternity.

The greatest question of all is that of Governor Pilate in Mark 15:12 : “What shall I do then with the one you call the King of Jews?” (NIV). What shall I do with Jesus? Their reply was, “Crucify Him!”

What would some today do with Jesus?

  • A few would say, “Nothing—He never existed.” They would deny the scriptural and historical records.
  • Others would ignore Him as they seek to fill life with the pursuit of things and pleasures. But they find it difficult to ignore Him in the quiet hours of a restless night, or when faced with financial or physical stress, or the death of family members or friends.
  • Still others would say, “I look to Him as an example.” And, that He is! Peter declared that He left us “an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21 ). But we need more than an example—we need a Savior, for “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” and “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23 and 6:23a).
  • The wise receive Him as Lord and Savior. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12 ). On Pentecost, 3000 received the crucified and risen Christ in faith, repenting and being baptized “for the mission of sins” (Acts 2:38 ).

The most important question in life comes to you: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

-Ron Bartanen lives in Sullivan, IL and  preaches for the Arthur Church of Christ.

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Thoughts on the Eternal Reward

Oct 1

Posted by admin in October 2011, Randal Matheny | No Comments

by Randall Matheny

He who works much and long will have the same reward as he who comes late to the Kingdom. Jesus told the parable of the workers against the Jews who would not welcome the newcomer Gentiles into the Kingdom. The principle applies to us as well, be it in terms of time or effort. Some struggle mightily in Christ, others seem to glide through life and slide effortlessly into heaven. What a marvelous thing to think that everyone will receive the same reward, that none is diminished by the generosity of the owner of the vineyard.

Paul certainly didn’t feel cheated. “Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day – and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8 NET). You don’t hear any pettiness in that triumphal verse, none at all. On the contrary, he exults at the thought of everyone receiving the same gift, even though he has worked harder than anyone. Because he knows that each one’s reward is a gesture of grace from the Lord.

• Faithfulness over time may not differ in kind from faithfulness under duress, but I sometimes feel peeved when teachers and preachers quote Rev. 2:19 out of context. They don’t necessarily do it an injustice, but they certainly miss the point, which the NET Bible hints at, “Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.” Even to the point of dying painfully, in agony, for your faith, because you refuse to disown your Lord.

Again, faithfulness is what it is regardless of the circumstances, and is always, if not heroic, then praiseworthy. Whether it is harder to be faithful when surrounded by the slick invitations of the world and the tantalizing desires of the flesh than it is to still confess the Name under the flash of the knife or the darkness of the dungeon, I do not know, nor do I wish to have a basis for comparison. But it seems we lose an appreciation for the latter by making the Revelation verse into the former. Am I making sense?

• Psalms talks, a lot, about enemies and judgment. “Arise, O Lord, in anger! Stand up against the fury of my enemies. Wake up, my God, and bring justice!” (Psa. 7:6 NLT). Some think such language is unworthy of Christians. I wonder if some members of that group have a real sense of the conflict. (That’s a judgment call, I know.)

Without taking away from the emphasis on loving one’s enemies, it seems possible to hold these two truths near to the breast. For the prayer for the defeat of one’s enemies comes from the righteous whose greatest desire is to see the Kingdom of God triumph. One cannot happen without the other. Obviously, the judgment is his, he is Judge of all, but let us not be more righteous than God.

To think of that eternal reward pushes the words to the lips, “Maranatha!”

Randal Matheny is a missionary in Brazil. This  article came room “The Fellowship Room.” (Used by permission)

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Equipped For Service

Oct 1

Posted by admin in Larry Miles, October 2011 | No Comments

2nd Timothy 2:15 reads as follows: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have promised to equip us for service for them. Just as God will not force you to believe in Him and obey the Gospel, the same rings true when spiritual growth is concerned. He will not force you to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (2nd Peter 3:18) But, if we are willing and desire to grow in the Christian life, He is there with the resources we need to equip ourselves to be “lights shining in a dark world.” (Mathew 5:13-16)

The main reason that He has called us out of darkness into the light of the Gospel is so that we may praise Him for it and help others find their way out of that spiritual darkness and into the Church of the Lord. ( I Peter 2:9; Col. 1:12-14)

We are blessed to have in our possession a “love letter” from God. It is the inspired inerrant Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Just as Joshua, was instructed in Joshua 1:6-9, we must make an effort to read the Word of God on a regular basis and observe (obey) what we find therein. In addition, we must study it and mediate upon it so that we can help others learn more of the Word.

We have a “a most holy faith,” (Jude 20) and a “faith ( the entire sum of Scripture) that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)

There are many other resources that the Lord has given to us. We think of the avenue of prayer. We can speak directly with the Creator of the Universe, not having to go through any human being, but through the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has richly blessed us with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3)

He has given us fellow Christians to encourage us in the faith. This is to be a mutual experience. All of us are at different stages on our personal walk for the Master.

Just as the Roman Empire equipped their soldiers for earthly battles, God has provided the resources that we need for the Christian life. In Eph. 6:10-18 we have the account of “taking up the whole armor of God.”

So, if you are willing to and desire to take your spiritual life to another level, one beyond just a new believer, our gracious and loving God has provided the exact resources you need to equip yourself for a lifetime of service to the one who died for you. We hope and pray that you will avail yourselves of these resources and live “an abundant life” in the Lord. By doing so, you will impact not only you own life in the Lord, but will help and encourage others. We all need to be involved in reaching the lost and strengthening the saved. Let’s join together in this journey!

-Larry Miles,  lives in Louisville, KY

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