We don't have much right to complain about mistakes made by people who are doing the work we should be doing.

Some people dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.

It was New Years Day in 1930 in the Rose Bowl. Roy Reigels of Southern Cal picked up a Georgia Tech fumble - but began to run in the wrong direction - toward his own goal line.

One of Reigel's own teammates finally tackled him - but Tech took the ball and scored right before halftime.

Reigels cried like a baby in the locker room. Coach Price quietly said, "The same man who played the first half will start the second."

The team trudged out - all but Roy.

"Coach - I can't do it! I've ruined you. I've ruined Southern Cal. I can't face the crowd."

The coach touched Reigels' shoulder and said, "Get up and go back - the game is not over yet."

Reigels went back and Tech players say they never saw a man play football like Reigels did in the second half.

Perhaps some of us are discouraged, confused, have run the wrong way. Jesus says, "Get up and go back - the game is not over yet!"
[from Sycamore Sunbeam]

Criticism is something you can easily avoid by saying absolutely nothing, doing absolutely nothing and being absolutely nothing.

The person who honestly tries can never be counted a failure.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

If I cannot do big things, let me do little things in a big way.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Those who stand for nothing...are apt to fall for anything.
[from North Shore News 1990]

If we could only forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings!
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

The man who is doing nothing usually finds it quite easy to find fault with the man who is doing something.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

The man who is false to God will not be true to anybody.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

The only place where success comes before work is a dictionary.
[by Vidal Sassoon from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Progress always involves risks; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.

Habits are like easy chairs - easy to get into, and hard to get out of.

If you must hammer, build something.

No other success can compensate for failure in the home.

If you fear the people will know, don't do it.
[from The Messenger...Nelson Church of Christ bulletin]

EGYPTIAN HISTORY AND THE BIBLICAL RECORD

1. Hyksos rule - Joseph. The Hyksos were people who invaded Egypt and were partly Semites and partly Hurrians. They introduced horses and chariots into Egypt. Their capital was Avaris in the Eastern Delta. This is near the Biblical land of Goshen.

2. Queen Hatshepsut - and Moses. Although some question the relationship there is considerable support for the idea that Hatshepsut was the foster mother of Moses. A tomb inscription of Ahmose tells of his having Hebrew and Semitic slaves. Thutmose I had a remarkable daughter who later ruled Egypt for 20 years. She was the princess who found and fostered Moses.

3. The Sphinx Stele - the Exodus. Thutmose IV came to the throne because his older brother the crown prince disappeared. The Bible speaks of the death of Pharaoh's firstborn (Exo. 12). The father of Thutmose IV, the ruling pharaoh, Amenhatep II may have lost his life while pursuing the escaping Israelites. (Exo. 14).

4. Shishak relief - Jerusalem. On the walls of the Temple of Karnak is recorded the conquest of cities of Canaan by Sheshonk (or Shishak). These conquests are mentioned in the Bible. (I Kings 14:25-26.)

5. Armana tablets. Clay tablets discovered at Tell el Armana in 1887 record requests by nations north of Egypt for assistance against the invading Habiru. These cuneiform letters are seen by some scholars to refer to the Hebrews who after the Exodus conquered the nations of Canaan.

EGYPT AND BIBLE PREDICTIONS
1. Eze. 30:13
2. Isa. 19:7
[By Rein Muhlberg]

A SEARCH FOR SELF-DISCOVERY: THE FRIEND IN YOUR MIRROR

Speak gently to yourself. Speak freely in praise of all you are. Speak clearly with pride in all you've been. Speak bravely with hope for all you may become. Find in yourself the powers that only you possess, the pains that only you can overcome, the promises that only you can keep....

Look deeply into the mirror of your life and discover the very special person that only you can be.

Look back now into the morning of memory and become again the child you were, that freshly awakened being so innocent of past and future and not yet completely at home in the wonders of a brand new world.

Try to recapture those greening days of newborn dreams and desires, fears and first-times....

Where were the scenes of your greatest joys...your deepest sadnesses? What were the events that touched you most profoundly? The experiences that helped to shape the patterns of your mind?

Speak softly to yourself of once-upon-a-time....

At first you are only small, so small you have to look up to everyone, and you are always grateful whenever anyone looks down. You are confused.... What is expected of one so tiny in a world of giants?

You watch...and listen.

But words are just strange sounds that grown-ups make. Yours is a language of action...of feelings. Love means hugging and being hugged back. Right means a smile or a pat. Wrong means a yell or a swat. Security means a soft lap to bounce on, a familiar table to crawl under...or a good-night kiss from someone with strong arms and warm whiskers.

Life is so simple, and yet so puzzling. You can be the center of attention one minute, and feel lost and lonely the next. There are days when you think you know all the answers, and days when you wish everything were as easy as counting to ten or saying the ABC's.

But on you grow through these toddling years, happier than Old King Cole...and sometimes close to tears, braver than Peter Pan...and sometimes afraid of the dark, freer than the Gingerbread Man...and sometimes locked up in a shell.

And all the while you wonder where you really fit in, how important you are and whom you must please when you can't please everybody.

Birthday by birthday you grow bigger, stronger, surer of yourself. Your horizons expand as fast as your unbridled imagination....

Outdoors is your favorite place, after-school your favorite time, and curiosity your inseparable companion.

Life is a million different moods, a mixture of surprising sensations. You can wake up feeling cheerful just to be alive, and go to sleep feeling guilty over nothing you can name.

There are good times you wish would last forever and bad times you think will never end. There are rules you find difficult to follow, but hate yourself for breaking...prizes you can't imagine winning, but can't get over losing...expectations you try to live up to...and embarrassments you try to live down.

Most of all...there are people.

Speak honestly to yourself of people you knew, recalling the kind ones who taught you lessons in love, the thoughtless ones who made you feel the bitterness of their own self-doubt...and the very human ones who may have done both.

Leaf back through the album of time.... What portraits stand out in sharpest detail? Whose faces can you see most vividly? Whose voices can you bear most clearly?

Re-enter that world you shared and see them all as they appeared to you then...

Mother. Father. Family. Playmates, classmates, teammates. Followers, leaders, rivals, idols. First loves....

People are mirrors reflecting your strengths and weaknesses. You measure yourself by their judgments, fearing their anger and seeking their approval...aching for their admiration and dreading their indifference.

There are those who tell jokes you've heard before, and still you laugh...those who say unkind things you know they don't mean, and still you cry...and those who preach sermons you've learned by heart, and still you listen.

Some people can make you feel better just by entering a room...and others just by leaving. Gradually you become aware that no two are exactly alike, and that each can suggest a different image of who you are.

With every new relationship you change a little...grow a little. You begin to learn when to make a compromise and when to take a stand...how to handle a victory and how to survive a defeat. Above all, you learn to cope with the various personalities who surround and complicate and enrich your young existence.

Each day is a notebook filled with questions: "Who are the most important people in my life, the ones who really care? Who are the best examples for me to follow, the true helpers...the givers? Where is the friend I can trust to help me find my way?"

Further and faster you venture over the mysterious bridge that stretches between the uncertainties of youth and the confidence of maturity....

Life is an endless search for self-knowledge, a bittersweet time of reaching, touching, discovering...becoming...until sooner than you expect, that bridge is crossed...and you are no longer a child.

Speak proudly to yourself of lessons learned, emerging from the world of memory into the world of here and now. Measure the distance between those two worlds by the treasures you've collected along the way...and by the burdens you've carried.

Study the best and worst of your life no longer through the eyes of the child you used to be, but through those of the adult you have become. Then find your reflection in the mirror of new awareness and ask, "Who am I?"

With the passage of time your perspective changes. Now as you look back over those formative years, you find that some of the magic has vanished along with most of the melancholy. But there are certain moments that remain crystal clear in your mind....

These are the moments that soar above all the rest like beacon towers against the skyline of memory, flashing signals of alarm and fear, beaming messages of comfort and encouragement, transmitting thoughts, emotions and attitudes from times gone by into the realm of the present.

Sorting through these lingering moments of pleasure and pain, you are amazed that they could still seem so real, so important...so much a part of all you think and do.

You begin to ask "Why?"

"Why should these few memories make so strong an impression on my life today? Why should they continue to color and shadow so much of how I feel about the world...and about myself?"

Slowly you start to see these memories for what they really are...tiny grains of experience that have already sifted through the sandglass of time...visions of happiness and sorrow that now exist only in your mind...spirits from the distant past that can only haunt you or cheer you as much as you allow them to.

You decide to break free!

You choose to say "Yes!" to the joys of the past, but "No!" to the sadness...to cherish the gifts of kindness that can never be forgotten, and let go of the hurts that can never be forgiven...to let the laughter keep echoing in your heart, but once and for all, to dry the tears.

Free from the bonds of yesterday you begin to perceive a new and surprising image in the mirror of reality, the beautiful image of your own specialness....

You are a dreamer, but different from others who dream...one blossom in a springtime meadow. You are a striver, but unlike others who strive...one snow crystal in a winter sky. You are a searcher, but distinct from others who search...one tree in an autumn forest.

You are a lover, but separate from others who love...one shell on a summer beach.

You see yourself as one mind, one heart, one soul among billions...one life set apart from all others by interests and needs that you alone can satisfy, by desires and purposes that you alone can fulfill...by a past and a present that are uniquely your own.

And now you are ready to assume full control of that life. Now you are ready to make peace with the past and live fully and fearlessly in the present. For at last you recognize that yours is the gift of time...time for planning and time for dreaming...time for work and for fun...time to indulge the child in you and time to challenge the adult. At last you understand that there is no more precious gift than time, and no more precious time than today.

Today, as never before, you can see yourself as someone truly special...someone to respect and believe in, someone to care about and love.

Today you have looked into the mirror of self-discovery...and found a friend.

Speak bravely to yourself of all that lies in store, accepting complete responsibility for the destiny you were born to enjoy. Realize that fulfillment is not a four-leaf clover found only by a lucky few, but a realistic goal that you can achieve by becoming the best possible you.

Speak confidently now of the life that is to be....

Looking ahead, you know the changing seasons will be filled with exciting possibilities...with new directions to explore, fresh choices to make, and further obstacles to overcome.

But you are not afraid....

You have discovered in the reflections of yesterday and today the wisdom that will guide you, the self-reliance that will sustain you...the assurance that no matter where tomorrow may lead, you will always find a home.

For yours are dreams worth dreaming, yours is a future worth striving for, yours is a life worth living in a world that shines with the promise of freedom.

So on you will grow...encouraging your own achievements and improving on them, counseling your own decisions and standing behind them, forgiving your own mistakes and learning from them...always taking the time to speak gently to yourself with the patience, the kindness, the compassion of a close and trusted friend...

the friend in your mirror.
[by Edward Cunningham]

The way to be happy is to make others happy. Helping others is the secret of all success...in business, in the arts and in the home.

I WOULD GATHER CHILDREN....

Some would gather money along the path of life,
Some would gather roses, and the rest from worldly strife;
But I would gather children from among the thorns of sin,
I would seek a golden curl, and a freckled, toothless grin,
For money cannot enter in that land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered, soon will wilt along the way.
But oh, the laughing children, as I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven I can take them in with me.

MY CONGREGATION....
It is composed of people like me. We make it what it is.
It will be friendly, if I am.
It's pews will be filled, if I help to fill them.
It will do great work, if I work.
It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver.
It will bring other people into its worship and fellowship, if I bring them.
It will be a church of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith, and a church with noble spirit...if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these.
Therefore, with the help of God, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being all the things that I want my congregation to be.

The Bible is a window in the prison of hope, through which we look into eternity.

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT....
"Flip Wilson's characterization of "Geraldine" puts into words what so many have believed about their own sins, "The devil made me do it," which is a misunderstanding of personal choice. God set before men two ways: Life and Death. (Gen. 2:9.) THE WAY OF LIFE: (John 14:6.) THE WAY OF DEATH: (Rom. 6:23.) We must choose either life or death. Neither God nor the devil forces our decision.

EACH LIFE IS LIKE A SNOWFLAKE

Softly from the sky it falls, so gentle and so fine.
A lacy pattern so delicate, that none can quite define.
Quietly each soul is formed; each being specially planned.
Not by fate's own choosing, but by the Master's hand.

CHANGES

Things change. Friendships fade. Money is spent. Glory's forgotten. Power is lost. Seasons change. So do people. Day turns to darkness. Sorrow to joy. Pain is eased. Rules are broken. Promises forgotten. Trust betrayed. Life ends. Love cools. Hate dies. Stars fall. Things change...But God is always God....

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid. One who will be proud and unbending in defeat, but humble and gentle in victory. A son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be: A son who will know that to know himself is the foundation of all true knowledge. Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high. A son who will master himself before he seems to master other men. One who will learn how to laugh but will never forget how to weep. One who will reach far into the future, but never forget the past. And after all these are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously: A touch of humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. Then, I his father, will dare, in the sacred recesses of my own heart to whisper: "I have not lived in vain."

RESOLUTION

I will believe my fellow man
Until he proves untrue.
I will believe he has a plan,
A job, a work to do.
And though I cannot understand
His method, or his way,
Perhaps he also questions me,
And how I work today.
I will not doubt my fellowmen,
Their motives, or desires.
I will believe that deep within
Their hearts are inward fires
Of strong conviction, and I pray
That some day we shall see
A common fire of truth warm both
My fellowmen, and me.
[by Mrs. Gayle Oler from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

FOUR THINGS

Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his record true:
To think without confusion clearly;
To love his fellow-man sincerely;
To act from honest motives purely;
To trust in God and heaven securely.
[by Van Dyke from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THE BEST MEMORY SYSTEM

Forget each kindness that you do, as soon as you have done it;
Forget the praise that falls to you, the moment you have won it.
Forget the slander that you hear, before you can repeat it;
Forget each slight, each spite, each sneer, wherever you may meet it.
Remember every kindness done to you whate'er its measure;
Remember praise by others won and pass it on with pleasure.
Remember every promise made and keep it to the letter;
Remember those who lend you aid and be a grateful debtor.
Remember all the happiness that comes your way in living;
Forget each worry and distress; be hopeful and forgiving.
Remember good, remember truth, remember heaven's above you,
And you will find through age and youth, that many hearts will love you.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

I know not where his island lift,
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.
[by Whittier from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

CAN WE MEASURE?

How big is a Christian's heart?
I cannot tell,
But it measures enough to go
Where the needy dwell.
How wide is a Christian's house?
I cannot say,
But a lonely dependent child
Can come in, and stay.
How strong is a Christian's faith?
I feel secure
When I say it is strong enough
To relieve the poor.
How great is a Christian's task?
I do not know,
But the heart and the faith decide
Where the strength must go.
How long is a Christian's love?
Ask me no more:
It begins at his home, and leads
To eternity's door.
[by Mrs. Gayle Oler from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

He who has done a kind deed should be silent; he who has received one should speak it out.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THANKSGIVING

I've been countin' up my blessin's,
I've been summin' up my woes;
But I ain't got the conclusion some
Might naturally suppose.
Why, I quit a-countin' troubles
'Fore I had a half a score;
While the more I count my blessin's
I keep findin' more an' more.
There's been things not just exactly
As I thought they ought to be;
An' I've often growled at Providence
For not a-pettin' me!
But I hadn't stopped to reckon
What the other side had been-
Just how much o'good and blessin' had
Been thickly crowded in.
For there's been a rift o' sunshine
After every shower o' tears,
An' I found a load o' laughter
Scattered all along the years.
If the thorns have pricked me sometimes,
I've good reason to suppose
Love has hid 'em often from me
'neath the rapture of the rose!
So, I'm goin' to still be thankful
Fer the sunshine an' the rain;
Fer the joy that's made me happy;
Fer the purgin' done by pain.
Fer the love o' little children;
Fer the friends that have been true;
Fer the guidin' hand that's led me
Every threatenin' danger through!
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

WHAT PRAYER CAN DO FOR YOU

If radio's slim finger
Can pluck a melody
From night - and toss it over
A continent or sea;
If the petalled white notes
Of a violin
Are blown across the mountains,
Or the city's din;
If songs, like crimson roses,
Are culled from thin blue air-
Why should mortals wonder
If God hears prayers?
[by Ethel Romig Fuller from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THE REASON

We mutter and sputter,
We fumble and we spurt,
We mumble and grumble,
Our feelings get hurt,
We can't understand things,
Our vision grows dim,
When all that we need
Is a moment with Him.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

TOMORROW'S A STRANGER

Tomorrow's a stranger
I never have met,
And he may be one
I will never forget.
Will he have a smile,
And a clasp for my hand?
Will he have a message
That I understand?
Tomorrow's a stranger,
He may be the one
To show me the stars,
And the moon and the sun;
The glory of heaven,
The brightness of day...
Now who knows the things
My Tommorrow will say?
Tomorrow's a stranger,
He stands at my door,
And though it is true
We have not met before,
I go to him gladly,
A light in my eyes;
No fear for Tomorrow...
Today made me wise.
[by Mrs. Gayle Oler from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Some people have three kinds of trouble - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

TWELVE RULES FOR HAPPINESS

1. Live a simple life. Be temperate in your habits. Avoid self-seeking and selfishness. Make simplicity the keynote of your daily plans. Simple things are best.
2. Spend less than you earn. This may be difficult but it pays big dividends. Keep out of debt. Cultivate frugality, prudence and self-denial. Avoid extravagance.
3. Think constructively. Train yourself to think clear and accurately. Store your mind with useful thoughts. Stand porter at the door of your mind.
4. Cultivate a yielding disposition. Resist the common tendency to want things your own way. Try to see the other person's point of view.
5. Be grateful. Begin the day with gratitude for your opportunities and blessings. Be glad for the privilege of life and work.
6. Rule your moods. Cultivate a mental attitude of peace and good will.
7. Give generously. There is no greater joy in life than to render happiness to others by means of intelligent giving.
8. Work with right motives. The highest purpose of your life should be to grow in spiritual grace and power.
9. Be interested in others. Divert your mind from self-centeredness. In the degree that you give, serve, and help will you experience the by-product of happiness.
10. Live in a daylight compartment. This means living one day at a time. Concentrate on your immediate task. Make the most of today for it is all you have.
11. Have a hobby. Nature study, walking, gardening, music, golfing, carpentry, stamp collecting, sketching, voice culture, foreign language, books, photography, social service, public speaking, travel, authorship, are samples. Cultivate an avocation to which you can turn for diversion and relaxation.
12. Keep close to God. True and enduring happiness depends on close alliance with him. It is your privilege to share his thoughts for your spiritual nourishment, and to have a constant assurance of divine protection and guidance.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Only what we have wrought into our character during life can we take away with us.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

CRITICISM

It is easy enough to pick out the flaws
In the work that others have done:
To sneer at the little they have achieved
When your task you haven't begun.
It is easy enough to fuss and find fault
When others are doing their best;
To point out errors others have made
When you have done nothing but rest.
It is easy enough to cavil and carp.
To criticize, scoff and deride,
For few of us ever have done perfect work
No matter how hard we have tried.
It is easy enough not to think of the best,
And to dwell all the time on the worst;
And perhaps it is proper sometimes to find fault,
But be sure you have done something first.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THE CLOCK OF LIFE

The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop.
At late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own,
Give, love, toil with a will,
Place no faith in tomorrow,
For the clock may then be still.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

KNOW YOUR BIBLE

The Bible has two covenants or testaments - The Old and New (Heb. 8:7-12).
The Bible, to be rightly divided, must be studied (II Tim. 2:15).
The Old and New Testaments are equally inspired, but not equally binding (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Rom. 7:4).
The Old Testament contains examples for our admonition (I Cor. 10:11).
The New Testament is a better covenant (Heb. 9:15; Heb. 8:6).
The New Testament became of force when Christ died (Heb. 9:15-18).
We are now under law to Christ (I Cor. 9:21).
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Tears are the safety valves of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

The fellow who does things that count usually doesn't stop to count them.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

NO SUBSTITUTE

We have substitutes for rubber,
We have substitutes for silk,
And there are some people wearing
Clothing made from coal or milk.
But there's not a man or woman,
Not in all the earth a youth
Who will ever, ever, ever
Find a substitute for truth.
We have substitutes for leather,
And for brick and stone and wood.
Some are worse and some are better,
And some just about as good.
But from Iceland to Australia,
And from Dublin to Duluth,
There will never, never, never
Be a substitute for truth.
[by Norman C. Schlichter from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THE DREADED TASK

I found the task that I had dreaded so
Was not so difficult when once begun;
It was the dread itself that was the foe,
And dread once conquered means a victory won.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

Many a man has made a failure in life by determining to have his own way.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

WHEN SOMEBODY ANSWERS

When somebody answers my SOS
With a loving word of cheer.
When somebody lends a helping hand
And somebody holds me dear,
Then the dark clouds drift and the sun shines out
And a smile the gay world wears.
Then life is bright with a heavenly light
For I know somebody cares.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

BE PREPARED

For all your days prepare,
And meet them ever alike;
When you are the anvil - bear,
When you are the hammer - Strike.
[by Markham from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

A careless word may kindle strife;
A cruel word may wreck a life;
A bitter word may hate instill;
A brutal word may smile and kill;
A gracious word may smooth the way;
A joyous word may light the day;
A timely word may lessen stress;
A loving word may heal and bless.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THREE GATES

If you are tempted to reveal
A tale some one to you has told
About another, make it pass
Before you speak, three gates of gold.
These narrow gates:
First - "Is it true?"
Then, "Is it needful?"
In your mind
Give truthful answer.
And the next
Is last and narrowest -
"Is it kind?"
And if to reach your lips at last
It passes through these gateways three,
Then you may tell the tale, nor fear
What the result of speech may be.
[by Beth Day from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

FRIENDS

A friend is like an old song grown sweeter with the years,
A friend is one that shares our joys and wipes away our tears;
A friend will look for goodness in everything we do,
A friend is one who knows our faults, yet finds our virtues too;
A friend will share a crust of bread, or help to lift a load-
Happy are we who find a few good friends along the road.
[from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

I FIND THESE PERFECT

What makes a perfect home? Not beam or rafter,
Or roof to shelter from the wind and rain;
But homes are made of light and love, and laughter,
A little heartache, and a bit of pain.
What makes a perfect child? Not frills and laces,
Or neat white linen suits, or stiff bow ties;
But eager little minds and happy faces,
And love and trust that gleam from pure young eyes.
What makes a perfect meal? Not steaming dishes,
Nor gleaming silver, nor a linen spread;
But love, and friendly talk, and simple wishes,
And gratitude to God for giving bread.
What makes a perfect love? Not youth's caresses,
Nor all the ardor of a lover's touch;
But love is sacrifice, and heaven blesses
The hearts of those who love and suffer much.
What makes a perfect world? Not every hour
A tank or bomber built by you and me,
But nations without greed and lust for power,
And friendly hands that clasp across the sea.
Oh, God, be merciful to us as mothers
And fathers...all the world is in our hand;
Help us to guide and train the lives of others,
That perfect peace come soon to every land.
[by Mrs. Gayle Oler from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

'TIS MORNING

'Tis morning, and the world is new,
The greatest things are yet to do,
The sweetest songs are yet to sing-
'Tis morning and the world is spring.
'Tis morning and the past is gone.
The future comes with every dawn;
New vision breaks the trail, and lo,
We keep on climbing as we go!
'Tis morning and the world is young,
The master songs are yet unsung,
The greatest minds are yet to be
Before the 'prisoned world is free.
New knowledge comes with every day
To drive our foolish myths away;
New hearts to root out greed and fear.
'Tis morning and the way is clear!
[by Frank B. Flanner from "Be of good cheer" Quinlan, Tex.: Just a Moment Pub. Co.]

THE STRESSES IN LIFE

In response to stresses, people often use defence mechanisms to alleviate the consequent anxieties. These may be preceded by certain internal conflicts which we may experience when confronted by what we think are incompatible choices. Three general kinds of conflict situations are described:

1. APPROACH-APPROACH CONFLICT

We are offered two or more desirable, but mutually-exclusive objectives. For example, two equally attractive articles in a shop, but I have money enough only for one. This is an approach-approach conflict needing resolution. I want one article but, equally, I want the other too. I can only have one.

2. APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT

Sometimes we want something which, at the same time, we wish to avoid. For example, I may need to fly somewhere on urgent business, but I fear flying. This is an approach-avoidance conflict I need to resolve. I want to go, but I don't want to go by air.

3. AVOIDANCE-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT

I may seek to avoid all alternative courses of action. For example, I may not enjoy my work but, at the same time, I feel guilty if I take time off for leisure. This is an avoidance-avoidance conflict, where I want to avoid work and also to avoid the guilt of not working!

The relative strengths of the objectives in the conflict situation determines partly how much we delay or vacillate in making decisions. The stress experienced may be quite severe and we may utilize defence mechanisms to reduce the anxiety. We may become ill through an inability to make a satisfactory choice or to utilize defence mechanisms effectively.

A man may feel compelled to preach the gospel, but feels terrified of public-speaking. This is an example of approach-avoidance conflict. He wants to preach, but he doesn't want to speak in front of people. He may resolve the conflict by using the defence mechanism of "rationalisation"; that is, he may say that he needs to know his Bible better before he is ready. The point is that this may be the true reason but, in rationalisation, it is not. The relative strengths of the two perceived objectives - compulsion to preach and fear of public-speaking - may determine the outcome. Thus, if the man is strongly motivated to preach, he can usually overcome his fear of public-speaking.

Consider what may help the man increase his desire to preach:
a) What has God in Christ done for mankind? (John 3:16)
b) What does salvation mean to the man? (II Cor. 5:14-21)
c) What does the plight of the lost do to him? (Acts 17:16)
d) What is the incentive to motive him? (II Tim. 4:7-8)

BIBLE EXAMPLES FOR DISCUSSION

1.	(a)	What conflict was Eve exposed to? (Gen. 3:1-6)
	(b)	What had God said? (v. 3)
	(c)	What did Eve see? (v. 6)
	(d)	May we too have difficulty in choosing between what God has said and what we "see"? Discuss some possible situations.
2.	On one occasion, Abram faced a conflict between his dependency on the Egyptians to relieve a famine and his fear that they would kill him (Gen. 12:10ff).
	(a)	How did Abram attempt to relieve this approach-avoidance conflict?
	(b)	What was wrong with Abram's method?
	(c)	What should he have done?
3.	(a)	What was Moses' first excuse to God when he was told to go and speak to Pharaoh? (Exo. 3:11)
	(b)	What was Moses' second excuse? (Exo. 3:13)
	(c)	What was his third excuse? (Exo. 4:1)
	(d)	What was his fourth excuse? (Exo. 4:10)
	(e)	What was his fifth excuse? (Exo. 4:13)
4.	How did Isaiah respond when God asked whom he should send to the people? (Isa. 6:8). (Note Isaiah's earlier feeling of inadequacy in v. 5)
5.	When God told Jeremiah he had been appointed a prophet, what was Jeremiah's initial response? (Jer. 1:6)
6.	(a)	When God told Jonah to go and cry against the people of Nineveh, when did Jonah do first? (Jonah 1:1-3)
	(b)	When God spoke to Jonah the second time, when did Jonah do? (Jonah 3:1-3).
7.	(a)	What happened to the apostle Peter when he experienced a conflict between his approach to Jesus on the water and his avoidance reaction to the fear of the wind and waves? (Matt. 14:22ff)
	(b)	How did Jesus suggest Peter should have resolved his conflict? (Matt. 14:31)
	(c)	What lesson is there for us in this story? (Heb. 12:1-3)
8.	Note the avoidance-avoidance conflict in Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his rejection of the thirty pieces of silver. He could not accept Jesus and he could not keep the money. (Matt. 26:14-16; Matt. 26:46-50; Matt. 27:3-5)
	(a)	What was Judas' ultimate resolution of his conflict? (Matt. 27:5)
	(b)	What lesson is there for us in this kind of conflict?
9.	(a)	Of what conflict did the apostle Paul write in Rom. 7:18ff?
	(b)	From which alternative did Paul seek to be freed? (v. 24)
	(c)	How can this be accomplished? (Rom. 8:1-10)
	(d)	How can the choosing of the right and better alternative be strengthened and maintained? (Rom. 8:35-39)

[from The Truth in Love, no. 41, Oct. 20, 1991, p. 2-3, 12-13]

THE STRESSES IN LIFE

As we go through life, we experience various stresses which may be unpleasant or pleasant to us. Two lovers will experience stresses in their relationship which arouse different forms of anxiety. The stress of seeing each other when they meet may be acutely pleasant, while the stress of parting may be distressingly unpleasant. In this example it is clear that the external stimulus (either seeing the other person coming or going) and the internal response (the emotions aroused within us) both contribute to the degree of stress we experience.

Consider some unpleasant external stimuli and some examples:
1. Frustration. When we can't get what we want we may feel helpless, and the resulting tension may become so intolerable that we either become aggressive or withdrawn.
2. Separation. Children are dependent upon their parents for protection and support. When they are separated from their parents, they may feel frightened and disturbed.
3. Loss of loved one. People with deep affection for each other, for example, husband and wife, experience a feeling of intense grief when a loved one is lost through death.
4. Physical threat. Any close-shave with danger, such as a near-miss in road traffic, may arouse sever anxiety reactions.
5. Loss of love. A sense of loss of love may be felt when we are strangers in a new place and no one seems to notice us or care about us. We all want attention and approval from others, but when times are not present (or when we think these are absent) we may become lonely, frustrated and despairing.
6. Loss of self-esteem. Everyone sets for themselves their own ideal level of personal functioning and worth. Any criticism of this, or any fall from this, is a threat to our self-esteem. Thus we may feel anxious or unworthy.

If we are unable to adjust to these unpleasant external stimuli, we will use various defence mechanisms to alleviate the stressful effects. These may be adequate to carry us through a temporary situation, but may not help us if the stress is long-sustained.

SCRIPTURAL APPLICATIONS

1.	(a)	What caused Moses to strike the rock in anger (v. 10) when commanded by the Lord to produce water for the Israelites at Kadesh? (Num. 20:1-13)
	(b)	What was the result for Moses? (v. 12)
2.	When David and Bathsheba's first child died, how did David react to the loss? (II Sam. 12:15-24)
3.	When Ahithophel (King David's counsellor) and Absalom (David's son) joined in conspiracy (II Sam. 15:12), what did Ahithophel do when he learned that his treason had been discovered? (II Sam. 17:21-23)
4.	How did David react when he heard that Absalom had been killed? (II Sam. 18:32-33; II Sam. 19:1-8)
5.	(a)	When Job learned that his family and servants had been killed and that he had lost his herds, what did he do? (Job 1:13-21)
	(b)	What special commendations are recorded of Job's response? (Job 1:22)
6.	(a)	When Naomi insisted that her widowed daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, remain in Moab while she returned to Judah (Ruth 1:1-13), how did Orpah react? (Ruth 1:14-15)
	(b)	How did Ruth respond to the threatened loss of a loved one? (Ruth 1:14-18)
7.	How was Jesus affected when he observed the grief of Lazarus' sisters and friends? (John 11:30-38)
8.	How can we find the real answer for life's stresses? (Matt. 11:28-30). What does this mean? How can Jesus help us?
9.	In the face of physical threats and violence for preaching the gospel, how did Peter and John respond? (Acts 5:27-42)
10.	In a similar situation, what may help us cope with threats? (I Pet. 2:19-25; I Pet. 4:12-19).

[from the Truth in Love, no. 42, Oct. 27, 1991, p. 2-3, 12]

ARE THERE ANY TRUE PROPHETS OF GOD NOW?

The Old Testament Hebrew word for "prophet" means a divinely-inspired person (Num. 11:25) who is moved by the Holy Spirit in speak a message from God (Neh. 9:30; II Pet. 1:20-21). Prophets sometimes predicted future events (e.g. Dan. 2:28) but, more commonly, proclaimed God's will (e.g. Dan. 9:10). The New Testament Greek word for "prophet" gives the same meaning (I Pet. 1:10-12; Luke 1:76-77).

In apostolic times some Christians were prophets (I Cor. 12:10). Sometimes these prophets predicted future events (e.g. Acts 11:27-28) but, more often, they proclaimed for "edification and exhortation and consolation" of believers (I Cor. 14:3).

"Prophecy" was one of the special gifts of the Holy Spirit during the infancy of the Lord's church (I Cor. 12:7-11). This, and the other special gifts, ceased when the initial "partial" revelation [spoken through the New Testament "apostles and prophets"] was replaced by "the perfect (=complete) thing" (I Cor. 13:8-10), the final written and full New Testament Scriptures - "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

Since the New Testament message has been given in full through Christ's apostles (John 14:6; John 16:13; Gal. 1:11-12), all the New Testament predictions and all that needs to be proclaimed for our edification are complete. There is no further revelation or inspiration promised or needed before Christ's return (Jude 3; Matt. 28:20). While there will always be a need for "faithful men who will be able to teach others" the apostolic message (II Tim. 2:2), they must teach only what Christ has already given through his apostles (Acts 2:42; II John 9; I Cor. 4:6; I Cor. 4:17).

There have been no divinely-inspired apostles or prophets since the New Testament record was completed during the first century. We have no need of any further revelation regarding Christ's terms for salvation (Heb. 10:12-14, Acts 10:42-43), the believer's life in Christ now (II Pet. 1:3-11; II Tim. 3:16-17), or Christ's return (I Thes. 5:1-11; II Pet. 3:7-14).
[from The Truth in Love, no. 41, Oct. 20, 1991, p. 1]

IF YOU WANT THIS, YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT

In a recent newspaper cartoon a man sitting in a doctor's office asked, "What can I do to feel better without giving up what's making me feel awful?"

"How can I lose weight without giving up sweet and starchy foods?" questions a woman.

"How can I make better grades in school without giving up my goofing off after school?" a high school student wants to know.

You've heard the expression, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." In other words, life demands a choice. And often the choice we need to make may not be the one we want to make.

In Luke 14, Jesus told the parable of a man who gave a great banquet and invited many. On the day of the banquet they all made excuses.

The banquet host represents God. The invitation is God's call to man to come under his rule and guidance, to commit himself in faith to one who brings meaning and purpose to life. But the devil also extends invitations: to "live it up," to "burn the candle at both ends," and to "do your own thing." Consequently, a choice must be made, and that choice must be made, and that choice is not always easy, especially since our society places so much emphasis on pleasure and material possessions.

The choice between God and the devil is not new. People have made it since the Garden of Eden. We are told...(Heb. 11:24-25).

Priorities

Some choices are not between "good" and "bad", but are a matter of priority. Jesus said...(Matt. 10:37). We recognize that land, oxen, a wife, mother, father, son, or daughter are important and have their place. But they cannot come before Christ. Some things are good, others better, and still others the best. We are called upon to make value judgments and choices throughout our lives. Thankfully, not all of our choices are of earth-shaking importance. May we learn from our successes and failures in the less important areas, and make the best choices in such important areas as habits, life-style, a mate, career, morality and our eternal destiny.

Help is available.

Not only can we learn from our own experiences, but also from the advice of a close friend, parent, or a minister. For the Christian, the best help comes from God through answer to prayer. Jesus had many disciples and from among them he had to choose twelve apostles. He prayed all night before making the decision (Luke 6:12-13). Remember, God wants us to make wise choices and will guide us when we seek his help.

The Christian life is beautiful, and heaven is beyond description. Both are available to us if we make the right choices (Matt. 19:26).
[by Carroll Pitts, Jr. from 20th Century Christian, Jan., 1980]

LAW AND GRACE

A major problem in religion today is a misconception of law and grace. It has been a stumbling block from the time sin entered the world.

A failure to grasp the subject is fatal to the soul. Grace is the foundation of redemption. The one who errs here will miss heaven. (Eph. 2:8-10).

A cardinal fallacy is the doctrine that law excludes grace. This position creates paramount issues. If grace excludes law, it excludes obedience. One must have something to obey; one cannot obey nothing.

The religious world generally denies the necessity of obedience in becoming a Christian. Some equate obedience with works that do not save. Some brethren are teaching the same thing. James 2:14-26, along with other passages, cannot be harmonized with the doctrine of faith alone.

Others know obedience is essential, yet struggle in trying to exclude the law, but not obedience. If grace excludes all law, no door is open for obedience.

If law excludes grace, one of two things must follow: either there is no room for obedience, or if obedience is essential, one must explain what must be obeyed. One may say commandments must be obeyed, but this will not resolve the issue. A difference in command and law cannot be explained by those who reject law but want to retain commands. (Psa. 119:1, 6). Law and commandments are synonymous terms throughout the Bible.

Does grace exclude obedience to the commands of the gospel? The gospel has commands (I Cor. 14:37). God would not provide salvation by grace and give commands that conflict with grace. Some say grace and commands harmonize. If grace and commands harmonize, grace and law harmonize. The exclusion of law excludes commands. There is no way one can exclude law and include commands.

Denominational preachers try to avoid the problem by teaching obedience is not essential in becoming a Christian, but is necessary for the Christian. When pressed, they will deny that one's obedience has anything to do with salvation, but they refuse to teach their members obedience is not important. Thus, they find themselves in a strange situation: obedience is important, but not required.

Some say, "But a Christian will want to obey." Why obey something that has no relationship to going to heaven? Some brethren teaching the same thing face a different situation. They will not deny that Christians must be obedient. Let me raise some questions for those teaching that grace excludes law. Is grace no longer essential after becoming a Christian? When one is saved by grace, does he then live the Christian life by law without grace. Surely not. Does it not follow that one obeys after becoming a Christian and that obedience does not conflict with grace? Because the Christian obeys, what is obeyed? If commands, it is law. One not only becomes a Christian by faith, the Christian lives by faith (Gal. 2:11; Gal. 2:20). One cannot live the Christian life by faith alone, that is faith minus obedience. Why think one may become a Christian by faith minus obedience? No one denies a Christian must be obedient (Heb. 5:8). What does a Christian obey? Is it law? If not, what does he obey? If law, law does not exclude grace. Christians are not perfect. Imperfection requires grace.

There is the second law of pardon for the Christian. I do not hesitate to refer to is as the law of pardon for a Christian. When a Christian sins, he must repent (Acts 8:22). He must confess his sin and pray (I John 1:7-9; Acts 8:22). Would one deny a Christian must obey these commands? When one obeys them, is it submission to law? Does one's obedience cancel out grace?

When one is forgiven, it must be in one of two ways, merit or grace. Forgiveness by merit is an impossibility. Pardon is extended only through grace. When a Christian sins, repents, confesses, and prays, he has submitted to law and receives pardon. Obedience is necessary, but it does not earn pardon. If the second law of pardon does not conflict with grace, and it does not, why would the first law of pardon, the law for the alien? Grace does not exclude law if correctly interpreted.
[by Franklin Camp from Sycamore Chapel Newsletter, Sept. 2, 1990]

THE CHRISTIAN AND MALICE

Preliminary reading: Matt. 18:21-35; I Kings 8:27-34; Gen. 45:1-8; Psa. 51:10-17; Hosea 14:1-9; Luke 7:41-50; Luke 19:1-10
Situation: Others have committed an unkindness towards you.
Your reaction:
(a) Tell them some home truths about themselves?
(b) Warn others. This way they will know how hurt you feel?
(c) Ignore the unkindness, and ignore those people?
(d) Return good for evil?
(e) Brood on it. Cultivate a sizeable hatred?
(f) Why should I get ulcers, only small people indulge in gossip?
(g) Forgive, but don't forget?
(h) Don't forgive and don't forget?
(i) Forgive and keep reminding them of it?
(j) Other suggestions?
(Rom. 12:21)
[from The Truth in Love 1990]

WHY PLAN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY?

I stand in awe at the revolutionary changes developing in the American way of life and in even greater awe at the tremendous challenges that are taking shape for those of us who will be 21st Century Christians.

We face a way of life that will become increasingly urbanized, intellectualized and emancipated yet one that will find an ever deepening realization that "technology," "the new leisure age," and "apartment house living" cannot fill man's greatest hunger - his hunger for God. We are going to face an urbanized society in which our formerly successful methods of evangelization through meetings and Sunday services will fail to gain the attention of the majority of the city's residents. We will have to discover afresh the power of 1st Century evangelism that could take the gospel to the very court of the Roman Emperor. Rather than a "come to us" emphasis, we will have "to go to them" into the farthest corners of our society - to the halls of the major universities, to the slums of the major cities, to the dens of the dope addict, or to the assembly lines of the factories. There is no teacher like experience and we are first graders in so many of these areas.

We are going to meet new ideologies which quietly but forcefully absorb man's time and devotion and declare modern man to be emancipated from the hindrances to 20th Century traditions of religion and morality. We will face an increasing isolation of different ideologies within our own society speaking different languages, but not able to understand the other's "jargon." We will need men who, like Paul on Mars Hill, can understand the "jargon" of the scientist, the psychologist, and the sociologist well enough to gain his attention in order to point out the true meaning behind their "alters to the Unknown God." This will take men who have not only kept abreast of new developments in these fields but who themselves are on the frontiers of advancement in these varied fields. It will take devoted, well prepared men to be God's instruments.

How real are these challenges? Those of us living in Southern California see this area as a preview of the dramatic changes to come. Untold new problems are here for which we are totally unprepared. There is the prospect that in the year 2100 we will open our eyes to discover large groups of people with whom we are totally out of contact having had no previous experience with them. How will we be able to move the mountains of the 21st Century if we do not begin with visions and plans in the 1960's and 70's?

Should we prepare? Maybe there won't be a 21st Century? Since the day of Pentecost, Christians have always lived with the constant hope that Christ would return in their day, while having to consider the possibility that the work of the church might continue for many years. A failure to look to the future may become an escape on our part from facing up to contemporary aspects of the great commission. For the past century we have used our energies for local and statewide evangelism. Of necessity our workers have had to concentrate on spreading the gospel to new areas. But as we gain footholds in all major areas we will face varied and new challenges. These are challenges that we can begin to meet by planning now. One result will be that in coming to grips with the potential challenges of the 21st Century, we must look more deeply at our present challenges and seek a greater understanding which will serve as a vital key to the future.

The theme for the 21st Century Christian is the always contemporary need for a hardy breed of Christian who has developed such inner strength of faith and spirituality as to be able "to influence" others, rather than "to be influenced" by everyone with whom he comes in contact.

The possibility of developing generations of Christians with such qualities of consecration will be greatly enhanced by Christians who can instill their own spirit of dedication in today's young people. It will be very difficult to take advantage of the great opportunities of the future if we have not prepared our hearts, minds, and spirits for them. It's not just coincidence that people who have made plans are the ones to whom opportunities are presented. In the church these are the people whom the Lord can use mightily for his purposes.
[by Don W. Carver] [Key concept: Missions]

HERE RESTS DESTINY

Giant telescopes, powerful microscopes, accelerators, computers, rockets, spaceships, and so many other wonders of modern science are good - but not enough! Only reconciliation with the Infinite Master, God, through repentance and close friendship with Christ, can lead us to the grace of salvation and perfection. On the decision to accept Christ rests the destiny of humankind!"
[by Professor Roberto Dominguez Agurica, an Indo-Spaniard professor in the physics department in Centro Universitario de Estudios Generales]

HOW TO FIND PEACE WITH GOD

The reverent respect of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Science and technology have greatly enriched mankind in material things, not least in agriculture, where more and more food can be grown by the efforts of fewer and fewer workers. For these material blessings we must ever be devoutly thankful. But they have not helped us to solve the great and pressing problem of our peace - how to find peace with God. To this I can find only one answer, given by Christ himself...(John 14:6).
[by Dr. Henry S. Darling, Director of the Institute of Agriculture Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Northern Nigeria]

MAN'S LAST FRONTIER....WITHIN

Man has conquered the geographical frontiers of his globe. There are no continents, there are no nations where he has not traveled. He has met and conquered the frontier of industrial mechanization. He has built machines of astounding proportions and power. He has built computers which solve problems in seconds, which man himself could not solve in months. Man has met and challenged many of the problems involved in medicine. In short, the frontiers of medicine for man, science about man, outer space above man, and even many of the frontiers that exist in the world beneath man's feet have been recognized, have been challenged, and have in some measure been conquered. But another frontier perhaps the last remains man's greatest challenge. That frontier is the one within man. Only a careful consideration of that fact can assure man that he will not live through another century merely repeating the mistakes of the preceding ones.

The value of this last frontier

The inner man, the soul, is worth more than the whole world (Matt. 16:26). A man may have everything in this life -houses, farms, money, luxurious living - but he may die and go to hell (Luke 12:16-20). As a diamond is exceedingly more valuable than the box in which it comes, so the soul far excels the value of the body. Some day when the earth is removed and the firmament melted, when space is folded up and the moon and all that is beyond is gone, what shall remain of modern man and his frontiers? Only eternity and the things which belong to eternity. All will be lost for the man who has lived merely for this world. How pure a man has kept his heart, how active a man has kept his body for God, and how faithful a man has kept his life to God will then be the only things of any importance. All will be absolute vanity and loss for those who have worked for, above, and under man, but who have forgotten to discover, explore, develop and conquer the realm within man.

Our pleasure-seeking, money-making, thrill-crazy, self-satisfied, and sin-saturated society is feeding on the crumbs of life. The greed for gold, and the drive for glory have largely obliterated God from the minds of men. The service of Satan, the love of self, and the pleasure of sin have blinded man to the greatest frontier of all. While trying liquor, lust, luxury, and learning as means of satisfaction and happiness, he has failed to even consider God as the only means to true fulfillment.

Man must be transformed from within (Rom. 12:1) by the converting power of the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). God searches and tries man and knows all that is in man (Jer. 17:10; John 2:24-25). Only the gospel of God has the power to convert and purify man (Psa. 19:7; Rom. 1:16).

Things man must do

Within man, the last frontier consists of the intellect, the heart, the will, and the conscience. So man needs in the words of scripture to:

Educate the intellect for God. With our minds cleansed from a reprobate and evil mind, we have perfect peace because our mind is stayed on Jesus (Isa. 26:3). The mind of Christ must be in us (I Cor. 2:16; Phili. 2:5). Jesus said, "Love God with all thy mind" (Luke 10:27).

Consecrate the heart to God. Out of the heart proceed all the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). The Lord peers into the exceedingly wicked heart of man (Jer. 17:9; I Sam. 16:7). Jesus blesses only the pure in heart (Matt. 5:8). From the heart man must believe in the Lordship of Jesus (Rom. 10:10) and from the heart he must obey that form of doctrine (Rom. 6:17). Then as a Christian, Christ dwells in his heart by faith (Eph. 3:17) and from his heart he does the will of God (Eph. 6:6).

Dedicate the will to God. "This one thing will I do" (Phili. 3:13). The Christian has been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20) and prays, "Lord, not my will, but thine be done."

Purify the conscience for God. Man's conscience can only be cleansed by the sprinkling of Jesus' blood (Heb. 9:14; Heb. 10:22), and only obedience to God can give the answer to a good conscience (I Pet. 3:21).

This is the frontier of all frontiers - worth more than the whole universe and as age-lasting as eternity itself. By its mastery man can have peace within himself, harmony in his home, strength in his nation, tranquility in his world, salvation in Christ, and a home in heaven. A world built on such a foundation need not dread another century, but can build for a secure, meaningful future.
[by Calvin Warpula]

EVERY SOUL BELONGS TO ME
(Eze. 18:1-4)
This chapter contains one of the great teachings of the Bible and bears reading carefully. It states the individual accountability of every soul to God and it states that we are not escapably patterned by hereditary or by environmental forces. It also states the justice and mercy of God and the patient compassion he yearns to extend to those who turn back to him to "get a new heart and a new spirit" (Eze. 18:13)

Good and loving parents don't necessarily beget good and loving children (Luke 15:11-32). Their children have a responsibility to choose to follow their parents' good example and training. The corollary is true too, that bad parents don't necessarily beget bad children (II Kings 18:1-6; cf. II Chron. 28:22-27). Their children have the responsibility to recognise and choose the alternative of goodness.

Good parents will not be penalised by God for their bad children, nor will God saddle children with the punishment he must record against evil parents. This chapter is an excellent divine antidote for the commonly-held errors of "original sin" and "hereditary depravity" - neither of which are Bible doctrines.

Praise God for his supreme fairness and for his loving invitation to mankind: (Eze. 18:32)

In the breaking of bread, we remember the supreme manifestation of God's love in the death of his Son for all. The proclamation we make in this solumn communion is that everyone, no matter what their background, may benefit from Christ's sacrifice.
[from Truth in Love, no. 41, Oct 21, 1990, p. 6]

HOW CAN GOD LOVE AND HATE PEOPLE?

Two widespread misconceptions exist about God. One is that he loves only those he is supposed to have fore-ordained to save, and the other is that God loves everybody and will save all, no matter what they believe and do. What does the Bible teach?

God loves all people alike. Jesus said we should love with the kind of love God has: (Matt. 5:44-45). God loves everyone, good and bad, alike, and therefore God's people should do the same. There are two main ways in which God demonstrates his love for all people:

He offers earthly blessings to all like (Matt. 5:45). God provides all people, good and evil, with the good things he has created, without expecting anything in return (Luke 6:35).

He offers salvation to all people alike. (Titus 2:11, I Tim. 2:4). Whether people want to accept salvation or not, God will still offer it to them.

God does not love everybody. Yet there is also a sense in which God does not love everybody. For example, God said (Mal. 1:2-3). Hatred, in the Bible use of the word, includes not only positive dislike, but also absence of love. (Luke 14:26; Matt. 10:37). So, in this sense, God hates some people: (Psa. 5:5).

He offers earthly blessings to those whom he hates. God does not deny the Edomites [descendants of Esau] the same earthly blessings available to all: (Deut. 2:5).

He offers salvation to those whom he hates. In the same way, God does not deny salvation to the Edomites, for he foretold salvation "for the remnant of Edom" under the new covenant (Amos 9:12; Acts 15:17).
[from Truth in Love, no. 41, Oct. 21, 1990]

THE MOVEMENT FOR THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN

A misguided effort

We can only pray and plead that the simple pattern of the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ might become apparent to all who seem set on maintaining man-made churches with man-made rules. It is puzzling in the extreme to observe the serious debates about ecclesiastical priesthoods and ordinations and the so-called "three priestly functions" ["administering of the Eucharist, the giving of absolution and the blessing"] appearing again in local newspapers. If it were acknowledged that such things are not found in our Lord's New Testament it might lead people to see that such debates are really tragically misguided.

In the churches of Christ described in the New Testament only the teachings of Christ given through his apostles are the pattern for his followers to practise (Matt. 28:18-20). The same commands are intended to continue unaltered for all time. Note the difference between the teachings of the New Testament and the teachings of the denominations in such matters:

Ordained as priests

The New Testament describes all Christians, men and women, as "priests to serve God" (Rev. 1:6; I Pet. 2:5). The sacrifices which all Christians are required to offer are described in such New Testament passages as Rom. 12. There is no clergy/laity system described in the New Testament, and no system of "ordination of priests".

Administering the eucharist

"The Eucharist" is a denominational substitute for the New Testament "Lord's Supper" (I Cor. 11:20ff). But the New Testament does not confine the "administering" of the Supper to an ecclesiastical priesthood which it does not mention! There is no special significance in the "administering" of the Supper but only in the attitudes of all present who partake of it (I Cor. 11:27ff).

Giving of absolution

Some man-made churches claim that their "priests" have the Lord's authority to forgive penitents or to assure them of divine forgiveness. Again, Our Lord's New Testament does not teach this. Anyone can learn the Lords' terms for forgiveness of sins simply from reading or being told the New Testament teaching on the subject. There is nothing mysterious about it necessitating the mediation of a class of "priests" offering "absolution". When a person learns the Lord's terms for forgiveness and obeys these, that person is forgiven because God's word says so, not because some "priest" tells him! (Acts 2:38; Col. 2:12-13).

The blessing

"The blessing" or "consecration" of people and objects, sometimes by making "the sign of the cross", is a ritual which is not described in the New Testament. Anyone who is faithful and obedient to God is assured of all God's blessings (John 20:29; James 1:22-25; Acts 20:35). There is no need for a "priest" to tell us this!

Search the scriptures

We can only pray and urge anyone who wants to be "ordained" to "search the Scriptures to see whether these things are so" (Acts 17:11). Regrettably, it is likely that the most enthusiastic proponents of "ordination" (for men as well as for women) will not do this. Like the Pharisees of old, they are concerned only with maintaining "the traditions of men" and, by so doing, they share in Jesus' denunciation for "invalidating the word of God" (Matt. 15:6-9).
(II John 9)
[from Truth in Love, no. 40, Oct. 14, 1990, p. 10]

AT THE GATES OF THE LORD'S DWELLING
(II Chron. 31:2)
The spirituality and dedication of the people in King Hezekiah's time reached a peak probably not seen since the time of King David. This is shown by the way the people... (II Chron. 31:5). On observing the people's response, Hezekiah and his officials... (II Chron. 31:8).

All Christians are priests in the service of their Lord: (I Pet. 2:9).

Christians are urged to... (Rom. 12:1). They are to minister to each other's needs... (Rom. 12:3-13). In meeting together, Christians are to "encourage one another" (Heb. 10:25). In so doing, they... (Acts 2:42).
(Eph. 5:19-20)
Thus, when we meet together on the first day of the week to observe the breaking of bread in memory of our Lord's sacrifice for us, let us remember that he has made us priests to serve his Father, our God, in the way described in his word. Let us, like the people of God in Hezekiah's time, "give thanks and sing praises at the gates of the Lord's dwelling" with fervour.
[from Truth in Love, no. 40, Oct. 14, 1990, p. 6]

IN A DAY OF SALVATION I HAVE HELPED YOU
(Isa. 49:8-9)
While reading the book of Isaiah, modern readers must make allowance for the period and language style in which it was written. The constant repetition, poetic form and symbolic imagery in Isaiah may be strange ways of thinking and talking for today, but the beauty of the arresting ideas of its content is undeniable.

In Isa. 49:1, the Gentiles ["...O islands...you peoples from afar"] are addressed and informed about the one to whom God said, "You are my servant" (Isa. 49:3). He is the one who was called before he was born (v. 1. Cf. I Pet. 1:20). whose mouth is like a sword (Isa. 49:2. Cf. Rev. 1:16), who would display God's splendour to Israel (Isa. 49:3. Cf. John 17:1-51), who seemed to labour to no purpose (Isa. 49:4. Cf. Acts 3:18-37), and be the means of salvation for Gentiles (Isa. 49:6. Cf. Acts 13:47).

He would be despised and rejected (Isa. 49:7. Cf. Matt. 27:38-44), but the honourable and discerning would acknowledge him (Isa. 49:7. Cf. Phili. 2:10). He would be the means of salvation to all who call on the Lord (Isa. 49:8. Cf. II Cor. 6:2) and he would be the mediator of a new covenant of reconciliation (Isa. 49:9. Cf. Heb. 8:6). The captives of Satan and the denizens of spiritual darkness would find in God's servant the way of freedom and the avenue of light (Isa. 49:9. Cf. Acts 26:18). In him they will neither hunger nor thirst (Isa. 49:10. Cf. John 6:35) and they will be guided in safety and security by one who shows love and compassion.
(Isa. 49:13)
[from Truth in Love, no. 38, Sept. 30, 1990, p. 6]

HE WILL BRING FORTH JUSTICE
(Isa. 42:1-4)
We know that the opening verses of Isa. 42 refer to Jesus because the same Spirit of Christ who inspired Isaiah to write it also inspired the apostle Matthew to quote it and apply it to Jesus (Matt. 12:15-21. Cf. I Pet. 1:10-12).

What a marvellous testimony to the divine inspiration of the Bible. No man could have conceived of the Messiah as being any other than a rich and powerful king who would so impress himself on everyone that he would command instant, universal obeisance. The fact is that Jesus presented a very different image, and this humble characteristic of Jesus was a stumbling block to many who would not accept him as the Messiah (Mark 6:1-6; John 7:10-52).

Jesus prayed to his Father, (John 17:4). Jesus said, on another occasion... (John 12:49). The writer of the Hebrews letter stated of Jesus that...(Heb. 5:8-9). This is, as the apostle Paul declared...(Acts 26:22-23). Jesus died to bring us back to God.

We observe the Lord's Supper in order to proclaim this fact (I Cor. 11:26) in remembrance of him (Luke 22:19).
[from Truth in Love, no. 37, Sept. 23, 1990, p. 6]

A doxology is an expression of glory to God. Several examples of doxologies were examined to see what they could tell us about the faith, feelings, and relationship that the people involved had with God.

The first example was taken from Gen. 24 when Abraham's servant was sent to find a wife for Issac. This servant no doubt felt a great deal of pressure at the enormity of the task and so he asked for God to provide a sign for him. His gratitude for God's answer to his prayer was expressed in his doxology.

In Exo. 18, when Moses met again with his father-in-law after the people were led out of Egypt and told him of the mighty works that God had performed, Jethro expressed his conviction in the power of God in his doxology.

In Eph. 3, Paul expresses a doxology encompassing the relationship that the Christian has with God. We recognize that our purpose comes from God, and we bow humbly before him acknowledging His greatness. Our strength to achieve in this world arises from God, and through God's gift, Christ dwells in our hearts. Finally, Paul expresses how we should be rooted in God's love from which we draw our strength.

As in these examples, we should adopt the perspective and recognition of God that expresses itself in doxology.
[from Dunedin bulletin of 7 Oct. 1990] Another doxology is Jude 24-25

BE CONSECRATED TO YOUR GOD
(Num. 15:40-41)
In a day when so many are eager to relax God's rules and to welcome a wide variety of religious persuasions under the man-made umbrella of "Christendom", it is as well to remind ourselves that God does not change (James 1:17). God gave rules to the Israelites (under the Old Covenant) and commanded them to "obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes" (Num. 15:39).

Consecration to God is an inseparable part of obeying all his commands. The constant reminder to the Israelites was the fact that God brought them out of Egypt.

The same association of consecration and obedience to God is expected of Christians whom God has brought out of sin by what his Son accomplished once for all on the cross. The constant reminder to Christians of this fact is the observance of the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7).

God issued specific commands for "forgiveness of sins," for "worship in spirit and in truth", and for the "walk in truth" which he has given us in his New Covenant through Jesus Christ. We prostitute ourselves if we go after the desires of worldly hearts and eyes and introduce innovations which God has not authorised in his word. We cannot claim forgiveness, true worship, or to "walk as Jesus walked", if we substitute our own terms for those of God.

When the Lord said "as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup" (I Cor. 11:26), he did not mean that we partake of his Supper "as often as we like"; but, rather, that every time it is observed we are remembering his sacrifice and proclaiming its purpose until he comes as the context shows. By obeying his commands, we "consecrate ourselves to God".
[from Truth in Love, no. 42, Oct. 28, 1990, p. 6]

THE WORD OF LIFE

The source of life (John 1:4)
The sustainer of life (John 6:33)
The promise - eternal life (John 6:40)
The promise - more than existence (John 10:10)
The promise - a present possession (John 5:24)
The promise - the way to obtain it (Rom. 6:4)
The promise - the future glory (Col. 3:4)
The promise - an unfading glory (I Pet. 5:4)
The promise - an eternal glory (II Cor. 4:16-18)
(John 3:36)
[from Truth in Love, no. 42, Oct. 28, 1990, p. 7]

DOES MODERN BEHAVIOUR THEORY GUIDE US BETTER IN HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS THAN THE BIBLE?

This is an interesting question at a time when it seems many Christians are turning to psychology, sociology, and other academic disciplines for the answers to the age-old questions about how to live with each other in peace and harmony and without fear and violence.

Something new (Acts 17:19-21)

Month-by-month, religious magazines arrive in the mail-box with articles or information on courses and seminars dealing with "parenting", "marriage enrichment", "self-fulfillment", "behaviour dynamics", and a host of other jargon-filled topics in the same vein. Most of these promote some academic specialist of international reputation in a particular field and invite Christians to share in discussion. This usually means instruction in "awareness" based on the latest trendy theory which is eagerly embraced by some for a time.

Words without knowledge (Job 38:1-2)

The sad thing is that Christians ought to know better than to fall for the old-fashioned "snake oil" pitch in modern guise. For thousands of years, human beings have had to face and learn to cope with the same kinds of inter-personal relationship questions as their modern descendants. And, for thousands of years, God has provided the complete answer in the Bible. Bible teaching has never been improved on by human theorising, even within the universities.

Futile in their speculations (Rom. 1:21)

Christians really have no excuse for ignorance on "parenting", "marriage enrichment", "self-fulfilment", or any other relationships of human beings. The apostolic letters of the New Testament, for example, are full of God's instructions on how to behave towards one another - in any and every situation. The whole Bible is full of examples, both good and bad and wise and unwise, of the many ways men and women of long ago have behaved in similar circumstances to our own. Human nature has not changed - read from Genesis through to Revelation and a record of humanity is found with which we can easily identify and to which we may make appropriate response.

Equipped for every good work II Tim. 3:16-17

Every faithful preacher of the gospel is capable of teaching all of God's instructions regarding human relationships, to our great benefit - if we listen and apply it.

Every Christian can read their own Bibles with understanding and know what God expects of them, to their great benefit as God ordained - if they will listen to him and obey him.

Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:17)

If anyone needs convincing, read Col. 3 (as an example) and then really apply its teaching in every situation, every day, towards everyone and see how practical and effective God's instruction is. It is unsurpassed.
(Col. 3:14.)
[from Truth in Love, no. 40, Oct. 14, 1990]

There is not security on this earth; there is only opportunity.
[by Douglas MacArthur]

One person with courage makes a majority.
[by Andrew Jackson]

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
[by Calvin Coolidge from Sycamore Chapel bulletin, June 12, 1994, p. 3]

Results! Why man, I have got a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.
[by Thomas Edison]

Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
[by Winston Churchill]

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.
[by Leonardo da Vinci]

News is what someone wants to stop you printing. All the rest is advertising.
[by William Randolph Hearst]

People with high self esteem have it because they have overcome their failures. They have been put to the test of life, overcome the problems and grown.
[by David Jansen]

Act as if you were already happy; that will tend to make you happy.
[by Dale Carnegie]

Children of dysfunctional families have the following characteristics:
1. either super responsible or super irresponsible
2. have to guess at what normal is
3. have difficulty following a project through from beginning to end
4. lye when it would be just as easy to tell the truth
5. judge themselves without mercy - are very hard on themselves
6. have difficulty having fun
7. take themselves very seriously
8. have difficulty with intimate relationships
9. overreact to changes over which they have no control
10. constantly seek approval and affirmation
11. feel they are different from other people
12. are extremely loyal even in the face of evidence that the loyalty is undeserved
13. are impulsive - they tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsivity leads to confusion, self-loathing, and loss of control over their environment.

SURELY GOD IS MY SALVATION
(Isa. 12:2-3)
In Isa. 12 we read of the wonderful promise of God...(Isa. 12:1, 4). And what is said in this chapter so beautifully and aptly fits the salvation which the Lord made possible through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

God's wrath is stored up and his righteous judgement will be revealed against the stubborn and the impenitent. But to those who turn to him and seek to do good, God promises eternal life (Isa. 12:1, Cf. Rom. 2:5-10). God has become my salvation because of his mercy (Isa. 12:2; Cf. Titus 3:3-8). The figure of water as the sustainer of life (Isa. 12:3) is applied by Jesus when he said...(John 4:14).

But so wonderful is this gift of salvation that it is something we must not keep secret to ourselves. We must "make known among the nations what he has done" (Isa. 12:4) so that all who "call on his name" will be saved (Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:12-15). Then the saved will have occasion to "sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things" (Isa. 12:5; Cf. Col. 3:16). Jesus came as "the Holy One of Israel among you" (Isa. 12:6), and the amazing paradox is that, while the demons recognised him as "the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24), the religious leaders of the Jews "disowned the Holy and Righteous One" (Acts 3:14).

As we meet around the Lord's table to remember his death to achieve our salvation, in grateful thanks let us be like Peter who exclaimed...(John 6:68-69).
[from The Truth in Love 1990]

There are five main areas to consider when we develop healthy, loving relationships with other people.
1. Acceptable. Being accepted by people gives us a sense of security. Jesus accepted all people, sinners and outcasts of society: Rom. 15:7; Gal. 2:11. We need to praise a person's effort not just when a person succeeds in something.
2. Appreciation. Do we make people feel they are significant and important to us? In Rom. 16 Paul expresses appreciation for the many workers in the church.
3. Time available. Jesus always made time to stop, to talk and to help people.
4. Affection. We should show appropriate affection to each other. Rom. 16:16 Paul says to greet people with a holy kiss. (II Cor. 2:4; II Cor. 6:12)
5. Accountability. We are all responsible to God for the way we treat other people and serve God. In Eph. 6:1-4, children are told to honour parents and fathers are told to be accountable. (II Cor. 13:4-5; Heb. 10:24-25.)
Treat others like we ourselves would like to be treated. This applies to children, partners, Christians, and non-Christians.
[by Welborn Hayhurst from The Outreach, 21 Nov. 1990]

LOOKING...OUTWARDLY?

Take a close look at your fellow-Christians. Whom do you see? With wary eyes are you assessing them? Are we looking for the qualities the world prizes? Or are we spiritually-perceptive, and seeing those things that God loves?

Jesus had been accompanied by his disciples for three years, and yet he had to ask them who they thought he was (e.g. Matt. 16:15). They expected of him worldly attitudes (Mark 10:35-37), they were prone to lack faith in him (Mark 4:36-41), and to fail to see his unity with the Father (John 14:8). They were looking outwardly, and they were looking with worldly eyes.

Jesus said...(John 14:9). They knew his physical features, and they knew his temperament, personality, and his social attributes. They missed his spiritual qualities because they were not spiritually alert (John 4:24; I Cor. 2:14).

The apostle Paul suffered the same fate from some Christians, and said of them "You are looking at things as they are outwardly" (II Cor. 10:7). Of him these Christians were saying, "...his personal presence is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible" (II Cor. 10:10). What are we saying about each other?

Are we looking at each other outwardly?
[from The Truth in Love, no. 48, Dec. 9, 1984, p. 2]

The man who is a non-Catholic has suffered from the narrowness of the Catholic mind. Catholics do not listen; they have only been taught to defend. They refuse to question what they learned in childhood. They can defend pious superstition with the same ardor with which they embrace key doctrines of their faith. They can uphold a Roman ruling with the fire of a martyr's conviction and ignore it once the bishop pronounces that Saturday, at midnight, it does not apply.
[by James Kavanaugh from A Modern Priest Looks at Outdated Church]

In the narrow room of self no prayer can thrive.
Prayer may be held down in two different ways; if it is spoken without inner intention and if the earlier deeds of the praying man lie spread out like a heavy cloud between him and heaven.
[by Martha Buber from The Legend of Baal-Shem]

In the New Testament there are no holy places or holy persons or even holy rites. Whenever cultic language appears - 'temple, priest, sacrifice' - it is the context of that service which is rendered to God every day; no temples, no holy area marked off from worldly areas exists any more, because all the world belongs to God, and Jesus' disciples are to perform their sanctified service everywhere.
[by Edward Schweizer from Interpretation, "What is Meant by 'God'?"]

While the scribes simply prohibit the external act of killing, Jesus insists that we cannot have a good conscience merely by avoiding the outer act. God's demand here is that we avoid the inner disposition that can lead to murder; anger; saying to someone you do not like, 'You fool'; inflicting a thoughtless insult that wounds the other and gives us a sense of superiority and victory. God's will is that our inner motive be as pure as our outer act.
[by William Hamilton from The Christian Man]

It is above all though the Bible the book of the Word revealed and incarnate, that God speaks, and personal contact with him is established. And when it is established, Bible-reading is no longer an irksome effort to solve an enigma as to absorb general precepts. It becomes a personal dialogue in which the least word touches us personally.
[by Paul Tournier from The Meaning of Persons]

CHRIST TO THE UNIVERSE!

Christ to the world in this generation!" 'Tis is the challenge of the 20th Century.

But the 21st Century may be the era of an even greater challenge: "Christ to the universe in this generation!"

Yet the hope of both these challenges will be short lived if some very common concepts are not drastically altered. For too many Christians, the world - if not the universe - is their own backyard, composed only of people of their own economic level, nationality, and locality.

Economic Standing

One common "backyard concept" is that the church of Christ is a middle-class institution. Many Christians would not dare speak of Jesus to the poor - or for that matter, speak to them at all. They just do not fit into "our world."

But the Bible has something to say about this.
(James 2:2-4).
How often do you see a dirty, ragged man in one of our church buildings, much less on the front row? Yet, it is paradoxical that many Christians would be just as hesitant to mention Christ to the rich as to the poor. However, in Christ there is no middle class. There are no rich; there are no poor. All are one in Christ, and all economic standards fade into obscurity.

Nationality or race

Another "backyard concept" is the idea that the gospel is confined to "our world" of white Americans. If we judge them by their fruits, there are obviously some Christians who believe this.

The Jews of the first century subscribed to such a theory of exclusiveness. They were certain that the gospel was only for Jews. In fact, it infuriated them to think it might also be for Gentiles. In Acts 21, Paul was about to be mobbed by hundreds of Jews when the Roman commander appeared with some soldiers. Paul asked the commander if he could speak to the mob, and "when he had given him permission, Paul spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect. And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet...."

Paul spoke for a few minutes, telling of his life and his conversion. As he was relating the charge Jesus gave him on the road to Damascus, he declared, "And he said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" Luke records that "they listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!' And...they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air...."

It seemed inconceivable to the Jews that one could actually believe that the Lord meant for the gospel to go to the Gentiles.

Paul, however, turned out to know the will of God better than they, for the Lord did mean for the gospel to go to the despised strangers. In this century and the next, he means for it to go to all races and nations, not just to the white middle class of "our world."

Locality

More than this, Christians need to stretch their concept of the world to encompass more than just their home states or home towns or even those foreign countries that are most prominent on the map. The world includes all this, but it also includes all the remote, secluded places we never hear about. The gospel is too big to be confined to any one locality.

What does it mean to take the gospel to the world? A few years ago, Einar Mickelson of the Christian and Missionary Alliance of New York heard of the secluded Baliem River Valley in the forbidding interior of Dutch New Guinea. This lush valley, the home of 60,000 Danis, had been discovered in 1938 by Richard Archbold, an American explorer. Seven years later the valley made the front pages when a U.S. Army plane crashed in its vicinity. But it was not long before the world forgot.

The one man, however, who did not forget was Einar Mickelson. Word of any people anywhere without the gospel of Christ was for him a challenge to go. (C.W. Hall, "White man comes to Changri-La; Danis of Dutch New Guinea." Reader's Digest, LXX (Feb., 1957), pp. 35-43.

This is what it means to take the gospel to the world. And yet it is tragic, but true, that many of us live in our own little corner of the world and rarely look out to see that there is much more beyond our shallow boundaries.

To the universe

All this means that we Christians of the 21st Century have an especially impressive task ahead of us. For scientists say that one day man might well be living on other spheres. So our challenge is not only to expand our thinking to include all the world but to include the universe as well. What of the settlements on other globes? What of the space stations that may dot the universe? The force of our Lord's commandment is not to take the gospel to all nations but to every locality that supports humanity. And where people are, there we must go!

Scientists today are thinking of everything for the spaceman - food, clothes, water, shelter. Are we thinking of his spiritual needs and preparing to meet them?

How will the church fare in the 21st Century? Will that new era find it reaching forth to men of all races and all economic levels in the most remote corners of the globe? Again, will it find it ministering to souls in space and men on Mars? Or will it catch us short, still trying to get out of our own backyard?
[by Richard Hughes] [Key concept: Missions]

When rejecting the ideas of another, make sure you reject only the idea and not the person.
[Worth quoting by Joe R. Barnett from 20th Century Christian]

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.
[by Oliver Wendell Holmes in Worth quoting by Joe R. Barnett from 20th Century Christian]

The word became flesh, and thereby was revealed to us in a person. Only insofar as man 'puts on' this person is Christianity personified in him.
[by C.R. Hocott in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

This world is a great sculptor's workshop, and we are the statues. There is a rumor going 'round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.
[by C.S. Lewis in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

A real Christian is a person who has the life of God in his soul through faith in Jesus Christ. United to Christ he has the power of a new life in his being. The Bible says that everyone who has Christ has life (I John 5:12).
[by Carl Hogue in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

"This is my body," he declares, "which is given for you," "This," he is saying, "is myself, my very all, my everything. It is given for you." He asks that in return we take our discipleship seriously. As he gave his all, we are to give our all. We are to say, day by day, "Not my will, but thine be done."
[by Jon Jones in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

As believers we must relinquish the most precious thing in our lives to God. He wants more than our spare time and material leftovers. Only when we are willing to give that which we love the most can we experience the joy and freedom that come from yielding to him.
[by Joe R. Barnett in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

It isn't enough in this world that you and I as Christians are refraining from evil. The figures you see in the department store windows do no evil, but they are not Christians. We surely could not say that they 'follow in his steps.' It takes more than negatives to add up to a true follower of Christ. To walk in his footsteps we must actively be doing those things that are good and constructive as we journey through this world.
[by W. Dwyane Dennis in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

We hear much of love to God; Christ spoke must of love to man. We make a great deal of peace with heaven; Christ made must of peace on earth.
[by Henry Drummond in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

We must build bridges to be like God. We never build a bridge by having an argument, by criticizing, by gossiping, or by ruining another person's character. Like Christ, we build bridges by loving people.
[by Prentice Meador in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

Living in a hole does not make one holier!
[by Vance __ in Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

Every human being needs to touch and be touched. Each of us has thoughts and feelings so deep and personal that words will simply not bear their weight. And yet, we long to communicate them, to share them with another. Our most intense joy is amplified and given permanence by being shared. Our deepest fears and anxieties are made endurable and manageable by being shared. But they can only be truly shared in their full depth and significance when they are shared in the totality of who we are. They cry out for touch. We need to touch.
[by Michael G. Young in The Human Touch: Who Needs It? via Gleanings from 20th Century Christian]

The richest I have ever been was when I was a boy and found a five dollar bill. It is the only time in my life I ever had enough money to buy more than I wanted. I guess you can't get richer than that.
[by Walling Keith in Birmingham News in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
[by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

A dress on a woman should be like an address on an envelope - something to direct the message to where she wants it to go.
"[by Hugh Allen in Knoxville News-Sentinel in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.
[by G. K. Chesterton in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

There's nothing like becoming established to cure one's dissatisfaction with the Establishment.
[by Harold Coffin, AP in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Some men have acted courage who had it not; but no man can act wit.
[by Lord Halifax in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

This year you might try spending your vacation somewhere near your budget.
[by Harold S. May in Florence, Ala., Herald, quoted in The National Observer via Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself.
[by John MacNaughton in Pulpit Digest via Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Surely, inflation must be the world's most successful thief.
[by Carl E. Person, The Save-By-Borrowing Technique (Doubleday) via Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Opportunity knocks only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.
[from Western Livestock Journal via Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Real freedom is won through self-government, not through self-expression.
[by Roy L. Smith in Quotable quotes from Readers Digest]

Temper is necessary to strengthen steel, but is sure can spoil young people and destroy men.
[from The Sycamore Sunbeam]

Most people will believe a "juicy" piece of gossip quicker than they will the "plain" truth.
[from The Sycamore Sunbeam]

The best way to fight a woman is with your hat - grab it and run!
[from The Sycamore Sunbeam]

SHARING THE JOY OF SALVATION

Incredibly, the man after God's own heart (I Sam. 13:14) had committed murder and adultery, and it had taken a visit from a prophet of God to bring home to David, King of Israel the enormity of his sin (II Sam. 12:1-15). Now as he writes the Psa. 51 the memory of his own treachery plagues his thoughts and fills his heart with remorse. He pleads with his God (Psa. 51:3, 7-12). This is the cry of the "broken-hearted" man, the man to whom God is near (Psa. 34:18). Then, after the pleading comes the promise, the solemn commitment...(Psa. 51:13).

Why, Because gratitude demands it! Because what the good man prizes he shares with others!

Because the conversion of a sinner brings glory to God! Because the joy of salvation is a precious gift from God which grows sweeter as it's share with others!

Do you and I really understand the "joy of (His) salvation"? I mean really understand! When was the last time we spoke to a friend or neighbor about Christ? What occupies our thoughts during the day and fills our dreams at night -visions of our nation turning to Christ for salvation or images of the latest car, house or boat? What really, really upsets us - a brother or sister slipping back into the domain of darkness or a stain upon the carpet? What delights us - the opportunity to share the gospel or the prospect of a wage rise? Is the "joy of (His) salvation" so real to us that we yearn to share it with the living dead around us, or has our religion become an empty ritual, a polite little five act play acted out each Sunday morning while our hearts are protesting...(Mal. 1:13).

Oh how they shame us by their zeal, those men and women who really understand what God has done for them. The destitute woman and her pitiful gift (Luke 21:2); the other woman who, under the disdainful gaze of Simon the Pharisee washed the Master's feet knowing something of her own failure and the gift of forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50); Paul, the forgiven murderer and blasphemer (I Tim. 1:13) who "laboured more than all of them" (I Cor. 15:10), always aware of the debt which he could never repay. In the eyes of the world they were fanatics, but the Stephens, the Philips and the Peters turned that same world upside down with the gospel because they never forgot the "joy of (His) salvation". Do we have the same zeal for the lost or has our vision dimmed? Has the drudgery of daily life sapped our energy and filled us with gray despondency? Do we despair because our well-fed neighbours are "stubborn and obstinate" (Eze. 2:4). If so, it's time to return to the cross, to re-examine the promises and re-focus our vision. Don't let anything rob you of the "joy of (His) salvation" because when hope dies, so does zeal for the lost. Who can share the "joy of salvation" with others if his own heart is weary? Who can speak of mounting up with "wings like eagles" when his own faith is plummeting earthwards? Whatever the cost, let's rid our lives of the stumbling blocks, so that God may "renew a steadfast spirit" (Psa. 51:10) within us, that we may find the courage to "teach transgressors (His) ways"
[by Rex Banks from Hamilton Herald, 22 Apr. 1990, p. 1-2]

STORM OF THE SOUL

The sky is blue and clear, the sun is warm,
The breeze is soft and cool - no hint of harm;
Then at the skyline there's a cloud so small
And soft and white, it seems no threat at all.
I'm fascinated as I watch it grow.
I slowly walk ahead - my face aglow.
I pause again and view the changing scene;
No longer does the sky appear serene.
More ominous it grows as I draw near,
But now I hurry on, still free of fear.
The winds begin to lash against my face;
Apprehensive now, I slow my pace.
My confidence now swiftly turns to doubt;
The storm is all around - there's no way out!
The sky grows dark; the wind, with mighty force
Is tearing at my soul - I've lost my course!
My voice is scarcely heard as then I cry,
"Please, Father, rescue me, or I shall die!"
Then, swiftly as it came, the tempest wild
Is stilled; I hear Him say, "Come home, my child!"
[by Velma Edith Hardin of Palo Verde Church of Christ, Tuscon, Ari. from Tauranga Church of Christ, vol. 31, no. 12, 25 Mar. 1990]

Faith is a principle by which to live, and not a problem to be solved.
[from Tauranga Church of Christ, vol. 31, no. 12, 25 Mar. 1990]

No atheist can injure the Bible's influence so thoroughly as a Christian who disregards it in his daily life!
[from Tauranga Church of Christ, vol. 31, no. 5, 18 Feb. 1990]

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JESUS?
(Luke 23:52-53)
Joseph is not the only one who has had to decide what to do with Jesus. Every person on this side of the cross will have to make that decision. That means you and me. One day all eyes will be focused upon us, and the inquiry will begin: "What did you do with Jesus?" Four responses will be made to this question. Your life will reveal which response you choose.

1. "Leave Him on the cross." In Luke 23:48 we find the people who had been at the foot of the cross returning home. They had witnessed the spectacle, so they went home. Many others since that day have left Jesus on the cross: Felix and his wife, Drusilla (Acts 24:24-25); Agrippa (Acts 26:28); and the thousands on Pentecost who chose not to heed the apostles' cries (Acts 2:40). Many today are going to their graves having left their only Saviour on the cross.

2. "Take Him down and walk on Him." That sounds horribly cruel; yet, many are doing this very thing. Jesus died for a definite purpose - to give life to the lost. That life is to be found only by obeying His instructions (John 8:31-32; John 12:48), and by remaining a part of Christ's church, for which He died (Eph. 5:23-25). Some are Sunday-morning Christians. All week long they live for self but manage to sacrifice a little time on Sunday. These people are making a mockery of Jesus' shed blood and the grace God supplies. Thus, they have "trampled under foot the Son of God" (Heb. 10:29).

3. "Bury Him and forget Him." Some will take a minute to show the world that they care about Jesus by removing Him from the cross and burying Him. But after that they forget Him. These are the ones who are trying to serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). These are the ones who let Jesus dictate their beliefs to a certain point, but then blend in their own ideas (Gal. 5:1-4). They want Jesus, but they want their own church, their own life, their own views.

4. "Place Him in the heart." Joseph did three things: took the body, wrapped it and placed it in a tomb where no one had ever lain. Those who want to be truly righteous today will: take Jesus - that is, totally accept Him and all His teachings; adore Him - esteem Him like no other, confess and follow Him; and give to Him a place in our hearts no one else will ever occupy - which is the centre, life - controlling spot (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 10:9-10).

When your turn comes, how will you answer when they ask, "What have you done with Jesus?"
[by Denny Petrillo from Gospel Advocate, Sept. 1989]

All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.
[from Capital letter]

NO DEFEAT

There is no defeat for the heart that holds to a great purpose. From all outward appearances death spells defeat. But, in reality, death is a victory and a step to a higher life. It is this thought that makes life's burdens bearable. "Set your mind on the things that are above" and move forward without fear.
[from Minister's monthly]

What is the point of accumulating money if you don't use it.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Spend more time with friends - you will be rewarded.

To succeed in life you must get along with people - nice guys do win races.

Monotony is the dreadful reward of the cautious.

Laughter helps you stay young.

When things aren't going your way and you have to reach inside yourself to correct things, you should enjoy the challenge.

You can be stopped by others temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.

Customers ultimately decide how large businesses grow.

OPEN YOUR GIFT BOX

The holiday season is here. Many are thinking about their gift boxes. All have opened them.

Dr. James Dobson in "Love must be tough", relates the story of a man named Paul Powers who was a child abuse victim. He had an unloving life with ribs being broken and teeth knocked out as he was growing up. Eventually he did grow up, married and had a little girl.

One winter holiday season, finances were tough in Paul's household. He managed to scrounge up a few dollars and give his wife $8 to go to the store for food. She foolishly spent $1 for wrapping paper and tape.

While Paul and his wife fought, his three-year old daughter got into the wrapping paper and wasted it, making a crude gift. When Paul saw this, he reverted to the behavior he had seen as a child, and beat his toddler violently.

(Dr. Dobson stated that Paul cannot talk about this to this day without crying.)

The next day when gifts were exchanged, the little girl ran behind the tree and retrieved her crude present, handed it to Paul and said, "Daddy, this is for you!"

He was embarrassed that he had hit her so cruelly for something she thought was a present. He slowly opened the box - and discovered it was totally empty.

His temper flared once more, "What have you done? There's nothing in this box. Why did you give me an empty box?"

The tiny girl looked up at her Dad and said innocently, "Oh, no, Daddy. The box is not empty! It is full of love and kisses for you. I blew kisses in there for my daddy and I put love in there too. And it is for you."

Paul was crushed. He fell to his knees, hugged his little girl, and begged her to forgive him.

He kept the box by his bed for years, and whenever he was hurt or discouraged he would reach in and pull out an imaginary kiss, place it on his cheek, and say, "Thank you Lord."

Any time we are hurt or discouraged, we can open God's gift box, his word, and pull out, not an imaginary kiss of love, but the love of Jesus that is still transforming lives 2000 years after he walked the shores of the Galilean Sea.

Open your gift box, and say "Thank you Lord."

[by Grover Hastings from the Northside Bulletin, Dec. 3, 1990] [For more on Paul Powers' true story, click here to go to the tape library catalog search under Dobson, J.C. Memories of an abused child and borrow the tape.]

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