I read recently about a wife who who frustrated at always being corrected by her husband.  She decided the next time it happened she would have a comeback.  That moment finally arrived, and she was ready.

     “You know,” she challenged, “even a broken clock is right once a day.”

     He looked at her and replied, “Twice.”

     Nobody enjoys being corrected, even if it’s done in a kind, loving way.  But correction may serve a useful purpose.  We need to listen to it and, if possible, profit by it. 

     As someone has said, “We learn much from the disagreeable things people say, for they make us think, whereas the good things only make us glad.”

     For Christians, correction should be a stepping-stone to spiritual growth!  It’s an opportunity to learn what we’re doing wrong and what we need to do better.  It provides us with the motivation we need to change and mature. 

     But our pride often stands in the way of our gaining anything from correction.  We don’t want to admit our shortcomings.  We react to admonishment by pouting, retaliating in anger or attempting to rationalize our behavior.

     Peter is a good example for us.  He had a lot of excellent qualities that made him a great servant of God — his leadership, his frankness, his energy, his devotion.  But there’s one quality in particular that helped Peter grow to the great leader that he was.  Peter was correctable.  And a correctable person is able to learn and grow.

     On at least eight different occasions, the Bible tells us that Peter blew it.  He sank in the Sea of Galilee.  He rebuked Jesus for talking about his death.  He spoke out of turn at the transfiguration.  He initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet.  He went to sleep in Gethsemane.  He cut off the ear of Mal­chus.  He denied any relationship with Jesus.  And he practiced racial discrim­ination against his Gentile brothers at Antioch.

     And every time he failed, Peter received some kind of admonition, usually verbal — from Paul, from Jesus, from God.  And each time, Peter humbly received his admonition, then pressed on in his Master’s service.

    “If you listen to correction to improve your life, you will live among the wise. Those who refuse correction hate themselves, but those who accept correction gain understanding.” (Proverbs 15:31-32, NCV)

— Alan Smith

      The story is told of two polite people who are having dinner together.
On the table there is a dish with one big piece of fish and one small piece
of fish.  They politely say to each other:  “You may choose first.”

     “No, you may choose first.”

     This goes on for a while.  Then the first person says, “OK, I’ll take
first.”   And he takes the BIG piece of fish.

     The second person says, “Why did you take the big piece?  That’s not
polite!”

     The first person says, “Which piece would *you* have taken?”

     The second person replies, “Why, I would have taken the SMALL piece, of
course.”

     The first person says, “Well, that’s what you have now!”

     New Collegiate Dictionary defines a polite person as someone who is
“marked by an appearance of consideration, tact, deference, or courtesy.”
The quality of politeness is one which seems to be disappearing in our
society.  As I grew up, I was taught to say, “Yes, ma’am” and “Yes, sir”,
terms not often heard by young people today.  Even the words “please” and
“thank you” are not used as often as they should be.

     Some might say that politeness is a “small” thing, and it is, but that
doesn’t mean it is insignificant.   Politeness is a lot like salt — you
don’t always pay attention to it when it is present, but it is very obvious
that something is lacking when it is absent.

     Of all people, Christians should be most polite because politeness is a
characteristic of agape love.

     “Remind the believers to….be ready to do good, to speak no evil about
anyone, to live in peace, and to be gentle and polite to all people.” (Titus
3:1-2, NCV)

     “[Love] does not behave rudely.” (I Cor. 13:5a)

     Make an effort today to see that the love you show to others around you
includes the quality of politeness.

Alan Smith

This is from a sermon series on Bible prepositions; this lesson focuses on the word “with.”

1) Mt. 5:41.
2) Romans were able to compel Jewish people to carry their bags for a mile.
a) Can we think of someone who irritates us?
b) Is there a person who we see, someone who calls us, or someone that e-mails us that we don’t really like?
3) Jesus said, “Go with that person the second mile.”
a) Here the word “with” implies patience for those who irritate us.
b) Mt. 5:41 reminds us that we try to assist those we would really rather avoid.
4) This was how the Lord lived.
5) Mt. 9:11 says Jesus spent time WITH publicans and sinners.
a) Jesus was willing to get close to the unlovely—the people God considers to be spiritual enemies.
b) When the Lord said “go the second mile” in Mt. 5:41, He told people to do what He was doing.
6) We want to seek to live as Jesus lived for there are only two choices in life.
a) In Mt. 12:30 Jesus made a statement that must have startled some people.
b) He said, “He that is not WITH me is against me.”
7) Mt. 13:20.
a) Mt. 13:20 is part of a story where a man planted a crop.
b) Mt. 13:20 says – READ
c) A person cannot be with Jesus until he or she has “heard the word.”
8) People need to hear that God wants to be WITH man (Mt. 1:23).
9) This relationship with God is started by hearing the scriptures (the word of truth).
10) Mt. 16:27 – READ
a) Jesus is coming back and heaven’s angels will be “with” Him.
b) The end of this verse says “every man” is going to be judged when this time comes.
c) The word with reminds us that Jesus is raised, He will return, and He will judge all people.
11) Mt. 17:17 – says this – READ
a) Today there are still “faithless” and “perverse” people.
b) How long will people wait till they decide to act on what the word of God says?
12) Mt. 24:49. READ
a) This servant was WITH the drunken.
b) It does not say this man was intoxicated. This man was simply “with” those who were drunk.
c) Remember that passage we cited from Mt. 12?
d) This guy in Mt. 24 was somewhere else.
e) Such can also be true in our life.

13) Today we can be WITH the drunkards.
14) We can be with illegal drug users, with the sexually immoral, and with the liars.
15) Mt. 25:10, a passage that describes the five wise women. READ
16) The five wise women went WITH the bridegroom.
17) The word WITH describes the preparation that will determine where we spend eternity.
18) If we are like the five wise virgins, we have a weekly reminder of our future promise and reward.
a) Mt. 26:29 – READ
b) Do we realize that the Lord is with us when we partake of the Lord’s Supper?
19) If people read this verse they would not worship in a place that has the Lord’s Supper once a year.

Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous American psychiatrist, once gave a lecture
on mental health & was answering questions from the audience. One man
asked, “What would you advise a person to do if that person felt a nervous
breakdown coming on?” Everyone there expected him to answer, “Consult a
psychiatrist.” To their astonishment he replied: Leave your house, go
across the railroad tracks, find someone who is in need, and do something
to help that person.

Sure, we all know what we can do with money. We may dream about it, how to improve houses, that dream car, that dream vacation, and a thousand gadgets and “toys.” Yet, times like these remind us how easily the dream can become a mirage. Money is a favorite subject of God’s. He covers the matter from cover to cover in His Word. Of the many places in the Bible we might look, consider Psalm 49. There, David says at least three significant things about the limitations of wealth and possessions.

Money cannot redeem a soul (6-9). In fact, Jesus says as much by indicating that a single soul is more valuable than all the wealth of the entire world (cf. Matt. 16:26). Silver and gold are not acceptable substitutes for the blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Whatever it might buy, it cannot purchase salvation.

Money cannot buy immortality (10-12). However renowned and powerful one is on earth, he or she will leave a will and bequeath their fortunes–be they meager or massive. They might think their houses will last forever (11), but they cannot add an infinite amount of longevity despite their net worth.

Money cannot cross the border (16-19). It might be carried from one country to another, but it cannot be taken from time to eternity. The old adage is poignant: “You don’t see U-Hauls behind a hearse.” You cannot take it with you. God does not need it in heaven. Satan cannot use it in hell. We won’t be able to make use of it wherever we spend eternity.

Stock market crashes are disturbing. Credit restrictions and decreased borrowing power may unsettle. Putting our trust in money is vain and reveals a faith that is unhealthy and inadequate. The God who owns us all and made this very world holds us in the hollow of His hand. Let us trust that. What is it that He cannot do?

The story is told of a hospital’s Intensive Care ward where patients
always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11 a.m., regardless
of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought
that it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the
mystery… as to why the deaths occurred around 11 a.m. on Sundays.

So a world-wide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause
of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11 a.m., all
doctors and nurses nervously wait outside the ward to see for themselves,
what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden
crosses, prayer books and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.

Just when the clock struck 11… Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday
sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so that he
could use the vacuum cleaner.

The story isn’t true (despite what you may have heard to the contrary).
But the principle is an important one — where there is no power, the
results can be deadly.

I am reminded of what Jesus said to the Sadducees when they came to him
asking a question about the resurrection. They asked the question —
involving a convoluted situation with a man who married seven women who all
died — because they hoped to demonstrate to Jesus that there could not
possibly be a resurrection from the dead.

Jesus response was this: “”You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29).

Any time we deny (or limit) the power of God — denying what He can do
if He wants to — we find ourselves on dangerous ground. The New Testament
is filled with passages which emphasize God’s power. There is power in the
gospel (Rom. 1:16), power in the message of the cross (I Cor. 1:18), and
power in the resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 6:14).

If you’re noticing that others are spiritually dying around you (or
maybe even that you yourself are dying), maybe it’s time to check the “power
source.” Are you connected to the One through whom our power comes?

May you be filled with a knowledge of “the exceeding greatness of His
power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places,” (Eph. 1:19-20). Don’t underestimate
(or unplug yourself from) the great power of our God!

Alan Smith

Thomas Costain’s history, The Three Edwards, described the life of Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means, “FAT.”

After a violent quarrel, Raynald’s younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room. This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred.

The problem was Raynald’s size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight!

But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: “My brother is not a prisoner….. He may leave when he so wills.”

Raynald stayed in that room for ten years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined he died within a year … a prisoner of his own appetite. *

Scripture reveals the origin of SIN: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires [or appetites] and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

Many times, WE are our own worst enemy. We become imprisoned by our own selfish desires and, unless we are rescued, our sin will lead to our own destruction.

Paul exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! WHO will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

Then Paul gave THE answer: “I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25). ONLY JESUS… can deliver us from the power of sin and death!

Jesus WON the ultimate victory over sin and death….. when He died on the cross as payment for sin (Ephesians 1:7) and broke the bonds of death through His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). WE can share in His victory through our submission to His will: believing in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38). Then, if we will continue to walk in the light of His Word, we, too, will be victorious.

WE are self-imprisoned by sin and on the verge of destruction. Only Jesus can set us free. And He will, IF we will TRUST and OBEY Him.

Won’t YOU?

— David A. Sargent, Minister

Some are still working on handling the word with the skill they should have (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15). Many are working on overcoming a shyness in the area of the gospel (Matt. 10:32; Mk. 8:38). While Christians muster greater courage and ability in the arena of soul-winning, they can practice by doing some simple, relatively easy things.

1) Drop by a hospital near work, randomly visiting a few patients, and telling them you are a concerned friend from the church of Christ.
2) Mail a Bible tract with each of your bills and correspondences.
3) Give Sunday’s bulletin to a co-worker or associate.
4) Hand a friend the preacher’s (or church’s) business card (which has the church’s address and phone number).
5) Invite a friend to watch a TV program put on by the church (Uplift Network, “Good News Today,” each day at 6 AM MST).
6) Talk up the Bible school with the neighbors who have small children.
7) Pray with a non-Christian friend who is ill.
8) Invite a friend or co-worker to speak with someone at church about the Bible.
9) Type up the plan of salvation on several cards, take them with you for when you go to places with magazine tables or racks (doctor’s office, stores, insurance office, etc.) and place them among the reading materials.
10) Carry tracts and bulletins onto airplanes, placing the material in the magazine rack in the seat ahead of you.
11) Pleasantly invite people over whom you have influence to attend special occasions at the church building (lectureship, seminars, gospel meetings, VBS/BBD, etc.).
12) Baby-sit the children of individuals who engage in home Bible studies.
13) Model the behavior and attitude of Christ (1 Pet. 2:21).
14) Baby-sit the children of non-Christian associates, using the opportunity to introduce them to the Lord.
15) Use a religious discussion at work as an opportunity to introduce them to the Lord.
16) Give Bibles and teaching books as presents to non-Christian friends.
17) Pass along Christian magazines to friends and fellow-workers.
18) Carry sermon CDs to shut-in family members and friends who have yet to obey the gospel.
19) Place a “church of Christ” bumper sticker on your car.
20) Hand out invitations to attend services by going door to door.

This does not nearly exhaust the list of things one may do to spread the gospel apart from the most obvious means (teaching a Bible study). Perhaps you can think of other, similar means of spreading the gospel which require NO personal evangelism experience. Work toward being able to study the Bible with the lost, but, as you are working, be involved in doing that for which Christ holds all Christians responsible (Matt. 28:18-20). Then sing with joy, “I want to be a worker for the Lord.”

–Neal Pollard

When my middle son, Dale, was in first grade, he was learning about King Solomon’s three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines, about how not only was it wrong to have so many wives but how difficult it must have been for Solomon to keep up with all of their names. His teacher told me that Dale’s solution was simple: “Couldn’t he just call them all ‘honey’?” If only keeping up with their names was Solomon’s most serious task with regard to these women!

Reading 1 Kings 11, right off the heels of Solomon’s hosting the Queen of Sheba and the extremely opulent exchange of gifts between them, we are impressed with an incredible flaw in Solomon’s character. Perhaps Ecclesiastes was written later enough in his life after 1 Kings 11 that he realized, with regret, the folly of such a lifestyle. Consider some things about Solomon’s deadly mistake.

First, his mistake was for whom he had such great affection (1 Ki. 11:1-2). They were foreign women from nations with whom God explicitly forbad such fraternizing! God knew that such unions would lead men to leave Him (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14ff; 1 Cor. 15:33). Be careful who or what you make the object of your affection—choosing wrong is a deadly mistake!

Second, his mistake was in how he held them in affection (1-2). These women of the world were apparently beautiful and seductive. The word for “love” in these two verses speaks more to physical attraction and very little, if at all, to pure, spiritual love. It might be said that Solomon pursued these women from lust. From his own pen, he wrote of how dangerous such pursuit is (Prov. 5; 6:24-35; 7:5-27; etc.). To follow his example today is a deadly mistake!

Third, his mistake was in what his affection for them led him to do (3-10). It led him to worship the idols revered by these pagan women. It also led him to ignore God’s commands and even outright rebel against them! The natural consequence of following in his steps is the same today—a choice must be made. Choosing the path of sensuality prevents one from obeying God. Obeying God makes it impossible to, at the same time, pursue such a sinful path. Choose like he did, and you make a deadly mistake!

Finally, his mistake was in what his affection for them cost him (11). His pursuit of these women cost him the kingdom! God took it from him through the rebellion of Jeroboam and the folly of Rehoboam, his son. Following Solomon’s example is costly! It will often cost one dearly—financially, socially, and physically. Lacking repentance, it will surely cost one eternally! It can cost us the kingdom, too! Yet, so many imitate Solomon’s deadly mistake.

May we take a page from inspiration and learn from Solomon’s deadly mistake.

–Neal Pollard

1) Today we want to consider what the Bible says about a future day of judgment
a) Our study begins in the book of Matthew – Mt. 7:2.
b) READ
2) Jesus not implied a judgment in this verse, He implied that we can have some control on how we are judged.
3) God has appointed a time of and for judgment and it is going to be a time that will involve all people.
4) A few chapters later (Mt. 10:15) Jesus spoke about the cities of “Sodom and Gomorrah.”
5) Mt. 10:15 – READ
6) People from the past will be at the future judgment; God does not forget about people.
7) Next on our list of references is Mt. 12:36.
a) This passage says that God is not a forgetful God.
b) READ

8) Some things in life are “idle.”
9) Idle is not the same as actively committing evil.
10) Some people do not speak “evil”; they just endlessly ramble. Some are involved with idle speech.
11) The Bible not only promises a future judgment, it promises a judgment that it 100% complete.
12) Nothing will be left out or omitted when the day of judgment comes.
a) In Jn. 5:22 we are told that Jesus will be the judge.
b) READ
c) According to this verse, Jesus will be “judge and jury” and He will serve in this role for all people.
d) verse 24 – READ

13) verse 27 – READ
14) Jesus is “a son of man” (He knows what it is like to be human).
15) Jesus will not judge us based on theory.
16) Jesus came to this earth, He lived as a man, and He knows what humanity is like.
17) verse 29 – READ

18) “Life” is a description of heaven; “judgment” is a description of Hell.
19) All will be committed to one of these two places.
20) verse 28 – READ
a) “All” is the key word. Many will be dead when Jesus returns. Others will be alive.
21) As we noted earlier, not everyone believes in a future judgment.
22) Some think a judgment day is just a scare tactic used by religion.
23) Acts 24:25 says there was a ruler who heard about the future judgment.
24) Paul said some think they will “escape” God’s judgment (Rom. 2:3).
25) God’s judgment will be “righteous” (Rom. 2:5) and it will come.
26) God wants His people to have confidence in and about the final judgment.
a) Some Christians may have the idea the judgment day is a time to be feared.
27) 1 Jn. 4:17 says the saved are to have “boldness” about the day of judgment.
a) If we are a Christian, we “have a receipt.”
b) Our receipt is the blood of Christ a faithful Christian life.
c) When it comes time for the judgment day, the question is: Did we become a Christian?
d) Did we live a faithful Christian life?

How soon we forget! But Gordon Bell is trying to devise a system in which he can recall most anything in his life.

For the past decade, Bell , a Microsoft researcher, has been “moving” the data from his brain onto computers. The process is much more involved than saving digital pictures and e-mails. Bell carries around video equipment, cameras, and audio recorders to capture his conversations, commutes, trips, and experiences. He has used a SenseCam – a device that is being developed by Microsoft that a person hangs around his neck and automatically records every detail of life in photo form. And Bell has been saving almost everything from restaurant receipts to correspondence, bills, and medical records.

Thus far Bell has accumulated a mountain of data – more than 350 gigabytes worth, not including the streaming audio and video. He describes the storage of information as a replica of his biological memory. It’s actually better, he says, because if you back up your data in enough places, this digitized “e-memory” never forgets. It’s like having a multimedia transcript of your life.

Bell hopes that by developing and implementing this process, no one will have to fret about storing the details of their lives in their heads anymore; they can save the details on their computer and recall it at will. *

Do we really want to remember every detail of our lives? After all, we make many mistakes (Romans 3:23). Sure, we want to learn from our mistakes, but do we want to be reminded of them constantly? Aren’t there things that we’d like to forget and know that they won’t be held against us?

There is Another who has infallible, total recall: GOD! “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). And give account, we must! “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man (His Son, Jesus) whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

God, Who has total recall, will recall everything that we have done and hold us accountable for EVERY impure thought, idle word, and evil deed. Unless…
the memory of our sins has been erased, through the sacrifice of Christ!

The Old Testament prophets foretold the time when God would establish a new covenant with His people that contained this promise: “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34; see Hebrews 8:12).

Because of His great love for us… God has made provision for our forgiveness through the death of His Son, Jesus, who died on the cross to redeem us from sin (Ephesians 1:7). When we respond in faith, trusting Him for salvation (Acts 16:30-31), turning from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) in His name (Acts 2:38), He has promised to forgive us from our sins. Then, as we continue to walk in the light of His Word, He has promised that the blood of Jesus will continually cleanse us from sin
(1 John 1:7).

On Judgment Day, the Lord will NOT recall those sins that have been covered by the blood of Jesus.

Are YOU covered?

David A. Sargent, Minister