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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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April 11, 2010
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Contents:
1) The Consequences of Procrastination (H.E. Phillips)
2) A Bird in the Snow (Steve Klein)
3) Do Your Own Thinking (Bob Buchanon)
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-1-
The Consequences of Procrastination
by H.E. Phillips
The term "procrastinate" is defined: "to put off doing something until
a future time" -- "to defer, postpone." And of course, the word
"consequences" simply means that which follows or results from a
certain course or action.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, someone has said. One
of the easiest things to do is to plan and promise to do what is right
and good, but when the time comes to fulfill the plan, something always
happens and we do not get it done. Almost everyone intends to do right,
straighten up and repent before he dies, but we always want to wait
until tomorrow or some future convenient time.
The young people feel they must "sow their wild oats," because "we live
but once." The middle-aged think they must work and make all the money
they can while they are in their productive years, because the time
will come when they cannot do so. "We must make hay while the sun
shines, you know." The aged think they must enjoy a few years of
retirement and fun before they settle down to seriously practicing
religion. The cycle continues with every generation and every segment
of our society. But we do not reckon with the fact that there is a
judgment to which every one of us must give an account. This judgment
is based upon our language (Matt. 12:34), upon our deeds done in the
body (2 Cor. 5:10), and upon our works (Rev. 20:12).
The normal and almost natural schemes devised by man to defer his
responsible and religious conduct to some future time while he imbibes
the pleasures of sin for a season are all totally absurd. Men and women
die at all ages, and many of them suddenly. Eventually all of us die
(Heb. 9:27). When death overtakes one at any age, his activity on earth
ceases, and his intended good is never done. The Lord said, "Watch,
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of
man cometh (Matt. 25:13).
In Luke 12, Jesus spoke a parable stating that a certain rich man
increased abundantly from his labors. He planned to pull down his
barns and to build greater ones. And having filled these new barns, he
would say to himself: "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much
goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be
merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God" (Luke 12:19-21).
The man in this parable made a number of fatal mistakes, one of which
was to defer or ignore his present duty to God while he made all
provisions for his present and future physical needs.
The apostle Paul was called before Felix and Drusilla because they
wanted to "hear him concerning the faith in Christ." As the apostle
reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix
reacted by trembling, no doubt at the realization of the consequences
he must pay if he continued to pursue his present course of life. But
in this he responded: "Go thy way for this time; when I have a
convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 24:25). Three important
facts are to be noted in this verse: Felix listened and understood what
Paul said. He understood his course of life was out of harmony with
what Paul preached and understood the consequences if he continued,
thus he trembled. Finally, he gave the indication that at some
"convenient season" he would hear again with a view to changing his
life. All evidence indicated that Felix did what most people do today:
he procrastinated until it was too late.
The plans to ignore the will of God in one's course of life, with the
built-in plan to someday repent and reform, always results in
leaving this life without God.
-- Via Searching the Scriptures, September 1992, Volume 33,
Number 9
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-2-
A Bird in the Snow
by Steve Klein
This past week I watched out the window as birds flitted about in the
light snow outside our house. The bright colors of a blue jay and
a flock of red cardinals painted a stunning picture against the
backdrop of glistening white. A sparrow appeared to be ice
skating on a frozen surface that had only a few days ago been a bird
bath. The birds fascinated me, and I took pleasure in their
beauty -- beauty which only seemed to be enhanced by the harsh weather
conditions.
Now if birds could talk, I'm sure they would offer a different
viewpoint. Perhaps some would tell of the great effort they had
made to fly south for warmer winter weather, only to be caught here in
miserable frigid cold. The sparrow might speak of its frustration
at losing access to its favorite watering hole. It is unlikely
that any of them would be describing their experience as pleasurable or
beauty enhancing. Their description of their circumstances would
be much different than my perception.
Even so, God often sees our lives from a different (and better)
perspective than we do.
* When we see trials and tribulations, God sees us being purified
and strengthened. And that is how He wants us to see it too. "In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your
faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is
tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6-7).
* When we see persecution and problems for doing right, He sees
the beauty of godly obedience. "Yes, and all who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).
* When we see sickness and sadness, He sees us discovering
reasons to trust more completely in His power. "And lest I should be
exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in
the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be
exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the
Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me,
'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
* When we see our sufferings as robbing us of happiness, He sees
them as a gift enabling us to become more like His Son. "For to you it
has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but
also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29). "For what credit
is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently?
But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is
commendable before God. For to this you were called, because
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should
follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:20-21).
You and I are like birds in the snow. When the conditions of our life
seem less than ideal, when we are suffering, or frustrated or
persecuted, we must remember that God is watching us through the
windows of heaven. It's what He sees that matters. "The LORD
takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy"
(Psalms 147:11).
-- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, January 10,
2010
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-3-
Do Your Own Thinking
by Bob Buchanon
Not many of us think for ourselves when it comes to matters of
religion. Most of us are what we are religiously because of the way our
parents reared us and have never questioned whether we were right or
wrong. We prefer to leave religious subjects and Bible issues to those
supposedly trained and skilled in this field -- the priest,
theologians, pastors and preachers. Sometimes, we even get the idea
that the Bible cannot be understood by common people. Some of the
religious leaders even teach and encourage this view.
Does the Bible say anything about the ability and responsibility of the
average person to understand its message? Most certainly it does. To
the Christians in Ephesus, Paul wrote, "Therefore, do not be unwise,
but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17). Surely God
does not require of man that which is beyond his ability, Paul had said
earlier: ". . . as I wrote before in a few words, whereby when you
read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ" (Eph.
3:3,4).
The Jews of Berea were commended in the New Testament as being "more
noble than those in Thessalonica because they received the word with
all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether
these things were so" (Acts 17:11). These people were not famous, nor
were they rich or powerful. In fact, they were somewhat obscure. Their
excellency was in their readiness to receive and investigate, to study
and search for themselves whether the new teaching was or was not in
accordance with the Will of God. Certainly, the Bereans could not be
called professional theologians. They were simply people of honest
hearts and open minds -- moreover, a people with a profound respect for
the authority of the sacred Scriptures. Unfortunately, this attitude of
the Bereans -- the spirit of independent, personal investigation --
does not prevail among religious people in the twenty-first century.
Man is in a pitiable state when he does not possess the spiritual
interest to study the Word of God for himself.
It is shocking to discover how many "religious" people have never read
the Bible. It is the duty of every man to test all new doctrines by the
teaching of the Divine Word. We are, as the Bereans, to search the
Scriptures whether these things are so or not. There is no excuse for
failing to do this. God has placed His Word well within reach of us
all. It is printed in our language (no book has been put into more
translations than the Bible) and can be purchased for a small sum. God
has so formed us and so written His Book that it is in the level of our
understanding. He has given us the necessary mental faculties to
comprehend it, and He has made the substance of it so simple and plain
that the wayfaring man can read and understand it. It is not the
mystical utterance which some writings are.
The New Testament abounds with evidence that harmonizes with the
attitude of the noble Bereans. The apostle Peter insisted that
Christians should know what they believe and why they believe it, "be
ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason
of the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear" (1 Pet. 3:15).
The apostle John places the responsibility directly upon every
Christian to follow the pattern of the Bereans and prove every teaching
to be sure it is from God "because many false prophets have gone out
into the world" (1 Jno. 4:1).
It is not only our right, but our duty to listen to all and to try all:
to judge for ourselves what is right (Lk. 12:57). It is God's plain
Will that we should all bring what we hear to the Standard of His own
revealed Will in His Word. Members of God's family today are
simply trying to reproduce faithfully the church of our Lord as it
existed in the first century -- the same in doctrine, worship, name,
organization, service, life and work. The Bible clearly teaches that
the seed of the gospel -- the Word of God -- will produce after its
kind, pure and undenominational Christianity. The first century church
was founded upon the basis of the Word of God. It follows that the same
Word must serve as the blueprint for the twenty-first century church.
-- Via The Eastside Edifier
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb.
10:36-39;
Rev.
2:10;
2
Pet.
2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn), Denham Springs, Louisiana
70726
Sunday services: 9:15 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 4 PM (worship)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
tedwards@onemain.com
tedwards1109@gmail.com
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/audioser.html (audio sermons)
Directions:
Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of
the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing
Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas
stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road,
and go less then 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on the
right. We assemble in its meeting room, which is very close to
the reception counter.
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