1) Where Love Is in the Home (Bryan Gibson)
2) How To Be Happy (Ken Weliever)
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Where Love Is in the Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bryan Gibson -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ken Weliever Happy is the man who finds wisdom, Read those words again. Let them sink in. Wisdom is better than silver or gold? Wisdom is more precious than rubies and riches? Wisdom produces pleasantness and peace? Wisdom brings happiness? Yes. Yes. And yes! Trust and obey, for there\u2019s no other way I believe that the Biblical definition of happiness leads to something even better\u2013real joy. The joy of the Lord. The joy of faith. Joy in the Holy Spirit. And the joy of salvation. The Bible speaks of this kind of joy 158 times. The word \u201cjoy\u201d is closely connected to \u201cgrace.\u201d It is that which bestows or occasions pleasure or delight. Grace comes from God. And when you obey God you experience joy. 1) Hear <\/strong>the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street Sunday: 9 a.m. <\/strong>Bible Classes and 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service. Congregational Song Service<\/strong>: 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wednesday: 7 p.m. <\/strong>Bible Classes<\/p>\n\n\n\n evangelist\/editor: <\/strong><\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917 “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” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).——————– Contents: 1) Where Love Is in the Home (Bryan Gibson)2) How To Be Happy (Ken Weliever)——————– -1- Where Love Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2492"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2496,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions\/2496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Years ago, I remember hearing our brother in Christ, R.J. Stevens, along with some other men, singing a hymn entitled, \u201cWhere Love is in the Home.\u201d It was written by Joe Parks, and the first line helps us to see what the song is all about: \u201cWhere love is in the home there\u2019s happiness\u2026\u201d Not just happiness, but a whole lot of other good things, too, and this song details at least some of them.
The love of which this song speaks is not what the world typically defines as love; it\u2019s the love rooted in the very character of God. 1 John 4:7-8 says, \u201cBeloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.\u201d When both husband and wife have been born of God and know God, they will know love in its highest form. So, when this love<\/strong> is in the home, what else should we expect to find?
Where love is in the home, there\u2019s strength<\/strong>, or stability<\/strong>, an element sadly missing in so many homes. Think about what is often said in traditional vows: \u201cFor richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health\u2026\u201d These vows anticipate times of adversity, right? Ecclesiastes 7:14 speaks of a \u201cday of prosperity\u201d and a \u201cday of adversity,\u201d and says \u201cGod has appointed the one as well as the other.\u201d How does love, then, behave in times of adversity? \u201cLove bears all things\u2026endures all things\u2026love never fails\u201d (1 Cor. 13:7-8). Think of the strength, the stability you can have in the home when the two at the forefront are both saying this: \u201cMy love, it\u2019s here for the duration; come what may, it\u2019s not going anywhere.\u201d
Where love is in the home, there\u2019s peace. <\/strong>Understand, there can\u2019t be peace with one another unless there is first peace with God. One is designed by God to be a byproduct of the other. But in terms of peace with one another, think of that great command in 1 Peter 1:22, \u201clove one another fervently with a pure heart.\u201d Pure love means it\u2019s free from impurities or contaminants, some of which would greatly disturb peace in the home. Think of the peace you can have when love is free from selfishness, and free from other fruits of selfishness, like envy, and bitterness, and vengefulness. Take those impurities out and here\u2019s what love look likes in the home: \u201clove suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own; is not provoked\u2026\u201d (1 Cor. 13:4-5). Where you have THAT love in the home, there is peace.
Where love is in the home, there\u2019s joy. <\/strong>We rejoice in God\u2019s great love for us, right, so why wouldn\u2019t we rejoice when we experience that same kind of love from one another? And that joy is not just in receiving it, but in giving it. One of God\u2019s greatest blessings to us is the capacity to love, to love fervently, deeply, to love as Christ loved us. Yes, to be on the receiving end is pretty awesome, but Jesus did say, \u201cIt is more blessed to give than to receive\u201d (Acts 20:35).
Where love is in the home, there\u2019s truth. <\/strong>Marriage ceremonies often quote the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:6: \u201cWhat God has joined together, let not man separate.\u201d Jesus, of course, was speaking about husband and wife. But God has also joined together truth and love, and we best not try to separate them, because neither can be what it ought to be without the other (2 John 1:1-6). Love \u201cdoes not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:6). What a beautiful thing indeed when you can see in a home an uncompromising stand for the truth.
Where love is in the home, it\u2019s a beautiful thing.
\u2014 Via Plain Words from God\u2019s Word,<\/em> September 20, 2023
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Today is \u201cNational I Want You To Be Happy Day.\u201d At least the calendar of weird and obscure holidays says so.
I chuckled a bit when I read it. (Hmm, I guess it\u2019s working). But I thought of Abraham Lincoln\u2019s thought-provoking insight, \u201cMost folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.\u201d
We live in a world obsessed with happiness. There are thousands of books on Amazon advertising how to be happy. Among them are \u201cThe 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People.\u201d \u201cThe 18 Rules of Happiness.\u201d \u201c9 Habits of Maximum Happiness.\u201d \u201cHow to be Happy, or at least less Sad.\u201d<\/em>
In their excellent book, \u201cHappiness is a Choice,\u201d<\/em> Drs. Frank Minirth and Paul Meier, observed that many are looking for happiness and seeking inner peace in the wrong places. \u201cThey seek for happiness in materialism and do not find it. They seek for joy in sexual prowess but end up with fleeting pleasures and bitter long-term disappointments. They seek inner fulfillment by obtaining positions of power in corporations, in governments, or even in their own families (by exerting excessive control), but they remain unfulfilled.\u201d
The Bible has a good bit of advice about happiness that is applicable to the 21st century. Consider these three starting points.
(1) Real happiness begins with God.<\/strong> \u201cHappy are the people whose God is the Lord\u201d (Ps 144:15). Since God made man, He knows what makes him tick. What he needs. How he can enjoy life to its fullest. A genuine relationship with the Lord is the right starting place.
(2) Wisdom produces happiness.<\/strong> In Proverbs 3:13-18, the wise man expressed it this way:
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And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
(3) Happiness comes when we trust and obey.<\/strong> \u201cHe who heeds the word wisely will find good,\u201d observed Solomon, \u201cAnd whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he\u201d (Prov. 16:20).
There\u2019s an old song by the 19th-century hymnist, John Sammis whose refrain repeats this truth.
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To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Jesus said, \u201cThese things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full\u201d (Jn 15:11)
Paul penned, \u201cthe fruit of the Spirit is joy\u201d (Gal. 5:22).
And it is this joy that can sustain us even in times of trial and support us during days of suffering (Jas 1:2; 1 Pet. 4:13).
Actually, happiness is a by-product and not the goal. When we are seeking God, growing in wisdom, obeying His Word and trusting His guidance, we will find inner joy, peace of mind, and contentment of spirit.
\u2013 Via The Preacher’s Word, <\/em>March 3, 2022
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2) Believe<\/strong> in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins. For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30). For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
4) Confess faith <\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized <\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21). This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so \u201cthrough faith in the working of God\u201d (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to\u2026
6) Continue in the faith <\/strong>by <\/strong>living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/strong>
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong><\/strong>Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
<\/a>https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a> <\/strong><\/strong>(This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)
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