![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/acts6-7-nas95-1024x574.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n-1-<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyle Pope -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bryan Gibson \u201cYou younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.\u201d 1) Hear\u00a0<\/strong>the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “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) Ordinary People with a Mustard Seed (Kyle Pope)2) The Evil Eye (Bryan Gibson) ——————– -1- Ordinary People with a […]<\/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-3199","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\/3199","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=3199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3205,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3199\/revisions\/3205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Ordinary People with a Mustard Seed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Most of us, by the world\u2019s standards are very \u201cordinary\u201d people. We wear ordinary clothes. We have ordinary jobs. We drive ordinary cars and live in very ordinary houses. There is no shame in this. In fact that has always been the nature of God\u2019s people. Paul said –\u201c\u2026not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]\u201d <\/strong>(1 Corinthians 1:26, NKJV). Sometimes we may feel that the relatively humble estate of our lives has left us with little influence on the direction of world events or the conditions of life. When we feel this way we should stop and consider something that the Lord said about something that we \u201cordinary\u201d people who are Christians possess. Jesus said –\u201c…The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches\u201d<\/strong> (Matthew 13:31,32).
This parable has less to do with the nature of heaven itself than it does with the power that establishes one as a citizen of its kingdom. Consider how the kingdom was first brought forth: Jesus began with twelve very ordinary men (Matthew 10:1-15). Sometime later he chose seventy others whom he sent out two by two (Luke 10:1-12). At His ascension there were only 120 disciples (Acts 1:15); yet after the preaching of the twelve, as they spoke through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the number grew to 3000 (Acts 2:41). A short time after this Acts 4:4 tells us that the number of men had grown to 5000, suggesting that the number including women was even greater. By the end of the first century the message of the gospel had gone out from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, Syria, and into the whole world (Colossians 1:5,6). How could a handful of \u201cordinary\u201d people do so much in such a short time? Because they had something that was not \u201cordinary,\u201d the powerful message of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. Did Christians then have something that we do not? The miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit confirmed and fully revealed the gospel message, but there is no indication that this added any greater motivational power to the message than we possess today. In many respects spreading the gospel then was much more difficult than it is today. Early Christians faced persecution, travel by foot or donkey, no quick methods of communication such as phones, e-mails, or instant messaging, and in general an economic status much lower than even the poorest Christians of our world. Yet, simply because of the strength of their conviction and the power of their message these \u201cordinary\u201d people \u201cturned the world upside down\u201d<\/strong> (Acts 17:6).
What if Christians today believed as much in the power of the truth as these Christians did? Imagine that every Christian in his or her lifetime could bring two people to Christ. Imagine nurturing these two converts to maturity, strengthening them so that they in turn could lead two more to Christ. In only a few generations the actions of a single Christian could have an impact on thousands of lives. What if a Christian couple raised two children whom they lovingly lead to obedience to the faith? Imagine these children following this faithful example and doing the same. By the forth generation (not counting any influence on spouses or friends) the faith of the first couple would have influenced thirty souls!
As Christians we must realize that while we are \u201cordinary\u201d people, we are entrusted with something that is most \u201cextra-ordinary,\u201d the glorious message of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Every word and deed that we do has influence in ways that we may not even realize upon our homes, our churches, our communities, and throughout the entire world for generations to come. May God help us to see our ability to influence the world has little to do with our status and everything to do with what we believe.\u00a0
— Via Faithful Sayings,<\/em> Issue 11.51, December 20, 2009
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/prov14-30-asv-1022x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Evil Eye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
These questions all have the same answer. Why did Cain kill Abel? (Genesis 4:4-8; 1 John 3:11-12). Why did Joseph\u2019s brothers first conspire to kill him, and then sell him into slavery? (Genesis 37; Acts 7:9). Why did Korah and others lead a rebellion against Moses? (Numbers 16:1-3; Psalms 106:16-18). Why did King Saul make numerous attempts to kill David? (1 Samuel 18:7-9; 18:28-29; 20:31). Why did the Jewish rulers deliver Jesus to the Roman authorities to be crucified? (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10; John 11:47-48). The culprit in every case was envy, the \u201cevil eye\u201d Jesus speaks of in Mark 7:22 (\u201cenvy\u201d in some translations).
Envy was a problem for these Bible characters, and it\u2019s now our problem\u2014perhaps a bigger problem than we realize. We can become envious of those who make more money, those in a higher position, those more gifted, those who receive more praise, those who have better behaved children, etc. And because we\u2019re envious, we either treat them poorly, or we just don\u2019t treat them quite as well as we might others. They\u2019ve done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment, mind you, but that\u2019s the nature of this sin\u2014it makes us do and say crazy things.
Look again at the examples above. They illustrate at least three major points about envy (and its close cousin, jealousy). 1. Envy is a powerful force. When it gets rolling, it can wreak a lot of havoc\u2014in families, in churches, in relationships in general. \u201cWrath is fierce and anger is a flood, but who can stand before jealousy?\u201d (Proverbs 27:4). 2. Envy never stands alone\u2014it will always be accompanied by other evils. \u201cFor where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there\u201d (James 3:16). 3. Envy may actually cause us more harm than the object of our envy. \u201cA sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones\u201d (Proverbs 14:30). If you doubt that, just ask King Saul, whose envy practically consumed him. Sir Thomas Fuller once wrote, \u201cEnvy shoots at others and wounds herself.\u201d That\u2019s the truth, because the Bible confirms it.
Clearly then, envy has no place in the life of a Christian (Mark 7:21-23; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 2:1)\u2014for the reasons given above, but also because it had no place in the life of Christ. You can\u2019t \u201cput on the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d and still have envy in your heart (Romans 13:13-14). It may have \u201conce\u201d had a place, when we were apart from Christ (Titus 3:3), but no more. It hurts us; it hurts the object of our envy; and it will cause our souls to be lost in hell.
So how do we get rid of it? First, get rid of pride, which is really the source of envy. \u201cLet us not become conceited…envying one another\u201d (Galatians 5:26). \u201cBut if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts…\u201d (James 3:14). Did you notice how the two are joined together? Secondly, love the way God intended\u2014the very way Christ demonstrated. \u201cLove does not envy\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:4); what it does instead is \u201crejoice with those who rejoice\u201d (Romans 12:15).
— Via Plain Words<\/em> from God’s Word, October 8, 2025
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n1 Peter 5:5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
— NASB
——————–<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0
2) Believe\u00a0<\/strong>in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent\u00a0<\/strong>of sins.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 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>\u00a0in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized\u00a0<\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).\u00a0 This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).\u00a0 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 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).
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday:<\/strong> 9 a.m<\/strong>. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service
Wednesday (all but the first):<\/strong> 7 p.m.<\/strong> Bible Classes\u00a0
\u00a0First Wednesday of the month: 7 p.m. <\/strong>Congregational Song Service (about 45 minutes of singing, followed by a short talk)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a> (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n