HEROES
Ruth 1:6-17 Ruth 1:16
Today people have many heroes. Those heroes come from all sorts of places. Some are movie stars, or famous athletes, or we look up to some people who are around us on a daily basis. Many of the heroes from the Bible are great examples for us. Many of my heroes from the bible were powerful leaders. Some did great things, like David. Moses and Joshua who were great leaders led well. They had bad things in their life too but led well for the most part.
You should check out Hebrews 11, which is known as “the Hall of Fame of the Faithful”. It is a list of names who faithfully obeyed God-- they did it God’s way. They were honored as a result. One of those heroes, as a matter of fact, was a lady, Esther, whom I admire in some ways for standing up for what is right. Another lady in the Bible is Ruth. Ruth 1:6-17 is our scripture reading today. I admire Ruth for her faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi. After her husband died she chose to stay with Naomi instead of going back to her homeland--the land where she was born. Later Ruth married a man named Boaz and their great grandson was King David. So, in her heritage there comes King David. Later Jesus was born into that same family. Ruth is a great example of someone who followed God by following someone they loved.
Another one of my heroes is my Mom, because she’s interested in going to heaven. We encourage you to look around you and pick out someone you love who follows Jesus, someone whom you respect and who would give you hope. I have great hope that your mother is your hero too. That she is guiding you to do the right thing. Take time out today to thank your Mom for the good example she is to you. If she is not a good example, you can at least decide that you are going to be a good example to your children and become their heroes. There are many heroes in our world. There are many heroes in the Bible.
Our greatest hero is Jesus Himself who died on the cross for us. He was willing to come and be our sacrifice for sins. Let’s do what it takes to be with Him and go where He goes. The most familiar verse in the book of Ruth is our scripture reading today. Ruth said to Naomi, “Where you go, I will go, where you sleep I will sleep, your people will be my people, your God my God. “ Let’s say that to others around us today. Let us be one people and go to heaven together when we die.
~Philip
30 September 2010
28 September 2010
Be a Good Steward
Gen. 1:24-28
Our Bible reading today reminds us that God made all the animals. Our scripture reading today comes from Genesis 1:24-28. I encourage you to read that whole chapter. I haven’t mentioned the 20/20 rule lately--to read 20 verses before and 20 verses after. In this case you might as well read the whole chapter. God had created all the stuff here on earth, and after he had created the land, the water, the birds, the animals, He made people. God said that people should rule over the animals-- take care of all the things. This is an example of stewardship.
Animals can be used for food. They can also be used for service. An example of that is a horse. It can carry people wherever they want to go. Sometimes animals become our special friends, even. Sometimes people don’t treat the animals like they should. Sometimes they are cruel to animals and they don’t take care of their animals and keep them safe. Proverbs 12:10 suggests that it is a good idea to do so. It is our duty to care for them. This extends to all of God’s creation and even to us as individuals.
God has given us the responsible of being good stewards of all the things He has given us. He tells us to take care of all the stuff. He gives us so many blessings it is hard to count them all. It is wonderful to see all the things God has created and see all the awesome things we have to enjoy in the world. Let me encourage you today to be a good steward. A steward is a caretaker over a particular area. God has entrusted each of us with certain areas to take care of, like our families, our homes, and the animals around us. He entrusts us with stewardship over our time talents and treasures. He expects us give those to Him. He expects us do what we are commanded to do and give as we have prospered. We should give back to Him, and in doing that He will reward us for our efforts. Let me encourage you today to be a good steward. It will make a difference in your life today and all eternity. We need to put God first. The way we put God first is to faithfully obey His will.
~Philip
Gen. 1:24-28
Our Bible reading today reminds us that God made all the animals. Our scripture reading today comes from Genesis 1:24-28. I encourage you to read that whole chapter. I haven’t mentioned the 20/20 rule lately--to read 20 verses before and 20 verses after. In this case you might as well read the whole chapter. God had created all the stuff here on earth, and after he had created the land, the water, the birds, the animals, He made people. God said that people should rule over the animals-- take care of all the things. This is an example of stewardship.
Animals can be used for food. They can also be used for service. An example of that is a horse. It can carry people wherever they want to go. Sometimes animals become our special friends, even. Sometimes people don’t treat the animals like they should. Sometimes they are cruel to animals and they don’t take care of their animals and keep them safe. Proverbs 12:10 suggests that it is a good idea to do so. It is our duty to care for them. This extends to all of God’s creation and even to us as individuals.
God has given us the responsible of being good stewards of all the things He has given us. He tells us to take care of all the stuff. He gives us so many blessings it is hard to count them all. It is wonderful to see all the things God has created and see all the awesome things we have to enjoy in the world. Let me encourage you today to be a good steward. A steward is a caretaker over a particular area. God has entrusted each of us with certain areas to take care of, like our families, our homes, and the animals around us. He entrusts us with stewardship over our time talents and treasures. He expects us give those to Him. He expects us do what we are commanded to do and give as we have prospered. We should give back to Him, and in doing that He will reward us for our efforts. Let me encourage you today to be a good steward. It will make a difference in your life today and all eternity. We need to put God first. The way we put God first is to faithfully obey His will.
~Philip
27 September 2010
Jesus, our Anchor
Hebrew 12:1-3 Heb 6:18-19
My wife and kids love the beach, and they love Disney World. Those are their two favorite spots. They love those places better than any place in the world, except maybe being at home. They enjoy our family time there. They love going to the beach. Before we moved to Elba we lived in Niceville Florida. My wife and kids went to the beach about once a week with some friends from church. I went with them sometimes.
Sometimes one person would be in the water and not paying attention to where they were and before long the current would have taken them far down the beach. We laughed and joked sometimes about the people on the beach kept moving, when really it was the other way around. When they discovered how far the current had taken them, they would have to fight the current- - sort of swim up-stream to get back to their spot. We all have experienced that same sort of thing. In order for everyone to stay together on the beach one person would have to keep focused on the people on the beach and keep everyone right where they were.
Today I think we learn a great lesson from that. We need to keep focused on Jesus. We can do that by reading our bible and praying. Jesus is our anchor. He is our help, and He helps us to stay close to Him, to God. If we do not have Jesus in our lives the current of the world can cause us to drift away from God. But if we have Jesus as our anchor, that anchor will hold no matter what the weather is or where we might be.
Take your Bibles and read Hebrews 12:1-3, our scripture reading today. By the way, in Hebrews 6:18-19, the Bibles says that God cannot lie when He says something. He cannot lie when He makes a vow. Those things give great comfort to us who come to God for safety. We know that God is there taking care of us. Those things give us comfort and strength and the hope that God gives us. It is like an anchor the Bible says. It is strong and sure and keeps our souls safe, Hebrews 6:18-19. Spend some time reading God’s Word and studying to know what God would have us to do, then apply those things in our life. If we do that God will be well pleased with us, and we will have a better life because we decided to have that anchor that we all need.
~Philip
Hebrew 12:1-3 Heb 6:18-19
My wife and kids love the beach, and they love Disney World. Those are their two favorite spots. They love those places better than any place in the world, except maybe being at home. They enjoy our family time there. They love going to the beach. Before we moved to Elba we lived in Niceville Florida. My wife and kids went to the beach about once a week with some friends from church. I went with them sometimes.
Sometimes one person would be in the water and not paying attention to where they were and before long the current would have taken them far down the beach. We laughed and joked sometimes about the people on the beach kept moving, when really it was the other way around. When they discovered how far the current had taken them, they would have to fight the current- - sort of swim up-stream to get back to their spot. We all have experienced that same sort of thing. In order for everyone to stay together on the beach one person would have to keep focused on the people on the beach and keep everyone right where they were.
Today I think we learn a great lesson from that. We need to keep focused on Jesus. We can do that by reading our bible and praying. Jesus is our anchor. He is our help, and He helps us to stay close to Him, to God. If we do not have Jesus in our lives the current of the world can cause us to drift away from God. But if we have Jesus as our anchor, that anchor will hold no matter what the weather is or where we might be.
Take your Bibles and read Hebrews 12:1-3, our scripture reading today. By the way, in Hebrews 6:18-19, the Bibles says that God cannot lie when He says something. He cannot lie when He makes a vow. Those things give great comfort to us who come to God for safety. We know that God is there taking care of us. Those things give us comfort and strength and the hope that God gives us. It is like an anchor the Bible says. It is strong and sure and keeps our souls safe, Hebrews 6:18-19. Spend some time reading God’s Word and studying to know what God would have us to do, then apply those things in our life. If we do that God will be well pleased with us, and we will have a better life because we decided to have that anchor that we all need.
~Philip
23 September 2010
Be Like Jesus
Col. 3:12-17
One day my wife and kids and I stopped by a park in Enterprise. We started watching these ducks. It was an amazing thing to watch--this duck and all the little ducklings. Of course, they were cute and my wife and daughter were oohing and aahing over them and the baby wanted to chase them. My oldest son and I were just talking about them, and we noticed that these ducklings were copying everything their mother did. If she pecked the grass, they pecked the grass. If she ran toward a piece of bread, they ran after her toward the bread. When the mother rested all the ducklings sat down close to where she was and rested too. When she started walking again, so did they. They eagerly followed her. They even went into the water with her, and even there they just followed along behind her as they swam. They were doing exactly what they naturally do. They followed their mother.
This reminded me that Christians should be the same way. We should be following Jesus every day of our life. The question is: Do we do that? Do we follow Jesus like the ducklings followed their mother? Our scripture reading today comes from Colossians 3:12-17. As we read that text we find that we as individuals should be copying Christ. We should be following Him. Many people follow other people who don’t follow God. We need to work on following Jesus today. Another text in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 11:1, says “Follow my example, as I follow my example of Christ.”
What a great lesson to learn. We should follow Christ, and other folks can follow Christ by following our example. That was the idea Paul was trying to get across to us. He said, “Look, follow me, as I am following Christ.” It will make all the difference in our lives. And it will give us an opportunity to go to heaven together when this life is over. Make sure that we are being like Jesus. Make sure we are following Him in those things that He said, that He did, the way He acted each day of His life, and if we do we will be blessed as a result.
We would like for you to come be with us on Sunday at our Bible Classes, which are age appropriate for all ages. So come worship with us in spirit and in truth. You cann also checkout our website www.elbachurchofchrist.com
~Philip
Col. 3:12-17
One day my wife and kids and I stopped by a park in Enterprise. We started watching these ducks. It was an amazing thing to watch--this duck and all the little ducklings. Of course, they were cute and my wife and daughter were oohing and aahing over them and the baby wanted to chase them. My oldest son and I were just talking about them, and we noticed that these ducklings were copying everything their mother did. If she pecked the grass, they pecked the grass. If she ran toward a piece of bread, they ran after her toward the bread. When the mother rested all the ducklings sat down close to where she was and rested too. When she started walking again, so did they. They eagerly followed her. They even went into the water with her, and even there they just followed along behind her as they swam. They were doing exactly what they naturally do. They followed their mother.
This reminded me that Christians should be the same way. We should be following Jesus every day of our life. The question is: Do we do that? Do we follow Jesus like the ducklings followed their mother? Our scripture reading today comes from Colossians 3:12-17. As we read that text we find that we as individuals should be copying Christ. We should be following Him. Many people follow other people who don’t follow God. We need to work on following Jesus today. Another text in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 11:1, says “Follow my example, as I follow my example of Christ.”
What a great lesson to learn. We should follow Christ, and other folks can follow Christ by following our example. That was the idea Paul was trying to get across to us. He said, “Look, follow me, as I am following Christ.” It will make all the difference in our lives. And it will give us an opportunity to go to heaven together when this life is over. Make sure that we are being like Jesus. Make sure we are following Him in those things that He said, that He did, the way He acted each day of His life, and if we do we will be blessed as a result.
We would like for you to come be with us on Sunday at our Bible Classes, which are age appropriate for all ages. So come worship with us in spirit and in truth. You cann also checkout our website www.elbachurchofchrist.com
~Philip
22 September 2010
Enthusiasm
Acts 2:42:47
Why do you go to church? Is it because you think you really must go, or do you go because you really want to go? Our Bible reading today comes from Acts 2:42-47. In that text we learn about some Christians who were very enthusiastic about going to church. They were excited about what Jesus had done for them. These people wanted to be with other Christians. They wanted to learn about the apostles, to share communion together, the breaking of bread. They wanted to share their prayers for each other and about things that were going on. They even shared with other people who were in need.
We need to be those kind of people. They would share things that they had. They would give it and share it. That’s exactly how God would have it today. They would get together every day, can you imagine that..every day! They got together and had a church service of some sort. These Christians were very enthusiastic. Because of their enthusiasm their faith grew and their church grew.
If we want to be wise-- if we want to be like the early Christians, we need to have this same kind of enthusiasm. We should be excited about serving God and about going to church. We should be excited about seeing our Christian family and about sharing with others and helping with their needs. The next time you are with Christians friends let me encourage you to be enthusiastic about what is going on. Sometimes folks will talk negatively about church. Next time you are with some folks, instead of being negative, be positive about things. Be enthusiastic about going and about supporting the church and about working, and see what a difference it makes.
The early Christians met together every day in the temple. They had all things in common. They all had the same purpose. They ate together in their homes sharing their food and with joy in their hearts. Acts 2:46. What about us? Can the same be said about us? Do we love to be with other Christians-- are we happy to go to church? Is it a ‘have to’ or a ‘get to’? I hope that in our lives going to church and being busy doing all the things God would have us to do is a ‘get to’. I hope we will be like David who said, “I was happy when they said, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.’
Come be with us for one of our services. We would love to have you there. We meet on Sunday morning for Bible class at 9am, Worship at 10am, and Evening Worship at 5pm. There is a Wednesday morning Men’s Class at 6:30am, Fellowship Meal at 6pm, and Midweek Bible Study at 7pm. Our website is www.elbachurchofchrist.com .
~Philip
Acts 2:42:47
Why do you go to church? Is it because you think you really must go, or do you go because you really want to go? Our Bible reading today comes from Acts 2:42-47. In that text we learn about some Christians who were very enthusiastic about going to church. They were excited about what Jesus had done for them. These people wanted to be with other Christians. They wanted to learn about the apostles, to share communion together, the breaking of bread. They wanted to share their prayers for each other and about things that were going on. They even shared with other people who were in need.
We need to be those kind of people. They would share things that they had. They would give it and share it. That’s exactly how God would have it today. They would get together every day, can you imagine that..every day! They got together and had a church service of some sort. These Christians were very enthusiastic. Because of their enthusiasm their faith grew and their church grew.
If we want to be wise-- if we want to be like the early Christians, we need to have this same kind of enthusiasm. We should be excited about serving God and about going to church. We should be excited about seeing our Christian family and about sharing with others and helping with their needs. The next time you are with Christians friends let me encourage you to be enthusiastic about what is going on. Sometimes folks will talk negatively about church. Next time you are with some folks, instead of being negative, be positive about things. Be enthusiastic about going and about supporting the church and about working, and see what a difference it makes.
The early Christians met together every day in the temple. They had all things in common. They all had the same purpose. They ate together in their homes sharing their food and with joy in their hearts. Acts 2:46. What about us? Can the same be said about us? Do we love to be with other Christians-- are we happy to go to church? Is it a ‘have to’ or a ‘get to’? I hope that in our lives going to church and being busy doing all the things God would have us to do is a ‘get to’. I hope we will be like David who said, “I was happy when they said, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.’
Come be with us for one of our services. We would love to have you there. We meet on Sunday morning for Bible class at 9am, Worship at 10am, and Evening Worship at 5pm. There is a Wednesday morning Men’s Class at 6:30am, Fellowship Meal at 6pm, and Midweek Bible Study at 7pm. Our website is www.elbachurchofchrist.com .
~Philip
21 September 2010
MARRIAGE
Ephesians 5:22-33
Many people in the world today face marriage problems, and sometimes these marriages end in divorce. It is good to know God’s plan before you get married. Paul tells about husbands and wives and how they should be with each other. Our scripture today comes from Ephesians 5:22-33. Again, I recommend you read with 20/20 vision-- twenty verses before and twenty after. Not only will you get a lot of Bible reading done each day but it will give you a good background about what is going on in the text. If we have a good background about what is going on textually we will have a better understanding of God’s will.
Here is the idea--when two people are married, they make a promise to each other. They promise each other that they will be married until they are separated by death. That man and that woman make a promise in front of their family and friends, and even more important than that, they make a covenant with each other and with God. God wants both the husband and the wife to keep their promise.
If you are thinking about your marriage today, if you’ve been working on it or if you are having to go back and revisit your marriage to make it better and work through things, make sure you are putting God in the mix.
If you are thinking about getting married, make sure that you know what God expects you to do. Ask God to bless your marriage and help you to keep your promise. If you are already married, ask God to help you be better at being a husband or a wife. Over in the Old Testament book of Proverbs 31:28-29, the Bible says, “Her husband brags about her. There are many good women, but you are the best.” This is talking about the way a husband will talk about his wife.
I recently have been working on a marriage service that will be happening on Saturday. I’ve been thinking about what to say and the things that are involved there. I’m going to say those kind of things, “Hey, keep your promise for the rest of your life. That is the way God wants it to be.” If we would all do that it would make a big difference in our lives. It will make the world an easier, better place to live. It will make it easier to connect with our spouse the way that we should. I think what we will see is that God will bless us in that marriage relationship if we will put Him in it from the very first. By the way, the way we put God first in our life is to faithfully obey His will. We hear his word, believe it, repent of our sins, confess our faith, and are baptized into Christ. We continue to do His will every day by studying, teaching others, prayer, and making sure we are giving of our time, talents, and treasures. Making sure we are attending church services, and making sure we are love our husband and our wife.
~Philip
Ephesians 5:22-33
Many people in the world today face marriage problems, and sometimes these marriages end in divorce. It is good to know God’s plan before you get married. Paul tells about husbands and wives and how they should be with each other. Our scripture today comes from Ephesians 5:22-33. Again, I recommend you read with 20/20 vision-- twenty verses before and twenty after. Not only will you get a lot of Bible reading done each day but it will give you a good background about what is going on in the text. If we have a good background about what is going on textually we will have a better understanding of God’s will.
Here is the idea--when two people are married, they make a promise to each other. They promise each other that they will be married until they are separated by death. That man and that woman make a promise in front of their family and friends, and even more important than that, they make a covenant with each other and with God. God wants both the husband and the wife to keep their promise.
If you are thinking about your marriage today, if you’ve been working on it or if you are having to go back and revisit your marriage to make it better and work through things, make sure you are putting God in the mix.
If you are thinking about getting married, make sure that you know what God expects you to do. Ask God to bless your marriage and help you to keep your promise. If you are already married, ask God to help you be better at being a husband or a wife. Over in the Old Testament book of Proverbs 31:28-29, the Bible says, “Her husband brags about her. There are many good women, but you are the best.” This is talking about the way a husband will talk about his wife.
I recently have been working on a marriage service that will be happening on Saturday. I’ve been thinking about what to say and the things that are involved there. I’m going to say those kind of things, “Hey, keep your promise for the rest of your life. That is the way God wants it to be.” If we would all do that it would make a big difference in our lives. It will make the world an easier, better place to live. It will make it easier to connect with our spouse the way that we should. I think what we will see is that God will bless us in that marriage relationship if we will put Him in it from the very first. By the way, the way we put God first in our life is to faithfully obey His will. We hear his word, believe it, repent of our sins, confess our faith, and are baptized into Christ. We continue to do His will every day by studying, teaching others, prayer, and making sure we are giving of our time, talents, and treasures. Making sure we are attending church services, and making sure we are love our husband and our wife.
~Philip
15 September 2010
Jesus, Our Rock
Matthew 7:24-29 I Cor. 3:11
When he was much younger, and if the truth be known, even now, my son Brantley loved to pick up rocks. We would talk to him about having a pet rock and being a rock collector. He was constantly picking up rocks and throwing them in the water or seeing how far he could throw them. He loved to look at the colors of the rocks and feel the weight of different rocks. Brantley and I used to skip rocks across the water and sometimes we still do that. Sunday morning as we walked across the parking lot, Brantley picked up a large rock and threw it as hard as he could into the woods. I said, “Hey, that was a great throw!”
In our Bible reading today a wise man built his house upon a rock. In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus was talking about people building a spiritual house or building their lives on Him. Jesus is the Rock. He is the sure strong foundation of our life. In our world today there are so many distractions, so many directions in which we can go. Some of the directions we have no business going. There is so much war and hatred, that people are constantly struggling and looking for answers to how to live and they really want to know. As people search for answers to their problems many of these people look for answers in the wrong places. They look to the wrong foundation. They try to look to alcohol or drugs or sex or whatever it may be.
What we all should do is read our Bibles. What we should do is listen to what God’s word has to say, and follow His instructions. We would be very wise to do so. I hope you have Jesus as a strong foundation in your life. Jesus wants you to trust him. He wants you to depend on Him for those things that you need. When you feel weak or confused remember that Jesus promised He would be with you forever. He is that foundation you can build your life on, and that is exactly what happens in Matthew 7, when the storms come and problems happen in life, that house that is built on the rock is truly founded.
In another place in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 3:11, the Bible says these words, “The foundation has already been built, no person can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ.” Find Him today. Look in your Bibles and find those things in your life..we refer to those things as faithful obedience. Faith + Obedience = Salvation. I hope you will apply those things in your life so you will be pleasing in God’s sight. Then you can say your foundation is built on the Rock.
~Philip
Matthew 7:24-29 I Cor. 3:11
When he was much younger, and if the truth be known, even now, my son Brantley loved to pick up rocks. We would talk to him about having a pet rock and being a rock collector. He was constantly picking up rocks and throwing them in the water or seeing how far he could throw them. He loved to look at the colors of the rocks and feel the weight of different rocks. Brantley and I used to skip rocks across the water and sometimes we still do that. Sunday morning as we walked across the parking lot, Brantley picked up a large rock and threw it as hard as he could into the woods. I said, “Hey, that was a great throw!”
In our Bible reading today a wise man built his house upon a rock. In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus was talking about people building a spiritual house or building their lives on Him. Jesus is the Rock. He is the sure strong foundation of our life. In our world today there are so many distractions, so many directions in which we can go. Some of the directions we have no business going. There is so much war and hatred, that people are constantly struggling and looking for answers to how to live and they really want to know. As people search for answers to their problems many of these people look for answers in the wrong places. They look to the wrong foundation. They try to look to alcohol or drugs or sex or whatever it may be.
What we all should do is read our Bibles. What we should do is listen to what God’s word has to say, and follow His instructions. We would be very wise to do so. I hope you have Jesus as a strong foundation in your life. Jesus wants you to trust him. He wants you to depend on Him for those things that you need. When you feel weak or confused remember that Jesus promised He would be with you forever. He is that foundation you can build your life on, and that is exactly what happens in Matthew 7, when the storms come and problems happen in life, that house that is built on the rock is truly founded.
In another place in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 3:11, the Bible says these words, “The foundation has already been built, no person can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ.” Find Him today. Look in your Bibles and find those things in your life..we refer to those things as faithful obedience. Faith + Obedience = Salvation. I hope you will apply those things in your life so you will be pleasing in God’s sight. Then you can say your foundation is built on the Rock.
~Philip
14 September 2010
Redeemed
1 Peter 1:17-21
Christians sometimes use some strange words, words we don’t hear every day in our normal conversation. One of these words is redeemed. Recently one of our members came up to me after a Bible class and asked me what the word redeemed really meant? We had been talking about going from one place to a new place. As I was thinking about how to explain the word “redeemed”, all these things were going around in my head when I thought about my friend Jim Gueneer who does some wood working and restores old furniture.
At one point in time Jim had this chair which he found at the city dump or beside the road. It didn’t look like it could ever be repaired, but he took it home, took it apart, sanded down each little piece, replaced the broken pieces, put it back together, re-stained it, and did all the things needed . When it was done it looked brand new. That is a perfect example of what it means to be redeemed. God does the same with us doesn’t He. When we are beaten up, torn up, and a wreck as a result of sin and the things we have done, God finds us and if we will let Him, He will redeem us. He will make us new again. He will make us what He needs us to be. That is what redeemed is. The idea is really a biblical one. Jesus is the potter. He can make that clay into something special, and we are that clay. Jesus will mold us into what He wants us to be.
Today I feel like a new person in a lot of ways because I’ve been thinking so much about forgiveness and being redeemed. I have decided that I’m never going back to that old way of a sinful life, and I hope you have decided the same--that each day when you get up you say this day is another day of living a new life in Christ. I’m going to be everything I can be for Him. We give up that broken life, that old person and way of doing things. We give that to Him today, and Jesus will then take it and make something new of it.
Our scripture reading is 1 Peter 1:17-21. I think you will find some great instructions there about this idea of being redeemed. 11 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any person is in Christ then that person is made new and old things are gone away, everything is made new.” Be made new today by faithful obedience to God’s will. Hear what He has to say, believe it, repent of your sins, confess your faith, and be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins. We must then live faithfully the rest of our lives.
~Philip
1 Peter 1:17-21
Christians sometimes use some strange words, words we don’t hear every day in our normal conversation. One of these words is redeemed. Recently one of our members came up to me after a Bible class and asked me what the word redeemed really meant? We had been talking about going from one place to a new place. As I was thinking about how to explain the word “redeemed”, all these things were going around in my head when I thought about my friend Jim Gueneer who does some wood working and restores old furniture.
At one point in time Jim had this chair which he found at the city dump or beside the road. It didn’t look like it could ever be repaired, but he took it home, took it apart, sanded down each little piece, replaced the broken pieces, put it back together, re-stained it, and did all the things needed . When it was done it looked brand new. That is a perfect example of what it means to be redeemed. God does the same with us doesn’t He. When we are beaten up, torn up, and a wreck as a result of sin and the things we have done, God finds us and if we will let Him, He will redeem us. He will make us new again. He will make us what He needs us to be. That is what redeemed is. The idea is really a biblical one. Jesus is the potter. He can make that clay into something special, and we are that clay. Jesus will mold us into what He wants us to be.
Today I feel like a new person in a lot of ways because I’ve been thinking so much about forgiveness and being redeemed. I have decided that I’m never going back to that old way of a sinful life, and I hope you have decided the same--that each day when you get up you say this day is another day of living a new life in Christ. I’m going to be everything I can be for Him. We give up that broken life, that old person and way of doing things. We give that to Him today, and Jesus will then take it and make something new of it.
Our scripture reading is 1 Peter 1:17-21. I think you will find some great instructions there about this idea of being redeemed. 11 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any person is in Christ then that person is made new and old things are gone away, everything is made new.” Be made new today by faithful obedience to God’s will. Hear what He has to say, believe it, repent of your sins, confess your faith, and be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins. We must then live faithfully the rest of our lives.
~Philip
13 September 2010
God’s Way
Philippians 2:12-18
Every day I face a struggle. This struggle is between what I want to do and what God wants me to do. I want to do things my way, and not God’s way all the time. When I read the Bible I see that God’s way is a better way. I sometimes struggle though and think--Am I going to do it God’s way or just do it my way.
Sometimes people will hear what God has to say and they will become angry or will say to God, “I know want it done your way, but I’m just going to do it my way. That of course is selfishness to some extent.. I say that because sin is selfishness and the Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” God wants me to follow Him, and we need to realize that this debate over whether to do it my way or God’s, is really a debate that will be won by God. God wins, not me. God continues to show me again and again His way. We should accept that way.
Our scripture this week comes from Philippians 2:12-18. Here is a guy, Paul, the writer, who has done a 180, gone to the other side of the spectrum. He is now following God completely and it really has brought him a lot of trouble. He has been stoned, shipwrecked, and now he is in prison in Rome and is writing this book about Godly living and encouraging us to have joy that surpasses anything that we could ever imagine. He says now I’m trying to follow God’s way and as a result of following God’s way, this is a happier life. He says he has done his own thing and tried living a lot of different ways but it has never been as good as his life is now since obeying God. You might say, Paul, “How could you say that after all that you’ve been through?” The answer, “I haven’t been through anything compared to what God did for me”
Paul did those things that weren’t pleasing to God, and he would even say he did them with a good conscience. But he realized that he had been wrong. Now he says he is putting it in God’s hands. The same should be true with us. Maybe you are at a point in your life where you have never asked God to be a part of your life. You‘ve never asked God to be a part of your marriage, your business, your school, or in whatever you are involved. It should begin by asking God for help. Asking Him for help is as easy as praying and talking to Him, then examining ourselves to make sure our life is right. We should continue to communicate and ask for help. When He helps, thank Him for what He is doing for us.
My advice is that we should follow God’s way and let Him control our life. Some of us have messed up really bad. Some of us have done things we are ashamed of and certainly are penitent for. We know that even though we have messed up in the past, God can do great things with our lives in the future. So don’t complain or argue with God. Instead allow God to bless your life by your faithful obedience to His Word. Yes, the Bible says, God is working on you. God helps you want do the things that please Him, and He gives you the power to do those things, Philippians 2:13.
~Philip
Philippians 2:12-18
Every day I face a struggle. This struggle is between what I want to do and what God wants me to do. I want to do things my way, and not God’s way all the time. When I read the Bible I see that God’s way is a better way. I sometimes struggle though and think--Am I going to do it God’s way or just do it my way.
Sometimes people will hear what God has to say and they will become angry or will say to God, “I know want it done your way, but I’m just going to do it my way. That of course is selfishness to some extent.. I say that because sin is selfishness and the Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” God wants me to follow Him, and we need to realize that this debate over whether to do it my way or God’s, is really a debate that will be won by God. God wins, not me. God continues to show me again and again His way. We should accept that way.
Our scripture this week comes from Philippians 2:12-18. Here is a guy, Paul, the writer, who has done a 180, gone to the other side of the spectrum. He is now following God completely and it really has brought him a lot of trouble. He has been stoned, shipwrecked, and now he is in prison in Rome and is writing this book about Godly living and encouraging us to have joy that surpasses anything that we could ever imagine. He says now I’m trying to follow God’s way and as a result of following God’s way, this is a happier life. He says he has done his own thing and tried living a lot of different ways but it has never been as good as his life is now since obeying God. You might say, Paul, “How could you say that after all that you’ve been through?” The answer, “I haven’t been through anything compared to what God did for me”
Paul did those things that weren’t pleasing to God, and he would even say he did them with a good conscience. But he realized that he had been wrong. Now he says he is putting it in God’s hands. The same should be true with us. Maybe you are at a point in your life where you have never asked God to be a part of your life. You‘ve never asked God to be a part of your marriage, your business, your school, or in whatever you are involved. It should begin by asking God for help. Asking Him for help is as easy as praying and talking to Him, then examining ourselves to make sure our life is right. We should continue to communicate and ask for help. When He helps, thank Him for what He is doing for us.
My advice is that we should follow God’s way and let Him control our life. Some of us have messed up really bad. Some of us have done things we are ashamed of and certainly are penitent for. We know that even though we have messed up in the past, God can do great things with our lives in the future. So don’t complain or argue with God. Instead allow God to bless your life by your faithful obedience to His Word. Yes, the Bible says, God is working on you. God helps you want do the things that please Him, and He gives you the power to do those things, Philippians 2:13.
~Philip
10 September 2010
The Right Friends
John 17:14-19
Recently I was watching the Discovery Channel, or Animal Planet or one of those kinds of shows and saw a story about some elephants. The largest kind of elephant, I learned, is found in Africa. Both the male and the female of African elephant have large tusks and ears and they are very dangerous and hard to train. The African elephant is the most dangerous of all the elephants.
Another kind of elephant lives in India. It is smaller and has smaller ears. This Indian elephant is apparently easy to train and are used often in circuses and for work. The question becomes what would happen if these two elephants lived together.
The answer is that soon the Indian elephant would become dangerous like the African elephant. It would become wild and uncontrolled. Now, we can learn a great lesson from this can’t we? We can capture the African elephant and put it with tame elephants and soon it would become trustworthy and easy to train. It copies the actions of the other tame animals.
Christians can learn a lesson from these elephants. We tend to be like the people they associate with the most. Christians should not fellowship with evil people. We should not be around people who ignore what the Bible says and will not do what the Bible says. The Bible says we have to be careful about the friends we have chosen. If we spend time with evil people and get caught up in all of the stuff, we will be evil too. Be careful who your friends are. Be sure they are Christians and they love God and want to do what God wants them to do.
Take time today to read the Bible from the book of John, John 17:14-19, which is our Bible reading for today. 1 Cor. 15:33 is another good verse which says don’t be fooled bad friends will ruin good habits. Make sure we are doing it God’s way today, make sure we are associating with the people we need to be so we will get to heaven together when this life is over. It is tough sometimes and so easy to get caught up again in sin so let’s avoid it by keeping ourselves insulated from it with good folks around us.
~Philip
John 17:14-19
Recently I was watching the Discovery Channel, or Animal Planet or one of those kinds of shows and saw a story about some elephants. The largest kind of elephant, I learned, is found in Africa. Both the male and the female of African elephant have large tusks and ears and they are very dangerous and hard to train. The African elephant is the most dangerous of all the elephants.
Another kind of elephant lives in India. It is smaller and has smaller ears. This Indian elephant is apparently easy to train and are used often in circuses and for work. The question becomes what would happen if these two elephants lived together.
The answer is that soon the Indian elephant would become dangerous like the African elephant. It would become wild and uncontrolled. Now, we can learn a great lesson from this can’t we? We can capture the African elephant and put it with tame elephants and soon it would become trustworthy and easy to train. It copies the actions of the other tame animals.
Christians can learn a lesson from these elephants. We tend to be like the people they associate with the most. Christians should not fellowship with evil people. We should not be around people who ignore what the Bible says and will not do what the Bible says. The Bible says we have to be careful about the friends we have chosen. If we spend time with evil people and get caught up in all of the stuff, we will be evil too. Be careful who your friends are. Be sure they are Christians and they love God and want to do what God wants them to do.
Take time today to read the Bible from the book of John, John 17:14-19, which is our Bible reading for today. 1 Cor. 15:33 is another good verse which says don’t be fooled bad friends will ruin good habits. Make sure we are doing it God’s way today, make sure we are associating with the people we need to be so we will get to heaven together when this life is over. It is tough sometimes and so easy to get caught up again in sin so let’s avoid it by keeping ourselves insulated from it with good folks around us.
~Philip
09 September 2010
Road Signs
Matthew 19:16-26
Our scripture reading today comes from the book of Matthew, Matthew 19:16-26. By the way, we encourage you to read with 20/20 vision--twenty verses before the text and twenty verses after. Someone might say, "You’re just trying to get us to read more Bible, and well, that’s okay too.
Faith comes that way–-faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I have been able to travel a lot of places and been able to ride with people. Some of the people we rode with are scary people. Several times down in South America we rode with a person we referred to "Ivan the Terrible" because of his terrible driving. There were other times we rode with drivers who were much better and some who were even worse. All the time wherever we have been I’ve noticed there have always been road signs.
On our way one time we saw an accident where some folks had hit a horse and just up the street there was an animal crossing sign. Many of us have seen those kind of signs that say slow down, or school zone, or a sign with a deer on it. One time I even saw a sign that said, "Slow Down Accident Area Ahead". Just past the sign I saw where a car had flipped over into the ditch. Somebody must have ignored the sign.
In our bible reading today, Jesus tells us to obey His commandments. He says to us, "Hey, watch the road signs on this road to eternal life." If we do this we will be able to have eternal life. If we obey Jesus we will stay away from sin. Sin entraps us doesn’t it–it takes us further than we plan to go and keeps us longer than we plan to stay, and makes us pay more than we planned to pay.
Sin is certainly a terrible thing and all of us have been guilty of it at times in our lives. But if we obey God’s commands and obey what Jesus says, He is pleased with us. So take time today to study the road signs in the Bible. Take time today to learn what God wants you to do to have a happy and peaceful life here, and an eternally pleasant life in heaven when this life is over. The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God and God lives in that person so says 1 John 3:24.
~Philip
Matthew 19:16-26
Our scripture reading today comes from the book of Matthew, Matthew 19:16-26. By the way, we encourage you to read with 20/20 vision--twenty verses before the text and twenty verses after. Someone might say, "You’re just trying to get us to read more Bible, and well, that’s okay too.
Faith comes that way–-faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I have been able to travel a lot of places and been able to ride with people. Some of the people we rode with are scary people. Several times down in South America we rode with a person we referred to "Ivan the Terrible" because of his terrible driving. There were other times we rode with drivers who were much better and some who were even worse. All the time wherever we have been I’ve noticed there have always been road signs.
On our way one time we saw an accident where some folks had hit a horse and just up the street there was an animal crossing sign. Many of us have seen those kind of signs that say slow down, or school zone, or a sign with a deer on it. One time I even saw a sign that said, "Slow Down Accident Area Ahead". Just past the sign I saw where a car had flipped over into the ditch. Somebody must have ignored the sign.
In our bible reading today, Jesus tells us to obey His commandments. He says to us, "Hey, watch the road signs on this road to eternal life." If we do this we will be able to have eternal life. If we obey Jesus we will stay away from sin. Sin entraps us doesn’t it–it takes us further than we plan to go and keeps us longer than we plan to stay, and makes us pay more than we planned to pay.
Sin is certainly a terrible thing and all of us have been guilty of it at times in our lives. But if we obey God’s commands and obey what Jesus says, He is pleased with us. So take time today to study the road signs in the Bible. Take time today to learn what God wants you to do to have a happy and peaceful life here, and an eternally pleasant life in heaven when this life is over. The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God and God lives in that person so says 1 John 3:24.
~Philip
08 September 2010
Special Teacher
John 3:1-21
A man named Nicodemus came to see Jesus because he knew Jesus was a special teacher he wanted to learn more from Jesus. Jesus taught him about being born again–a very interesting concept for Nicodemus and for us as well. Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can I, as an old person be born again?" Jesus explained to Nicodemus but Nicodemus was still seemingly confused. He asked Jesus, "How can this be possible?" and Jesus patiently answered him a second time about entering into baptism born of water instead of being born again of his mother.
I encourage you to read our scripture reading today, John 3:1-21, where we see that it is important for us to be like Nicodemus. There we learn that we should go to the special teacher and learn from Him. We should make sure we are doing what God wants us to be doing and make sure that we are following His Will each day of our life. Christians should always want to know more about God and Jesus and it is important for Christians to be patient like Jesus was–to continue to teach and to learn and to grow. Sometimes when things have been difficult and we don’t really know what to do, and where to go or where to turn, we turn to Jesus and He patiently works on us.
There is a song called "He’s Still Working on Me" to make me what I ought to be. The song says it took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars and then it names some of the planets, Jupiter and Mars, but He’s still working on me. When we teach a new Christian we should try to answer the questions with love and truthfulness. When we are older more mature Christians we still have places in which we are working. We know God is patient with us, and our prayer is that others will be too.
God’s Word is important. We should read it and study it every day. We should believe that it applies to our life and we should do just that--apply it to our life each day of our life.
Jesus answered Nicodemus, quoting from the book of John, "I tell you the truth a person must be born again. If a person is not born again, then that person cannot be in God’s kingdom. John 3;3. Read that text today of John 3:1:21. Look at that story again of Nicodemus and try it in your own life. Look to God and learn more about how to faithfully obey His will. We should pray today, "Thank you for teaching us through Your Word, the Bible. In Jesus Name amen."
Come be with us tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship Meal and 7pm for our Bible Study.
~Philip
John 3:1-21
A man named Nicodemus came to see Jesus because he knew Jesus was a special teacher he wanted to learn more from Jesus. Jesus taught him about being born again–a very interesting concept for Nicodemus and for us as well. Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can I, as an old person be born again?" Jesus explained to Nicodemus but Nicodemus was still seemingly confused. He asked Jesus, "How can this be possible?" and Jesus patiently answered him a second time about entering into baptism born of water instead of being born again of his mother.
I encourage you to read our scripture reading today, John 3:1-21, where we see that it is important for us to be like Nicodemus. There we learn that we should go to the special teacher and learn from Him. We should make sure we are doing what God wants us to be doing and make sure that we are following His Will each day of our life. Christians should always want to know more about God and Jesus and it is important for Christians to be patient like Jesus was–to continue to teach and to learn and to grow. Sometimes when things have been difficult and we don’t really know what to do, and where to go or where to turn, we turn to Jesus and He patiently works on us.
There is a song called "He’s Still Working on Me" to make me what I ought to be. The song says it took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars and then it names some of the planets, Jupiter and Mars, but He’s still working on me. When we teach a new Christian we should try to answer the questions with love and truthfulness. When we are older more mature Christians we still have places in which we are working. We know God is patient with us, and our prayer is that others will be too.
God’s Word is important. We should read it and study it every day. We should believe that it applies to our life and we should do just that--apply it to our life each day of our life.
Jesus answered Nicodemus, quoting from the book of John, "I tell you the truth a person must be born again. If a person is not born again, then that person cannot be in God’s kingdom. John 3;3. Read that text today of John 3:1:21. Look at that story again of Nicodemus and try it in your own life. Look to God and learn more about how to faithfully obey His will. We should pray today, "Thank you for teaching us through Your Word, the Bible. In Jesus Name amen."
Come be with us tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship Meal and 7pm for our Bible Study.
~Philip
07 September 2010
Thankfulness
Luke 24:1-12
My Dad is a preacher over in Greenville Alabama at the Walnut St. Church of Christ. My Mom is a school teacher, although when we were very young she stayed home to take care of us--my two brothers and me. We are surely thankful for all they did for us. They made sure we had a good home, food on the table, education, good clothes. I don’t remember, my brothers and I, especially when we were young, spending much time thanking them for all things they did for us. Sometimes I feel bad about the fact that I didn’t give them thanks more often. Maybe today they will read this update and hear me say thanks today, because I really do thank them for what they’ve done for me.
Most of us feel that way, we look at our parents, and even if the situation wasn’t the very best in the world where you grew up. Maybe it was a struggle constantly. You still might want to thank your parents for giving you what they gave you, and for taking care of you when you were young. That seems to always be the case.
Today we look and we say, “You know, God has given us everything that we have. He has given us a very special gift of His Son Jesus Christ who gave up His own life for us. We should be thankful to God everyday for the salvation He gives us through Jesus. God desires to be thanked. He wants us to say thank you to Him.
The way we say thank you to Him is two-fold. One is faithful obedience to His will. When we do what he says, by our actions we are thanking Him. The other way is with words themselves. We spend time praying and communicating with God, saying thank you to Him.
The first part of that-- the faithful obedience to God’s will, comes by hearing God’s word and believing it. The Bible says that unless I believe (and take action) by becoming baptized, I will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) We have to repent of our sins, Acts 2:38, confess our faith, Matthew 10:32, and by being baptized into Christ, Acts 22:16, Acts 2:38, along with other verses. This is faithful obedience--to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. Then we continue do all that we can to live faithfully. Are we going to mess up? Yes. Do we all mess up? Yes. Have I messed up? Certainly so, more than I would like to admit.
This brings us to the second phase of this--communicating with God--just saying to God, “Thank you for all that you have done for us.” Jesus died and rose from the grave for us., and we need to thank God for that sacrifice that the made for us. Our scripture reading today is Luke 24:1-12. Luke 24:6 in particular, says, “He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, “
~Philip
Luke 24:1-12
My Dad is a preacher over in Greenville Alabama at the Walnut St. Church of Christ. My Mom is a school teacher, although when we were very young she stayed home to take care of us--my two brothers and me. We are surely thankful for all they did for us. They made sure we had a good home, food on the table, education, good clothes. I don’t remember, my brothers and I, especially when we were young, spending much time thanking them for all things they did for us. Sometimes I feel bad about the fact that I didn’t give them thanks more often. Maybe today they will read this update and hear me say thanks today, because I really do thank them for what they’ve done for me.
Most of us feel that way, we look at our parents, and even if the situation wasn’t the very best in the world where you grew up. Maybe it was a struggle constantly. You still might want to thank your parents for giving you what they gave you, and for taking care of you when you were young. That seems to always be the case.
Today we look and we say, “You know, God has given us everything that we have. He has given us a very special gift of His Son Jesus Christ who gave up His own life for us. We should be thankful to God everyday for the salvation He gives us through Jesus. God desires to be thanked. He wants us to say thank you to Him.
The way we say thank you to Him is two-fold. One is faithful obedience to His will. When we do what he says, by our actions we are thanking Him. The other way is with words themselves. We spend time praying and communicating with God, saying thank you to Him.
The first part of that-- the faithful obedience to God’s will, comes by hearing God’s word and believing it. The Bible says that unless I believe (and take action) by becoming baptized, I will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) We have to repent of our sins, Acts 2:38, confess our faith, Matthew 10:32, and by being baptized into Christ, Acts 22:16, Acts 2:38, along with other verses. This is faithful obedience--to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. Then we continue do all that we can to live faithfully. Are we going to mess up? Yes. Do we all mess up? Yes. Have I messed up? Certainly so, more than I would like to admit.
This brings us to the second phase of this--communicating with God--just saying to God, “Thank you for all that you have done for us.” Jesus died and rose from the grave for us., and we need to thank God for that sacrifice that the made for us. Our scripture reading today is Luke 24:1-12. Luke 24:6 in particular, says, “He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, “
~Philip
03 September 2010
A Cup of Cold Water
Mat. 10:37-42
I have been able to go on many mission trips throughout the world, and work as a minister in our local area. While we were going on these mission trips and also here at home, we tried to help people in need. They will come in and are hungry sometimes and we give them food. We are happy to share this with them. We count it a privilege when we are able to really help somebody. What we see though from the other end, some people are certainly willing to accept the help, others are hesitant and want to make sure there are no strings attached, others have even refused the help we want to give.
We know though that in doing these jobs-- giving help that God has given us the opportunity to do, there are those who know more about the church now. They know more about the good works that God is busy doing. Hopefully more of these people will get their Bibles out and study to see what the Good News is all about.
Our mission teams have built buildings and knocked on doors. We’ve done all sorts of things to encourage people. We’ve even tried to do one- on- one Bible studies with people. Maybe you can’t travel to another country to do this, but you can do something right where you are in your own area. Remember what Jesus said to His followers about giving just a cup of cold water that we would be rewarded if that is even all we are able to do.
Our scripture reading today is Matthew 10:37-42. The last verse of that text says if any person helps one of these little ones because they are my followers that person will truly get his reward even if he only gave my follower a cup of cold water, Matthew 10:42. You see, God recognizes the little things. He sees us when we do what we can--when we do our best. We should always strive to do that. Sometimes it is hard and we lose part of that battle, but let’s don’t lose the war.
In the end God will say well done my good and faithful servant. Here is the reward that is the result of you action on My behalf. Let’s put God first in our lives, let’s hear what He has to say, let’s believe it, let’s repent of our sins, confess our faith, let’s be baptized, let’s be restored once we have sinned and come back, and again be united with Him. Let’s make sure we are doing it His way, and if we do the rewards will be great.
Come be with us this Sunday. Check out our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com. It has our time schedule and other events.
~Philip
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
Mat. 10:37-42
I have been able to go on many mission trips throughout the world, and work as a minister in our local area. While we were going on these mission trips and also here at home, we tried to help people in need. They will come in and are hungry sometimes and we give them food. We are happy to share this with them. We count it a privilege when we are able to really help somebody. What we see though from the other end, some people are certainly willing to accept the help, others are hesitant and want to make sure there are no strings attached, others have even refused the help we want to give.
We know though that in doing these jobs-- giving help that God has given us the opportunity to do, there are those who know more about the church now. They know more about the good works that God is busy doing. Hopefully more of these people will get their Bibles out and study to see what the Good News is all about.
Our mission teams have built buildings and knocked on doors. We’ve done all sorts of things to encourage people. We’ve even tried to do one- on- one Bible studies with people. Maybe you can’t travel to another country to do this, but you can do something right where you are in your own area. Remember what Jesus said to His followers about giving just a cup of cold water that we would be rewarded if that is even all we are able to do.
Our scripture reading today is Matthew 10:37-42. The last verse of that text says if any person helps one of these little ones because they are my followers that person will truly get his reward even if he only gave my follower a cup of cold water, Matthew 10:42. You see, God recognizes the little things. He sees us when we do what we can--when we do our best. We should always strive to do that. Sometimes it is hard and we lose part of that battle, but let’s don’t lose the war.
In the end God will say well done my good and faithful servant. Here is the reward that is the result of you action on My behalf. Let’s put God first in our lives, let’s hear what He has to say, let’s believe it, let’s repent of our sins, confess our faith, let’s be baptized, let’s be restored once we have sinned and come back, and again be united with Him. Let’s make sure we are doing it His way, and if we do the rewards will be great.
Come be with us this Sunday. Check out our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com. It has our time schedule and other events.
~Philip
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
02 September 2010
Showdown
2 Tim 4:1-5 Proverb 17:27
In Wild West Movies there was always a good guy and a bad guy and they always had a showdown at high noon in the middle of town. They would face each other and draw their guns and fire. Sometimes in life we are in those kinds of positions when we want to have a showdown with somebody, but what we ought to do is just listen. It’s a lot harder to listen than it is to talk. You’ve been in a position sometimes when someone is attacking you it seemed, or they were mad for whatever reason. You wanted to speak up and defend yourself-- to step back and air all the things, all their bad laundry. But sometimes it is best just to listen, and you have to say, “Okay, I’m going to wait and to be wise and try to grow from this. I‘m going try to be the best person I can be to help myself and my family and everyone around me by doing it God’s way.
In our Bible reading today, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, we see that self control is important when your temper becomes hot and you become upset. Remember you are a Christian. The better thing to do is to sit there and listen, take it all in, and do what God wants you to do. It may be that you needed to hear it, or that you need to change something as a result of what you’ve done. It may be that you need to speak up, but we should first listen.
In the Old Testament book of Proverbs 17:27 the Bible says, ”A wise person uses words carefully. A wise person does not become angry easily.” This wise person trusts God and realizes that God is in control, and that God ultimately uses all things for good to them that truly love the Lord in His appearing. “ Let’s remember that as we go through life when things are hard sometimes-- things are not going well for us and we can’t think how it can possibly be a good thing. Let’s remember what God said that it will if we truly love Him. Come be with us at one of our services. We meet at 7am on Wednesday morning for Men’s Bible Study, 6pm on Wednesday for Fellowship Meal and 7pm for Bible Classes. We meet Sunday morning at 9am for Bible Classes, 10am for Worship, and 5pm for Worship.
~Philip
2 Tim 4:1-5 Proverb 17:27
In Wild West Movies there was always a good guy and a bad guy and they always had a showdown at high noon in the middle of town. They would face each other and draw their guns and fire. Sometimes in life we are in those kinds of positions when we want to have a showdown with somebody, but what we ought to do is just listen. It’s a lot harder to listen than it is to talk. You’ve been in a position sometimes when someone is attacking you it seemed, or they were mad for whatever reason. You wanted to speak up and defend yourself-- to step back and air all the things, all their bad laundry. But sometimes it is best just to listen, and you have to say, “Okay, I’m going to wait and to be wise and try to grow from this. I‘m going try to be the best person I can be to help myself and my family and everyone around me by doing it God’s way.
In our Bible reading today, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, we see that self control is important when your temper becomes hot and you become upset. Remember you are a Christian. The better thing to do is to sit there and listen, take it all in, and do what God wants you to do. It may be that you needed to hear it, or that you need to change something as a result of what you’ve done. It may be that you need to speak up, but we should first listen.
In the Old Testament book of Proverbs 17:27 the Bible says, ”A wise person uses words carefully. A wise person does not become angry easily.” This wise person trusts God and realizes that God is in control, and that God ultimately uses all things for good to them that truly love the Lord in His appearing. “ Let’s remember that as we go through life when things are hard sometimes-- things are not going well for us and we can’t think how it can possibly be a good thing. Let’s remember what God said that it will if we truly love Him. Come be with us at one of our services. We meet at 7am on Wednesday morning for Men’s Bible Study, 6pm on Wednesday for Fellowship Meal and 7pm for Bible Classes. We meet Sunday morning at 9am for Bible Classes, 10am for Worship, and 5pm for Worship.
~Philip
01 September 2010
Save People
Matthew 24:36-44 Mark 16:15
I remember a few years ago there was a television show that was popular called “Early Edition”. In the show this young guy would receive a newspaper a day ahead of time. Can you imagine that? Knowing what was going to happen tomorrow. He would read the newspaper and if there was some calamity about to take place--a person was going to have a car accident or die in a fire or something, he would do what he could to try to save that person. That was a made up story, of course, but there are people who die each day in different ways. We don’t know how we will die or when we will die. We may even be alive when the Lord returns. You know, He has promised to come again on the judgment day and to take us to where He is. He has a place prepared for us for all of eternity and it is up to us and our faithful obedience to God’s Will, or the lack thereof, that will determine where we will spend eternity.
The Bible tells us that there are things we can do to get ready for this. We must hurry and tell people that He is going to come again, and that the death rate is 100% so we need to be ready to meet Him. Our Bible reading today is Matthew 24:36-44. The people who will be gladly receiving His word will be grateful. The question for us is, are we telling other people about Christ, are we sharing the Good News with other people. None of us are perfect. In this world we can’t be perfect, although we are made perfect by the blood of Jesus Christ.
It is not what we do but what Jesus has done. If our hearts are right and we do it His way we can. Jesus said to His followers, “Go into the world everywhere, and tell the Good News to others.” Mark 16:15. Our job is to go and share the message with other people. Sometimes we mess up and sometimes we don’t do what we ought to do, but when that happens, we have to re- group, get forgiveness for what we’ve done and move on. We need to be telling folks what it takes to go to heaven when life is over. If we will do that it will make a difference not only in our lives, but the lives of those around us. Also coming and attending church services makes a difference in our lives. We would love to have you come and be with us here. Our website, www.elbachurchofchrist.com has our times of services and other information there about us. Check that out.
~Philip
Matthew 24:36-44 Mark 16:15
I remember a few years ago there was a television show that was popular called “Early Edition”. In the show this young guy would receive a newspaper a day ahead of time. Can you imagine that? Knowing what was going to happen tomorrow. He would read the newspaper and if there was some calamity about to take place--a person was going to have a car accident or die in a fire or something, he would do what he could to try to save that person. That was a made up story, of course, but there are people who die each day in different ways. We don’t know how we will die or when we will die. We may even be alive when the Lord returns. You know, He has promised to come again on the judgment day and to take us to where He is. He has a place prepared for us for all of eternity and it is up to us and our faithful obedience to God’s Will, or the lack thereof, that will determine where we will spend eternity.
The Bible tells us that there are things we can do to get ready for this. We must hurry and tell people that He is going to come again, and that the death rate is 100% so we need to be ready to meet Him. Our Bible reading today is Matthew 24:36-44. The people who will be gladly receiving His word will be grateful. The question for us is, are we telling other people about Christ, are we sharing the Good News with other people. None of us are perfect. In this world we can’t be perfect, although we are made perfect by the blood of Jesus Christ.
It is not what we do but what Jesus has done. If our hearts are right and we do it His way we can. Jesus said to His followers, “Go into the world everywhere, and tell the Good News to others.” Mark 16:15. Our job is to go and share the message with other people. Sometimes we mess up and sometimes we don’t do what we ought to do, but when that happens, we have to re- group, get forgiveness for what we’ve done and move on. We need to be telling folks what it takes to go to heaven when life is over. If we will do that it will make a difference not only in our lives, but the lives of those around us. Also coming and attending church services makes a difference in our lives. We would love to have you come and be with us here. Our website, www.elbachurchofchrist.com has our times of services and other information there about us. Check that out.
~Philip
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