Church Blog (Page 7)

Have you noticed that we are growing older? Of course you have. Everything that lives is getting older. That’s the nature of things and people. You see signs of it everywhere – at the mall, at the doctor’s office, in the church, and even on the college campus. But isn’t it a blessing to grow older, rather than the alternative. As you grow older you realize that age is relative. You look at it differently. When you are a child,…

A preacher told how he had recently spent some time with a fellow he enjoys be-ing around. He doesn’t drink alcohol, nor use tobacco in any form. He is never heard to gossip, tell a lie, use profanity, or tell suggestive jokes. He doesn’t patronize night clubs or taverns, nor the theaters that show adult only movies. He has never cheated some-one in a business deal. By some folk’s standard, he might be called a “good Christian.” But then he…

From a Roman prison cell, the apostle Paul wrote his “epistle of joy,” the Philippian letter. In chapter two he exhorted those Christians to esteem others as better than themselves, looking out for the interests of others, rather than their own. Then he wrote, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Je-sus.” (cf. Philippians. 2:3-5) Jesus came to this earth and went to the cross be-cause He was looking out for our interests. This was the…

In Paul’s last epistle, in Timothy 3:7, he wrote of certain people who would be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” In our age we see the same problem – students of the Bible, even scholars, who do not grasp some of the simple truths of God’s word. Then, in the next verse the apostle states the reason why, “… so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds…” They could…

Colors may appear what they are not, so can people. Navy appears black until placed alongside black. Off-white can appear pure white. People are the same. A person may seem honest and of good character until the truth is finally determined. Hypocrisy will nev-er go away as long as man has the ability to appear what he is not. Nor will a person ever rise above the standard he sets for himself. Anyone can find someone else worse than he…

Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Just as fruit bearing is natural for the branches of a grapevine, so is fruit bearing for the Christian. In fact, something is seriously wrong if either one does not bear fruit. Let’s notice some basic scriptural principles about fruit bearing. We must bear the right kind of fruit. Just any…

Only a Christian can experience two lives – the old and the new. Jesus told Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God one “must be born again.” He then explained that the new birth comes about by “water and the Spirit.” (John 3:3-5) The new birth is followed by a new life. According to the Spirit’s directions, through the Word, one is buried with Christ by baptism and raised with Christ “to walk in newness of life.” (Rom.6:4) This…

Sowing and reaping are principles we live with daily. Seed produces after its own kind. (Gen. 1:11,12) When the farmer sows wheat, or plants cotton, he knows what to expect. This principle is stated in regard to the use of the tongue. “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (James 3:11,12) Jesus…

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart”. (II Cor.3:2,3) God’s word, translated into human life, is a most important epistle, “known and read by all men”. People…

The Bible gives us numerous motivating reasons for living for Jesus and being submissive to the will of God. (1) It is our duty. “….When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (Luke 17:10) (2) Fear of losing our soul. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (Matt.16:26) (3) Love for…

It has never been easy to live for Jesus. It was not easy in the first century, and it certainly is not in the twenty-first. But it is easier than dying for Him, regardless of the century in which one lives. He died for us, and many have died for Him. Stephen, James, Peter, Paul, and most of the other apostles died as martyrs in one way or another. Yet, in doing so they were only following the example of…

In Johns third epistle he commended Gaius for helping traveling brethren, such as providing lodging and helping them on their journey, saying. “We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth” (III John 8) KJV/ The NKJV uses the term “fellow worker.” Of course, the truth does not need our help to make it better, or more complete and sufficient, or more acceptable to man. (II Tim. 3:16,17) But it does need our help…