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The Church Ain’t Doing Nothing

Raymond Elliott – How often have we heard that statement from a brother in Christ? And it is to be admitted that we often fail in fulfilling the many obligations that God has given us. But there are some pertinent observations that need to be made relative to this broad statement. First of all, we could say that the brother who makes such an accusation has taken to himself some of the attributes that are considered belonging only to God. In Psalm 139 we learn that God is omnipresent and omniscient. Thus, for a brother...

What Kind of Soil Are You?

In Matthew 13 and Luke 8 the parable of the soils is found. There is the soil of the wayside. There is the soil in the stony places. There is the soil among the thorns and there is the good kind of soil. Most of would like to be the good kind of soil but are we? Most of us would like to think that our friends are good soil, but that does not make it so. We need to take a good hard look at what kind of soil we are. Within the Future...

Sweet!

What is the sweetest thing to you? Is it chocolate? Is it a cake or a pie? What about someone knowing your name? “But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name” (3 John 14). What about those who are not your close friends? Did you ever have someone miss your name to your face? Some have thought I was someone else and some have called me by someone else’s name this was all done right...Continue reading

How Great Thou Art!

This song was written in 1886 and arranged to music in 1949. We all know this song and it is very beloved. The second verse contains these words, “When through the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; When I look down from lofty mountains grandeur and heard the brook and feel the gentle breeze.”  When in the Smoky Mountains this past week these words became very much alive to me. We could not hear the birds up where we went hiking and the gentle breeze was...

Love!

February 14 is fast approaching! It is a day we have set aside for “love.” Hallmark has started a new idea in that is a love for us. The commercial shows a couple and the voice over talks about not love for one or the other but a love for us. Husbands are to love their wives Ephesians 5:25 and wives are to be taught to love their husbands Titus 2:4. Love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as: “ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not...

The Privilege of Prayer

Privilege of Prayer. Have you ever considered the power and greatness of God? Have you ever contemplated that God spoke and the entire universe was created? Psalm 33:9 states,” For he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast.” “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).  Even down to the smallest detail, God planned and created everything. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead:...

Whose Time Is it?

There are 168 hours in a week. How much time do we spend in doing certain things? It was very interesting. If a person comes to every service of the church, then the amount of time spent in doing this is only 2% of our week. Can you image that out of 168 hours only 2% is spent in service for the Lord! If one adds in travel time the most any one would spend is 4% of there time each week in service to the Lord! Now the average person spends 10% of their...

What is Truth?

Pilate asked this question when he had to deal with Jesus. Jesus said in the previous verse, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37).  Jesus said before this, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Just before this statement Jesus in His prayer to the Father said, “For I have given unto them the words which...

Build You Up

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” Acts 20:32. As Paul is giving his farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus, there are several topics in which Paul is instructing them. They needed encouragement and so do we. First, he commends them to God. Paul will no longer be with them to guide them along the journey to eternity. They will have to turn to God’s Word to...Continue reading

A New Year

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).  There are several ideas presented in this passage that will be good for us to remember as we end 2011 and as we begin 2012. Let us notice them. First, Paul was not there yet! He was still working on receiving the crown of life which God...