Have you ever said anything and the moment that it came out of your mouth you knew it was not the right thing? It might have been the mood that you were in, and that mood was reflected in your voice. It might have been that you were not thinking about something else when you were talking and what you said came out all wrong. You might have intended to be funny but the other person did not take it that way and as soon as you got through saying what you said, you knew...Continue reading
Author: Keith Dixon
Understanding
When we worship God there are many benefits. One of them is the edification of one another. We do this in songs. “Speaking to yourselves in palms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in palms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). In the section dealing with miraculous gifts, Paul deals with praying and singing in an unknown...
Working for the Lord
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Let us consider this verse how we are to react to the Lord. Many ask, “What can we do?” or “What is there for me to do for the Lord?” Some might even go to the elders with these questions. There seems to be a willingness to work but do we really want to work for the Lord? When the work in...
Good
In the beginning God created all things and it is said by God that it was good. God created the light and it was good (Genesis 1:4). On the third day God divided the waters and the land so that land appeared and again He said it was good (Genesis 1:10). Also on the third day God created the grass, herbs, and the trees, and God saw that this was good (Genesis 1:12). On the third day there were two things that happened and it was all good according to God’s standards. On the fourth...
You Can Still Find the Church of the Bible
There are identifying marks on everything that we buy. The same is true of everything that we own. Identifying marks also are what we used to tell animals apart. It may be numbers. It might be spots. It could even be scratches that are on our item by which we could identify that item. Dents can also identify an automobile. There may be marks that identify people as well. One could have a birthmark that identifies them. One could have a scar that now identifies them. Identifying marks are all over the place. This illustration...Continue reading
Gambling with Sacrifice
The chicken and the pig were discussing what sacrifice means when considering the breakfast meal for humans. The chicken did not think that sacrifice was such a big deal, but the pig did. To the pig it meant total commitment but to the chicken it was just giving. Parents make sacrifices for their children. Some of those sacrifices may never be known to the children. Some sacrifices may become known later in life when the parents talk lovingly of the child’s upbringing. If those sacrifices were despised, it would subordinate them in the minds of...Continue reading
What Do We Need to Do in Serving the Lord?
In 2 Chronicles 20 we find that Judah has been invaded by the Moabites, Ammonites and later those of Mount Seir. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah and for the most part was a righteous king. Yet, he made some alliances with Israel that would hurt him in many ways. That part of his life is not the focus of this article; let us find many attributes that we ought to emulate in his life. Let us study these for the purpose of our article. The first attribute is found in 2 Chronicles 20:3, “and...
Encouraging News
Some say churches of Christ are graying and dying, but are these claims true? While some congregations have a majority of members that are retired, many more are filled with children and young adults. Churches of Christ actually have a larger percentage of young adults than the national average. In fact, we rank #3 among religious groups having the most adults aged 18-29. Statistician Flavil Yeakley, Jr. confidently says these things about churches of Christ: (1) We are the twelfth-largest religious group in America; (2) we are the sixth-fastest growing church in America; (3) we...
Confusing Messages
The advertising industry is big and a powerful industry. There are many proofs of this. Take for example the slogans of many products. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, is the product line for Alka-Seltzer. “You deserve a break today” is one from a food franchise. “You can have it your way” is another one from the food industry. There are other slogans that you can think of to show which show how power this method of business. There is some well meaning but confusing messages that has been produced by these same people. Let us consider...Continue reading
The Missing Lamps
In a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he would leave to his townspeople. At last he decided to build them a church building. No one saw the completed plans for the building until it was finished. When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty and completeness. Then someone asked, “But where are the lamps? How will it be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls. Then he gave to each family a lamp that they were to bring with them each time they...Continue reading