If the dead could send a message to the living, it would be "There is a heaven and hell, so get your souls right with God!" (Luke 16:27–28). Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is the message that will save all men from hell, for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18–21, 1 Cor. 15:2). Teaching mankind how to be saved from their sins is the greatest work in the world, but it is also the most despised work in the world because most people have no love for the Lord (John 3:19–21, Rom. 10:16, Matthew 7:13–14). This is a pity because men need Jesus, and if they refuse to obey him, where Jesus will be in the hereafter, those men cannot come (John 8:21).
The woman who is a full-time homemaker does a wonderful job, and a job that doesn't get the credit it deserves at times because jobs paying big bucks overshadow this humble work. Money isn't everything, for there are some values that the mighty dollar cannot achieve (1 Timothy 6:6–10). One can be making $100,000 a year, and if the home isn't comfortable and the husband and children taken care of, what good is that? A loving home is a wonderful comfort to walk into, so think about that. Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. This week's killing of another child (a two-year-old girl) is continued proof that there are just too many knuckleheads with children. These irresponsible people are having babies and not properly caring for them. Instead of love, savage beatings await these young children. And want to hear a real nightmare? Right now, there is a child somewhere being brutalized by some male or female monster. Oh, how the righteous need to pray for these children! Children need to be desired before they are conceived with plans on their training and care provided before birth. And above all things, no children should be conceived outside of marriage! That's God's way, and those who don't like it are going to have to argue with him! And you know what? They will lose that argument! Now here is the proof, read it in the bible (Ephesians 6:1–4, Colossians 3:20–21, 1 Timothy 3:4–5, 1 Timothy 3:12, 1 Timothy 5:8, Matthew 5:28, Matthew 15:18–19, 1 Corinthians 6:18, Hebrews 13:4, Genesis 39:7–15).
Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. With all the laws being proposed to alter marriage as we know it, one can be assured that we are currently witnessing a powerful assault upon this holy union. People must realize that man cannot change what God has established, for if man tries to do so, he will be found to be fighting a losing battle against God (Genesis 2:18, 21–25, Acts 5:39, Acts 9:5). In Hebrews 13:4, the word of Almighty God teaches that "marriage is to be held in the highest esteem among all." Now, that means all men are to view this holy union as sanctioned by God, and to respect the laws which God has revealed to preserve this union (Matthew 19:1–9, Romans 7:1–3).
The definition of marriage is simple and it is plain; for God has made it perfectly clear what marriage is, and no court or government has God's approval to define marriage as being anything else (Proverbs 30:5–6). God said that marriage is a loving union between a man and a woman that is to last until death do them part. Now, just in case someone didn't quite understand, let me state it once again. God said that marriage is a loving union between a man and a woman that is to last until death do them part. This is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (John 17:17, John 8:31–32). This truth is what God has said, and this truth is what the faithful will teach and defend (Jude 3). Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. Man has a hard time understanding why God behaves as He does. For example, man is always complaining about why God won't speak as humans speak to one another. Since God has chosen not to speak as a human would, nor show Himself to human eyes, some men have chosen to become atheists. Other men still complain about why God won't remove evil out of the world or stop loved ones from dying, etc., etc., (2 Timothy 3:13, Hebrews 9:27). We could go on and on, but we all can see that Almighty God never gets in a hurry to do anything. And there is a reason for that. God is God! The Almighty, meaning the all powerful, doesn't have to be in a hurry for anything, because He is creator and destroyer of everything (Genesis 1:1, Acts 17:30–31, 2 Peter 3:3–15). God cannot be threatened by disasters, death, or any other kind of challenge, for God made the world and all the host of the heavens and there is nothing too hard for Him (Luke 1:37, Jeremiah 32:17).
Just think for a mement, if you were the creator of everything and you planned to end the world one day and judge mankind upon it, would you have to hurry to do anything? (John 11:5–6, John 11:11–15, John 11:17, John 11:20–26, John 11:43–44). Men must give to God the respect that is due Him and stop second-guessing, cursing, questioning and showing all other kinds of disrespect (1 Peter 2:17). Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. "Lord, who hath believed our report?" Those words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah many centuries ago because he saw the stubbornness and disregard men had toward the law of God. This same question is put to the following issues which are in existence in our land. None of these issues are hard to understand; the problem is people refuse to accept the word of God. But still that type of conduct will not alter what God has said because the word of God stands forever (Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:25, Psalm 12:6-7).
The Bible teaches that abortion is wrong because it is the killing of an innocent infant whose selfish parents feel that a baby will cramp their style (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:2, 24; 1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:4). Homosexuality is wrong because God teaches by His word that marriage is between a male and female (Matthew 19:4-6, 1 Cor. 7:2-4, Romans 1:24-32). As to spanking a child when it is needed, the scriptures teach parents to do so, for there is nothing wrong with spanking if the child is not injured (Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 23:13-14). Having sex outside marriage is a sin called fornication (Hebrews 13:4, Ephesians 5:3-6, 1 Cor. 10:8). One cannot divorce for any reason he might choose, for the word of God teaches that a person not guilty of fornication, can divorce a spouse who is. Getting involved sexually with someone is the only reason one can get a divorce, and all other marriage problems need to be talked over and worked out (Matt. 19:1-9). Jesus built only one church, so he is not the author of all the different churches you see throughout the land (Matt. 16:18, Eph. 4:4, Colossians 1:18, Romans 16:16, 1 Cor. 14:33). So being a member of the right church is important because the church is like the ark was in Noah's day—it serves as the housing of the saved. If one isn't a member of the church, one cannot be saved from damnation (Acts 2:47, John 10:9, Eph. 5:23). Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. The heat wave of the past weeks should awaken everyone to the reality of hell. Many claim not to believe in hell. Others say hell is here on earth. Both are wrong! Jesus Christ said that hell exists and that evil people will spend eternity there (Psalm 9:17, Matthew 5:29-30, Matt. 23:33, Luke 12:4-5, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 2 Peter 3:7, Matt. 3:12, Matt. 13:40-42, Matt. 8:11-12, Mark 9:43-48, 2 Peter 2:4, Matt. 25:41-46).
The heat and humidity of this past week are nothing compared to hell. If one cannot stand the discomfort of a heat wave, how in the world will one be able to endure the heat of everlasting hell? Think about it for a moment. One drinks water, uses fans, seeks air conditioning, and it still isn't enough to comfort us from this earthly heat. So we don't need to go to a worse place like hell—we need to avoid it at all costs. If you aren't a Christian you should be, for only by becoming a Christian can you be saved (Matt. 3:7, 1 Thess. 1:10, John 3:36, John 4:42, John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Acts 4:12, 1 John 4:14, 1 John 5:10-12). Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. The heavenly Father is very neglected because many have no interest in praying unless they want something (Luke 18:1). Studying the Bible is out of the question because a lot of people don't believe it at all (John 5:39). Attending church is everything from a burden, joke, or an unknown act to some people (Hebrews 10:25). Now one may ask, "why do we have problems in this country?" The answer is that we have problems because we don't know God and have no interest in getting to know Him. We are an heathen nation on the road to hell, and the sad thing is it doesn't have to be this way because we can start today to search for the Lord by looking into His word which is the Bible.
Many people will throw this paper away with no regard to the message written and that is very sad because such people assist in keeping apathy toward God alive. We truly hope that you won't be such a person. Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. "A fool uttereth all his mind; but a wise man keepeth it till afterwards," Proverbs 29:11. The point being, a person is foolish who, in the moment of passion, speaks his mind. The danger is that much of what will be said would not be the best of words. In Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Also in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one." We must not only choose our words carefully, but we must also know what would be an appropriate time to impart them to the hearer. The words we choose must not be coarse or corruptible but gracious, pure, and palatable.
But the only feasible way in which our speech can be tamed, is not to speak our mind without consideration. Man must demonstrate wisdom by holding our peace until the time is more appropriate. Ecclesiastes 3:7 says, "There is a time to keep silent and a time to speak." By not being so quick to speak, we allow our passions to calm and our tongues to be cooled. Only then will the time be right to say what is needed. So don't speak your mind, but rather speak with wisdom. Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. "God bless America!" echoed from the mouths of many people on the TV. It was wonderful to see people recognize God and understand that God can bless our land. "God bless America" is a phrase that could not exist if people of earlier times had been atheists. I don't want people to stop speaking that phrase. I want people to say the name of God as often as possible and to promote His name, so His likeness won't be erased from the minds of future generations (Exodus 5:2, Jeremiah 3:20-21, Deuteronomy 4:9).
But there are some points I would like to show you from the Bible that will help us to better understand how God blesses. In the book of Deuteronomy 28 we learn what the Israelites had to do in order to receive God's blessings. Blessings don't come without a price. Israel had to obey the Lord, and so must we. God is not stupid to allow men to get blessings and then in return violate His commands. We can say "God bless America" all we want, but if we shun God's laws, God will not bless America. We as a nation cannot be haters of the things of God—hating to go to church, hating Bible study, hating prayer, getting offended at people who are teaching the Bible, etc., and then expect God to do good for us while we do evil to His cause. The Bible teaches that a nation is brought to greatness not by its sure-fire economic plans of its government officials, but by righteousness (Proverbs 14:34, Psalms 33:12, Prov. 11:11). Let us as a nation seek God's will and obey, so the blessings will continue to flow from God's mighty hand. Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. What if God couldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him yesterday? What if God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today? What if we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent the rain? What if God didn't walk with with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day? What if God took away the Bible tomorrow because we would not read it today? Such wouldn't bother some at all! What if God took away His message because we failed to listen to the messenger? Such wouldn't bother some at all! What if God stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others? What if God would not hear us today because we wouldn't listen to Him yesterday? What if God answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service? What if God met our needs in the way we give Him our time for prayer? Some never pray at all—they claim to be busy.
Hope to hear from you or to see you at the services. |