This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
Materialism is the top priority in the lives of many. People will strive and sacrifice important things like God, family, and others for material gain. These type of people are never satisfied—all they are concerned about is how to get more "stuff," which includes houses, cars, clothes, jewelry, food, cash, etc. Jesus warned of being too concerned about the things of this life in the story of the rich fool. This man was very materialistic and had no time for the Lord. He died before he could enjoy all he had stored away (Luke 12:13–34). Nothing is guaranteed—our life can be gone in a minute, and we cannot take our "stuff" with us (1 Timothy 6:6–12; Job 1:21; James 4:13–17). For that reason we must not be foolish enough to forget the Lord. Now don't get me wrong, I like nice things as well as the next man, however I draw the line when it comes to sacrificing God, family, and others. Greedy Judas betrayed our Lord for 30 lousy pieces of silver and then lost his soul (John 12:4–8; Matthew 26:14–16; Mark 8:36–37; Acts 1:15–21). Don't put a million dollars, or any other material thing before God, because it is by His hand that people are able to have what they have (Deuteronomy 28:1–68; James 24:15; Matt. 6:19–34; 2 Kings 3:10–14; Job 42:12–17; Malachi 3:8–10; Colossians 3:1–3; Matt. 5:45; John 3:27). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation, neither shadow of turning," (KJV). About three weeks ago the lawns in this area were all brownish and drying up more and more each day. Home owners put their water hoses and sprinkler systems to work and little relief was accomplished, but there still was a lot of dryness. Now, with the rains of the last week, just look at the lawns now, they are all green again! No water hose or sprinkler could have done that because it was done by the rain! The point is this. Man may try to liven himself up, but man cannot do so. Man doesn't know how—he needs the help of God (Jeremiah 10:2–24). Man has nothing to fear from the hand of God, even though man acts like he does. Every time God extends his hand to help man, man pushes it away (Proverbs 1:20-33). Just like God helps the grass to grow by sending the gift of rain, God can help you grow if you don't view Him as a threat. God will do you no harm—all He wants to do is lift you up, wash you off, teach you to stay away from poison, and assist you in growing. Why not let Him be your green thumb? Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
President George W. Bush said in a speech this week that radical Islam wants America to bow down to their beliefs and convert in order to have peace, or we can die. The president went on to say that this will never happen as long as he is in office because America is a land of democracy. Mr. Bush is 100 percent correct. No one should be forced to convert or else! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never threatened men with death for refusing to follow Him—instead the Lord left that to the listener to make his own decision. In the Bible, we read of the story of three young men who were servants of God, and they were challenged by King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire. Daniel 3:1–30 tells us that the king threatened to throw anyone who refused to bow down to the statue he had made into a pit of fire. These men refused because they knew that would be wrong. They went on to tell the king that even if God choose not to save them, they would still be willing to die rather than bow down before an idol. Their conviction was strong, and so must we be today. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me," (John 14:6). The apostle Peter went on to say, "there is no other name among men by which men can be saved," (Acts 4:12). With all this being said, why would anyone want to convert to, or bow down to anything else? Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Let us not forget what happened on September 11, 2001. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
We heard of the crash of a plane at the Lexington Kentucky airport last week. As of this time we have been told that the crash occurred because of pilot error—they were taking off from a runway that was too short to accommodate a plane of that size. This accident brings to mind the importance of being totally sure about everything we do. Now even with that being said, humans aren't above missing something and having a mistake occur as a result. If something doesn't look right, it probably isn't. If a red flag waves in your mind about something, there is probably a good reason for that. It appears that man has a sense of when something is suspicious, so we need to make the most of that God-given talent and check things out. From the black box recorder, we are told the pilots were talking about how the runway had no lights. In other words it was strange to them that a runway wouldn't be lighted; but they went on with the flight anyway. Remember, if you need to take time to look something over, do so. If you need time to think something over, do so. Don't rush yourself nor allow someone else to rush you (Genesis 3:1–6; Proverbs 7:7–23; Gen. 27:1–38; Joshua 9:1–27; 1 King 13:1–31; Luke 14:28–32). Make all things as sure as you can (Matthew 27:65; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Revelation 2:2). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering and it is an explanation we hope people will understand A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and as the barber began to work, the subject of God came up. The barber said, "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that," asked the customer? "Well, just look at all the sick people, the abandoned children, homelessness, and all the pain and suffering in this world; if a loving God existed, there would be none of these things," replied the barber. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop; once he got outside the customer saw a very stinky homeless man with long dirty hair lying in an alley. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop and said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist!" "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber, and I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer yelled, "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no bums with dirty long hair lying in a alley like that man outside." The barber replied, "Sir, let me explain something to you. Barbers DO exist, but what happens is this: people like that man lying in the alley don't come to me, nor any other barber." "Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God also exists. What happens is people don't go to Him either," (Jeremiah 3:22). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
A car wreck, be it a fender bender or a major crash, cannot be foreseen. One can be backing out of the WaWa store and within the hour, be lying in pain inside an ambulance speeding toward the local hospital. Nothing in life is for sure, and even though the next moment might seem within reach, it may very well not be. Man can't do anything about this unfortunate situation, but man can surely learn something from it. Consider what the Bible teaches on the uncertainty of life by reading the following scriptures (1 Samuel 20:3; Psalm 146:3–4; Luke 12:15–20; James 4:13–15). From all these verses we learn that nothing in life is for sure. We may plan for it, we may talk about it, and we can even put a down payment on it, and still it isn't guaranteed (Proverbs 19:21). It is best to say, "If God wills" when talking about doing something. It is best to remain focused on the point that we cannot get too wrapped up in things because they can easily go the other way. Keep this in mind, and do your best work right now because who can say if you will be here the next 10 seconds (Ecclesiastes 9:7–10; Acts 5:5; Matthew 6:25–26; Philippians 4:6). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
Getting to heaven isn't as easy as some people may think—getting to heaven will be contingent on a person's desire to change. Don't expect change if a person has the attitude of "this is me, what you see is what you get!" or "I'll live my life the way I want to!" A person who doesn't change will not make it to heaven because the only people who will be in heaven are those who have repented, which means they have changed. That is why the Bible calls upon men to repent and have a change of heart because one cannot get to heaven by remaining as he is—one must change (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30; Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Matthew 7:21; Revelation 22:14). Maybe this article will cause you to reflect on what you need to do to change your life so that you can go to heaven. At the same time I would like you to read what Jesus said about change in Matt. 10:37–39. He teaches that one must change in order to be saved, but those changes are for your good. In order to get to heaven, one may have to change the religion he grew up in, change the pleasures he may love, change the friends he may have, etc. But if one wants to go to heaven, he will do these things because he values his soul above anything this old world might offer (1 John 2:15). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
There are too many people who don't want to work. Such lazy sorry conduct is a sin the eyes of God, who in the beginning ordained that men should work (Genesis 2:15; Gen. 3:17–19). When welfare was at its highest point, there were many using it to cheat the system because it was appealing to have babies, lie, and sit at home collecting checks. God has a plan for man to perform honest work and have that work create a productive society in which all can be proud (Ephesians 4:28; Acts 20:33–35; 1 Corinthians 4:12; Acts 18:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 2:9–10; 1 Thess. 4:11). So it is really stupid for a person not to want to work. Such a person will never learn, nor know, what responsibility means or how to earn anything honestly. There are still many young men using, selling drugs, and robbing. These misguided fellows are giving their best years to Satan and will either be in jail or six-feet-under. They don't know life. Fast money doesn't last, and as I said, most of these guys will end up dead and on their way to Hell before they are 30-years-old. And to you women looking for a man, if he is unemployed, using drugs, or selling them, just keep walking. His life is a wreck, and he will make yours a wreck as well. God's word has said, "if a man won't work, neither should he eat," (2 Thess. 3:10). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
Something doesn't make any sense. For example, how can a woman say that she is for children and yet support abortion? God teaches that the life in the womb is human at conception since Bible writers described themselves as persons (Job 3:3, 11–19; Psalm 139:13–16; Galatians 1:15; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 20:18). I guess that woman could care less about what the Bible teaches, so be careful who you listen to or you will be lead down a path of destruction (3 John 11; Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 15:13–14). Here's another one that makes no sense. How can a person believe in flying saucers and not believe God exists? The evidence that God exists is all around us and cannot be denied. Look at the earth, the sky, the seasons, the complex human body. All these things couldn't be without a mind to create them. Even a drinking straw is evidence of a creator. There is no evidence of flying saucers, only men who claim to have seen them or some blurred photo. The works of God's hands are clearly seen day and night (Romans 1:18–20; Psalm 19:1–6; Isaiah 40:22; Acts 14:17; Acts 17:24–28). And what about people who know they are going to hell but make no attempt to change their lives in order to be saved (2 Thessalonians 1:7–9). See what I mean? Something makes no sense at all. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
In 1 Corinthians 11:15 we learn that the long hair of a woman is given as her glory. Some preachers teach that it is a sin for a woman to cut her hair, but that isn't what the Bible said. A woman is free to cut her hair and fix it up as she chooses. The only thing she shouldn't do is cut and fix it in such a way that the glory departs. Now one may wonder, "how is that possible?" Well, the best way I can explain it is like this—if a woman cuts or wears her hair in such a way that it becomes difficult to figure out the sex; then glory is gone. Long hair isn't so much defined by the inches, but rather by the fact that the female hair displays who she is. Some women cannot grow hair that reaches down to the shoulders, yet they keep their hair in such a way that female glory is still intact. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |