Ford trucks are built tough says the commercial, and we can understand what the Ford motor company is saying. But what would you do if you met someone who said that Ford trucks have no creator? That person simply believes the trucks came from nothing. What would you say to prove him wrong? Do you believe the design features of the truck show evidence of a creator? What about the airbag? Tilt steering? AM/FM stereo? etc? The truth is yes, all these functions are the work of a mind that put them into motion—they have a creator.
Now what about a more sophisticated thing like a human being? King David took one look at himself and declared “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 2:7). David didn’t have the knowledge of the human body like we do today, yet he knew that the body was the most complex working function on earth. So why do we have atheists and skeptics? If we can see a creator in the design of other things, why not in the creation of man? To question the existence of God is to close your eyes to the work of his hands, which can be clearly seen (Romans 1:19-22; Psa. 14:1, 19:1-4, 102:24-28, 104:1-5). And for a bonus, the next time you see a rainbowremember God said that this would be a sign that he won’t destroy the earth by a flood (Gen. 9:8-17). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. People seem to pick the wrong solutions to ease their pains. With suicide you don’t escape your problems, you create new problems. The person died committing self-murder, and after death there is no repentance (John 8:21; Galatians 5:21).
Many turn to booze to ease their pain but that doesn’t help. After recovering from the hangover, the problem is still there and probably will be worse because of the drinking (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Isaiah 5:11; Proverbs 23:29-35, 20:1). Many turn to selling drugs and prostitution, hoping to escape their poverty. Drugs are the scum of neighborhoods, and it is sinful to use them (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Rom. 13:11-14). A woman selling her body is fornication, and that person will be condemned on the Judgment Day (Prov. 6:23-35; 1 Cor. 6:15-20). The way to deal with our problems is to commit our lives to God, so He can give us peace (Matthew 11:28-30; John 14:6, 6:45). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Some criminals claim no fear of death, so they shoot others and get shot themselves. But the truth is, Satan has the thugs fooled because every child of the devil should be afraid to die. For after death, all deeds will have to be answered for to the Creator and nothing will be forgotten or hidden (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Psalm 9:17; Revelation 20:12-15; Hebrews 9:27).
Now imagine a guy getting killed while trying to carjack a car. That man’s final deed was attempted robbery, so he will be doomed to the eternal fires of hell (Mark 9:43-48). Death is no picnic! It is the final stamp on a person’s life, and there is no way to change afterward. So if a person dies in his sins, he will not spend eternity with God (John 8:21). Yes thugs do not make a wise choice when they begin a life of crime—instead they chose a life that will get them a first class seat in the hottest fire imaginable and they don’t have sense enough to realize it. Yes, evildoers should be afraid to die because unrighteous souls won’t enter Heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. In Acts 17:21 we learn that the Athenians spent their time gossiping, and even today people continue to gossip about everyone and everything.
Why can’t people be concerned about their own affairs and leave the business of others alone (1 Thessalonians 4:11). When one is busy with his own affairs, it gives no place for Satan to make suggestions (Ephesians 4:27). Gossip is very bad—rumors and whispers cause much hardship by destroying lives, and the people who spread gossip are like mosquitoes carrying a plague (1 Tim 5:13; 2 Thess. 3:11; Proverbs 11:13, 20.19; Leviticus 19:16; Prov. 18:8, 26:20,22; James 3:5-10). Don't gossip! We hope to hear from you or see you at the services. No one can prove that the Bible didn’t come from God. In this great book we find many things spoken centuries ago that man only found out recently. Notice that men thought the earth was flat, but the Bible confirmed it to be round. (Isaiah 40:22). Long before satellite pictures, the Bible said the Earth hangs upon nothing (Job 26:7). It was recently that ship captains found that there are paths and springs in the sea, however the Bible had already said so (Psalm 8:8; Job 38:16). Moses had no way of knowing the earth had many seas, yet he wrote that it did (Genesis 1:10). Only after advance learning did man know that the sun cannot shine on all parts of the earth, and that is why we have time zones. However the Bible speaks of it being night and day at the same time on the Judgment Day (Luke 17:31-36).
Doctors studied the human body and in this century found that the key to life is the blood, though the Bible had already said that centuries ago (Leviticus 17:11). How did the writers of the Bible know such things? God told them! The Bible is the word of God, and we better believe it. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services You don’t have to look very far to find a homeless person—some are in that condition because they filled their lives with alcohol, drugs, and rebellion. But on the same token, there are those who were forced into homelessness though changes that they couldn’t control. Because of the uncertainty of life, we have to admit becoming homeless can happen to anyone. We all must learn to be thankful to have any kind of home, be it ghetto or suburbs (Ephesians 5:20).
I realize there could be problems with the living conditions of homes and neighborhoods. But such is life, and we must find a way to overcome those hardships. Don’t you know that Jesus had no regular place to call home? (Luke 9:57-58). Yet, He was the perfect example of what it meant to be thankful (John 17:1-26). Since tomorrow isn’t promised, we need to reflect on how important the current day is and be thankful for the roof over our heads (Colossians 3:15; Psalm 136:26; Hebrews 13:15). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. by John Shadowen
But his funeral was held last Wednesday, and He is survived by 18 specialists, 4 health institutes, 2 gymnasiums, and numerous manufacturers of antiseptics and health foods. He just made one mistake! He forgot God. He lived as if this world was all that counted. Now he exists with those who say, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). If you should die tonight, where would you spend eternity? (Luke 12:15-21, 16:19-31; Psalm 9:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services “I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you do know it and that there’s no lie in the truth. Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledges the Son hath the Father also.”—1 John 2:21-23.
There is no way around it. Man can’t throw Jesus under the bus or demote Him to a good teacher, a great guy, a prophet, or something other then God. He is the Christ, the Messiah and Savior of all men! (Matthew 16:13-17; John 6:66-69, 20:30-31). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. All adults have been teenagers, therefore they have walked in teenage shoes. And if adults have raised teenagers, they know how teenagers act. Therefore, to all teens let me say this—listen to those who have been where you are now. If your parents are wise, caring role models; you need to listen to them. Many teens are going though the phase where they think they know everything, and they think their parents are an embarrassment. Well I've got news, we old heads thought the same way when we were young and many of us suffered because of it. So we are trying to spare you the sorrow (Galatians 6:7; Luke 15:17-19; Proverbs 22:3).
Listen to the voices that tell you to reject peer pressure, sex, drinking, drugs, not going to school, misbehaving in school, neighborhood gangs, flash mobs, etc. If others are jumping on the band wagon to do evil, you stand up for what is right. Respect your elders and develop interest in God by starting to go to church (John 4:24). Think about what I’m saying because it is right (Proverbs 1:2-4, 4:1-27, 10:1, 17:25, 19:20, 20:1). Sometimes when you go out to eat, you will see people bowing their heads and giving thanks for their meals. You may glance at them because this is something you aren’t custom to seeing. Well, that just proves how far we have drifted because we don’t understand the elementary principle of thanking God for the food we eat (1 Timothy 4:4-5; Acts 27:35; Luke 24:30).
Somewhere along the way, our teaching about the existence of God and how we, as His creation are indebted to Him, has gotten lost in the fray (2 Tim. 3:1-4). Yes, thanking God for our food is a wonderful thing because it is not by our power that we eat, but by the grace of God we get our daily bread (Matthew 6:11, 6:25-26, 5:45; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). So let us not be fascinated by those who are praying before eating, but rather those who have the gall to eat and give no acknowledgment to the Lord (Ephesians 5:20). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services |