VOL 54          October 5, 2011           NO. 40
 

KEEPING PACE

 We are now in the fourth quarter of 2011.  Most of us set a few goals we would like to reach during the year.  It may be to read the Bible through during the year.  You have about three months left to do it.  Actually, we need to do more than read the Bible daily.  We need to study the Bible.  This takes time but you will never make a better investment of your time.  It can make the difference in whether or not we go to heaven when this life on earth ends.

Perhaps you set a goal to reach a friend with the gospel.  Have you followed through with any definite plans to accomplish that goal?  It is not too late to do it.

Maybe you planned to spend more time together as a family.  This is a very important goal.  Have you been able to arrange your schedule so you can be with the family more often?  It will not ‘just happen’, you will have to make it happen.  The salvation of the souls of our family members may be determined by the time we spend together.

What progress have you made in your plans for a better prayer life?  Do you really believe that prayers change anything?  Surely, you believe there is a God to hear our prayers.  We need to also believe that God is able to do anything, to believe He cares about what happens in our lives, and has the compassion to help us in our time of need.

Are you so caught up in your job that it absorbs all your time and energies?  Our jobs are important and we do need paychecks to meet our bills but a Christian will find time to do his job and also take care of other family responsibilities as well.  We need balance in our lives.

God will never allow more burdens to be laid on us than we can bear.  He will give us strength for the day.  The problem for many of us is that we try to take on today’s problems and also those that lie ahead.  James said, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” 

Lewis G. Hale
 

“Winning Your Spouse”

I glanced quickly at our church marquee last week and it read, “The ones who criticize the Bible the most are the ones who read it the least.” In my few years of ministry this has proven to be true in many instances. The world can become habitual criticizers of the scriptures because they are not living right. Sadly, it can even be those in our own home.

It saddens me to see a husband or a wife come to worship alone. Does it sadden you? There are so many ladies that come to church without their husbands and vice versa. Perhaps they have tried and tried to bring them to the Lord, yet men become calloused and cold to the teachings of our Lord and comfortable attaching themselves to the world. Is your spouse attending worship without you?

If your spouse is “fighting the fight” without you, you are failing as their helpmate. It’s the same as sending them off to battle on their own, giving them all the weapons, and giving them the responsibilities of watching over the children spiritually. This was not what God intended for the marriage to be. Peter comforts those believing spouses by saying, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives” (I Peter 3:1).

It may be because of habit, fear or laziness that some allow their spouses to fight the battle without them. I believe it is also a matter of love in the marriage to help each other get to heaven.

For the spouse who has tried to “win over” their mate, do not give up. For the spouse that is tired of their helpmate trying to “win them over,” I would challenge you to become what God intended you to be. Not just for the sake of your spouse, not just for your love of Christ, but also because of the eternal torment awaiting those who refuse to obey.

Logan Cates
 

VOL 54          September 28, 2011           NO. 39
 

When Jesus forewarned his disciples about the impending destruction of Jerusalem (which occurred in 70 A.D.), he told them of many signs which would precede that calamity. He said, “ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matt. 24:6, 7.

There have always been natural calamities. It seems that in recent years there have been more than usual. Add to those the ones caused by human beings and the number is staggering. Those foretold by Jesus began with “wars and rumors of wars”, man-made troubles. Then, famines, pestilences and earthquakes.

In our area, we have just gone through drought and heat which have been record-setting. At the same time, others have had floods. Wildfires have devastated many places. We have even had minor earthquakes in Oklahoma. Hurricanes and tornadoes have become common. Outbreaks of health problems have taken their toll.

Why give notice to such events? Because you may have people coming to your door who will tell you these are sure signs that Jesus is coming very soon and it will be the end of the world. I remind them that Jesus said, “be not troubled - the end is not yet,” Matt. 24:6.

We must at all times be ready for the return of Jesus, whether it is today or ten thousand years from now. We have no control of that. We do have control of our readiness. “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh,” Mk. 13:35. 

Lewis G. Hale
 

“It’s Your Choice”

God created man to be a free moral agent. God in His knowledge and power can choose also. He can choose His own way as we see many times in the scriptures.  He chose to create man not as an inferior animal having no soul, but as a living soul made in the image of God and able to make choices that determine his own pathway of life.

There are many religious theories that man was born in sin and denying him any freedoms.  Some say that you cannot change your fate and God has already decided it.  God did not and has not decided your fate, you are deciding your fate right now.   “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). 

Does that sound like man does not have the ability to choose? Does that sound like God has already decided your fate? Wouldn’t God be merciless  showing no compassion if man were created with no ability to choose? I know based on the scriptures I read, this is not so.

We can even go as far back as the creation of man seeing the choice that he gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16,17. “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.”

This demanded a choice from Adam and Eve and they chose disobedience.  If man does not have the ability to choose, then didn’t God act unjustly by punishing them?

If you are living in sin you are making a mistake of your life. God does not want you to remain a sinner. You have the ability and blessing to choose life rather than death. If you are not a Christian you need to choose to be. Choose to believe, repent, confess and be baptized. This is your choice. Some choose to reject Him. “Except you repent, you will all likewise perish” Choose to live a life in Christ pleasing him in every way. You will be blessed when you do.

Logan Cates
 

VOL 54          September 21, 2011           NO. 38
 

SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE
 

Paul warned the church at Ephesus against those who would lie in wait to deceive, but “speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ,” Eph. 4:15.

Peter wrote, “If any man speak, let him speak at the oracles of God,” 1 Pet. 4:11.

Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word,” 2 Tim. 4:2.  The whole body of apostles were told to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 16:15.

There is a reason for preaching the word, speaking as the oracles of God, and to speak this truth in love.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Rom. 10:17.  The writer of the book of Hebrews said, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, Heb. 11:6.  Rom. 10:14 asks “how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”  It is our business to make sure they hear.  And, we must speak that word in love.

It is painful to give up cherished beliefs.  It is said that “The birth of a new idea is accompanied by great pain.”  Believing lies can lead to destruction.  Christ said, “The truth shall make you free,” John 8:32.

If someone has listened to false teachers and believes those lies, hearing the truth even in the kindest and most loving spirit will be painful.  We must not add to that pain by being arrogant nor by speaking in an insulting manner.  The one you are trying to teach may see your attack on his beliefs as an attack on himself.

When one reads the book of Acts he will see that many people rejected the gospel and hated and persecuted those who preached it.  So, while it must be done in love, it must be done.  You may win an argument but lose a soul.  Make sure you are not just trying to show someone you know more than they do.  Make sure your purpose is to lead someone to Christ so heaven can be his eternal home.

Lewis G. Hale
 

“The Power of Idolatry”
 

You cannot deny the magnitude of God’s anger that burns because of idolatry. There is so much said about idolatry in the scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. Its folly is condemned because by practicing it they do not fear God, honor God, nor honor His Son Jesus Christ.

There is no sin that is so strongly and thoroughly described. This is one of the sins that can be accomplished plurally as well as singularly. It is not a sin that passed with the times because of culture shifts. It is not a sin that only affects religious groups. Idolatry can and will exist in the Christian if he/she allows it. Idolatry can exist in the Lord’s church. So we too need to flee from the idolatry that is found in our age (I Cor 10:14).

A long time before Christianity, the Gentiles had fallen into idolatry.  “Professing  to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the image in the form of corruptible man , and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them; for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:22-25).  You may remember as Paul went to Athens “his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols” (Acts 17:16).

I am pretty sure none of you have a golden idol in your house that you give any honor.  I am almost certain that those attending our worship service do so with the full intent to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

However, as we spend hours on our computers, hours watching television, I am certain Satan is finding ways to subtract God’s honor from us.  He is finding ways to subtract our time as Christians sitting down (with a cup of coffee) and opening God’s word with the full intent to let it be the rule in our life.  Jesus came to save and call men back to God that they might be cleansed from defilement. Hear his call. Lay aside anything that is pulling you from the Creator!

Logan Cates
 

VOL 54          September 14, 2011           NO. 37
 

BIBLE SCHOOL IS GROWING. ARE YOU?
 

 Most churches experience a ‘summer slump’. People like to go to the lake, take vacations, etc., and it affects attendance.

We have actually had an increase in our average attendance during the summer months. You have made that possible.

It seems that more and more of our members are realizing the importance of our Bible classes. There are many reasons it is important. The first one is what we call them: Bible classes. We are not here for fun and games, crafts, etc. We gather to study God’s word, the Bible. While doing that, we also receive fringe benefits which are important. We meet people in class and we make new friends. We share time together and enjoy fellowship. In most classes you are given opportunity to speak up, share your insight of the meaning of scriptures being studied, answer questions and ask questions. A sermon is pretty much a one-way street. Most Bible classes are not.

Meeting in a class is an opportunity to bring a friend who may be led to obey the gospel. I believe in the value of preaching or I would not preach. I also know that many people learn much more in a Bible class than they do from a sermon. I do not give you the opportunity to ask me to clarify a point while I am preaching but I do in my classes.

In the past, we gave Perfect Attendance pins in Bible classes. Some were awarded for thirteen (13) years of perfect attendance, not having missed a single time at Southwest in those years!

We still have a big gap between our worship attendance and our Bible classes attendance. Would you prayerfully consider getting up a little earlier and bringing the whole family to Bible class?

Lewis G. Hale

“Admit It”
 

Christians sometimes do not admit that they ever struggle. Do Christians at times put up a false front and make excuses that they have never been depressed or burdened with the sins that surround us?

I know that life has its way of overwhelming us to the point of exhaustion. I know that Satan tries very hard to get you to “miss the mark.” I also know that some people are more prone to deeper depressions  and struggles than others. Maybe the pain hurts  more for them. Maybe the pains ache longer, and maybe the loss of life pulls them down longer. The point is, we struggle. We all struggle. All of us in different ways.

Remember when Elijah asked for his life to be taken? Remember when Jeremiah talked about regretting the day he was born?  Remember when Job’s wife told him to curse God and die? I remember when a preacher friend of mine went forward for prayers because of a loss in the family had brought him to a “low point” in his life and he needed prayers.   Wait a second, a preacher asking for prayers?

The point is, all people need the Lord.  You may feel lonely, you may feel like you have been hurting for years. You might look back on your life and realize that you are glancing back way too often and it hinders you from true spiritual growth in the body of Christ. You may wonder if everyone knows what you did when you were younger. You may think you are not special to God.  Here is my challenge for you:

Ask the Lord for forgiveness and His strength.  As Christians I believe we don’t use this opportunity more often. If you have done harm, if you know the Lord is not pleased with your actions, true positive change will not happen until you give it to Jesus Christ. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Admit it. Walk  through what you did to Jesus Christ and turn completely away from it. You might want to tell a friend to hold you accountable. You might want to write some goals on the fridge. Get out what Satan wants in. Ask the Lord for forgiveness.

Being a true servant of the Lord depends upon your eagerness to change.  Wouldn’t it be great in one year for you to look back and say, “I conquered my struggles and my fears and Jesus forgave me.”

Logan Cates
 

VOL 54          September 7, 2011           NO. 36
 

TURN INWARD, OR, OUTWARD? 
 

A few decades ago our brotherhood experienced remarkable growth but it was for a short period of time. What happened?

I have an opinion and I think it is well-founded. We started turning inward instead of reaching outward.

Many of us are intimidated by approaching a person about his salvation. We know it needs to be done but are very uncomfortable in doing it. It is not intimidating to take a meal to someone’s home when he is joyfully expecting you. It is not threatening to go to a fellowship dinner, or go on a ski trip, or attend a retreat. So, we have all kinds of ministries to serve man’s physical and social needs. But, these do not save his soul. We can spend hours upon hours each week on so-called ‘church work’ and never reach out to save a lost soul.

For many years I received a church bulletin from one of the largest congregations in our brotherhood. It was well done and very informative. It was a joy to read. They were pioneers in mission work and had an ambitious foreign mission program. It has been many years since receiving their bulletin. Near the last of their bulletins, they printed their budget. This church then had a mission budget smaller than ours! However, they did have seventeen (17) full time staff members for their local work. This included five (5) full time secretaries to serve other staff members.

Only God can be their judge but it seemed to me they began serving self rather than others. They began to turn inward rather than outward.

It is a sad day when we seem to care about family members only. The cry of the lost leaves us cold. Soccer teams, golf teams, softball, volleyball, bowling, card games may excite us but a home Bible study does not. Taking extended vacations and seeing the world thrill us but going on a gospel campaign turns us off.

Are you turning inward or outward?

Lewis G. Hale
 

“In Need of Faith”
 

Are you in need of some faith? I suppose you could turn on the TV and try to listen to some TV evangelist, but you won’t find it there. I suppose you could pray for days and weeks to receive faith but it doesn’t happen there either. I suppose you could do as some do and go see their minister, but he nor I can give you faith either. So where does your faith come from? “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

Are there times when you begin to doubt? Are there times when you may be struggling spiritually? Often when problems come and doubts begin to appear, people tend to draw away from God and seek strength from other places besides God’s word. When problems seem to enter into our lives and we become burdened, this is not the time to be absent from worshiping the Lord. The answer to much struggles is much study.

I remember my Grandfather asking a Bible class teacher, who happened to be teaching his own children at the time, if they were reading their Bible every day. The answer was no. So Grandfather said to the man, “I don’t want someone teaching my children that does not read their Bible daily.”  As strong as that sounds, do you agree?

Our study time is crucial to the purpose God has for us. The devil will do everything in his power to get you to stop reading and studying the Bible. The devil knows that the more scriptures you become introduced to, the more he will lose. Don’t you want Satan to flee from you? Read your Bible.

The devil races to get all of your attention on other things besides spiritual matters. Jesus warned in the parable of the sower that some seed would fall by the wayside. This is the one who hears the word of God, but before it starts growing, the devil comes and takes the word away. What is happening in your life? What is happening in your faith?

I know that our lives become so busy with things that must be done. Please do not get so busy that you leave your Bible on the shelf, and miss worship. Remain strong in the faith, and in His Word.

Logan Cates
 

VOL 54          August 31, 2011           NO. 35
 

THE DIGNITY OF LABOR
 

I hear many people talking about their approaching retirement. It is usually with a great deal of enthusiasm. Rarely is it someone who is retiring because of age and he wishes to continue. Others are resentful of having to retire.

Both in Canada and the United States, we have a national holiday, Labor Day, on the first Monday of September. This to recognize and honor the laboring class of people.

Without capital, there would be no business. However, without labor, there would still be no business. Owners have more at risk. Their investment may represent life savings, or, even heavy indebtedness. So, capital rightfully expects a greater return on any profits. Labor unions changed all of that. With the shoe on the other foot, labor at times was as oppressive as capital had been.

The Bible recognizes the necessity of labor. It also recognizes it as honorable. “The workman is worthy of his reward.” “Work, for the night cometh when no man can work.”

There are many kinds of work. We must not look down on those whose work differs from ours. Just because one does not engage in manual labor does not mean he does not work. The grimy ditch digger can be as honorable as the well groomed executive secretary. Clean fingernails are not a sign of a lazy non-worker.

Let us honor labor. God does.

Lewis G. Hale
 

“Attitude or Interpretation?”
 

One time a man was heard at the close of a sermon saying, “That sounded good, but a denominational preacher could take the same scriptures and make them sound reasonable to his teaching.”

Friends if that were true, then God is the cause of much religious division and chaos concerning the interpretation of the Bible. He is not.

The Bible was given to guide us, yet some will tell you “it is just a matter of interpretation.” This simply cannot be true. For example, in I Peter 3:21, the inspired word of God states, “baptism saves”. To me, this means that baptism does save us and to another denomination they claim baptism has no connection with salvation.

To me, this is supporting that men (and women) are saved today by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the means that one comes into contact with His blood is baptism in water (Romans 6:3-4). It is the washing away of ones sins (Acts 22:16). Is God the author of confusion?  Absolutely not. Man is.

When Jesus was tempted to turn the stone into bread, he reacted with “It is written” and quoted Duet. 8:3. “Man shall not live  on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Jesus was faced with the greatest enemy we could ever encounter. This was not just a friend adding emotion to the text. This was not just a relative denying the inspiration of the scriptures. This was Satan!

So here in Matthew 4, here is the Son of God revealing to us a proper way to reply to those who claim we might be legalistic in our view of the holy scriptures. “By every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Our survival depends on it (Matt 7:21).

Someone once said, “I have no need of scriptures to support infant baptism...I have done it, and know that it works.”  Fellow Christians, this is what we deal with today. The main concern for those that have been misled, is not interpretation, but attitude. Just because someone has seen, felt, experienced, treasured, prayed, heard or saw... does not mean they are acting on upon the inspired word of God. Though sincere, Saul was misled. Be careful. :)

Logan Cates
 

    "May the churches of
Christ salute you."

Romans 16:16

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