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Close the Gate   If the Lord tarries, we are about to close out this year and begin another.  Are you relieved to get through this past year?  Are you looking forward to another year?  Or, are you experiencing some apprehension as you face the New Year?   Dr. Harold J. Sala suggests that “generally, the reason we fear the future is that we have not made peace with the past.  Failures haunt us and we wonder if the future may be but a rerun of yesterday.”  Then in his article entitled “The Year’s End,” he shares this insightful story:   “Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, was playing golf with a friend on one occasion when they went through a fence.  His partner pushed the gate closed but did not bother to latch it; yet George, seeing the failure, went back and secured the gate.  Then George told of an old doctor friend who lay dying.  After calling his family and friends to his bedside, he g...

Pagan Worship 1 Corinthians 10:20 … what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.   Wisdom Choices 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than ...

Thought for the Week   Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works--Titus 2:14   In his letter to Titus, Paul tells us that the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men and that we are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts as we live our lives soberly, righteously and godly, all the while looking for that great day when the Lord will appear again (vs 11-13). Then in verse 14 Paul says that Christ has redeemed us and purified us, making us a peculiar people zealous of good works. It should thrill our souls just to know that we have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ.   Now, being redeemed by him, we do become a peculiar people, namely one who belongs to him and as such there are certain duties incumbent upon us if we are to be pleasing to the Lord (vs 10, 12). One of our foremost duties is to be zealous of good works (vs. 14). What in the world does this mean t...

From the Ashes   One week ago, Brett Petrillo shared some stats from an article on CNN regarding the devastation of the fires that have been raging in California: “California's forests have been severely devastated by the forest fires lately.  In a week's time, they have scorched nearly 160,000 acres and displaced 190,000 people.  As we speak, 5,700 firefighters are diligently working to contain the damage.  Unfortunately, dry air and strong winds are making this especially difficult.”   But, as Petrillo also observed, a tender story has arisen out of the ashes: “Don and Julie Myers are one of the many families who have lost their home to the fires.  After the fire passed, it left little but ash and rubble behind.  The Myers returned home to see what could be salvaged.  Incredibly, as they sifted through the ash, a glimmering object stood out.  It was his wife's long-lost original wedding ring!  Seizing the moment, Don ...

  INTRODUCTION:   I.  CHRISTIAN LIVING TOWARDS CHRISTIANS AND NEIGHBORS. A.  Basic morality and Christian living. 1.  Col 3:5-9 - We must put off the old man with his deeds. a. We must ‘mortify’ (kill) these ‘members, which are upon the earth.’ b. These things bring about Gods wrath. c. We once walked and lived in these things. 2.  Col 3:10-14 - We must put on the new man. a. The new man is after the image of the Lord. b. These are all parts of the love of God, the divine nature. B.  How to treat others. 1.  Matt 7:12 - The “Golden Rule”: do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. 2.  James 1:19 - Be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” 3.  Php 2:1-8 - Put on the mind of Christ. a.    Humility of mind: let each esteem others better than themselves. b.    Look not on your own things, but on the things of others. c.    Christ humbled himself, ...

In the Words of a Song   There are many ways that a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather can express his love for his family.  One way that Willie Dowling did it was in song.   Willie loved to sing.  His family will always remember his beautiful baritone voice.  Years ago, as his family would travel along long stretches of highway where the radio signal was weak, the Dowling family would pass the time singing, with Willie taking the lead.   Willie’s family will remember many of the songs that he liked to sing.  Some of the songs were selected by Willie to express his love in a unique way to certain family members.  For example, he would sing “Elizabeth” to his granddaughter, Meggan Elizabeth: “Dressed in dreams for me, you were what I wished to see, Elizabeth” (as sung by Frank Sinatra, one of Willie’s favorites).  He would sing “My Michelle” to his other granddaughter, Jamie Mich...

The world is filled with good things and bad things. What your life will become is based on what you are looking for. Buzzards consistently find dead carcasses and hummingbirds always find beautiful flowers. That’s what they look for. They’re happy when they find what they’re looking for. But how different the life of the buzzard from the life of the hummingbird. Who wants to be anywhere near the buzzard? . . . but we go to great lengths to attract the hummingbird. I don’t know anyone who has a buzzard feeder in their backyard. Some people are like buzzards. They are the happiest when they are fussing and fighting over the dead carcass of someone’s misfortune. They want to be the first one there to be able to spread the news. So, they always keep a sharp eye out for weaknesses in others. They live on garbage. And then there’s the hummingbirds in life. They make you smile. Just seeing one makes you feel happier. They appreciate the beauty in the world....

He Didn't Have To   Sloan St. James’ parents knew something was wrong with their little girl when she was about 4 months old.  Her jaundice wasn’t going away and her stomach was swelling.   A trip to Boston Children’s Hospital and a two-week stay revealed a dire diagnosis of biliary atresia, a disease of the bile ducts that affects only infants.  According to the American Liver Foundation, in biliary atresia, the bile ducts become inflamed and blocked soon after birth.  This causes bile to remain in the liver, where it starts to destroy liver cells rapidly and cause cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver.  Without successful treatment, few children with biliary atresia live beyond age two.   Little Sloan desperately needed a liver transplant to live.   A police officer in Keene, New Hampshire, Lt. Steven Tenney, learned of Sloan’s need when his brother saw posts on Facebook about a classmate’s 4-month-old daughter who ha...