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  Thought for the Week   Be strong and of good courage and do it, fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God will be with thee, and he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of God.--1 Chronicles 28:20   These are the beautiful words of a charge David gives to Solomon concerning  building the temple. The thought echoes within my heart that so long as we faithfully serve our God he will be with us, he will not fail us nor forsake us until the day we finish this earthly journey and go home to God's celestial shore to live forever with him.   Today we must be of good courage, not be dismayed or disheartened even though we are surrounded with so much corruption of God's word which has resulted in some of the most evil and wicked practices ever known to mankind (Romans 1:21-32; 2 Tim. 3:1-5). The truths of God's word  are either being disregarded or twisted into some kind of perversio...

Finished! It occurred during the Olympic Games in Mexico, 1968. The marathon is the final event on the program. The Olympic stadium is packed and there is excitement as the first athlete, an Ethiopian runner, enters the stadium. The crowd erupts as he crosses the finish line. Way back in the field is another runner, John Stephen Akwhari of Tanzania. He has been eclipsed by the other runners. After 30 kilometers (just over 18.5 miles) his head is throbbing, his muscles are aching and he falls to the ground. He has serious leg injuries and officials want him to retire, but he refuses. With his knee bandaged Akwhari picks himself up and hobbles the remaining 12 kilometers (about 7.5 miles) to the finish line. An hour after the winner has finished Akwhari enters the stadium. All but a few thousand of the crowd have gone home. Akwhari moves around the track at a painstakingly slow pace, until finally he collapses over the finish line. It is one of the most heroic efforts of Olympic...

  Thought for the Week   "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?,,,,,(John 21:15-17)   In this passage, Peter is asked three times if he loves Jesus. Each time Peter answers, Yes, you know I love you. I am convinced that this question, "Lovest thou me", is one that each of us should think about seriously as to the answer we will give. I feel pretty confident that like Peter, all of us will answer, "Yes Lord, I love you". Let's think about that for a moment.   The love we have for Jesus cannot be just a shallow, emotional love born out of some kind of hollow profession. It must be a love that is active in a complete obedience to the will of God (Acts 5:29; 2 John 9). It must be a love that gives full surrender to Jesus (John 14:15; Heb.5:8-9), It must be a love that seeks to obey the truth (Gal. 5:7; 2 Thess. 1:7-9). Truly loving the Lord, we will give to him our best. The best of our love (Mark 12:31; 1 John 5:1-3); the best of our gifts, namel...

  For our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.........(Philippians 3:20-21)   Each day we live, we move a little closer to that moment in time when we will shed this earthly tabernacle and step out into eternity. As a faithful child of God we will be going to that better country where we will live for ceaseless ages with our Lord and the redeemed of all ages.   The Lord willing, in just a few more weeks, I will celebrate my 84th year on this side of eternity. This life has been exciting and certainly most interesting. It has been a great adventure so far and I feel confident that the same holds true for all who read these words. The path through life is sometimes smooth and easy while at times it is rocky and difficult. In our youth we are strong, vibrant, full of energy and it seems as if nothing can stop us. As we grow older our...

  For our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.........(Philippians 3:20-21)   Each day we live, we move a little closer to that moment in time when we will shed this earthly tabernacle and step out into eternity. As a faithful child of God we will be going to that better country where we will live for ceaseless ages with our Lord and the redeemed of all ages.   The Lord willing, in just a few more weeks, I will celebrate my 84th year on this side of eternity. This life has been exciting and certainly most interesting. It has been a great adventure so far and I feel confident that the same holds true for all who read these words. The path through life is sometimes smooth and easy while at times it is rocky and difficult. In our youth we are strong, vibrant, full of energy and it seems as if nothing can stop us. As we grow older our...

Brotherly Love Mike Willis once shared the story of 13-year-old hero that was the subject of an article in the February 13, 1984 edition of The Journal Herald newspaper of Dayton, Ohio. The article disclosed how this young teen saved the lives of his two brothers, ages three and four, when their house trailer caught on fire. The boys' father awoke one morning and quickly discovered that the trailer was on fire. Flames of fire in the hall of their home separated his room from the boys' bedroom. The father ran outside, broke the window to the boys' bedroom, and yelled to his 13-year-old son, William Holsclaw, to hand his brothers to him through the window. William's father later told how William saved his brothers: "He stood there and handed me them babies out while he was cooking [i.e., was on fire]. He never looked up or hesitated a minute; he did just what he was supposed to do. The flames were . coming up his backside. He was on fire! I could see him, but there w...

Easter Sunday There is no such thing as "Easter Sunday" in the Bible.  Many people have been led to believe that there is a special day, set aside by God, called "Easter Sunday".  The religious world has been taught that this is the day that Christ resurrected from the dead and that we are commanded to observe the Lord's Supper that Sunday in remembrance of that occasion.  Let's take a Bible look at this.   1) Use of the Word Easter in the Bible.  The word "Easter" does occur in the King James Version of the Bible.  "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people" (Acts 12:4).   2) Easter Refers to Passover.  The word translated 'Easter' in Acts 12:4 is translated 'Passover' 28 times in the New Testament. Only this one time did the translators render it 'Easter.'  The American ...

  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all things be done with charity (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).   Five great responsibilities for the child of God are revealed to us in this passage from 1 Corinthians 16. If we are going to be successful in our pursuit for the prize of the high calling of God (Phil. 3:14), it is imperative that we give heed to these responsibilities.   WATCH YE: Be awake, alert, vigilant--watch heart (Prov. 4:23); thoughts (Phil. 4;8); affections (Col. 3:1-2); words (Matt. 12:37); speech (Titus 2:8); actions (Col. 3:17).   STAND FAST IN THE FAITH: uphold sound doctrine (Titus 2:1; 2 Tim. 1:13). Standing fast means to hold on to everything God has commanded of us with our entire being. Call it steadfastness, persistence, endurance, even stubbornness, call it what you will, it is essential to our spiritual well being (1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 6:13-14)   QUIT YOU LIKE MEN: Don't behave like children--abandon childhood ten...

  After creating man, God determined it was not good for man to be alone so he created a  woman to be a mate who would be a  partner, sharing in all the activities of daily living Thus the first marriage of man and woman takes place in the garden of Eden   The union of a man and woman in marriage is a very serious union that should not be entered into lightly. The marriage bond is a life time commitment between a man and a woman in which two hearts will beat as one. Two individuals walking together, hand in hand down the pathway of life as one. When a man and a woman become husband and wife, they mutually agree to cleave to each other in a bond that is to last for so long as they live. This is a serious commitment (Matthew 19:3-9; Ephesians 5:22-25). It is this writer's conviction that an enduring marriage is one that begins with and continues with a firm commitment on the part of husband and wife to always make God an integral part of the marriage.   It is only...