Author: Tim

By Randal Metheny

The obvious ceases to be obvious when we listen
to voices that are misinformed or spouting false
teaching.

It was the latter who were bellowing in the first
century, leaving the true children of God
confused, when John wrote his first letter. “You
are from God, little children, and have conquered
them, because the one who is in you is greater
than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4.4).

Excuse me for repeating this so often, but God is
in us when we obey the word of Christ (John
14.23). In a dissolute and perverse world (as it
has always been), which gives itself,
unrestrained, over to carnal passions and
personal pleasures, the followers of Christ do
God’s will and receive in their hearts the
presence of the Lord

Through his living in us, his power works to give.
us the victory. If we do not have the victory
(note: the verb conquered is in the past tense!),
we need to ask ourselves why. It is entirely
possible that we are still rebelling against
complete obedience to the Lord.

In what area do we still refuse to submit ourselves to hi
will? Or perhaps we do not recognize the nature of thi
victory.

It is not freedom from trials and suffering, nor is it
comfortable financial situation or a healthy body. Th
victory does not consist of physical comfort.
We have victory when our hearts are secure in God an
spiritual peace possesses us, even when the storms of lif
throw their worst upon our heads.

We enter into victory because God is greater than the ev
one and because he is within us, reigning in and over us.

By Dennis Russell

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each
other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you”
(Ephesians 4:32). I would guess that you still remember
some of those lessons you learned in elementary school.
Such as; don’t challenge a person who is seven inches
taller that you to a tether ball match for “all the
marbles;” don’t try to slide into home plate when the
catcher already has the ball; never brag about that to
which you have no bragging rights; never take a
Valentine card seriously (that cute little girl/boy gave a
Valentine to everybody else in class). Maybe one of the
most significant lessons I learned during those
formative years was that kindness is not retroactive.
You cannot undo those stupid things you said or did.
Most of the time when we are unkind it is the result of
some selfish motive. Sometime around 1972 a country-
western singer named Glen Campbell released a song
called “Try a Little Kindness.” The song has never been
more relevant than it is today. It is very possible that in
today’s world we have become so exposed to the needy
that we have become calloused to their need. We are
very much aware of the kindness of God as seen
through His son Jesus Christ. The duration of that
kindness continues through Jesus as an ever-abiding
revelation through eternity.

Have you ever wished that people would have been a little
more kind to you? Have you ever wished you would have
been a little more kind to them?

It is true, kindness is not retroactive but today is a good day
to start being kind.

Occasionally, we sing about letting the beauty of Jesus
being seen through us, but we should also let the kindness
of Jesus be seen in us.

By Robert Kargbo

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5

Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed, trying to
make sense of life’s complexities, feeling the weight of
decisions, problems, or even your own thoughts? In
today’s fast-paced world, we often strive to have all the
answers, to figure things out on our own. But the truth
is, we were never meant to carry such a burden. Just as
our brain, with all its billions of neurons, is far beyond
our ability to fully comprehend, so too is life itself. The
Creator, in His infinite wisdom, designed both to be
complex, knowing that we would need to rely on Him.
God’s invitation is clear: we are not to lean on our own
understanding. The pressure to know everything, to
manage every detail of our lives, is not something He
ever intended for us to bear. And this is where the love
of Christ comes in. Jesus, fully aware of our limitations,
came to help carry our burdens. He invites us to find
rest in Him. When we find ourselves anxious or
confused, it is a sign to step back and trust in God’s
higher wisdom through Christ. We may not have all the
answers, but we have the assurance that God does and
Jesus is with us every step of the way. We don’t have to
figure everything out because Christ is already holding
everything together for us. Today, reflect on an area of your
life where you’ve been trying to carry the weight of understanding
on your own. What would it look like to release that to Christ?
Spend a moment in prayer, asking for the strength to let go
and trust in His plan.

By Phil Sander Via Bulletin Gold

Today, I will live as if it is the most important day I
possess, because it is actually the only day I have.
Today, I will whine and complain less. I will be
thankful more, because I know that gratitude makes a
better person out of me.

Today, I will criticize less and praise more, because
the people I love need to know that I love and approve
of them.

Today, I will take more time with God my Father
and less with earthly pleasures. I know that I need His
strength and guidance.

Today, I will pray more and play less. I want my
heavenly Father to know my heart, to hear my concerns,
and to realize how thankful I am to be His child.

Today, I will remember my brother more and
myself less. I will consider his feelings, his needs and
wants more and my own a little less.

Today, I will speak of Jesus more and my other
interests less. Today, He must increase, and I must
decrease (John 3:30).

Today, I will remember the souls of all men. I will
remember the person who is rude to me still has an
eternal soul. I will remember the youth and the weak
might see me do something wrong and imitate it. I will
remember that my good may encourage another to do
right.

Today, I will remember that I have been crucified
with Christ; and it is no longer I who live but Christ
who lives in me. Today I will live by faith in the one
who loved me and gave Himself for me.

By Bill Brandstatter Via Bulletin Gold

The Christmas season is here. The excitement in the
eyes of children during this time of year is always
wonderful. The young children at Christmas time have
enthusiasm from which many Christians could learn.

Children are innocent and pure. They are not born
with inherited sin. Jesus used the example of a little
child to show how we should be in the kingdom. Jesus
stated; “unless you are converted and become as little
children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of
heaven.” (Matt. 18:3 NKJV) If children were sinful
creatures, Christ would not have used them in this
illustration.

Isn’t it interesting that young children have no bias,
hard feelings or hatred? In Christ, we too, should have
that attitude. God is no respecter of persons (Acts
10:34). We shouldn’t be either.

What children learn is also important. Children can
learn a great deal. In order to be saved, a person must
learn something (John 6:44, 45). We too should desire
to learn God’s Will like children. (1 Pet. 2:2)

May we have the desire and enthusiasm of little
children when we look at the Word of God. Let us study
with a hunger and listen with attentive ears. May we be
recipients of Jesus’ statement; “Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be
filled.” (Matt. 5:6 NKJV)

May we become like little children not just during this time
of year but all year long as we rely on our Father and
diligently desire the milk of HIS Word.

By John Gipson Via Bulletin Gold

If I read the signs of the times correctly, we consider
tolerance to be the greatest sin imaginable. Tolerance,
on the other hand, has been exalted to the chief of all
virtues. And woe to that person who would speak out
against any religion or claim that Christ is the only way
to the Father. Such intolerance!

Forgive me if I have the sneaking suspicion that there
are those who are willing to tolerate everything because
they believe-nothing. If everything is innocuous,
toleration is easy

Apparently the only exception the tolerant are willing
to make is intolerance to those whom they perceive to
be intolerant. In that case, no quarter will be given and
toleration vanishes.

But what if Caballero was right when he said, “Error
tolerates, truth condemns.”?
What if Jesus was speaking the truth when He said, “I
am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to
the Father but by me”? Where is your toleration now?

Preachers would do well to heed the words of
Elizabeth Achtemcier: “As preacher, your job is to
preach the text, not apologize for it.” And that goes for
all of us who seek to share the gospel of Christ.

By Mac Deaver Via Bulletin Gold

In Phil. 4:4 Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always:
again I will say, Rejoice.” –But what are some
circumstances that call forth the joy of which Paul
speaks?

We ought to rejoice in our salvation. After the
Ethiopian officer’s conversion, he went on his way
rejoicing (Acts 8:39). After the seventy returned from
their mission, Jesus told them to rejoice that their names
were written in heaven (Lk. 10:20). If one’s sins are
forgiven and his name is written in the Lamb’s book of
life, he certainly ought to rejoice.

We ought to rejoice as we realize that God is in
control of world affairs. Sometimes the catastrophic
events throughout the world cause us all great concern.
But we must not despair, realizing that God is aware of
all, and is in control of all. (Rom. 13:1-4; Isaiah 6:1).
And even if we must suffer for right-doing, there is
occasion for rejoicing (Acts 5:41; 1 Peter 2:20).

We ought to rejoice in the knowledge that all will
work out to the ultimate good of the faithful. “And we
know that to them that love God all things work
together for good, even to them that are called
according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). All things
revolve around the good of the church. Paul also said,
“The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and
will save me unto his heavenly kingdom….” (2 Tim.
4:18)

Indeed, the Christian has every reason to rejoice in
the Lord.

By Larry Pasley Via Bulletin Gold

“Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping
trip. As they lay down for the night, Holmes said,
‘Watson, look up and tell me what you see.’ Watson
said, ‘I see millions and millions of stars.’
Holmes asked, ‘And what does that tell you?’
Watson replied, ‘Astronomically, it tells me that there
are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of
planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and
that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it
tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What does it tell you Holmes?’ Holmes answered
simply, ‘Somebody stole our tent.'””

People are bad about overlooking the obvious in
religion also. The religious world is full of people who
have studied the bible all their life and yet missed key
points in God’s teachings.

Almost every book of the New Testament has
statements that show that the doctrine of “Once Saved
Always Saved” is false and yet many in the religious
world have overlooked the obvious. Heb. 6:4-6

The necessity of baptism in becoming a Christian is
prevalent throughout the New Testament and yet many
still claim that it has nothing to do with salvation. They
are overlooking the obvious. Mk. 16:16


The connection of obedience to our salvation is also
dominant in the scriptures but many still hold to the
doctrine of “Faith Only”, overlooking the obvious. Jas.
2:24

Still others teach as doctrine the traditions and teachings
of men, never recognizing the difference. They overlook
the obvious. Mat. 15:8

May we not fall into the trap of overlooking the obvious
in our desire to live our lives pleasing to God.

Paul Meredith Via Bulletin Gold

Genuine friendship is one of the deepest hungers of
the human heart. We innately seek out friends who
have understanding, love and unwavering loyalty. True
friendship is too rare and too precious to neglect, too
infrequent to forget, and too sacred to carelessly cast
away.

Jeremy Taylor wrote, “By friendship you mean the
greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open
communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest
truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of
minds of which brave men and women are capable.”
The value of friendship is truly tremendous. Euripides
said, “Life has no blessing like a prudent friend.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “Fame is the senseless
sunflower with gaudy crown of gold; but friendship is
the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.”

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and
a brother is born for adversity.” A little later in the book
of Proverbs we see a further parallel between a “friend”
and a “brother”: “There are friends who pretend to be
friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a
brother” (18:24). This dramatic kinship imagery is
employed in order to solicit a stirring of our emotions.
By comparing friendship to the powerful bond of blood
brothers, the intensity of its significance is emphasized.
In other words, God wants us to realize how
tremendously important friendship is in each of us.

Let’s be sure to value our friends and let them know how
much we appreciate them. Also, let’s be sure to be faithful
as friends and companions. John 15:13-15 says, “Greater
love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for
his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I
command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a
servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have
called you friends, for all things that I heard from My
Father I have made known to you.” Are you a friend to
Jesus?

By Dale J. Babinsky Via Bulletin Gold

In December 1799 George Washington passed from
this life. He had been out taking care of his property in
foul weather and had come down with what would
appear to be a cold (sore throat, congestion, etc.). In an
effort to save the former president, his doctors took to
opening veins and “bleeding” him, which was believed
at the time to be the way to get the illness out of his
system. What the doctors of the time failed to realize is
that life is in the blood.

Man cannot sustain his physical life without blood.
This was well known to the Israelites, or should have
been, since God forbade the eating of blood because
“life is in the blood. .” (Leviticus 17:11a NKJV).
Human medicine has come to realize the importance of
blood in sustaining life in the years following
Washington’s death. Now, much can be done with
transfusions to help stabilize patients who have sutured
a loss of blood.

In looking at man’s spiritual life, it can be seen that
our spiritual life is also in the blood. The Scriptures tell
us that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), and that the
wages, the anticipated payment, of sin is spiritual death
(Romans 6:23). We know that this is not in reference to
physical death, for we must all be subject to that unless
the Lord returns first (Hebrews 9:27). In order to have
spiritual life, an eternity in heaven, we must have our
sins covered by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7;
Revelation 1:5).

We make contact with the blood of Christ when we are
buried with Him in the act of baptism (Romans 6:3-4), In
obeying the command of Christ to be baptized (Mark
16:16), we can have our sins washed away (Acts 2:38;
22:16). It is in our obedience to the words of Scripture, that
the blood of Christ is applied to us and we are cleansed
from our sins. Thus, we are able to have spiritual life, Thus,
both our physical life and our spiritual life are in the blood!