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WELCOME To The Vandalia Church of Christ |
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Weekly Bulletin JuLY 27, 2008 |
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Bulletin Article July 6, 2008 |
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Bulletin Article July 13, 2008 |
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The devil hates you and want to destroy you. Before you go any further, please take time to study these verses (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 4:27, 6:11; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8). |
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Desires of the Devil
By Jimmy Young |
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It’s the Set of the Sail that Determines the Course By Mike Sinapiades
“With Prayer at the Prow, the Bible at the Rudder, and Christ at the Helm, our daily Devotional life will help us weather every storm.”
I was brought up in the biblical city of Thessalonica, Greece, the city was built amphitheatrically by the slopes of Mount Chortiates, cradled by the waters of the large gulf in front of her. I was always amazed to see sailing ships moving forward, even thought the winds were actually blowing against them. It took me a number of years to understand the principle that it is the set of the sails that determines the course! Is this not the same principle for the Christian life? Not every day do we have smooth sailing, and neither do all things come upon us in the way we want them to come. Many people often complain, “Life is not fair,” while others contend that life has more sorrow than happiness. Especially is the latter true, since the Word of God points out, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of troubles” (Job 14:1). Amidst the sin and turmoil all around us, how is a Christian to guide his life against the negative “winds”? Please read again carefully the quotation at the beginning of this article. What is the basic message? It is simply this: “…the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). For those who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, these words confirm man’s inability to successfully sail through this life alone. Any person who will start by himself, making the tragic mistake of a self-sustained pilgrimage through the toils and storms of life, will assuredly make a shipwreck. It is a fact of life that storms and toils will come upon us, just as opposing winds often come against the sailing ship. However, this does not hinder the captain of that vessel in its onward progress, because he knows how to set the sails to turn the wind to his own purpose. In the same way, we Christians must learn to set out priorities, our desires, our dreams and aspirations in such a way that the Captain of our “ship”, being greater than ourselves and greater than the contrary and unfavorable conditions of life, will bring us Home safely! The sailing ship, with its sails properly adjusted, goes in the direction the captain desires. Man is a free moral agent, and has the right to select the direction of his life—right or left. But it must be remembered that he is ultimately responsible for his choices, as well as the present and the eternal consequences of those choices. Man should be wise to follow the pointing finger of God: for if he chooses to chart his course alone in this life, he will fail eternally. |
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Thank You Lord!
Dear God;
I want to thank you for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking you right now. I not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it though the day’s difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I am thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven’t given up on me. God is just so good, and he’s good all the time.
~submitted by Bob Shirley, via the internet |
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I question at times if some really believe the devil exists. I fear that many think he is a figment of the imagination, or a figure of speech. Folks, he is not a figment of the mind—he is real! He is the evil one! Satan’s desire is to keep you ignorant of God’s Word. If you aren’t a Christian, he desires to keep you out of the church. The apostle Paul said, “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). Prior to obeying the Gospel, the devil’s desire was fulfilled—Paul was “ignorant” and did bodily harm to the church. But he wasn’t alone. The Athenians were worshipping in ignorance (Acts 17:23). Times haven’t changed; the religious world as a whole is ignorant. Everyone will have to hear, study, and know the truth to obey God (Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 2:15; John 8:32; James 1:22). The fact remains, if Satan can keep one ignorant, he can keep one lost. He knows the importance of the church (Acts 20:28). He knows Christ is the Savior of the body, the church (Ephesians 5:23). He knows if he can keep one out of the church, that person is lost. The Devil desires to get Christians back into the world. Christians know that we are in the world, but not of the world. We are instructed not to love the world (1 John 2:15; James 4:4). It isn’t possible to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Peter gives a horrible picture of those who try. He speaks of the dog and the sow, (2 Peter 2:20-22). Remember the prodigal son in Luke 15? Satan knows we cannot continue in sin (Romans 6:1,2; 12:1,2). He knows if he can get one back into the world and keep him there, then that soul will be lost. Satan desires to render Christians worthless to the Lord and to the church. His focus is on those who are determined to remain faithful. For them his goal is to work in such a way that we will be fruitless and worthless to God (2 Timothy 2:26). Often, lack of involvement and discouragement are the tools he uses. Satan’s advice would go like this: “You’re a member, that’s enough! All you have to do is just live a good moral life. You are too busy to give so much time to the church. You have too many expenses to give more money to the church. Why be concerned about the lost or weak? They have a Bible, and they know were the church meets.” The fact is, all Christians “ought to be teachers” (Hebrews 5:12-14). Do not allow the devil to fulfill his desires. Each Christian must work for the Lord. Each Christian must bear fruit (John 15:2). Christians must remain faithful to God and to His cause (Philippians 2:12). You haven’t allowed Satan to get to you, I hope. If you have, you must repent. You must remain on guard continually. The devil never gives up (1 Peter 5:8). The only way to stay ahead of him and escape him is to be determined to serve God. Always remember this—God loves you (John 3:16), and the devil hates you (1 Peter 5:8). If you disappoint anyone, let it be the devil. |
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Can’t Be Moved? By Danny Boggs
A large rock (an ugly dull orange rock, about a foot in diameter) greeted newlywed Janet Fithiam when she moved to the family farm with her husband. The rock stuck up a couple of inches through the lawn at the corner of the house. “Can’t we dig it out?” she asked after she hit it with the lawn mower, breaking the blade. Her husband and her father-in-law explained that the rock had been there at least since the Civil War, and no one had ever been able to get it out. Later in life, Janet decided to make the lawn more attractive. She made many improvements, but until the sore spot at the southwest corner of the house was healed, the yard would never look nice. So she decided to dig out the rock. She writes, “I braced myself for what was to be a long day, perhaps experienced by generations who had tried to dislodge the rock...but if it took the whole day, that rock was going to come out.” Five minutes later the rock was out. What had seemed immovable was only a foot deep and six inches wider than it looked from the top. She pried it loose with a crowbar and hoisted it into the wheelbarrow. “I was stunned. That rock had persisted beyond living memory. Each family had taken it on faith that the previous generation had tried and failed to remove it.” (“Rock of Ages”, Readers’ Digest, March 1994, pp. 89-90). |
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What if Jesus had assumed that all Pharisees and Sadducees were set in their ways and could never be moved? What if Jesus felt like others did about tax collectors? What if Jesus had let people’s assumptions, such as “no good thing can come out of Nazareth” (John 1:46), prevent His ministry? What if He had ignored those who were not of His own race? What if He had shied away from “unclean” people? What if He had condemned adulterers without offering them the possibility of forgiveness? Yet, how often are Christians today like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and don’t want to associate with—or teach—such sinners? Had Jesus presented His Good News only to people who had much in common with Him, there really would be no Gospel message. We should honestly yearn for the day when we can say that many more Christians in our midst were sexually immoral, idolaters, drunkards, slanderers, and swindlers, but have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:9-11). We don’t know how our friends, neighbors, and loved ones will respond to the Gospel the first time or the next time that they hear it. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58).
People may not be as immovable as you think. |
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Bulletin Article July 20, 2008 |