What must I do to be saved?

Melissa was in a panic as she drove home with her six-year-old son. Her husband had just phoned to tell her that Gertie, the family’s beloved dog, had slipped out of her collar during their walk to chase after a cat. He’d looked everywhere. “Well, God only knows where she is,” she’d told her husband. As she drove through the neighborhood searching for the dog, Melissa wondered, “How will we ever find her. She’s off the only path she knows. Gertie could be anywhere by now.” From the back seat Max, her six-year-old son, piped up, “Why don’t you ask God?” Melissa said, “What did you say, honey?” Max replied, “You said only God knows, so why don’t you ask Him?” Melissa chuckled and said a silent prayer. When she turned the next corner, there was Gertie barking up a tree at the neighbor’s cat. Source: magazine “Bits and Pieces,” September 2005, p 4)

Only God knows. Humans figured out how to travel to the Moon and are now aiming for Mars. We’ve figured out how our heart and lungs work. We can transplant kidneys and replace knees and hips. And though we haven’t learned everything about the pyramids, we’ve discovered some of their secrets. All that being said, the fact is there are many things that remain mysteries to the human mind. For instance, I didn’t know until recently researching for this little article that scientists still don’t know why people yawn! We do all the time, and my “non-educated-on the-matter” brain would explain simply that we yawn when we get sleepy. Yeah, that’s it, right?! Sounds good, but that’s when we yawn, and doesn’t provide a single clue as to why we yawn. Many people who aren’t sleepy begin to yawn when they see other people yawn. Wow, yawns are contagious, at least sort of! Scientists have theories, but they really don’t know why. Another unexplained thing — do you know why cats purr? In an article entitled “9 Phenomena That Science Still Can’t Explain” (website sciencealert.com), Allie Lembo said, Scientists understand how cats purr, but they’re still not sure why.” Theories abound, but experts agree there is no definite explanation. Space forbids more examples.

Christians understand there are things only God knows. There are “secret things that belong to the Lord our God” but also “things that are revealed to us” which Moses declared 3,500 ago are given so that “we may do all the words of this law” (that is, God’s Word – Deuteronomy 29:29). Solomon said 3,000 years ago, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). Scripture declares God is all-knowing, that is He is “omniscient.” He knows everything about every person in every place and time, including you and me — even our “thought from afar off” (Psalm 139:2). God “counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:4-5). He knows how many individual hairs are on every head, and not even a single sparrow falls to the ground without His notice (Matthew 10:29-20). His wisdom and ways and knowledge in working out the scheme of redemption through Christ over the centuries is described in Romans 11:33 as “unsearchable and past finding out” (Romans 11:33).  There is much speculation about the day and hour Christ will return, but not even the angels in heaven know. Only God knows. There are many things we just don’t know and never will. But, praise God, “God knows all things” (1 John 3:20). Even Google can’t say that.

by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

As Samuel prepared a sacrifice in Bethlehem, he invited Jesse and his eight sons. He knew that one of these boys would become the next king of Israel. As they entered the place of sacrifice the old prophet’s eyes were drawn to a tall handsome young man named Eliab.  “Surely this is the one” he thought. But then the Lord spoke, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sa. 16:7). The youngest son David, out watching the sheep, would become God’s anointed.

Our physical appearance means nothing to God. In American culture it means everything! We seek stylish clothing, name brand shoes, the latest in jeans, beautiful jewelry, good make up, sweet smelling cologne, white teeth and shiny hair. Even our most casual look must be “spot on” in appearance. And God looks right through it all into our hearts!

As we examine our own lives, let us look past our closets, through our mirrors and purify our hearts (Jms.4:8). Stop and think of the person God is looking at.  As we judge our neighbors, our brethren, and our church visitors, let us focus on their heart and soul,  and not their appearance!

-Dennis Doughty

I can think of no other single word that comes anywhere close to what our Lord endured in the Garden than the word ‘agony.’ When Jesus went into the Garden, He “began to be sorrowful and very heavy” (Matt. 26:37).  Our Lord was “deeply distressed” and said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matt. 26:38). Luke tells us that Jesus was in “agony” as He prayed to the Father (Luke 22:44).

This word ‘agony’ is derived from the Greek which refers to a  contest. The root idea is the struggle and pain of the severest athletic contest or conflict. In many cases the athletic competition in the Roman theaters boiled down to a contest between life and death. All that is suggested by the exhausting struggles and sufferings of the Grecian and Roman gladiators in the amphitheaters is summed up in the pain and death-struggle of this solitary word “agony.”

Luke tells us that when our Lord prayed to the Father sweat fell from His brow like great drops of blood. The sweat that poured from the head of our Lord was not the natural sweat that is produced from physical toil. Nor was His the sweat which runs down the face of a man walking in the sun, or toiling in the fields, or even a raging fever. It was not the physical walk from the upper room to the garden, but the emotional struggle within the heart of our Savior that produced the Lord’s agony.

The blood which He had promised to shed for man was shed first on the grass of the garden of Gethsemane. Great drops of blood mixed with sweat fell on the earth as a first offering of His conquered flesh. It was the beginning of liberation, almost a relief to that humanity which was the greatest burden of His expiation. Then from His lips wet with tears, wet with sweat, wet with blood, arose a new prayer: “Oh my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Not my will, but thine, be done” (Crawford, p. 89)

What was it that drove our Lord to enter the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His crucifixion? Why even leave that upper room to make the journey across the Kidron to some point on the Mount of Olives? Why not just wait in the upper room? Surely Judas could have easily led the soldiers to the room as to the garden. Yet, it was to the garden that He went. I ask again, why? Consider the following.

He went for solitude. He needed to be alone with the Father. Upon His arrival at the Garden our Lord allowed only three to enter with Him into that place of prayer (Matt. 26:37). Even those three were not allowed to go with Him to that inner Garden where our Lord would be alone with His Father. Leaving Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, our Lord went “further” (Matt. 26:39), “about a stone’s cast” (Luke 22:41), where He “fell on His face, and prayed” (Matt. 26:39). Thomas Edison is credited with having said, “The best thinking has been done in solitude.” It is in solitude that we sometimes find the answers to life’s greatest questions.

He went for solace. He needed to be comforted in this His time of distress and sadness. Witness the human side of our Lord. He was about to drink the “cup” that had been given to Him by the Father, a cup that contained an admixture of ingredients. He had been rejected by His own people. He had been betrayed by one of His own disciples. He would soon be denied by another. Those in authority were rapidly carrying out their treacherous scheme to murder the Messiah. Many of His disciples had turned back to walk with Him no more (John 6:66). The cross lay before Him. Yes, the cross! He was fully aware of the ignominious and excruciatingly painful death that He was about to face.

He went for sin. Not His. “For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Not one time did our Savior even hint that He needed forgiveness. David prayed often that he might be forgiven. Not so with He Who is the Son of David. It was the weight of the sin of humanity that produced the greatest burden for our Lord. I do not know who wrote the following, but it certainly captures the essence of this one single ingredient in the cup our Lord was about to drink:

Here was incarnate God, the God-Man, submitting Himself to the punishment of sin, tasting death for every man, bearing in His own Person the inexpressible bitterness of this penal humiliation. Added to all this was the incalculable fact that the Lord had laid on Him the iniquity of us all. The burden of the sins of wicked mankind He bore on His sacred shoulders on our behalf. What this involved, we cannot tell: but to a being perfectly pure and holy it must have been anguish unspeakable (Crawford, 89).

He went for strength. There were two moments in the ministry of our Lord when it is said that angels ministered to Him. The first was at the beginning of His ministry when He was tempted by the devil. “Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered to him” (Matt. 4:11). The second was in the Garden where Luke tells us that “there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him” (Luke 22:43). What a paradox. The Holy One of God, possessing all the attributes of deity, being Himself omnipotent, yet seeking strength and in need of the assistance of angels. It was not spiritual strength He needed. On both occasions our Lord’s body was in need of strength. The first was from lack of food. Now we see Him physically exhausted from three plus years of strenuous labor for the souls of men, praying with such intensity that great drops of blood fell from His head (Luke 22:44).

He went for salvation. “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). Yes, our Savior went to the Garden for our salvation. Those words do not speak of our salvation from sin, but His salvation from the cross. He had no need to be saved spiritually, for He was sinless. From His human perspective, He did not want to drink this bitter cup. Yet, it was here, in the Garden, on His knees, that our Savior won the victory. Is it possible that our Lord’s greatest temptation was in the Garden? Was He about to call it quits? His whole life was acquainted with suffering. The actuality of suffering was no secret from Him. He knew, in advance, what would be the agony of head, of hands, of feet, and of heart, and His whole being craved for deliverance. He was not tempted in the Garden as greatly as in the wilderness, for indeed He was, as much, or more so. “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42) were the words that gave Him the victory over whatever temptation He might have faced in the Garden. He gave up His salvation so that we might obtain ours.

By Tom Wacaster

Pardoned from a Death Sentence

1. Paul showed all under a death sentence.
2.     Romans 3:10 “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous,
3.     Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the
4.     Romans 6:20-21
5.     Romans 6:23

1. All grounds for a death sentence are removed in Christ.
2.     Romans 8:1
3.     Romans 6:3-4
4.     Romans 6:5-6
5.     Romans 6:7-11

III. Freed from law to serve under law.

1.     Romans 8:2
2.     A law (rule of action) delivered by the Spirit
3. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 “Now we have received, not

the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from

God, that we might know the things that have been

freely given to us by God. These things we also

speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches

but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing

spiritual things with spiritual.”

2. John 16:12-13
3. Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so
4. 1 Corinthians 9:21 “to those who are without law,

as without law (not being without law toward God,

but under law toward Christ), that I might win those

who are without law”

1. Jesus sentenced sin to death.
2.     Romans 8:3a
3.     Romans 8:4
4.     Romans 8:3b “condemned” – “refers both to the

pronouncement of judgment and the carrying out of

the sentence” (Rienecker 365)

1. Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who

cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was

in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

2. 1 Peter 2:22-24
3.     Colossians 2:11-15

1. Freed to live for the Spirit, not the flesh.
2.     Romans 8:5-6
3.     Romans 8:7-9
4.     Romans 8:10-11
5.     Colossians 3:5-7

1. Freed to receive an inheritance.
2.     Romans 8:12-13a
3.     Romans 8:13b
4.     Romans 8:15-17
5.     2 Timothy 4:6-8 “For I am already being poured out

God Unseen, But Still Working

1. Christians suffer here.
2.     Romans 8:18a Christians suffer now
3. 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 “so that we ourselves boast

of you among the churches of God for your

patience and faith in all your persecutions and

tribulations that you endure, which is manifest

evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you

may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for

which you also suffer”

2. 1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not think it strange

concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as

though some strange thing happened to you; but

rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s

sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may

also be glad with exceeding joy.”

1.     Romans 8:18b But glory is coming
2. 2 Corinthians 4:17
3. 2 Timothy 2:12a “If we endure, We shall also reign

with Him.”

1. Christians groan in hope.
2.     Romans 8:19-22 “The earth and perhaps the universe

are portrayed as almost possessing human

emotions….It realizes that the perfection that once

existed has been lost, and it is looking forward to the

time when the perfect balance that once existed will

return” (Brad Price Living by Faith 178)

1.     Romans 8:23
2. “first fruits” – “a foretaste of what heaven will be

like” (Price)

2. “of the Spirit” (Eph. 1:14 “Who is the guarantee of

our inheritance until the redemption of the

purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”)

3. “wait eagerly”
4. “adoption” – “means we receive the full ‘enjoyment

of the Fatherhood of God

1.     Romans 8:24-25
2. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
3. Hebrews 6:18-20

III. Christians pray to God unseen but still working.

1.     Romans 8:26 “We have difficulty in identifying our

needs, even in prayer. Thus, the Spirit makes

intercession for us to compensate for our unutterable

groaning” (Jackson 280)

1. “helps” – “coming to someone’s aid”
2. “intercession” – plead, intercede”
3.     Romans 8:27 The Father knows the Spirit’s mind
4.     Romans 8:28
5. Genesis 45:7-8
6. Genesis 50:20
7. Daniel 6:22
8.     Romans 8:29-30 Ultimate purpose is glorification
9. God glorified those he justified – Romans 5:9
10. God called them to be justified by the gospel – 2

Thessalonians 2:14

3. God foreordained those who would answer his call

(note vs. 28)

4. Unseen but working for us before time began –

Revelation 13:8

Gary Hampton

If you ever needed an example of what it looks like to maintain Christian commitment and focus, Paul certainly fits the bill. In the face of adversity, Paul said, “but none of these things move me” (Acts 20:24a). More on that later. For now, think about how often things happen that make you second-guess your commitment. Think about times when you have felt like throwing your hands in the air and saying, “that’s enough, I quit!” Have you been there? Paul certainly had, but he was not willing to surrender to potential discouragements. Past, present, or future, Paul was not moved from his Christian foundation. It will do us good to reflect on what that looked like in Paul’s life.

Paul’s past was not one that he celebrated. Some would consider Paul’s past accomplishments worthy of commendation. On the contrary, Paul saw it as a negative. When his accomplishments in the Jewish religion were weighed in the balance with his becoming a Christian, the former things were as rubbish (Phil. 3:8). His former life involved beliefs and actions for which a person could rightly feel ashamed and unworthy of forgiveness. Paul did many things contrary to the cause of Christ and was responsible for injuring Christians. He consented to the murder of Stephen (Acts 8), He made havoc of the church and made murderous threats against Christians (Acts 9), and he forced Christians to blaspheme the Lord (Acts 26). With that kind of past, how could he even move on as if that did not happen? Paul was determined to allow the grace and mercy of God to address his past. A history riddled with that kind of regrettable behavior is enough to defeat anyone, but Paul was not going to let that move Him away from the forgiveness that Christ offers to all, regardless of their past (Hebrews 8:12 – stop and read it).

Paul’s present was no easy street. After his conversion, his heart was on fire with the force of a rocket blast to preach the Gospel to the lost (2 Cor. 5:14; Rom. 1:16-17). Yet throughout his ministry, he faced adversity and disappointments. In 2 Corinthians 11:23- 28, he recounts imprisonments, beatings, and a variety of other dangers that would have been enough to send most Christians retreating back into the world to avoid the persecution. Paul did not allow viciousness, cowardice, and unfaithfulness on the part of some to weaken his resolve. Paul, much like Joshua, was determined to serve the Lord, regardless of what other’s chose to do (Josh. 24:15). He confronted a fellow apostle who was embracing error (Gal. 2:11). He challenged elders who were apparently on the threshold of unfaithfulness (Acts 20:30). Similar disappointments have been plenty enough to send preachers back into secular work. I am both impressed with and encouraged by Paul because he embraced an attitude of faithful commitment that would not allow him to be moved from his faithfulness, regardless.

Paul’s future looked very grim. In Acts 20, Paul recounts that the Holy Spirit had made it clear in every city that chains awaited Paul in Jerusalem. We know now that Paul was within a few years of the end of his life. As Paul stood before those elders from Ephesus and appealed to them for their faithful commitment to Christ and His church, Paul was peering into his future which was being made clear by divine revelation. I can only imagine the emotion. Did he have intrusive thoughts about the benefits of laying down his cause to preserve his life and ease his hurt? Most of us would have, and many have accepted that alternative. Yet, the power in Paul’s example is that he said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy…” What a wonderful personal mission statement. Perhaps, if we would adopt the same motto and learn to say that, we will be more inclined to live it when people disappoint and being a Christian gets difficult.

– Joey Davis

By definition, the word “delight” means “to have a high degree of gratification, joy, and extreme satisfaction. Something that gives great pleasure.” I believe it is true that the character of a man can be measured by the things in which he delights.

The Bible records for us the delights of several biblical characters and God, Himself. For instance:

• It was said that Jehoshapat delighted in the ways of the Lord (2 Chronicles 17:6).
• The people in the days of Nehemiah delighted in the great goodness of God (Nehemiah 9:25).
• Job delighted in God (Job 22:26).
• The upright man delights in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:2).
• Godly men delight in peace (Psalm 37:11).
• God delights in man (Psalm 16:3) and He also delights in extending mercy unto man (Micah 7:18).

There is also the other side of this picture. Not everyone delights in what is good and pleasing to God. The Bible tells us that

• the wicked delight in lies (Psalm 62:4),
• war (Psalm 68:30),
• scorning (Proverbs 1:20),
• perversity (Proverbs 2:14),
• and abominations (Isaiah 66:3).

Do you see how one’s delights can easily reveal the true character of a man? There is quite a contrast between the delights of a righteous man and the delights of an unrighteous man.

Let me ask you – in what do you delight more?

• Discovering the sins of another person or helping to cover the sins of another person?
• A good church fuss, or a church existing in peace?
• Giving a person just what they deserve or being gracious and merciful?
• Worshiping and studying with the saints or watching television?

Take a good look at the things in which you delight, and while you’re looking, take a look at your character as well. You see, your delights and your character travel together, and when you see one, you will most certainly see the other.

by Steve Higginbotham

So read, I am told, a tee-shirt worn in public by a mature (age wise) man. As strange as it may seem to some who know me, I am in complete agreement with what is actually said on the shirt. The statement is true, and I can prove it by turning to God’s word. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s love for the world (i.e., people living in the world) is all encompassing and excludes no one. This beautiful passage does not say, nor even imply, that God loves the righteous and those who obey Him, to the exclusion of others. Well, so much for what the shirt says.

What is not said, but what the wearer wanted people to believe, is “I’m gay and God approves of my lifestyle.” What is actually said and what is implied are worlds apart. God’s love (Gr., agapao) has naught to do with whether or not He approves of the actions (lifestyle) of the individual. The following statements (patterned after the statement on the shirt) would be just as true (concerning the love of God): “I’m a mass murderer and God loves me.” “I’m a pedophile and God loves me.” “I’m a rapist and God loves me.” I’m a thief and God loves me.” “I’m an adulterer/adulteress and God loves me.” “I’m a liar and God loves me.” “I have sexual relations with a goat and God loves me.” God loves each of these (and all of us who have been guilty of other sins) with a love so strong that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the penalty for their (our) sins by dying on the cross. God’s Son died on Golgotha that you, the shirt wearer, and I might be saved from our sins (from the eternal penalty of our sins), but certainly not in (while embracing and living in) our sins.

The shirt wearer has evidently made the stupid mistake of implying/thinking/believing that God’s love equals God’s approval and/or that God’s love (Gr., agapao) equals salvation. He certainly was not the first to make this mindless mistake (assumption), and will undoubtedly not be the last. “For God so loved the world . . .” but the truth is that the majority of God’s creation will not be allowed in heaven, but will be in eternal torment. “Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it”(Matthew 7:13-14). It is the many versus the few.  No, I do not know the exact number that constitutes many nor how small the number must be to be but few, but I do understand the point being made. In the flood there were only eight who were saved (see Genesis 6-7, noting especially 7:13). In the destruction of Sodom there were, in the final outcome, only three (see Genesis 19, noting verses 15 and 26) that were not consumed in the flames or turned into a pillar of salt.

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion” (Leviticus 18:22-23).   “And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13).

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due” (Romans 1:26-27).  Do I hate the ones who do such things?  No!  No!  A thousand times No!

I do not hate the murderer, rapist, pedophile, thief, liar, adulteress, nor the homosexual. Their actions are the subject of hatred, but not the individual. I would that they would come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that the Bible really means what it says (Mark 16:16), repent of their sins (Acts 17:30), confess their faith in Christ (Matthew 10:32) and be baptized in order to the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Then I, along with thousands of my brothers and sisters in Christ, would welcome them. This is not hatred, this is love!

– by Bill Beasley

INTRODUCTION:

At the Yalta Conference in 1945, Winston Churchill asked Joseph Stalin to respect the religious freedoms of Eastern Europeans, to which Stalin, who was an atheist, famously replied: “How many [military] divisions does the Pope have?”

Joseph Stalin illustrates a man who does not respect the power of God… He was not the first man, nor will he be the last.

Christians, however, sometimes doubt the power of God; we do not trust what is not seen. In 2 Kings 6, Ben-hadad is the King of Aram, also known as Syria. He perceived that the prophet Elisha was a threat, but he also thought he could silence the prophet of God. His delusion is comical, but also deep in his heart.

GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS HAD ENEMIES – 6:8-14:

Please observe that the “man of God,” the servant of God with the word of God in his heart was the defense of Israel against Syria!

From the first time Jesus mentions the word “enemies” in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:43, the NT uses the word 32 times. Some people might be my enemy because I have done something against them. Or, they might be my enemy because I am a servant of Christ. Paul spoke of “enemies of the cross of Christ” in Philippians 3:18.

Of course, you and I know that the being behind all “enmity” is Satan himself. The clearest text on the warfare in which Christians are engaged is Ephesians 6:10-20. But it is a spiritual battle (2 Cor. 10:3-4).

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE THE SAME STRENGTH OF FAITH – 6:15-16:

Not everyone has the same strength of faith. Even some who have been Christians for many years still have trouble trusting God with certain aspects of their lives. All the apostles did not get out of the boat and walk on water in Matthew 14:28-33. We critique Peter because he took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink in the water. But at least he trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat to begin with!

Having a weak faith should not be “normal” for Christians. It happens from time to time, we do doubt. But that doubt should send us back to the Lord Jesus Christ in Bible study, meditation on the words of God, and prayer, as well as fellowship with fellow Christians and worship. That’s what God designed to strengthen our faith. So if our faith gets tested or becomes weak, we don’t panic!

Elisha tells his servant: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” God has a host of angels at His disposal, whom He has serve Christians in ways that we do not know and will never know. Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are “ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). God has a host of them.

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS OF HIS CHILDREN – 6:17-19:

Elisha was the man who had a strong faith; his servant had a weak faith. Elisha prayed and asked God to show the servant why he ought to have a strong faith.

God responds to the prayers of His children. There are dozens of verses that show that God responds to man’s prayers. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES – 6:20-23:

Elisha’s response to the POWs was, you might say, an evangelistic one. That is, his belief probably was that if he was nice to them, they would stop fighting against Israel. And it worked.

If we do things God’s way, we’ll receive the blessings God promises for us!

Faith is seeing spiritually (Heb. 11:1) the horses and chariots of fire in the mountains even when you can’t see them physically. We need to keep in mind that our country does not control the church of Christ. God does.

Christ’s disciples will have enemies, and this will affect some Christians more than others. But Christ answers His people’s prayers and wants us to love our enemies.

Paul Holland

In as much as it is my birthday soon, I would like to think about birthdays. Birthdays are significant. What are your thoughts when you realize you are aging and turning a new page? What are your dreams and goals?

It’s your birthday whenever it is. What do you do on your birthday? Do you evaluate? Think about your past? Think about where you are? Think about your spiritual life? Are you on the right path to follow Jesus? Are you happy with your progress? Is your family on board?

The day of our birth, someone has said, is a time God has decided to send you into the world and the world could not wait for you any longer so make your difference.

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. Ecc 7:1

Birthdays in the Bible

Jesus: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Matt 1:18

Job: “ Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. ” Job 3:16  Job’s sons celebrated their birthdays, Job 1:4-5

Pharoah: “And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday…” Gen 40:20

Herod, “…Herod on his birthday made a supper…” Mark 6:21

Happy birthday to to you whenever it is! –Ivy Conner