Proverbs are wise sayings passed down in various cultures of the world. There are old Chinese proverbs, American proverbs, etc.; and then there are biblical proverbs, most notably the proverbs of Solomon.

Jesus spoke a parable against the Jewish nation of his day: “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none:

Daniel was a teen-ager when Nebuchadnezzar invaded his homeland and carried him to Babylon. This was just the beginning of Babylon's captivity and ravaging of the Jewish nation. A few years later, a second wave of captives were carried away, Ezekiel being among them. Shortly after that, the final assault was made and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was virtually complete.

One does not have to be very astute to figure out that modern “Christianity” is geared to the “here and now” rather than the “hereafter.” As modern “Christian theologians,” since the nineteenth century, have either expressed doubt or have out right denied the reality of the resurrection and an afterlife, there has been a marked change in many professed Christians’ ...

The end for which a Christian should conduct his life is to live with God eternally. If we are not careful, we may focus so much on the means that we forget the end. Paul tells us how to live in this present world: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us ...

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Italics mine - eob)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4 KJV)

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:8-9) For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf:... (Romans 16:19)

One of the symptoms of our hedonistic society is that people seek to avoid anything that is not “fun.” Persecution is no fun, so people avoid standing for any principles of truth that might result in it. Hardship is no fun, so people avoid pursuing any cause that might cause them to suffer hardship for the greater good – in fact, to the hedonist, fun is the greater good.

The first epistle of Peter was written to strengthen Christians during a time of extraordinary persecution that was going to get worse. Such times are trying times for the faithful. The pressure to find relief is tremendous. Under such pressure there is the ever present temptation to either retaliate or capitulate. In chapter two, Peter seeks to fortify them against either of these reactions. To fortify his readers against

“Preach the man, and not the plan.” “Spiritual transformation comes from not looking at the rule, but looking at the ruler.” “You’re too busy looking at the Bible, rather than looking at the GOD of the Bible.” What do all these catchphrases have in common? They are all phrases that we have either heard or read that proclaim the same basic message. Various versions of the first we have heard all of our lives from..

If the only Bible we had were the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament, then most of us would be in dire straits when it comes to reading and understanding the Scriptures. We must rely on translations into our own language. But all English translations are not equal. The last fifty years has brought us a flood of English translations – each claiming to be better and easier to read by their publishers

Those who have read this paper and others for which I have written know that I have not hesitated to point out things that I believe harmful to the Lord’s cause. There are a lot of discouraging things going on among brethren – even among some with whom I have had close association. It seems that with each passing year new issues come to the front. Regularly I receive discouraging news about some brother in whom I have had the utmost of confidence.

What Christian is not thrilled when he reads of the rapid numerical growth of the church in the first century? About three thousand added on the first day (Acts 2:41). This was followed by daily additions to the number (Acts 2:47). Shortly, the number had increased to five thousand men (Acts 4:4). This number did not include the women, so we do not know the total number at this time.

“Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:19 NKJV) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV)

Good brethren can be a source of joy, encouragement, and wholesome pride. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 1:3-4): “ We are bound to thank God always for you, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 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...” (All emphasis nine, EOB)

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound; That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see. According to Wikipedia, “‘Amazing Grace’ is a Christian hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779.

“Fellowship” and “friendship” are not synonyms. We have a hard time understanding this. We find it hard to deny the “right hand of fellowship” to friends, regardless of the their spiritual condition. A few find it hard to work in true partnership (fellowship) with any other than close friends. When a brother says he can not fellowship a brother, then too many of us automatically assume that he is no longer friendly toward that brother. Such need not be so.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 KJV)

“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air” (1 Cor. 14:8-9). If the specially endowed Spirit-gifted Christians needed to go out of their way to make their message clear, should not all the rest of us strive diligently to that end?

There is widespread concern about the political and moral direction of our country. This concern is shared by people affiliated with religious groups of various religious persuasions. The mainstream media usually lumps all these groups together under one heading – “the religious right.” I share the concerns of the “religious right” on political and moral matters and often voice that concern to anyone who will give me an ear.

• How people can who claim that Christ is their everything can complain if an entire worship assembly lasts more than an hour, but can sit out from two to four hours at sporting events and leave with a smile. • How the hand-holding-touchy-feely approach to worship enhances one’s devotion to God or contributes to edifying the assembly.

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not loose heart.” – Galatians 6:9 (NKJV). Someone has said, “The American prayer is: ‘Lord, give me patience and give it to me right now’”. We want results right now, rather than in due season. We want our problems solved immediately, if not before

In recent years, there has been a lot of writing about "the dumbing down of America." It is indicative of the concern that many have about our educational system and the quality of information disseminated by the mainstream media. While this concerns this writer, he is far more concerned with the dumbing down of the church - especially in doctrinal matters....

“For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.”(Acts 20:16). Most of us, living as we do in a fast-paced society, can relate to Paul’s being in a hurry to get to some place. There seems to be that ever lengthening to-do list along with the ever shrinking number of time slots into which we can fit things.

Since the church is to “edify itself in love” by “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15-16), most Christians recognize that a congregation has a scriptural right to conduct special meetings for the edification of its members. Sometimes these are traditional “gospel meetings” that often address the needs of saints and sinners – but sometimes only the needs of saints.Sometimes they are special different speaker “lectureships” with multiple sessions daily, for a day or more, on themes aimed at edifying the local church as a whole.

In an article on Fox news.com titled, “Young People Less Tied to Organized Religion, Poll Finds,” Lauren Green, Fox religion correspondent, cites a study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion that shows that the people born after 1980 were less tied to organize religion than the previous generations. However, the poll showed that this does not mean that these young people are necessarily less religious than their parents and grandparents. .

Members of the churches of Christ today generally recognize that they are beneficiaries of “the restoration movement” that began in this country in the late 1700's. While we recognize that our faith and practice must not be rooted in that movement, but in the New Testament, we are grateful to those involved in the movement that encouraged men and women to go back of human traditions and creeds to the “apostles’ doctrine” for their faith and practice.

“An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?” – Jeremiah 5:30,31 NKJ God’s people were on the brink of a “great destruction” from the north (6:1) brought upon them because of their spiritual decay. God, being a righteous God, said, “Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?” (5:29).

Christians are to walk in the light even as their Lord is in the light. (1 John 1:7). Thus their lives are to be spent in practicing and promoting good, while refraining from and denouncing evil. They are called upon to abhor evil , (Romans 12:9) and to abstain from “every form” of it (1 Thessalonians 5:22 NKJ). Evil comes in many forms, some are very subtle, others are more blatant. As a Christian, one wants to please the Lord and keep his conduct above reproach.

These are troubling times in America for Christians. As we watch developments in Washington we cannot help but to fear that some of the basic rights that we have enjoyed since the establishment of this republic may soon be taken away from us. The freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the freedom of assembly, the right to privacy, and other basic rights are under attack by the far left wing of American politics.

Paul references Isaiah in declaring that the feet of those that preach the gospel are beautiful (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7). I know of no higher calling for a young man to pursue than that of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. While all Christians should preach the gospel commensurate with their abilities and opportunities, there is a dire need for young men who are willing to fully devote their time and energy to preaching.

The present land of Israel was carved out for the Jews in 1948. Since then, Jews from around the world have migrated to that land. Several wars have been fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors over the years. The Israeli-Arab problem continues to dominate the politics of the Middle East until this present day. The region continues to be a powder keg capable of escalating into full-scale warfare at any time.

God made man a dual being with body and spirit and gave him dual responsibilities. In addition to worshiping the Eternal God, his Creator, he was to “dress and keep” the garden, his earthly home and have dominion over the rest of God’s earthly creatures (Gen. 1:26-30; 2:15). While the earth is the Lord’s and all things therein, there are certain things that are “holy unto the LORD.” (Cf. Lev. 27:28, 30, 32).

After several years of observing successful grippers, I have concluded that maybe I am qualified to offer some tips to those who might want to succeed In the art of griping. Here are some proven hints that I have collected (having learned them purely from observation of course) which should make you the most successful gripper in your congregation 1. Learn as little as you can about the Bible. This will help you not to get too disturbed about such passages as: “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” (I Cor. 10:10). :

We usually sit up and take note when a congregation reports a sharp increase in her attendance. There is something about it that we ordinarily like to hear. What does a sudden up-swing in attendance mean? It can mean that: ♦ There has been an increased effort of the members to get people interested in attending the services of the church.

The Christian’s faith is too precious to be either destroyed or misdirected. Without it, it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6). We must keep it and try to pass it on to our children (2 Tim. 1:5). Satan, through his agents, works day and night to weaken and destroy it. He abuses various legitimate disciplines of thought — science, philosophy, education and even religion — to try to undermine our confidence in the word of God, the source of our faith.

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the year 1914 A. D. in the thinking of a Jehovah's Witness. To him it is by far the most important year of all years. It is the year around which his entire life and religion revolves. Take away the significance of of 1914 and you take away his reason for being a Witness. In a word, the Jehovah's Witnesses Movement stands or falls with the significance of 1914 A. D.

Ever since God has had a chosen people, they have sought out ways to magnify themselves - their importance, their wisdom, their strength - rather than magnifying the importance, wisdom, and strength of their God. The Israelites were God's first chosen people, that is to say the first people set apart from all others to be God's own peculiar people. "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God...

Among the ungodly attitudes of the pagan world, described in the first chapter of Romans, was that of being despiteful (KJV) or insolent (ASV, NIV) (verse 30). It is translated from hubristes, which according to Thayer means "1) an insolent man 2) one who, uplifted with pride, either heaps insulting language upon others or does them some shameful act of wrong". To be insolent is to be "disrespectful of custom or established authority; impertinent, impudent."

The pregnancy of recent vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s teen daughter Bristol has drawn much attention from the news media. From all reports, the Palins are handling the matter about as well as any family could, given their difficult circumstances. It is admirable that the young lady and her parents did not opt for an abortion as many would have in their shoes in our society. The parents did about the only thing parents can do when faced with this problem.

"You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Gal. 5:7). These words, addressed to the churches of Galatia (1:2), suggest the ease with which good churches can be hindered. In chapter 1, Paul expressed his surprise, not just that they were turned away, but that it happened so soon. "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ…" (1:6).

Paul wrote, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10). There is a mystery that has puzzled me for a long time. Why is it that people are content with weakness in religion, more than in any other field of endeavor?. They seem to want to learn as much as possible in order to succeed in their secular pursuits, but not as Christians. Many will spend all they can afford to become stronger in their career, sport or hobby.

Conscientious Christians are in a quandary about what to do with a government that is increasingly becoming out of touch with the traditional values upon which America was founded. Many are wondering, what they can do to change the trend away from “Judeo-Christian values” toward humanism. They are also wondering if they should honor such a government by submitting and paying taxes to it.

The right to grow in the faith is a fundamental right that God has given the Christian. I believe that the fourteenth chapter of Romans and the first few verses of the fifteenth chapter are designed to protect and enhance that right. This section of Romans has received a lot of attention among brethren recently. Some think too much, others think not enough.

Many religious people have a one-eyed approach to religion. They can only fully see one or the other side of a two-sided proposition. One needs to open both eyes so he can bring both sides into focus into one big picture. There are several areas where we need to keep both eyes wide open. The Goodness and Severity of God .

Brother Robert Turner, when asked by a good friend to critique his preaching, was reported to have replied, “Did you ever notice how few adjectives the Lord used in the Sermon on The Mount?” I suspect that all of us at times may find ourselves overly enhancing our preaching and worship rather than just keeping it simple. We justify it by telling ourselves that we do it to make the sermon or some other act of worship more impressive and meaningful to those in attendance.

The etymology of our English word, church, is not at all clear. When one consults linguistic sources he finds several suggestions as to how the word may have evolved into our language. The most common theory is that it came into English from an adaptation of one or more of the European languages’ adaptation of the Greek word, kyriakon, meaning “of or belonging to the Lord.” For example, the German word is kirche.

I have a sermon titled “Crises in the Jerusalem Church” that I preach from time to time. It is based on notes that I took on a sermon I heard brother Clinton Hamilton preach many years ago. It points to several crises faced by the first congregation of Christians ever. The purpose of that sermon is threefold: 1) to show that even the Lord’s church under the personal guidance of the apostles had problems and 2) churches of Christ in every generation have had problems to solve and overcome and 3)

It would be extremely difficult to over emphasize the essentiality of doing God’s will. Jesus, himself, declared that he “came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38); and that only those who do “the will of my Father” will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21). Before one can do God’s will, he must first ascertain what it is.

There are basically two kinds of lawful action under any system of law – requirements and rights. Divine law is no different. When something is required, we have no choice but to do it, regardless of the consequences. For example, meeting together for worship is demanded by the Scriptures, along with the items of worship. We have no choice but to do them if we are to please the Lord.

Psalms 65 and 66 are songs of praise. They were likely composed at the same time – likely at the end of the year (see 65: 11). Both call upon Israel to praise God for his goodness toward them. Just as Israel had so much to praise God for, so do we. We individually and collectively as the children of God in this country have so many reasons to praise God for his blessings. Let’s examine what the psalmist himself had in mind in these two psalms.

One does not have to be very astute, to understand that longsuffering is not the present-day American’s long suit. We just do not like to wait. At the restaurant, we want instant service. At the doctors office, we expect instant cures. If we have a problem, we expect an instant solution. If we go to war, we expect instant victory. Generally, we do not like to hear “it takes time.” This propensity for instant results may have spilled over into our handling of problems in the church.

It is hard for a poor youngster to not be envious of the community drug dealer riding the streets in his Town Car or Cadillac. It is hard for a hardworking man to not be envious of his neighbor who, although known for his questionable business practices, lives the life-style befitting the “rich and famous.” It is hard for young Christians to not be envious of their more popular peers, who may not be constrained by the moral strictness that should govern a Christian’s behavior.

Modern society is plagued by a lack of respect for authority. No civilized society can last under those circumstances. Sooner or later, chaos will prevail. God, in his wisdom, has formed society into under and over relationships. In the New Testament, the apostles and other writers made clear that Christians are to respect these relationships.

The word “brotherhood” here is translated from adelphotes. It appears only twice in the New Testament, both times in First Peter (2:17; 5:9). The King James renders it “brethren” in 5:9, but the New King James renders it “brotherhood” in both verses. Of adelphotes Vine says, “primarily, ‘a brotherly relationship,” and so, the community possessed of this relationship, “a brotherhood,” 1 Pet. 2:17 (see 5:9 marg.)”

The song, “Does Jesus Care?”, written in 1901, has been a comfort to Christians during the trials of the past century. It is one of my favorites. The other night, while meditating on the words of the song, it occurred to me that the title could have a much broader application than the wonderful words of comfort in the song. We could profit greatly by applying the question to many areas of our lives and seeking to find the answer from the scriptures.

Paul warns of those who are “doting about questions and strifes of words.” (1 Tim. 6:4). The basic meaning of the English word “dote” is “to show excessive love or fondness.” The word from which “doting” is translated means “sick.” Three other widely-used translations translate the phrase thusly: “Obsessed with disputes and arguments over words” (New King James).

The above sentence, written by Paul to his young friend and fellow preacher, Timothy, gives simple but powerful guidelines sorely needed by preachers today in their dealings with others. If those who preach had always kept these instructions in mind it would have saved the church a lot of unnecessary pain. Preachers, to be faithful to their duty to “reprove, rebuke and exhort,” (2 Tim. 4:2) must deal with people of all ages – both men and women.

For sometime we have been thinking about resurrecting “The Reflector” or publishing a similar paper. A number of people who were on our mailing list when we edited the “The Reflector” as a bulletin of the Fultondale (Alabama) church of Christ from August 1970 until the end of 1991, have told us that they would like to see us publish such a paper again. Up until now, we have not attempted to do it because of the cost and logistics of publication and distribution.

In my judgment, much of the recent discussion over Romans 14 misses the mark. I have difficulty categorically affirming that the application of this chapter does not include anything in “the faith.” The very first verse tells how to deal with one weak “in the faith” — the same expression in Greek and English as in Acts 6:7; 13:6; 14:12; 16:5, etc., where it is clear that “the faith” refers to the system of faith – the New Testament gospel system.

Borderline living can be dangerous. We heard of a fellow during the American Civil War who lived near the line dividing the North from the South. Not wanting to be too closely identified with either side, he wore blue pants and a grey coat. The results? The yanks shot him in the coat and the rebs shot him in the pants. It seems to us that a lot of brethren, spiritually speaking, are putting themselves in about the same position as that fellow