What Are You Talking About?

So, what are the last words you say when you are leaving others? I find myself often ending a phone conversation with family members by saying, “Goodbye, I love you.” Those words are not just meaningless words, but are intended to remind those who are so precious to me that I cherish them.

Thinking about this led me to wonder what parting words were used by the writers of the epistles. I actually was amazed when I took time to look into this matter. Some of them ended their letters by sending greetings or expressing expectations to see others soon, but there is one phrase used consistently by Paul in his writings. Before reading more about the answer to this question, what phrase or phrases did Paul use as he ended his letters?

Paul’s parting words in his epistles. To the Corinthians, he said, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus” and “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ . . . be with you all” (1 Cor. 16:23-24; 2 Cor. 13:14). As he finished his letter to the churches of Galatia, he said, “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Gal. 6:18). He had preached in Ephesus for three years and ended the epistle to them by saying, “Grace be with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity” (Eph. 6:24). To the Colossians, he said, “Grace be with you” (Col. 4:18). The apostle to the Gentiles ended both letters to the Thessalonians with “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3:18). He used the same words in the three epistles to younger preachers, “Grace be with you” (1 Tim. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:22; Tit. 3:15). He finished that very personal letter to Philemon by saying, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” The same idea is found in the last verse of Hebrews, “Grace be with you all.”

Paul’s emphasis on grace. Should there be any wonder as to why Paul magnified grace in his letters? He constantly had to deal with Judaizing teachers who tried to bind the law on Gentiles. Even more overwhelming was Paul’s realization that he, the chief of sinners, had received grace from God. The remembrance of His grace is the prime motivation for spiritual maturity (2 Pet. 1:8-9). He never wanted those around him to lose sight of the grace of God.

The emphasis of your words. What words, not just the parting ones, do people hear you mentioning most often? Do they ever hear a spiritual emphasis, or is it always on secular matters? One could not be around Paul without hearing about grace. What do those around you hear from you?

Jesus Believed Every Word of the Bible. . . . Do You?

When one reads the accounts provided of the life of Jesus in the New Testament, the knowledge and respect that He had for the Old Testament Scriptures ought to impress upon us the same urgent need to increase our own knowledge and respect for God’s Word.
Jesus believed the words of the Bible. When He taught about the resurrection of the dead, He quoted from Exodus, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” to prove that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:37). Jesus believed the words of the Bible. Do you?
Jesus believed the stories of the Bible. When He taught about the nature of His own death, He illustrated it by referring to when “Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness” (John 3:14). Jesus believed the stories of the Bible. Do you?
Jesus believed the prophecies of the Bible. When He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 49:8-9 and then said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus believed the prophecies of the Bible. Do you?
Jesus believed the eternal truths of the Bible. When He was asked about the ever-important subject of marriage, He pointed His challengers to “the beginning of the creation” (when God created marriage) and quoted this everlasting precept of God, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:1-8). Jesus believed the eternal truths of the Bible. Do you?
Jesus believed even the “hard to believe” things in the Bible. There is a story in the Old Testament that tops every sceptics list as something they count to be “purely mythical” or “scientifically impossible.” In their estimation, “Jonah was never swallowed by a big fish, surviving three days in its belly before being extruded out on land none the worse for wear.” However, of all the ways to depict His burial and His resurrection on the third day, Jesus chose to use the story of Jonah for comparison. “…[N]o sign will be given...except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39-41). Jesus believed even the “hard to believe” things in the Bible. Do you?
Do you believe in Jesus? If so, do you, like Him, believe every word of the Bible? Do you respect the Bible like Jesus did?

Close Enough

How often does the philosophy “close enough” impact your daily life? You pull into a parking space and you’re a little further to the right than you should be—close enough! You cut a piece of wood and it’s one-eighth of an inch off—close enough! You call your child by the wrong name but it’s still somebody in the family—close enough!

How do you suppose that philosophy works with God? Pick up your Bible and pick a Bible teaching. Is “close enough” good enough with God?

In order to become a Christian, God says that one must hear the gospel message (Rom. 10:13-17), believe the gospel (John 20:30-31), repent of his sins (Acts 17:30), confess his faith in the Son of God (Rom. 10:9-10) and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Suppose someone looks at this, having already (in their minds) believed, repented and confessed, and he says, “Close enough!” Is it really close enough for God?

In order to win souls to Christ, God says that one must “let his light shine” (Matt. 5:16), be mindful of the works that others see in him (Matt. 5:16), put the church first in his life (Matt. 6:33), exhort others to worship God (Matt. 4:10; Heb. 10:25), demonstrate his faith by his works (Jas. 2:18), be holy in all his conduct (1 Pet. 1:15) and preach the gospel message to those who are lost in sin (Mark 16:15). Suppose someone looks at this, scared to death or embarrassed at the idea of actually teaching the gospel, and he says, “I’ve lived a good example before others. They can see Jesus living in me. That’s close enough!” Is it really close enough for God?

In order to go to heaven, God says that one must go through Christ (John 14:6), obey His will (Matt. 7:21), make his call and election sure by growing diligently (2 Pet. 1:5-11), and faithfully serve Him for life (Rev. 2:10). Suppose someone, on the day of judgment, looks at this, having never been convinced that they could actually lose their salvation once they had been baptized, and says, “Well, I was close enough.” Is it really close enough for God?

The philosophy “close enough” may work in some of the inconsequential situations we face in life (parking, woodwork, horseshoes, etc.). However, following the “close enough” philosophy can cost you your soul.

In Numbers 13, the Israelites came to the border of the Promised Land (couldn’t get any closer), but they failed to enter the land of rest. “Close enough” was not good enough with God. Read chapters 3-4 in the book of Hebrews. May God help us to not come short of our rest (Heb. 4:1; 12:15)!

Lock in 2012

The Stuart church of Christ is hosting our second annual LOCK-IN at our Outreach building on January 1st, 2012 starting at 2pm and ending on Monday, January 2nd at 9am.
There will be:
 Capture the Flag
 Youth lead worship
 Food
 Basketball tournament
 Board games
 Movies
 Baking contest
 More…
The theme for the night is “What happens next?”
We’ll be looking at how far reaching our decisions can be, who can help or hurt them, how they define how responsible I am, and what happens if I’m unprepared.

Matthew 25:11-12, “‘Sir! Let us in!’ they cried out. ‘Certainly not! I don't know you…’”

Call or email me for more info. Please RSVP by Dec 28th, 2011. See you there!

What are you doing to help?

Paul told Timothy that "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 tim 2:2) He also told Titus to have the older people teach the younger people on how to live and behave, (titus 2). How serious do we take that teaching? Was it just for those guys? I hope that you would agree that's for everyone.

We live in a culture that is growing more desperate for instruction and guidance but so few people will speak up to offer godly advice in a kind way. James reminds us that "if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins." (James 5:19-20)

We have such a tremendous opportunity to let our light shine and help be the guidance so many people are looking for but afraid to ask. In doing that we may find that we are helped as well.

Do what you can do to ensure that we don't resemble what Paul was so frustrated by in the Galatians. He said in Galatians 1:6
, "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel..." Don't desert God's instructions for Satan's, you will regret it.

"Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence." (Psalm 27:11-12)

What are "his ways"? Can we understand them? Eph 5:17 tells us that we aren't supposed to be "foolish, but understand God's will". If understanding is possible, then we CAN learn what will make our life easier according to his instructions. I like the way Solomon says it in Prov 22:3 "The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it." Once we know what God wants from us then we can more easily recognize a plot to ruin our lives and we can hide ourselves from that.

Paul told us to "not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with Good", that should be our goal and by doing so we smooth out the issues we face in life.

God will help

Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger; you have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me. Psalm 27:9-10

It's wonderful to know that God longs to help us, let him!

Vacation Bible School 2011

Join us this Saturday, July 16th for our Vacation Bible School. It will begin at 9am and end at 2:30pm at the Stuart church of Christ in Stuart, OK right across the street from the school. The theme this year is "Believe it or not it's in the bible". Ages 2 through high school

Come discover all the amazing stories God's word tells us about and how those amazing stories help us in our amazing story. Come join us. It's not a vacation from the bible but a vacation with the bible.

Stuart's Zoo trip

A group from the Stuart church of Christ took a group of kids up to the OKC Zoo. What started out to be a questionble day as far as the weather goes, turned out to be the perfect day to go. Although the crowds were plentiful, it was still good fun. There was a walk for MS at the Zoo earlier in the morning.

Sometimes it seemed the fake animals were the bigger attraction than the real ones.

It was a day well spent with family and friends. At the end of the day many of the kids decided to take some of the animals home with them. Luckily they went with the plastic noisy ones over the large stinky ones.

Thank you for all the people that helped make this trip a success. Our next event is Lazer Tag in Ada sometime in May or June, let me know which you prefer.

Oklahoma City Walk MS 2011: National MS Society - Oklahoma Opportunity - VolunteerMatch

The Stuart church has tentatively scheduled a "day at the Zoo" for April 30th. This just so happens to be a day that the zoo has sponsored a Multiple Sclerosis walk from 7am-noon. You don't have to be up there the entire time, but it would be great for our church to be part of it. The following link should give more information, or just google Oklahoma City MS walk at the zoo.

Oklahoma City Walk MS 2011: National MS Society - Oklahoma Opportunity - VolunteerMatch

The Holy Spirit - who he is and why we need him

Begining April 1-3 Royce Sartain will be hosting a gospel meeting over the Holy Spirit. We'll begin at 7pm. The church building is located at 418 Roosevelt Ave. in Stuart, OK.

Royce has had an exciting ministry in Europe, Africa, Asia, and other places. He's very enthusiastic and quite dynamic. Please consider joining us, you'll be glad you did.

Waiting for something good

For a lot of people instant gratification wins out over faith all the time. It can be difficult to just "wait" for something good when we see others seemingly satisfied with what they don't wait for.

My wife is nearing the end of her pregnancy and we're about to welcome a new kid into this world. With all our kids we never found out what sex they were until they were born, well with the very real posibility that this one could be our last one, I'm anxious to see what it will be. Although the wait can be frustrating I know it will be worth it. Perhaps that's the way heaven will be like. Heaven is the greatest promise we could ever be given, yet we have to wait for it.

What is something you had to wait for... and you're glad you did? I'd be interested in hearing about it.

when a good soldier has fallen...

Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." This is the ultimate act of love and devotion that anyone could do for someone. Soldiers will never forget the one's that made the sacrifice for them. In the Lord's Army we too have soldiers that have fallen, but their ultimate act wasn't done in a single scirmish but most often their sacrifice was displayed over time through their selflessness, through their loyalty to God's Kingdom. There are many that we know that have made an impact in our life, and we will never forget how they lived for God so boldly. Thankfully, in Christ, there really isn't an "end", but rather a brand-new beginning. As a good friend of mine said at the passing of his father, "[seeing that person again] makes the goal of heaven that much sweeter." I encourage you to live for Christ with all the passion you can muster, to love others the way God has loved each one of us.

New year to let our light shine

I'm not sure what you felt like you accomplished in 2010, but here's your opportunity to do it better.  The neat thing about NOW is that there aren't any regrets right now, well there shouldn't be.  Our past is where we have our failures, disappointments, and mess ups; but the present is the time to make it right. 

I can attest to the fact that I didn't do everything I wanted to do in 2010, lot's of things were started and like too many people, few things came to fruition.  However, the best I can do is the best I can do - and give it another try with more determination.  If you have some great success stories from last year (or any time), or goals you'd like to post that might in some way keep you more accountable, then feel free to respond and let me know.  Have a great year!