church of Christ
"The Seeker"
Psalm 119:130
When you saw our visitors from week to week, did you let them know of your appreciation for their presence? Did you welcome them warmly and invite them to come again? Did you show the sincerity of your greeting and invitation by following-up with a card, call, or visit?
Did you express to the brethren about your joy for being with them to worship the God of heaven? Did you make it a point to encourage them by thanking them for their continual encouragement to you. So often this sort of thing is passed off as small talk, but isn't it more? Kindness is a seed which grows best when sown far and wide in a generous fashion.
Did we parents take the time to listen to things our children wanted to share with us? Listening is a wonderful way of showing kindness, and doing so encourages those lines of communication to remain open. Did we express to our children our love for them at all times, and our extreme pleasure in them when they were obedient? Did we teach them of their Creator, so that they could remember Him in the days of their youth (and forever)?
Did you children plant some kindness in your home, too? Were you obedient to your parents? Did you help out around the house? Did you sow kindness in the hearts and lives of your brothers and sisters? Our homes are what we make them - did you make yours a haven of kindness, a place of joy for all the family?
Did we husbands show kindness toward our wives, and did you wives return the favor? Were we attentive to one another's needs and desires? Did we express our love for one another? Did we regularly sow the seeds of kindness toward our mates that together we might enjoy the fruit it would produce?
Another year has flown by and now is a good time to assess ourselves. More important, however, is our also looking foward to 2005!! How much better, happier, more productive, harmonious, and God-pleasing would be our lives in every realm, if next year each of us would take the time to plant every day and everywhere the gracious seed of kindness!
by Allen Malone
Vessels Unto Honor, December 30, 1990
"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion; and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.
Psalm 128
He said that he hoped many souls to reach.
He was going to move very far away
So great was the distance, I was prompted to say:
"What about food What will you eat?
And I'd be surprised if you got any sleep."
He looked my direction surprisedly
And so twas the answer he gave to me:
"I've been 'round the world and I've seen the Lord work.
My duties to Christ I will not shirk.
Souls over there are starving, you see.
They long for the gospel full and free."
"But what about your kids" Are they going too?
do they have over there American Schools?"
He looked my direction surprisedly
And so twas the answer he gave to me:
"I've been 'round the world and I've seen the Lord work.
My duties to Christ I will not shirk.
Souls over there are starving, you see.
They long for the gospel full and free."
"But isn't that dangerous and against the law?
It seems quite silly to risk it all."
And so twas the answer he gave to me"
"I've been 'round the world and I've seen the Lord work.
My duties to Christ I will not shirk.
Open your eyes to what the Lord can do,
And the mind to serve will be in you."
I considered his point so carefullly
And hungering souls I wanted to see.
So I decided just what I'd do
I called him us asking,
"Can I come, too?"
by Phil Collins
Written for an evangelist going to teach in Asia
The gospel reveals the righteousness of God (i.e., His plan for man's righteousness) on the basis of faith (Rom. 1:17). "Faith to faith" suggests that everything must be done by faith (note identical expressions in 1 Cor. 2:16 "life to life" and 2 Cor. 3:18 "glory to glory"). Habakkuk's quotation indicates the faithfulness of God to protect His faithful ones (study in context Hab. 2:4). Therefore, the "righteousness of God" for man is "through faith in Jesus Christ" to all men (Rom 3:21-22). Sinners are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (v. 24). Justification results in peace with God and produces a joyful hope. (Rom. 5:1-2). Righteousness also brings about a transformed life (Rom. 6:11; 8:29). Not only does God forgive sins, but He intends to make us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). He saves us, then wants us to be like Him.
God has placed "eternity" in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11), but our spirits cannot be contented with carnal things (Ecc. 5:10-11). Satan has deceived us into thinking that money, pleasure, and wordly wisdom will be delightful, but we are destined to know real agony if we try. It may be pleasurable, but we will never be able to get enough and will always want more. What we desperately need is righteousness. Only then can one be at peace with God and self. Truly, such ones are filled.
It is not an easy course to follow. Too many distractions - power, wealth, education, social status, or even laziness - interfere in the quest for righteousness. Priorities are essential. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Mt. 6:33). It is not just a passing interest, but the focal point of living. All a hungry person can think of is food. And, nothing stands in the way.
by Vernon Teagarden
Glen Oaks church of Christ, March 1997
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