____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ April 14, 2002 ____________________________________________________ He Glorified God, Giving Him Thanks by Tim Johnson "Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, `Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!' So when He saw them, He said to them, `Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And so it was, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, `Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"' (Luke 17:11-18) From this account, we see that Jesus cleansed these ten men of the horrible disease of leprosy. However, only one of the ten was grateful enough to return to glorify God and give thanks to Jesus. "And he was a Samaritan." From this statement and from Jesus' question of no one returning to offer thanks "except this foreigner," we understand that at least some of the nine who continued on their way were Jews. Why were they so inconsiderate as to not remember or take the time to show gratitude for their cleansing? If we are not careful, we may find ourselves in this same group of "ingrates." We all know and understand that we have been cleansed of something far worse than leprosy. We have been made clean from our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Through our obedience in baptism, we washed away our sins just as Paul was instructed to do in Acts 22:16. We should be ever so thankful to God for such a cleansing, for without it, we would die in our sins. So, I should ask myself, "Which group do I belong to -- the nine who continued on their way after seeing their cleansing, or the one who returned to give glory to God? As we worship, am I singing the various songs to glorify God and to show my gratitude to Him for my cleansing -- or, do I bother to sing at all? As the prayers are being led, do I pray along to show my thankfulness to God for the cleansing blood shed on the cross for my sins -- or, do I let my mind wander instead of praying? When I lay by in store as we do each Lord's day, am I thankful to God for His many blessings, especially that of the gift of His Son Jesus Christ -- or, do I just dump anything into the plate with no thought at all to the meaning of this element of worship? As I partake of the Lord's Supper, am I glorifying God by centering my thoughts around the suffering and death of Jesus upon the cruel cross so that I may be cleansed from my sins -- or, once again, am I thinking of other things? As I listen to the message being delivered, am I examining myself, all the while being thankful that I have been counted worthy of His cleansing -- or, am I more interested in the small distractions around me? Throughout the week, in my job or school, do I conduct myself according to God's commandments, letting my light shine, which will not only glorify God on my behalf, but will cause others to glorify Him as well (Matthew 5:16)? Or, on the weekdays, do I completely forget that I am a child of God and have been cleansed from my sins? Let us not be as the nine men who were so ungrateful as to not return to thank Jesus for their cleansing, but let us determine to be as the leprous Samaritan, who realized the awesomeness of this miracle, realized the cleansing he had been given, and returned to glorify and give thanks to the Lord. May we hear the Lord say unto each of us, as did that faithful man: "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well" (v 19). -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, February 3, 2002 ___________________________________________ What A Lazy Horse Can Teach Us About Faith by Mike Wilson Some years ago, my wife and I went horseback riding with our neighbors, Don and Joyce. Don and Joyce weren't exactly cowboys (though Don used to dress like one sometimes), but they were seasoned veterans compared to Cheryl and me in matters of horsemanship. Cheryl had ridden a couple of times when she was growing up, and the real city slicker in the group who had never experienced this before was yours truly. I got the tamest horse. In fact, the old "Girl" was so tame she was downright lazy. After my best efforts of pretending to play cowboy, I couldn't get "Girl" to stay up with the other horses. She lagged behind with absolutely no spunk. Even after I said all of the right words and kicked her in all of the right places, I couldn't get "Girl" to rev up the engines. Then, we reached the midway point on the trail and turned around; Something amazing happened. The horse with no zest for life suddenly came alive. She tapped into the energy reserve tanks and started trotting eagerly without any prodding. I had to say "whoa" so much, I thought I was John Wayne for a minute. That horse knew she was going back to the barn, and I didn't have to tell her. This incident illustrates an important aspect of Biblical faith. One reason I am a believer is because of the substantive answers the Bible gives to the question of man's existence. Whereas most people in this world go through life wandering aimlessly, I know where I came from. I know why I exist. And I know where I'm going one day. The apostle Paul reminds Christians, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (II Cor. 4:18) This knowledge is not based on factors which are any less reasonable to me than those which made this horse a "believer" of sorts in her anticipated afternoon rest. Moreover, because I know where I am headed, I don't want to slow down or take a different path. Such distractions can endanger the goal that lies before me and take away the peace of mind that my current path has given me. Finally, there is a sense in which I cannot wait to get there. There is something very special on the horizon that awaits every faithful Christian. A certain lazy horse has helped me to appreciate an old prophetic refrain: Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31). -- via Focus Magazine, May 2000 ___________________________________________ "God Is Greater Than Our Heart" by Steve Klein Every Christian wants to feel that he is right with God. In fact, feeling that you are right with God is one thing that is necessary in order to actually be right with God. John wrote, "If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God" (I John 3:20-21). Of course, some say that feeling you are right is the ONLY thing necessary in order to be right with God. They're wrong! They're wrong because "God is greater than our heart." When folks say they know they are saved because they "feel it" in their heart, they are making their heart greater than God. They're wrong because our confidence is not to be based on the heart alone. According to Hebrews 10:19, it is based first of all on the provisions of Jesus' blood; we have boldness to enter the presence of God "by the blood of Jesus." We take advantage of Jesus' blood by "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" in baptism; only then can we draw near to God "with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (10:22). When we've met these conditions, we can know we are right with God because He said so in His word, and "He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23). So many people claim to be right with God because of what's in their hearts, but the reality is that they fail to be right with God because of what's in their lives. There will be those who will stand in the day of judgment and boast of the "many mighty works" they have done in Jesus' name, and they will undoubtedly feel in their hearts that they are right with God. To them Jesus will say, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23). "Lawlessness" involves the practice of anything not authorized by God's law. The confidence felt by those practicing things not found in God's law is nothing but false assurance. It is only those who truly meet God's conditions and do what is right who have real assurance. Isaiah 32:17 teaches that "the effect of righteousness" is "assurance forever." May each of us come to the realization that God is greater than our heart, and that our heart is only truly right if it is cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We all need to deal honestly with the question posed by the old spiritual song: "Is thy heart right with God, Washed in the crimson flood, Cleansed and made holy, Humble and lowly, Right in the sight of God?" -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, January 13, 2002 ___________________________________________ Lift Up Fallen Hands by Robert F. Turner Little churches dying on the vine? That depends on saints in those little churches, but it is not dictated by the size of the congregation. We must not use small numbers as an excuse for despair or idleness. A Kentucky church of about 50 members has published a small, neat four-lesson correspondence course. They ran a 30-second commercial on radio, one per day, five days per week, for one month, varying the times of day to hit a wide audience. They had 100 requests for the correspondence study; and when they sent it out (all four in one mailing) they included a letter offering (1) an 8-lesson course, or, (2) an advanced 12-lesson series, or, (3) an "In the Home" film presentation of God's saving plan. There were 49 requests for one or the either of these. The members are training to "man" the operation, a formidable task for so small a group, but they can do it. Following the Wednesday night class they were given bulletins and parts of a mailing list, and each sat down then and there to hand address them. There is something truly thrilling in seeing a group of saints working together. Such a church has already grown, even before numerical increase. The new program will cost $1,200.00 annually -- about what their present bulletin printing and mailing program takes, so they have decided to drop the bulletin mailing so they can afford the radio and correspondence work. It seems a wise choice. Those 50 members, ordinary working-class people, give over $600.00 per week now to further the Lord's work. Their capability will expand with prayerful, thoughtful use of what they now have (2 Cor. 8:15; 9:6). A 500-member church in the same city has a quarter-million-plus budget ($9.86 per person, per week, compared with over $12 per person for the small church). We can't measure one church by another (2 Cor. 10:12), nor can we compare the dedication of individual hearts, but we commend the attitude of brethren in the small church toward God's word, and mankind. They remind us, anew, that God does not measure with man's yardstick. -- Via Plain Talk, April 1980 ___________________________________________ News & Notes Let us be praying for Annette Turner, a member at the Mt. Airy church of Christ (in Philadelphia). She and her husband Herbert are joyously awaiting the birth of their second child that could be any day now! Carol Music, the woman who was reported several months ago as having 6 tumors of the liver, was told recently that her cancer is virtually all gone. A catscan revealed that there is now just a "tiny, little spot" that remains; so Carol will be undergoing a couple more treatments, prior to her surgery. Needless to say, her husband Ron was very glad with these new results; and I imagine his wife is as well! Let us keep praying that all will go well. I'm looking forward to moving down to Denham Springs, Louisiana, during the last week of May to work with a congregation there, which I had preached for last March. It is located off of Interstate 12, about 12 miles east of Baton Rouge and an hour and a half north of New Orleans. If you happen to be in the area, feel free to visit with us! We would love to have you. The church meets at 1022 Myrtle Street. Gospel Meeting: Susquehanna church of Christ in Marietta, Pa. Speaker: Gary Eubanks (from Piscataway, NJ) April 21-26 ________________________________________ evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (610) 925-3567 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ________________________________________