____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ October 1, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Peace (Mark Mayberry) 2) Almighty God (Steve Klein) 3) Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Frank Vondracek) 4) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -l- Peace by Mark Mayberry In the New Testament, the word "peace" is found at the beginning or end of every epistle except for James and I John. The breadth of its meaning is apparent when it is linked with "grace" (Rom. 1:7), "life" (Rom. 8:6), and "righteousness" (Rom. 14:17). It is used in benedictions like 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20; 2 Peter 3:14. What are the different shades of meaning of this wonderful word? Webster defines "peace" as "l. freedom from war; 2. a treaty or agreement to end war or the threat of war; 3. freedom from public disturbance or disorder; 4. freedom from disagreement or quarrels; harmony; concord; 5. an undisturbed state of mind; absence of mental conflict; serenity: in full, peace of mind; 6. calm; quiet; tranquility." The Greek word which is translated "peace" is defined by Thayer as "1. a state of national tranquility; exemption from the rage and havoc of war . . . 2. peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord 3. security, safety, prosperity 4. spec. the Messiah's peace. . . 5. the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ. . . 6. the blessed state of devout and upright men after death" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. eirene). Shalom is the Old Testament equivalent of eirene. It carried the idea of "completeness, soundness, wholeness, or well-being." It was a typical greeting among the Hebrews. Peace With God Our first priority should be to find peace with God. Sin brings unhappiness, conflict, and chaos into our lives (Psa. 1; Isa. 57:20-21). It causes fellowship with God to be broken (Isa. 59:1-2). If we are to avoid eternal condemnation, we must make peace with God. This cannot be accomplished on our terms; obedience to the Lord's will is the key (Isa. 55:7-9)! The Old Testament prophets spoke of the Messianic age as a time of peace (Isa. 2:2-4; 9:6). The New Testament reveals the fulfillment of this hope (Lk. 1:78-79). Peace expresses the reconciliation that was made possible through the shed blood of Christ (Isa. 53:5; Rom. 5:1; Col. 1: 20-23). Peace With Self Today, peace of mind is a quality which is hard to find. The evidence is around us: delinquency, divorce, drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. Witness the physical signs of stress: hypertension, ulcers, heart attacks, etc. Peace of mind cannot be found in drugs or alcohol. It does not come in capsules. The secret is not found in reading self-help books. We achieve peace of mind by applying the gospel to our lives and letting the God of Peace rule our hearts (Rom. 8:6; Col. 3:15). Inner tranquility is the result of faithful submission to the Lord (Matt. 11:28; Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:7). Christians should be the happiest and most well-adjusted people in the world. We may face difficult problems, but the peace of God enables us to maintain balance. Through Christ, we can overcome any adversity (Jn. 14:27; 16:33). Peace With Others In one sense, Jesus came, not to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34-36). This describes the struggle between righteousness and evil. At times we will experience conflict with the world; but as a rule, obedience to the Lord will improve all our relationships (Prov. 16:7; Rom. 12:18). Christians must actively promote peace (Psa. 34:14; 133:1; Matt. 5:9; Heb. 12:14). This not only means that we should avoid strife and discord; we should put positive effort into building up the body of Christ (Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:3). If we are to achieve peace with others, we must have the attitude Paul speaks of in Philippians 2:1-8. He said, "Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (vv. 3-4, NASV). Selfishness will destroy peace and unity. We need to seek the good of others. We can be at peace if we have the mind of Christ. -- Via Guardian of Truth XXX: 13, 385, 408, July 3, 1986 ____________________________________________________ -2- Almighty God by Steve Klein I met a big burly young man yesterday. His name is Bart and he is 6'10" tall and weighs about 300 pounds, 298 of which is pure muscle. He is an imposing figure to say the least, and I doubt that many would have the nerve to be uncooperative with him if he ordered them to do something. If he said, "Jump!" they would jump and ask "How high?" on the way up. When God appeared to Abram in Genesis 17, He identified Himself as "Almighty God." The Scripture says that, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless'" (Genesis 17:1). In Hebrew, the name that God uses for Himself here is El Shaddai -- from "El" meaning "God" and "Shaddai" which comes from a Hebrew root meaning "burly or powerful." The identification of the Lord as "Almighty God" left Abram with no question as to Who he was dealing with or why he should obey God. When God charged Abram to "walk before me and be blameless," I'm certain that Abram wanted to comply completely. In Job 11:7, Zophar asked Job a question that does not make a lot of sense to me. He asked, "Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?" Now, if God is truly "the Almighty" what limits could he possibly have, other than those that He might impose on Himself? All might and power belongs to God. Nothing is "too hard" for Him (Jeremiah 32:27). "He does whatever He pleases" (Psalm 115:3). It is critical for us to realize that our God is "Almighty." When we deal with Him, we are dealing with someone who could crush us with much less effort than we would use to crush a bug. Some may have been lulled by God's kindness and goodness toward mankind, or by the fact that He does not always punish sinners immediately, or by His willingness to allow men to make their own choices, into thinking that God is not really all that powerful. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus Christ, God's Son, is also Almighty. After He rose from the dead He declared, "All power has been given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). He is worshiped in heaven as "Lord God Almighty" (Revelation 4:8). To Him every knee will bow (Philippians 2:10). When we think about the nature of God's Son, our minds often focus on His love, compassion and meekness -- and rightly so. But we should not forget that He is Almighty. His commands and requests demand our greatest attention and effort. When He says "Jump!" we need to jump and jump in a hurry! -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, August 13, 2006 ____________________________________________________ -3- Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven by Frank Vondracek Jesus, the King, said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14). In another place, the Bible records Him to say, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3-4). There can be no doubt to the discerning reader that little children were used by Jesus to illustrate aspects of the kingdom He was sent by His Father to establish and build up. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God," confessed Peter, and Jesus responded, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:16-18). On the day of Pentecost the Lord kept His word, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Ac. 2:47). The apostle Paul later wrote, "to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse," that God "hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:2, 13-14). So, without a doubt, Jesus Christ has a church in existence, and it shall remain on earth uninterrupted until He returns (Dan. 2:44; Isa. 2:2-4; 1 Cor. 15:24-28). What is there about little children that the Lord was so impressed by their example with reference to the kingdom of heaven? In Matthew 18:3-4, it seems to be the humility of little children that attracted the attention of Jesus. Little ones may be bullies toward their peers; but for lack of sheer strength against bigger foes, they submit to power. They seem to realize their helplessness against that which is obviously more powerful than themselves. So it is with those who would be citizens in heaven's kingdom. Humble submission to the power, but even more so, to the will and authority of God are requirements for entrance into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Jesus said one's conversion will come as he submits to God. "Of such is the kingdom of God." In Matthew 19:13-14, the apostles apparently tried to prohibit what they perceived as a bother to their busy Master when they rebuked those who brought children to Jesus for a blessing. But the Lord returned the rebuke to His disciples for intruding into the effort of others to come to Him. Consider why it is that people come to Jesus (Matt. 11:28-30): Spiritual needs; love for God and truth; forgiveness of sins; because Jesus loves us and died to save us; comfort in the heartaches of life. Who is there that recognizes a loving, kind, generous, caring, person more quickly than a child? To whom does a child gladly go back time and again but to one who he believes is trustworthy, and who cares about him and his every need? "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Brethren, even though we realize that Jesus Christ, our King, requires and expects His people to grow and develop spiritually, let us understand that the direction of our growth and developments must be in the direction of becoming more childlike in humility, submission and dependence on Jesus Christ in our lives. After all, the Lord said it best: "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." -- Via Think on These Things, October-November-December, 2005 ____________________________________________________ -4- News & Notes Let those of us who are Christians be remembering Luther Shuff in prayer for his operation that has been re-scheduled for Tuesday (10/3). It will actually be two different surgeries: 1) a malignant cancer will be cut away from the bottom of his foot, and 2) he will also have plastic surgery performed the same day to fill in the area removed. Let us pray that all will be a great success, and that Luther will heal completely and soon be back on his feet again. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________