____________________________________________________ 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 28, 2007 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Be Ye Thankful (Irven Lee) 2) Three Responses (Acts 17:32-34) (David Cox) 3) Perils to the Soul (Rick Duggin) 4) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Be Ye Thankful by Irven Lee "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful" (Col. 3:15). The Bible is a good book that points out many things that are good for man and pleasing to God. We should stop to consider all his advice and commands. Gratitude expressed is obviously a good and pleasant thing. God loved the world and gave his Son that we might be saved. He gave us his word also. By all means, we should be thankful for these great gifts. The earth is the Lord's, and from it we get food, fiber, wood, minerals, and fuel. Take time to express sincere thanks for the good earth. Should we not also consider the beautiful colors of the different seasons and the songs of the birds? They are not here by accident. Be ye thankful! I have lived in the USA all of my life and during a time of amazing changes. The freedom to move about and to plan our own lives is a wonderful reason to be glad and to count our blessings that we are Americans. There are many dangers to our spiritual values, and we should have proper concern for ourselves and for our descendants, but we need not overlook the good. I am glad to have lived in America. The strife-ridden world does not offer too many places where we might consider living. My family includes my wife who has been a wonderful help to me. My two daughters and their husbands are faithful and active Christians, and their love is precious to me. My four grandchildren are young adults whose faith is strong in this skeptical world. My only grandson-in-law is the grandson of two whom I baptized in 1940. He is active in church work. Should I not give God thanks for them? The Bible influence is the power that has made their lives beautiful. Are you thankful enough for your family? The family of God or the church is made up of excellent people, and in preaching in many places I have come to know this to be a fact. There are imperfections within the assemblies. The members are human and are tempted by the world. Let us face every sin among us with boldness, love, patience, and determination to make things better. As we help others improve, let each of us improve. One of the things that has contributed so much happiness to my life is the close association with my brethren. I have faced problems and heartaches in preaching, but there has been much satisfaction in association with the devout saints. "I praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Psa. 139:14). You and I should know right well that the human body is wonderful. The digestive system, the nervous system, and the respiratory system to do their work each day. Each is wonderful beyond words. There are many glands to regulate blood chemistry and many other essential things. Our body temperature remains the same when we are well. Should we not all give thanks? We may take good health for granted until we lose it. Take some time now to give thanks and count your blessings. We all realize that some do not have such health. We should "visit the sick." This means more than that we go and sit with them and talk. We are to bear one another's burdens and help as we can. With age we become weak and have many limitations. Old age is the time in life to look back over the decades to recall the great blessings, and it is also a time to recall things we said and did that were out of place. We all need mercy. "We all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Sinful deeds are not pleasant to recall, but realizing that we have erred makes us look to God for help. His obedient servants are forgiven. Think of our own bodies, nature about us, and the evidence in the Bible and have strong faith. It then should be a natural thing to turn to the Lord in repentance and baptism. We should confess and praise his name again and again. There is no reason to be ashamed of him. He doeth all things well. We seldom hear the name of Jesus mentioned on television and in a typical conversation. Why? We have not been across the river of death to the new world, but our Lord and his Spirit-guided apostles have told us enough to know that it is a wonderful place to be. Life there will be a gift of God just as this life is a gift from him. "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it" (1 Pet. 3:10). Being a servant of the Lord means much more than being baptized. We are raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). Hope is an anchor to the soul. Let us give thanks for the one hope. -- Via Guardian of Truth XXXII: 4, pp. 97, 119, February 18, 1988 ____________________________________________________ -2- Three Responses (Acts 17:32-34) by David Cox As Paul had preached his sermon to the men of Athens at Mars Hill, he concluded by telling them that God commands all men to repent and then reminded them to the coming judgment. Beginning in verse 32 we have three responses of those that heard Paul. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them" (Acts 17:32-34). We are told that some mocked him (v. 32). We read that some heard Paul preach the truth of the gospel but, instead of accepting the preaching of Christ by Paul, they were unwilling to change their lives acceptable to the will of God. The response of some was the same as those on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:13): they made fun or mocked the preaching of Paul. This is the type of disposition Paul mentioned to the Corinthians when he referred to people thinking the preaching of the cross as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18,21). Another response seen in verse 32 was "We will hear thee again of this matter." They were wanting to wait. Perhaps it was a difficult decision for some to hear the truth and obey it. They still desired to learn more, but they needed to respond. The disposition of some was like that of Felix (Acts 24:25). The parable of the virgins in Matthew 25 teaches the importance of not waiting, for, while we are delaying, our lives may end without being prepared. Lastly, we read that through Paul's preaching there were some that had believed. These were those that, as Paul preached the word of God, their hearts were pricked and they responded and continued on in the work of the Lord. The response to Paul's sermon was threefold, and the responses Paul encountered are the same responses people have today to the preaching of God's word. What is our response to the preaching of the gospel? Do we mock the word of God by defying the necessity to obey or mock those that are striving to live right? Are we waiting to hear more? Or, do we believe the truth of God's word? Are we ready to make the commitment to obey and cleave to God's word? Let us remember the lessons of God's word and believe and obey Him now; not mocking or waiting until a convenient time. -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, September 23, 2007 ____________________________________________________ -3- Perils to the Soul by Rick Duggin Have you noticed the growing fascination that some have with other people's perils? They pay good money to watch stunt drivers jump a string of cars, or a tightrope walker make his way across a tiny rope 200 feet above the pavement. We marvel when someone unnecessarily puts himself at risk. The greatest risk of all is the danger that threatens our soul. Paul warned that perilous times would bring dangers that threaten to undo us (2 Tim. 3-4). These perils include. . . 1. Ignorance of God's Word. Some will "creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (3:6-7). Those who do not know God's word are fair game for religious racketeers. 2. Doctrines of Men. "Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith" (3:8). The Egyptian magicians resisted Moses by imitating his works. Satan is the great imitator. What God does, he counterfeits, forcing us to distinguish between truth and error. 3. Prejudice. "But they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was" (3:9). One who judges before he knows the facts is prejudiced. Some students searched the Scriptures and rejected the truth, while the Bereans searched the same passages and received the truth (read John 5:39; Acts 17:11). How can the same act (studying the Bible) produce such different results? The first group was prejudiced; the other, honest. 4. Desire to Please Men. Paul warns Timothy that God will judge him (2 Tim 4:1), and therefore he must continue to tell people what they need to hear, whether they like it or not (vs. 2). One of Timothy's greatest problems would be the "itching ears" of those who demand something besides truth (3-4). Covet correction and don't let these perils steal your soul! -- Via The Exhorter, Oakland church of Christ, March 2007 ____________________________________________________ -4- News & Notes There will be a gospel meeting at the Park Forest church of Christ beginning next Sunday (11/04) with Russ Bowman (from Beaumont, Texas) doing the preaching. The meeting will extend through Friday, beginning at 7:30 through the week nights. The church meets at 9923 Sunny Cline Drive in Baton Rouge. ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________