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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" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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February 14, 2010
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Contents:
1) The Healthy Body (Jim Deason)
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-1-
The Healthy Body
by Jim Deason
Those of us who knew Jane were privileged to know a wonderful woman.
And in the last weary hours of her pilgrimage here, as we set with her
around the clock, she taught us some very valuable lessons. Not the
least of which was the courageous way that, with Christ, we can face
"the valley of the shadow of death." Death came to Jane as a sweet
release from the agony of a body racked with disease and pain.
The human body is an amazing thing. David said, "I am fearfully and
wonderfully made" (Psa. 139:14). Healthy and mature, the body is
capable of accomplishing almost unbelievable feats. But when it is
ravaged by disease the body becomes a source of great discomfort and
pain which often renders it powerless to accomplish even the simplest
of tasks.
Paul likened the relationship which we sustain to the Lord and to one
another as a body (1 Cor. 12:12-27 and Eph. 4:11-16). And so it is that
when the spiritual body is healthy it can accomplish great things. But
if it be diseased and sickly there is very little that it can do. Let's
take a few moments to compare the spiritually healthy body with that
which is sick.
The healthy body is obviously the body that is free from disease and,
in this case, we are speaking of the disease of sin. To be free of sin
means that the spiritual body must be taught the truth, worship
correctly, and work zealously. Each "member" of the body needs to be
living a healthy spiritual life. There are some ways in which this
healthy status can be observed on a local basis. A spiritually healthy
body has...
MEMBERS WHO ARE ENERGETIC. When the body is healthy it's members are
active, vibrant and busy at work. Paul's instruction to be "fervent in
spirit" (Rom. 12:11) is in evidence everywhere and in everyone.
But sickness drains this zealousness. When the physical body is sick it
is often listless and without energy. Thus, when there is sickness
within the spiritual body, all of it's resources are channeled to
combat the disease within and it's energy is completely consumed
internally. It becomes listless, it loses it's sense of balance and
begins to show signs of fatigue. This spiritual fatigue makes it almost
impossible for the body to accomplish any good task. There simply is
not enough energy.
MEMBERS WHO JOY AND DELIGHT IN WORSHIP. When one is physically healthy
it's much easier to have a happier disposition than when ill. The
Philippian church was a healthy spiritual body and no doubt could
follow Paul's instruction to "Rejoice in the Lord always..." (Phil.
4:4). As Paul commanded them to "make my joy complete by being of the
same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one
purpose," its not hard to envision these brethren joyfully gathering on
Sunday morning for worship. Surely they could say along with David, "I
was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'"
(Psa. 122:1).
MEMBERS WHO HAVE A GOOD APPETITE FOR SPIRITUAL FOOD. Sickness is often
accompanied by a loss of appetite but a healthy body needs food to give
it the essential nutrients for growth. Peter taught us to, "like
newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may
grow in respect to salvation" (1 Pet. 2:2).
With time and exercise comes the ability to digest "meat" (Heb.
5:11-14) and further spiritual growth. A physical body stops growing
and begins to suffer from malnutrition when it stops eating. Likewise,
when the spiritual body is not engaged in Bible Study as it ought,
growth will stop. This becomes the first symptom of disease in a local
church or, at the very least, it makes the body more vulnerable.
MEMBERS WHO ARE FRIENDLY, OPEN TO ONE ANOTHER, AND TRULY UNITED. I have
been a part both of churches that grew and churches that didn't grow,
and one thing I have noticed: Without exception in the churches that
grew the members were generally friendly, filled with love for one
another, self-sacrificing, and intent on going to heaven and carrying
as many people as possible with them. For a body to grow as God intends
the members must be filled with the attitudes of Philippians 2:1-11.
Not long ago I visited a local church that had a reputation for
problems. Entering the building was worse than entering a morgue. There
was no friendly greeting, only a cold tension. The aisles were filled
with distrust and suspicion. I didn't expect to be invited out after
services and one can only imagine that the gatherings outside the
building were probably not filled with conversation about how to best
go about teaching a neighbor. Sick? Obviously!
Is it not easy to see that when the body is listless and without energy
and members are uninterested in worship, cold, isolated from one
another with no communication, that there is disease present? There can
be no growth of the body when it is convulsive and feverous and it's
members are quarrelsome, hostile, and bitter. This does not
please God.
Paul wrote to the troubled Corinthians, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no
divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in
the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10).
All of us want to have a healthy physical body and to be a part of a
healthy spiritual body. But that's just not possible all of the time.
Sickness is a part of existence in the body both physically and
spiritually. Therefore, we must learn how to cope with sickness when it
does invade the members of the body. It can't be ignored because this
only compounds the problem. Can you imagine the tragedy of someone
ignoring the symptoms of cancer or heart disease? And the point I want
to make is that learning to cope with these problems begins with YOU!
Each one must first ask the question, "Am I a part of the disease or a
part of the cure?" Paul put it in this manner, "Test yourselves to see
if you are in the faith; examine yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5)! Only when
we apply the "balm of Gilead" to ourselves can we be in a position to
help others. If the attitude of Christ (Phil. 2:5) first be in us it
will be contagious and others will seek to develop it in their own
lives. This will result in the good health of the body.
May God give us all the strength through faith to fight off the
sickness and disease of sin that so constantly troubles us.
-- via Searching the Scriptures, January 1989, Volume 30, Number 1
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb.
10:36-39;
Rev.
2:10;
2
Pet.
2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn), Denham Springs, Louisiana
70726
Sunday services: 9:15 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 4 PM (worship)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
tedwards1109@gmail.com
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
Directions:
Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of
the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing
Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas
stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road,
and go less then 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on the
right. We assemble in its meeting room, which is very close to
the reception counter.
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