____________________________________________________ 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) ____________________________________________________ August 25, 1996 ____________________________________________________ It Doesn't Pay by Robert Jackson To Let Grudges Embitter Your Spirit Some have a grudge in their heart they want to settle with another. There is no limit to what they will do if they are motivated by a grudge in their heart. A bitter spirit within you will lead you to do and say things about another that eventually will make you wonder if you really did say and do those things. It just doesn't pay to settle a grudge with a bitter spirit. To Let Gossipers Ruin Your Life There are some who are always gossiping about others. You just can't afford to believe what others say about you or others. If you are not careful, you will let gossipers destroy friendships, home life, and above all, our service to God. It just doesn't pay to let gossipers do this to you. To Let Flattery Undermine Your Ambition Some people let flattery undermine their lives. Preachers are so often guilty of this. Someone will flatter them with words and they, in turn, let it go to their heads and wham...they lose all sense of balance. It is just as easy for this to happen to others as well. Flattery to a person can often ruin one. It doesn't pay to let flattery get you. To Let Your Friends Do Your Thinking For You So many today let others think for them. This is often so true among young people. They don't stop to think a thing through. They let others do the thinking for them and often times get them into trouble as a result. Every person ought to learn to think for himself. Think about what God wants you to do and not what others think. To Let Others Kill Your Love For The Lord Today many of the soldiers of the Lord are not in the battle. They have quit. Why? Because they let others kill their love and zeal for Christ. They listen to false teachers. They are influenced by the world. They let their so-called friends who have no love for Jesus keep them from doing the will of God. -- Via The Old Path II, July 7, 1996 ___________________________________________ ``The Death of Moses'' by Randy Harshbarger Joshua chapter one contains several interesting bits of information about the death of Moses. Bible students, of course, are familiar with who Moses was, what he did, and that Joshua took his place when he died. His life is one of fascination and faith. Moses was reluctant at first, when God gave him the charge to lead Israel out of bondage. The problems were many, the discouragements would come often, and the logistical problems would cause most to give up! If the people of God provoked the Lord (Hebrews 3:8), imagine how Moses felt! His life was not one of perfection in the absolute sense, but it does furnish us with an example of faith (Hebrews 11:24-26). Now, however, Moses is dead, and Joshua has taken the reigns of leadership. From chapter one of Joshua notice several verses. In verse two we find the Lord insuring Joshua that the land of promise would belong to the children of Israel. ``I will give them this land...'' is a promise that would insure future faithfulness. With the Lord, victory is always assured (1 Corinthians 15:57-58). In verses three through five, the Lord goes on to define the boundaries of the promised land. In Joshua 1:6, the Lord said, ``Be strong and of good courage.'' This statement speaks to the need for spiritual strength. By trusting in themselves, Israel would insure defeat; they would have to trust in God. Verse seven speaks to their need to obey all that the Lord says. By turning to the right or left, they would jeopardize the entire effort. It is interesting that the very laws they were told to obey had been written by Moses! ``Meditate day and night on my law'' (Joshua 1:8). The word of God must be with you at all times. The Psalmist later said that the righteous man paid attention at all times to heaven's will (Psalms 1). God would be with them (Joshua 1:9), thus providing needed encouragement along the way. The fire by night and the cloud by day provided the way for Israel to go as they left Egypt. They would continue to need the Lord's help in order to take and conquer the land of Canaan. What does all this have to do with us today? Just this! We can learn from those who have walked before. Moses dealt with many problems, many of which were caused by God's own people. Yet, through it all, he continued to serve the Lord. Yes, we all have problems, but we cannot stop serving the Lord! Moses died, and we, too, will sometime die! When that time comes, will we be ready? God kept His word to Israel, and His promises to us are just as sure. Israel gained the promised land, and we can gain heaven as our home. The journey of life is hard sometimes, but let us press on toward the promised land. -- Via Power Talk, July 28, 1996 ___________________________________________ To Whom Shall We Go? by Gene Taylor In the sixth chapter of the book of John, Jesus miraculously fed the multitude, with just five barley loaves and two fish. The next day, after Jesus had withdrawn from them, the multitude sought Him and found Him in Capernaum. Jesus knew that they sought Him not because of the signs that they had seen, but because they had eaten of the loaves and had been filled (vs. 26). Jesus told them that they should not be seeking such perishable food but should seek and desire ``the food which abideth unto eternal life'' (vs. 27). He told them that He was the bread of life and those that come to Him would never hunger or thirst again (vs. 35). Jesus told them if they wanted life they must eat of His flesh and drink His blood (see Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 11:22-25 and 1 Cor. 11:23-29) or they would die (vs. 53-58). Many of the followers of Jesus could not understand this teaching and murmured that it was a ``hard saying'' (vs. 60). Jesus knew of their murmuring and knew that some of them were not believers so He said that no one could come to Him except it be given them of the Father (vs. 61,65). These teachings were difficult for many to comprehend so they left Him and followed Him no more (vs. 66). Jesus, seeing this, asked the twelve chosen to be apostles if they would also leave. Simon Peter so rightly answered, ``Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life'' (vs. 68). Today, just as then, those words uttered by Peter ring true. No matter where we seek, we will find the teachings that lead us to eternal life in only Jesus Christ and His gospel. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one could come unto the Father except by Him. Acts 4:12 reveals that salvation is in no other than Christ. Jesus has fully given His terms for pardon in the New Testament (see Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47), and if we are to have eternal life we must heed His instructions. If we don't heed Jesus, ``To whom shall we go?'' -- Via The Harvester, July 28, 1996 ___________________________________________ I Met The Strangest Man He said he believes the Bible is the Word of God, but he never reads it. He said the church would be more effective if more of its members were really dedicated, but he isn't. He said he feels the church assemblies are times for edification and praise, but he never attends. He said the younger generation needs stronger spiritual values, but he doesn't exemplify them in his life. He said the church is not doing the work the Lord intends it should do, but he is not working. He said he believes that God hears and answers prayer, but he does not pray. He said he knows the Lord is coming again, but he lives as though the Lord will never come. -- Author unknown (The Old Path II, July 28, 1996) ___________________________________________ The Indian's Memory by Tom Edwards I heard a joke many years ago about an Indian who was noted for his keenly sharp memory. In wanting to test the Indian's power of recall, a tourist walked up to him and asked, ``What was it that you had for breakfast twenty years ago?'' The Indian, who was calmly sitting with arms and legs crossed, replied with only slight hesitation, ``Eggs.'' Twenty years passed, and the same tourist ran into the same Indian in front of the same tepee. Glad to see him again after so many years, the tourist, with right hand upheld, approached the old Indian, and said, ``How!'' The Indian, gently caressing his chin in a downward motion with forefinger and thumb, looked up and said, ``Scrambled.'' It would be handy to have a memory as keen as this Indian's, but it is highly unlikely that many of us do. How long, therefore, has it been since you've last read all of the New Testament? Have you forgotten any of the Lord's commands? We need to continually refresh our minds with the revitalizing power of the gospel--and even truths in God's word that we already know can still cause us to exalt in the Lord all over again, as we give our reverential attention to His message. For we, as God's people, are often in need of reminders (cf, 2 Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:1; 2 Pet. 1:12)--and though it took the power of the Holy Spirit to bring to the remembrance of the apostles ``all'' that Jesus said to them (Jn. 14:26), we today must turn to the Scriptures, which is ``the sword of the Spirit'' (Eph. 6:17), in order that the Holy Spirit can refresh our minds with those truths God has revealed. Far better for one to forget his own name than to forget the word of the Lord. ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES Update by David Girardot about Jerry Merten: ``Just got back from Madison. Jerry's surgery went well, took about 8 hours (from 3:30pm to 11:30pm). If anything it went better than expected. The doctor said they were able to remove all of the cancer that was surrounding his spine...at least all that was detectable. They had to remove three discs, and parts of two others. He will be in University Hospital for anywhere from 5 days to several weeks. Please continue to pray for him and for his family.'' Rob Perkins writes: ``Sakkie Pretorius, evangelist in Nelspruit, South Africa, has suffered a heart attack and must undergo bypass surgery. At present, he is suffering from reduced lung function, and this is causing a delay in the surgery...Sakkie, Laverne and the children are in need of our prayers. Anyone wishing further information can contact me privately at RobPerkins@aol.com. This being the last Sunday of the month, we will have our ``Sing Night'' during the evening worship hour. If there are some songs you would like us to sing at that time, be sure to tell one of the song leaders prior to the service. Let's each do our best to blend our voices as a joyful noise unto the Lord! Hello to all of our new visitors--and our old ones, too! We are thankful and joyous to have you with us! FREE Bible courses upon request. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@wwd.net ________________________________________