____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ November 21, 1999 ____________________________________________________ "B'twixt Saddle and Ground" by Robert F. Turner ``Yep,'' an old-timer tells me; ``the light hit him, and he was converted b'twixt the saddle and the ground.'' Believe it or not, we are talking about the conversion of Saul (later the Apostle Paul) not a Western movie. No amount of Bible reading can change my friend's conception either. With him it is ``b'twixt saddle and ground'' or nothing. I try to tell him the Bible says nothing about a saddle, but he replies, ``Any fool knows he'd have a saddle on his horse.'' I surely hate to admit that this fool can't even find the horse. The text is in triplicate: Acts 9:1-18; 22:1-16; 26:12-20; and one must assemble the facts from each account to get the full story. It pleased God to make Paul an Apostle (Gal. 2:15) and this required witnessing the resurrected Lord. Paul did not see Him at the ``due'' time, i.e., before the ascension (1 Cor. 15:4-10); but the Lord appeared unto him to make him ``a minister and a witness,'' not to save him (26:16). The Lord spoke to Paul, not to assure him of salvation, but to send him to one who would tell him what to do (9:6; 22:10). This does not refer to his preaching mission, for Jesus had already told him of this (26:17f). Some say the light, the appearance of the Lord, the voice, etc., all are assurances that Saul's (Paul's) sins were forgiven. If so, he is the most dejected and sorrowing ``saved'' man of history. ``He was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink'' (Acts 9:9). During this time he was praying (9:11). And Ananias said, ``arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'' Even the old-timer should admit this is hardly the thing to say to one who is saved -- with sins forgiven. (The old-timer is quiet at this point.) Saul's conversion, like others in the early days of the church, was surrounded by circumstances related to the times. Because of his appointment as an Apostle, there are elements in the account not directly a part of the conversion itself. Remove these, and his conversion was not unlike any other ``turning to the Lord'' recorded in New Testament history. He had to learn of the Lord (note Acts 7:58), believe in Him, repent of past sins, and obey Him in baptism. He placed his trust in Christ and the salvation made possible by His death; and this faith was such as to lead him to ``obey from the heart that form of doctrine'' (the death, burial, and resurrection) ``being then made free from sins....'' (Rom. 6:16-18, 3-5). Remember, it was this same Paul who wrote Rom. 6:3-f: ``so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death.'' But my friend, the old-timer, is not yet convinced. ``Don't talk to me about baptism,'' he shouts. ``How in this wide world are you going to baptize a horse??'' Hmm! I'm going to study on that. -- Via Plain Talk, May 1964 ___________________________________________ A Final Thought Seven Things the Lord Hates (Prov. 6:16-19). * A Proud Look * A Lying Tongue * Hands that Shed Innocent Blood * A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans * Feet that are Swift in Running to Evil * A False Witness Who Speaks Lies * One Who Sows Discord Among Brethren How is your attitude toward these things? -- Via Sound Doctrine, April 4, 1999 ___________________________________________ As Time Goes By by Tracy Schell HAVING JUST CELEBRATED MY 31st birthday, I am aware of just how fast time passes by. My childhood doesn't seem that long ago in my mind, but a lot of years have passed since then. Nothing can stand against the ravages of time. As the song says, ``Time is filled with swift transition, naught of earth unmoved can stand.'' Entire civilizations have come and gone, buried beneath the sands of time. The Aztecs and the Incas, once great nations, are now nothing more than archeological footnotes. So just how insignificant does that make our lives? ``For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away'' (I Peter 1:24). Has anyone ever given you cut flowers? Their beauty is great, but temporary, and they quickly wither and die in just a few days. So also are the days of our lives. We all want to live a long life, but is there really any such thing? Adam, the first man, lived 930 years. Noah lived 950 years, and old man Methuselah topped them all at 969 years! Moses, by comparison, died young. He only lived a mere 120 years! Most of us will be fortunate if we live half that long. We are just passing through this world on our way to Heaven or Hell. There are no other options as to where we will end up. The length of time we are here is irrelevant. What is important is how we live our lives. Will we spend our brief time here in service to God so that we can have a home with him in Heaven, or will we squander our time and end up in eternal damnation? If you are a Christian already, the task before you is to continue down the road you have wisely chosen and not stray from the path. If you are not a Christian, what are you waiting for? Time is passing you by! Do not think you have as long as Methuselah to make up your mind. You do not. In fact, you may not even have till tomorrow to make up your mind: ``Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that'' (James 4:14-15). Do not be like Felix and attempt to wait for a more convenient season. That time may never come. As many a preacher has said, if you are subject to God's call, now is the time of convenience! -- Via The North Courtenay church of Christ, Sept. 8, 1996 ___________________________________________ Hiding Behind a Hypocrite by Jere E. Frost THE FINGER OF INDIGNATION, with a touch of smugness, has been pointed many times at a brother or sister who fell short of what they should be. ``If that's what a Christian is, then I want no part of it,'' says the accompanying voice. But the fact there are hypocrites in the church provides no justification or hope for the sinner outside the church. It is an exceedingly foolish argument. It is the equivalent of saying that because a professed Christian fails on one point, and his hypocrisy is so terrible that he (the indignant sinner) does not want to be that bad, that he will deliberately reject God and any profession of following his Maker. That makes no sense! Think about it. The hypocrite is wrong and will be condemned for it. He is lost, and without repentance will be forever lost. So the sinner who feigns to be repelled by such hypocrisy turns around and does what guarantees that he will share a lost eternity with the hypocrite. He does not break rank with him; he has in fact joined him. Their difference is not one of substance, but of taste. It is the silly and vain idea that he may be wrong and a sinner, but at least his sin is not as bad as that of the hypocrite. And in so rationalizing he becomes one with the hypocrite in serving that which is evil and vile. The bottom line: the professed Christian's sin, no matter how ugly and repulsive it may be, is no justification for you to deliberately refuse to obey the Lord. -- via The Bulletin of the North Courtenay church of Christ, June 13, 1999 ___________________________________________ The Simple Truth by Brent Lykins Here is a first order linear differential equation: y'+2ty=t This equation is given in the form y'+p(t)y=g(t). To solve this equation, we first must take e^int(p(t)). e^int(2t)dt (equation for the integrating factor). Integrating this with respect to t yields e^t^2. Now we must multiply e^t^2 (called an integrating factor) by every term in the equation. Doing this gives e^t^2*y'+2te^t^2*y=te^t^2. Now we single out the first term on the left and the term on the right of the equal sign and integrate them both: [e^t^2*y]' = te^t^2 -- Integration of both sides yields the following: e^t^2*y = 1/2e^t^2+c Now we divide both sides by e^t^2 to get ``y'' by itself: y=1/2+ce^-t^2 is the answer. It took me 2 years of math to learn how to do that. It's very difficult to understand, and hopefully knowing it will help me to score a job when I graduate. Now I want you to read these verses for me right now: Romans 10:17, ``So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.'' John 8:24, ''...for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.'' Acts 17:30, ''...God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent.'' Romans 10:10, ''...and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'' Mark 16:16, ``He who believes and is baptized will be saved....'' Acts 2:38, ''...'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.''' Revelation 2:10, ''...Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.'' Now it doesn't take 2 years of Calculus to figure out what you must do to live with God eternally. Reading these verses took less than one minute; but if obeyed, they can lead to an eternity in heaven, for they are the key to your salvation. None of these verses are hard to understand, and they clearly show the steps to becoming a Christian: 1) Hear the gospel, 2) Believe, 3) Repent, 4) Confess that Jesus is the Son of God, 5) Be Baptized, and 6) Live a Christian life. What's keeping you from being a child of God? The steps are in the previous paragraph. They are not hard to follow. ___________________________________________ Personal Involvement by Myron Keith We expect to be personally involved in everything which we enter into in life. When a child enters grade school he knows and expects to be personally involved with the teacher and children and the getting of lessons. A little later in life the child may choose to join the basketball team. He doesn't join it with the anticipation of sitting on the bench. He wants to be involved with the team. He will work out at practice sessions and he will prepare himself with the other members of the team to produce a winning team if at all possible. It's almost laughable to think of a young man saying to a lady, ``I want you to be my wife. I want to get married, but I do not plan to be personally involved with you.'' A man applies for a job; he is accepted by the personal manager; he anticipates going to work at a certain time and working until he gets off later in the day. Strangely enough, there are some who enter into the Christian religion who say, ``I want to be a Christian, but I do not want to get involved in church work.'' Can a child say, ``I want to become a man, but I don't want to grow.'' Think about it! To be a bird is to fly; to be a fish is to swim; to be a Christian is to be involved in the work of Christ. All Christians should get involved in the work of our Lord. -- via an adaptation in The Old Path II, October 17, 1999 ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, 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@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________