Wednesday, July 31, 2013
President George H.W. Bush
One With Us
Have the you seen the picture of former President George H.W. Bush sitting in a wheelchair with his head shaved and holding a little boy with a bald head? Do you know WHY the 41st President of the United States shaved his head on this occasion?
I didn't until I saw Neal Pollard's article entitled, "Why George Bush Shaved His Head." *
Here's the rest of the story.
89-year-old former President Bush saw members of his secret service detail suddenly walking around baldheaded. Upon investigating, Mr. Bush learned that one of the agent's sons, Patrick, was being treated for leukemia. The 2-year-old lost his hair due to the treatments he has been taking for the cancer. So former President Bush shaved his head to show his support.
But there's more to it than that.
Bush was motivated by more than a feeling of solidarity; it was sympathy. He and his wife, Barbara, lost their second child, Robin, at 4-years-old nearly 60 years ago.
Former President George H.W. Bush and his family know from experience the toll that cancer can take on a person's life and the lives of his family members. So as little Patrick and his family continue their battle with leukemia, the former U.S. Commander-in-Chief wanted to show his support, so he shaved his head so that Patrick wouldn't be the only one who had lost his hair.
Here's another question: Why did Jesus become a man?
Notice part of the Bible's answer: "14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." - Hebrews 2:14-15
"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement [propitiation] for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - Hebrews 2:17-18
God put on human flesh to identify with us! He wants us to know that He knows all about us, not just because He created us and He observes us, but because He lived like us.
God became man in order to become the perfect sacrifice for us. He became "one of us" to save us. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
1 Timothy 2:5-6
The sinless Son of God took upon Himself the sins of the world to pay the price for our redemption. He will save those who accept His offer of salvation and life on His terms: placing our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
Jesus became "one of us" so that we might become "one with God."
Won't YOU accept His offer of salvation and eternal life?
David Sargent,
Monday, July 29, 2013
John 17:17 - Thy word is truth
My thoughts for today’s editorial stem from some current, on-going news items and our study last Wednesday evening. In that study we talked about the "character" of a Christian and used these recent news events to illustrate that lesson. I’d like to continue on with another aspect of a Christian’s character and, still using the new items, I’ll sort of continue on with that lesson.
The news items I cited for my illustrations Wednesday were the scandals involving the disgraced former Congressman, Anthony Weiner, who is running for Mayor of New York City and the baseball player suspended for "substance abuse."
I’m not going to mention any details about these two cases, I’m only going to mention something I see consistent with both of our subjects here. When the news broke, when the scandal came to light, the first thing they (and just about all scandal-mongers do) - they lied about it. Of course, when the evidence was overwhelming they ‘fessed-up and began the second phase of a scandal - trying to work a deal.
But why lie? Well, there’s a very simple answer - to deceive people. So people won’t see the true them. They lie to pretend that "it" (whatever got you in trouble) didn’t really happen. That they’re not a sexual degenerate or a dope-using ball player. Then the evidence comes out and proves that, not only are they a "liar" but a "hypocrite" - an actor. They’re pretending to be something that they’re not. They’re not only speaking lies, they’re living a lie.
Part of the second phase of a scandal is the pleading for mercy and understanding. And, sad to say, they seem to receive quite a bit of this, don’t they? Why this is, in my humble opinion, is because many people don’t see lying as being a major problem or fault in a person anymore. Is it because we’ve been fed so many lies by our government that we’ve become immune, so to speak, to the effect that lying has on our lives? I don’t know, but I suspect that it does.
You know, one can have the reputation of being a liar and/or being proven to be a liar, and again sadly, a lot of people just don’t seem to be bothered by it. But what bothers me is, they separate the "liars" public life from their private life and say that one doesn’t affect the other. That’s like saying you can trust him to be honest and truthful at work, on duty, even though he’s a known liar off duty. How can that be?"
God doesn’t separate man’s life into public and private categories. With God, a liar is a liar is a liar! And, He tells us in His Word that liars will be dealt with "accordingly." Now, I said "accordingly." What do I mean by this? I mean a couple of things about God dealing "accordingly" with man in relation to man’s actions, his "deeds."
Nr. 1 - "According" to a person’s ways, or their manner of living because it’s our manner of living, our character, that determines our standing with God. Note in 1Tim. 1:10-11 that "liars" are lumped in with some other vile persons and we’re told there that these kinds of actions are "contrary to sound doctrine. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God..."
If we turn to Gal. 2:14 we find that when we "walk uprightly" we’re walking "according to the truth of the gospel." So, what we’re seeing here is that our actions, our "deeds", our manner of life has to fit within certain parameters, IE: the gospel of Christ which is what determines our standing with God.
Here’s the other shoe, so to speak, on this point. 2Cor. 5:10 says that we’re going to answer for our actions, our deeds. It says there that "all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And then, Rom. 2:6 tells us that God’s judgment will be rendered to every man "according to his deeds."
Okay, now let’s look at point Nr. 2. God will judge man "according" to His Word. In other words, everybody gets judged by the same set of rules. The same standard. And we can see what that standard is by looking first at Rom 2:16 where we find these words: "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
Another way of making this point is to look at Rom. 2:2 and see that we’ll be judged "according to truth...." John 17:17 defines for us what "truth" is: "Thy word is truth." And probably the best scripture we can look at to make this point understandable is the one found in John 12:48. "He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
Now, did you notice anywhere in those scriptures, or any other passages in the Bible for that matter, anything about whether man’s "deeds" are separated into categories? As in the "public deeds" being judged differently from the "private deeds?" No, I didn’t either.
Here’s a little further thought about "lying." How does lying affect our lives? The answer: it is a destroyer of character. One doesn’t have to commit every sin to destroy one’s character. If a person’s character is destroyed in one category, one sin, and remains unrepented of, it’s destroyed in all aspects.
What I mean by that is, how can you believe what this person is saying "publicly" when you can’t trust what he says "privately?" I’ve heard of people having a mental disorder that causes them to have what’s referred to as "dual personalities" but, there cannot be "dual characters." I guess that what I’m getting at is, a Christian cannot be of a "dual character." As in being a "public Christian" and a "private infidel."
I repeat, there are no separate categories of Christians. You are either 100 percent Christian or you’re not one. Remember John’s talking about the letter to the church at Laodicea in Rev. 3? Where they were told that they couldn’t be "luke-warm" or else God would "spew them" out of His mouth? In other words, they couldn’t sit on the fence. They had to be either hot or cold. And, as touching this point, remember what Jesus said in Matt. 12:20 and Luke 11:23? He said, "He that is not with me is against me." Again, a Christian cannot have a "dual character."
In closing our lesson today, I’ll give you a couple of quotations that I used in the Wednesday night lesson that I feel is applicable to my thoughts here. In regards to our "lying, substance-abusing" ball player, the famous UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, said this:
"Sports do not build character - they reveal it."
He also once spoke these words that I’ll close with.
"Material possessions, winning scores and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
Ron Covey
The news items I cited for my illustrations Wednesday were the scandals involving the disgraced former Congressman, Anthony Weiner, who is running for Mayor of New York City and the baseball player suspended for "substance abuse."
I’m not going to mention any details about these two cases, I’m only going to mention something I see consistent with both of our subjects here. When the news broke, when the scandal came to light, the first thing they (and just about all scandal-mongers do) - they lied about it. Of course, when the evidence was overwhelming they ‘fessed-up and began the second phase of a scandal - trying to work a deal.
But why lie? Well, there’s a very simple answer - to deceive people. So people won’t see the true them. They lie to pretend that "it" (whatever got you in trouble) didn’t really happen. That they’re not a sexual degenerate or a dope-using ball player. Then the evidence comes out and proves that, not only are they a "liar" but a "hypocrite" - an actor. They’re pretending to be something that they’re not. They’re not only speaking lies, they’re living a lie.
Part of the second phase of a scandal is the pleading for mercy and understanding. And, sad to say, they seem to receive quite a bit of this, don’t they? Why this is, in my humble opinion, is because many people don’t see lying as being a major problem or fault in a person anymore. Is it because we’ve been fed so many lies by our government that we’ve become immune, so to speak, to the effect that lying has on our lives? I don’t know, but I suspect that it does.
You know, one can have the reputation of being a liar and/or being proven to be a liar, and again sadly, a lot of people just don’t seem to be bothered by it. But what bothers me is, they separate the "liars" public life from their private life and say that one doesn’t affect the other. That’s like saying you can trust him to be honest and truthful at work, on duty, even though he’s a known liar off duty. How can that be?"
God doesn’t separate man’s life into public and private categories. With God, a liar is a liar is a liar! And, He tells us in His Word that liars will be dealt with "accordingly." Now, I said "accordingly." What do I mean by this? I mean a couple of things about God dealing "accordingly" with man in relation to man’s actions, his "deeds."
Nr. 1 - "According" to a person’s ways, or their manner of living because it’s our manner of living, our character, that determines our standing with God. Note in 1Tim. 1:10-11 that "liars" are lumped in with some other vile persons and we’re told there that these kinds of actions are "contrary to sound doctrine. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God..."
If we turn to Gal. 2:14 we find that when we "walk uprightly" we’re walking "according to the truth of the gospel." So, what we’re seeing here is that our actions, our "deeds", our manner of life has to fit within certain parameters, IE: the gospel of Christ which is what determines our standing with God.
Here’s the other shoe, so to speak, on this point. 2Cor. 5:10 says that we’re going to answer for our actions, our deeds. It says there that "all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And then, Rom. 2:6 tells us that God’s judgment will be rendered to every man "according to his deeds."
Okay, now let’s look at point Nr. 2. God will judge man "according" to His Word. In other words, everybody gets judged by the same set of rules. The same standard. And we can see what that standard is by looking first at Rom 2:16 where we find these words: "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
Another way of making this point is to look at Rom. 2:2 and see that we’ll be judged "according to truth...." John 17:17 defines for us what "truth" is: "Thy word is truth." And probably the best scripture we can look at to make this point understandable is the one found in John 12:48. "He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
Now, did you notice anywhere in those scriptures, or any other passages in the Bible for that matter, anything about whether man’s "deeds" are separated into categories? As in the "public deeds" being judged differently from the "private deeds?" No, I didn’t either.
Here’s a little further thought about "lying." How does lying affect our lives? The answer: it is a destroyer of character. One doesn’t have to commit every sin to destroy one’s character. If a person’s character is destroyed in one category, one sin, and remains unrepented of, it’s destroyed in all aspects.
What I mean by that is, how can you believe what this person is saying "publicly" when you can’t trust what he says "privately?" I’ve heard of people having a mental disorder that causes them to have what’s referred to as "dual personalities" but, there cannot be "dual characters." I guess that what I’m getting at is, a Christian cannot be of a "dual character." As in being a "public Christian" and a "private infidel."
I repeat, there are no separate categories of Christians. You are either 100 percent Christian or you’re not one. Remember John’s talking about the letter to the church at Laodicea in Rev. 3? Where they were told that they couldn’t be "luke-warm" or else God would "spew them" out of His mouth? In other words, they couldn’t sit on the fence. They had to be either hot or cold. And, as touching this point, remember what Jesus said in Matt. 12:20 and Luke 11:23? He said, "He that is not with me is against me." Again, a Christian cannot have a "dual character."
In closing our lesson today, I’ll give you a couple of quotations that I used in the Wednesday night lesson that I feel is applicable to my thoughts here. In regards to our "lying, substance-abusing" ball player, the famous UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, said this:
"Sports do not build character - they reveal it."
He also once spoke these words that I’ll close with.
"Material possessions, winning scores and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
Ron Covey
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Genesis 6:5
Genesis 6:5 “And God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
As I sit here thinking
about the beginning words of this passage, I am reminded that just as God saw
man’s wickedness a long time ago, he sees all the evil and wickedness that is so
prevalent in the world today (Prov. 15:3, Heb. 4:13). There is nothing hid from
his eyes.
Our hearts becomes heavy
when we consider the sinful condition this world is in today. All of the
deplorable sins recorded in Romans 1:18-32 are abundantly present throughout the
whole world. Hatred, wrath, strife, heresies, envyings, murder, drunkenness,
fornication, covetousness, deceit are just a part of the sins that have become
an integral part of our society (Gal. 5:20-21, Rom. 1:29-31). Pleasure,
amusement, recreation, possessions, self gratification, wealth are the gods that
multitudes bow down to Ex. 20:3, Luke 12:15). God’s law of marriage is scorned,
ridiculed and rejected (Matt. 19:3-9). Homosexual and lesbian lifestyles are now
largely accepted and promoted in our society so much so that same sex marriage
is being promoted and accepted by multitudes (Rom. 1:26-27)
It is time for a
spiritual revival. It is time for a spiritual revival in you and I. Sin is sin,
wrong is wrong and it doesn’t matter if everyone is doing it or how popular it
may be. It is time for us to ring out the message, time to go teach the gospel
telling men everywhere of its saving power (Rom. 1:17, Matt.28:19-20). It is
time for us to set the example for others to follow (1 Cor. 11:1, 2 Thess. 3:7,
1 Tim. 4:12). It is time for us to shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15,
Matt. 5:16). These are indeed, perilous times (James 3:1-5) and as watchmen, we
must sound out the warnings. Like the song we often sing says, “Soldiers of
Christ Arise”.
I do not know what
tomorrow holds in store but I do know that my Lord and savior holds tomorrow in
his hands and I trust him with all my being (Isa. 12:2-3). So long as this
world continues to exist Jesus will reign supreme and all human beings,
principalities, governments are under his feet (Psalms 8:6, 1 Cor. 15:25-27,
Col. 2:10, Eph. 1:22). He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and he is in
control (Rev. 19:11-16). Understand this, he has appointed a day in which he
will judge this world and in that day all men will appear before him and account
for the things done in this body whether good or bad (Acts 17:31, 2 Cor.
5:10).
My friends, I know that
God holds the future in his hands and we can depend on him. The question is, Can
he depend on us?—Heb. 10:23, Heb. 4:14-16.
Charles Hicks
Sunday, July 21, 2013
A few editorials back I presented a parable-type lesson and,
since I have a particular affinity to those kinds of lessons, I’m going to throw
another one your way today. I like to parabolize a lesson because I feel that it
better helps us to learn something. You know, Jesus sure seemed to think they
were helpful to get points across as He used them many times in teaching
spiritual truths to His disciples. His parables were things familiar in their
world. Things that they knew and understood when He talked about them. Thus,
when He laid the spiritual concept alongside of the earthly illustration, they
got the picture, so to speak. And, hopefully, when I’m finished here today, so
will you.
Today’s parable lesson may be a bit different from the ones you’ve heard or read in the past, but I thought I’d take something familiar to our world today, talk a little about it, and then lay a spiritual truth alongside it for you to consider. The thing that comprises the "worldly" side of our equation is a product with which we’re all familiar, although I have met people who may not have had too much familiarity with it. I’m going to talk first about "soap" and then about "religion."
Let me start by asking you a question: Does "soap" and "religion" have a connection? Well, in my feeble (don’t say warped) way of thinking, they do and that will constitute our parable. I’ve got to admit that, in most every other way, they probably do not, but I intend to connect them in this lesson so please bear with me and read on.
Starting with our familiar product, "soap," let’s look at it for a few moments. And, recognize that we’re talking about all "soap" type products such as bars, powders, shampoos and others of that ilk. We know that these are products that are designed to get us and our things clean. And no, the connection is not the old saying "Cleanliness is next to godliness." That’s all that is - an old saying. Contrary to popular belief, it is not from the Bible. You’ll find that "patience" is next to "godliness" in the Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:6)
Now I’m way too young to have used this, but some of you may be familiar with something referred to as "Grandma’s lye soap." From what I’ve been told, it did the job quite well and was probably about the most unadulterated form of soap ever used. Wasn’t anything fancy about it, but it certainly got the dirt off and maybe a little skin with it. I’ll start with "Grandma’s lye soap" because it serves about as good an example of pure soap as you’ll probably find.
Oh, I know there’s good old Ivory soap. You know, the one that says that it’s 99 and 44/100's percent pure and maybe, since I doubt if the grandma’s of today make lye soap, it could be the closest on the market to being pure soap. But, you know what else? Ivory soap isn’t the most popular brand in sales, is it? Why it’s not is what brings us to our "connection."
The reason that "pure soap" isn’t the big seller of today is because it lacks something that attracts customers today. It lacks something in the form of various and sundry ingredients that fall under the term of - "enhancements." Something that has been added to plain old soap so that people will buy that particular brand. Here’s what I want you to understand about "enhancers." They have absolutely nothing to do with the effectiveness of the soap or in the cleaning of us and our things. They’re simply something added by the manufacturer to "enhance" their brand of soap in the buying public’s eye.
Let me just tap into the TV/radio/magazine storage room of your mind and see if these examples ring a bell in there. You know that "there’s cold creme now in Camay" while another popular soap bar is said to be "1/4 cleansing creme." Oh yeah, they’ve got "vitamin E" and some with "antibacterial" ingredients. (I’ll bet "gramdma’s" got the bacteria off).
Then we’ve got some with "foaming cleansers" and others with "scrubbing bubbles." Others that don’t get specific, just say that their product has "softening lotions." How about "scent" additives? If you want to smell like fruit you can find soaps with fragrances added like; apples, lemons, bananas or cherries. Or, you can smell like a pine forest, a lilac bush or a whole bouquet of flowers if you like. One can even smell "natural," whatever that smells like. I’ll leave that up to your consideration.
All of these things, plus lots of others, are simply "enhancements" to a product to make it more appealing to the buying public. The definition of "enhance" plays a part in our lesson today so let’s look at what it means. It means things like "to magnify" or "to complicate" or "to boost." In our street vernacular we say "to soup up" or "to jazz up." It also has the meaning "to enrich or amend." An "enhancement" is defined as being "an extravagance" or "an exaggeration."
So, if we were in the soap making business, in order to compete with the other soaps out there on the market, we’d feel the need to add something to our product so that people would be interested in it, wouldn’t we? We’d feel that we have to out-enhance the other products. Do you see where I’m going with this parable?
When we switch to the spiritual side of this lesson and look at the "religion" aspect of it we easily see the connection, don’t we? The "religious world" seems to be adding "enhancements" at a rapid pace, aren’t they? False doctrines have always chosen to do this but, since the advent of radio and TV, the proverbial flood-gates have opened in this area. You’ve seen this.
In order to compete (read - outsell) their competitors, to appeal to the "religious world" (read - buying public) they use a lot of "enhancements." They build fabulous and ornate cathedrals and stage extravagant performances. They have famous people as guests and they have great orchestras and entertainers perform for their audiences (read - congregations). Here’s the problem with that - you have to keep "upping" your entertainment (or better said, keep "enhancing" your "enhancements") in order to keep your customers.
Perhaps the world hasn’t changed all that much from Paul’s day. The Jews wanted to see a "sign," a great wonder, a miracle performed and the Greeks wanted something more complex. Something magnified or enhanced. The pure, un-enhanced Gospel wasn’t enough for them. You can check this out by reading 1Cor. 1:22-23.
Sadly I’ve witnessed some congregations of the Lord’s church engage in these enhancing efforts and try and compete with the denominational world in things like social activities, in sports activities and fund-raising events. I’ve noted that some of them even have "ministries" set up for these "enhancements".
Now, don’t get me wrong. I like most sports as much as anyone. I like plays and traveling. I like to be entertained, but when these things become part of the church, they tend to become a priority of the congregation and the worship of God becomes secondary. More time and effort seems to be directed towards the "enhancements" rather than pure, unadulterated Gospel.
In wrapping up my parabolized lesson I’ll just say that, to me it seems like "soap" and "religion" today is filled with "enhancements" in order to get people to "buy" their product. Soap does not need "enhancements" in order to clean - to do its job. The Gospel does not need anything added to it in order for it to do its job either.
My last comment is a statement I once heard said by Bryant Gumble when he was a host on the Today Show. I’m not a particular fan of his, nor do I watch that show, but I did happen to hear this statement and I thought it appropriate to use in closing this lesson. He said: "If you trim yourself to fit the world, you’ll whittle yourself away." I’m sorry, but I have to give him an AMEN on that one.
Ron Covey
Today’s parable lesson may be a bit different from the ones you’ve heard or read in the past, but I thought I’d take something familiar to our world today, talk a little about it, and then lay a spiritual truth alongside it for you to consider. The thing that comprises the "worldly" side of our equation is a product with which we’re all familiar, although I have met people who may not have had too much familiarity with it. I’m going to talk first about "soap" and then about "religion."
Let me start by asking you a question: Does "soap" and "religion" have a connection? Well, in my feeble (don’t say warped) way of thinking, they do and that will constitute our parable. I’ve got to admit that, in most every other way, they probably do not, but I intend to connect them in this lesson so please bear with me and read on.
Starting with our familiar product, "soap," let’s look at it for a few moments. And, recognize that we’re talking about all "soap" type products such as bars, powders, shampoos and others of that ilk. We know that these are products that are designed to get us and our things clean. And no, the connection is not the old saying "Cleanliness is next to godliness." That’s all that is - an old saying. Contrary to popular belief, it is not from the Bible. You’ll find that "patience" is next to "godliness" in the Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:6)
Now I’m way too young to have used this, but some of you may be familiar with something referred to as "Grandma’s lye soap." From what I’ve been told, it did the job quite well and was probably about the most unadulterated form of soap ever used. Wasn’t anything fancy about it, but it certainly got the dirt off and maybe a little skin with it. I’ll start with "Grandma’s lye soap" because it serves about as good an example of pure soap as you’ll probably find.
Oh, I know there’s good old Ivory soap. You know, the one that says that it’s 99 and 44/100's percent pure and maybe, since I doubt if the grandma’s of today make lye soap, it could be the closest on the market to being pure soap. But, you know what else? Ivory soap isn’t the most popular brand in sales, is it? Why it’s not is what brings us to our "connection."
The reason that "pure soap" isn’t the big seller of today is because it lacks something that attracts customers today. It lacks something in the form of various and sundry ingredients that fall under the term of - "enhancements." Something that has been added to plain old soap so that people will buy that particular brand. Here’s what I want you to understand about "enhancers." They have absolutely nothing to do with the effectiveness of the soap or in the cleaning of us and our things. They’re simply something added by the manufacturer to "enhance" their brand of soap in the buying public’s eye.
Let me just tap into the TV/radio/magazine storage room of your mind and see if these examples ring a bell in there. You know that "there’s cold creme now in Camay" while another popular soap bar is said to be "1/4 cleansing creme." Oh yeah, they’ve got "vitamin E" and some with "antibacterial" ingredients. (I’ll bet "gramdma’s" got the bacteria off).
Then we’ve got some with "foaming cleansers" and others with "scrubbing bubbles." Others that don’t get specific, just say that their product has "softening lotions." How about "scent" additives? If you want to smell like fruit you can find soaps with fragrances added like; apples, lemons, bananas or cherries. Or, you can smell like a pine forest, a lilac bush or a whole bouquet of flowers if you like. One can even smell "natural," whatever that smells like. I’ll leave that up to your consideration.
All of these things, plus lots of others, are simply "enhancements" to a product to make it more appealing to the buying public. The definition of "enhance" plays a part in our lesson today so let’s look at what it means. It means things like "to magnify" or "to complicate" or "to boost." In our street vernacular we say "to soup up" or "to jazz up." It also has the meaning "to enrich or amend." An "enhancement" is defined as being "an extravagance" or "an exaggeration."
So, if we were in the soap making business, in order to compete with the other soaps out there on the market, we’d feel the need to add something to our product so that people would be interested in it, wouldn’t we? We’d feel that we have to out-enhance the other products. Do you see where I’m going with this parable?
When we switch to the spiritual side of this lesson and look at the "religion" aspect of it we easily see the connection, don’t we? The "religious world" seems to be adding "enhancements" at a rapid pace, aren’t they? False doctrines have always chosen to do this but, since the advent of radio and TV, the proverbial flood-gates have opened in this area. You’ve seen this.
In order to compete (read - outsell) their competitors, to appeal to the "religious world" (read - buying public) they use a lot of "enhancements." They build fabulous and ornate cathedrals and stage extravagant performances. They have famous people as guests and they have great orchestras and entertainers perform for their audiences (read - congregations). Here’s the problem with that - you have to keep "upping" your entertainment (or better said, keep "enhancing" your "enhancements") in order to keep your customers.
Perhaps the world hasn’t changed all that much from Paul’s day. The Jews wanted to see a "sign," a great wonder, a miracle performed and the Greeks wanted something more complex. Something magnified or enhanced. The pure, un-enhanced Gospel wasn’t enough for them. You can check this out by reading 1Cor. 1:22-23.
Sadly I’ve witnessed some congregations of the Lord’s church engage in these enhancing efforts and try and compete with the denominational world in things like social activities, in sports activities and fund-raising events. I’ve noted that some of them even have "ministries" set up for these "enhancements".
Now, don’t get me wrong. I like most sports as much as anyone. I like plays and traveling. I like to be entertained, but when these things become part of the church, they tend to become a priority of the congregation and the worship of God becomes secondary. More time and effort seems to be directed towards the "enhancements" rather than pure, unadulterated Gospel.
In wrapping up my parabolized lesson I’ll just say that, to me it seems like "soap" and "religion" today is filled with "enhancements" in order to get people to "buy" their product. Soap does not need "enhancements" in order to clean - to do its job. The Gospel does not need anything added to it in order for it to do its job either.
My last comment is a statement I once heard said by Bryant Gumble when he was a host on the Today Show. I’m not a particular fan of his, nor do I watch that show, but I did happen to hear this statement and I thought it appropriate to use in closing this lesson. He said: "If you trim yourself to fit the world, you’ll whittle yourself away." I’m sorry, but I have to give him an AMEN on that one.
Ron Covey
Monument to the Drowned
Dennis Fisher reports: On a sandy beach in Uruguay, giant concrete fingers partially submerged in sand reach up toward the sky. It is called the Monument to the Drowned. Locals just call it La Mano, "The Hand." It was created by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal as a warning to swimmers about the danger of drowning. "The Hand" has become a tourist attraction, but its real purpose remains to remind swimmers about the perils of the sea. *
The Word of God contains its own kind of warning signs. The book of Hebrews, for example, provides cautions about perils to the soul. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12-13).
The Word of God warns: sin is deceitful - and deadly! It promises freedom but delivers bondage (John 8:34). It promises thrilling life but delivers chilling death (Hebrews 11:25; Romans 6:23). It promises "no restraints!" but in the end, it brings about the judgment of God (Romans 1:18). In our sin, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
Fisher reminds us that "warning signs are given to us for our safety. Praise God that He has given us protective warnings in His Word because of His great love for us."
The Word of God also reveals: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2).
Yet because of His great love for us, God has "reached out to us with His hand" in the person of His Jesus with His offer of forgiveness and eternal life. Although our sins separated us from Him, God "bridged the gap" by allowing Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (Ephesians 1:7). Through Jesus we can be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
God will save those who accept His offer of salvation and life by placing their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
For the penitent sinner who places his faith and trust in Christ, God's hand - la mano de Dios - is not a dreadful place but rather a place of forgiveness, peace, and eternal life.
Won't YOU trust and obey Christ today?
David Sargent
The Word of God contains its own kind of warning signs. The book of Hebrews, for example, provides cautions about perils to the soul. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12-13).
The Word of God warns: sin is deceitful - and deadly! It promises freedom but delivers bondage (John 8:34). It promises thrilling life but delivers chilling death (Hebrews 11:25; Romans 6:23). It promises "no restraints!" but in the end, it brings about the judgment of God (Romans 1:18). In our sin, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
Fisher reminds us that "warning signs are given to us for our safety. Praise God that He has given us protective warnings in His Word because of His great love for us."
The Word of God also reveals: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2).
Yet because of His great love for us, God has "reached out to us with His hand" in the person of His Jesus with His offer of forgiveness and eternal life. Although our sins separated us from Him, God "bridged the gap" by allowing Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (Ephesians 1:7). Through Jesus we can be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
God will save those who accept His offer of salvation and life by placing their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
For the penitent sinner who places his faith and trust in Christ, God's hand - la mano de Dios - is not a dreadful place but rather a place of forgiveness, peace, and eternal life.
Won't YOU trust and obey Christ today?
David Sargent
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Margaretta Wolf
"Standing Her Ground"
I expect Margaretta Wolf is going to be well known. It's not that the 96-year- old merchant who lives in Marshfield, Wisconsin did anything great. But the news services are reporting today what Margaretta didn't do.
This past Monday a would-be robber walked into the small store Wolf has operated for the past 54 years. When he demanded that she open the cash register, she replied, "I'm not opening up that cash register and that's it, I'm not opening it. I said you can have all the Tootsie Rolls you want but I am not opening that cash register."
Frustrated by her refusal to give in to his demands, the robber pulled out a knife and ordered her to the back of the store. "I said, 'I'm not walking no place, I'm standing right here.'" When she threatened to push a button which would call for help, the robber fled the scene. He had none of her money (or Tootsie Rolls) as he made his getaway.
Police don't advise responding to muggers the way Margaretta Wolf did. In most cases they urge us to play it safe and give thieves what they demand. Let the police handle things, we are told, rather than risk personal injury. But I can imagine a standing ovation for this woman. We admire her courage, and her resolve to stand her ground.
There has been no bigger bully or no more despicable thief and murderer than Satan (see John 10:10). In Matthew 4 we read of him approaching Jesus at a vulnerable moment, at the end of a 40-day fast. "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread," he hissed into the ear of the hungry Savior (Matthew 4:3).
Jesus, however, stood His ground. "It is written" He replied to this and two other temptations (Matthew 4:4,7,10). In saying so He declared that His faith in God was greater than His voracious hunger, or than His desire for fame and followers. The pull must have been great on Jesus, but He didn't give an inch.
In Ephesians 4:26,27 Paul taught a lesson that many of us need to learn: "'Be angry and do not sin.' Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." Do we understand that ignoring God's warnings about sin is the first step in letting Satan have his way with us? Some of us, though, are easy marks.
Tom Petty, rock musician, made a song popular that has a line we'd do well to consider: "Well, I won't back down, no I won't back down; you could stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." May our resolve be like Margaretta's!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these ideas further.
Timothy D. Hall
I expect Margaretta Wolf is going to be well known. It's not that the 96-year- old merchant who lives in Marshfield, Wisconsin did anything great. But the news services are reporting today what Margaretta didn't do.
This past Monday a would-be robber walked into the small store Wolf has operated for the past 54 years. When he demanded that she open the cash register, she replied, "I'm not opening up that cash register and that's it, I'm not opening it. I said you can have all the Tootsie Rolls you want but I am not opening that cash register."
Frustrated by her refusal to give in to his demands, the robber pulled out a knife and ordered her to the back of the store. "I said, 'I'm not walking no place, I'm standing right here.'" When she threatened to push a button which would call for help, the robber fled the scene. He had none of her money (or Tootsie Rolls) as he made his getaway.
Police don't advise responding to muggers the way Margaretta Wolf did. In most cases they urge us to play it safe and give thieves what they demand. Let the police handle things, we are told, rather than risk personal injury. But I can imagine a standing ovation for this woman. We admire her courage, and her resolve to stand her ground.
There has been no bigger bully or no more despicable thief and murderer than Satan (see John 10:10). In Matthew 4 we read of him approaching Jesus at a vulnerable moment, at the end of a 40-day fast. "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread," he hissed into the ear of the hungry Savior (Matthew 4:3).
Jesus, however, stood His ground. "It is written" He replied to this and two other temptations (Matthew 4:4,7,10). In saying so He declared that His faith in God was greater than His voracious hunger, or than His desire for fame and followers. The pull must have been great on Jesus, but He didn't give an inch.
In Ephesians 4:26,27 Paul taught a lesson that many of us need to learn: "'Be angry and do not sin.' Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." Do we understand that ignoring God's warnings about sin is the first step in letting Satan have his way with us? Some of us, though, are easy marks.
Tom Petty, rock musician, made a song popular that has a line we'd do well to consider: "Well, I won't back down, no I won't back down; you could stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." May our resolve be like Margaretta's!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these ideas further.
Timothy D. Hall
Monday, July 15, 2013
J.C. Hall
For All to See
Tom Moore recently wrote about the life of J.C. Hall.
Born to poor parents, J.C. Hall was quickly put to work, mostly in sales, to help keep himself and his family afloat. Along with his brothers, he began selling postcards in Norfolk, Nebraska. But the postcard business wasn't thriving there. So, with little else than a couple of shoe boxes of postcards, he moved to Missouri to start afresh. Full of innovative ideas, he moved on from postcards to greeting cards. When the store from which he operated burned down in 1915, he and his brothers invested in an engraving business and began printing their own cards.
But it wasn't just the quality of the cards that burgeoned the business. It was Hall's groundbreaking idea to move the cards from behind the counters, where clerks would pick an "appropriate" card for the customer, out into display cases where customers could see them, handle them, and admire them.
By the time he died in 1982, Hall had turned two shoe boxes of postcards into a multi-billion dollar company known as Hallmark.
Says the Hallmark corporate website, "J.C. Hall took greeting cards out of drawers in retail stores, and into displays that let shoppers see all their choices, dramatically changing the way cards were merchandised."
Moore then makes this application: God did the same thing when He sent Jesus Christ into the world. That's when the Word of Life was moved from "behind the counters" of prophecy, "out of the drawers" of prediction, and placed in the "display case" of the first century for all the world to see, handle and admire. Today we have this wonderful display of our Lord in the New Testament. *
The Apostle John testified: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life - the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us" (1 John 1:1-2).
God "was put on display" - He became flesh and dwelt among us (incarnated) - so that:
Man might come to know God more fully (John 1:14,18),
That we may understand that God knows us all (Hebrews 4:14-16),
And so that we can be saved through Jesus (Hebrews 2:17-18).
ONLY the sinless Son of God could be the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins which condemn us. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." - 1 Timothy 2:5-6
Jesus will save those who accept His offer on His terms by placing their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Then, as we walk in the light of His Word, His blood continues to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Jesus came into the World for all to see God and the know the Way to "seeing" God for eternity (John 14:6).
Won't YOU accept His offer of salvation and eternal life by trusting and obeying Him today?
David Sargent, Minister
Tom Moore recently wrote about the life of J.C. Hall.
Born to poor parents, J.C. Hall was quickly put to work, mostly in sales, to help keep himself and his family afloat. Along with his brothers, he began selling postcards in Norfolk, Nebraska. But the postcard business wasn't thriving there. So, with little else than a couple of shoe boxes of postcards, he moved to Missouri to start afresh. Full of innovative ideas, he moved on from postcards to greeting cards. When the store from which he operated burned down in 1915, he and his brothers invested in an engraving business and began printing their own cards.
But it wasn't just the quality of the cards that burgeoned the business. It was Hall's groundbreaking idea to move the cards from behind the counters, where clerks would pick an "appropriate" card for the customer, out into display cases where customers could see them, handle them, and admire them.
By the time he died in 1982, Hall had turned two shoe boxes of postcards into a multi-billion dollar company known as Hallmark.
Says the Hallmark corporate website, "J.C. Hall took greeting cards out of drawers in retail stores, and into displays that let shoppers see all their choices, dramatically changing the way cards were merchandised."
Moore then makes this application: God did the same thing when He sent Jesus Christ into the world. That's when the Word of Life was moved from "behind the counters" of prophecy, "out of the drawers" of prediction, and placed in the "display case" of the first century for all the world to see, handle and admire. Today we have this wonderful display of our Lord in the New Testament. *
The Apostle John testified: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life - the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us" (1 John 1:1-2).
God "was put on display" - He became flesh and dwelt among us (incarnated) - so that:
Man might come to know God more fully (John 1:14,18),
That we may understand that God knows us all (Hebrews 4:14-16),
And so that we can be saved through Jesus (Hebrews 2:17-18).
ONLY the sinless Son of God could be the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins which condemn us. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." - 1 Timothy 2:5-6
Jesus will save those who accept His offer on His terms by placing their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Then, as we walk in the light of His Word, His blood continues to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Jesus came into the World for all to see God and the know the Way to "seeing" God for eternity (John 14:6).
Won't YOU accept His offer of salvation and eternal life by trusting and obeying Him today?
David Sargent, Minister
Thomas Sowell
For today’s editorial I’ve got in mind to present a few short, but I hope thoughtful, lessons for you to consider. Just a few little things that caught my attention at one time or another and caused me to think, in a parabolic way, about a spiritual application to lay alongside of them. Without further ado, we’ll get right on this.
My first "thing" stems from something a great thinker and author of our current generation, a man by the name of Thomas Sowell, recently said. Because of various national news items we’ve witnessed in the last couple of years and especially in light of our latest "trial" currently going on, I thought Thomas’s words here most appropriate.
He said: "If you believe that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a "radical" 60 years ago. A "liberal" 30 years ago and a "racist" today."
Here’s my spiritual application to those words of Mr. Sowell, who I should point out is a black-American. To me this is just another example of man’s way of operating IE: nothing stays the same. Nothing has standards that remain standard. Man has adopted the philosophy of "Situational Ethics" meaning that, depending on the situation, the "ethics" and the "standards" are changeable.
Aren’t you glad that you worship and serve a God that doesn’t operate with that philosophy? A God who’s rules and standards are the same for everyone at all ages and times. Another way of saying this is, that with God, the "situation" is constant - it doesn’t change. He doesn’t change and tells us this very thing in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." And the same applies to our Savior Jesus Christ as we see in Heb. 13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever."
I’m going to call my next little "thing" a lesson in "religious economics." It would be funny if it wasn’t quite so true. And, I think that you’ll "get" the spiritual application without me having to add my comments to it. It’s pretty much a self-contained lesson. See if you don’t agree.
A man once wrote: I heard of a minister who left the pulpit to go to medical school and become a doctor. An old friend saw him several years later and expressed surprise at his career change, but said he assumed it had been because he could care for people in a more concrete way now that he was practicing medicine.
"Not at all," the doctor responded honestly, "the reasons were purely economic. I discovered that people will pay more money to care for their bodies than for their souls."
Several years lapsed before the friend saw him again and discovered that he had left medicine for law. "What was your reason this time?" the friend asked.
"Simple economics again," replied the ex-minister, ex-doctor attorney. "I learned that people will pay more to prove they are right than to care for either body or soul."
Okay, now my last "thing" is a little story presented in sort of a fable-type parable. It begins this way: The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are five things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them, and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.
(1) You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.
The Word tells us: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1Pet. 5:6)
(2) You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you will need it to become a better pencil.
The Word tells us: "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1Pet. 1:7)
(3) You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
The Word tells us: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9)
(4) The most important part of you will be what is inside.
The Word tells us: Christians have "come out" from the world and are "separate."
(2Cor. 6:17) and 2Pet. 1:4-8 shows the "inside" part of a Christian - the character.
(5) On every surface you are used, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.
The Word tells us: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2Tim. 4:2)
The pencil understood, promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
My closing comment on this little parable: can’t all of us see ourselves as this little pencil? One that has been created by God, the Pencil Maker, and given His instructions for how to live the best Christian life we can? That, with the guidance and strength of God, we’ll be able to do many things for His glory.
Sure, there will be times when things don’t go just right for us. We’ll suffer hardships and sorrow as we live our earthly lives (occupy our "box"), but we’ll be able to handle them and come out stronger in faith. As faithful "pencils" we have forgiveness of sins, we can correct our mistakes. And our character, our "inside parts," brought into us by our "faith" sets us apart from the world and is "most important" because it’s what the world sees.
The last comment I’m going to make is about - our "mark." Seeing yourself as a "pencil," I think it’s imperative that we should be continually aware of what kind of "mark" we’re leaving behind. There’s a great old hymn whose title asks the question that is so appropriate to this last thought. That hymn is "What Will I Leave Behind" and if it’s not talking about our life’s "marks" then I’ve totally misunderstood the words of the song. It’s found on page 685 of our songbook and I encourage you to read it’s lyrics.
As we make our "marks" on all the "surfaces" we can, let’s strive to leave "marks" that bring glory to the "Pencil Maker" rather than "marks" representing the "beast" (Rev. 14:9). Instead, we start our "marking" career by bearing in our body "the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Gal. 6:17) and spread those "marks" throughout our journey as God’s "pencils."
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
My first "thing" stems from something a great thinker and author of our current generation, a man by the name of Thomas Sowell, recently said. Because of various national news items we’ve witnessed in the last couple of years and especially in light of our latest "trial" currently going on, I thought Thomas’s words here most appropriate.
He said: "If you believe that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a "radical" 60 years ago. A "liberal" 30 years ago and a "racist" today."
Here’s my spiritual application to those words of Mr. Sowell, who I should point out is a black-American. To me this is just another example of man’s way of operating IE: nothing stays the same. Nothing has standards that remain standard. Man has adopted the philosophy of "Situational Ethics" meaning that, depending on the situation, the "ethics" and the "standards" are changeable.
Aren’t you glad that you worship and serve a God that doesn’t operate with that philosophy? A God who’s rules and standards are the same for everyone at all ages and times. Another way of saying this is, that with God, the "situation" is constant - it doesn’t change. He doesn’t change and tells us this very thing in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." And the same applies to our Savior Jesus Christ as we see in Heb. 13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever."
I’m going to call my next little "thing" a lesson in "religious economics." It would be funny if it wasn’t quite so true. And, I think that you’ll "get" the spiritual application without me having to add my comments to it. It’s pretty much a self-contained lesson. See if you don’t agree.
A man once wrote: I heard of a minister who left the pulpit to go to medical school and become a doctor. An old friend saw him several years later and expressed surprise at his career change, but said he assumed it had been because he could care for people in a more concrete way now that he was practicing medicine.
"Not at all," the doctor responded honestly, "the reasons were purely economic. I discovered that people will pay more money to care for their bodies than for their souls."
Several years lapsed before the friend saw him again and discovered that he had left medicine for law. "What was your reason this time?" the friend asked.
"Simple economics again," replied the ex-minister, ex-doctor attorney. "I learned that people will pay more to prove they are right than to care for either body or soul."
Okay, now my last "thing" is a little story presented in sort of a fable-type parable. It begins this way: The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are five things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them, and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.
(1) You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.
The Word tells us: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1Pet. 5:6)
(2) You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you will need it to become a better pencil.
The Word tells us: "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1Pet. 1:7)
(3) You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
The Word tells us: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9)
(4) The most important part of you will be what is inside.
The Word tells us: Christians have "come out" from the world and are "separate."
(2Cor. 6:17) and 2Pet. 1:4-8 shows the "inside" part of a Christian - the character.
(5) On every surface you are used, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.
The Word tells us: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2Tim. 4:2)
The pencil understood, promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
My closing comment on this little parable: can’t all of us see ourselves as this little pencil? One that has been created by God, the Pencil Maker, and given His instructions for how to live the best Christian life we can? That, with the guidance and strength of God, we’ll be able to do many things for His glory.
Sure, there will be times when things don’t go just right for us. We’ll suffer hardships and sorrow as we live our earthly lives (occupy our "box"), but we’ll be able to handle them and come out stronger in faith. As faithful "pencils" we have forgiveness of sins, we can correct our mistakes. And our character, our "inside parts," brought into us by our "faith" sets us apart from the world and is "most important" because it’s what the world sees.
The last comment I’m going to make is about - our "mark." Seeing yourself as a "pencil," I think it’s imperative that we should be continually aware of what kind of "mark" we’re leaving behind. There’s a great old hymn whose title asks the question that is so appropriate to this last thought. That hymn is "What Will I Leave Behind" and if it’s not talking about our life’s "marks" then I’ve totally misunderstood the words of the song. It’s found on page 685 of our songbook and I encourage you to read it’s lyrics.
As we make our "marks" on all the "surfaces" we can, let’s strive to leave "marks" that bring glory to the "Pencil Maker" rather than "marks" representing the "beast" (Rev. 14:9). Instead, we start our "marking" career by bearing in our body "the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Gal. 6:17) and spread those "marks" throughout our journey as God’s "pencils."
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
FORGIVENESS HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVE
Colossians 3:12-13 “Put
on therefore , as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye.”
The child of God must
have a heart full of compassion, a heart that is sympathetic and considerate of
others. There is absolutely no room in the heart of God’s child for a proud,
haughty, unforgiving spirit. Not only does Paul urge us to have a forgiving
spirit, we learn a great lesson on this from our Lord in Mark 11:25-30 and
Matthew 6:14-15. I would emphasize here the fact that in the passage from
Matthew, the Lord tells us that if we do not forgive others, then God will not
forgive us. My friends, the command to have a forgiving heart is plain, clear
and absolutely essential on our part if we are going to be pleasing to
God.
Now, understand this, when
we forgive someone, we then treat that person as if the offense had never taken
place. Sometimes it seems that forgiveness is given with strings attached. Have
you ever said or heard someone day, “I’ll forgive but I want forget”? That’s
like burying the hatchet, leaving the handle sticking out so you can grab it
later and use it. I wonder, where would we stand today, what would be our hope
of eternal security if that was God’s attitude toward us? It matters not what
the offense might be, it matters not how heinous the offense might be or even
how we feel about it, if an individual asks for forgiveness, we forgive. I take
this a step further in that I believe that since we are to have a heart of
mercy, kindness, meekness and long
suffering, a heart that does not harbor
evil thoughts about others, we will forgive even in the absence of a request to
do so. We simply place the entire matter in the hands of God.
A final thought on
forgiveness: it takes great character and faith for someone to ask another
person to forgive them and by the same token, it takes great character and faith
on the part of the one who is willing to fully and freely say, “I forgive you”.
Forgiveness that is asked for and forgiveness that is granted will make us
partakers of a divine love that will bring happiness and peace into our lives.
True forgiveness asked for and given will leave a beautiful, warm feeling in our
hearts.
Consider diligently
Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Mark 6:37, Mark 11:4, Mark 17:3-4, 2
Corinthians 2:1-11 and Ephesians 4:32.
Remember always,
“FORGIVENESS HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES”.
Charles Hicks
Monday, July 8, 2013
Psalm 122:1
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (Psa. 122:1)
Those words of the Psalmist David came to mind when I began thinking about our editorial lesson for today. With what mental agility I possess, I think I understand why David penned those words. Why he was "glad" when the appointed time and date came around to go to the "house of the Lord." I think that it was for the same reasons that I too am "glad" when the Lord’s Day appears. Let me tell you why I believe that David was, and I am, "glad" on these occasions.
I don’t really know how old David was when he wrote those words, but in my humble opinion I feel that he must have been in the upper years of his life. The reason I feel this is because I believe that it’s us older folks who really appreciate "going to church" but, that’s not saying that the young-uns do not. I just think that having lived longer, experienced more, seems to cause us to appreciate more the blessings God has bestowed on us. Going to church allows us to join with each other in praising God and thanking Him for those blessings.
In one respect, we’re sort of like little children. They love to go to Sunday School, don’t they? Why is that you might ask? Well, it’s because they get to see their friends and sing songs and hear Bible stories and make crafty things that relate to those stories. Think about it - with the exception of the "crafty things," isn’t it pretty much the same for us older folks?
This touches upon why I believe that God designed the Church in the manner that we find in His Word. IE: a social entity, a family, so that Christians are to meet together often and thereby be encouraged and strengthened by each other. And, as a group of family members, we join together in praising Him and Jesus Christ. Now don’t get me wrong here, the worship and praise of God comes first before any benefit of a social nature. But always keep in mind, that the "church" is designed as a group endeavor. As a preacher friend of mine once said, "There are no Lone Ranger Christians. There has to be Tontos."
Today though, following our worship service, we as a family here at Highland get to participate in another great benefit seen in the form of a family get-together. We could say that it’s another example of the church being a social entity and is something that is of great benefit to a family - we get to eat together. Yep, today is pot luck day. And just as the family is strengthened by uniting in the worship of God, we’re strengthened both physically and spiritually by uniting in another family occasion.
With the definite danger of dating myself, I can recall when they were called by other terms. Terms such as "covered dish dinners" or "dinner on the grounds." By knowing terms like those automatically puts you back in the "olden days." Well, I don’t care if by knowing those terms I’m seen as old, it just means that I’ve had a lot of experience in "pot lucks" and I feel blessed by having all that experience.
My pot-luck career spans the years from when I was kid running around playing with the other kids while waiting for the grownups to get things in order so we could eat to this day when I’m one of the older grownups trying to get the kids to quiet down so we can get started. So that a brother can offer the blessing and thank God for the food and the "hands that prepared it for the nourishment of our bodies." I can’t tell you how many of them I’ve enjoyed in my pot-luck career, but I can tell you that I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them.
Another interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed at pot-lucks is that everyone wants to be in the first part of the food line. I guess that maybe we think that there won’t be enough food to go around and that they might run out of something before we get there. Again, in my vast experience of attending these events, I’ve never witnessed a pot-luck that didn’t have enough food. Truthfully speaking, it might actually be a blessing in disguise if I were to miss a portion or two.
There exists another interesting aspect of pot-lucks and that is what I’ll just call a "gentle warfare." You know what I’m talking about. It’s the efforts put forth by our wonderful "sisters" of the congregation to prepare the best-liked dish among all the choices on the table. I applaud their efforts in these types of battles and I add that I’ll be the first to volunteer to "go to the front lines."
I can’t leave the "interesting" aspects of pot-lucks without mentioning one more. And that is, try as we might, with all the good intentions we can muster, we eat too much. Yes, we fill our plates, sometimes more than once, and eat like there’s not going to be any more food on earth. Which gives credence to the "unofficial" statistic that says: "More Americans commit suicide with a fork than any other weapon." Then, you know what we do? We tell ourselves that we’ll never do that again and you know how long that resolve lasts, don’t you? Until the next pot-luck.
Yes, we do often times over indulge in the pot-luck goodies, but there are some really good things that come from these affairs. Let’s discuss a few for a moment. In our earthly family, one of the best, family-strengthening things we can do is gather together at the dinner table. By the simple act of eating together we maintain a closeness to each other. Because we talk to each other. I personally feel that this a major factor in families with internal problems. By not having personal communications between the members, we drift apart and this isn’t good.
By the same token, this principle applies with our church families. We sit down together and enjoy a meal while at the same time we’re getting to know each other better and family ties are strengthened. All because we use this occasion to communicate with each other. You know, a spiritual family needs the same closeness and unity as an earthly family. It’s an easy equation - the closer the members are, the stronger the entity. The stronger the family, the more glory goes to God.
It’s just a wonderful occasion when the "family" spends time with each other, isn’t it? When we gather on the "battlefield" of the "gentle war" and become strengthened as a unit in the army of Christ and thus, are better equipped to fight the "real" (spiritual) war with Satan and his army.
In closing, as a word of encouragement to all "family" members: please don’t neglect to gather with the saints, not only in worship service, but on occasions such as pot-lucks. If for some reason you’re not there, I can only echo the words of Jonathon, David’s best-friend, when he spoke about the possible absence of David and said: "thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty." (1 Sam. 20:18)
Ron Covey
Those words of the Psalmist David came to mind when I began thinking about our editorial lesson for today. With what mental agility I possess, I think I understand why David penned those words. Why he was "glad" when the appointed time and date came around to go to the "house of the Lord." I think that it was for the same reasons that I too am "glad" when the Lord’s Day appears. Let me tell you why I believe that David was, and I am, "glad" on these occasions.
I don’t really know how old David was when he wrote those words, but in my humble opinion I feel that he must have been in the upper years of his life. The reason I feel this is because I believe that it’s us older folks who really appreciate "going to church" but, that’s not saying that the young-uns do not. I just think that having lived longer, experienced more, seems to cause us to appreciate more the blessings God has bestowed on us. Going to church allows us to join with each other in praising God and thanking Him for those blessings.
In one respect, we’re sort of like little children. They love to go to Sunday School, don’t they? Why is that you might ask? Well, it’s because they get to see their friends and sing songs and hear Bible stories and make crafty things that relate to those stories. Think about it - with the exception of the "crafty things," isn’t it pretty much the same for us older folks?
This touches upon why I believe that God designed the Church in the manner that we find in His Word. IE: a social entity, a family, so that Christians are to meet together often and thereby be encouraged and strengthened by each other. And, as a group of family members, we join together in praising Him and Jesus Christ. Now don’t get me wrong here, the worship and praise of God comes first before any benefit of a social nature. But always keep in mind, that the "church" is designed as a group endeavor. As a preacher friend of mine once said, "There are no Lone Ranger Christians. There has to be Tontos."
Today though, following our worship service, we as a family here at Highland get to participate in another great benefit seen in the form of a family get-together. We could say that it’s another example of the church being a social entity and is something that is of great benefit to a family - we get to eat together. Yep, today is pot luck day. And just as the family is strengthened by uniting in the worship of God, we’re strengthened both physically and spiritually by uniting in another family occasion.
With the definite danger of dating myself, I can recall when they were called by other terms. Terms such as "covered dish dinners" or "dinner on the grounds." By knowing terms like those automatically puts you back in the "olden days." Well, I don’t care if by knowing those terms I’m seen as old, it just means that I’ve had a lot of experience in "pot lucks" and I feel blessed by having all that experience.
My pot-luck career spans the years from when I was kid running around playing with the other kids while waiting for the grownups to get things in order so we could eat to this day when I’m one of the older grownups trying to get the kids to quiet down so we can get started. So that a brother can offer the blessing and thank God for the food and the "hands that prepared it for the nourishment of our bodies." I can’t tell you how many of them I’ve enjoyed in my pot-luck career, but I can tell you that I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them.
Another interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed at pot-lucks is that everyone wants to be in the first part of the food line. I guess that maybe we think that there won’t be enough food to go around and that they might run out of something before we get there. Again, in my vast experience of attending these events, I’ve never witnessed a pot-luck that didn’t have enough food. Truthfully speaking, it might actually be a blessing in disguise if I were to miss a portion or two.
There exists another interesting aspect of pot-lucks and that is what I’ll just call a "gentle warfare." You know what I’m talking about. It’s the efforts put forth by our wonderful "sisters" of the congregation to prepare the best-liked dish among all the choices on the table. I applaud their efforts in these types of battles and I add that I’ll be the first to volunteer to "go to the front lines."
I can’t leave the "interesting" aspects of pot-lucks without mentioning one more. And that is, try as we might, with all the good intentions we can muster, we eat too much. Yes, we fill our plates, sometimes more than once, and eat like there’s not going to be any more food on earth. Which gives credence to the "unofficial" statistic that says: "More Americans commit suicide with a fork than any other weapon." Then, you know what we do? We tell ourselves that we’ll never do that again and you know how long that resolve lasts, don’t you? Until the next pot-luck.
Yes, we do often times over indulge in the pot-luck goodies, but there are some really good things that come from these affairs. Let’s discuss a few for a moment. In our earthly family, one of the best, family-strengthening things we can do is gather together at the dinner table. By the simple act of eating together we maintain a closeness to each other. Because we talk to each other. I personally feel that this a major factor in families with internal problems. By not having personal communications between the members, we drift apart and this isn’t good.
By the same token, this principle applies with our church families. We sit down together and enjoy a meal while at the same time we’re getting to know each other better and family ties are strengthened. All because we use this occasion to communicate with each other. You know, a spiritual family needs the same closeness and unity as an earthly family. It’s an easy equation - the closer the members are, the stronger the entity. The stronger the family, the more glory goes to God.
It’s just a wonderful occasion when the "family" spends time with each other, isn’t it? When we gather on the "battlefield" of the "gentle war" and become strengthened as a unit in the army of Christ and thus, are better equipped to fight the "real" (spiritual) war with Satan and his army.
In closing, as a word of encouragement to all "family" members: please don’t neglect to gather with the saints, not only in worship service, but on occasions such as pot-lucks. If for some reason you’re not there, I can only echo the words of Jonathon, David’s best-friend, when he spoke about the possible absence of David and said: "thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty." (1 Sam. 20:18)
Ron Covey
What is sound doctrine?
Titus 2:1 “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.”
We live today in an age that does not look too kindly upon “sound doctrine” as is evidenced by the many additions, subtractions and substitutions made by men in regard to God’s word. When I think of “sound doctrine”, I think of that which is pure, unadulterated and in total agreement with the word of God. Sound doctrine and that which makes it practical and attractive is to be spoken and demonstrated openly, fully and with great plainness so as to be heard, seen and understood by all men (2 Tim. 4:2, 3-5, 1 Tim. 6:11-12, 1 Tim. 4:12, Matt. 5:13-16). It is this doctrine and this doctrine only that will provide the nourishment to our spiritual lives that is so sorely needed as we make this journey through life. Sadly, it is true today, if you speak and practice only “sound doctrine” (that which is authorized by God’s word) you will soon be at odds with those who follow the doctrines, opinions and customs of men (Matt. 15:8-9, Matt. 7:21-23, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
We must understand that in our walk as a child of God, doctrine and practice are unalterably joined together. Hence, Paul continues his instructions to Titus urging him to teach others concerning their duties (vs. 2-10). Read verses 11-15 and you will find a tremendous summary as to the conduct of a child of God.
One of the great needs of our day in the realm of religion is for sound doctrine to be spoken and practiced (James 2:18, 1 Cor. 15:58). That is going to require that all our doctrine be backed by divine authority (Col. 3:17, 2 Tim. 3:16-17). To do anything in the name of Jesus is to do it by his authority or approval. We must be extremely careful not to attempt to do anything in his name that is not approved in his word, the Bible (Gal. 1:6-9, 2 John 9). Peter tells us that when we speak, it must be as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11).
I love the words of Eccl 12:13 and 1 John 5:3. First we are told to fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Then John tells us in the simplest way possible that our love for God is shown by the way we keep his commandments. It is vain to say we love God and then not do what he says must be done. My friends, his commandments are only found in “sound doctrine”. You cannot fear (respect) God and keep his commandments unless you stand fast on and practice sound biblical doctrine and principles. When we respect and revere our God, we honor him as the King of our lives (1 Tim. 1:17) and by so doing, one day when we are ushered out into eternity, that crown of righteousness will be ours (2 Tim. 4:8).
Charles Hicks
We live today in an age that does not look too kindly upon “sound doctrine” as is evidenced by the many additions, subtractions and substitutions made by men in regard to God’s word. When I think of “sound doctrine”, I think of that which is pure, unadulterated and in total agreement with the word of God. Sound doctrine and that which makes it practical and attractive is to be spoken and demonstrated openly, fully and with great plainness so as to be heard, seen and understood by all men (2 Tim. 4:2, 3-5, 1 Tim. 6:11-12, 1 Tim. 4:12, Matt. 5:13-16). It is this doctrine and this doctrine only that will provide the nourishment to our spiritual lives that is so sorely needed as we make this journey through life. Sadly, it is true today, if you speak and practice only “sound doctrine” (that which is authorized by God’s word) you will soon be at odds with those who follow the doctrines, opinions and customs of men (Matt. 15:8-9, Matt. 7:21-23, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
We must understand that in our walk as a child of God, doctrine and practice are unalterably joined together. Hence, Paul continues his instructions to Titus urging him to teach others concerning their duties (vs. 2-10). Read verses 11-15 and you will find a tremendous summary as to the conduct of a child of God.
One of the great needs of our day in the realm of religion is for sound doctrine to be spoken and practiced (James 2:18, 1 Cor. 15:58). That is going to require that all our doctrine be backed by divine authority (Col. 3:17, 2 Tim. 3:16-17). To do anything in the name of Jesus is to do it by his authority or approval. We must be extremely careful not to attempt to do anything in his name that is not approved in his word, the Bible (Gal. 1:6-9, 2 John 9). Peter tells us that when we speak, it must be as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11).
I love the words of Eccl 12:13 and 1 John 5:3. First we are told to fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Then John tells us in the simplest way possible that our love for God is shown by the way we keep his commandments. It is vain to say we love God and then not do what he says must be done. My friends, his commandments are only found in “sound doctrine”. You cannot fear (respect) God and keep his commandments unless you stand fast on and practice sound biblical doctrine and principles. When we respect and revere our God, we honor him as the King of our lives (1 Tim. 1:17) and by so doing, one day when we are ushered out into eternity, that crown of righteousness will be ours (2 Tim. 4:8).
Charles Hicks
Thursday, July 4, 2013
What is the Declaration of Independence?
When is the last time you read the Declaration of Independence, or have you ever? It's not a long read, but it is it a tremendous document. It continues to speak to our world today as it did 237 years ago.
The Declaration of Independence
Of the United States of America
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. - Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. - And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
--Russ Lawson
The Declaration of Independence
Of the United States of America
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. - Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. - And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
--Russ Lawson
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