"I'm Loving You"

The Alzheimer’s Association defines Alzheimer's as "a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years.  In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment."

However, Alzheimer patients can experience moments of clarity, when they recognize people that they have known and loved.

Georgia resident, Kelly Gunderson, knows about the disease.  Her 87-year-old mother, Daphne Tresher, has Alzheimer's.  Ms. Daphne has experienced a lot of memory loss, but recently she experienced a moment of clarity with her daughter.

Kelly was visiting recently with her mother, chatting with her as she lay in the bed beside her.  Kelly recorded their conversation and posted it on YouTube.  You may see it at: http://youtu.be/IxDo0j6l2s8 Since Kelly posted the video on Friday (8/29/14), it has gone viral with over 4 million viewers at the time of this writing.

Here is part of their conversation from the video:

Kelly:  “Do you know who I am, though?”

Mom:  “Uh-uh.”

“Who?”

“Uh, Kelly.”

“Yes, Mama.  Yes, I am Kelly!”

“Well I love Kelly!  Didn’t I name you ‘Kelly’?”

“Yes, you did.”

Mother and daughter laugh joyfully.

“I thought a while ago, you didn’t know who I was.”

“I know it, well, it was something because when I have some fears, I get here and I’m thinking, ‘My Lord, what in the world am I thinking about?’”

“What are you thinking about right now?”

“Well, I’m loving you.”

“I’m loving you, too, Mama.”

And with more joyful laughter, Ms. Daphne says, “We’re both doing the same thing, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are.”

“Oh, isn’t it wonderful?”

“Yes, it is.”

It IS wonderful to know that someone knows you and loves you!

Please know: God knows who you are and He loves you deeply.  He loves you because He created you (Genesis 1:26-27), but He also loves you so much that He wants you to be "born again" into His family and live with Him forever in heaven.

Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we might have forgiveness and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

With complete and continual clarity, God knows you, loves you, and longs for you to become His child.

Won’t YOU accept His offer on His terms?

David A. Sargent

Indiana Judge Dean Young

"He's The Judge"

The icon for the American justice system, Lady Justice, is well known: She holds
a sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other.  Perhaps her most striking
feature is the fact that she is blindfolded.  The point: Justice applies to all,
rich and poor alike.  The law does not act based on your appearance.

A judge in Indiana, however, recently acted based on appearance - the attire of
an attorney who frequently visits his court.  Judge Dean Young ordered on August
25 that attorney Todd Glickfield wear socks when he comes to court.  Glickfield
apparently wears other commonly-seen items of clothing - suit and tie, etc.  But
he has explained to the judge, "I hate socks."

I personally know people who prefer not to wear socks, and I find them to be
otherwise acceptable.  Some come to worship and Bible study where I preach
without socks.  We've never considered making a rule on this matter, and I doubt
we ever will.

But I suspect (though I don't know him) that Glickfield will be wearing socks
the next time he appears in Dean's court.  After all, he's the judge, and he
gets to make certain rules about what is acceptable in his venue.

There is another Judge who has made rules that many find objectionable.  We're
speaking, of course, about God.  His standards have been published in book form,
and are available to all who wish to know what He expects.  Some don't like some
of His rules; some don't accept that He has the right to make rules, or that He
even exists.

None of that changes anything.  As Paul noted in Romans 10:20,21: "But indeed, O
man, who are you to reply against God?  Will the thing formed say to him who
formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?'  Does not the potter have power
over the clay ...?"

By virtue of the fact that He is Creator, God has the right to tell His creation
what He expects.  Added to that is the fact that He is revealed in Scripture as
the Judge of all mankind.  One day we will be held accountable for how we
responded to His directives.

There's one other fact we must understand: God is not an arbitrary, unreasonable
judge.  Abraham stated it best in Genesis 18:25: "... Shall not the Judge of all
the earth do right?"  God is right - even when we think He is wrong.  Job, after
all his trials, finally came to understand this truth: "... Therefore I have
uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not
know" (Job 42:3).

What God orders and what He does is always right.  We may not understand - or
like - His reasoning, but God knows what He is doing.  He is the righteous Judge
of all.

Timothy D. Hall

Division among Christians

Dissension and Division
by Tom Wacaster

Shortly before His arrest, our Lord prayed to the Father: "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee" (John 17:20-21). In the same breath the Lord indicated why such unity was important: "That the world may believe that thou didst send me" (vs. 21b). Dissension among brethren is a detriment to the progress of the gospel. The more open the dissension, the greater harm to the cause of Christ. Finger pointing, name calling, and character assassination in the name of doctrinal soundness only exacerbates the problem. Two wrongs don't make a right. Doctrinal accuracy is important; but so is maturity, brotherly love, kindness, and long suffering when it comes to dealing with unsound, unrepentant, unreasonable and ungodly brethren. It might be necessary to "mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions contrary to the doctrine which ye learned" (Rom. 16:17), but even then it is to be done with deep sorrow for those who have chosen to trod the path of rebellion. Wisdom dictates that every effort be made to deal with religious dissension in a way that is becoming to those who are supposed to be brethren in Christ. Rudeness, a rancorous spirit, and raking someone over the coals (the 3 "R's" of un-Christian conduct) without careful examination of the facts will not do much to unite brethren who are divided. Those three "R's" are never an effective means of addressing those who are in error. I do not read anywhere in God's word that an unkind spirit is ever acceptable when attempting to recover brethren who have been overtaken in a trespass (Gal. 6:1). Those who are "spiritual" are to "restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness" (Gal. 6:1b). The Lord's servant is not to "strive, but be gentle toward all" (2 Tim. 2:24). Take as a case study the church at Corinth. Talk about a troubled congregation! Some of the members actually gloried in their fornication. They had a horrible misunderstanding about the resurrection, work of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual gifts, and how to treat a brother in civil disagreements. Morality took a back burner and maturity was almost non-existent among those who were supposed to be a "temple of the Holy Spirit." The Lord's supper had evidently been turned into a common meal, and even their common meals had become occasions of stumbling because of what they were eating and where they were eating it. They were divided, deluded, demanding, and destructive to the body of Christ. Heading the list of their disregard for those things spiritual was a divisive mind set that led to sectarianism, schisms, and sinful conduct one toward another. What do you do with a congregation like that? Some would write them off, and others would write them up; but the apostle took the high road and sought to turn them from the error of their way. Chapter 1:10 thru 4:21 contain a rebuke of their divisive, carnal, and immature disposition; a mind set that threatened the very existence of the church in Corinth. Here is how Paul addressed the situation.

First, Paul sought common ground upon which he could then build. The opening verses to this letter (9 verses in my American Standard) contain some wonderful Christian graces that are worthy of imitation. Paul mentions their common Savior (Jesus Christ, vs. 1), their common Father (God, vs. 1), a common authority ("the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, vs 1), a common blessing ("grace and peace," vs. 3), and a common calling ("called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord," vs. 9). If men can agree on those common aspects of their faith then there is hope for recovery. Undoubtedly some of our apostate brethren have abandoned some, if not all of those common graces; they may not realize it, and they may not admit it, but they have done it nonetheless. Departure from sound doctrine is an abandonment of the common authority found only in the "name of Jesus Christ." Would any doubt that the brethren at Corinth had abandoned the common authority that would bring unity, moral uprightness, a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection? Yet the apostle gently reminds them of what they had in common before he addressed their abandonment of what was important.

Second, Paul was thorough in addressing the cause of dissension. The fact that some were saying, "I am Paul," and others, "I am of Apollos" or "Cephas" was only the symptom. What brought these brethren to this point? What was it that produced such a rancorous spirit that would cause one brother to take another brother to law, or drive brethren to intentionally expel others from the communion service of the Lord? A careful study of 1:18-4:20 reveals at least three reasons why there was such dissension and division among the brethren. (1) First, a failure to remember the very nature of the gospel. The gospel was the wisdom of God revealed to them through the preaching of the gospel. "The word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God" (1:18). When someone says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of.." - you fill in the blank-has he not lost sight of nature of the gospel? Dissension draws a line in the sand over matters inconsequential and demands that men cross that line or else! The only standard by which men can be united is the wisdom of God, provided by the Holy Spirit and recorded by inspired men, "combining spiritual things with spiritual words" (1:13). (2) Second, a failure to remember the source of that wisdom of God will produce dissension even among brethren. Evidently the Corinthians had forgotten the source of that gospel. Don't doubt it! Why would anyone trade the all-authoritative word for the foolishness of men unless they had been deceived into disregarding the divine origin of the gospel. Give the devil his due! He has done a masterful job convincing men that the gospel is not inspired; that it did not come from God; that it is of no more value than the words of Shakespeare, Milton, or Twain. Young men sitting at the feet of professors in some of our so-called "Christian Universities" are imbibing modernism and post modernism at an alarming rate. They drink from the poison of those so-called professors who deny the very inspiration of the word of God and ridicule those who still believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible. I see nothing in such ridicule of God's word that can produce unity of any kind; it is only destined to further divide the Lord's church. (3) Third, the Corinthians had failed to properly evaluate the place of leaders, teachers, and preachers within the body. I find it interesting that Paul emphasizes that he and Apollos were "servants of the Lord" (3:5), "fellow-workers" (3:9), and "stewards of the mysteries of God" (4:1). While one planted, another watered, but God gave the increase (3:6). Any movement that elevates a man above the gospel of Christ proves itself to be nothing more than the foolishness of men and at one and the same time drives a wedge between fellow Christians. We may have successfully avoided using such terms as "pastor," "Reverend," or "rabbi," but are we not just as guilty when we address brethren as "Doctor" so-and-so in our relationship one to another?

Dissension must be dealt with at its root; but we must be sure to speak the truth in love. I find it significant that Paul ends this section in 1 Corinthians in the same way he began: "Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?" (4:21). The question is rhetorical and strongly suggests that Paul's approach was with the utmost kindness coupled with a deep love for their souls. Such is the only way to deal with religious dissension.