Christ A Kite Whom Men Fly, Not The Rock Upon Whom We Stand Here is a striking quotation: “There is an Athenian love of novelty abroad, and a morbid distaste for anything old and regular, and in the beaten paths of our forefathers. Thousands will crowd to hear a new voice and a new doctrine without considering for a moment whether what they hear is true. There is an incessant craving after any teaching, which is sensational, and exciting, and rousing to the feelings. There is an unhealthy appetite for a sort of spasmodic and hysterical Christianity. . . .The whole tone of men’s minds on what constitutes practical Christianity seems lowered. The old golden standard of the behavior, which becomes a Christian man or woman, appears debased and degenerated. The tendency of modern thought is to reject dogmas, creeds, and every kind of boundary in religion. It is thought grand and wise to condemn no opinion whatsoever, and to pronounce all earnest and clever teachers to be all these. Mighty foundation-stones are coolly tossed overboard like lumber, in order to lighten the ship of Christianity, and enable it to keep pace with modern science. Stand up for these great verities and you are called narrow, illiberal, old-fashioned, and a theological fossil!” When do you think these words were written? Were they penned by a faithful modern preacher, lamenting the glitz and guile of the contemporary Church Growth Movement? In fact, the words were written by J.C. Ryle more than …

I’m sure all of you by now have heard of the phrase “Y2K” and by now are acquainted with its meaning. However, there may be some who still don’t know what this “Y2K” thing is all about, so let me briefly explain. “Y2K” is an abbreviation for “Year Two Thousand.” As we anticipate the arrival of the year 2000 (Y2K), there have been many technical concerns. You see, there were many software programs developed that weren’t designed to work beyond December 31, 1999. Of course, in our highly computerized society, this “glitch” had the potential to wreak havoc in our society. But this article isn’t about fixing a software problem, but is about the millennium mania we have been witnessing and hearing. Well-meaning, but misguided people are warning us that the “time of the end” is near. We’re being told that it is very likely that with the coming of the year 2000, human history will come to an end. We’re being told that the Lord’s return is imminent and that the year 2000 marks the date. In response to all these statements, I simply ask the question, “Why 2K?” or “Why the year 2000 (Y2K)?” Friends, concerning the return of the Lord, Jesus said that no one knew, himself included, but only the Father in heaven (Matthew 24:36). Furthermore, Jesus taught that we should “watch for you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13). And again, the apostle …

The apostle Peter had humble beginnings as a follower of Christ.  Introduced to the Lord by his brother (John 1:40-42), Peter embarked on a three year quest that would change his life, as well as impact the history of Christianity and the world.  But it started from humble beginnings.  Luke records his call to discipleship in the first eleven verses of Chapter Five.  On Simon’s (Peter’s) fishing boat, Jesus instructed that the nets be cast for a catch.  Peter’s skepticism was overcome by obedience.  After a night of fish-less efforts, at the word of the Lord the nets were so full they were breaking.  Peter realized the Lord’s power and admitted his rather humble position.  “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” He then left everything and followed Jesus.  Learning from the Master proved challenging for impetuous Peter.  Eager to walk on water with the Lord, he soon had to learn a lesson in faith and complete dependence (Matthew 14:22-33).  Even after confessing Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 16:13-19), he had so much more to learn about Christ’s mission.  He, in error, rebuked Jesus for his self-sacrificing prediction of death (Matthew 16:21-23). He wanted to equally honor Moses, Elijah and Christ (Matthew 17:1-13).  He slept while Jesus prayed in agony (Matthew 26:36-46), then fought in a way Jesus did not intend to fight (John 18:10-11). Appropriately rebuked on all of these occasions, Peter learned that learning can be painful. Still, he boasted of his …

[Bible Light, Vol. 18, No. 4, July-August 1999, pp. 3, 7] “Finally, be ye all likeminded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.  For, he that would live life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: and let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears unto their supplication: but the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:8-12, ASV). The foregoing quotation is addressed to those who are Christians; they had already heard, believed and had been baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:36-38, 47; 1 Peter 3:20-21).  In the verses here quoted, we have Peter discussing the duties of Christians one to another.  Note these traits of Christian character:  Likeminded, compassionate or sympathetic, humbleminded or humility (not stuck-up), no doing evil for evil; it is better to suffer wrong than do wrong.  Let’s remember that “the eyes of the Lord” are looking down upon us each day.  We shall make the following suggestions: A.  Don’t be too concerned about “just desserts.”  Leave such matters in the Lord’s hands.  “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; …

The Apocrypha is a collection of books dating from the period between the testaments, produced by Alexandrian Jews, after the Old Testament books were written. The word “apocrypha” identifies those uncanonical religious writings, which are of doubtful authority. The collection consists of the books of 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the Rest of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch with the Epistle of Jeremiah, the Song of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manassas King of Judah and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The apocryphal books are included in Catholic Bibles and regarded as inspired and worthy of a place in Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church recognizes eleven of the fourteen apocryphal books as canonical, with four of the eleven being added to canonical books (Esther and Daniel). They were included in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Latin Vulgate, but not included in the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament. A recent bulletin article discussing the Apocrypha and its inclusion in the New Revised Standard Version (1989) has come to my attention. The author makes the point that some of the modern versions are including these uninspired writings and parading them as the Word of God. It is true, as the author states, “These books are not the Bible and must not even be venerated to a status of being placed within the same cover.” Yet, it is not merely a problem of modern …

Noted skeptic Robert Owen visited with Alexander Campbell on the latter’s farm prior to their famous debate in 1829. As they walked about the estate one day, they came to the family cemetery. Owen paused and remarked: “There is one advantage I have over the Christian – I am not afraid to die.” Campbell then asked: “Have you any hope in death?” After a moment Owen replied negatively. “Then,” rejoined Campbell (pointing to an ox nearby), “you are on a level with that brute.” Those who claim they have no fear of death are “whistling in the graveyard.” It is a fact beyond dispute that every culture, no matter how primitive or how sophisticated, evinces the fear of death. Natives in South America place arrows around the sick to ward off the “Grim Reaper.” Here in America we dress our deceased and cosmetize them elaborately, so as to make them appear as lifelike as possible. Our vocabulary of euphemisms (e.g., “deceased” for “dead”) reveals more than we care to admit. Someone has observed that much of human fear, in the final analysis, is the fear of death. Some fear flying. It is not because there is any intrinsic fear of the experience itself; it is because we wonder if the plane will stop flying – before it reaches its destination! We dread going under the surgeon’s knife, because we know we might not wake up – at least in “this world.” It has been said that there are two things which man cannot view with …

In 420 B.C. in the province of Illyria, just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, was a city that had existed in peace for centuries. In the early morning hours women could be seen in the streets as they made their way to wells in order to draw water for the preparation of morning meals. Men moved about performing their early morning chores. Children slept peacefully within the comfort of their homes. Suddenly, on the surrounding hills, horsemen were silhouetted against the morning sky. It was Attila and one thousand of his Hun horsemen. At the sounding of a horn death descended the hills. The Huns spurred their horses to a full gallop. With a war cry on their lips and fury in their hearts the Huns hit that small city with the force of utter destruction. When the chaos was over two thousand human beings were dead. Attila simply moved on ever toward the conquest of Italy, killing all who stood against him. On February 9, 1950, in the early morning hours, well before light, the third division of the North Korean Army moved across the Naktong River. Men from the U.S. 7th Calvary spotted their movement and alerted the American lines. Star shells and flares illuminated the Koreans at mid-stream. U.S. artillery and automatic weapons were directed at the Koreans. The Koreans, however, successfully crossed the Naktong River. They took a defensive position on hill 268. A two-day battle raged. At the end of that battle one thousand …

My Daddy thinks it’s nice for me to go to Sunday schoolTo hear the helpful lessons and to learn the Golden Rule. And if some Sunday morning something else I’d like to do,My Dad looks very stern and says, “I am surprised at you.” So I dress very neatly and I travel off aloneWhile Daddy hunts the paper and decides he’ll stay at home. Now I have often wondered yes, time and time again.Why Sunday school’s so good for boys and not for grown-upmen. -Author Unknown, Life Lines, Beckley, WVSubmitted by Mark McWhorter

In virtually every one of the so-called sitcoms that one sees on television these days there are open and frontal attacks made upon what the world calls “Christianity.”  Those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the only true and living God are attacked and ridiculed, and many jokes, some of them not so nice, are made at the expense of believers.  Christianity is made out to be some kind of stodgy, antiquated religion that is about to pass away.  They also depict ministers as inept, sinful, hypocritical and lazy.  If any other group of people, such as homosexuals, for example, were singled out and depicted in such a way, there would be a scream heard all over the earth, and the ACLU would immediately start a lawsuit against someone. But this is not the only persecution that is directed at those who call themselves “Christians” in the land in which we live.  The federal government feels that it has the right to step in and investigate the doctrine of various churches.  It feels that it has the right to overturn, by making illegal, such doctrines as they feel are opposed to “civil rights.”  There is a movement at this very hour to have homosexuals treated as a minority race in this country, and, if that movement succeeds, you and I will not be able to tell a person who is living that lifestyle that he is a sinner!  There is no sin in being black, white, Asian …

The position of being “firstborn” held great significance in the ancient world. It referred to more than simply birth order. Among males it generally served as a designation for the heir of family authority in regard to ownership, leadership and religion, though this could be altered should the son give it away (Genesis 25:33) or should the father have a reason to divest the elder son(s) of this right (Genesis 49:3-8). In fact, since another son could hold this position, this word as a specific reference to birth order almost disappeared. So the writer of Hebrews intended to indicate much more than a reference to Jesus’ birth when he wrote, “But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him’” (Hebrews 1:6 NKJV). The first chapter of Hebrews presents strong argumentation regarding the superiority of Jesus Christ to angels. Thus, having already introduced Jesus as God’s Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), the writer proceeds to add that this Son has the right of the firstborn. When we then consider the deeper meaning of Christ being the firstborn, it enters a new level automatically because he is God’s Heir. However, this would be contingent upon his receiving the inheritance.  As firstborn he would have the rights of ownership of the world that rejected him. As firstborn he would take the role as Leader of God’s people that the Jews denied him. As firstborn he would exercise authority in religious matters that the Jewish …

During a recent conversation with a man who had devoted his life to preaching the truth for over 50 years, we talked about growth in the congregations where we are respectively located.  I made an observation about how we had a lot of visitors coming even for Wednesday evening Bible Study.  However, they were all mothers and their children – no fathers.  He confirmed this observation in the congregation where he preaches, and then told me of another conversation he had just a few days earlier with another preacher that echoed the same reality. As I drove home that evening I recalled reading a bulletin article that referred to the religious life of children in America, and how it was the father’s example that was the key to how the children would practice their religion regardless of how strong the mother’s religious influence was in the family.  This is not written to minimize the worth of godly mothers, but it is set forth to emphasize the importance of fathers being godly also! In Luke 1:17, the angel Gabriel stood in the temple after telling Zachariah that he would have a son and said:  “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Part of the mission of John, the Immerser, was “to turn the hearts of the fathers.”  …

Mountaintop property brings a premium price on the current market. Real estate in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge or Blue Ridge always has, but now people want a lot overlooking town no matter what town it is. Caleb was ahead of the curve and picked a mountain lot years ago. His Realtor was God – who just happened to own a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10). His friends wanted pastureland in the valley or a ready-made house on a city street, but Caleb looked up to see his future. A little background helps us appreciate the scene. The twelve spies Moses sent on a forty-day mission to infiltrate Canaan came back with a report of a rich, prosperous land. They even brought back fruit samples – clusters of grapes so large it took two men to carry them. But ten of them did not think Israel could get over the walls of the cities or oust the giants who lived within them. The other two, Joshua and Caleb, were men of faith “. . .Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (13:30). How did God’s people reward such faith? They decided to silence them with stones (but God intervened, 14:10). The faithless people were doomed to wander for forty years where all over age twenty died except Moses, Joshua, Caleb and some Levites. Joshua eventually led the new generation across Jordan, where they won …