By: Louis Rushmore How do explain the various/different accounts about the healing of the blindmen in the Matt 20  vs 30, Mark 10 vs 46, Luke18 vs 35; Help me clarify the discrepancy. Discrepancy is definitely the wrong word to describe variations in parallel or companion Bible texts. In the first place, similar accounts are not all necessarily parallel or discussing the same occasion. Second, accounts that are parallel may provide varying degrees of details; rather than contradicting each other, they corroborate each other, only one text provides additional details. Third, two texts that appear to be discussing the same occasion, but vary from each other, may only represent an emphasis on an aspect of the event by one of the texts. Therefore, any plausible explanation, that harmonizes two biblical references that may first appear to conflict, disallows categorization as discrepancies in Scripture.     One commentator addresses the variances in these passages by observing that “…Matthew tells of two, while Mark and Luke tell only of one—the principal one” (McGarvey). Another commentator adds, “The two blind men who sat by the wayside heard the multitude as Jesus passed by and in the midst of the noise and confusion ‘cried out, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, thou son of David.’ One of these was Bartimaeus…but the mention of him does not exclude another, and Matthew tells us that there was another to share the blessing” (Boles, Matthew). B.W. Johnson concurs by penning, “‘If there were two there certainly was one.’ Luke and Mark …

By: Ernest S. Underwood In a society where wicked and evil men and women are cowardly (through terrorism, killing others), where lawyers and judges support and promote that which is ungodly (where money apparently speaks louder and with much more force than does integrity, justice, and honesty) and where immorality has engulfed our nation and world, it is of great consolation to those who, unlike the fool, believe in God and His sovereignty. In Proverbs 15:3,  we have this assurance: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Notice that He keeps watch on the evil, not that He condones it. Numerous passages tell us of His attitude toward those who practice evil, and what His ultimate judgment of them will be. In the same vein, He keeps watch on the good and those who practice it. In biblical history, we can note that at times He allowed, because of the free moral agency of man, the evil to persecute the good. He let the wicked Jewish leaders try His innocent Son and have Him put to death. However, His message to those who will be faithful “unto death” is that they, and only they, will receive the crown of life. The Lord is watching! What does He see in you?

By: Ernest S. Underwood A panel of judges in our state upheld a $108,800 fine against a man who poached 1088 turtle eggs from a state park. It was argued that 80 to 90 percent of marine turtle eggs are fertile; therefore, each egg must be considered a unit of marine life. The judges agreed.     Those who support abortion claim that a “fetus” is not a human “person” until birth has occurred. In 1973, the Supreme Court agreed with this insanity, ruling that it is perfectly acceptable to abort, also known as murder, the fetus. According to these judges, it would be unconstitutional to protect the unborn baby.     Isn’t it ironic that laws protecting unhatched turtle eggs are perfectly all right, but laws protecting unborn human beings are unconstitutional? Swipe a turtle egg and get sixty days in jail, plus a hundred dollar fine for each egg swiped. Murder a thousand unborn children and be rewarded with tax money to continue the practice, and be lauded as a champion of “reproductive freedom!”     May God avenge all those innocent lives that have been so callously and viciously snuffed out—and He will!

By: Robert Johnson What does it mean to be a Christian? How would you define the term in our modern era? While the word is found in Scripture (Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16), it’s sorely misunderstood today. Christianity overall, and being a Christian specifically, are such ambiguous concepts they can mean almost anything. In today’s environment, you can call yourself a Christian, no matter what you believe or what you practice.     Consider a letter sent to a denominational publication about the concept of hell. The person asks, “What kind of a God would ask, even command us, to forgive seventy times seven in a day and to go the second mile, while He Himself is willing to forgive mankind only in this short span of life?” The answer is, of course, the God of Scripture, where He writes, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). In this life God forgives us so many more times than the seventy times seven. The depth of His forgiveness isn’t shallow, as He sent His Son in the flesh to die for our sins.     However, forgiveness is a matter for this life, not eternity. The Hebrews writer reminds us, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Paul speaks of judgment as the time when “we must all appear before the judgment …

By: Alan Smith There’s a couple in Arkansas who have given their six-year-old son strict instructions to come home from playing every afternoon no later than 5 p.m. He is allowed to play with his friends, but his parents are quite serious about his curfew. If he is not home by 5 p.m., they begin to worry and call around the neighborhood to find out where he is. The boy knows this, though, and is careful to arrive everyday on time.     One April Monday, however, the day after Daylight Saving Time went into effect, the boy was late coming home. When he finally arrived, a few minutes before 6 p.m., his mother scolded him for being late. “You know you are to be home by five,” she said, “and here it is nearly six.”     Puzzled, the little boy pointed out the window. “But the light,” he protested, “the light; it’s the light that tells me when to come home.” Realizing what had happened, his mother smiled and gently explained that the day before the time had been changed, that everyone had reset the clocks and, now, the daylight lasted longer.     The boy’s eyes narrowed. “Does God know about this?” he asked suspiciously.     It’s easy to see why a young boy would ask such a question, but no matter what the circumstance prompting the question, the answer to “Does God know about this?” is always, “Yes, He knows.” David reflected on this quality of God in Psalm 139: “Lord, …

By: Andy Robison During our visits to family, we routinely drive through the small town of Edgar Springs, Missouri, which boasts a sign proclaiming it to be the population center of the United States. We do not know how some statisticians arrived at such a calculation. It is intriguing, nevertheless, to know that this little burg has some notoriety as a center of one of history’s major world powers.     Outside of Jerusalem of Judea is the likely place that Jesus of Nazareth died by the Romans’ practice of crucifixion. In political and geographical terms, the area is insignificant. In numerical terms, His cross was just one of thousands employed during Roman reign. However, in spiritual terms, His cross is the center of the universe; and that is so without any statistical manipulation.     His cross was the center of God’s plan to reconcile man to Himself. Redemption of mankind comes through Christ’s blood there shed (John 19:25-27; 1 Peter 1:18-19), and “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times…” (1 Peter 1:20).     His cross is the center of the Christian attitude. The only boasting in this life of any validity is in the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14). By it, one is crucified to the world, and the world to Him. “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). They have put away the things that make for sinfulness—indeed, the things that sent Christ to the …

By: Tim Childs Recently, James Dobson was speaking on radio about the various forces that are presently engaged in the battle for the minds of our young people. It is understood that whatever political and cultural changes are brought about in the world of tomorrow will be made by those who are the youth of today. This is why there is such a pernicious, aggressive battle for their minds.     To that end, a movement has been underway for some time to affect the thinking of our young people about marriage and the family unit as they move through their 12 to 16 years of school. The “gay and lesbian lifestyle” is continually placed before our young people in a favorable light and as being normal in hope that the future generation will be more accepting and “tolerant.”     Every society has its cumulative set of attitudes, values, ideals and beliefs. This is known as the “culture” of the people. Over decades, there often are striking changes in culture, even as there have been quite significant ones in our own culture over the past ten to twenty years. The following well illustrates the point. In an article dated March 2, 2006 and titled “Minister May Get Tossed After 30 Years for Marrying Gays,” one female denominational leader who is an activist and proponent of same-sex marriage was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “Certainly the founder of the Christian faith was someone who challenged all oppressive systems that kept …

By: Robert Johnson   When Peter confessed to Jesus He was the Son of God, our Lord made this interesting statement to Peter and the rest of the apostles. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). The phrases “shall have been bound” and “shall have been loosed” are more accurate translations of the Greek text. The apostles didn’t have the authority to decide doctrine, but they did have the authority to declare doctrine, what God had bound and loosed. When we read God’s commands in Scripture, it isn’t human interpretation or tradition, but God’s will for us.     This principle is important for us to understand, as there are those today who would have us believe the clear commands of Scripture are merely human tradition. Baptism is one doctrine being interpreted this way. “You don’t have to be immersed to be saved; it’s just tradition.” It is tradition, in the sense it’s been handed down to us, but Scripture makes clear it is divine tradition, not of human origin. Wasn’t it Jesus who said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16)? Further, what about His words in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and …

By T. Pierce Brown In recent years, we have been hearing or reading an increasing number of statements to the effect that “we” think “we” are the only Christians, yet Alexander Campbell and most of the great leaders of the Restoration Movement expressly denied that, and taught rather that we should think of ourselves as “Christians only.”     I am not sure who that “we” is supposed to represent, but in some cases those writing seemed to imply that there is a group in the “Church of Christ” denomination that thinks they are the only Christians, but there are certainly Christians in “other denominations,” too! We have heard that kind of charge most of our life from sectarians, and have come to expect it from those who have no concept of New Testament Christianity, but it is always disturbing when those who claim membership in the Lord’s church think and speak of it in denominational terms.     We are saddened, but very sure, that there are those who think of themselves as having joined the “Church of Christ” church, because their opinion is that it is one of the best denominations in many respects—although very narrow minded and arrogant. It was expressed this way to me by a woman who said she had heard the idea from her pastor, the Church of Christ preacher: “If it is true that sprinkling is satisfactory, then immersion is certainly just as good—and maybe a little safer. Everyone admits that singing is satisfactory (if it is pretty), so …

By Dean Kelly I weighed myself one day recently. I weighed a certain amount (nope, I am not going to tell, so don’t even ask!) on one scale. I guess I wanted a second opinion, so I weighed on another one. It showed me 20 pounds heavier than the first one did. (I liked the first one better; it must be doing a better job.) Therefore, just to see if I could get a majority ruling, I found a third one and weighed on it. It showed me 10 pounds heavier than the first scale, and 10 pounds lighter than the second scale. (I still liked the first one better.) To be honest, I do not know which one was right, so I just went with the one that pleased me the most.     Sadly, I believe that many religious people follow this same path. They try one religious organization, church or preacher, and then, they try another, which tells them something different, and maybe another that tells something totally different yet. They get confused, and then they just go to the one that pleases them most.     How can I know how much I truly weigh? I have to find a reliable scale, one that is calibrated properly and that is consistent with the true weight of what it weighs. While all three of the scales I used were different, the fact is that I did actually weigh a certain amount when I used those scales. All of them …

By: Mike Benson My wife asked me recently what I wanted for supper. I told her I’d enjoy a big pot of home-cooked pinto beans. She quickly reminded me that we were under strict orders to cut back on our sodium intake. “The doctor says high blood pressure and salt aren’t close friends.” “They don’t have to be close friends,” I replied, “just friendly acquaintances!” Cutting back is one thing; cutting out is impossible—especially when you are a fan of pinto beans. Salt was not considered a detriment in ancient cultures. On the contrary, it was regarded as a highly prized commodity. The Greeks called it theon, which means “divine.” Often, Roman soldiers were paid in salt (that which they received as wages was referred to as a salarium, from which we get our English word “salary”), and it was from that practice that the expression “not worth his salt” came into usage. In some societies, salt was even more precious than gold. That’s something to mull over when you realize that the current market price for an ounce of precious yellow metal is just over $1,000. Remember that next winter when you are slinging that 25-pound bag of rock salt over your icy driveway. Salt was deemed valuable for at least three reasons: First, it was a preservative. Without refrigeration, meat was especially subject to spoilage. Salt “cured” animal flesh and kept it from going bad. Second, it was a seasoning. Historians tell us that the diet in and …