You are standing at the foot of the cross watching Jesus of Nazareth as He hangs there. As you stand there, you know within yourself that there are some things that would be absolutely unthinkable.     It would be unthinkable to argue that religious division is desirable. Yet, two thousand years after the cross, we hear religious spokesmen talk about “joining the church of your choice,” or thanking God for the many religious divisions that exist in the world today. Jesus, you remember Him, He’s the one hanging on the cross, said, “That they all may be one.” What is your attitude toward that prayer?

 “For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9). Do you ever do any daydreaming, wishing for something that you don’t have and may never get? I think all of us could agree that we have. Lots of times we wish for things that we really don’t need, or would not bring us the happiness we so earnestly desire.    In the Beatitudes Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 6:6). This is that satisfying the longing of the soul of which David spoke. The beauty of this area of longing is that even today it can be fulfilled. Peter said, “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” The knowledge of this Word will produce faith, and Peter also stated, “Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls”     Friends, develop a longing for God’s Word. Study it, obey it, and be saved by it.

“But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12). The land the Israelites entered was one abundantly blessed by God. Whether one looked to the hills or valleys, God’s care was clear. It was understood in the fertile land, from which they would reap bountiful harvests. It was recognized in the protection God would offer from their enemies. As long as they remained faithful to God, He would always be with them, to provide and care for them.    The time the Israelites spent in this land, though, would not always be easy. They had allowed idolatrous nations to remain among them. These nations would be a snare to Israel, seeking to turn them away from God. Their lives would find hills and valleys, good times as well as bad, trials with the blessings. If only they had remembered that God was with them through it all! By forsaking God, they abandoned their source of blessings. They would one day find themselves in a foreign land, taken captive because of their sins.     Not all of life is filled with “mountain top” experiences, but neither is it always lived in the valley. We also have highs and lows in our lives, good …

At one time, I thought that little innocent children did not bear any burden, but this is not true in a complete sense. For some time now, my wife and I have been supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. This hospital is known far and wide as a ray of hope with medical breakthroughs, the caring for and the curing of many children. We know that even the most innocent of children and some of them just infants must bear the burden of life threatening sickness and the accompanying pain. “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). It is comforting to know that young people, because they have not reached the age of accountability, are safe in the arms of our Lord.     Beyond doubt, burdens are part of life. The word burden means: anything that is carried or endured; a load of material things or a duty, work or sorrow, etc. To shirk ones duties and responsibilities is shameful. We have seen many avoid and dodge their duties both in the workforce and on a personal basis. Such types of people are generally easy to notice. Some are just lazy, allowing others or their government to take care of them. To be direct in speech, some are just, as the saying goes, sorry folks. Concerning people of this sort, “…that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). …

The Lord’s church has been given a work to do. That work is to evangelize the world. Jesus commanded the apostles to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15-16). The Gospel is the good news that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, that He was buried and that He was resurrected from the grave, so that man might be saved and have the hope of eternal life. Christ said that it was the facts of that Gospel—the facts of that good news—that were to be taken to all the world. He also said that the commands of the Gospel were to be preached and obeyed if man was to be saved. Individual Christians exist in a city or village, and throughout the world, wherever the Gospel has been preached and there are those who were willing to obey it. With the conversion of two or more, a local congregation is established and begins to function. In addition to meeting each first day of the week to worship, its main work is to evangelize, to preach the Gospel to those in that area, and as it grows in knowledge and numbers, it is to reach out to the whole area in an effort to establish other congregations. A Christian, or a group of Christians, that make up a local congregation, should never be satisfied to just meet on the first day of the week to worship. Worship is very important, as well as living the daily Christian life, but …

We need to read, study and meditate upon the text of Scripture, and pray to God that we may be spiritually enlightened through our study of the Bible. God’s Word enables you and me not only to learn the difference between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14), but it additionally gives insight into the devices Satan uses in his efforts to gain the advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:11).     God has a plan. We know it by divine revelation as one He formulated in the person of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. God’s plan is one characterized by love, mercy and grace to reconcile sinful men to Him and to one another in one body. God wants to bless all of us with abundant life presently and eternal life when Jesus comes again.     Satan has a plan. We know it as an alternative plan he has devised in his attempt to counteract, disrupt and frustrate God’s plan of redemption. Satan’s plan is to harden hearts so they become unresponsive to heaven’s call and directives, drive wedges to create disunity among God’s children and bring together in fellowship those he has begotten with those the Heavenly Father has begotten (Matthew 13:24-30).     Isaiah writes how God’s thoughts and ways are higher or superior to our own. His plan is superior to Satan’s plan. Satan is a loser, and all those who allow themselves to be deceived by his lies will suffer enormous loss together with him.

There have always been critics to the story of Jesus, but it seems that recently critics have increased in number. Most critics simply deny certain aspects about the life of Jesus and His claims. However, a sizable group of critics simply proclaim that the man called Jesus never existed at all. In January of 2006, an atheist sued a Catholic priest in Italy for misleading the public because he presented Jesus as a historical character. Some recent movies also present the idea that Jesus did not exist. In other words, we are being told that every thing that we think we know about Jesus is false. Supposedly, the story of Jesus is simply a fable. Some recent movies attempt to propagate the same idea. One such movie is entitled “The Beast.” The website for the movie makes this claim, “The authors of the Gospels writing 40 to 90 years after the supposed life of Christ, never intended for their works to be read as biographies. There are no credible non-Christian references to Christ during the period in which he is said to have lived.” The conclusion is that since some claim that we have few if any references to Jesus, then He must not have existed. Is this claim true?     We might want to first point out that we should not expect Jesus to be mentioned much in the history books of His era, because He was not perceived by the world to be an important person during His lifetime. He …

“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (Romans 14:10, 12-13).     “Did you hear what so and so is doing over there?” “I can’t believe they are standing for that!” “I heard that they were doing ________.” We’ve all heard similar statements, and regrettably, many of us have made them. They seem simple and harmless, but with a simple flip of the tongue like this, an individual, a family, a church, etc. is labeled with a bad reputation or name; regardless of the truth, it is all based on what someone said. What a shame for things like that to happen. What an even greater shame when Christians speak such things of other brethren!     A similar thing happened in the land of Canaan in Joshua 22. After the people were finally able to inhabit the Promised Land and began to settle in their respective areas, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and ½ of Manasseh took their place east of the Jordan, as opposed to the other 10½ tribes west of the Jordan. After some time, we are told in verse 10 that the eastern tribes built an “impressive altar.” That’s it! No more info is given at …

I have been amazed in the past few years to hear from a large number of Gospel preachers who seem to have discovered for the first time the doctrine of salvation by grace. I can understand how a person who has been studying the Bible even for half a century can read some passage and almost gasp with delight as a new depth of it becomes apparent to him, for I feel sure that this has happened frequently to all of us who love the study of God’s Word. It is one of the great joys of studying the Bible in depth. However, in trying to discover the reason for this apparent confusion about salvation by grace, it occurred to me that part of the problem may be a semantic, rather than a doctrinal one.     For example, if a person reads that the Bible says, “Repent and be baptized—for the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38) and he does that, has he obeyed the law or not? If you answer, “Yes,” then you must logically conclude that he got remission of his sins (was saved from them) by the law, and obedience thereto. If you answer “No,” then you seem to be in a strange and contradictory position of admitting that here was a law (commandment) of God, and you obeyed it, yet you did not obey the law, or at least that obedience to the law had nothing to do with your salvation!     Many of us have …

A family’s tears flow. All have gathered around a casket in which the earthly remains of a dear loved one rest. A life on earth has ended. There is a feeling of sadness in the air.    I like happy endings. Most of the time, when I watch a movie, TV show or play, I want a happy ending. I want the guy to get the girl (or vice versa). I like the long shot to win. I much prefer it when the bad guy loses, and the wounded, bloodied hero walks wearily away, victorious. I usually want to be entertained and to escape from all the unhappiness and pain that is in the world. I know there is a time for “Romeo and Juliet,” but usually I would prefer a “You’ve Got Mail”; there is a time for “Macbeth,” but I often prefer an “Air Force One.” You get the idea.    Even in the real world, I like happy endings. I love to see a boy and a girl who are allowing love to grow between them. I love to turn a young couple around to face an audience, and to, for the first time, declare them as “Mr. and Mrs.” It thrills me to see a couple in their twilight years that meant it when they said, “I do.” However, there are so many times in real life when there is no happy ending. Often, the boy doesn’t get the girl, the underdog loses, and the bad guys seem …

Larry and Jane Hudson are dear friends from the Main Street church. They recently invited me to Sunday dinner following the AM worship assembly. This special couple was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and so they asked me to go along and commemorate the happy occasion.     Our destination…? Owensboro, Kentucky and Moonlite Bar-B-Q.     Everybody in this neck of the woods knows about Moonlite. Think “casual dining.” Think “family feel.” Think “all-you-can-eat” BBQ buffet. Underline the word “all.” Hungry guests stand in line with a plate and then help themselves to a smorgasbord of tasty, home-style dishes.     Buffet. Choose what you want. Skip what you don’t want. Go back as many times as you wish. This is gastronomical heaven. I loaded my plate with country favorites—mashed potatoes, pulled pork and green beans, but then skipped the macaroni and cheese, gravy and rolls.     I left the restaurant full as the proverbial tick. Okay, maybe not full—I stopped just one bite shy of gluttony.     The meal was great. The Christian company was even better.     It occurs to me that many preachers treat the Word like a trip to Moonlite. They fill their theological dinnerware with perennial favorites. They “eat” what their doctrinal belly desires (Philippians 3:19), but then pass over those food items that their denomination deems unpalatable. For instance, some heap their plate with faith, but then consciously omit what the Scriptures teach about baptism. They select some of God’s Word, but not the sum of God’s Word. They claim to be “Bible-believing,” but then …

President John Quincy Adams once called both Houses of Congress together for a special meeting. He walked in carrying two bushel baskets. He said, “The bushel measure in my right hand came from South Carolina; the one in my left hand comes from the city of New York. One of these bushel measures contains sixty-eight cubic inches more than the other one.” He then walked up to a table and picked up two one pound weights. He said, “This weight in my right hand came from Massachusetts; this other one came from Maine. One of them weighs nearly an ounce more than the other one.” He concluded, “Gentlemen, we need a standard measurement and a standard weight for the United States of America.” The establishment of the Bureau of Weights and Measures resulted from this visual demonstration.     We understand that there must be a set standard for weights and measures. However, there must also be a standard for matters of religion. Why is the religious world divided asunder by various beliefs and doctrines? The answer should be obvious. Most religious people are not content to use God’s standard, the Bible.     We must not measure ourselves religiously by our own opinions or conjectures. Neither should we strive to live up to the standards of manmade doctrines and creeds. We ought to be content with God’s standard, the Bible. The Bible is truth (John 17:17), and as such thoroughly furnishes us unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:17). Furthermore, the Bible contains all that “pertains to …

I had gone by to see a friend of mine who is a chaplain in a major hospital in our Capitol City. This gentleman is a very kind and compassionate individual and is well suited for his profession in giving guidance and counseling to the sick, their families and those in times of grief. His demeanor is such that we can discuss most any subject and especially regarding those of a religious nature. In the course of our recent conversation, I mentioned that I serve on a Board of Regents for a local Christian University and that our president was having difficulty in finding qualified professors to teach in our doctorate program because so many of the men who would be academically qualified had been tainted in their education with modernism. I then began to illustrate what I meant by that statement and mentioned that some scholarly individuals understand that the first ten chapters of Genesis as being a myth, and they would deny many of the miracles that occurred in the Old Testament. I observed that when we deny much of the Old Testament, it will come down to whether or not we could accept the virgin birth of Jesus, the resurrection of our Lord and other cardinal doctrines of the New Testament. I also related how that the very inspiration of the Old Testament has been challenged. Though not so surprised, I was disappointment at his response to my thoughts when he said, “I believe in the Old Testament but …

From time to time, both the printed media and the television come up with news clips on the practice of polygamy in such places as Utah, Nevada and other western states that come under the influence of a large cult that, until it was outlawed by the Federal Government in 1890, practiced polygamy openly according to the teaching of their Prophet. This prophet himself practiced polygamy, as did his successors, until the law passed by the U. S. Congress outlawed it. That it is still practiced today cannot be doubted in light of what we see documented on TV and other places. However, members of this large American cult are not the only people in the world to practice these “plural marriages.” It is practiced commonly among those who embrace Islam, as well as other so-called world religions. However, usually in Islam there is a limit placed on the number of wives a man may have—that limit being four at a time.     However, all this is beside the point if God endorses polygamy. If God commanded, or even authorized, plural marriages, then we should be permitted to engage in that kind of behavior with no penalty whatsoever, because those of us who practice monogamy (one wife at a time) are wrong in our practice and the others are correct.     Marriage, like every other aspect of life, is well regulated by the Word of God, that book we call the Bible. Jesus taught in Matthew 19:1-12 that God’s original plan for …