Certainly, God views young children as pure and innocent in His sight. In Matthew 18, Jesus said, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). Jesus here depicts the nature of little children as being the same as that of the heirs of His kingdom. Undoubtedly, the reason for this pure and innocent status is because of a child’s level of mental maturity. He has not yet developed the ability to reason about what is right or wrong. He doesn’t yet have the ability to understand concepts such as sin, guilt and accountability. One must also appreciate the fact that a young child’s mind is free from the “evil imaginations” that occur in the mind of an older person. Because a child is not capable of understanding or coherently choosing to do right or wrong, he is not eternally accountable for his actions. One can certainly appreciate the justness of God in this. The Bible, however, does teach that those who have developed adequate mental faculties are accountable in the eyes of God. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For we must all 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” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The question that is often times asked is, “When does …

No matter what one does there will generally be someone who will have critical or negative remarks about it. The area of religion is no exception. However, in this field there are some things that rational and sensible people never say. They never say: That a man was a loser because he served Christ faithfully. That good was accomplished because a scandal was repeated. That a man got into trouble for not sowing discord. That it is wrong and sinful to wear the name “Christian” rather than manmade names. That immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not biblical baptism. That it is wrong for a congregation to wear the name “church of Christ.” That a man on his deathbed said, “I regret having followed Christ.” That it is sinful and anti-biblical for Christians to worship without playing some instrument of music. If these statements are true, and they are, where do you and the religion you practice stand in relation to them?

Joshua called upon the people to “Choose you this day…” There are some good biblical examples of men and women who were faced with choices who made the right one. Moses “came to years” in Egypt. The Hebrews writer tells us that Moses chose to forsake all that Egypt was to him, and chose to serve with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Joshua, in his farewell address, and after calling on the people to make their choices, stated, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” David had a choice to make. He, like Moses and Joshua, made the right one. In Psalm 119:30 he said, “I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.” Mary, the sister of Lazarus, made the right choice, and Jesus stated that this would not be taken away from her. In Luke 10:38-42, we read, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. When Martha complained, Jesus said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Many of us remember the funny and clean TV sitcom, “Gilligan’s Island,” running from September 1964 to September 1967, with the Skipper and Gilligan as the crew of the charter boat S.S. Minnow and the five passengers. It was supposed to be a three-hour tour, but a storm shipwrecked all of them on an uncharted, uninhabited island. They were lost somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The above reminds me of an illustration I heard years ago that helped me understand pre-denominational Christianity. I imagine that many of you who read the following may chuckle and remember also. Let’s say that several or more people are shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. All survived the terrible storm. The people marooned are just average folks. They had one thing in common, however, and that was that they had absolutely no interest in religion up to this point in their lives. They were totally ignorant, completely unaware of all religions of this world. As they recovered items from the wrecked ship, they found a Bible. No other literature, radio or the like was on the ship. As the days, weeks and months passed, they started to read the Bible as a group. The Word of God was wholly new to them. They read Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” They could grasp that this world and all creation did not come from a huge big-bang explosion. Their common sense understood that from nothing comes nothing. Disorder never creates …

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6). For those who acknowledge the authority of God and His sacred Word, the above Scripture describes what is best for relationships. Marriage is ordained of God, and best not only for those who enter a relationship, but the children that become part of such, and even society as a whole. The current trend, however, involves couples living together before marriage, if marriage is entered into at all. A recent survey showed upwards of 70% of U.S. couples cohabitate before marrying. That same survey, however, showed that such practices can be problematic for relationships, including those who eventually marry. Those who moved in together before engagement or marriage reported significantly lower quality marriages and a greater potential for split-ups than other couples. The research suggests cohabitation itself can result in “lousier” marriages, and whatever reasons were used to justify moving in together impacts the relationship quality. For example, those who said they moved in together before marriage to “test out our relationship” were also more likely than others to be involved in negative communication in their relationship, along with lower confidence in the quality and stability of their relationship. …

As far back as I can remember I have heard preachers say such things as, “It must be admitted that faith and hope will terminate at the coming of Christ. Love is the greatest because it will abide forever.” It is my judgment that a deeper study of the question will convince us that the conclusion is incorrect, and based on either faulty logic or faulty exegesis, or both. I believe the song says, “faith will be lost in heavenly sight,” and the idea, no doubt, partly comes from a misuse of 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight (eidos – appearance).” Further, Romans 8:24 says, “But hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopeth for that which he seeth?” If one takes those Scriptures and makes an improper application of them, he involves himself in some ridiculous absurdities. For example, a man may see a new car. Does the expression, “For who hopeth for that which he seeth?” negate the idea that he may yet hope for that car? Surely not! Let us examine with a little more care whether or not it must be admitted that “faith and hope will terminate at the coming of Christ.” It is true that we walk by faith, not by sight. It is true that by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, and we would not need to have faith in the truthfulness of that statement if we had …

One of the historical sites to see on Saint Simons Island, Georgia is the Lighthouse which is located near the village. I have often walked by it while visiting there. The first lighthouse was built in 1810 and it was 75 feet tall. The second one that replaced the first one was erected in 1872 and was 104 feet tall. Not having the experience of a sea faring person, I have often wondered how much a lighthouse would mean to me if I was lost in a storm at sea and/or approaching land in the darkness of night. Surely the light beaming across the waters would be a lovely and thankful sight for the captain of a ship. And so this well known hymn came to mind: LET THE LOWER LIGHTS BE BURNING Brightly beams our Father’s mercy From His lighthouse evermore, But to us He gives the keeping Of the lights along the shore. Dark the night of sin has settled, Loud the angry billows roar; Eager eyes are watching, longing For the lights along the shore. Trying now to make the harbor, In the darkness may be lost. Let the lower lights be burning, Send a gleam across the wave! Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save. – Philip P. Bliss, 1871 The apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:5, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness …

Imagine receiving a letter that contained the following information. The writer is leaving on a vacation. He will not tell you when he is coming back, but he is leaving you very specific instructions. While he is gone you are to water and feed his two dogs, Scarlet and Gray, twice a day. He needs you to clean out his gutters because the weathermen are forecasting storms for the coming week. Finally, you should collect his mail and retrieve his newspaper from the driveway each day. Again, you do not know when he is coming back, but when he returns, these tasks must be completed. Now, imagine receiving a similar letter, but this one gives a definitive date for the writer’s return. You’ll know the exact date and time. All the tasks are the same—no more, no less. Human nature dictates that you will respond quicker to the first letter than to the second letter. If the writer will return at any moment, you will diligently perform the tasks. However, if the writer tells you the exact time of his arrival, you will let your responsibilities lapse until the final moments. In the mean time, the gutters will clog, newspapers will pile up in the driveway, and poor Scarlet and Gray will be hungry and thirsty. In Scripture, Jesus’ Second Coming is compared to a thief who does not announce his arrival. It will be a surprise. Man cannot mathematically calculate Christ’s return (although some have tried). Jesus said, “But …

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:35-41) We travel through life as if in a tiny boat, And from time to time we wonder if it will stay afloat; The winds of despair will blow us all around, In the waves of life we fear we will be drowned. But in the darkest moments of our days, Or when simple distractions rock our ways, There is one thought that should be underscored: Wheree’er we sail we know that Jesus is onboard. We tend to be overwhelmed by life’s sea, The …

Years ago, an experiment was conducted to measure people’s capacity to endure pain. How long could a barefooted person stand in a bucket of ice water? It was discovered that when there was someone else present offering encouragement and support, the person standing in the ice water could tolerate pain twice as long as when no one else was present. (John C. Maxwell, Encouragement Changes Everything, 25) THOUGHT: Could it also be the case that elders could serve twice as long, preachers could work twice as long and members could be faithful twice as long if they had someone holding their hands and encouraging them? I believe that this is the case. As you know, the Book of Hebrews was written to those who were discouraged and in danger of falling away. The inspired writer of this book often exhorted brethren to encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25). In the twelfth chapter, we read these words, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (v. 12). “But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun” (Exodus 17:12).

One of the great needs of man is, and always has been, to attempt to bring Divinity down to his level. We have never quite understood why so many people want to drag God and the Lord Jesus Christ down to our level rather than our attempting to rise to Theirs. Nonetheless, that seems to be the case, and though it sounds a bit pessimistic, we suppose that it always will be. While that is unfortunate, it is not shocking! In the last thirty years or so there has been a great deal of discussion among the so-called scholars of the religious world regarding whether Jesus was heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual. That is, no doubt, because we cannot grasp the idea of living in a world where there is no sexual activity of some kind. The concept that Jesus set forth in Matthew 19 of one=s being an eunuch for the kingdom of heaven=s sake is not something that comes easily to the minds of moderns. When one adds to this the fact that there are those who are profiting immensely from Afictional@ works in which Jesus is portrayed as having been married to Mary of Magdala and producing offspring, one is impressed with the fact that men want to totally humanize our Lord. However, these are not the first, nor the only people to have had such ideas as that. There is a rather large American cult who teaches that Jesus took a Jewish bride and that the Bible proves this …

Some find it interesting that the Bible does not begin with someone trying to make an argument for the existence of God. Such would have been natural had the book been written by a man or group of men who were trying to pull the proverbial wool over the eyes of humanity. No, Genesis 1:1 begins with a simple, but profound, declarative statement: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” What better way to begin the Book of all books than with such an arresting attention getter? Hearing these words, a sincere, objective man is anxious to hear more. No mere mortal man, without the help of God Almighty, could have sat down to write in such detail this concise accounting for the origin of man and the universe. Not only to write it, but to write with such pinpoint accuracy while it gives us insight as to why certain things are as they are in God’s world that we are privileged to use. The following are just a handful of truths we discover in the early pages of Genesis: God chose to call the period of darkness, “night,” while He chose to call the light time, “Day.” God called the firmament, “heaven,” which we know as the heavens or the sky. God called the dry land, “the earth,” and the bodies of waters he called, “the seas.” God gave us two lights, a greater light (we know as the Sun) to rule the day and a …