“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:10). In August 1857, Cyrus Field and his company, Atlantic Telegraph, attempted to lay a telegraph cable from England to North America, but the cable broke at twelve thousand feet under the ocean surface and could not be recovered. During the next nine years, Field and his men made three more unsuccessful attempts. Finally, in July 1866, they succeeded in laying hundreds of miles of cable across the Atlantic. Israel spent almost twenty-one years rebuilding the temple. The work began in 537 B.C. and was finally completed in 516 B.C. Israel’s enemies continually stopped the work; one period lasted as long as seventeen years. People of less perseverance might have given up, but Israel had a deep desire to worship God. Paul wrote about Christ’s patience, or more exactly, His perseverance. We may not understand why the Lord demonstrated patient determination in His humanity, but we are to follow His pattern. “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

“You’ll have a hard time topping him!” This was the comment made by a well-intentioned Christian lady to the next speaker on the lectureship. He responded to this sister, “I don’t want to top him. We’re on the same side.” Though this sweet Christian woman surely meant nothing negative, it does remind one of the old saying, “There is no competition among lighthouses.” We would do well to remind ourselves of that sentiment on a regular basis. There seems to be an infatuation among some members of the church with getting credit for their work. Some preachers have even warned, “If you use my material, be sure to give me credit.” In the secular world, this is surely understandable, but in the Lord’s church, the obsession with getting credit seems a bit out of place. My goal as a Gospel preacher is not about “getting credit.” My “credit” is not on this earth. My goal is to save souls, and if I produce something that will help others more effectively accomplish this goal, then please use it. The Pharisees were very concerned with getting credit and with being seen of men. When they gave alms, they wanted credit among men. When they prayed, they wanted credit among men. However, the Lord said, “Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 5:2). May our righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees! One is also reminded of Herod in Acts 12, who evidently had given a very eloquent verbal presentation. Though …

The story is told, and it is a true one, that two men of conflicting beliefs were in a public debate about some point of doctrine, whether it was from God or from man. In one of the sessions of a scheduled four-night debate, one of the preachers was showing from the Scriptures that the doctrine taught by the other was false, and condemned by those Scriptures. As he was pressing his point, the other preacher jumped upon the speaker’s platform and gave a resounding slap to the face of his opponent. A hush fell over the audience. The one who had been slapped was a rather large man. As he towered over the one who just slapped him, he glared at him for a long moment, then quietly spoke into the microphone, “Go ahead and defend your doctrine with your fists, you can’t defend it with the Word of God.” As you can imagine, for all practical purposes, this ended the debate. How do you defend what you believe? With feelings, with deathbed tales, with what your “pastor” says, or do you, can you, defend it with the Holy Word of God?

The doctor comes into your room and in somber tones tells you that you have only one more year to live. What changes, if any, would you make? Let’s notice some possibilities. Would you adopt a new sense of values? Would “things” be so important? Would you use your time more wisely? Would you learn to put spiritual things first? Would you attempt to clear up your past as much as possible, apologizing for words and deeds that you would liked to have recalled? Would you clear up your past with God by learning and obeying the Gospel? Although we cannot undo some things, we can be forgiven of them if we follow God’s commands concerning sins and how to be forgiven of them. Would you do your best to develop a spiritual life by work and worship in the Lord’s church? Would you pray more, study more and teach your friends, relatives and neighbors? Remember, my friend, if you are not preparing, according to God’s instructions, to live a life in harmony with His will, then, friend, you are not prepared to die.

An article in a local newspaper took a look at the history of the Bible. While much of the article had good information about the process God has used to give us His Word, there was an interesting statement made regarding the apocryphal books, books not included in our canon of Scripture. “The Authorized Version of 1611 included the apocryphal books that most Protestants say are not part of the Biblical canon. The apocrypha was not removed until 1885.” While this statement is basically true, in and of itself, without any further explanation, it may leave a false impression about the apocryphal books, especially with so much interest these days in what are typically called the “lost books” of the Bible. Some more information is helpful in understanding why usually only Catholic editions of the Bible include some apocryphal works. The evidence is clear that the apocryphal works were never accepted by the Jews as inspired. They were written between the 2nd century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. The time after Malachi is sometimes called the “four hundred silent years,” as it is acknowledged there was no prophetic word from God during this time. In addition, the works contained in the apocrypha never claimed direct inspiration from God. In fact, there is a great deal of historical, geographical and doctrinal error to be found in them! They have never been part of the Hebrew Scriptures, nor were they ever quoted by Jesus or the apostles. The Catholic Council of …

We do not have a winter wonderland,We almost never see snow, you understand;We won’t be roasting chestnuts by an open fire,Or listening to carols sung by some choir. But we will enjoy the time we spend,Laughing and sharing the love we send;We will enjoy our special family traditions,While experiencing all of life’s transitions. We grow older, and the family changesTime takes things and rearranges,Children grow, and one day they bring back their ownBut with their family, your love has just grown. But each new holiday has its own special place;You stop and you look at each loved one’s face.It is much more than just enjoying presents that day,It is sharing the time in a special way. At my house, we will watch a Muppet movie,(Muppet Christmas Carol – Tradition you see);We’ll rise up early and into gifts dig in,And then we’ll eat so much it’s nearly a sin. There’ll be no snow, no Frosty snowman,But that won’t deter our holiday plan,We will have presents, and plenty to eat,And we will have love, and that is hard to beat! Merry Christmas and Happy New YearTo all of you From the Kellys

[We celebrate Christmas as a family and national holiday at our house, not as a religious holiday. We understand the Scriptures do not sanction the keeping of a religious holiday celebrating Jesus’ birth, but rather a weekly memorial of His death.] I know what I am getting my wife for Christmas. (Sorry, I cannot tell you; she reads these, too!) It is really not much, just a little something. I wonder, if I could give her anything in the world, if there was no limit to my ability to give her whatever I wanted to, what would it be? What about my children and my grandson? If I had unlimited funds and unlimited power to give anything I wanted to my family, what would I give? (These thoughts are probably in reverse order as far as importance is concerned). 1. I imagine I would do everything I could to help all of them not to have to worry about money anymore. That might be a good thing, or a not so good thing. It would take away a lot of worry and stress, but it would also tend to lead to complacency about the blessings we all enjoy. I know I would try to do this: pay off all the cars, houses and medical bills, and present and future college bills, etc. However, I cannot do all that, but I would if I could. 2. I imagine I would do everything I could to help all of them to be …

As I look to my left and across the street, I see the lights in my neighbor’s front yard. He has really worked hard this year to put up the ‘Christmas lights’ and decorations. It is the same as you drive through our small community and our entire city. It is indeed a festive time of the year. In fact, I really like this season of the year. Why? Because it is when most families can be together. The young father across the street is especially happy this year because his wife gave birth recently to baby boy. Now the older son will have someone to play with – in time. I have so many fond memories when our four children were all at home during this season of the year. There were occasions when the older boys and I would go to some friend’s farm and cut a ‘Christmas tree.’ Virginia and I would really enjoy seeing the children opening presents on Christmas morning. Virginia would have a delicious meal prepared, which would be consumed by our very hungry group. Those were precious years when the children were young and were at home. How fortunate you are if you have sweet memories of family gatherings. Now, we look forward to the children returning home with their families. It is something else when our tribe assembles in one place. It seems that we ‘wear the house’ because the space is so restricted. What a wonderful sight to see grandchildren opening …

Trash and garbage bags everywhere! I know because I carried a dozen bags out from our collection. You see, there were grandchildren in the house on the 25th. It was a joyous occasion, but I am happy that it is now ‘Christmas past.’ No, it was not a white Christmas, but it was a wet one. I mentioned to my wife that the rain that God sent was truly one of the best presents we could have received on a dry and parched land. Other gifts were great because they were from friends and family who love me. The giver is more important than the gift. It is good to be remembered and appreciated. Life would indeed be difficult if it were not for those we love so much. Pity the poor person who is alone and without anyone caring. The Psalmist certainly felt alone when he wrote, “Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:4). As we are now in the last days of this year, it is good that we dispose of some our ‘garbage,’ if such we have in our hearts and lives. The apostle Paul stated it in this fashion: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in …

I am thankful for aids such as Webster’s Dictionary of English words. I am a terrible speller; I have to look up the same words over and over again. I marvel at those youngsters that participate in these national spelling bees. The judges in our national spelling bees need a standard, and that standard is our English dictionary. We understand that some of our English words can be spelled differently. Some words are considered archaic. Archaic words belong to an earlier English-speaking period. Our dictionary is the standard for the proper spelling, usage, definition and pronunciation of our English words. Have you ever heard of one denying the fact that the English dictionary is a standard? We all understand alike our English alphabet, do we not? Further, we have “Tables of Weights and Measures,” and these also are considered a standard. Who in his right mind would deny that 12 inches equals one foot? Cautionary Note: “Good dictionaries or encyclopedias will accurately describe all of the ways an English word is used today. But our English dictionaries can fail miserably to inform us about the message in our English Bibles. Why? Translators select English words to accurately convey an idea from the original languages of the Bible into English. Unfortunately, many times our English words carry additional meanings foreign to what the biblical word meant. It is these additional English meanings which can create havoc” (Barry Newton. “Please, Not Webster’s Again.” Forthright Magazine, November 18, 2009. https://www.forthright.net/). Using the dictionary as an example of a …

The following letter was sent to the editor of a local newspaper. I send it now to suggest to the readers of this paper that you can do good in season and out of season if you will take the time and effort to do so. You do not need to be a gifted writer to get a letter published in a local paper, and yet, it may do much good to an audience that will never read a Gospel paper. With the Christmas season approaching, we expect to see the usual kinds of letters to the editor complaining about the commercializing of this supposedly religious holiday, although God did not authorize it in the first place. The fact that many of those who do the complaining about commercializing are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on cards, trees, decorations and gifts of varying uselessness does not seem strange or paradoxical to them. That the average person professing to be a Christian spends ten times as much honoring some friend or relative than he does in giving support to things that Christ said would honor Him does not seem strange to them. The fact that millions rejoice at a memorial of His birth, which God did not set aside as a religious or holy day, yet disregard completely what God did ordain for a memorial of His death every first day of the week, does not seem strange to them. Perhaps the fact that the Pope can now uphold the …

In what seems to be less than a good full month, the year has gone by and we have come once more to the holiday season. Although no one knows when Jesus Christ was born, the world seems to want to stop once a year and celebrate that great event. In a very real sense those of us who are Christians in the New Testament sense celebrate the birth of Christ every time we center our minds on Him in the moments of sweet communion every Lord’s Day. In churches of Christ, we take no special notice of what purports to be the “birthday” of Jesus on or near December 25th.  To us that day is no more sacred than any other, and it seems that the teachings of Romans 14-15:13 gives us that right. Of course, living in a free country we are at liberty as individuals to do or not to do whatever we like regarding this holiday, or any other for that matter. However, there are foreign influences being upheld by such un-American groups as the American Civil Liberties Union, which have convinced the courts of the land to refuse those of us who make up the vast majority in this country, the right to put decorations in public places such as courthouse lawns, etc. The American Criminal Liberties Union has stolen more American rights from American people in the last fifty years than we will ever regain, though people who claimed to be Christians founded this …

The Holy Scriptures gives us insight into the person, work and final end of Satan. Friend, you don’t want to be on his team when the clock runs out. It is impossible to fully fathom just how disadvantaged we would be living in this world without the Book of all books, the Holy Scriptures. The centuries old proverb “forewarned is forearmed” has an application for us having the revelation of God concerning His evil rival and our enemy, Satan. In the context, Paul indicated he had forgiven a penitent brother, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians. 2:11). You and I cannot afford to be ignorant either. Revelation 12:7-17 and other Bible passages give information about Satan bringing his battle against God and His people to the earth. Satan and his horde failed to defeat Michael and the angels of light, and they were thus permanently cast out of heaven. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9). “Deceiveth” is defined by Thayer’s lexicon as “to cause to stray, to lead astray,” and further it is used metaphorically “to lead away from the truth, to be led into error.” Who is leading you? Which direction are you being led? First, Satan deceives people into thinking they are their own masters …