by: Colin McKee There is great interest in many realms as to who or what is number one. Sports fans make their case for their team being number one. Doctors and hospitals vie for the coveted recognition of being number one in their field. Internet providers tout their service as being number one over their competitors. Lawyers, vehicles, laundry detergents, etc. each make their boast of being number one and, therefore, worthy of your purchase. The race and the argument goes on from year to year. I can remember over the years of certain razors claiming to shave one closer and closer as their blades became finer and finer. It would seem that after 75 years there is no possibility of a blade getting any sharper! While the question of who or what is number one in all of those different realms remains, there are some number ones of which we can be sure:

By: Robert Johnson In today’s world, a relevant religious question might be, “Is the Lord’s church passionate about being the church?” Furthermore, “Is the church patterned after Scripture, enthusiastic and excited to be saved and to be part of the body of Christ?” Still, additional questions might be posed. “Are Christians devoted to live lives that lead to eternal life?” “Will those who comprise the church stay faithful despite the pressure with which sin tempts them, or will they become merely a reflection of the world around us?” At His return, Christ will ‘hand over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power’ (1 Corinthians 15:24). Oh, how much being part of His kingdom will mean to us then! Each member of the Lord’s church is responsible for his or her life and will be judged accordingly (Romans 14:12). The New Testament gives us examples of both members and congregations that were faithful to the Lord and those that were not. In His letters to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2–3), Smyrna and Philadelphia were commended for their devotion, while Sardis and Laodicea were rebuked for their lack of commitment and service. Yet, even in a church such as Sardis, described by the Lord as dead (Revelation 3:1), there were those who had not soiled their garments by sin (Revelation 3:4). Each member, each congregation, is responsible for its life before Christ, whether in submission to His will, lukewarm or …

By: Howard Johnson We read in 2 Kings 5:1–14 about a mighty captain of the host of the king of Syria. He had the power to win nations for his king. Yet, this man was stricken with leprosy, a dreaded disease that kills the body. In one of his raids, Naaman, the captain of the hosts, took a young maiden to be his wife’s servant. She was from the land of Israel. This maiden told Naaman’s wife about a prophet in Samaria who could heal her husband of his leprosy. With his king’s permission, Naaman went to see Elisha, the prophet of God. When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s door, he called to him. Elisha, hearing the caller, sent a messenger to the captain. The servant told Naaman to go into the river Jordan. He further told him to wash seven times, and he would be cleansed of his leprosy. Naaman became furious. He was a great warrior. He wanted Elisha to personally come to him. Naaman thought, “How dare Elisha send a servant to instruct him.” He expected Elisha to wave his hand over the area, and it would be cleansed. Furthermore, the river Jordan was a muddy river. Why couldn’t he go to the Abana or Pharpar, one of the cleaner rivers of Damascus? After encouragement from his servants, Naaman agreed and went to the Jordan. He washed seven times and came up with skin as a child. We all can learn a valuable lesson from Naaman’s obedience. We …

By: Therman Hodge God demands discrimination between the church of the New Testament and false churches (Ephesians 4:4). Christ said, “I am the true vine, and you are the branches…”(John 15:1). He spoke of His church (Matthew 16:18). All others are counterfeits and belong to the men who founded them and to which the members are faithful. There must be a way to tell the difference between the churches established by mankind versus the church Jesus built. We must discriminate by learning which church bears the marks of identity that the church of the New Testament bore. Who established the church of the Bible? What were the terms of entrance? How did it worship; how was it organized? What was the mission and work of the first century church? Jesus Christ is the Savior of only one body—His body, the church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18). God demands discrimination between matters of faith and matters of opinion. How do we distinguish between faith and opinion? Matters of faith concern what the Bible explicitly or implicitly teaches. We learn from the New Testament that we must evangelize (Matthew 28:18–20); we must care for widows and orphans (James 1:27); and we must meet for worship and have the biblical components in the service. On the other hand, how can this be accomplished? This is where opinions or methods may be discussed and adopted. Maturity in the Word (Hebrews 5:13–14) is foundational to matters of faith and a help to adopting a method of …

By: Dennis Doughty I wish the world would celebrate the birth of Jesus the way it celebrates the birth of other men, by concentrating on His life, accomplishments, teachings, world influence and death, rather than the manger scene with three wise men and shepherds tending their flocks. People have made it all about “the baby Jesus” while ignoring the impact of the man He became. The truth is that the Scriptures give little emphasis to the birth of Jesus. Matthew records His birth to age 2 in just 20 verses. Luke likewise devotes only 20 verses to the Lord’s birth. The Gospel accounts of Mark and John make no mention of the event; there is no direct mention throughout the rest of the New Testament of the events surrounding the Christ’s birth. Instead, Jesus of Nazareth bursts upon the scene as a wise, charismatic, mature thirty-year-old, attracting large crowds with the hope He brought to their lives via His humble and devoted lifestyle, His teachings and His miraculous powers. Let us celebrate the life of Jesus Christ and the salvation His death gave to us all. I wish I could take the Christmas season and somehow change the emphasis from the manger to the cross; from three wise men to the three days in the tomb; from the annual Christmas service about His birth, to the weekly remembrance of His death.

By: David P. Everson There are in the world of insects many unique methods of defense that God has created for them. Several of those defense systems are simple and straightforward. Others are complex and very elaborate. Among those insects that have a very intricate and well-designed defense system is the Japanese honeybee. The Japanese honeybee is very similar to our common honeybees. It is a very active insect with a complex social behavior and some amazing abilities that God has designed into it. One way that this honeybee is very different is how it defends itself from one of its most potent predators, the giant Japanese hornet. To understand how this honeybee protects itself from the hornet, we need to look into how the hornet lives. The giant hornet is a large, vicious predator. It is about three times the size of a honeybee and up to 20 times the weight. The hornets eat insects. The most normal prey for the hornet is slow moving insects such as the gold beetle and large caterpillars. However, as these food sources run out at the end of the year and as the hornets need to reach maximum size to survive winter, they turn to other less vulnerable food sources, such as the honeybee. As the hornets begin to send out scouts to locate food sources, they need to leave markers where the hive can find the food, since they do not have the waggle dance as the honeybee does. When a …

By: Sunny David It is hard for people in a denominationalized religious environment to grasp the truth that the church of Christ is not a denomination. Too many have the idea that the church of Christ is just one denomination among many. People are so accustomed to there being numerous denominational churches that many find it hard to comprehend the concept of undenominational Christianity. Most people think that the various kinds of churches, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, are different parts of the whole of Christianity. Some say that different kinds of churches are different ways leading to the same place. Some erroneously believe that Christ was referring to various denominations when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches…” in John 15:5. There, Jesus was speaking to His followers and referring to individual persons and not to denominations. The very context itself disproves the theory put forth to justify the existence of various denominational churches today. Jesus was telling His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches…If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch…” (John 15:5–6). Moreover, He could not have referred to denominational churches since none of them existed then. Denominationalism in a religious sense designates a divided condition, embracing many different groups and sects that are distinct from one another by names, creeds and practices. Yet, all claim to be the parts of the one body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4). The apostle Paul spoke disparagingly of such …

By: Aaron Cozort A common question asked in casual conversation is, “Are you a morning person or a night owl?” By habit, biological reasons we may not understand or even by necessity, some people choose to arise from bed early and some get up late. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, one thing that is certain is that you woke up today, and Lord willing, you will arise again tomorrow. An appropriate question is, “What do we do with our time when we wake?” Do we reach for the technology device of choice and start on email or social media? Do we turn on music or the radio to distract ourselves as we prepare for another day? Are we immediately engrossed in the to-do list that we prepared the night before? Do we punch the snooze button repeatedly until we must scurry around like startled rats to get out the door? Whatever your morning routine, the truth we should consider is that each day belongs to the Lord. He has blessed us with the day, with the life and the opportunity of another day of existence, and we should consider how to begin that opportunity, how we honor that gift and how we maximize that benevolence. Here’s a curious paradox: On earth, a servant waits upon his master. Yet, our loving Master waits upon His servants. What, then, could we do with our time in the morning? King David admonished through his example of praying in the morning. …

By: T. Pierce Brown In a recent meeting with a group of preachers, one of them mentioned that for a person to use the phrase “total commitment” now puts him under suspicion. If that is true, and it probably is, I want to use that example to protest and to admonish. It seems to me that far too many of us are prone to react rather than to act. We take our cues on what to do or say from some side with whom we wish to stand aligned and identified, rather than with God and His Word. Of course, we are aware that “birds of a feather flock together” (whatever that means) and that certain groups of people tend to use certain kinds of phraseology. One can almost identify certain persons from certain schools or areas by the expressions they use in prayer. One may make a fair guess (sometimes) as to the modernistic tendencies of a person by the expressions he uses. It is true that in many areas “…by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37 NKJV), and “…your speech betrays you” (Matthew 26:73). However, it seems a shame and even a tragedy that Christians would allow the misuse of a scriptural concept by someone to prevent their using that concept properly. Whether we like it or not, Jesus said, “…If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow …

By: Gary C. Hampton Some say we live in terrible times and suggest we cannot win souls in such an environment. We can learn some valuable lessons from the establishment of the Corinthian church in the midst of a very wicked city. Paul was a preacher so dedicated to proclaiming the truth that he supported himself through making tents beside a husband and wife team named Aquila and Priscilla. The tents were made out of either leather or goat hair cloth (Acts 18:1–3). He did not insist on his right to be supported in the preaching of the Gospel because he did not want to hinder anyone’s obedience (1 Corinthians 9:11–12; 2 Corinthians 11:9). Paul reasoned publicly with the Jews and Greeks who came to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 18:4). He also taught in the house of a man named Justus (Acts 18:6–7). Paul followed the same course in Ephesus. He reminded the Ephesian elders that he did not hold back anything helpful to them, “but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20 NKJV). Paul’s preaching centered around the fact that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 18:5). He reminded the sanctified in Corinth of the Gospel he preached. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians …