It seems that dress codes have always been a source of controversy within societies and, of course, within the church. In most cases, popular culture drives the clothes that people wear, while dress codes attempt to monitor apparel by opinions of what is considered decent and moral. The following dress code was recently posted by one of our local night clubs, which boasts of being the hottest honkey-tonk in town. This dress code concluded with the following statement, “We are not the gym, Netflix, Chill or your bedroom. Dress and act accordingly.” Dear Christians: If an establishment that offers drinking, dancing and revelry, all of which God disapproves (1 Peter 4:3), can expect its patrons to dress and act in a decent manner, then surely, we can do better as the Lord’s people. We are to be modest and chaste in our appearance and behavior, especially when we come together to worship our Heavenly Father. What better lesson can we teach our children than that of dressing properly and respectfully when attending church services? “In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 NKJV). Our clothing doesn’t have to be fancy, formal or expensive. As the old timers used to say, “Wear your best.” [Editor’s Note: There is a congregation of the churches of Christ in Georgetown, Guyana, South America that

The man called Abraham is truly one of the most fascinating characters found in the Book of Beginnings. Blessed of God and father of the Hebrew nation, within the story of Abraham we can see the plan of our own salvation begin to unfold, thus making the account of his life of utmost importance to us all. Abraham’s faith and obedience continues to echo throughout New Testament teaching and is best summarized by the writer of the Hebrew letter when he penned, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). Yet, as you explore the life of this great man, his apparent humanity is crystal clear. In two separate occasions we can see how Abraham used a lie to avoid trouble (Genesis 12:11-13; 20:2) and through the persuasion of his wife, Sarai, interfered with the plan that God had laid out for their lives (Genesis 16). Originally named Abram (exalted father, Nelson’s) by his father Terah, Abram was a descendent of Shem, the first of Noah’s three sons (Genesis 10:1). In biblical times, names were of much importance. The name given at

It’s that time of year again, the “Holiday Season,” and as we begin the usual activities of this time of year we should take a little time to reflect on just how this “season of giving” affects our Christian life. The world around us begins to seem like a friendlier place for some reason; various organizations have food drives, offer holiday meals to the needy and spend countless hours in front of department stores ringing bells while folks walk by, throwing a handful of change into a black pot. People spend literally billions of dollars on gifts for family and friends. Yes, it’s time for the holidays! But as the world shifts into the “giving spirit,” life for the Christian should really see no significant change. What? You mean to say that we shouldn’t participate in all of the holiday cheer? Not at all. We are so blessed to live in a free land where we can celebrate traditional holidays as we please and the Christian is also free to join into this festive season. But the Christian’s life should be a shining example of the “giving spirit” all year long, not just for a couple of weeks or months. People in the world should be able to see the unselfish nature of the child of God at any time. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The key point here is

As I’m writing this article (March 2004), I can hear birds singing. Looking to my left out of the windowed doors of my study I can see that it is a beautiful sunny day; the thermometer on the wall gives an outdoor temperature of 69 degrees. The sky is so blue and the grass green, the first hint that Spring is right around the corner. What a nice day it is! But for the last two weeks I’ve been under the weather; the doctor said it was some kind of infection in my nose or maybe he said I was sick in the head; at any rate I’ve had cold-like symptoms that have kept me away from work and church. I’ve been lying around the house trying to get well. Today, I feel better; I got a good night’s rest and the symptoms are beginning to subside. Looking out of the window, I think to myself, “What a great day to be out working in the yard or tinkering around out in the shop. Maybe a trip down to the lake.” But then I realize that I’m not quite well yet and that I probably need to stay in for at least another day. Its almost torture to sit here, look outside and see the wonderful day the Lord has blessed us with and not be able to get out there and enjoy it. It’s the pits. I can’t help but to think about another man who looked and saw

Last night just before dark, I had to go outside and take care of a few chores. We’re spending a few days down at our little shack on the lake and I needed to go check on some things down at the boathouse. As I walked down toward the lake, I couldn’t help but notice the sunset. The cypress trees, full of Spanish moss, were black, silhouetted against a cyan and pink sky. I thought to myself, “If only I had a camera.” I went on to the boathouse and finished in less than five minutes. As I started to walk across the pier, I glanced by over my shoulder to look at my sunset one more time. But the sky had darkened, the colors faded, the once beautiful sunset was gone. I thought, “It was here just a minute ago, now its gone, how could it disappear so quickly?” As I walked back to the house I just couldn’t get over how quickly the sunset had vanished. Our lives are like that sunset. We are here but a short time. The Psalmist wrote, “My days [are] like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass” (Psalm 102:11). Just like the setting of the sun, our lives are ever getting shorter. James described our lives as a “vapor” or puff of steam (James 4:14), full, thick, rolling and boiling with life. But no sooner does it begin to rise does it begin to evaporate. The shortness of life

In the summer of 2001, we moved to a new area, and once we had found a place to live, we began looking for a place to worship. Choices were few. But believe it or not we found a church home in only the second week. So, what does one look for when looking for a new church home? Of course, one must take into consideration that the new congregation will stand for the truth on important doctrinal matters, that goes without saying. But what characteristics other than a solid doctrinal backbone do we look for when searching for a new church home? Where we come from, there seems to be a church of Christ on every corner. Within a twenty mile radius you may find as many as ten congregations. Some of these churches are less than five miles apart. Kinda’ makes you wonder about just how unified the church really is, huh? At any rate, there’s no problem in finding a church to suit your needs, whether it be social, financial, spiritual or for whatever reason folks go to church. But what if you only had two choices? Say choice one was a church of some size, between 200 and 500 folks or maybe even bigger. They support a fulltime minister and a fulltime assistant minister or youth director. They publish a weekly paper that helps spread the Gospel to the surrounding community. Just maybe they produce a weekly radio or television broadcast. This church supports and helps

Mark Griffin sat staring out into space from the edge of the bench in front of the Howard County Recreation Center. His mind drifted back to the last 4th of July, a happier time. He remembered the smell of burgers cooking on the grill, the sound of the kids playing in the backyard. The picnic table spread with all of the fixings including his wife’s delicious apple pie complete with homemade ice cream. He remembered feeling very happy and secure; he felt a great sense of accomplishment after 23 years of hard work that now had paid off. But suddenly the pleasant memory changed, it became dark and dangerous. He remembered awaking on that fateful Thursday night just 3 days ago to the sounds of thunder mixed with sirens. The excitement, shock, panic and fear as the wind began to rock the house. The sound of breaking glass could be heard everywhere. It was so dark that the small flashlight he held in his hand gave no comfort. Setting in the storm shelter huddled together with his wife and children, he could hear his life being literally blown away. The next morning when all seemed quiet outside, he brought his family out of the shelter to find that the F5 tornado not only had taken their home and neighborhood, but it had taken the entire town. Nothing was left of the small town except a few houses that bordered the path of the huge storm. It was all gone, the

Yesterday, I was sitting in my office at work along with the two other fellas, and we were visiting with each other trying to help a rather slow day pass by a little faster. As we were talking, the lady that works for the janitorial service came in to empty our wastebaskets. This lady is always friendly, and we all exchange pleasantries each time she comes by. My office partner asked where she’d been because he’d hadn’t seen her around for a week or two. She said that she’d been at the hospital with her husband. As she said that, I thought to myself, “Here’s an opportunity to let my light shine just a little bit,” so I asked her if he was all right. She turned to me and said rather reluctantly, “No not really, they’re only giving him six months to live.” There was silence, and then all I could come up with was, “I’m sorry.” She said, “Oh well, that’s just part of it, but thanks anyway,” and she turned and walked out the door. After she left, we all sat there without saying a word. Have you ever been hit in the stomach real hard? That’s what it felt like. Here I was ready to be “Super Christian” and show some genuine concern for my fellowman, and then when my chance came, I could only mumble two measly words. Jesus said that the person who would be the greatest is the person who thinks of himself

Have you ever been going through some old religious books, magazines or Sunday School literature and seen one of those pictures of what was considered at the time to be a clean cut American Christian family? There was Dad with the plain black suit and tie, hair neatly greased and parted to one side or cropped to a plateau shaped flat top. Then there was Mom in a dress that appeared to be made out of a giant pink piece of pipe with huge white buttons glued down the front, topped off with a hat that had been molded from a small cookie tin. Her hair was stiff and flipped up on the ends like the anchor of a big ship. Then there were those glasses! I truly believe that you could take the most beautiful woman in the world, put her in a pair of those awful willow shaped lenses and she’d be instantly changed into the most unattractive female in the place. A couple of kids were always present in these pictures, clones of Dad and Mom. Junior with his flat top or crew cut, white button up shirt, pants pulled up to his chest, white socks shining and Sissy with a dress made out of a smaller piece of pipe, and like mother like daughter, the same ugly optical apparel. Get the picture? If you were around thirty or forty years ago you probably have a family photo that’s very similar or you were at least part

Now days, you can’t turn the TV on without seeing or hearing about a relatively new type of program, the reality show. Only after a few years, the airways are filled with them; they are becoming the sitcoms and dramas of this generation. From MTV, to the Arts and Entertainment Network, to the Discovery Channel, not to mention the Big Four Networks, everyone has jumped on the reality show bandwagon. They come in all shapes and sizes, countless real-life situations for us to choose from. You can watch reality shows about survival competition, house building, choosing a husband or a wife, getting rich, getting poor, getting plastic surgery and living together in some difficult situation. For one hour we can view the most intimate moments of human interaction, all caught on video for us to enjoy. In this article I want us to take a serious look at the “reality show” and determine if is this is the kind of entertainment we need to be watching. From what I’ve seen, most of the reality shows are based on the same scenario, take supposedly normal, everyday people, put them in some extraordinary or difficult situation and video the whole thing. There seems to always be an ultimate prize of sorts: money, fame, a new home, even a new face and body. As we watch these casts of characters, we begin to connect with these people, some we like and some we don’t. Some we want to “get together” and some we

Aaron, the brother of Moses, was one of the central figures found in the Mosaic account of the great Exodus out of Egypt by the Hebrew people. The name Aaron is believed to mean “mountaineer, mountain of strength or illuminator” (WebBible). Others claim that the meaning of his name is uncertain (Harper’s 1). In Egypt, Amram took Jochebed, his father’s sister, who was a daughter of the tribe of Levi and she bore Aaron and Moses (Exodus 6:20). Aaron also had a sister, Miriam, who apparently was older, but there is little known of the early life of Aaron. Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as his wife and she bore him four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar (Exodus 6:23). As previously stated, Aaron would play a pivotal part in the deliverance of the children of Israel from 430 years of Egyptian bondage. He would be the mouthpiece of Moses and eventually the first priest of the Hebrew people. Many lessons can be learned from a study of the life and adventures of the man called Aaron. He performed the wonders of the Lord, he wielded the rod that became a serpent and he was in the presence of Jehovah God. After receiving the commission to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses begins to make excuses as to why this will be an impossible task for him to accomplish. “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to

It was a pleasant Saturday morning in Dewhurst, North Carolina, and the little town had come alive with activity. Buster and Raymond sat at their usual places on the old bench just outside of the barbershop. They were doing their weekly “people watching,” an age long tradition performed by the fortunate two persons who arrived at the old bench first. They sat and discussed the weather, the school board, doctoring cows and growing tomatoes all the while keenly observing the folks that walked up and down the street. “There’s Rudy Thomas,” Buster said. “Wonder how he’s getting along since his wife passed on?” Raymond asked as they watched Rudy go into the drug store. “Oh boy! Here comes the new preacher,” Raymond said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Buster chuckled, “That feller is a sure ’nuff dude, look at them Patten leather shoes!” But before the two old men could get fired up with insults and wise cracks about the preacher, something caught Raymond’s attention. “Buster, would you look at that,” he said pointing with both hands to opposite ends of the street. Buster looked and saw Sally Johnson coming up from the south end of town. He then looked to the opposite end of the street and there was Lucy Vanhorn, Sally’s sister-in-law. Raymond said, “This outta be good, them two old gals have hated each other since creation.” The two observers watched as the women headed toward each other on a direct collision course. When

The other day I was talking to one of the older men from our community. We were wrapped up in the usual small talk about how wet and dreary the weather was or how we like fresh onions out of the garden, when Bud said, “You know what I heard the other day while I was having coffee down at the store?” When I heard “down at the store” a red flag went up because it’s one of the gathering places for the older fellas like Bud and there’s usually not a shortage of tall tales, gossip and lies around those small tables setting over in the corner of our local grocery store. “They’re puttin’ a McDonald’s in that new school building!” Bud said working himself up into a lather. Then he went on about how he was tired of that school using all his tax money for all the fancy stuff they have in schools now days. I’m sure Bud was one of those poor individuals who had to walk ten miles to school barefooted, in the snow, uphill both ways. A friend of mine was sitting there with me and we tried to tell Bud that it was probably illegal to have a business located in a public school building, but this didn’t put a dent in Bud’s belief that what he’d heard at the store was anything short of the Gospel truth. The story that Bud had heard was harmless enough, though it did get him riled

That’s the sound that a foghorn makes, and last Wednesday morning we sure could have used one around here. As I went out to crank the truck to warm it up before going to work, I discovered that there was a thick fog, so thick that the windows of the truck were covered with moisture even though it was under the carport. About half way to work, the fog got very thick, you know, the “pea-soup” kind. The road that I was on was dark and had no center stripe. The only reference I had was the edge of the road, which at times was hard to see too. There were a couple of times I got disoriented and found myself veering from one side of the road to the next trying to find the center and there were times that I actually got lost; I didn’t know where I was even though I’d traveled this same road to work for almost twenty years! After services Wednesday night, brother Tony Lewis and I were talking about the fog, and I think he got lost too, so I don’t feel quite so bad. Have you ever been lost? Have you ever found yourself at a point in your life that things were so foggy or cloudy you couldn’t see the way? Last Wednesday night brother Kenneth Jordan brought a wonderful devotional that showed that the Christian is the light of world (Matthew 5:14). And in a world filled with darkness, the

When I was a kid and really wanted to do something that my folks had already said no to, I would say, “Well everybody else is doing it.” Then I would get that standard reply that all moms and dads learn in parenting school, “If everybody went and jumped in the lake, would you?” It always seemed logical to me that if the majority was doing it then it must be all right. Not so. When it comes to the Lord’s work, we still do this very thing, even though we’re supposed to be grown-up and mature. We make excuses in order to justify either doing or not doing something by comparing ourselves to the majority. We shouldn’t compare our Christian service with others because in the end we’ll only be accountable for what we do as individuals (Romans 14:12). Rather we should use ourselves as a measuring device to see if we stack up. Ask yourself, “If someone patterned his life after mine would that person be saved?” Think about it.

As I was driving home the other day, a song came on the radio that I haven’t heard in a long time. It’s sung by the country singer Don Williams and its entitled, “You’re My Best Friend.” It’s a simple little song with very simple music and lyrics, you know, the kind that you’d pick and sing while sitting on the front porch on a cool summer evening. It’s a simple love song, a song from a man to his wife. Here’s the chorus: You’re my bread when I’m hungryYou’re shelter from troubled windsYou’re my anchor in life’s oceanBut most of allYou’re my best friend It sounds almost biblical doesn’t it? The fact is that our spouses should indeed be our best friends, the ones that we can confide in, the ones that we can share our troubles with, the ones that we desire to spend our time with. Is your wife or your husband your best friend? God set up the marriage union long ago, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The marriage relationship is an honorable one (Hebrews 13:4) and isn’t to be taken for granted. Our husbands and wives are meant to be a blessing to us, not a burden. Men, do you treat your wives as good as you treat your best hunting or fishing buddy? Would you rather hang out with the fellas than spend time with your

A while back, I went down to the little grocery store we have here in our little town. It’s not much different from most small stores that are located in most small towns scattered all across this great country of ours. I had to pick up just a few odd items, you know, the stuff you seem to run out of constantly like milk, cornbread mix, sweet pickles and sandwich bags. I suppose that’s why these little stores seem to prosper so well in such a small town. As I go into the store, I see ole’ Buddy sittin’ with some other fellas drinking coffee and he hollers “Howdy!” As I go down the isle looking for the cornbread mix, I run into my sister-in-law and her daughter and we stop and “neighbor” a bit. Standing at the checkout counter is Ray, a retired electrician that I used to work with; he acts like he’s tickled to death to see me. Ms. Mary checks me out and asks me how things are going. I head out the door with my little bag of oddball items and there’s Mike, my father-in-law’s neighbor’s son-in-law who gives me a friendly wave. As I get into my truck, I realize that I’ve got this warm fuzzy feelin’ down deep inside. It’s kinda hard to explain, like being happy for no special reason at all. Then I realize that it just feels good to be treated like you belong. That same warm fuzzy feeling is

Recently one of the local radio stations had a publicity campaign in which local merchants competed with each other to see who could offer the lowest price on gasoline and sell it at that price for an hour or so. The winning merchant was one who offered to give away his gas free during the specified time. I heard lots of people say that they were anxious to get their fair share of the free gas and were willing to fight the mad rush to the pumps. I just hoped that no one would get into an accident, because the store was located at a busy intersection on a major highway. I never did hear how it all turned out so I suppose that everything went all right and some folks got some free gas. You know, for the Christian there’s an offer of free gas every week, but it’s not the gas we put into our cars; rather, it’s the spiritual gas that we can receive by attending the midweek service of the church. It’s tough out there in the real world, and the Christian is always bombarded with temptation and discouragement. But real comfort and support can be found by meeting and studying the Bible with other Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25). Yes, we know that God never gave us a command to have a Wednesday night service and if we think of it as such, we’ll not make much effort to attend. But if we think of it as

This morning as I was scanning some of my favorite church of Christ web sites for articles and Bible outline ideas I came across a poem entitled “Preaching from the Pews.” The subject of the poem was about the residue that we leave on the church pew after a worship service and the message that it conveys. I especially enjoyed it because I have witnessed this first hand. While regularly attending another congregation, Janet took on the responsibility of cleaning the building. From time to time I would help her with her cleaning assignments, one of which was to clean the auditorium. I speak personally when I say that I never really gave the cleanliness of the church building much thought; its only used about 3 hours a week and how dirty can a room get with that much use? Believe me it does get messy and we would do well to thank those who help keep our facilities neat and clean. As I made my way through each pew, picking up various articles left behind by the folks who sat there during worship, I began a little detective game of sorts. You know, we all have a habit of sitting in the same spot during services; the only thing missing is a nametag. Because of this I already knew who I was picking up after while cleaning up the pews. Just like Sherlock Holmes or Detective Colombo, I picked up each piece of evidence, carefully examining it to see

We moved. We packed up 18 years of living, put it in a U-Haul truck and moved to another state. Some might say, “Big deal,” because in our “mobile” society packing up and moving from place to place is a way of life for some folks. Not us. We’re the homebody types. We’re the ones who live in Hometown, USA all of their lives. We’re the stable ones who are involved in so much that we couldn’t possibly pack up and move because it would leave so much stuff out of whack. But we did just that. After months of prayerful thought and long discussions with my wife, I decided to look for a new job. Thanks to the Internet and e-mail I found a transfer to a new job in just a couple of months, in another state. Now the work had to start. In just two short weeks we packed up all of our belongings, sold our home, said goodbye to our family and friends, and moved to a place where we didn’t know a soul. We did all of this so fast that I don’t think the reality of it all has sunk in yet. But as our first week in our new home came to an end and things began to slow down a bit, I began to study what impact this move may have on our lives. We know that there will be new friends, new contacts and new opportunities coming our way. Our move

As part of my job, I go into various production workshops and hold week long “events” that focus on eliminating waste and attempt to make the operation more efficient through a series of exercises and applying certain manufacturing principles. Just as with any aspect of life, the introduction of change can be an uncomfortable experience, especially in the workplace. The shop I was working with this week was no different than any other group I had worked with in the past, but after a couple days of grumbling, complaining, pointed remarks and verbal stabs, it was hard not to get a little frustrated. During one of these moments I must confess that I was to the point where I could have pinched a few heads off, but then I had a brilliant idea. As I passed through one of the supervisor’s offices, I said, “Doug, I’ve got it figured out. We take the whole group, teach them the Gospel, load them all up and take them to the lake and baptize them all! That would solve lot of your problems and this would be one of the best shops around.” He agreed. Think about the amount of time we spend at our jobs. If you work a 40-hour week, 30% of your time is spent on the job; that means you spend a third of your time “performing” in front of those who are not Christians, and believe me they’re watching you! I listened to a conversation this week in

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