Put This Bulletin Down!
Have you read the bulletin today? If you have not read it, I have a proposition to make. Put this bulletin down and go and spend whatever time you might have spent reading it and instead read the Bible. Then, if you still have some time for study, come back and read this bulletin. Hopefully you will find some material here that will help you even further in your study of the Bible.
Why do I say this? Simply because I see how easy it is for me to get my priorities mixed up in my own life. Sometimes I get so busy studying about the Bible and about various other religious issues that I end up having very little time left to study the Bible itself. And, I suspect that my problem is not uncommon to a lot of readers as well. With all the bulletins and papers being published by brethren today, it is quite possible for a Christian to spend his time studying them, and being up on all the “brotherhood issues,” and still know very little about the Bible itself. Let’s keep our priorities in order. It would be good for each of us to set aside a regular time for reading the Bible every day. I am sure that you will still be able to find plenty of time after that for the reading of other good religious literature. And if not, well, first things first. (Author Unknown
The Parable of Ten Preachers
“Then shall the religious world be likened unto ten preachers, which took their religious beliefs, and went forth to debate the Devil. Five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. The foolish took their beliefs, but took no Bible with them. But the wise took the Bible into their minds and their hearts. While the devil tarried, they all prepared their notes for the discussion.
“And at midnight, there was a cry made, ‘Behold, Satan cometh, go ye out to meet him.’ All of the preachers arose and presented their religious doctrines. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘give us a passage from your Bibles to support us, for our doctrines are without scripture.’ But the wise answered saying, ‘Your doctrines are not in the scriptures, and we cannot have part with error; but go ye rather to the scriptures and learn for yourselves.’
“And while they went to hunt for scriptures; the Devil came, and they that were ready went in to the discussion, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other preachers, saying, ‘Open to us.’ But Satan answered and said, ‘Verily, I say unto you, we have nothing to discuss, for you are with me.’ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein you must answer error.” (Adapted from an article by Larry Dickens)
Worth Thinking About
Two wives who were Christians sat mending their husbands’ pants. One of them said to the other, “My poor John is so discouraged in his church work that he said the other day he felt like quitting. Nothing ever seems to go right for him.” The other replied, “Why my husband was saying just the opposite; he is so enthused, it seems like he is closer to the Lord than ever before.” A hushed silence fell as they continued to mend the trousers, one patching the seat and the other the knees.
Narrow Minded?
Preachers, teachers and members of the Lord’s church are sometimes accused of being “narrow minded” because they adhere to the literal interpretation of the Bible. We certainly are! But, so are factory workers, surgeons, and pharmacists. The factory worker is so narrow minded that he uses micrometers and measures to the thousandth of an inch the bores and pistons of engines, electronic components and balancing wheels in timepieces.
The surgeon is so narrow minded that he insist on ultra-technical laboratory analysis, meticulously sterilized instruments of special design. Why, he is even picky and narrow minded in that he makes his assistants wear masks over their faces.
The pharmacist is so narrow minded that he just has to have a prescription before he will let you have certain medications. He says he has to be narrow because government regulations are narrow and even thinks that this is a good idea.
As you think about it, it’s a blessing that somebody is narrow minded. And however much we need to be narrow minded about vital material matters, we must be infinitely more careful and exact about spiritual laws. God will not be mocked.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, low I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). Was Jesus Christ “Narrow Minded”? (The Gospel Digest)
Three Dangerous Questions
It has been said that in the hands of a teenager these three questions are very dangerous, especially to parents who follow their instructions to the teens with “Because I said so.” It is annoying to have one’s authority questioned.
#1 What Do You Mean?
#2 How Do You Know?
#3 So What?
The first is the definition of terms. The second is the basis of authority. The third is the relevance of the discussion. A teenager can be lethal with these and especially the third one. When the parents think they have well defined exactly what they mean and established their basis of authority and the kid still ends up saying something like, “So what? What does what you’re saying have anything to do with me?” “Because I said so” is often a good way for weary Moms and Dads to answer recalcitrant teens.
These three questions are also dangerous in the realm of religion. Religious leaders view these queries as a threat to their dominion. However, God’s children need to be asking continually: 1) Explain what you mean more clearly, 2) How did you get that information, and 3) How does that fit in with God’s word?
Ethical Infants
“We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the sermon on the mount. The world has achieved brilliance with- out wisdom, power without con- science. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.” (General of the US Army, Omar Bradley)