We’ve had a great week showing and sharing the gospel of Christ here in Columbia, South Carolina. The fall weather is simply gorgeous with cool mornings warming up nicely through the evening. I hope you are taking full advantage of such wonderful blessings. Get up a little earlier to go for a morning walk. Walk outside just after sunset and look up at the stars. Sit on the deck for a few minutes early or late and enjoy a bit of nature: squirrels preparing for the winter, falling leaves, geese settling on or lifting off the lake if you are near the water or flying overhead toward a warmer climate. These simple experiences make life worth living. Some people never look up to see the evidence of God. They rarely look out past their own feelings and needs to see the beauties around them. They seldom look around them at the opportunities for joy and service to others. They have even more difficulty looking within themselves to see that they have become far removed from the balance of life.

As Christians, we can, we must live a different, better, balanced life. Every morning let us think of God. Let us speak to Him in prayer and remember the assurances we have in Jesus Christ. Let us read God’s word, the Bible to be reminded of our past, our blessings, our duty, and our future in Christ. Let us do more than read the Bible. We must rightly divide it (2 Timothy 2:15), realizing that God communicated to people before the coming of Jesus Christ in different ways (Hebrews 1:1-2). Today we do not read to obey the Old Testament, the Psalms, nor the Prophets of old. The Old Testament was God’s word to those who lived before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We read to obey His Son, Jesus Christ in the twenty-seven books called the New Testament with words written down by nine inspired men chosen by God (Matthew, Mark, Luke (2), John (5), Paul (13), Peter (2), James, Jude, and the writer to the Hebrews). These twenty-seven books are the final revelation from God to mankind in these last days in which we live (Jude 3, Galatians 1:6-10, Luke 16:16). Now make no mistake about it. The Old Testament is valuable to us today. Paul wrote in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” The Old Testament was written for our learning, not for our keeping.

Sin is our enemy. Sin has always caused humanity problems. Still does. Sin separates us from God. The Bible is written so that we might know right from wrong, truth from error, so that we might not sin (1 John 2:1). We must stay away from sin. And when we do sin, thankfully God has provided a way out of sin and into his salvation through His Son (John 14:6, 1 John 1:1-2). We must take the way. When we turn to God we must turn away from sin.

This week end on Friday and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. I will be preaching the gospel at the church of Christ at Windsor Lake. If you can make one or more of these meetings, the church there would be greatly encouraged and you would be too. Pray for me as I travel across town to encourage our fellow Christian brothers and sisters.

This Sunday morning we will continue in our series of lessons on the theme “Fully Committed to Christ.” We will focus our attention on the question: “Am I fully committed to the Lord’s church?” If you would like to read ahead, read Matthew 16, Ephesians 5, and Acts 2.

On Sunday evening we will consider the personal relationship that Jesus had with various people during His ministry; children, His friends, the hungry, the troubled, the helpless, and the rich and the poor. Jesus is “A Personal Savior.”