Everything is going to be fine up in the country!

     What a wonderful Sunday we enjoyed this week (24^th) when the church of Christ at Enola met for worship, study, and fellowship!  We had a good crowd (128) when you consider the cold windy weather we are having.  There were many smiles as we talked about the many ways God is blessing the church up in the country.  We have had two new additions to the church recently.  One of our Christian sisters got married.  We had a new baby to be born this weekend.  One of our Christian brothers who recently lost his job interviewed and was made an offer.  He starts to work again on Monday.  Some who have been sick are better.  I could go on and on.  Of course we still have work to do.  Some of our Christian brothers and sisters are having a difficult time right now.  Some are sick.  They need God’s tender loving care, our prayers and His healing.  Some are struggling with the mistakes of the past, errors in judgment, weakness, limitations, and sin.  They need our prayers, support, and love now more than ever.  God is faithful, merciful, gracious, and just.  He can make what is wrong right again.  He can strengthen every weakness.  Of course every searching soul must come to God in repentance and humility to receive the answers to their needs.  Some are doubtful and in need of a greater faith.  God’s word, the Bible was written so that those who are doubtful might believe.  God is ready, willing, and able to provide for our every need.  He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.  We must not be afraid or dismayed.  Let us hasten to Him.

     This Sunday (March 31^st) is Easter Sunday.  Remember that Easter Sunday will be no different than any other Lord’s Day at Enola.  We celebrate and remember the resurrection of Christ every first day of the week when we break bread together in the Lord’s Supper.  The unleavened bread that we share represents the body of Christ who was crucified for us.  The fruit of the vine represents the blood that Jesus shed when He died for us.  Of course we remember the day He rose from the grave just as He promised.  That was a Sunday, the first day of the week.  The church of Christ in the first century celebrated the death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ with the Lord’s Supper every Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).  We do the same.  We have been given special instructions in 1 Corinthians 11 concerning the Lord’s Supper.  We must remember Christ’s body in the unleavened bread and His blood in the fruit of the vine.  We must also examine ourselves and so eat and drink.  We want to follow the pattern for worship we find in the New Testament.

     Our Sunday evening series is going well.  I am preaching a series on the Old Rugged Cross.  If I am living my life in view of the cross, I must realize that the way of the cross has requirements that must be met.  The road to Calvary requires C – Courage.  It requires R – Reason.  The Way requires O – Obedience.  This Sunday we find that the Way of the cross requires S – Sacrifice.  Jesus Christ gave Himself as a Sacrifice for us all.  What about us?  We must give ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.  I hope you will be present at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday evening for this series of lessons taken straight from the Bible.  Remember that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

     I keep thinking:  April showers bring May flowers.  Today (Tuesday, March 26^th) when I walked outside to get Cindi’s car warmed up for her drive to work, the temperature was below freezing.  I know because the water in my garden fountain was frozen.  God has everything under control no matter what the news media says.  I will trust Him and obey Him.  That way, everything will be just fine.

Rules of Life

     Life should not be so complicated!  It really isn’t.  Keep the rules and enjoy life.  Break the rules and trouble follows.  We just can’t break the rules of life.  What are the rules you ask.  Well, let’s look at a few.

1.       Whatever you sow, you reap.  This is a rule of life.  We read this rule over and over again in the Bible and still we sometimes think that we can sow one thing and reap another.  I recently planted some apple trees in my yard.  I don’t know very much about trees, but the tag on one of  the trees, said “Granny Smith Apple.”  Now in a few days I expect to see blooms, then leaves, and then apples.  To expect peaches or plums or oranges or bananas would be foolish.  Cindi and I have been married for 33 years.  We’ll celebrate our 34^th anniversary in September.  I have learned that sowing seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our marriage produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  That is just the way it is.  This is a rule of life.  Also, the more you sow, the more you reap.  Likewise, the less you sow, the less you reap. 

I’m sorry to say that too many in our world today continue to reject this rule.  Hard living results in a hard life. 

2.        Marriage is one man and one woman for life.  This is a rule of life.  Break it and we’re in for a world of trouble.  In our society today, many are attempting to reject this rule and redefine marriage.  According to a recent poll I heard about on TV, a majority of Americans now believe that two women or two men should be able to get “married” and that this is an acceptable arrangement.  Think about it.  A culture can decide to accept the rules of life or not.  Their acceptance or rejection of the rules of life does not and cannot alter the consequences of their acceptance or rejection.  Divorce used to be the exception.  Now it seems that just about everyone you meet has been divorced at least once.  I was reading about a couple who had been married for many years, more than 60.  The wife was asked about her marriage and the answer to the longevity of her marriage.  She responded by saying, “My husband and I grew up in a time where when something breaks, we don’t just throw it away, we fix it.”  As a gospel preacher, much of my time is invested helping men and women “fix” what has been broken.  Satan is working hard to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).  Jesus came to give us life, an abundant life.  We have a choice, life or death.  Oh that we may choose life.

3.        Salvation is by grace through faith.  This is a rule of life.  Salvation is not by grace only.  Salvation is not by faith only.  Salvation is by grace through faith.  God offers salvation to everyone through His Son Jesus Christ, grace.  This offer (grace) must be accepted (faith).  Unless God’s grace is extended, we cannot be saved.  Likewise unless God’s grace is accepted, we cannot be saved.  Doesn’t this make sense?  It does to me.  This is a rule of life.  Some oppose this rule of life.  Some people think they can save themselves outside of the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  They cannot.  Others think that they can live sinful selfish lives and still be saved.  They cannot.  Salvation is by grace through faith.  This is a rule of life.

4.       This is not found in the Bible per se, but this is also a rule of life.  If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.  If you play in the mud, you’re going to get muddy.  If you play in the rain, you’re going to get wet.  If you speed, you’re going to get a ticket.  If you look for trouble, you’re going to find it.  This is just the way it is.  Fire should be respected.  Make sure you “respect” the lady or gentleman at work who seems to be extra friendly and nice to you.  Mud has its place in the world.  Pigs love it.  Dancing in the rain is a good movie title, but those who danced in the rain got wet.  And I don’t know if they ended up with a bad cold or not.  Speeding may be fun for the moment, but those blue lights in the rearview mirror certainly make for a bad day.  And when it comes to finding trouble, you don’t really have to look for it, trouble seems to find us.

Maybe we can escape the consequences of rule breaking for a time, but just know that eventually, today, tomorrow, next week, next month, the consequences of breaking the rules of life will catch up with us.

We have the Bible so that we may not sin (1 John 2:1).  How can we know the rules of life unless we get in the Book and stay in the Book, the Bible, specifically the New Testament, God’s word for us today (Hebrews 1:1-2)?  David wrote Psalm 1.  He said that the one is delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on the law of the Lord day and night will be blessed and will prosper in everything he does.  I want to be like a tree planted by the river.  Read Psalm 1 and keep the rules.

Life's Ups and Downs

     Life is a series of ups and downs, a balance of give and take, like the waves of the ocean on the beach, ever coming in and then back out again.  A baby is born and we are so very happy.  A loved one dies and we are so very sad.  One week we have a windfall.  The next week we have an unexpected expense.  If you haven’t figured this out yet, open your eyes to see.  Live a little while longer.  Understand that this is how it is.  I’m not being negative about this fact of life, just honest and accepting.  I have found that when I accept the facts of life, my frustration vanishes.  One thing is for sure:  The world cannot take more than God can give.  This is also a fact of life.  I am so thankful.

     This coming Sunday morning (17^th) we will end our series of sermons entitled “All Means All.”  We have been looking at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-10 to see that Jesus has been given all authority.  He told His disciples to go into all the world to disciple people then baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  We are commanded to observe all that Jesus commanded.  We cannot pick and choose the commands that we will or will not observe.  Jesus said that we must observe ALL His commands.  This Sunday morning we will conclude this series with the final “all” of the Great Commission:  Jesus promised to be with us ALWAYS, even to the end of the age.  I hope you will be present for worship and fellowship this Sunday.

     On Sunday evening we are looking at The Old Rugged Cross:  the requirements, the experiences, and the end of the Old Rugged Cross.  “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.  So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.”  There are requirements if we pick up the old rugged cross to carry it as a Christian.  It takes Courage, Reason, Obedience, Sacrifice, and Sincerity.  Last Sunday we looked at courage.  This Sunday evening we will consider reason.

     Our Homecoming 2013 on March 3^rd was so good.  Brother and Sister Coker were with us.  Brother Coker preached and shared many memories of the twelve years he served as our minister (1990-2002).  We were blessed to have 173 present.  The entire day was filled with smiles, happy hearts, and rejoicing in the love of Christ Jesus.  I am so very happy to be a member of the Enola Church of Christ and especially happy to be the minister.

     We are having a very special Ladies Bible Study every Monday evening at 6:30 in the Annex Building.  Cindi is teaching the class from God’s word to help every woman present to find peace in life.  Life is often filled with responsibilities, pressures, difficulties, temptations, and everyone and everything it seems, pulling at us.  This class is designed to help every Christian woman find peace in the midst of such stresses in life.  This is a ladies only study.

     Spring is on the horizon.  Last Saturday was one of those days that we look forward to all winter long; 72 degrees, sunshine, flowers breaking through the soil…Don’t you just love it?  Then, Monday comes and wait a minute…What happened?  30 degrees!  Wind blowing the rain sideways.  Cold!  Whew!  Just a reminder that winter is not quite finished with us yet.  God has everything in hand.  I’m glad.