God Blessed America

This past week, I couldn't help but take notice that during the Major League
All-Star Game, a stadium full of people sang, "God, Bless America." While
so many were singing, "God, Bless America," I was thinking to myself, "God
blessed America!"

When's the last time we stopped to consider how many ways God has already
blessed America? When's the last time we paused long enough to give him
thanks? We frequently ask God to "Bless America," but we infrequently give
him thanks because he has "Blessed America."

As a matter of fact, when I think of the request, "God, Bless America," I
must wonder why he would want to do so? I find it rather nervy of our
nation to ask God to bless us when we have removed the Bible from public
education; when we have removed prayer from public forums; when we are
attempting to remove any references to the cross, the ten commandments, and
Christianity from public and federal property; when we have ignored God's
command not to murder, and we have granted mothers the right to murder their
own children; and when we have ignored God's definition of marriage and
created our own. And the list can go on and on.

In light of this, why would God bless America today? In my judgment, if we
are going to muster the nerve to ask God to bless us, it's time to give him
thanks for all the ways in which he has blessed us in the past. It's time
to allow God to freely move without restraint within this nation that he has
made so great. It's time we recognize his place as God and obey his laws.
And it's time for God's people to make intercession on behalf of those
within our nation who do not know him. That would be a much needed start if
we truly want God to bless America as he has blessed America in the past.

--Steve Higginbotham

Video Game Sales

The Price of Entertainment  Brett Petrillo

 Controversy has been swarming around the professional baseball world lately. Around twenty players are facing the consequences for taking banned substances to enhance their game. Some of the big names in these allegations include Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun. There are a variety of opinions on the use of banned substances but one that really stands out is from retired Major League player, and known steroid user, John Rocker:   "Honestly, and this may go against what some people think from an ethical stand point, I think it was the better game. At the end of the day when people are paying their $80, $120, whatever it may be, to buy their ticket and come watch that game, it's almost like the circus is in town. They are paid to be entertained. They wanna see some clown throw a fastball 101 mph and some other guy hit it 500 feet. That's entertainment. You're paying to be entertained" (Yahoo Sports).   No matter what our opinion may be about the use of performance enhancing drugs, there is a much greater problem at the heart of the matter which can be seen from Rocker's comments -- People want to be entertained. Many problems in our society have come about as a result of people seeking to be entertained. Good conversation is becoming an endangered species since so many eyes are glued to smart phones, TVs, and computers. Sex, language, and graphic content have progressively bombarded our movies, TV shows, and music to make it more "entertaining." The worldly and sin focused city of Las Vegas is growing and thriving because of the millions of people who come to be entertained. Performance enhancing drugs are running rampant in many sports because people continue to pay good money to watch a player succeed, break records, and win for their team. As a result, these sports organization are able to shell out millions of dollars per year to players. Case in point, Alex Rodriguez was paid $29 million last year by the New York Yankees. All of this further encourages players to win, perform, and entertain at all costs. Our world is addicted to entertainment, and it's getting worse. Video game sales in the US went from $3.2 billion in 1995 to $18 billion in 2007 (Video Game Sales). This desire to be entertained is even finding its way into the church. The words of 1 Timothy 4:3-4 are ringing as true as ever, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Sadly, some congregations have ignored and changed Scripture to make things more appealing, tolerant, and enjoyable. We are falling into a dangerous trap.   During his life, Solomon indulged and experimented with all the entertaining and pleasurable parts of life. After do so, Solomon came to this reality, "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."   Entertainment has a price, and if we aren't careful, this desire may cost us everything. Let's be very cautious in satisfying our desires for entertainment and make sure we keep it in its proper place. May we share in Solomon's conclusion that fearing God and keeping His commandments comes above all else, even entertainment.

 

Proverbs 22:5

"Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards himself
will be far from them" (Proverbs 22:5 NASB). There is a need guard ourselves
from the devious and the deceptive. There are those that would pollute our
minds with gossip and slander. There are those who teach falsely (cf. 2
Peter 2:1-3). The perverse are headed down a path of trouble. Their paths
lead to strife and division not only for themselves, but for those affected
by their perverseness (cf. Proverbs 16:28). They are engaged in sin which
will tangle them and drag them down (cf. Hebrews 12:1-3). Thus, we need to
guard ourselves by focusing on the truth of God's Word and automatically
rejecting what is contrary to it and its paths.

Jeremy Sprouse

She Only Had Two Cups

My mission trips to various parts of the world have benefited me as much as it has those to whom I may have had the opportunity to teach. While this country continues its slide into abysmal darkness, our citizens seem oblivious to the darkening clouds on the horizon. The cries for "civil rights," "personal rights," "judicial rights" and "entitlements" seems to be getting louder; either that or my hearing aids are doing their job. Sometimes I think our society has missed what it means to be truly blessed. Let me share with you an incident that occurred some time back on one of my mission trips to Russia. On this particular occasion I had the opportunity to visit one of the coldest cities in the Komi region. Vorkuta lies about 200 miles Northeast of Syktyvkar, just inside the Arctic circle. I was told while there that they were having unusually warm weather; the temperature was around 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit). The reason for my visit was to encourage the stru ggling congregation in that city; a congregation that had been without a preacher for almost ten years. In May of that year Mesha and Lena Derbanov accepted the challenge to move to Vorkuta and help strengthen the church and be about seeking and saving the lost. Mesha is a graduate of the Syktyvkar School of Preaching. He had been one of my students at Syktyvkar and he and his wife took on the challenge to move to this bitterly cold part of the world.

I arrived in Vorkuta on Friday, conducted a number of classes both Friday and Saturday, and taught during the Sunday morning worship service. On Sunday afternoon I was invited to dinner at Mesha and Lena's, and I must say that the meal was fit for a king. I was treated to three kinds of salads, a dish of spaghetti, a side order of cheese and ham slices, topped off with a bowl of fruit salad and ice cream. The custom in Russia is to serve tea after dinner and then sit around and enjoy one another's company, chat and catch up on the latest news. When Lena brought the cups in, I was one of two people who were given a nice mug for my tea, while the other five guests drank out of plastic cups…not at all typical of Russian tea drinking. And as I let my tea bag steep in the hot water that had been poured into my cup I thought to myself, "She only has two cups!"

In my kitchen cupboard back home I have an entire section just above the counter top that is dedicated to holding my mugs and cups that I use for tea and coffee. There are cups from different states, cups with various slogans, cups that are memorabilia of a trip to one place or the other, cups that are old, and cups that are new. I have never counted my cups, but I would guess that I have more than two dozen cups, stacked one on top of the other and both layers pushing the edges of my cabinet. And still I thought, "She has only two cups!"

I sometimes wonder why God has blessed our country with so much abundance. Why has He been patient with us for the last half century during which time we have gone through a sexual revolution, criticized His word, mocked His Son, ridiculed the beautiful body of Christ and done everything we could, as a nation, to kick God out of our lives? I am, first and foremost, a student of the Bible. But I am also a student of history, having majored in that field in college. Our nation is living on borrowed time. The Bible certainly teaches us that nations that forget God will be destroyed; history provides numerous illustrations that prove this to be the case. In spite of all our abundance, it seems that this nation has forgotten that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (Jas. 1:17).

After the meal, tea time in Russia usually takes up more time than the meal, and this was no exception. We drank tea, visited, talked about the church, family, and life in general. The hours slipped away, and before we knew it the sun was beginning to set. The time came for me to return to the apartment where I was staying in Vorkuta, and Mesha, wanting to make sure I made the journey safely, put on his coat and hat on to walk me home. That night, as I lay on my bed thinking about the day's activities, and the blessings that are truly mine, I simply could not get it off my mind that "she had only two cups." 

 

--by Tom Wacaster

Proverbs 22:3

"The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are
punished for it" (Proverbs 22:3 NASB). It is only the naive that think
lightly of evil. They don't see how it can affect them. So they are not
concerned with what they let influence their lives. They never read a review
about the moral content of a movie or T.V. show before they watch it. They
are not upset when their friends curse and get drunk. They are not concerned
about the music fills their children's ears. They don't see the harm in
these things. Slowly but surely though, their minds are filled with darkness
and immorality, their faith in God weakens, and their children take paths
away from God. They didn't guard their hearts (cf. Proverbs 4:23) and they
will reap the consequences of their carelessness. It is prudent and wise to
watch out for evil and to avoid it so that we can guard our hearts and the
hearts of our children.

Jeremy Sprouse

Life or death decisions

Philippians 1:22-23 “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”

With each passing year of my sojourn on this side of eternity, it seems as if some passages of scripture seem to strike at my heart more than they once did. This is one of those passages. Because of the goodness, the longsuffering and the love of God, I have been privileged to walk this pathway for 79 years. During those years I have experienced joy, happiness and peace, often without measure. I have also had my share of pain, heartache, burdens and trials. I have known the thrill of victory and I have known the agony of defeat. I want to stay here on this earth a little longer. I have family and friends who are so dear to me and the thought of leaving them makes the heart grow heavy, On the other hand, I stand tonight at a crossroads. Like Paul, I face a dilemma: “life or death”. Paul was ready for either one (Phil. 1:21). I pray that I, too, am  ready for either one. What is true here for me is also true for you.

I have to wonder, how many of us can truthfully say, “for me to live is Christ, to die is gain?  How many of us can truthfully say, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me (Gal. 2:20)?”  If we are ready to live or die, then Christ must be the very essence of our life. Sitting here with a wondering mind, I just wonder how many of us can truthfully, right now without any doubt can say with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalms 23)? I wonder how many of us have truly made God our salvation, put our trust in him so we can walk this pathway without doubt or fear (Isa. 12:2)? I wonder, how many of us are truly seeking first the kingdom of God (Matt.6:33) having set our affections on things above (Col. 3:1-2).

I know that in the not too distant future I will go the way of all the earth (Eccl. 12:7, Heb. 9:27).  Until that time, I want to reach forth to that which lies in front of me and press on toward that heavenly home (John 14:1-3, Phil. 3:13-14). How about you, let’s do this together. One day we can come to the end of this earthly journey and say, “I am ready, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). May we so live that one day we will receive that crown. Live for Christ each day and then you can eagerly look forward to his appearing.

Charles Hicks

Proverbs 21:30

"There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the Lord"
(Proverbs 21:30 NASB). There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel
that is greater than the Lord's. Humans in their arrogance often come up
with paths that differ from the Lord's way but they are never better and
will ultimately fail.
Some have gone so far as to actually think they can beat the Lord. They hate
the light because their deeds are evil and so they persecute Christians (cf.
John 3:19-21, 15:18-21). They think perhaps they can end Christianity or at
least get Christians to think and act the way they want, but Jesus built the
church and not even the gates of Hades will prevail against it (Matthew
16:18). They are fighting a loosing battle (cf. John 16:33). They may pull
away those who were not truly dedicated to God, but they will never do away
with the church Jesus built.
We must always recognize the sovereignty of God and humble ourselves before
Him. We must recognize His will and His ways are better than anything man
can devise and seek to follow them.

Jeremy Sprouse