The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness

How Is Your Vision?

How is your vision? Jesus observed that . . .

§      Some have envious eyes, longing for the material advantages they see others have (Matthew 20:15).

§      Some have sensual eyes, looking to lust, thereby committing adultery in their hearts (Matthew 5:28-29).

§      Some have critical eyes, looking for specks in others while ignoring obvious problems in themselves (Matthew 7:3-5).

§      Some have closed eyes, not wanting to see the truth (Matthew 13:15).

How important is all this? The Lord put it this way:

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 5:22-23).

- by Frank Himmel

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Sober Minded in Every Sense of the Term

Researchers at the University of California San Diego reviewed 14 years of accident data and found that “A blood alcohol concentration of just 0.01 percent was associated with risky behaviors such as speeding.” Lead researcher, David P. Phillips, Ph.D. says, “For a 180 pound person, that translates to one glass of wine or a bottle of beer.”

Even some people of the world are beginning to admit that for the person who doesn’t want to make bad decisions that lead to “risky behaviors,” even one drink is too much. As Christians, we have been taught by God’s grace that, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 1:11-12). We are committed to making decisions that are pleasing to God in all things and we therefore reject anything that clouds thinking or encourages risky behavior.

The world wants us to be wise drivers. After even one drink we are not fit to drive home. Impaired thinking will not get us to an eternal home of glory either. Be wise. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).

- by David Diestelkamp

Better Be Careful

When you are feeling too strong, better be careful.

Paul said, "Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12).

And when you think everyone loves and respects you, better be careful.

The Lord said, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Lk , 6: 26).

When you think you are better than someone else because you are faithfully discharging your duties, better be careful.

The Lord said, "So likewise, when ye have done all those things ... say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do" (Lk , 17:10).

- by Dee Bowman

 

Is God The Author Of Confusion?

Let us suppose that an evangelist comes to our community to conduct a religious meeting and proceeds as follows:

At the first service, he preaches that salvation is by faith only; but at the next he contends that it is by faith exercised in obedience to the gospel, rather than by faith alone.

At the third service he tells people that they ought to baptize their babies; but at the fourth service, he says that penitent believers are the only scriptural subjects for baptism.

At the fifth service, he preaches once in grace, always in grace, but at the sixth, he tells the people it is possible for them to fall from grace, that some have fallen, and that the Bible tells them how to keep from falling.

At the seventh service he teaches it is all right to have human creeds; but at the eighth he declares that we should take the Bible as our only guide in religion.

No thoughtful person would continue to listen to one preacher preaching like that, but the majority of people are perfectly willing for eight different preachers to preach these conflicting ideas. They say that if one man should preach that way, he would contradict himself and be inconsistent. But what kind of God do they suppose we have if He endorses all these conflicting doctrines and has sent out these preachers to present them?

- by Leslie G. Thomas

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A New Year, A time for change

A New Year. A Time For Change

We are told in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the heaven." In other words, things change,
sometimes when they need to, sometimes not, sometimes to our liking,
sometimes not.

Somewhere in the late 90's I began to write and sent out my Messages From
The Heart Articles. I began sharing them with friends, who shared them with
other friends who passed them on to others. Request came to me via email to
add them to my list of folks who would receive my writings. It has never
been a big mailing list, only a couple thousand people, but I like to think
(from the feed back I receive) that it has blessed some who have read my
thoughts. So for somewhere around 15 years I have been sitting in front of
my keyboard and letting God lead me in my writing of around 1,000 articles.

About a year ago I ask any who would like to continue receiving my writings
to sign up for my blog post as I was considering stopping my email posting.
A total of 14 people signed up. Once again I have struggled with the ongoing
expense and time required to maintain my mailing list and have determined to
stop sending out Messages From The Heart via email. I will continue to write
and post my thoughts on my blog. (By the way, when you subscribe it still
comes to your email address, it just doesn't cost me anything.)

So thank each of you who have written to encourage me through the years, you
have been a blessing to me with your kind words. I intend for this to be my
last Messages From The heart mailing. You can subscribe to my blog by
signing into: http://messages-from.blogspot.com and there is a link on the
page to sign up. It's free, just like now, just in a different format.

May God Bless each of you in the coming year with all good things which come
from Him.

Russ Lawson

God spoke to me

The Lord Spoke to Me

At one time the word of God was found in human vessels, inspired men, the apostles and prophets of Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1; 4:6-7; Ephesians 3:1-5). The Holy Spirit revealed to them God's thoughts and God's words (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). The holy apostles and prophets worked mighty signs, wonders, and miracles to confirm the divine message they brought (Mark 16:17-20; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:1-4).

But these same apostles and prophets wrote down these inspired - God-breathed - words in books (Ephesians 3:1-5). These books were gathered together in one, the New Testament, which, along with the Old Testament compose the Scriptures, the writings from God commonly called the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Timothy 5:18; 2 Peter 3:14-16). Now the word of God is found in an inspired book, the Bible, which is completely sufficient to supply all our spiritual needs (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

When someone claims, "God spoke to me," he is claiming the gift of prophecy. But that gift has ceased, and all divine truth for men has been revealed, confirmed, and recorded in the Scriptures. If you're having a hard time making a difficult decision, look for guidance from the Scriptures and pray for wisdom to do what's best (James 1:5). But don't confuse your opinions or feelings for divine revelation. Divine truth doesn't come from a human mind; it's found in an inspired book. Your feelings are just your feelings, and all they prove is that you feel that way.

This reminds me of a true story Robert F. Turner used to tell. A woman came to him asking him to perform her wedding ceremony. Upon discussion he found she was unscripturally divorced. He said he couldn't perform the ceremony. She left but later returned and announced, "Brother Turner, God spoke to me and said it's OK, you can perform my wedding ceremony." Unfazed, he inquired, "Well, did He write it down for you?" "No," she replied. "Well," Brother Turner announced, "God spoke to me too. But He wrote it down for me." And He read to her Matthew 19:9. If God didn't write it down for you, He didn't speak to you.

- by Keith Sharp

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