A lady from the city was visiting members of her family who owned a farm.  As she talked to the farmer, she noticed a pig in the backyard with a wooden leg.  “What happened to that pig?” the woman asked.

           “Oh, that’s Betsy,” the farmer said.  “She’s a fine pig!  One night while we were all asleep, the house caught on fire, and Betsy started snorting and grunting and woke us all up.  We were able to call the fire department and save the house!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” the woman exclaimed.

“Not only that, but one day my daughter fell into the pond, and Betsy came grunting and snorting and led me to the pond, and I was able to pull her out.  Betsy saved my daughter’s life!”  the farmer said.

“The lady was impressed, but still curious.  “But that still doesn’t explain why the pig has a wooden leg.”

“Well,” the farmer said, “when you have a pig like that, you don’t eat it all at once!”

Sometimes we feel like old Betsy: we try hard in our Christian duties, but the world doesn’t appreciate us.  Paul warned Timothy that “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12)

But that’s not an excuse to quit! In fact, Paul continued by telling Timothy that even though evil men would grow worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13), he had to continue in the things he had learned and been assured of (2 Tim. 3:14).

When people abuse or take advantage of you, remember for whom you really work (Col. 3:23)!

Taken from Bulletin Digest, Written by: Matt Clifton

                John 20:19 tells us, Acts 2 tells us too, so does Acts 20:7, Heb. 10:25 encourages it, 1 Cor. 16:2 states it and the Apostle John thought that it was so important he did it by himself Rev. 1:10.  What is it that these godly men and women did?  They worshiped God and remember Jesus Christ’s resurrection on the first day of the week, regularly.  As we read these passages sometimes their worship was very late at night, sometimes it was only the one person and God, but regardless of what time of day or how many people were gathered, they remembered the Lord.

As one studies church history it is interesting to note that these early Christians did not have the day off to come in the morning or evening as many of us do today.  Sunday was a regular workday in the first century. They would have to get up early in the morning to worship or wait until their work was done and worship in the evening.  Their worship time was not a convenient thing to do.

This brings me to my point, are we willing to make the necessary sacrifices to worship God as the early Christians did?  Would it not be nice if when we went on vacations that we sought out the local congregation of the Lord’s church where we were visiting and worshiped?  Would it not be nice if in our datebooks and palm pilots we schedule Sundays and Wednesdays evenings as important days and not allow other activities to hinder our worship and Bible study?

Second, we can see that the early Christians met together regularly because they wanted to.  No one forced them to come to worship.  They came because they loved the Lord and wanted to remember what He had done for them.  Would it not be nice if instead of feeling like we had to come to worship that we desired and wanted to worship God?   A big reason people do not come to worship is that they do not want to.  Think about it.  If you really want to go play golf, you will make the time for it; if you really want to go shopping, you will make time for it; and if you really want to go to worship, guess what? You will make time for it.  When we really want to do something and I mean really want to do something we will make time for it.  We will skip work, postpone appointments, change our schedules around and jump all kinds of hurdles to do what we want.  Now just think if we wanted what God wanted, our lives would be changed (James 4:2-3). 

If those who are Christian want to worship God they will make the necessary sacrifices to do so no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  So, what are we going to do about our worship to God?

By Mark T. Tonkery

A small boy from a Chicago slum was taken to the hospital with a broken leg.  There were seven children in his family and hunger often went unsatisfied.  Even a glass of milk, when such could be afforded, had to be shared by at least two or more.  A finger would be placed on a certain spot and the child who was about to drink would be cautioned, "Only to here!"  During his hospital stay a nurse brought the little boy a large glass of milk.  He looked at the glass longingly and then asked, "How deep can I drink?"  Understanding his question, with tears welling up in her eyes, the nurse replied "As deep as you desire!"

Jesus once called out in a crowd, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink"  (John 7:37).  Christ is to the thirsty soul what water is to the thirsty mouth.  Thirst, when intense, can be a most unpleasant and even painful sensation.  The dry throat, the swollen tongue, and the parched, broken lips are precursors of death unless water in some form is quickly administered.  Next to air, water is the requisite of life.

Only when there is thirst, desire within the dying soul, do persons drink of Christ.  Unfortunately, upon imbibing that initial draft which brings the remission of sins, some feel no need for further drinking.  It is as if they think that the water of life can all be swallowed in one big gulp!

As with the little boy, our desire will govern how deeply we drink.  We can but imagine how such an impoverished lad would drink and drink still more from such a full glass.  So it is with us; the supply of Christ for our thirsty souls is abundant and exhaustless.  Why do we drink so sparingly?

Our Bible classes, worship assemblies, prayer meetings, are for "the thirsty."  Do not deny your soul the drink it must have.  How true it is: we drink or we die!  (Author unknown)

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled"

Matthew 5:6

            “The printed word is, in the end, the greatest temporal power in the world.  The guns of a dictator can wreck a fortress at fifty miles, [now many missiles and jets that the United States has can destroy targets thousands of miles away], but the printed press can shatter an empire at the range of a thousand years,” stated T.G McGrew (quoted from the Apostles’ Doctrine, Vol. 1 Blakely).

This quote puts into perspective the power of the written word.  Every day in America we are faced with the reality of the influence of the printed word from newspapers, billboards, magazines, and the internet.  All types of people have found the power of persuasion in the written word.  The written word has had influences in politics, business, raising families, and even in religion.  Why do you think you get so much “Junk Mail?”  People in our world know that you or someone you know will be swayed by their ideas, information, and promotions.

It is sad though that often these powerful words, which found their way into our everyday life, are misguided. It also seems that the things that are false are circulated more than what is true.   For example, the Jehovah Witness’s magazine The Watchtower has a circulation of over 25 million copies in 148 languages and their other magazine the Awake has a circulation of over 22 million copies in 87 languages as stated in the August 8, 2004, Awake magazine.  Not to mention the publications of other religious groups which seem to bombard our mailboxes and our e-mail’s inbox daily.

As I said earlier the reason people use the written word is that it works.  If the written word works shouldn’t we as restorers of New Testament Christianity be diligent in using it to proclaim the True Word, Jesus Christ?

In the 1962 November issue of the Gospel Light, M. Norvel Young wrote an article challenging the readers of the Gospel Light to put a Christian journal in as many homes as possible.   It has been a dream of many in the brotherhood of the churches of Christ to do this very thing.  One journal that is making this a reality is the House to House Heart to Heart paper.  This publication is an evangelistic paper sponsored by the churches of Christ since 1994, it has a circulation of 2,309,000 in forty-seven states, and is probably the most circulated paper in the churches of Christ.  There are also many other good Christian journals in circulation such as the Gospel Light, Gospel Advocate, World Bible School’s Action, Gospel Minutes, Gospel Gleaner, Magnolia Messenger, Voice of Truth International, and as well as others.  But all these publications together do not come near the number of papers that the Jehovah Witness’s and other religious groups are using to lead mankind away from God.

Although the challenge is great to combat the errors of the religious world with the written word, I believe it can be done.  What if every member of the church would use the power of the written word to the advantage of Christ and His Church?  What if every member would subscribe to one or more of the many journals put out by brethren of the church? What if every member would pick up some of the brotherhood journals pass them to a friend?  What if we would buy gift subscriptions to be sent to our friends and family?

If we did this we could use the power of the written word to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to combat the un-Christian literature that inundates our world daily.  But we must be willing to pass the written word on, “Just as the Sword of the Spirit must not remain in the sheath, all gospel papers must be used to be of greatest value—and that is what all gospel papers must depend on their friends to do.  Truth is powerful—when people use it” (Flanoy Alexander, Editor of Gospel Light, 1962).

Written by: Mark T. Tonkery

This preacher found a chart on Facebook Monday evening that was entitled “Pray for Your Pastor”. It is understood that the definition of pastor in this chart is used in the denominational sense and not as the Bible uses the term. Recognizing they are talking about preachers, consider what this chart shares about the lives of preachers.

97% of pastors have been betrayed, falsely accused or hurt by their trusted friends.

70% of pastors battle depression.

7,000 churches close each year.

1,500 pastors quit each month.

10% will retire a pastor.

80% of pastors feel discouraged.

94% of pastors' families feel the pressure of ministry.

78% of pastors have no close friends.

90% of pastors report working 55-75 hours per week.

Take another look and let those figures sink deeply into your thought processes. Christians often look to their preachers for counseling, yet 70% of preachers battle depression themselves. The pressures of preaching are such that only 10% will stay with preaching till they retire. That is alarming. It is difficult to get people to study the Bible or talk about God and effective evangelism is difficult.

Preachers (and elders) have the constant care of declining membership and possible closing. In our brotherhood, there was almost 13,200 congregation in the USA in 2003. In 2015 that number is below 12,300. We have lost almost 1,000 congregations in 12 years. There is an old saying, “if you want a better preacher, pray for the one you have”. Good idea, especially since we lose more preachers each year than we graduate. No church is perfect and neither is any preacher. May churches and preachers realize we are a team. Help us to look to God for strength and help to “fight the good fight”.

By Randy Chapman