According to the Bible, I MUST HEAR HIS WORD. ~ “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). ~ “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). I MUST BELIEVE. ~ “But without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). ~ “He that believeth not shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). I MUST REPENT. ~ “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). ~ “But now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). I MUST CONFESS. ~ “And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). ~ “And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). I MUST BE BAPTIZED. ~ “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...” (Mark 16:16). ~ “…wash away thy sins…” (Acts 22:16). ~ “Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4). ~ See also Matthew 28:18—20; Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 10:48; Acts 2:38. I MUST LIVE RIGHT. ~ “We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

In the late 1700s, the manager of Baltimore’s largest hotel refused lodging to a man dressed as a  farmer because he thought this fellow’s appearance would discredit his inn. So the man left. Later that evening, the innkeeper discovered that he had turned away none other than Thomas Jefferson! Immediately he sent a note to the famed patriot, asking him to come back and be his guest. Jefferson replied by instructing his messenger as follows:  “ Tell him I have already engaged a room. I value his good intentions highly,  but if he has no place for a dirty American farmer, he has none for the Vice President of the United States. ”
 
Likewise, the Lord is often pushed aside in our lives, because we disregard needy believers of humble circumstances. We forget that Christ may be in the small child who needs attention, the exhausted wife who needs encouragement, or the frustrated laborer who needs recognition. He might be in the grieving grandmother, the lonely shut-in, or the struggling neighbor. They may seem to have little to offer, but if we show kindness to the  “ least of these, ”  it’s as if we are doing it to Christ.

 -- Selected … from “The Bulletin”, Hickory Ridge church of Christ...Source: Central Church of Christ in Paducah, KY

In his devotional book, Awake, My Heart, J. Sidlow Baxter shared the following anecdote:

In 1934, a British magazine told the story of young Prince Edward and a visit he made to a small hospital where thirty-six hopelessly injured and disfigured veterans of the First World War were tended.  He stopped at each cot, shook hands with each veteran, and spoke words of encouragement.  He was conducted to the exit but observed that he had only met twenty-nine men.  At that point he questioned those present, “I understood you had thirty-six patients here.  I have only seen twenty-nine.”

The head nurse explained that the other seven were so shockingly disfigured, that for the sake of his own feelings, he had not been taken to see them.  The prince insisted that he must see them.  He spoke to each of them and thanked them for the great sacrifice they had made and assured each that it would never be forgotten.

Then he turned to the head nurse and said, “There are only six men. Where is the seventh?”  He was informed that no one was allowed to see him.  Blind, maimed, dismembered, the most hideously disfigured of them all, he was isolated in a room where he would never leave alive.  The nurse said to the Prince, “Please don’t ask to see him.”  But the Prince could not be dissuaded.

The nurse reluctantly led him into a darkened room.  The royal visitor stood there with white face and drawn lips, looking down at what had once been a fine man, but now was a horror.  Then the tears broke out, and with lovely impulse, the prince bent down and reverently kissed the cheeks of that broken war hero. *

Sidlow made this apt application: “There is one who has stooped far, far lower, to kiss a far, far worse ugliness — not the physical disfigurement of a broken hero whose brokenness called forth reverent gratitude, but the leprous, evil ugliness of corrupt sinners and hard rebels against infinite love!”

The One who “stooped” so far to demonstrate such undeserved love was Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6-8

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Because of His love for us, Jesus “stooped” low through His incarnation and crucifixion, so that you and I can be raised up to enjoy eternal blessings “in the heavenly places” in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10).

-- David A. Sargent

* As cited in www.ministry127.com

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

By David Powell
The success of the church is not determined by numbers but by faithfulness to God's word. The restoration plea emphasizes going back to Jerusalem and remaining loyal to the "apostles' doctrine." It was in Jerusalem that the Lord's church began (Acts 2). Any religious group that fails to pattern itself after the Jerusalem church is in error.  During the early days of the divided kingdom, Jeroboam attempted to prevent the people of Israel from going back to Jerusalem. He set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel saying: "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt (1 Kg 12:28) !" Jeroboam, concerned with retaining numbers, departed from the old paths.

A recent "trend" is for churches to add an instrumental service to its scheduled services. Why? To enhances the numbers! Keith Luttrell explains why the Southlake Boulevard Church added the instrument by saying: " Relevance is driving it. Relevance to our community. Reaching out to seekers. " Chris Seidman who preaches for the Farmer's Branch Church reports that since adding " a Saturday night instrumental service in addition to two Sunday morning a cappella services, they have grown from 1,000 to 1,400 ." King Jeroboam, through innovation, succeeded in retaining numbers. While Jeroboam must have been pleased with himself, God was displeased. God, through the prophets, pleaded with Israel to repent. Finally, in 721 B.C., Israel fell to the Assyrians. Why? Because of apostasy! Appealing to the "pride of life" (1 Jh 2:16) is one of the three tactics used by Satan. If we are not careful, pride will motivate church leaders to boost attendance without regard for the "apostles' doctrine." It isn't about packing pews. The issue is one of loyalty — being loyal to the Lord.
via Grant Bulletin