Bulletin for 9-11-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

None this week

Prayer requests:

Chloe Birdwell, relative of the Weeks’s, bad car wreck, transferred to Children’s Hospital in Temple. Prayers still needed!

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Tonita, Paul’s friend, mild heart attack

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea is doing well after her surgery.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Leslie Girvin, had a fall and sprained both wrists, 6-8 weeks recovery.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Sympathy: Bobbie & Regena’s aunt, Lara Gray passed away this week. Also, Mary Ann Gafford passed away from a massive stroke. her services are posted in the Rylie Facebook group. Please keep both of these families in your prayers.

Article:

Promising freedom

One of the great promises in the New Testament is that of freedom.

Christ has set us free from bondage to the Law given on Mt. Sinai (Galatians 5:1), free from sin (Romans 6:7), and free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). These freedoms in Christ are precious indeed.

While we are free, we are still slaves. If we are in Christ then we are slaves of obedience (Romans 6:16), righteousness (Romans 6:18), God (Romans 6:22), and Christ himself (Galatians 1:10). We are under the “royal law” (James 2:8), and serve King Jesus.

This means that our actions, attitudes, and doctrine must be aligned with his desires. Our pride and selfishness must be abandoned as we carry our cross and follow him.

But there are those who promise unfettered freedom. Service to God seems like such a chore. Why must you give up who you are or what you love for the will of someone else?

Peter spoke of this attitude in clear terms:

“But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!  Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire” (2 Peter 2:12-22 ESV).

That was a long quote, so if you skipped over it please go back and read it.

Notice that these false teachers promised freedom yet they were “slaves of corruption” (2 Peter 2:19). Because they were slaves of corruption, Peter could likened them to irrational animals, blots and blemishes, and accursed children.

This type of freedom enslaves people to peer pressure, doubt, misery, pride, envy, and self-loathing. We are the worst kind of master. When we serve self we become miserable.

True joy is more than a veneer of pleasure, and it requires more than a modicum of effort. But the end results are satisfying in every way.

Praise God that he can rescue us from ourselves!

Remember, you will always serve something. Choose your master carefully.

Lee Parish, link to original article

Bulletin for 9-4-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

None this week

Prayer requests:

Chloe Birdwell, relative of the Weeks’s, bad car wreck, critical condition in a Waco hospital. Prayers needed!

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Tonita, Paul’s friend, mild heart attack

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s doing well after her surgery.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Leslie Girvin, had a fall and sprained both wrists, 6-8 weeks recovery.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Article:

Our Faithful God

Men sometimes disappoint because they are not faithful to their promises. God, in stark contrast, is faithful. Moses sang, “For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4). Israel’s psalm writers also praised God for his faithfulness (Psalm 36:5; 119:90). Jeremiah, even in an hour of great sorrow, could write, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’” (Lamentations 3:22-23). If God promised it, you can wait knowing he will keep his word.

God always keeps his promises. Moses told the second generation of Israelites, “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9). God’s covenants most often include promises and conditions. Note Moses’ emphasis on the blessings provided to those who “love Him and keep His commandments.” Joshua closed his time as God’s appointed leader with similar words. “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it” (Joshua 21:43). He also declared, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14). Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple included the fact that God kept his promise to David (1 Kings 8:23-25).

Men may fail to keep their promises because they lack the strength or cannot due to changes in health or even death. God is able to keep his promises because he is all powerful (Jeremiah 32:17, 27). He is also unchanging (Numbers 23:19). The fact that he is also all knowing means he will not promise something for future days that may prove to be outside of his reach. “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 43:9b-10).

Everything we have already observed should cause us to rejoice in the promises of God. Those set apart in Christ experience the blessings of the promises of the Almighty through fellowship with him and his Son. Paul proclaimed, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). We can be assured he will not allow temptation to come our way that we cannot overcome (1 Corinthians 10:13). Fellowshipping with him in the light will result in a continual cleansing through the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7). He has promised his people a place in heaven, guaranteed by the very fact that he cannot lie. We are assured a heavenly home because our Savior has blazed the trail to heaven and remains there as our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 6:16-20).

Thank God we have a faithful God who has, does and will keep his promises!

Gary Hampton, link to original article

Bulletin for 8-28-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

8-28 David and Rosibel Mendoza

8-30 Jennifer Mendoza

Prayer requests:

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Tonita, Paul’s friend, mild heart attack

Dena Weeks had cataract surgery on both eyes now. Doing amazingly well.

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Leslie Girvin, had a fall and sprained both wrists, 6-8 weeks recovery.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Article:

Priorities: how different our experiences are

“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37 NKJV).

I grew up in the U.S Bible Belt, the child of devout Christians. Everyone I knew went to church and thought that it was important to do so. Later, when I would visit members whose attendance was irregular, they would often say something like “I know I ought to be in church.” Putting God and his work ahead of other things was a principle which was accepted by many.

I don’t need to tell most of you that this is not true of most of the world, and not nearly as true in the area where I grew up as it might have once been. Here in South Asia the local religions do not practice regular assemblies in the same way that Christians do. The Islamic Friday, for example, is a day when people (especially men) will go to the mosque at some point to pray, but not necessarily at a set time. The idea that everyone must attend worship assemblies is unknown to the majority of people.

For that reason, it can be difficult to teach new Christians the importance of assembly. I was recently invited to a birthday party on a Sunday evening for the young son of a local church member. When I asked about a potential conflict with worship it had obviously not really occurred to him that it might be a problem. A few minutes discussion of the importance of putting God first caused him to change the celebration plans.

One of the issues I struggle with in adapting to different cultures is to appreciate how very different our experiences are and how much those experiences affect our understanding and practice. It is not that the people of other nations disagree on what one should do – it is that some of the things which we value and practice have just not really occurred to them. And it may take the evangelist some time to realize just what gaps exist.

A simple principle, like putting Jesus first, has many applications. Some seem very obvious to us. Exposure to others may reveal that we are mistaken. Patience and understanding will often help us to teach and develop proper applications, resulting in spiritual growth for all.

Michael Brooks, link to original article

Bulletin for 8-21-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

8-24 Ruben Turcios, Jr

Prayer requests:

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Tonita, Paul’s friend, mild heart attack

Dena Weeks has cataract surgery, one down one to go, Wed 24. So far, so good.

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Leslie Girvin, had a fall this week and sprained both wrists, 6-8 weeks recovery.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Article:

A moment in time

How much is a moment worth? What can you really gain or lose in a moment?

When Jesus was tempted, “the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5 ESV). The NET says, “in a flash.” The word means “literally a mark made by a pointed instrument, a dot” (Vincent’s Word Studies). It is “like our ‘second’ of time or tick of the clock” (Robert’s Word Pictures).

It is a fascinating thought that in a particular instant, Satan showed Jesus all the “kingdoms of the inhabited-earth” (MLV). While a second seems so inconsequential, a moment can be very significant.

These moments can seem to come suddenly. My wife wisely told my oldest that it is good to determine in your mind what you will do before you are asked to do something consequential.

Sin so often comes down to a moment, where one decision to do or abstain, to go or stay, to speak or remain silent is the difference between faithfulness and sin. Lives of countless people can be altered in a moment of time. Souls can be won or lost in a moment of time.

Eve, Esther, Judas, and Peter each had a significant moment. What happened in those moments and after them are instructive.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6)

“So when the woman saw,” is a moment that changed the world. Sin doesn’t just happen. The sin progression is described in James 1:14, 15:

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Being tempted is not a sin, but it is our moment of decision. When Eve “saw,” was the moment her desire conceived and she acted upon her temptation.

All of us have been impacted by this moment. Every pain we feel and every life lost to sickness can be traced back to this moment in the garden.

Esther was queen to Ahasuerus. Her cousin had learned of a plot to kill all the Jews. When Mordecai brought this to Esther’s attention, her first thought was that she could not speak to the king without risking her life. Mordecai convinced her:

“Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13, 14).

Her time was now. Esther’s moment saved a nation.

We all know the tragedy of Judas’ life. A chosen disciple, Judas used his position to help himself financially. While the Jewish leaders were constantly plotting to kill Jesus, Judas went to the chief priests and asked for blood money to deliver Jesus over to them.

“And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him” (Matthew 26:16).

After Jesus was delivered to Pilate, Judas changed his mind. But he could not get back that moment. The Jews would not take the money back, and what was done could not be undone. Seeing no other way, Judas hanged himself.

While we cannot relive a moment, no moment is beyond repair. Peter denied the Lord three times, each an opportunity to confess the Lord before men. But Jesus was willing to redeem that moment of betrayal.

‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ (John 21:15).

In Jesus’ mercy, Peter found forgiveness and direction. God desires to be merciful toward our iniquities, and he promises to remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).

We all have moments that we wish we could have back. God is willing to redeem those moments. Jesus would have forgiven Judas, and he forgave Peter, he is willing to forgive you.

Prepare for your moment, be ready to serve. But remember that God can and will forgive.

Lee Parish, link to original article

Bulletin for 8-14-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

8-10 Wendi Camacho

Prayer requests:

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Tonita, Paul’s friend, mild heart attack

Dena Weeks has cataract surgery coming up, Aug 17, 24

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Article:

As rain drops upon the grass

Have you ever stood out in the rain as if to soak it all in? Perhaps the rain felt violent and drove you inside to find shelter? The same rain can have differing results depending on the land which receives it.

Moses had felt all kinds of rain and understood its great blessings and power. Given the unenviable task of shepherding Israel, he served God faithfully for forty years.

Plucked from obscurity, this former prince turned sheep herder reluctantly, then wholeheartedly followed the voice of Jehovah. He sacrificed his pride and was willing to sacrifice his life for the people who often vexed him.

When first called, Moses demurred that he was an ineffective communicator. “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue,” he argued (Exodus 4:10 NET). His assessment would prove to be incorrect. While Aaron did indeed serve as his brother’s spokesman, Moses proved to be a very forceful orator.

As his service to God, and thus his life, drew to a conclusion, Moses recited the words of a song “from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:30).

This song, directed to a rebellious and stubborn people (Deuteronomy 31:27), begins with a plea for the heavens and the earth to hear the words of Moses’ mouth.

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My teaching will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; you must acknowledge the greatness of our God. As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright” (Deuteronomy 32:1-4).

I am struck by the beauty of this introduction. This humble and meek man, calls heaven and earth to hear his eloquent defense of Jehovah — the Rock — and his bold accusations against his foolish and unwise people.

His words would begin gently, dripping like the dew. Then as light rain falling upon the grass grows steadily into showers, so would his words be to those who heard.

Rain can sweep away the rebellious in judgment, as God did with the flood. But rain can also nourish and refresh.

“For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God” (Hebrews 6:7).

It behooves us to soak up the rain of God’s word so that we might yield useful vegetation for his kingdom. That was Moses’ desire for his people, and the motivation for his final psalm.

Some speak to win, desiring to “own” or to “destroy.” Some speak to cut, desiring to belittle and demean. Moses spoke to nourish. He spoke directly, rebuking them for their “sin” (Deuteronomy 32:5). Knowing what would happen to them (see Deuteronomy 31:16), he warned them against unfaithfulness. He did it not to win an argument, or to bully them. Rather, he spoke as he did so that they might live (Deuteronomy 32:47).

As rain drops upon the grass, may our words be motivated by a desire for the spiritual health of our hearers. May the words we choose glorify our Creator, and help others to be refreshed in him.

Bulletin for 8-7-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

8-10 Wendi Camacho

Prayer requests:

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him, his family and friends.

Dena Weeks has cataract surgery coming up, Aug 17, 24

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Traveling: Luis and Wendi and boys have gone to see Her mom.

Sympathy:

Please keep Karl Jones and Gladys Ramirez and their families in your prayers.

Article:

Where has all the time gone?

It is easy for people to think time is an inexhaustible resource. The years before us seem as if time will never end. Then, in old age, those years disappear.

Husbands don’t have enough time for wives. Fathers don’t have enough time for children. Employees believe there is enough time to complete a project until they discover the deadline is upon them. Writers often have the same problem. There is just not enough sand in the hourglass.

Eventually, we will come to a moment in life when the days behind us are more than the ones in front of us. We wonder how something like that could happen.

My children were born in the 1970s. My wife and I thought we’d have a long, happy time watching them grow. Now they are all grown and have children of their own. Our oldest grandson is nearing college graduation. Where did the years go?

We should think of the coming eternity than how much time we have left in this old world. In Ecclesiastes chapter nine, Solomon wrote,

“Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go,” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

Instead of our preoccupation with the time we have left, we need to think of how we can help ourselves and others by preparing to use the remaining time we have to the glory of God.

Eternity is stretching itself out before us. Are we ready for it? We must prepare for eternity by obeying the gospel and spend the remaining time given us by serving God.

John Henson, link to original article

Bulletin for 7-31-22

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Birthdays and Anniversarie

None this week

Prayer requests:

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him. His granddaughter, Michelle, scheduled for surgery

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, still doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Back to school

Sympathy:

Also for the family of Darlyne Stewart, Karl Jones’s sister. Her services will be held August 1, 2 under direction of

Moore Funeral Home in Arlington. Please keep both families in your prayers.

Article

Why are easy to read Bibles a mixed blessing?

Easily understood Bibles facilitate contemplating God, Christ and ourselves. If we are willing, they also empower us to live for God as they shape our beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors.

More could be said in favor of an easy to read  Bible. Yet, there is also a trade off.

On the spectrum of difficult to easy, literal translations provide a greater challenge to understand. These use a formal equivalence approach reproducing as much as possible the word-for-word structures of another language with its grammar and syntax. The resulting English can sometimes be awkward or difficult to understand.

On the other hand, functional equivalence translations seek to convey the sense of another language. With this approach the translators will ask questions like, what is this sentence communicating?

Once they arrive at their understanding of the text, then their goal becomes  conveying that idea into an easy flowing English. The final product should be easy to understand.

Lying somewhere midway between the literal word-for-word and the sense-for-sense approaches are optimal equivalence Bibles. These translations will attempt to balance a readable text with some literalness. Popular examples include the ESV, NIV and NET.

The down side for the easier to read Bibles is that some details within the original language can become lost in translation. Furthermore, they reflect an increasingly greater degree of the translators’ perspectives than do literal Bibles. Let’s look at these two caveats starting with the latter.

All translations, even literal ones, contain a certain degree of interpretation. For example, within a particular sentence should the Greek word pistis be rendered faith, trust or faithfulness? After all, it’s semantic range covers all three. Should baptisma be transliterated as baptism or translated as immersion?

This influence of the translators’ perspectives only increases with the easier to read functional equivalent Bibles. Imagine how different religious traditions might render the text to support their terminology or views. For this reason, committees comprised of translators from various religious traditions are generally regarded as more reliable.

Thus while easy to read translations can clear up ambiguities for the reader and facilitate comprehension, they also provide more of the translator’s understanding. The accuracy of these viewpoints can vary.

Consider how the following Bibles handle the literal wording, “But if one thinks he’s acting improperly toward his virgin, if one is past the high point.” (1 Corinthians 7:36).

  • “A man might think that he is not doing the right thing with his fiancée. She might be almost past the best age to marry.” Easy To Read Version
  • “If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong.” English Standard Version
  • “If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong.” New International Version 2011
  • “If anyone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the bloom of youth” New English Translation
  • “No father would want to do the wrong thing when his virgin daughter is old enough to get married.” God’s Word Translation
  • “But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly toward his daughter, if she is past her youth.” Comprehensive New Testament
  • “But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth,” New American Standard Bible 1995

These quotes illustrate how the translators’ understanding of “virgin” and “high point”  influenced how they handled this verse. This is true even for the literal NASB (’95). However by placing daughter in italics the NASB identified daughter as their insertion.

Obviously, I’ve chosen a verse that would reveal translation differences. When we encounter differences, we should not allow them to undermine our confidence in our Bibles.

Rather, I would hope this realization would encourage us to study from several translations. On the one hand, the easy to read Bibles will promote Bible reading habits. They can facilitate a quick understanding.

On the other hand, the more literal Bibles can provide an opportunity to be careful. We may discover overlooked details or identify certain translations pushing in different directions.

And if we do, we have the opportunity to delve deeper to learn which is the better translation. The NET’s translator notes can provide an initial investigation point. We also might wish to learn more about those who made the different translations.

God has spoken. His message has been rendered into English with varying degrees of precision and ease of understanding. Read from several good Bibles. May you be richly blessed in your study of God’s word.

Barry Newton, link to original article

Bulletin for 7-24-22

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Birthdays and Anniversaries:

7-26 Tommy Reames

7-29 Luis & Wendi Camacho

Prayer requests:

Reames family, several members have covid. All improving.

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him. His granddaughter, Michelle, scheduled for surgery

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, had a liver transplant last week. Home and doing well. Vanessea‘s surgery coming up.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Campers and travelers. Several family members traveling this week

Sympathy:

Prayers for the Mauricio Ramirez family. He passed away earlier this week and services were held yesterday.

Also for the family of Darlyne Stewart, Karl Jones’s sister. Her services will be held August 1, 2 under direction of

Moore Funeral Home in Arlington. Please keep both families in your prayers.

Article

The Master Questioner

No person ever walked the earth with more knowledge. No person ever walked the earth with more to teach. And no person ever used questions more effectively than Jesus.

Reading through the Gospels, one might be struck by how infrequently Jesus answered questions with statements. Jesus was asked over 150 questions, and he directly answered fewer than 10. The rest he addressed indirectly, with questions, or with a combination of questions and statements.

Jesus was not being evasive, at least not in the derogatory sense. His questions were purposeful. Instead of force-feeding, Jesus gave those who heard him an opportunity to ponder and learn.

Often teachers merely impart answers, they inform with facts. Jesus led the willing to discover answers that would sink down deep inside. He invited them to ask, seek, and knock.

The questions Jesus asked fit the occasion. When honest seekers asked Jesus for information, Jesus led them in the right path.

“And his disciples answered him, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?’ And he asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have’? They said, ‘Seven’” (Mark 8:4, 5 ESV).

Other questions resulted in a mild rebuke. When the sons of Zebedee desired to sit at the right hand and left hand of Jesus in his kingdom, Jesus responded with a question. “Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” (Matthew 20:22).

Often Jesus was asked questions in a confrontational way. He almost always responded with questions, which if answered honestly would cause the accusers to condemn themselves.

When asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath Jesus responded:

“Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:11-12).

Perhaps you can hear the pause that I hear as Jesus finishes the question. I see the men looking at each other, knowing that they would indeed rescue their sheep on the Sabbath. And then the hammer hits the nail, “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!” The ESV places an exclamation mark, others a question mark (see KJV, MLV, LEB, YLT). Perhaps my favorite punctuation, the interrobang, would fit here. This is a exclamatory rhetorical question which leaves the interrogators with just one answer, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Jesus asked a question, then reasoned to a logical conclusion. The Lord used this same formula when asked about paying taxes. “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” he asked. “Caesar’s,” they answered. “Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:15-21).  I think we can all see the power of this formula (see Matthew 22:22).

While Jesus would occasionally reason to a logical conclusion, other times his questions hung in the air, their answers obvious, but unspoken. Perhaps the most well-known of Jesus’ table-turning questions takes place in Jerusalem in the week leading up to the crucifixion. Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, and then cleansed the temple. Upon returning to the temple, the Jewish leaders came up to him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23).

Jesus answered their question with a conditional question.

“I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:24, 25a).

Jesus’ question placed these Jewish leaders on the horns of a dilemma. Either way they answered the consequences were dire. An honest heart would see and admit fault. This question revealed their dishonesty to all who heard, for after reasoning among themselves, they answered, “We do not know” (Matthew 21:27).

Though unspoken, Jesus’ question has a very clear answer. As a prophet, John’s baptism came from heaven. John testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God, sent from heaven. Therefore, Jesus’ authority came from heaven. Jesus’ question not only taught that profound truth, but it also exposed as hypocrites his accusers.

When used wisely, questions can defend the integrity of Scripture, help people discover truth, expose the weaknesses of an accusation, and lay bare the hearts of men.

When was the last time you answered a question with a question?

Lee Parish, link to original article

Bulletin for 7-17-22

/in /by

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

None this week

Prayer requests:

Reames family, several members have covid. Tommy and Regena exposed.

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him. His granddaughter, Michelle, scheduled for surgery

Darlyne Stewart, Karl’s sister, back at hospital on breathing support.

J R Medellin, Tiffany’s (Chance) husband, had a liver transplant yesterday. Surgery went well.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Campers and travelers. Several family members traveling this week

Article:

God uses imperfect people

by Jon Galloway

We know ourself better than anyone else does. If we are truthful with ourself we realize our short-comings, downfalls, temptations, and weaknesses. Sometimes we might think that God can’t use us because we are just not good enough.

But when we read through scripture we discover that God has always used imperfect people to accomplish his will. We might wonder why that is – until, of course, we realize that no one is perfect. All people have weaknesses just like we do.

Although Abraham is looked on as a great man – and he was! – we realize that he was not great because he was perfect. He was a great man because of his faith in God and his willingness to obey God even when it didn’t make sense. The same man who trusted God enough to sacrifice his own son was the man who lied at least twice about his relationship with his wife.

What effect did this have on his children? Were they the same way?

Isaac was the child of promise. It was through him that a nation for God was going to come.

“Now there was a famine in the land – besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time – and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.” (Genesis 26:1-6 NIV)

So far, so good. Isaac listened to and obeyed God and God gave him the same promise as he had given to Abraham: his descendants would be numerous, would be given the land in which he was living, and ultimately all nations would be blessed through his offspring, his seed.

But then it seems almost like déjà vu. I’m sure this is why the writer stressed that this was a different occurrence.

“When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister,’ because he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought, ‘The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.’” (Genesis 26:7)

But this was the child of promise! This was the one God had sworn to make into a great nation. Yet he blatantly lied about his wife due to fear for his own life. He ended up getting caught out but God still blessed him.

What does this tell us? Does it not emphasize to us that we will never be good enough. When even great men like Abraham and Isaac get caught out in sin it doesn’t excuse us, but it does offer us hope. If God can use men who sinned like these two, and we could add many others like David to the list, he can use us.

What is God looking for? He is looking for faithfulness. He is looking for obedience. He is looking for people who, although they stumble in their living for him, get back up and get back on the path. He is looking for people who “walk in the light”, people who are wanting to live right and when they slip up and sin ask for forgiveness, put the sin behind them, and get back on the path.

“If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 NASB)

link to original article

Bulletin for 7-10-22

/in /by

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

7-11 Bill Grubbs

Prayer requests:

Sam & Alice Pirozzo have been fighting the covid virus.

Paul Tyler has a bad sort Parkinson’s. Please pray for him. His granddaughter, Michelle, scheduled for surgery

Darlyne Stewart, Karl’s sister, is home now, has a treatment plan, keep praying.

Shirley Weeks, Steve’s mom, continues to have trouble.

Sarah, Chris Girvin’s sister, on hospice care

Robert and Sue Waller, health issues.

Darla Nitti, Wendi’s mom, not doing well.

Leta, has a recurring cancer, prayer request from her granddaughter via our website.

Tammy Jones, Weeks’ neighbor, kidney failure/dialysis

Campers and travelers. Dena is at church camp. David and I will be going Tuesday and David will stay.

Article

What are you seeking?

Andrew was standing next to the faithful prophet when that herald of Jesus said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36 ESV). Having heard John’s remarkable declaration, Andrew and his companion left their Rabbi for another. Their walk with Jesus began humbly enough, as they simply followed his steps.

As he turned to look at his nascent disciples, the great Teacher’s first lesson was the piercing question, “What are you seeking” (John 1:38).

As readers of John’s gospel, we have the benefit to see Jesus introduced as God in the flesh, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). He is the light (John 1:4-9), the Christ (John 1:20), the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the Son of God, and the King of Israel (John 1:49).

We know that these men — Andrew and likely the apostle John — were first disciples of John the immerser. As his task was to “prepare the way before” Jesus (Malachi 3:1), he would have taught his disciples the true nature of the Son. Upon hearing John’s words, they knew that their duty was to follow Jesus.

Yet Jesus’ question to them, “What are you seeking?” gave them the opportunity to confess Jesus as Rabbi (Teacher), and to inquire about staying with him, “where are you staying?”

“What are you seeking?”

When Andrew located his brother Simon, he said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). When Philip found Nathanael, he said, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote” (John 1:45).

These men, along with the faithful remnant, were looking for the Messiah. Their souls were longing for the promised One who would deliver them. Though they had much to learn, they were dedicated to being taught by their Master.

“What are you seeking?”

Many people have seen Jesus. Some find him intriguing enough to walk a few steps toward him. The question we must all ask ourselves is, “What am I seeking?”

Am I seeking someone who will primarily comfort me in my distress? Am I seeking someone who will confirm all my priors? Am I seeking someone who will conform to my priorities? If so, it is not Jesus of Nazareth for whom I am longing.

Yes Jesus comforts, but he also challenges.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23-26).

Jesus calls us to make his desires ours (Luke 16:13), and to transform our way of living to his (Romans 12:2; Galatians 4:19).

None of that is easy. But if we claim to seek Jesus, it is necessary. Knowing about Jesus is not enough, the information we gather about him should beget transformation.

On that afternoon nearly two millennia ago, two disciples began their walk in the Son. And it all started with a question, “What are you seeking?”

Lee Parish, link to original article