Email Us
Find a
Congregation Near You!
The Cornerstone
This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Conerstone." Acts 4:11
Pulbished to Support the Work of the West End Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia
Volume 9 * Number 17* April 29, 2007
The Blame Game
In Genesis chapter three the serpent deceived Eve into eating of the forbidden tree. She in turn gave the fruit to Adam who also ate. What follows is so typical of mankind. Adam and Eve began to play the blame game. “…Who told you that thou was naked?” Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Genesis 3:12-13
Sadly enough, Adam’s response not only blamed Eve but initially he blamed God “The woman who Thou gavest to be with me”. God causes no one to sin, and neither does anybody else for that matter. The choice is ours.
Why is it that we so quickly shift the blame for our own actions upon someone else? Could it be we have a difficult time owning up to our own sins? We some how try to spare ourselves of the consequences of our sins, which we simply cannot do. Perhaps it is a matter of pride. We cannot sin, we cannot be blamed, it simply cannot be our fault. Pride!
Faithful men and women accept the blame and face the consequences of their own actions. King David said… “Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.” Psalms 51:4
Stacy Crim
Where You Going?
Dee BowmanEverybody’s going somewhere. The kids are going to school. Mom’s going to the grocery store, Dad’s going to work. Uncle Zeke’s going to the dentist, Grandma’s going to the doctor.
The fullback’s going toward the goal, the baseball player’s headed for home. The point guard’s shooting toward the basket, the tennis star’s hitting toward the line.
Everybody’s going somewhere. No matter who you are, you’re going somewhere.
Where are you going?
Are you going to get better? Christianity is a life of spiritual growth. If you don’t grow you stagnate. If you don’t grow your body deteriorates. But unlike physical growth, spiritual growth is a matter of choice—you decide to do it, it doesn’t come naturally. “Desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby, says Peter (2 Pet. 2:2). And, “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” he said (2 Pet. 3:18). If you decide to grow, you have to have regular feedings of spiritual sustenance. And please understand, it may not always taste good. Are you going to get better?
Are you going up or down? It’s one way or the other. You’re either making progress in your spiritual life, or you’re defaulting. You can’t go to heaven by standing still. You have to make up your mind that whatever is necessary, you are going up. Heaven is always seen as “up.” And you can’t go up by just sitting around doing nothing or just by standing and watching others go by. Hope is one of the vital considerations in the Christian system and it always looks up toward a desired expectation. “…continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away form the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23). It’s your choice. You going up or down?
Are you going to try harder? Trying is what Christianity is all about. It’s hard to try harder sometimes. It takes courage, determination, endurance to make the grade, to climb the hill, to make it home. But when the going gets tough—uh, you just have to try harder. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works” (Jas. 2:18). If you have faith you have to show it by works; you can’t just sit and affirm it, you have to get up and get with it.
Are you going to heaven? Now that may not sound like much of a question—not until you consider that every person who doesn’t go to heaven goes to hell. There’s no in-between room. It’s one or the other. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14) is a great assurance for those who are going there. But listen to the only other side of the story: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14-15) and that’s the same as describing the ungodly such as will “have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).
Well, I think you get my point. There’s just not any in-between. You’re either a Christian or you’re now, a disciple or not, a worker or a shirker. How’s it going with you?
Southside Sunday April 22, 2007 &
“We Do Not Lose Heart”
- Harry Pickup, Jr. (edited)
If ever a man had reason to be discouraged, it was the apostle Paul. The people to whom he first brought the gospel, whom he counted as “my beloved children” (1 Co 4:14) had seriously disappointed him. They gloried in immorality (5:1-2). False teachers had convinced some that Paul was not truly an apostle (2 Co 11).
Yet, in spite of these circumstances, Paul “did not lose heart” (2 Co 4:1, 16 – NKJ). He maintained his own integrity by “manifesting the truth” (vs. 2). While the ravages of time and the rages of his enemies had taken their toll upon Paul’s body, they had not affected his
great heart. “Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day” (vs. 16).
He viewed such things as “light affliction” – but “for the moment” (vs. 17). He was sustained through all of this by “looking not at the things which are seen [with the physical eye] but at the things which are not seen [seen with the spiritual eye]. The former things are “temporal” – the latter are “eternal” (vs. 18).
Our circumstances are not as severe as Paul’s, but our discouragements can be just as real. Each Christian faces a personal battle to maintain faith; but, the things that kept Paul from losing heart can sustain us as well. Let us maintain our personal integrity by a faithful walk in pleasing our Lord, as we keep the eye of faith upon the true realities – the things that truly matter. Simple Truths
&
Back to Current Year Bulletins