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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 7 * Number 87* February 25, 2007
Is There
"Grass On Your Path"
James W. Adams
Preachers returning from evangelizing the natives of Africa tell of the unusual devotion of their converts. Each convert had a separate place in the bush where he went to pray. The well worn paths to these places testified to the degree of their devotion was betrayed by the grass which grew on his path (Bible Truths Illustrated, p. 223).
This comports well with the beautiful sentiments expressed by the Sweet Singer of Israel: "How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God… For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalms 84:1,2,10).
How wonderful it would be if all professed followers of the Son of Heaven today were motivated by such lofty sentiments relative to "the house of God, which is the church of the living God (I Timothy 3:15)!
Be honest, now: Does grass grow on your path to the "house of God"?
via . Gospel Power 11/26/06
The Gospel of Fellowship
Brett Hogland
In ancient Rome, citizens remained loyal so long as the rulers gave them "bread and circuses". Once offered, they could not be stopped. Each new entertainment had to be more elaborate than the last, in order to maintain the loyalty of the mob. For many years, missionaries in China wooed converts by offers of rice. So long as the rice was distributed, converts were plentiful. When the missionaries decided to end the handouts, they found the churches empty again. The deserters were afterwards called "Rice Christians".
The only reliable convert is one whose heart is changed, who is free of enticements to his belly. When Christ commissioned the apostles to save men by the gospel, His instructions contained nothing in the way of enticements to the flesh. The Gospel of Christ appeals to the spirit of man, to his heart, to his inner emotional yearnings. The Gospel satisfies the most important need of man, … the salvation of his soul (See Rom.1:16-17).
However, many modern churches believe they must compete with the allurements of the world by offering entertainment, banquets, etc. They call this "fellowship", and the place for it is called a "fellowship hall" (which may double as a gymnasium). The New Testament never uses the word "fellowship" in this way. KOINONIA, the Greek word, refers to sharing in the preaching of the Gospel (Phil.1:5), sharing in the hope of salvation (1John 1:2-3), or some other spiritual sharing.
The Apostle Paul condemned some who abused the Lord’s Supper, by turning it into a meal (1Cor.11:22, 34). He also taught, "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom.14:17). Churches enticing members with "bread and circuses" might suddenly find their houses empty, if they offered only the appeal of preaching. They may already have many "Rice Christians". We still believe in the basic appeal of the Gospel of Christ, and seek only those converts whose hearts, rather than their bellies, are drawn to Christ. Where do you stand?
www.lubbockchurch.com
&Alpha & Omega
Stan Cox
Filed under Reflections Articles, Salvation, Subject Index, Authority, God, Jesus, Christ.
We commonly use the phrase "A to Z" to identify the sum total of any particular thing. If a person is knowledgeable on a subject, we say he knows it from "A to Z." If a person is accomplished in a particular area, we say that he has done it all, from "A to Z."
In the Bible, similar phrases are used.
For example, Jehovah described Himself to Israel by saying, "Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last" (Isaiah 48:12). In Isaiah 44:6, He stated the same thing, with an added emphasis, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." The phrase, "beside me there is no God", serves to indicate in part the significance of the phrase "I am the first, and I am the last." It indicates that God is the sum total of Deity, the first and only cause for creation, and the sole One to look to for guidance and hope.
In the Greek language, the first letter of the alphabet is "alpha." It is the equivalent of our letter "a." The last letter of the Greek language is the letter "omega". It serves as the long "o", the equivalent of the English sound contained in words such as "boat" and "phone."
In the book of Revelation, the letters are used as an illustration in much the same way as we do with the phrase "A to Z." In all four passages, our Lord references Himself, much as the texts previously mentioned in the book of Isaiah. Note the passages:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (1:8).
"…‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea’" (1:11).
"And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts’" (21:6).
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (22:13?).
The phrase serves to declare the eternal nature of our Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come." This attribute was affirmed by John in his gospel, when he wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2). As the son of God, Jesus had no beginning, and will have no end.
The phrase also establishes His preeminence. As stated in Revelation 1:8, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." If He is the beginning and the end, the sum of all, then our Lord is preeminent in power and glory. If you read the throne room scene of Revelation 4 & 5, you will see our Lord as the center of praise and worship. "And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13).
Finally, the phrase serves to establish our Lord as the means of our redemption. "I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts" (21:6). Any attempt by man to make Jesus into anything other than the unique Son of God dishonors Him.
The apostle Paul recognized the singular nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note his description, given in Colossians 1:15-18: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."
Truly, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega. Amen.
10/14/2006
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