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 7 * Number 5* February 4, 2007
A Prayer to Know God
In Ephesians 1:15-20, Paul’s prayer to God on behalf of his brethren in Ephesus is for God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowing Him. Many people know "about" God, but few actually will make the effort to really "know" Him. Others will claim to know God, but will continuously disobey Him. How can I profess to know God and not obey Him?.
Knowing God means we seek to know Him correctly, properly, deeply, and with a diligent effort we strive to imitate His godly character. "Ye shall be holy for I am Holy" (I Peter 1:16) It means we seek to have clarity, certainty of mind and a substantial understanding about Him. Knowing God is a not superficial thing
Paul also desired that his brethren understand the hope of their calling. (verse 18) He wanted them to understand just how important their hope is. The anticipation of eternal life with God motivates us in this life to press on. "Be thou faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10b) I anticipate with all my being the promises of God. With all my being, and with immense expectation of good, I press to the mark of the high calling of God. (Philippians 3:14)
Paul also prayed that they know the "riches of God’s inheritance" (verse 18) He wanted them to really grasp the splendor of what lies ahead for the faithful. Jesus said "In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you." (John 14:2) Think about that, the riches of God and the faithful the recipients. Wow! Paul said, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
Finally, Paul prayed that they know the power of God. The power by which He created the heaven and the earth. "The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof." Psalms 50:1 With great power He destroyed the earth with water; divided the Red Sea; made walls to fall; mountains to quake; the sun to stand still, and raised up Jesus to sit at His right hand. Let alone God’s power to save man from sin. "And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins," Ephesians 2:1 What power!
Our prayer today is that we may too may know God.
Stacy Crim
&
Grumpiness Is Contagious
Jamey Hinds
Studies have been conducted which conclude that grumpiness is more contagious than happiness.
In the March issue of The Journal of Applied Psychology, Richard Saavedra of the University of New Hampshire and colleague Thomas Sy at California State University at Long Beach examined the effects of a leader’s mood on a group. The results were consistent. Research shows that being exposed to someone cheery makes you cheery, but not as much as being exposed to a spiritless grump will depress you.
Grumpiness is contagious, but grumpiness can and should be controlled. We may not always believe it to be so, but we can control our moods.
Grumpy people choose not to see the better things in others. Paul said, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
Grumpy people complain. God said, "Do all things without complaining" (Philippians 2:14). The outcome is "that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life" (vv. 15-16).
Why did God scatter the children of Israel in the wilderness? "They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, but complained in their tents, and did not heed the voice of Jehovah. Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their descendants among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands" (Psalm 106:24-27).
"Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door" (James 5:9).
We say that misery loves company. But it’s even truer that company does not love to be miserable. We have choices to make in our attitude. I’m not saying we should ignore reality by plastering a hypocritical smile on our faces. Consider what James wrote — "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" (1:2-3). Do we count it all joy? Or do we complain against God?
True joy is not a momentary perspective — it is a perspective that comes from the eternal view of our soul’s salvation from eternal condemnation. Because of this eternal reward that has been promised to us through exceedingly great and precious promises (II Peter 1:4), every moment of our lives should find balance — whether we feel things are going wonderfully, or not.
From prison, the apostle Paul wrote the following statement — "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Here’s a key: "In the Lord." This phrase defines who we really are! "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself " (Philippians 3:20-21).
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). This confidence we have in God should move us to respond differently to the difficulties of daily living (see I Thess 5:9-11). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Just reading this passage should put a smile on our faces. And with such delightful thoughts in our hearts, we cannot imagine finding something to complain about.
Things Above
&
Back to Current Year Bulletins