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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 8 * Number 3* January 20, 2008
A Corrupt World
Rick Duggin
Though no one can predict the future of our nation, we can say with confidence that God is in control, His cause will triumph, and He judges nations. 'The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).
Gibbon's famous work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lists five reasons for the fall of Rome. There are several parallels between ancient Israel and Rome, and even more disturbing, between Rome and America.
1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. American families are under attack by humanists, homosexuals, and Hollywood. Some don't even know what a family is any more (Matthew 19:4-9).
2. Higher and higher taxes: the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses or the populace . America is on the greatest spending binge in history. Many have forgotten how to work; they expect the government to support them (2 Thessalonians 3:10; I Timothy 5:8).3
. The mad craze for pleasure: sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal . Many Americans are so obsessed with sports that they have no time for Bible studies (2 Tim. 3:4; Hebrews 11:25).4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within - the decadence of the people. Babylon's wall, water, and wealth could not prevent the Persian invasion (Daniel 5). No armament can protect a nation that has rotted from within – not even America's.
5. The decay of religion: faith fading into mere form; losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Most churches have become social clubs, pursuing entertainment to attract bigger crowds. Many audiences no longer expect to hear book, chapter, and verse (2 Timothy 4:1-4). They have replaced the house of prayer with food, fun, and frolic (Matthew 2 1:12-14).
Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.
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Its Desire Is For You!
Brent Densford
Genesis 4:1-10 is a passage familiar to even the most remedial of Bible students. Cain and Abel are born to Adam and Eve, Abel offers a more praise-worthy sacrifice to God, and you know the rest... Cain slays Abel out of anger. But, despite our familiarity with this story of domestic dispute, jealousy, and murder; I believe we many times overlook a powerful verse that chronicles a brief conversation between God and Cain that takes place before he murders his bother. In verse 7, God comments to Cain “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you.” By all accounts, God’s statement to Cain sums up what our relationship with Him is all about - running the race of life and doing good. For the successful, they will be accepted and receive the crown of life. (James 1:12). But for those who do not do well (spiritually speaking) – sin is an aggressive predator, pacing back and forth outside their door and is waiting to attack at every opportunity. “Its desire is for you” God tells Cain. Friends what a frightening image this passage paints for us. Make no mistake about it, the rulers of darkness (Eph. 6:12) are waiting for any and every opportunity for us to become slack and slothful in our spiritual service. Satan and his agents are using every device (2 Corinthians 2:11) to try and cross the door to our heart and overtake us spiritually. Let us be watchful that sin does not overtake us through these methods commonly used by Satan:
1. Making our service to God seem burdensome
Numbers 11:4-15 speaks of the children of Israel moving through the Wilderness following their Egyptian captivity. The people become restless and begin to continually whine and complain to Moses about their food and conditions. The groaning continues to the point that Moses utters these words to God in verse 11 – “why have you laid the burden of all these people on me?” Moses, the man chosen to lead God’s people from Egypt, the man given the power to overcome the mighty Egyptians, the man who performed miracles before Pharaoh is now stating that God’s work for him is a burden! Doesn’t that happen all too often today as well, we lose our spiritual appetite and before you know it, attending services, studying our Bible, participating in the worship service, teaching classes - all become as a burden to us as sin crosses the door to our heart and overtakes us.
2. Causing us to lose our spiritual focus and vision
Nehemiah 4:6-10 tells of God’s people returning from Babylonian captivity with their primary focus being to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Upon first arrival, the workers were enthusiastic and much work was done (verse 6). But as the hours, and days, and weeks passed, the work slowed and even came to a complete stop. Why? Verse 10 tells us that there was “so much rubbish” the strength of the laborers became weak. The work site became disorganized, chaos set in, building materials were lying around, and the rubbish became the focus of the workers rather than the project itself. They lost their zeal and enthusiasm and became discouraged. Today, as new converts we burn with zeal. We focus on God’s Word and His service and are full of energy. But as the hours, days, and weeks pass, if we are not careful, the rubbish of the world (sin, evil, despair, tragedy, and temptations) distracts us –and we become weakened and lose focus. And sin crosses the door and overtakes us.
God tells Cain in Genesis 4:7 regarding the sin that desired his soul; “but you should rule over it”. What sound advice for us today as we battle against sin and its desire to cross the door of our hearts. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled into believing God’s work is a burden. Don’t become distracted and lose the focus of obtaining heaven for eternity. Sin’s desire is for you! It lies at the door and waits continually. Rule over it! If only Cain would have listened to that advice!
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