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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 6 *   Number 26*   June 25,  2006

We Can Do It!

Isn’t it a marvelous lesson when we learn to say the words, "I Can Do It" as opposed to "I Can’t." There are many marvelous lessons within the Bible that teach this positive attitude.

Joshua & Caleb

Joshua and Caleb were two of twelve men who were sent into the promise land by Moses to view the land and the people who dwelt in it. Listen to their response when asked their observation of the land. "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it ." (Numbers 13:30) Joshua and Caleb were sure that the people could take this land with the help of the Lord. We can do it! Notice however how the other ten men responded. "But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." We can’t do it! These 10 men were able to sway the people so much that they wanted to just quit and go back to Egypt. They quit all right but they didn’t go back to Egypt, they were punished by the Lord and sentenced to 40 years of wilderness wondering. An attitude of we can do it would have profited them greatly.

David

Who can beat this giant man, who is a champion soldier of the Philistine army? I Can Do it, said the little shepherd boy who trusted in the Lord.

"And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." (I Samuel 17:32) What a wonderful lesson from a shepherd boy who later became the King of Israel.

Isaiah

The prophet Isaiah very quickly pronounced his willingness to proclaim the Words of the Lord in Isaiah 6:8. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." I can do it!. I will go unto the people and proclaim your will. "Here am I send me" What a great attitude and worthy of our imitation.

Just think what you and I can accomplish at the hand of the Lord with an attitude of "I can

do it!"

Stacy Crim

About Your Attendance

Preachers should never have to preach on attendance. It should be obvious that when a Christian does not care to attend all the services, his interest is elsewhere. It is foolish to assert that we have a passage which pronounces anathema on those who don't come on Sunday and Wednesday nights. We don't need one. All we need show is that interest and attendance are connected and that a person who is truly interested will attend.

Now you can try to explain that away all you want and when you are finished it will still say the same thing: a person who is able yet does not attend the services is not interested in what is going on at the services. Bring your excuses, pronounce your justifications, rationalize all you want. And when you are done, the parable of the sower will still affirm the same thing: prepared soil is the only kind which results in produce.

- Dee Bowman

The Beacon 5/25/99 &

 

Homeward Bound

Gary Ogden

"For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek the city which is to come. Through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:14-16).

Is it true that we have no abiding cities on this earth? Does history bear this out? Sodom and Gomorrah certainly were not abiding cities. Jerusalem exists today but it has been destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Babylon, one of the greatest and most magnificent cities of ancient times, is nothing but a rubbish heap. San Francisco was once completely demolished by an earthquake and Rome isn't really an "eternal city." Yes, God is right again; we have here no abiding city. We had better set our sights on another home, a heavenly city.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, has led the way. "By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for the city which hath foundations, whose builder and make is God" (Heb. 11:9-10). Abraham knew this world was not home, but that he was a pilgrim passing through. Until we recognize this truth, we will be longing for the wrong things.

A characteristic of those who are seeking that heavenly city is the offering of sacrifices of praise to God continually (Heb. 13:15). Part and parcel of our existence upon earth is to worship. "True worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such doth the Father seek to be his worshipers" (John 4:23). Such worship is offered through Jesus Christ for "no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

God doesn't ask us to sacrifice animals as He demanded of the ancients, but "the fruit of lips which make confession to His name."

In our sojourn we are to confess to others our belief in God and His Son. "Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9). Don't think of confession as a one-time act, but a continual sacrifice of praise.

Seekers of that heavenly city would offer the fruit of their lips by singing the praises of God, Christ and Home. We are called to "make melody in our heart unto the Lord" (Eph. 5:19). How could someone who is Homeward Bound refuse to sing? "Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God!"

Would not Homeward Bound people be a praying people? Prayer is depicted in the Bible as "incense" (Rev. 5:8). "Pray without ceasing" is not simply an easy verse to memorize, but it is a way of life for those looking above. How in this world are we going to make it to heaven without a constant prayer on our lips for help, guidance, strength, forgiveness?

Teaching the word of God would certainly qualify as a sacrifice of praise. Not everyone has the ability to teach in a formal way, but each can find a way to influence others with truth. When a parent teaches his/her child about God and His ways, that's a sacrifice of praise.

Not only are we to offer the "fruit of our lips" but those who are "looking for a city" have their mind set on "doing good and communicating" (Heb. 13:16). Doing good takes in a large territory and involves the active doing of all of God's will. To neglect to do good is sin (James 4:17). Our whole life should be spent in doing good and not evil. Evil is a sacrifice to the devil and too many are bowing down to that idol! "

To communicate" is a specific kind of "good." It means to share our material means with those who are in need. "Charge them that are rich in this present world, that...they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed" (I Timothy 6:17-19).

How easy it is to become self-centered as we rack up and stack up possessions. We can lose our perspective. We can lay up treasures in a place where we have no abiding city. It makes no sense. We forget to share, to sacrifice. Such failure, according to Jesus, bars our entrance into that eternal city (Matthew 25:41-46).

Are you in love with this world, or is your true "affection on things above, where Christ is"? We don't need to get too comfortable down here. There's a better place awaiting, a heavenly city, prepared by God. He prepared it for people like Abraham, and like you and me.

Abraham set his sights pretty high. Heaven's about as high as you can get! Do you remember where Home is? Are you praising? Are you sacrificing? Are you communicating?

Are you Homeward Bound? -- Via Gardendale church of Christ bulletin

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