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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 18* May 4, 2008
Life is as the Grass
After reading the title one might think a witty Chinese Proverb is about to follow, but this teaching is found in I Peter 1:24. “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away:”
All animals die and so do all human beings. Peter says it is as certain as the falling flower and the grass the withers away. The Psalmist says this as well in Psalms 103:15 “his days are as grass” James identifies the brevity of life as a passing vapor of water that vanishes quickly away. James 4:14 James also says that it does not matter how rich one may be, one cannot escape what is inevitable. “But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.” (1:10) The Psalmist proclaims that days are consumed like smoke. (Psalms 102:3) It sure seems that one day turns quickly into the next and before we know it another year has come an gone. Yes life is very short.
The Hebrew writer boldly says, “as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (9:27) Knowing how quickly our lives pass away, what should we be doing? We should be preparing for our life after our death and the Lord’s day of judgment. It is real easy to think I will take care of spiritual things tomorrow. Real easy to think there is plenty of time. Very easy to think our day of obedience will come. The truth is our life is as the grass’ here today, but gone tomorrow. Be ready for the Lord now! Stacy Crim
A Richly Blessed Family
Bill Hall
“Pity the Smith family. Poor things, they have to keep the preacher every time the church plans a meeting. And Christians are always stopping in at their place. And they are about the only people in the church that ever invite people in after services. I just wouldn’t put up with it myself...”
Spare your pity! The Smiths are a richly blessed family. Oh, occasionally they entertain some ungrateful scoundrel, but the blessings of hospitality far outweigh the problems.
The Bible speaks of some wonderfully blessed people along these lines. For instance, we do not pity Mary and Martha for “having” to have Jesus in their home; we pity those who, not wanting Jesus, were deprived of this blessing. We do not pity Mary the mother of John Mark, in whose home “many were gathered together praying”, we pity those homes where Christians never assemble for Bible study and prayer. We do not pity Philemon who was to prepare Paul a lodging; we would love to have Paul as a guest in our home. Christians need to learn the joy and blessings which come to those who are hospitable.
“We are hospitable,” someone says, we often have friends from church in our home for get-togethers and parties.” That’s fine! We encourage this! But Bible hospitality goes beyond having friends in for an evening which is at least partially for our own selfish enjoyment I was a stranger and you took Me in,” Jesus will say in the judgment (Matthew 25:35). Gaius was commended for helping “brethren” and “strangers” who were traveling for the Lord’s name sake, and was told by John, “If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well” (3 John 5-7). Further, the Bible teaches that we become partakers in evil deeds of false teachers when we receive them into our houses (2 John 9-1 1). But does this not imply that we become partakers in the good deeds of faithful teachers when we show them hospitality?
A Christian will want to make friends with other Christians, and consequently will plan enjoyable evenings with close friends in his home. But the hospitable Christian will also use his home for conducting Bible classes, entertaining visiting preachers and other workers for the Lord, getting acquainted with newcomers in the church, comforting the bereaved and troubled, and for every good work.
Our homes are blessings from the Lord. We must not use them selfishly, but rather to His glory. The result will be an occasional scratch on a chair, or a stain on the carpet, or a chipped glass--really a small price to pay, though, for the warmth that comes to the home from new friends, good influences, rich Bible discussions, participation in the Lord’s work, and the satisfaction of knowing that one is pleasing God and preparing himself for eternity. No, it is not the Smiths whom we pity; it’s those who do not know the joy of hospitality. -via Topics For Study; Millersville, Tennessee
I Didn’t Do It!
Vic McCormick
Denying responsibility seems almost inborn. At the earliest of ages you find children denying what they did. The lamp falls to the floor and breaks. Junior the only one in the room but he’ll tell you “I didn’t do it.” Your son borrows the family car and scratches the fender. He places it back in the garage without a word. When it is discovered and questions are raised, you can almost guarantee the first words are, “I didn’t do it.” The daughter borrows, without permission, her mother’s denim jacket and goes to the ball game. Later mother reaches for the jacket and finds mustard on the front of it. She doesn’t have to ask. Susie will say, “I didn’t do it.”
Some as they grow older don’t get over the desire to deny. The machinist in hurrying to finish a job creates a blemish. When the inspector finds it the machinist will say, “I didn’t do it.” The boss’s assistant will misfile an important paper and when it can’t be found, will deny even handling it.
A variation of such denials started back in the Garden of Eden. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and Adam also ate. When asked, Adam did not take responsibility for his own actions, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12). He makes it sound like God is at fault for giving him a wife. Some men are still blaming their wives for their own short comings. The reverse also is true. Wives who are unfaithful to the Lord blame their husbands for their failures. On occasion such may be true, but most often, they seek an excuse and so blame their mate.
Paul writes, “…the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Our Lord spoke to those who thought others were greater sinners than they. They think some sins are little and don’t count. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3). Even a new child of warned, “Repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you” (Acts 8:22). Paul says there was a time of ignorance that God overlooked, but “God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30). Again, “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
After all, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). No, God is not out to get us or to punish us. Every day that we live is intended to be a day of opportunity. A day to admit our failures before God and receive His forgiveness. Jesus illustrated this when He told the story of the lost, but found sheep. The added, “I tell you in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7)
Paul notes that, “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). We need to be mature enough, so as to stop saying, “I didn’t do it.” Once we acknowledge our sins and repent of them, we can build on the rock of truth, preparing for the future, both in this world and that which is to come.
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