Highland Lakes church of Christ

Tampering with currency has been a crime throughout the centuries. Governments take extraordinary measures to make counterfeiting as difficult as possible, and stiff punishments await those who practice such deceit. At stake is our financial future.

We are appalled when we learn that medicines have been tampered with and lives have been placed in jeopardy. Such conduct is reprehensible, and subject to punishment. Nor do we look favorably on scientists who tamper with lab results to achieve their desired end.

The apostle Paul proclaims himself innocent of another kind of tampering, and a worse crime, tampering with God’s word. “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2 RSV).

It is well to remember that God’s word is the power of salvation to everyone who has faith (Romans 1:16). But it can lose its power if it is tempered with or even deluded, meaning deliberately made to mislead. There is a devastating line in Swinburne’s writing: For tender souls, he served up half a Christ.

Someone has tampered with God’s word when he preaches a Christ who invites all to come to him, but conveniently forgets Christ’s demand for repentance and baptism, for taking up the cross and following Him, for seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Someone has tampered with the Word of God when Christianity is presented as an easy way of life, as cheap grace or a way to acquire temporal wealth. Jesus never said such things.

Tampering has been done when Christ has been shown only as “meek and lowly”, without ever mentioning “the wrath of the Lamb.” Few today are willing to hear Jesus say, “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

Are we willing to walk in the footsteps of Paul? “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or tamper with God’s word…”

JOHN GIBSON Windsong church of Christ, Searcy, AR

“Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

Everyday makes us more aware of time. What is time? Our lives are made of time. Waste time and waste life. Waste time and in time it wastes us. We talk about time spent. Time doesn’t get spent — we do!

Now is the timely word in the Bible. Of all the time you and I may or may not have, Now is the only period over which we have some control. The only thing we can do about the past is learn its lessons and leave it behind as we go on. We have no control over the future and we can only trust God with it.

Perhaps we should banish the future and live only in the present. Trying to handle the problems of next week will leave us no real time to deal with today. Someone has said,

“Life by the inch is a cinch, but by the yard it’s too hard.”

God repeatedly urges us to live in the “now”. . . . .

“now let us go to Bethlehem . . . . . “

“now is the time to wake out of your sleep . . . . . “

“for now is your salvation . . . . “

We are procrastinators. Especially when we deal with our souls and our relationship to God. We tend to put off until later what God wants us to do now. Hans Christian Anderson said,

“Time is so fleeting that if we do not remember God in our youth, age may find us incapable of thinking about Him.”

Thinking about the final judgment, “Some day you will call Him Lord, why not now?”

Now is God’s time. Now is the all-important time. How we believe and behave will write our eternal biography.

— Bill Blackstone

” For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” — Ephesians 5:8-10

One of the greatest abilities that God has given humanity is the power of choice. Every day a person makes hundreds of choices, both small and large. There are small choices like what clothes we will wear to work, to the bigger decisions like where we are going to actually work. Let’s face it: a look at a person’s life reveals a summary of the choices that they have made. Plain and simple, you and I are the product of choices we have been making our entire lives, both good and bad. I’ve never run into a person who has never made a bad decision in his or her life. Everyone has some particular choice that he or she regrets, wishing it had never be done. So it almost goes without saying that every person on the planet could use a great deal of help when it comes to the decision making process.

Usually when a person has a big decision to make he or she will meditate on it, rolling it over and over in the mind, weighing the positive and negative consequences of the potential outcome. A wise person will usually talk the decision over with various friends and family members to get a good sense of feedback to help with the decision making and a right call. To make better choices those things are absolutely necessary and should not be overlooked. The main step in the process of good-decision making is usually overlooked by the majority of the populace. That step is asking God for help, and for the wisdom to make the best possible choice.

This advice is given to Christians in James 1:5-8. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways.”

The message is easy to comprehend, if you want to make better decisions in life, confidently ask God for wisdom. Admit to God that you need help, and then talk to our almighty, heavenly Father about what you need. The word of God says that he will give that wisdom to those who ask for it, but we first have to ask! The road to better decision making in life is paved in prayer to God who wants us to choose a life of service as we live in and for Him. Now that’s a good decision!

BULLETIN DIGEST — Doug Kashorek – Plattsburgh church of Christ, Plattsburgh, NY

God desires for you to succeed (2 Peter 3:9) God wants you to be happy (Galatians 5:22-25) God has provided a plan to achieve both (James 1:17-22). Your ability to achieve all is real. How many make the dire mistake of not seeing that God’s instructions are for their success? Too many are satisfied to be mediocre, and middle of the road. Many are not willing to see the possibilities of God’s way. God’s instructions are for bringing us up to our best. We need to seek improvement and God will provide the way, considering true success and how to achieve it in this life, a success that will carry us beyond this life. We must have a desire to achieve or this will not work. We need to go to God first (Acts 17:27). We must seek His counsel (Psalms 1:1-6). We need to know that we are not at our fullest without Him. God is the source of both happiness and fulfillment. To find success we must submit to the plan. Righteousness is not a diet, it is a lifestyle change. Righteousness is a new way of living, not just an occasional reading and prayer. Yes, I am saying that all have to do something to attain this success. You will have to be educated in God’s Word — the plan. We all have to purposely and intentionally conform and commit our lives to it. Our effort will let us experience God’s ability to direct us toward love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And most of all we have the promise of Heaven (John 14:1-6): everlasting success and happiness!

BULLETIN DIGEST — Charles Willis, Opp church of Christ, Opp, AL

Three boys in the school yard were bragging about their fathers. One boy boasted, “My dad can scribble some words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him $100!” The next boy replied, “That’s nothing. My dad scribbles a few words down, calls it a song, and they give him $1,000!” The last boy said, “My dad has that beat. He scribbles down a few words on a page, calls it a sermon, and it takes 6 men to pick up all the money.”

Most of us can understand why these boys engaged in such boasting about their dads  ..….. we even do it as adults! The Jews of Jesus’ day boasted about having Abraham as their father (Matthew 3:9). Jesus refuted this claim from the disobedient Jews and identified their true father as the devil (John 8:39-44)! What about the obedient? Do Christians have a true father? Yes! God is our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16). What can our Father do? Anything that He wills to do! Our Father created everything out of absolute nothingness . . . there is no thing too hard for Him.

As Christians confront the promoters of sin and wickedness . . . we must remember Who our Father is. As we continue the ancient battle of good versus evil . . . we must remember Who our Father is. The Christian will always be able to justifiably say, “My Dad is bigger then your Dad!”

—Joe