Posted by David on October 18, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
“The bottom line” in accounting is “the” number that reveals if a business made a profit or suffered a loss. Before the “bottom line,” sales, contracts, mergers, and cash “inflow” optimistically declare, “The business is in great shape!” Before “the bottom line,” operating costs, overhead expenses, marketing costs, taxes, and cash “outflow” pessimistically declare, “The business is a disaster!” After factoring each plus and minus, “the bottom line” reveals the actual situation. “The bottom line” commonly is the critical, essential truth.
Because of the critical significance of “the bottom line,” that term is used to inquire into every life situation. “Give me the ‘bottom line,'” or, “What is ‘the bottom line’ in this situation (discussion, problem, need, relationship, decision, etc.)?”
To be victorious over temptation, what is “the bottom line?” To make godly decisions, what is the “bottom line”? To recognize evil, what is “the bottom line”? To escape Satan’s deceptive enticements, what is “the bottom line”?
When (not if) your child is offered an illegal substance; or is encouraged to shop lift; or is the object of sexual seduction, pressure, or enticement; or has the opportunity to cheat; or can steal “safely;” or faces powerful peer pressures to do evil, “bottom line,” what will determine his or her decision?
When a Christian adult is tempted to deceive; or to steal; or to be dishonest with spouse or significant friend; or to have an affair; or to be a sexually active unmarried; or to use recreational drugs; or to use evil for pleasure or escape; or to reject godly values; “bottom line,” what determines his or her decision?
The “bottom line” for surviving temptation, rejecting ungodly desires, and embracing godly values is the same for teens or adults. The “bottom line” is personal relationship with God. “Bottom line,” relationship with God is built. “Bottom line,” relationship with God is built on the foundation of godly knowledge and understanding.
Your education about God, Christ, and the Bible is critical to your spiritual “bottom line.” A primary factor in your spiritual education should be our education program. Members, get involved in a class. Teachers, remember the teachers’ meeting this Sunday afternoon. Improve the “bottom line” in your life, your spouse’s life, and your children’s lives.
Posted by David on October 11, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
A person hiking in a wilderness area fell into a deep hole. The fall was his fault– a combination of carelessness, poor judgment, and foolish behavior. Though the hole was twelve feet deep, the fall produced no serious injuries.
After his head cleared from the daze of the fall, he was determined to climb out. He used every climbing technique. Yet, his best effort lifted him only eight feet.
His struggle produced thirst, then weariness, then exhaustion. Physically spent and canteen empty, he stopped trying to climb. In panic, he shouted until he lost his voice. Convinced that he would never be found, he lost all hope.
The next day a hiker found him. “How” he fell was obvious. “How” he fell revealed “why” he fell. “How” and “why” made evident his carelessness.
The man was much too weak to help himself. Going for help was out of the question. Left alone, the man would soon die. Really, the choice was simple. Should the hiker kick enough dirt in the hole to bury the man? Or, should he shout encouragement until he prepared for a risky, strenuous rescue effort?
From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was (is) the hiker who discovered us in our pitiful condition. Humanity is “the man in the hole.” Our condition, individually and collectively, is pathetic.
From the first, he shouted encouragement. He could have “kicked dirt” on the pathetic lepers, the ungodly prostitutes, the dishonest tax gathers. and the self-centered multitudes that craved miracles and food. Instead, he shouted the encouragement called hope.
He did not even “kick dirt” on the Pharisees. If you carefully study his exchanges with them, you will see that they attacked and he taught. Only late in his ministry, after many attempts to teach them, did he expose them in accountability’s harsh light.
When Jesus finds you in your “hole,” what do you want? A kick of dirt, or, a shout of encouragement? When you discover someone in his or her “hole,” what do you give them? A kick of dirt or a shout of encouragement?
Posted by David on September 27, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
As a society, we are a people of exaggerated expectations. We frequently expect the unlikely from our nation, community, marriages, families, careers, and life situations. In all spheres of existence, our expectations prime us for disappointment.
Interactive factors generate high expectations. One example: advertisements and promotions entice us to anticipate the unrealistic. “Buy this car! It will grant you status…alter your relationships… change your image…give you access to a desirable peer group…change your lifestyle…and boost your career.” A car? Really?
And how does a person feel when basically that car gets him or her from point A to point B at so many miles per gallon like any other car? Talk about failed expectations! When our car is a primary measurement of our life, what commentary does that make on the basic nature of our expectations?
Often failed expectations disillusion Christians. Our most common reason for being disappointed with God is failed expectations. We assume that if God does not produce the results we expect through the plans that we make, that God has failed us. God has not “been at work” as “He assured us that He would.”
God never stops working. Never is there a moment when God is not at work. Never do we humans create conditions that make it impossible for God to work. Christian disappointment never measures God’s productivity or success.
Never is there one way to accomplish God’s objectives, or one avenue to pursue God’s purposes, or one means to fulfill God’s will. God worked in Egyptian slavery, the Sinai wilderness, the idolatry of Israel, the legalism of the Pharisees, the denials of Peter, the persecutions of Saul, and the cross of Jesus.
Regardless of how evil the world becomes, God works. In spite of our misguided goals, God works. Through the worst and best intentions of weak humans, God works.
His work produces its best results when fellowship is genuine; love is unpretended; commitment is whole-hearted; and our faith is 100% in Christ and 0% in us.
Posted by David on September 20, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
Satan is a gifted liar (John 8:44). His specialty is “mind games.” His “mind game” with Eve began with a lie. After hearing her repeat God’s warning, he said, “You won’t die! God is dishonest! He knows when you distinguish between good and evil that you will be as smart as He is” (Genesis 3:4,5). Deception then guided her observations (Genesis 3:6). Satan won the “mind game,” and human evil became reality.
All temptation begins with a “mind game.” Deceit is the key to all wickedness. All evil, from vicious violence to “innocent” self-righteousness, begins in the mind.
Satan’s most sophisticated “mind games” are reserved for worship assemblies. He convinces us that we are worshipping while we actually are “playing” his “mind game.”
Three events produced the three most significant transitions in human history. Each transition forever altered human reality. In the first, evil became a part of human existence. In the second, forgiveness became available to all humanity. In the third, humanity will appear before Jesus Christ.
Our weekly communion acknowledges all three. We consider the significance of each transition, and we praise God for what He did for us in Jesus’ death.
The power of the Lord’s Supper is mental. It is not perfunctory, habitual, or mechanical. We do not “take communion” merely because we eat the bread and drink the juice. Communion is far more than listening to prayers, eating the bread, and drinking the juice. One can do all three and not commune with God and Christ.
When you participate in communion, do you focus on Jesus Christ, or do you play a “mind game” with Satan? His selection is as diverse as video games. “Distraction,” “criticism,” “daydreams,” “anticipation,” and “impatience” are but a few of his games.
The ultimate communion experience will come when we commune with Jesus in heaven. How we will celebrate! Celebrate what? Jesus’ victorious destruction of evil. Jesus’ marvelous gift of forgiveness. Jesus granting us eternal salvation in heaven. Praise and only praise will fill every mind! May that praise begin here and now!
Posted by David on September 13, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
In Ephesians 3:14, Paul began a written prayer. It opens with this declaration: “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every (or “the whole”) family in heaven and on earth derives its name . . .”
God is the Father of all in the heavenly realm and all on earth. He created all of us in both realms. He created the opportunity for all of us on earth to come back to the family. Originally, we were part of His family. Through redemption, we again can be in His family. We are family because God is Father.
If we accept the opportunity again to be in God’s family, certain things must happen. We must allow His power to strengthen our inner person through His Spirit. We must let Christ make his home in our hearts through faith. We must be rooted and grounded in love. We must be open to God’s total work in Christ. Our comprehension of the full dimensions of God’s work and purposes in Christ must constantly expand.
We must be able to comprehend. We must know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge. Our goal must be to let God’s fullness fill us.
The state of the American family causes us to groan, lament, and predict dire national consequences. The family problem that concerns us the most is this one. Too many kids control and run the family. Perhaps for much too long the same problem has existed in God’s family. Perhaps we assumed that being Christ’s church meant that the kids run the family. The Father needs to direct God’s family, not the kids.
We desperately need to bow the knees to the Father as we humbly seek His fullness. We must try to comprehend the full dimensions of God’s work in Christ. Our conscious goal must be to be God’s family rather than to run God’s family.
Attending worship assemblies and being God’s family are not identical. Assuming church habits and accepting family commitments are not identical. Being religious and becoming spiritual family are not identical.
Do you want West-Ark to be a great church or to be a great family? Could we be both? Yes! But, becoming a great church is dependent on being an exceptional family.
We love for people to attend our assemblies! Whatever the reason, we love for people to be a part of our worship. But we are committed to being God’s family, and that requires far more than attendance. Be informed! Be involved! Grow spiritually!
Posted by David on September 6, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
Every godly person and many evil people acknowledge human kindness to be an exceptional quality. Godly people admire and respect kindness. Many evil people are touched through kindness. Only a dead heart is beyond the touch of kindness.
Kindness is revealed in a rainbow of actions and attitudes. It speaks through the languages of the word, the deed, the attitude, and the spirit. Kindness is the quality of heart that determines the dimensions of a person.
What is the greatest expression of kindness? the highest order of kindness? Mercy is the greatest expression and highest order of kindness.
Mercy is pure kindness. Mercy in kindness responds to evil circumstances that demand justice. It feels compassion for a person who deserves nothing.
Mercy is never based on “merit.” It is impossible to “deserve” mercy. Mercy shows consideration for a person who is completely undeserving. It recognizes that every person–even the evil one–was created in God’s image. A person’s worth is not found in his status or achievements. It does not come from his or her past or present. Worth comes from origin. Evil cannot destroy origin.
Because humanity needed mercy, God sent us a Savior. He did not send us a judge, or an accountant, or a moral analysis expert.
We needed to escape justice. We were accountable. Moral analysis was unnecessary–we were (and are) evil. We needed forgiveness. Forgiveness is not the product of justice, accountability, or moral analysis. Forgiveness has a single source. It is the supreme expression of the supreme kindness: mercy.
The God of mercy forgives. We, the forgiven, show mercy because we received mercy. We, the forgiven, refuse to occupy the role of judges. When the forgiven judge, they insult the mercy they received.
Never forget this truth: we will never belong to God because we are good; we will always belong to God because He is merciful.
Posted by David on August 23, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
If it died, can it live again? God says yes. How? By resurrection. Christians see resurrection as a fact. Fact: God raised Jesus from death. Fact: God will raise those in Christ from death.
Resurrection is a fact, but it is more than a fact. That fact introduces us to the resurrection principle. The power that raised Jesus’ dead body is the power that functions in the resurrection principle. The person who believes the fact of resurrection trusts the resurrection principle.
What is the “resurrection principle”? God can bring to life that which has died. For example, a person becomes aware of the evil. He finds it enticing and appealing. He indulges in evil by surrendering to temptation. The result: he spiritually dies. He separates himself from God. He abandons God for a godless life.
Spiritually, can he live again? God says yes. Jesus’ blood atoned for all sin. Redemption in Christ is available to anyone. How can he be spiritually alive again? By resurrection. Each person baptized into Christ places his confidence in and hope for forgiveness in the resurrection principle. He is given newness of life by being resurrected with Christ (Romans 6:3,4).
Faith, repentance, and baptism activate the resurrection principle. Can a mind destroyed by pornography or materialism or selfishness or vanity or resentment come to life again? Yes. Can emotions destroyed by adultery or godless pleasures or rage or exploitation come to life again? Yes. How? By resurrection in Jesus Christ.
Can a ruined life be restored? Is that not evident in Jesus’ ministry? Did he forgive prostitutes? dishonest, abusive tax collectors? people known as “the sinners”?
The resurrection principle is activated when sin is destroyed by forgiveness. The principle continues as God recreates the person in Christ. Later, after physical death, the fact of resurrection occurs. Just as Jesus was resurrected to live with God, the forgiven person is raised from physical death to live with God.
The fact of resurrection verifies the resurrection principle. The resurrection principle prepares the believer to live with God. Christians allow God to resurrect their minds and hearts now so that He can resurrect their bodies later.
Posted by David on August 16, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
God once promised a man a son. The situation was quite unusual. Previously, the man had not known God. Though married for years, the man had no children.
When God promised him a son, the man and his wife were almost too old to have children. Twenty-four years later they definitely were too old to have children. Twenty-five years later the son was born.
Abraham’s faith was sustained by his hope. For twenty-four years faith produced hope, and hope sustained faith. During that time, Abraham willingly accepted God’s guidance. Why? Why did Abraham choose to trust and follow God rather than quit?
Paul said that Abraham’s view of God would not permit him to quit (Romans 4:17). First, he knew that God gives life to the dead. Second, he knew that God calls into existence the things that do not exist. With those convictions, “In hope against hope, he believed” (4:18). When physically there was no reason for hope, Abraham was directed by hope–because he knew God.
No person perseveres without hope. Hopelessness always results in collapse and defeat. A person will endure in a bad relationship as long as he or she has hope. A person will battle a disease as long as he or she has hope. A person will struggle against insurmountable odds as long as there is hope. When hope dies, he or she quits.
The faith that sustains us in an evil world is the faith that produces hope. Confidence in God without hope will not sustain us. Some people have confidence in God’s power, but they are without hope. They do not question God, but they doubt themselves. They believe that their situation is hopeless. Because they have no hope, they give God no opportunity.
Evil seeks to destroy a Christian’s hope. Even if evil cannot destroy faith, it must destroy hope. Once hope is destroyed, faith is ineffective.
The faith that constantly regenerates hope is the faith that sees two truths about God. (1) God gives life to the dead. (2) God calls into existence that which does not exist.
Evil assaults every Christian–in the home, in the marriage, in parent-child relationships, on the job, in the business, in the church, and in every other sphere of life. Evil shows no mercy. Who will endure? Who will have “no quit” in them? The Christian whose hope is in God even when it would seem that there is no reason to hope. In God and Christ, there is always reason to hope.
Posted by David on August 9, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
Originally the word “momentum” was a science word. It measured the speed and the mass of a moving object. It defined the amount of energy needed to stop a moving object.
That science word is now a popular people word. Every “people activity” knows that creating momentum is critical. No matter what the activity (politics, championing a cause, or competing in a sport), momentum is critical. Why? Momentum moves the campaign, the cause, or the competition to a point of becoming virtually unstoppable.
Momentum in “people efforts” is not an imaginary force. It is quite visible. Consider team sports. Often you actually see the momentum shifting. It is amazing to watch a team who is definitely defeated become a team that refuses to be beaten–in the same game.
Momentum shifts when what was seen as impossible is suddenly seen as possible. When people who fear that they can not become people who know that they can, momentum shifts. The soul of momentum in any human endeavor is faith.
In our spiritual quest in Christ Jesus, positive momentum means everything. A unique blend of faith in God, love for people, commitment to service, and confidence in God’s purposes generates positive spiritual momentum. When Christians gladly combine their spirits with God’s Spirit, momentum accelerates. As fear decreases and faith increases, positive spiritual momentum moves the congregation.
It takes only fear and inactivity to control a congregation with negative spiritual momentum. It requires much more to move a congregation through positive spiritual momentum. That takes faith, love, service, and confidence in God.
Negative spiritual momentum produces depression and bitterness. Positive spiritual momentum produces joy and hope. Can you see and feel our positive momentum growing? Is it blessing you? Will you help it accelerate?
Posted by David on August 2, 1998 under Bulletin Articles
One complex, demanding task God created among His people is the work of an elder. By design, an elder shepherds a community of God’s sons and daughters. He serves in that role by the choice and desire of the Christians in that community.
A congregation is a complex community. If it is functioning by God’s design, it attracts all types of people to Christ. Backgrounds, family situations, education levels, Bible knowledge, maturity levels, and levels of spiritual development will differ widely within any healthy congregation.
It is also an all “volunteer” community. Each person worships, serves, and is involved only to the degree that he or she chooses to be. The only meaningful “power” conferred on an elder by a congregation exists as a result of their respect and his influential example. He leads. They follow. However, following is their choice, not his.
My adult life has been spent working with and for elders. I have watched good men enter that role with great expectations. They hungered to “move good things in better directions.” They were certain that would be simple. They quickly discovered the complexity of being an effective leader in a congregation. The level of insight, understanding, and wisdom required awed them.
When things go well because of good leadership, commonly we say nothing. Five Christians can be unhappy about five different personal concerns, and one hundred can be delighted with the congregation’s work and direction. The elders will hear from the five (as they should), but the one hundred will be silent.
Two things kill the hearts of capable elders. The first is “one-issue” Christians who never “see” nor “understand” the needs of a congregation as a whole. The second is the burden of being taken for granted.
Appreciation is spiritual adrenaline! Remember to write cards or notes to our elders individually. Do not mail them. Bring them Sunday. We will present them to each elder Sunday evening.
