From Gary... What can you really keep?

Big fish; Salmon, I think!!! This man is obviously very happy with himself for the catch- but wait, I don't think he will have it very long!!! How often in life we see things like this. Sometimes, it seems that the things we work for just seem to slip from our fingers. Not only that, but the older we become the quicker our life seems to just "fly by".

How many of us long for something better, something that will not fade, something we can really count on????

The following is an example...

John, Chapter 4 (WEB)

¹ Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John  ² (although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples),  ³ he left Judea, and departed into Galilee.  ⁴ He needed to pass through Samaria.  ⁵ So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.  ⁶ Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.  ⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”   ⁸ For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 

  ⁹  The Samaritan woman therefore said to him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 

  ¹⁰  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (emp. added GDR)

  ¹¹  The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From where then have you that living water?  ¹² Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his children, and his livestock?” 

  ¹³  Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again,   ¹⁴  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 

  ¹⁵  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw.” 

  ¹⁶  Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 

  ¹⁷  The woman answered, “I have no husband.” 

Jesus said to her, “You said well, ‘I have no husband,’   ¹⁸  for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.” 

  ¹⁹  The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 

  ²¹  Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father.   ²²  You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.   ²³  But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers.   ²⁴  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

  ²⁵  The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes, he who is called Christ. When he has come, he will declare to us all things.” 

  ²⁶  Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who speaks to you.”   ²⁷ At this, his disciples came. They marveled that he was speaking with a woman; yet no one said, “What are you looking for?” or, “Why do you speak with her?”  ²⁸ So the woman left her water pot, and went away into the city, and said to the people,  ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything that I did. Can this be the Christ?” 

  ³⁰  They went out of the city, and were coming to him.  ³¹ In the meanwhile, the disciples urged him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 

  ³²  But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” (emp. added GDR)

  ³³  The disciples therefore said one to another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 

  ³⁴  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.   ³⁵  Don’t you say, ‘There are yet four months until the harvest?’ Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.   ³⁶  He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to eternal life; that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.   ³⁷  For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’   ³⁸  I sent you to reap that for which you haven’t labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 

  ³⁹  From that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman, who testified, “He told me everything that I did.”  ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed there two days.  ⁴¹ Many more believed because of his word.  ⁴² They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” 

Larry Shatzer often says "It is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose". Wisdom, pure and simple. The things of this world will perish, but the things of God will continue forever.

Jesus said...

Matthew, Chapter 6 (WEB)

 ¹⁹  “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;   ²⁰  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;   ²¹  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (emp. added GDR)

In Jesus, the Samaritan woman found much more that she expected and so did everyone in her neighborhood. She gradually came to know the Christ of God, the one who would give her not only living water, but life eternal. She found something of inestimable value and a new treasure for her heart to cherish!!! Something that NO ONE can ever take away from her, something eternal!!!

Question: What are you holding onto, Gary?

From Gary.... Bible Reading May 5

Bible Reading  

May 5

The World English Bible

May 5

Deuteronomy 25, 26

Deu 25:1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked;

Deu 25:2 and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.

Deu 25:3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then your brother should seem vile to you.

Deu 25:4 You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the grain.

Deu 25:5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him as wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.

Deu 25:6 It shall be, that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.

Deu 25:7 If the man doesn't want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.

Deu 25:8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stand, and say, I don't want to take her;

Deu 25:9 then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.

Deu 25:10 His name shall be called in Israel, The house of him who has his shoe untied.

Deu 25:11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him who strikes him, and puts forth her hand, and takes him by the secrets;

Deu 25:12 then you shall cut off her hand, your eye shall have no pity.

Deu 25:13 You shall not have in your bag diverse weights, a great and a small.

Deu 25:14 You shall not have in your house diverse measures, a great and a small.

Deu 25:15 You shall have a perfect and just weight. You shall have a perfect and just measure, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

Deu 25:16 For all who do such things, even all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to Yahweh your God.

Deu 25:17 Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came forth out of Egypt;

Deu 25:18 how he met you by the way, and struck the hindmost of you, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he didn't fear God.

Deu 25:19 Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky; you shall not forget.

Deu 26:1 It shall be, when you are come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell therein,

Deu 26:2 that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you; and you shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

Deu 26:3 You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, I profess this day to Yahweh your God, that I am come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.

Deu 26:4 The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before the altar of Yahweh your God.

Deu 26:5 You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.

Deu 26:6 The Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid on us hard bondage:

Deu 26:7 and we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression;

Deu 26:8 and Yahweh brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs, and with wonders;

Deu 26:9 and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deu 26:10 Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me. You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God.

Deu 26:11 You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is in the midst of you.

Deu 26:12 When you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.

Deu 26:13 You shall say before Yahweh your God, I have put away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me: I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

Deu 26:14 I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away of it, being unclean, nor given of it for the dead: I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done according to all that you have commanded me.

Deu 26:15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deu 26:16 This day Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances: you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul.

Deu 26:17 You have declared Yahweh this day to be your God, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice:

Deu 26:18 and Yahweh has declared you this day to be a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments;

Deu 26:19 and to make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that you may be a holy people to Yahweh your God, as he has spoken.

May 4, 5

Luke 19

Luk 19:1 He entered and was passing through Jericho.

Luk 19:2 There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

Luk 19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.

Luk 19:4 He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.

Luk 19:5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

Luk 19:6 He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.

Luk 19:7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner."

Luk 19:8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."

Luk 19:9 Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.

Luk 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."

Luk 19:11 As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God would be revealed immediately.

Luk 19:12 He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

Luk 19:13 He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.'

Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We don't want this man to reign over us.'

Luk 19:15 "It happened when he had come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.

Luk 19:16 The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.'

Luk 19:17 "He said to him, 'Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'

Luk 19:18 "The second came, saying, 'Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.'

Luk 19:19 "So he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

Luk 19:20 Another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,

Luk 19:21 for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn't lay down, and reap that which you didn't sow.'

Luk 19:22 "He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn't lay down, and reaping that which I didn't sow.

Luk 19:23 Then why didn't you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?'

Luk 19:24 He said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.'

Luk 19:25 "They said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'

Luk 19:26 'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.

Luk 19:27 But bring those enemies of mine who didn't want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.' "

Luk 19:28 Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Luk 19:29 It happened, when he drew near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,

Luk 19:30 saying, "Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat. Untie it, and bring it.

Luk 19:31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: 'The Lord needs it.' "

Luk 19:32 Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.

Luk 19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

Luk 19:34 They said, "The Lord needs it."

Luk 19:35 They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.

Luk 19:36 As he went, they spread their cloaks in the way.

Luk 19:37 As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,

Luk 19:38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!"

Luk 19:39 Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

Luk 19:40 He answered them, "I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out."

Luk 19:41 When he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,

Luk 19:42 saying, "If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.

Luk 19:43 For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,

Luk 19:44 and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn't know the time of your visitation."

Luk 19:45 He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,

Luk 19:46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of robbers'!"

Luk 19:47 He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.

Luk 19:48 They couldn't find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said. 

From Roy Davison... The church of Christ is one body: unique, indivisible, exclusive and real

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/unique.html

The church of Christ
is one body:
unique, indivisible, exclusive and real By 'church of Christ' we mean the church that Jesus built (Matthew 16:18), also called 'the body of Christ' (Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:23; Colossians 1:18,24).
Christ's church is unique, one of a kind, incomparable.
The foundation of the church is unique: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Christ is "the only begotten Son of God" (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; Hebrews 1:5; 1 John 4:9). He is one Shepherd of one flock (John 10:16). "He is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 1:22,23). "Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body" (Ephesians 5:23).
"There is one body" (Ephesians 4:4). "We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Romans 12:5). We are reconciled to God "in one body through the cross" (Ephesians 2:16). "For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17). "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13). The one body has "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:5,6).
The church of Christ has a unique identity with unchangeable distinguishing marks.
A diamond can be identified on the basis of unique characteristics. Diamond is the hardest known material. It consists of pure carbon, but not all carbon is diamond. The carbon atoms in diamond form a crystal lattice with each atom connected to four other atoms. Diamond is hard because these bonds are short and strong. Diamond is a good electrical insulator, has the lowest coefficient of expansion, and is the best thermal conductor at room temperature. Diamond is transparent in the whole spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared and has a refractive index of 2.42 for yellow light with a wavelength of 589 nanometers. Diamonds repel water, but attract grease. They are not harmed by acids and bases, but are attacked by some salts such as melted potassium nitrate.
The average person cannot recognize diamond with certainty because he lacks knowledge. Someone who has the required knowledge, can recognize diamond beyond any doubt.
The church of Christ can also be identified on the basis of unique characteristics described in the holy Scriptures. The average person cannot tell the difference between the church of Christ and an imitation because he lacks knowledge. Someone who has the required knowledge, who knows the revealed characteristics, can identify the church of Christ with certainty.
The church is unique, one of a kind.
Christ's church is indivisible, not susceptible to subdivision.
Jesus said: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand" (Matthew 12:25).
When Jesus prayed for His apostles, He said: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me" (John 17:20-23).
The church is indivisible. Paul asked "Is Christ divided?" (1 Corinthians 1:13). "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). Like the atoms of diamond, members of Christ's body are solidly joined together.
Followers of Christ may have nothing to do with 'subdivisions' in Christendom, groups that sail under the flag of some human founder, doctrine or institution. When a religious group claims to be a 'subdivision' among Christians, by definition they cannot possibly be the church of Christ. Whoever establishes, maintains or participates in such a denomination, is in rebellion against Christ who prayed for unity. We must shun people who cause division through departures from the original doctrine: "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple" (Romans 16:17,18). "These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit" (Judas 19).
The church of Christ is indivisible. Christians must take their stand only as the church of Christ.
Christ's church is exclusive, set apart, sanctified.
The church of Christ is by definition the church that is of Christ, in contrast with all denominations, groups and associations that are not of Christ.
The church of God has been purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). Jesus "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
God's people must separate and sanctify themselves: "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
'I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.'
Therefore
'Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty'" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
God's people do not remain in 'Babylon', a representation of false religion. "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).
The church is exclusive in the good sense of the word. This exclusiveness is based on God's word, not on human judgment. Salvation by grace is offered to all people (Mark 16:15,16; Matthew 28:19; Revelation 22:17), but there are conditions: "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).
A person is added to the church by God Himself. We read about the establishment of the church: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:41). Peter had commanded: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Only those who believe, repent and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, are added to the church. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). The church consists of those who are saved, who have been added by God Himself.
This is not simply 'joining a group'. It involves a spiritual cleansing, a rebirth, a new creation, a new citizenship. "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever" (1 Peter 1:22,23). "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "For our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20).
Those who have not fulfilled the revealed conditions, are not added to the church and are not accepted into the fellowship. "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). Only those who have been sanctified by the blood of Christ, belong to the church.
About the church at Jerusalem we read further: "And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women" (Acts 5:12-14).
The church is exclusive. One cannot simply 'join'. One must be added by the Lord.
Christians who walk disorderly, are excluded from the fellowship. "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us" (2 Thessalonians 3:6). "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner -- not even to eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:11). "Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person'" (1 Corinthians 5:13).
Someone who teaches false doctrine is also avoided: "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them" (Romans 16:17). "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11).
John writes about some who had gone astray: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us" (1 John 2:19).
The church is exclusive on the basis of revealed conditions. Paul explained to the Corinthians: "For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you" (1 Corinthians 11:19). When people turn away from God's word in their lives or doctrine, they are not approved, they separate themselves from the fellowship.
The church of Christ is unique, indivisible and exclusive on the basis of God's word.
Christ's church is real, substantial, visible.
The church has an observable presence and identity. Paul wrote letters to the church of God at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1). He sent greetings from churches of Christ (Romans 16:16). Were these churches invisible?
Some claim that the church of Christ is only an ideal that can never be accomplished in reality. They speak about an "invisible church of Christ" that supposedly consists of the true believers in the various denominations, and about a "visible church" that according to them can never be more than a human, historical and cultural phenomenon.
This false proposition is used as an excuse for the perpetuation of denominations -- based on human traditions and teachings -- that are not equivalent to the church of Christ.
Stones are sold for loaves with the claim that real bread is invisible! Hungry souls must break their teeth on stones because real loaves do not exist. Paste is palmed off with the claim that real diamonds do not exist, that diamond is only an 'ideal'.
The church is precisely Christ's visible presence on earth! Christians are living, functioning, performing, active members of the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 3:30).
The church also shares in the suffering of Christ. Paul persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13). Did he persecute an invisible church?
Paul said to Timothy: "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:14,15). Through what is written we can known how we must conduct ourselves substantially and observably in the church. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth because we have God's word in our heart and mouth. "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach)" (Romans 10:8).
We may not be impious like Esau "who for one morsel of food sold his birthright" (Hebrews 12:16). The church of Christ is one body: unique, indivisible, exclusive and real. Let us be thankful for this matchless church, and like Paul, continue to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ "to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:10,11).
Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From Jim McGuiggan... But Would It Be Worth Believing?

But Would It Be Worth Believing?

For good or ill, the Christian faith embraces miracles. A miracle is not easy to define because it's one of those big rich words which, if you define it loosely-it is too loose to be useful. If you try to define it rigidly, to crowd it into a circle of words, there are aspects of it left sticking out. Even those philosophers who deny that a miracle can be defined, presume they know (without definition) what it is that can't be defined. But these are issues which must be dealt with in other literature and there's a mass of it.

By a miracle I mean an act of God, an act which by its timing, context, nature and character leaves us in no doubt that supernatural power is at work and that that supernatural power comes from the God revealed in the biblical witness.

I'm dealing with actual and biblical miracles rather than discussing their 'possibility' on philosophical and theoretical grounds. This means I'm taking the biblical texts at their face value. Whatever the theological purposes of the narratives, I'm following countless thousands of intelligent, competent and trusting people down the centuries in accepting that the writers recorded miraculous happenings in and connected with the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Some of the miracles are not as startling as others are. You know what I mean, there are some events in Scripture that get our attention and then there are others that make our eyes go big and round.

Christ's healing Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8), just by touching her calls for attention but Lazarus' coming from the tomb makes your jaw sag (John 11).

The raising of Lazarus helps us (because it is so starkly miraculous) to get a hold on what miracle means. He's been dead long enough to be in a state of decay, Jesus looks to heaven and addresses someone he calls 'Father', asking him to raise Lazarus. A mere man, one like the rest of us, couldn't have done what was done to Lazarus so someone heard the words of Jesus, someone invisible, and brought life and health back to Lazarus.

Now, not all the miracles are as stark and clear as this one. This event bore its own indisputable witness to the existence, presence and working of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some, for various reasons, could be debated if they are looked at as independent events. But when they are allowed their place in the whole Story, in the development and context of the life of this Jesus of Nazareth, something is added to them and makes them more than acceptable as miracles--makes them, in some ways, fully expected.

Whatever else is true, the Christian faith has miracles at its heart.

It isn't the Christian Faith as the New Testament presents it if we strip it of all its supernatural elements and offer Jesus as a fine man and the New Testament scriptures as a source of some outstanding ethical teaching.

It isn't uncommon to hear people say it would be easier to believe in the Jesus of the NT if it didn't speak of miracles. I don't believe that. I believe if we are fair with the NT record we cannot believe in a non-miraculous Jesus. Nor could we make sense of the NT record itself, for so much of the speech in the mouth of Jesus would be inexplicable-it depends on his having worked miracles (see, for example, John 6, the whole chapter).

Maybe, just maybe, if we doctored the text, it would be easier to believe; but would it be worth believing?

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Why Did Mary and Joseph Not Call Jesus “Immanuel”? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=3591&b=Isaiah

Why Did Mary and Joseph Not Call Jesus “Immanuel”?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Q.

Why Did Mary and Joseph Not Call Jesus “Immanuel”?

A.

Approximately 700 years before the birth of the promised Messiah, Isaiah prophesied about a virgin who would “conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14). Years later, the apostle Matthew referred to Isaiah’s prophecy, specifying once again that, “they shall call His name Immanuel” (1:22-23). Many have wondered why, if the promised Son of Mary was supposed to be called “Immanuel,” this name is never used in the New Testament aside from Matthew’s quotation of Isaiah 7:14. Why do we never read of Mary, Joseph, John the Baptizer, Peter, Paul, or others calling the Messiah “Immanuel”?

Thankfully, as so often is the case with God’s Word, the Bible is its own (and best!) commentary. To better understand what Isaiah meant by the name Immanuel, it is helpful to consider what the prophet wrote two chapters later. In prophesying about the Messiah, Isaiah wrote: “His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). Did Isaiah mean by this that the Messiah would literally have as His given name “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” or “Everlasting Father”? Surely, to ask is to answer. These names were given to describe the nature of the Messiah, not serve as literal, given names. As commentator Albert Barnes noted:

His [the Messiah’s—EL] attributes shall be such as to make all these applications appropriate descriptions of his power and work. To be called, and to be, in the Hebrew, often mean the same thing.... Such a use of a verb is not uncommon in Isaiah. ‘One calls him,’ is, according to the usage in Isaiah, as ranch as to say [the equivalent of saying—EL], he will justly bear this name; or simply, he will be (1997).

By nature, the son of Mary was “Immanuel” (John 1:1-3; 10:30,33; 20:28), but by name, He was “Jesus.”

A similar distinction between one’s nature and name is found as early as Genesis chapter two. Following God’s creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, the first man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23, emp. added). Although Adam said, “she shall be called woman,” one chapter later Moses recorded how “Adam called his wife’s name Eve” (3:20). Obviously, Adam meant that by nature the one whom God created from his rib was a female human, “a helper comparable to him” (though with noticeable differences and roles—3:18-23), but by name, she would be known as “Eve.”

Gabriel’s conversation with Mary prior to her miraculous conception is also helpful in gaining a proper understanding of Jesus’ name and nature. Although Gabriel did not use the term “Immanuel,” notice how he distinguished between Jesus’ given name and the titles by which He would be known as a result of His divine nature:

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.... The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:30-35, emp. added).

Finally, Matthew further clarifies God’s use of the “name” Immanuel in the very passage he quotes—Isaiah 7:14. Immediately before and after Matthew reminds his readers of the prophecy regarding the Messiah’s name being “Immanuel” (1:23), he noted how Joseph would call (1:21) and did call (1:25) the Messiah by “His name Jesus.” The fact that Matthew wrote of the Messiah’s “name” being “Immanuel” in verse 23, but “Jesus” in verses 21 and 25, clearly shows that Matthew understood that one name (Jesus) was a given, literal name, while the other (Immanuel), similar to Jesus’ title “Christ,” characterized His essence.

REFERENCE

Barnes, Albert (1997), Notes on the Old and New Testaments (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

"Calling on the Name of the Lord" by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=775&b=Matthew

"Calling on the Name of the Lord"

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Considering how many people within “Christendom” teach that an individual can be saved merely by professing a belief in Christ, it is not surprising that skeptics claim that the Bible contradicts itself in this regard. Although Peter and Paul declared, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; cf. Joel 2:32), skeptics quickly remind their readers that Jesus once stated: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21; cf. Luke 6:46). Allegedly, Matthew 7:21 clashes with such passages as Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 (see Morgan, 2003; Wells, 2001). Since many professed Christians seem to equate “calling on the name of the Lord” with the idea of saying to Jesus, “Lord, save me,” Bible critics feel even more justified in their pronouncement of “conflicting testimonies.” How can certain professed followers of Christ claim that they were saved by simply “calling out to Christ,” when Christ Himself proclaimed that a mere calling upon Him would not save a person?

The key to correctly understanding the phrase “calling on the name of the Lord” is to recognize that more is involved in this action than a mere verbal petition directed toward God. The “call” mentioned in Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13, and Acts 22:16 (where Paul was “calling on the name of the Lord”), is not equated with the “call” (“Lord, Lord”) Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:21).

First, it is appropriate to mention that even in modern times, to “call on” someone frequently means more than simply making a request for something. When a doctor goes to the hospital to “call on” some of his patients, he does not merely walk into the room and say, “I just wanted to come by and say, ‘Hello.’ I wish you the best. Now pay me.” On the contrary, he involves himself in a service. He examines the patient, listens to the patient’s concerns, gives further instructions regarding the patient’s hopeful recovery, and then oftentimes prescribes medication. All of these elements may be involved in a doctor “calling upon” a patient. In the mid-twentieth century, it was common for young men to “call on” young ladies. Again, this expression meant something different than just “making a request” (Brown, 1976, p. 5).

Second, when an individual takes the time to study how the expression “calling on God” is used throughout Scripture, the only reasonable conclusion to draw is that, just as similar phrases sometimes have a deeper meaning in modern America, the expression “calling on God” often had a deeper meaning in Bible times. Take, for instance, Paul’s statement recorded in Acts 25:11: “I appeal unto Caesar.” The word “appeal” (epikaloumai) is the same word translated “call” (or “calling”) in Acts 2:21, 22:16, and Romans 10:13. But, Paul was not simply saying, “I’m calling on Caesar to save me.” As James Bales noted:

Paul, in appealing to Caesar, was claiming the right of a Roman citizen to have his case judged by Caesar. He was asking that his case be transferred to Caesar’s court and that Caesar hear and pass judgment on his case. In so doing, he indicated that he was resting his case on Caesar’s judgment. In order for this to be done Paul had to submit to whatever was necessary in order for his case to be brought before Caesar. He had to submit to the Roman soldiers who conveyed him to Rome. He had to submit to whatever formalities or procedure Caesar demanded of those who came before him. All of this was involved in his appeal to Caesar (1960, pp. 81-82, emp. added).

Paul’s “calling” to Caesar involved his submission to him. “That, in a nutshell,” wrote T. Pierce Brown, “is what ‘calling on the Lord’ involves”—obedience (1976, p. 5). It is not a mere verbal recognition of God, or a verbal petition to Him. Those whom Paul (before his conversion to Christ) sought to bind in Damascus—Christians who were described as people “who call on Your [Jehovah’s] name”—were not people who only prayed to God, but those who were serving the Lord, and who, by their obedience, were submitting themselves to His authority (cf. Matthew 28:18). Interestingly, Zephaniah 3:9 links one’s “calling” with his “service”: “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord” (emp. added). When a person submits to the will of God, he accurately can be described as “calling on the Lord.” Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 (among other passages) do not contradict Matthew 7:21, because to “call on the Lord” entails more than just pleading for salvation; it involves submitting to God’s will. According to Colossians 3:17, every single act a Christian performs (in word or deed) should be carried out by Christ’s authority. For a non-Christian receiving salvation, this is no different. In order to obtain salvation, a person must submit to the Lord’s authority. This is what the passages in Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 are teaching; it is up to us to go elsewhere in the New Testament to learnhow to call upon the name of the Lord.

After Peter quoted the prophecy of Joel and told those in Jerusalem on Pentecost that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21), he told them how to go about “calling on the name of the Lord.” The people in the audience in Acts 2 did not understand Peter’s quotation of Joel to mean that an alien sinner must pray to God for salvation. [Their question in Acts 2:37 (“Men and brethren, what shall we do?”) indicates such.] Furthermore, when Peter responded to their question and told them what to do to be saved, he did not say, “I’ve already told you what to do. You can be saved by petitioning God for salvation through prayer. Just call on His name.” On the contrary, Peter had to explain to them what it meant to “call on the name of the Lord.” Instead of repeating this statement when the crowd sought further guidance from the apostles, Peter commanded them, saying, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (2:38). Notice the parallel between Acts 2:21 and 2:38:

Acts 2:21	Whoever	Calls	On the name of the Lord	Shall be saved
Acts 2:38	Everyone of you	Repent and be baptized	In the name of Jesus Christ	For the remission of sins

Peter’s non-Christian listeners learned that “calling on the name of the Lord for salvation” was equal to obeying the Gospel, which approximately 3,000 did that very day by repenting of their sins and being baptized into Christ (2:38,41).

But what about Romans 10:13? What is the “call” mentioned in this verse? Notice Romans 10:11-15:

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (emp. added).

Although this passage does not define precisely what is meant by one “calling on the name of the Lord,” it does indicate that an alien sinner cannot “call” until after he has heard the Word of God and believed it. Such was meant by Paul’s rhetorical questions: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” Paul’s statements in this passage are consistent with Peter’s proclamations in Acts 2. It was only after the crowd on Pentecost believed in the resurrected Christ Whom Peter preached (as is evident by their being “cut to the heart” and their subsequent question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”) that Peter told them how to call on the name of the Lord and be saved (2:38).

Perhaps the clearest description of what it means for an alien sinner to “call on the name of the Lord” is found in Acts 22. As the apostle Paul addressed the mob in Jerusalem, he spoke of his encounter with the Lord, Whom he asked, “What shall I do?” (22:10; cf. 9:6). The answer Jesus gave Him at that time was not “call on the name of the Lord.” Instead, Jesus instructed him to “arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do” (22:10). Paul (or Saul—Acts 13:9) demonstrated his belief in Jesus as he went into the city and waited for further instructions. In Acts 9, we learn that during the next three days, while waiting to meet with Ananias, Paul fasted and prayed (vss. 9,11). Although some today might consider what Paul was doing at this point as “calling on the name of the Lord,” Ananias, God’s chosen messenger to Paul, did not think so. He did not tell Paul, “I see you have already called on God. Your sins are forgiven.” After three days of fasting and praying, Paul still was lost in his sins. Even though he obviously believed at this point, and had prayed to God, he had yet to “call on the name of the Lord” for salvation. When Ananias finally came to Paul, he told him: “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (22:16). Ananias knew that Paul had not yet “called on the name of the Lord,” just as Peter knew that those on Pentecost had not done so before his command to “repent and be baptized.” Thus, Ananias instructed Paul to “be baptized, and wash away your sins.” The participle phrase, “calling on the name of the Lord,” describes what Paul was doing when he was baptized for the remission of his sins. Every non-Christian who desires to “call on the name of the Lord” to be saved, does so, not simply by saying, “Lord, Lord” (cf. Matthew 7:21), or just by wording a prayer to God (e.g., Paul—Acts 9; 22; cf. Romans 10:13-14), but by obeying God’s instructions to “repent and be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38).

This is not to say that repentance and baptism have always been (or are always today) synonymous with “calling on the name of the Lord.” Abraham was not baptized when he “called upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8; cf. 4:26), because baptism was not demanded of God before New Testament times. And, as I mentioned earlier, when the New Testament describes people who are already Christians as “calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:14,21; 1 Corinthians 1:2), it certainly does not mean that Christians continually were being baptized for the remission of their sins after having been baptized to become a Christian (cf. 1 John 1:5-10). Depending on when and where the phrase is used, “calling on the name of the Lord” includes: (1) obedience to the gospel plan of salvation; (2) worshiping God; and (3) faithful service to the Lord (Bates, 1979, p. 5). However, it never is used in the sense that all the alien sinner must do in order to be saved is to cry out and say, “Lord, Lord, save me.”

Thus, the skeptic’s allegation that Matthew 7:21 contradicts Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 is unsubstantiated. And, the professed Christian who teaches that all one must do to be saved is just say the sinner’s prayer, is in error.

REFERENCES

Bales, James (1960), The Hub of the Bible—Or—Acts Two Analyzed (Shreveport, LA: Lambert Book House).

Bates, Bobby (1979), “Whosoever Shall Call Upon the Name of the Lord Shall be Saved,” Firm Foundation, 96:5, March 20.

Brown, T. Pierce (1976), “Calling on His Name,” Firm Foundation, 93:5, July 20.

Morgan, Donald (2003), “Biblical Inconsistencies,” [On-line], URL: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.shtml.

Wells, Steve (2001), Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, [On-line], URL: http://www.Skepticsannotatedbible.com.