A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 4 NO. 52                                       February 24, 2008

I Am Weak, He Is Strong

By Steve Niemeier

Jesus offers all that man needs!  We could stop there but many are not satisfied to accept that fact.  We look for strength is strange places---alcohol, tobacco, narcotics, pornography, fornication, men’s doctrines and the list can go on and on.  Yet, no matter how long the list is the fact remains the same --- Jesus offers all that man needs.  It is plain and simple no matter how complex we might try to make it.

Jesus came to this earth to do His Father’s will (Matthew 6:38) as well as to fulfill the Old Covenant (Matthew 5:17-18).  He also came to fulfill prophecies of Him (Isaiah 7:14; 53:4-7) and to establish His kingdom (John 18:37).  He came to save sinners (Luke 5:32; 19:10) and to leave us a perfect/complete example to follow (Colossians 2:9-10).  We should be so thankful that He came to this earth for us (Philippians 2:6-8) for we are weak but He is strong.

God sent His Son to this earth with an offer for everyone (John 3:16) and an invitation for everyone to accept His offer (Matthew 11:28-30).  Jesus offers salvation (Mark 16:15-16), eternal life (John 14:6), love beyond compare (Romans 8:31-39), a peace that we could never have imagined (John 14:27) and hope beyond the grave that can overcome all obstacles here on earth (Hebrews 6:18-20).  Yes, He came because we are weak and He is strong.

He is offering so much and He is open to all to come to Him (John 5:40).  If one will just realize their weaknesses and humble themselves before Him they will find themselves renewed.  He is so strong that He offers those that obey Him a new relationship (Galatians 3:26-27), a new name (Acts 11:26; 26:28), a new interest (Ephesians 4:1; Matthew 6:33), a new attitude (Galatians 5:22-24), a great responsibility (I Corinthians 10:31), and once again a new hope (Romans 8:24-25).  We can be a new creature in Christ, a new creature that gains strength from the One who is so strong while we are so weak.

Yes, Jesus the Christ is strong while we are weak.  We can do all things through Him because of the strength He has and is willing to give (Philippians 4:13).  Yet, His strength will only be given to those who desire His strength (James 4:10), to those who seek His strength (Hebrews 4:14-16), to those who have faith in Him (John 6:35), to those who obey His directions (I John 1:7), to those who retain His type of attitude (Philippians 2:5), and to those who will not turn away from Him (John 6:66-69).  Yes, we can all gain strength from Him, strength that we need to face the issues of this life, strength to guide us over the valley of the shadow of death into His loving arms.  Oh we are so weak and He is so strong!

He knew of our weakness and our need for the strength that He could offer.  He prayed for our strength in John 17:20-26.  He also prayed that we would be united with Him and His Father.  He knew that we would face trials and tribulations because He faced those trials and tribulations (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15).  He overcame them so we could look to Him and see how we can overcome them.  This is the strength that we need because of our weakness.

Yes, we can do all things through Christ because He is the one who strengthens us.  Oh, that we would yield ourselves to Him so we could be strong.  When will we learn this?  When will we quit looking for strength elsewhere?  When will His Father get tired of us looking somewhere else and not to His Son which He gave so we could be strong?

Adding Godliness To Our Patience

By Steve Niemeier

Godliness according to Vine’s means to be devout and denotes that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him.  ATTITUDE according to this writer who is less known and less educated than Vine’s simply means:

By applying this simple definition of attitude to Peter’s direction found in II Peter 1:6 then I will display a God like attitude in all that I do and that will result in me adding godliness on a daily basis.  This in turns means I am maturing and growing as a child of God should.

Godliness is mysterious according to Paul in I Timothy 3:16.  This mystery of course is the hidden truth explained further in that verse. Godliness is profitable for all things according to I Timothy 4:7.  Hours upon hours are spent “toning our physical bodies” yet Paul states it is of little profit because godliness is what is profitable and has the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

I Timothy 6:5-6 states that some see godliness as a means of gain and that we are to withdraw ourselves from them.  At the same time godliness with contentment is great gain for us.  II Timothy 3:5 states that one may only have a form of godliness while denying the power of godliness.

The attitude of godliness should be displayed at all times and practiced so that we grow in it daily.