A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 3 NO. 26                                          August 20, 2006

“BACK TO SCHOOL”

BY STEVE NIEMEIER

Where did the summer go?  We are just three weeks away from our fall gospel meeting and the college students are headed back to college.  Also, all the school age children are either back in school or will be shortly.  There will be activities that will tempt students as well as parents to miss services on Wednesday nights and possibly on Sundays.  With our gospel meeting coming up it may be that school activities will challenge many to miss one or more nights of this gospel meeting.

“Seeking first the kingdom of God” can be very hard at times and this is just what Satan wants it to be.  Our society has put emphasis on being a part of activities whether they be sports, band or scholarly.  The result of such emphasis has spilled over into the Lord's church and presents obstacles to even the strongest follower of Christ.

Parents will struggle to keep children focused on the Lord's work when in conflicts with a school activity.  Many times parents will fold and give in and attend the school activity along with their child while missing the services of the Lord (Hebrews 10:25).  All the while telling the child they should not be doing this but their actions speak louder than their words.  Some will even state that other Christian parents do the same thing so it is okay.

As we start this new school year let us remember that Satan will use all tools--including school activities--to try and pry us away from God and His work.  May we hold on to our anchor Jesus Christ and not sink under the weight of Satan.

TODAY'S LESSON

We will be continuing our thoughts about the type of attitude we are to have as we do the Lord's work.  Today, we will be concentrating on the proper attitude we should have toward our work for the Lord.  Our memory verses for today (found just below the Bible Quiz) come from Psalm 100:4-5.  This passage tells us that we should enter His courts with praise and be thankful to Him.  Certainly the type of attitude that we have toward the work He has planned for us will affect the way we enter His gates.

When Paul wrote the Corinthians he told them in the 13^th chapter of I Corinthians that no matter what works he did if they were not done in love they were not pleasing to the Lord.  It seems these works would be classified as good works to men but to God they were as a clanging cymbal.  Paul speaks in these 13 verses of what type of love one needs to please God.  This love is displayed in all aspects of our lives. Whether we are at home, at work, at play or in the Lord's house this is the type of love that we are to be practicing.

It is very unfortunate that many professing to be New Testament Christians do not display this type of love in the work of the Lord.  No doupt it is because their attitude towards His work is not correct.  Visiting the sick or elderly, displaying hospitality, teaching a Bible Class, passing out information to neighbors, cleaning the building, mowing the yard, preparing the emblems for the Lord's Supper, dealing with the needy, attending the worship services and Bible Studies and other things that are part of His work take precious time.  Time that to be truthful many of us would rather spend doing other things we would rather do.

It seems that a person does take the time to do what they want to do.  The Lord knows that!  As we labor in this life in the work He wants us to do we should be thinking of the reward He has planned for us and the investment He made to give us that reward.  Sometimes we may fail to realize that Jesus needed clothes to wear, food to eat and other things we need (not what we want but what we need).  Yet, He went about doing His Father's work in the way that was pleasing to God.

Looking toward the reward should drive us to put the things of this life in perspective.  There will be a time that all that we think is important and taking so much of our time now will seem so unimportant.  Hopefully, it will not be to late for us to make changes.  We know that our time is short on this earth but it is to be profitable (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).  Our attitude shoud display this importance!

“THE EVIL DAY”

BY WARREN BERKLEY

“Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

What does this mean, THE EVIL DAY?  The apostle refers to “the evil day” and our first reaction to this might be:  EVERY DAY IS EVIL!  There are temptations we face every single day.  Life on earth is not easy, and we may often complain about the surrounding presence of evil.

But instead of just complaining and offering some quick comment about evil and sin in the world, perhaps we should give some thought to Paul's expression, “the evil day.”

I believe there are some days (or times) worse than others.  There are times when the fight is more intense...times when we feel like we are overwhelmed...all sorts of things are hitting us at the same time---financial problems, medical problems, tension in your marriage, difficulty with children or grandchildren, struggles over some unresolved problem at work, difficuties in the local congregation, questions---doubts---irritations.

If you are having difficulty being a Christian and dealing with these matters of any kind of problem, Satan is aware of your circumstance and he wants to step in and take control.  He seems to concentrate his malice on us when we are “down.”  So, in addition to whatever we are struggling with, Satan is on attack against us.  That's the evil day!  And at such times we need extra-ordinary strength.  The battle in intense, and we realize that a few memory verses will not get the job done.  Temptation is severe and we feel overwhelmed with all thats happening.  Satan is amassing all his forces against us, sin threatens us and the world beckons us.  This is the evil day.  And Paul teaches us, there is only one way to handle it.  “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.”