Articles
Time
Time
By Steve Melton (11/1/20)
To God a thousand years is a day,
And a day is as a thousand years.
We need to understand that,
As the judgement nears.
The revolutions of the earth, moon and sun,
Measure time as we know.
What if they disappeared?
Would time cease to flow?
Before judgement, the earth, moon and sun,
Will burn and be done away.
Time will collapse,
Into one eternal day.
In heaven there will be no earth or sun.
God’s glory will be the light.
We cannot distinguish days.
For there will be no night.
Faith and hope will disappear with sight.
Time will only exist in the past.
What will remain?
Eternal love is what will last.
This great love is eternal.
Time can never let it end.
As our Father’s children,
Into deity we will blend.
For now time is still with us.
At some point there will be no more days.
Choose to obey God,
Then follow Jesus’s loving ways.
2020: A Hard Year?
By Paul R. Blake
With few exceptions, most people will look back at this year with unpleasant memories of the hard times we have had to endure. One author suggested that we will come to view the number 2020 the way many consider 13 to be an unlucky number and 666 to be an evil number. However, such times come and go. There have always been tough years. What follows is an article I put in Truth and Right, the bulletin for the Tomlinson Run congregation 14 years ago:
As 2006 ends and 2007 is about to begin, we look back on a year filled with hard times, both for us at the local level and the rest of the world on an international basis. Misguided persons might suggest these difficulties are signs of Christ’s second coming. Others will assert that they are evidence of God’s wrath and judgment on humankind’s sin. Instead, they simply seem to be the results of natural and social forces inherent to living in a physical world.
Whatever may be our own way of explaining troubling events, we need to see them with a long term view. Throughout the millennia since Creation such things have happened again and again. People pass away, natural disasters happen, and human beings inflict barbaric suffering on others.
Consider just one episode in history, the fall of Rome in AD 455 as described by a religious leader: “Our citizens have given up believing in the future, especially those living in the poorest parts of the city. They have no work, little food, and no opportunity to better their lives. In some quarters of the city, riots have broken out, but for the most part there is too much despair to riot. Surely Christ will hear our cries and come soon.”
That was written 1,565 years ago! In every age, conscientious believers look at the suffering around them and view it as signs of the end and cry out for the Lord to return. Natural disasters and man’s inhumanity to man will continue until Jesus returns. We long for that time when He comes again because He will make all things right. Meanwhile, we will persevere until He does.
Philippians 1:23-24 - “For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.”
A Moments Wisdom
--Speeders and slow-pokes both meet at the traffic light. The only time one truly profits by haste is when the Bible summons him to obey the will of God.
--Hatred is self-punishment.
--A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
--It pays to be honest, but often you must wait a long time to collect.
--Honesty is a question of what is right and wrong; it is not a matter of policy.
--A misty morning does not always signify a cloudy day.
--Lighthouses don’t ring bells and fire cannons to call attention to themselves; they simply shine on.
--A sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to our steps as we walk the tightrope of life.
Test Your Bible Knowledge of Heavenly Beings
1. I am the Communicator of Salvation __________
2. I am the Bringer of Salvation __________
3. I am the Architect of Salvation __________
4. We stand at the four corners of the Great Throne __________
5. We sit on 24 thrones in Heaven __________
6. I am the heraldic angel _________, and I am the militant angel __________
Upcoming Sermons
11/8/20 AM - Miracles of Calvary; PM - Stumbling in Only One Point of Law (Requested)
11/15/20 AM - Why Did I Obey the Gospel?; PM - Tertius of Iconium: Apostle Paul’s Secretary
11/22/20 AM - Four Great Salvation Questions; PM - Melchizedek: King and Priest of Salem (Requested)
11/29/20 AM - “Jesus Loves Me!”; PM - Guest Speaker, Doug Sanders, “Josephus”
