Family News and Notes
Next Sunday, of course, is the first Sunday in a new month. As is our practice we have set the first Sundays as a day for contributions to our Building Fund. If you are able and have made plans you may do so on that date.
"The Wood Cutting / Cookout has been set for Saturday, October 7, 2006. We have not set a time yet with David but wanted to give a "heads up" on the date. Daniel and I would like to invite all the young adults and families to join us for the cookout at our house, as well as the Youth. More details will be provided as the date approaches.
Thanks Keely"
If you would like to attend and are able to do so, mark your calendars for the Eighteenth Annual Four States Lectures at Redwater Church of Christ on September 29 & 30. Check last week's bulletin for times and topics.
Wanda Rivera, daughter of Betty & Douglas Abbey, passed away on September 16th in Colorado. Betty & Douglas traveled there last week for her funeral. Please remember this family in your prayers at this time of loss.
Gene Garner suffered a mild heart attack on September 16 and had heart catherization at Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler early last week. He is doing fine and is going about his usual routines.
Nola Vandusen of Lindsay, Texas (sister of Ola Mae Simpson) is experiencing health problems and requested to be remembered in our prayers.
Carlos Kidwell, retired from MPISD, (friend of Jim & Barbara Duncan) is experiencing problems with producing enough red blood cells. He would like to be remembered in our prayers.
THANK YOU "Words are not adequate to express my appreciation for the love and kindness for each card, phone call, visits, and gifts of so much love. Birthdays seem to get better each year. God bless each of you! It is wonderful to be a Christian and have so much love from my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Ola Mae Simpson"
THANK YOU "To my Christian Family and Friends: I want to thank each and every one of you for all your prayers, cards and calls of encouragement during my illness. It has been an uphill battle. There were days I just felt like giving up and then a little voice said, 'Try again." I'm gaining every day and hope to be home real soon and be able to be back in attendance with each of you. I miss you all so bad. Please keep me in your prayers and thanks for sending me the bulletin each week.
In Christian Love
Edith Shiflet"
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Jean Bell, Winell Blackard, Annah Brown,
Nancy Chastain, Josephine Cooper, Perry Cooper, Jan Hargrove, Hollis Lee,
Joyce Lee, Georgia Lide, Wade Miller, Wayne Pickrel, Marie Plemmons,
Helen Roper, Alva Mae Sheets, Edith Shiflet, Ola Mae Simpson, Julia Terrell, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Bobby Brewster, Cristell Cato, Austin Cody, Lana Downs,
Juanita DuBose, Wesley DuBose, Carolyn Fox, Roy Fox, Edna Graves, Ruby Jeffery, Carlos Kidwell, Wayne Lineberger
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Preparing Abundantly For What?
"And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death" (I Chron. 22:5).
What are you prepared to do? Are you prepared to pay the price? Is this worth preparing for? How much preparation is necessary? Have you prepared for every contingency? All of us have asked and answered these questions many times. The answers are always important, sometimes critical.
Our first encounters with the preparation quiz were probably in the fields of academics and sports. You remember what you said, don't you, when you came to the realization that preparation was crucial to success? "If only I had studied more, I could have made a better grade." "Why did I wait until the last minute to start on this research paper?" "If only I had spent more time practicing, we could have won."
Nearly every day since then, we've all struggled with the preparation dilemma. We face it in every facet of life: financially, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We deal with it in business, the home, and the church. It affects us as individuals, spouses, parents, children, and brethren. Now the questions haunt us, because it's not grades or trophies hanging in the balance, but life itself. "Am I ready for marriage?" "Do I have what it takes to handle this job?" "Can we really afford this?" "Am I mature enough to be a good parent?" "Am I sure this business venture will succeed, or will I lose it all?" "Have I weighed all the options, covered all the bases, and properly prepared for the results of this decision or action?" "Have I made enough preparation for a secure future?" Tough questions! Hard decisions! The choices aren't always easy. The answers aren't always simple to find.
Sadly, in making preparation for all the important events of life, we often overlook the most important preparation priority -- eternity. While building our beautiful bungalows, establishing our earthly empires, and funding our financial futures, we must not forget that all of this is only temporary. As the old song says, "this world is not my home; I'm just a passing through!" Jesus said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt. 6:19-21).
Does that mean we can't ever enjoy any of the finer things in life? Absolutely not! Paul wrote, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ...Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life (I Tim. 6:17-19). God wants us to be happy. He wants us to enjoy life. But, He wants us to put our trust in Him, not things. He wants us to share our happiness with others, by using the blessings He has given us to help bless others and glorify His name. Thus, by doing good, and keeping our eyes focused on heaven, we make abundant preparation for eternity. David McCain
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BEFORE AND AFTER
Johnny Ramsey
The typical Corinthian was the derelict of the Roman Empire in the first century of the modern era. With the degenerate Cretian he was the worst of ancient society and worthless to the core. To suggest there was a power able to transform such spiritual garbage was inconceivable. However, the vivid contrast in their conduct before and after the gospel came in their lives is beautifully stated in I Corinthians 6:6:
And such were some of you but
you were washed justified ..
sanctified.
Does not II Corinthians 5:17 majestically remind us that to be in Christ means that old things are passed away, and behold:
All things become new!
Repentance, according to the Bible, means a change of mind that results in a changed life (Matthew 21:28-30; Acts 3:19). Marvelous indeed is the change Christianity provides and the blessings that flow into our days because of the gospel's dynamic power. One stanza of a renowned spiritual song tells us:
Down in the human heart
Crushed by the Tempter
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore
Touched by a loving hand
Wakened by kindness
Chords that were broken
Will vibrate once more.
It is true that we will reap as we have sown (Hosea 8:7) but Christianity can overwhelm the sins of yesteryear. It has been properly stated
A misspent youth may result in a tragic old age.
However, if a man named Saul of Tarsus could change from enemy of truth to humble servant of God, there is hope for all of us. God's eternal purpose New Testament Christianity is truly the land of beginning again. In an overlooked hymn we have these words of hope:
I was a wayward wandering child
A slave to sin and fear
Until this blessed promise fell
Like music on my ear.
A wise man stated that the highest reward for our toil is not what we get for it but what it helps us to become!
When God's grace enters our sojourn and He works in us, (Phil. 2:13) to heaven's good pleasure, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) to become what we would never achieve on our own (Mark 1:17). When Paul wrote in Galatians, chapter one, that " I now preach that faith which I once destroyed ," he gives us hope that past mistakes can be erased by the grace of God and the blood of Christ as we embrace the good news that makes us free (Romans 8:1-2). When we bring our thoughts into captivity unto the Lord we turn our back upon the past and launch out into a much better realm. Christ came to give us life and light and hope (Luke 1:79) and we should allow these blessings to flow freely into our new-found commitment to spiritual values.
The greatest success story ever told is the change sinners make when they leave Satan's domain to become citizens in the kingdom of God's dear Son (Acts 26:18).
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