Family News and Notes
Don't forget that beginning on the 2nd Wednesday in December we will be learning new songs, so bring your singing voices with you.
Ladies Bible Class will meet at 10:00 AM on December 2nd. Please mark your calendar.
Also on December 2nd the Monthly Ladies Devotional will be at 7:00 PM, here at the building. Ladies, please try to come. Janice McCain will be teaching that nite.
Pictorial Directory photo updates will take place today for 1 hour after the morning services and beginning again 1 hour before the evening service. See Bob Hedges for additional information and mark your calendar if you need updates.
Volunteers Needed We need volunteers to help clean the building for the month of December. If you are willing and able, please sign the sign-up sheet on the table in the foyer.
Reminder (as if you needed one) that next Sunday is the first Sunday in a new month. If you are able, you may contribute to our Building Fund at that time. Thank you.
Bible Quiz Everyone is reminded of the Clarksville church of Christ Bible Quiz scheduled for Tuesday nite, December 2nd. We will be leaving the building about 6:30 PM.
THANK YOU "Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Boles Home Christmas project. The amount of money needed was readily met and I was able to purchase 65 twin bedcovers for the Home."
Ola Mae Simpson
THANK YOU "Dear Christians at North Jefferson church of Christ Thanks so much for your prayers, cards and food during our recent illness. We love you so much for caring.
We love you!
James and Marie Butler"
THANK YOU "To all of you with Special Thanks Time passes by so quickly, we often leave important thoughts unspoken like telling all of you how special you are and how very much you mean. I can never thank you all enough for your calls, cards, and prayers. We love you with all our hearts and hope to see you soon, with hugs.
Thanks so much in Christ,
Jim and Shirley Parker"
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Ann Carter, Billy carter, Sandra Cooper, Bonnie Horton, Howard Horton, Corine Hudson, Autumn Miller,
Phyllis Moon, Luke Moses, Elna O'Neal, Winnie Patton,
Dorothy Sargent, Alva Mae Sheets, Janelle Stephenson,
ALSO: Judy Betts, R. C. Grissom, Elizabeth McGill,
Kelsey Meyers, Ken Mullins, Jim Parker, Shawn Phillips,
Chelsea Simpson
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Service Arrangements
ANNOUNCEMENTS.............Jerry Freeman
SONG LEADER..............................Bill Jones
PRAYERS Sunday
AM First Prayer...........................Lee Moses
AM Closing.............................Jerry Freeman
PM First Prayer.....................Grady Duncan
PM Closing...........................William Embree
PRAYERS Wednesday Nite
First Prayer..............................Gene Campbell
Closing..............................................Tim Jones
COMMUNION FOR NOVEMBER
AM Wayne Pickrel.....................Jim Duncan
Lewis Robertson.............Roger Grimes
William Embree......................Tim Davis
PM Frankie Sargent..............Gene Campbell
ATTENDANCE COUNTER....Grady Duncan
TRANSPORTATION....Call Frankie Sargent
903-572-2647
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Crisis Management
Imagine standing beside a large tabletop full of eggs in the midst of an earthquake and it's your responsibility to keep all the eggs on the table! Or, maybe you remember the old I Love Lucy episode, where Lucy went to work in a candy factory, and it was her job to box the candy coming off the conveyor belt, which just went faster and faster as the time passed! If either of these mental images depicts your life, or if someone asks you what line of work you're in and you respond, "Crisis Management," then this article is for you!
I suppose all of us at times feel like our lives are in crisis, as we just try to manage the most pressing stress or storm of the day. There are so many facets of life calling for our attention spiritual, marital, family, household, friendship, business, and civic responsibilities, not to mention personal well-being issues that vie for our time. However, if we don't want to come to the end of life, only to find out that our lives have been wasted on "busy work," then we must do some serious study of God's Word, to find out what is really important in life.
The Bible is the best Crisis Management book ever written. Following its instructions will help you get your priorities in order, by teaching you what is really important in life. It teaches us to make a commitment to God first, before all other commitments. When that is done all other aspects of life will fall into place. Putting God first will cause us to recognize real value. Possessions, popularity, power, and position will pale in comparison to eternal salvation, worship, spiritual fellowship, a Christian home, benevolence, and evangelism.
Way back in the Old Testament, in the days of the prophet Haggai, the Jews who had returned from Babylonian captivity had trouble establishing their priorities. They had been back in the Promised Land for sixteen years when Haggai came on the scene. They had built for themselves paneled houses, but they had yet to complete the temple of God (Hag. 1:4). They had been diligent in building up their farms and businesses, but they had neglected the worship of God. Though they devoted themselves to materialistic pursuits, surprisingly, they were not prospering in them, because God had withheld His blessings as a result of their spiritual neglect.
Haggai rebuked them for not putting God first. "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Ye looked for much, and lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why, saith the Lord of hosts? Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house" (Hag. 1:6-9). Do you get God's message?
Why not make time for God in your life. Give yourself wholly to Him. Commit your family to His service like Joshua of old (Jos. 24:15). Put first things first! Attend every service of Bible study and worship (Heb. 10:25-31). Involve yourself and your family in the work of the church. Study the Bible together daily, as you teach and train your children in the ways of Jehovah (Eph. 6:4). Spend more time in fellowship and service with the Lord's people. Share the Gospel with a friend, as you try to bring them to Christ.
Try this for six months and see if your life is not happier and more rewarding. I wouldn't be surprised if by doing this, you don't find more time for the incidentals of life. I can guarantee, though, you'll find joy, peace, hope, and happiness like you've never known!
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This & That
Thanks to all the men who participated in our "old-fashioned prayer meeting" last Tuesday. It was an uplifting service of Scriptures, prayer, & praise!
All adults please remember to sign the list for the holiday party at the McCains, on Dec. 19th.
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How Do You Respond to Chastisement?
by Lee Moses
Christians rightfully spend a great deal of time giving thanks to God, particularly for the spiritual blessings which He bestows. Some of these include such wondrous blessings as salvation from sin, the promise of eternal life, holiness, God's favor, prayer and other authorized avenues of worship, instruction, chastisement, true happiness .. . .
"Wait, hold on just a minute," you say. "Chastisement . . . a spiritual blessing?!"
Most of us do not care for chastisement. It is not pleasurable to endure. However, if chastisement is a blessing from God, it is important to consider how we respond to chastisement. And indeed it is a blessing"Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord" (Psalm 94:12). There are various reasons why chastisement from God is a blessing: (1) Chastisement is a sign of God's favor. The Lord chastens those whom He loves and whom He considers His children (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6-8; Revelation 3:19). (2) Chastisement can keep one from going astray, or it can bring back one who has previously gone astray. Manasseh was one of the worst and most evil kings of Judah, yet once he received chastisement at the hand of God he humbled himself before God and prayed; thus being restored his kingdom, and was obedient to the will of God (II Chronicles 33:9-13). It is best for one to learn to associate pain with disobedience now, rather than once it is too late to change his circumstances. (3) The chastisement of God is based upon His perfect knowledge and righteousness. Most children, if not all, come to know the pain of being rebuked or punished for an act of which they are not guilty. But such is never the case with the Lord. The Psalmist wrote, "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. . . .. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes" (Psalm 119:67,71).
The Lord has various means by which He can chastise. (1) He may use affliction in one's life as a means of bringing that person closer to Him. Manasseh became faithful upon being brought into captivity by another nation. Many are familiar with those who have come to realize the importance of having a proper relationship with the Lord after watching a loved one die, or after having a close brush with death himself. (2) The Lord continually chastises through His word. Scripture is "profitable" (or "beneficial, advantageous") for "reproof" (II Timothy 3:16). It was God's word that told both the Pentecostians and the Sanhedrin that they were guilty of crucifying the sinless Son of God (Acts 2:36; 7:52). (3) The Lord chastises through His saints. His people have an obligation to rebuke when needed: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Luke 17:3).
There are two possible ways to respond to chastisement: acceptance or rejection. When the Pentecostians were told that they were guilty of crucifying Jesus, they accepted the chastisement (Acts 2:37-41). When the Sanhedrin were told that they were guilty, they rejected the chastisement (Acts 7:54,57-59). The Revelation to John portrayed those who rejected the chastisement of God as blaspheming God (Rev. 16:8-11, 21). Recall how God marveled that all the chastisement that He brought upon the Israelites never caused them to repent (Jeremiah 2:30; Haggai 2:17; et al.).
How do you respond to chastisement? Do you blaspheme God? Do you become angry with those who rebuke you in accordance with God's word? (cf. Galatians 4:16). Though it may be difficult, chastisement in whatever form it may take must be viewed as a blessingan opportunity to correct a wrong.
"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction" (Proverbs 3:11).
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