PANTRY ITEMS.. There is a list on the table in the foyer. Please check it out. We recommend you pay particular attention to items such as: "out-of-the-can meats," soups, Vienna sausages, chili, instant coffee, small packets of sugar and creamer, fruit juices, Gator Aid, Tang. Additional items are needed from time to time, such as: medicines for colds, headaches, and fever, and disposable diapers. Your help in replenishing our pantry is appreciated.
Bible QuizClarksville Tuesday, February 24. Topic will be 1 Peter. Look for review sheets or ask Lee for a copy.
VISITATION TEAM NO. 4 will meet following evening services today for sandwiches, chips and dips. Everyone on this team is encouraged to attend.
Ladies You are reminded that there will be a LADIES DAY on Saturday, April 3 at 10:00 AM. The speaker will be Cindy Miller Armstrong (daughter of Weldon and Joan Miller). Topic will be "Inspirational Beauty Tips." We need every lady to prepare a salad for the luncheon. Sign the list in the foyer and give your recipe for your salad to Janice McCain by March 7 so this can be put into a cookbook for our guests.
Fellowship Luncheon scheduled for noon Sunday, February 22, following the morning services. Please make plans to attend. Visitors are welcome.
Corine Hudson passed away last Tuesday morning. Her funeral was conducted at 2:00 PM Wednesday with burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery.
Diane Johnson, daughter of Winell Blackard, has been transferred to Titus Regional Medical Center for rehab following the auto accident a couple of weeks ago.
Larry McCain, brother of David McCain, who has been having heart problems had heart catherization on Thursday. David asks us to keep him in our prayers.
Wayne Pickrel has surgery last week and is now back at home. You may wish tocheck on him.
Sue Browning had back surgery last Wednesday. Surgery went well but she has to stay flat on her back a few days.
Kenneth Bowers underwent gastric by-pass last Tuesday as a diabetes control measure.
Alva Mae Sheets had her surgery last Monday to clear up some blockages. She wishes to thank everyone for the cards, prayers, and support for her.
Jerry & Alice Freeman will celebrate their 25th Anniversary on Tuesday, February 17. CONGRATULATIONS!
THANK YOU "We would like to thank you for every expression of love that you showed our family during the loss of our mother. May God richly bless each and every one of you. Please accept this donation to the building fund in honor of both Harold and Janelle Stephenson.
Ronnie Stephenson and Reta Eubanks"
THANK YOU "Thank you for all the prayers, calls, cards, food, etc. during my recent surgery and my recovery period. I appreciate all of you very much.
Wayne Pickrel"
"Boles Children's Home invites you to attend the Dedication and Open House of the Sowell/Parks Cottage and the Woodward/Dudney Family Services Building on Sunday, March 7th from 24 PM. The Woodward/Dudney Building supports the offices and day care center for the Mother/Child "Together" program. Boles Children's Home is located two miles north of Quinlan, Texas on Highway 34. For more information call 903-883-2204."
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PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Nona Bell, Winell Blackard, Sue Browning, Howard Horton, Winnie Patton, Wayne Pickrel, Alva Mae Sheets,
"Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8)
Satan is not content with the number of souls he has enticed to be his companions in the everlasting fires of Hell, which God prepared as punishment for the rebellion of the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). He always wants "just one more," then another, and another. He is never satisfied, for evidently the pit of Hell's anguish is not yet full.
He wants YOU Christian brother and sister, as much or more so than he wants those who have never had the privilege of hearing and obeying the Gospel to find salvation in Jesus Christ. That's why we are warned in the Scriptures to beware of his influence.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8).
"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness" (II Pet. 3:17).
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Mt. 7:15).
Parents he wants YOUR CHILDREN. No doubt the desire of every faithful Christian parent is to raise your children "in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4), for we know there is "no greater joy than to hear that our children walk in truth" (III John 1:4). But Satan will do all in his power to defeat us in that desire. He will send evil influences a plenty through the culture in which we live, so we must ever be on guard to protect our children from the "roaring lion," just like a watchful gazelle on the plains of Africa.
Satan's devastating attacks against our precious children may come in the form of the temptation to experiment with drugs. Or, it may be in the form of an overwhelming barrage of sexual temptation which is so pervasive in every aspect of our pop culture. It may be through the influence of movies, television, the internet, magazines, or even comic books, which sometimes tempt our children to do and experience evil things that are not to be a part of the faithful Christian's lifestyle.
Sadly, if we are not on guard as parents, it may even come from what we think are wholesome spiritual influences. For instance, there is a currently popular but very deceptive book that is being read by so many teens that it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks. The book is "Conversations With God For Teens," by author Neale Donald Walsch (it's a companion to his earlier book "Conversations With God"). The title is so seemingly innocent you may have seen it in the checkout line at the grocery or discount store and bought it for your children without reading it first. However, these two books remind us of the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," or in this case its title!
In the book, Mr. Walsch presumes to answer various questions from teens with "the voice of God." If he had done so with reverence and respect, that might have been an acceptable literary device for the purpose of gaining the attention of his target audience, if only he had answered those questions in harmony with the Word of God. But there's the rub. His answers are not only un-Biblical, they also contradict and blaspheme the Holy Word of God. Allow me to cite a few telling examples, which ought to be enough to let you know this book should carry a warning label that is clearly marked with a skull and crossbones, which in large bold-faced type reads, "Caution - Poison - The Contents Of This Book May Be Lethal If Ingested."
For instance, a girl poses the question, "Why am I a lesbian?" Author Walsch answers (remember he is supposed to be "the voice of God,"), that she was "born that way" because of her genetics (just like being born right-handed or with blue eyes, etc.). Then he encourages her to "celebrate" her differences. Another girl who is "living with" her boyfriend writes that her parents are on her case to marry him because she is "living in sin." Her question is, "Should I marry him?" Mr. Walsch's reply is the hallmark of modern-day moral relativism. He represents God as answering, "Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong."
Another individual queries God about His willingness to forgive sin. The author's answer comes right out of the atheist's textbook, for "Humanism 101." Supposedly God says, "I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right, or wrong, or sin, and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone all along. I do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong because the rule is, 'Judge not that ye be not judged.'" Of course, never mind that "God" has just contradicted himself; in one breath saying there is no such thing as "wrong," while in the next breath saying judging is wrong. Apparently, Walsch expects the undiscerning reader to overlook such glaring contradictions and false doctrine and just swallow his shallow drivel hook, line, and sinker. However the discerning reader will note many other damnable false doctrines and misquotations of the Scriptures in this book. One final concern is that this book and others like it, are being sold not just to older teens and college-age young people, but even to elementary school children through the Scholastic Book Club.
Brethren, as the Apostle Paul once penned, "now it is high time to awake out of sleep, the night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness" (Rms. 13:11-12). Yes, it is time for us to wake up and realize that our children are under attack from a subtle, shrewd, and scheming Satan, who opposes all that is good in their lives. We must be sober, serious, and sometimes even suspicious, as we guard our children from the worldly influences and mind-control mediums, which are employed by that devious and devastating devil, who tirelessly tries to steal their hearts from God. We must carefully instruct our children in how to effectively deploy the "shield of faith," and how to proficiently wield the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God," so they can capably "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one," in order to successfully "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-17). Finally, we must be constantly circumspect, vibrantly vigilant, and warily watchful for that "roaring adversary," who will devour our precious children if we're not careful. Let's not give him even half a chance. David McCain
