“All That She Hath”

 

Are you giving all you have? In many endeavors in life people don’t give all they have. Usually when this happens failure follows. To be successful a person must give maximum effort. In this article Colby Culbertson talks about a poor widow who gave all she had. Jesus noticed her efforts and as result this unnamed woman became an example for all men.

 

“All That She Hath”
Mark 12:41-44

​I read the other day in my daily Bible reading about the widow that Jesus noticed in the synagogue in Mark 12. I had read this before but hadn’t thought much more about it, yet there is much for the Christian to learn in these four short verses that read as follows: 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Here we see that Jesus notices two things. First, Jesus notices that the rich give much out of their abundance, yet this poor widow gives just two mites which is all that she had. Why is this significant? Many would look at this and never notice this poor widow’s contribution because it wasn’t a large amount. But the amount wasn’t what mattered to Jesus. It was the fact that she gave all of what she had. The rich gave much because they had much, so they gave a good bit. What they gave didn’t affect them as far as losses are concerned. This poor widow had little to nothing, yet she willingly gave ALL of what little she did have.

 

In our Christian lives, this story should hit home;not necessarily with money, but with our time, talents, and effort. Ask yourself, are you giving all that you have to the Lord and His work? Picture your life like the synagogue where people come in and out of day after day and Jesus Christ watches everyone’s actions and knows their hearts. He can pick out who’s pretending and whose top priority is giving all they have for His cause. He knows who is giving for show and praises of men, and who is dedicated to the church,because they desperately want to be saved in the end. Christ saw right through the scribes’ shallow attempt to fool the people in the verses prior to this instance. Today, Jesus sees through anyone who doesn’t give all that they have for Him to use.

 

Colby Culbertson

 

 

Hatred

Loving our enemies can be a difficult process. In this article Carter Culbertson gives suggestions on how we can handle the process of loving our enemies.

“Hatred”
One thing that we may face in our everyday life is the sin of hatred. The Bible clearly states that we are to love our enemies; Matthew 5:44, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Now as easy as that may sound, it is one of the biggest problems we have in our lives.

Nowhere in that verse does it say it is OK to hate someone if they have wronged you. We read that verse and easily say, “Yeah, don’t hate Osama Bin Laden,” or someone like that because we don’t know them. But we have to be able to say that we love the person at work or at school who is always bugging us to death,or someone who makes little sly comments to hurt our feelings on purpose. Maybe someone who make comments such as; you’re fat or stupid. Maybe a girl at school who makes fun of a Christian girl about her modest clothing. These are the people that we need to love and do good to. These are our Osama Bin Ladens.

Even though they may deserve punishment, we have to be nice to these people.Goodness knows that we deserve punishment for our sins, yet Jesus still died for us on the cross because he loved us. We can’t forget that he died for that same person that may bother or hurt us as well. If we can do as God tells us and love our enemies, then we will be rewarded one day. Luke 6:35; But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest…

Carter Culbertson

Is the Young Man Safe?

Is The Young Man Safe?

2 Sam 18: 32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe?

This question was first asked by David when he expressed concern for the well-being of his son Absalom. Fathers and mothers today need to be concerned about the safety and welfare of their boys and girls. Every parent worth his or her salt is concerned about the physical safety of their children. When they are young we move furniture and lock cabinets to keep them from hurting themselves. As they get older and start riding their bikes and playing outside we keep a check on them and warn them of the dangers of playing in the street. Then when they get the keys to the car we really are concerned about their safety. We warn them about making foolish decisions that could harm themselves and others. Many a parent has spent a few sleepless hours, when a teenager missed his/her curfew. Some of you may think when they get older and move away that your concerns are over but that is not so. When they are away we wait for that call telling us that they made it home safely. Yes we are concerned about our children’s physical welfare, but above all we should be concerned about their spiritual welfare. We are losing our children. It is a disturbing trend that will have a tremendous impact upon the future of the church in this country. We can spend all the money we have on TV programs and sending people to Africa and Russia or any place else. However, if we lose our children in this country the church is going to suffer tremendously. Nothing could do more to spread the cause of Christ than that of Christian parents making their home truly Christian. If the home is what it should be, then it is practically assured that the Church will be what it ought to be. Parents ought to give the highest priorities to being what God would have them be and to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of theLord. In this article I want to give 4 ways we can keep our children spiritually safe.

First of all, we can keep our children safe by teaching them about the uniqueness of the Church. Parents should teach their children that the Lord’s Church is the only Church authorized by the Scriptures. The principle of authority must be impressed upon young minds. Once this principle is understood it will produce in them a cautious and conservative approach to life. Children need to learn that the Church is the way to heaven and the exclusive route to glory. Children can grow up understanding that only faithful Christians are heaven bound according to the promises of God. Children should be taught about the exclusive nature of the church to help them appreciate that salvation is exclusively available to those who are in Christ, to help them want to help those who are lost to come to a knowledge of truth, and to help them hate every false way. Parents can teach their children about the uniqueness of the church by bringing their children up in an atmosphere where the church is viewed as vital, where its welfare is pursued, where dangers to it are viewed with great concern and where prayer is offered on its behalf. Parents can teach their children about the uniqueness of the church by talking of its rich historical heritage. The Church of our Lord has a rich and unique heritage and we can keep our children safe by teaching them about it.

Secondly, we can keep our children safe by teaching them that they are ultimately responsible to God. I believe that our children will think twice about doing something wrong if they know that they are not only responsible to us, but also to God. Children quickly learn that if they can successfully hide their inappropriate actions from their parents they are not held responsible or accountable for those actions. Sometimes our children succeed in keeping things from us and in their minds they think they “get by” with things. If our children think they can “get by “with things as they grow older this attitude could cause many problems. We must teach our children at an early age that in reality no one “gets by” with anything. Rom. 14: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. It is unfortunate that many parents fail to communicate this principle to their children. As a result the children grow up thinking that if Mom and Dad don’t see what they do and other earthly authorities do not see what they do they have gotten away with something. If we teach our children that they are ultimately responsible to God they will be forced to think twice before they do something wrong when we are not around. When we teach our children that they are responsible to God we keep them safe.

Third, we can keep our children safe by teaching them the importance of prayer. As parents we must teach our children the importance of prayer. Prayer must be a part of our daily lives and we should let our children know this. When we pray together as a family we will develop a family unity that no problems or storms of life can destroy. We should teach our children that God listens to prayer and encourage them to pray about decisions concerning their standards and values, as well as their behavior. Our children need to realize the importance of prayer in their daily lives. Without learning to pray and depend completely on God, our children will look for something or someone else to meet their needs. When we teach our children the importance of prayer they will have the background for making wise and godly decisions. 1 Pet.5:7 casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. We need to let our children know that they can cast their cares upon the one that cares for them. As parents we must teach our children the importance of prayer. Prayer can keep our children safe.

Fourth, we can keep our children safe by teaching them how to resist a permissive society. The most fundamental thing in teaching our children to resist a permissive society is to show them that there is an absolute standard for morality. This standard is God’s Word. It is inspired. 2 Tim 3:16-17. It is a guide to all Christians in life. The basic error of the permissive society of our day is the philosophy of “get all out of life you can to satisfy yourself.” This philosophy leads to many sinful activities. Some of these sinful activities are even participated in, while attending some of our “big meetings”. Why is this philosophy wrong? It is wrong because it stands against God’s standard for His creatures. Our lives are to be lived for the glory of God and in order to do this, man must be obedient to God’s will. From the standard, God’s Word, it must be pointed out that whatever we sow, we will reap. Gal.6:7-8, and that an accounting will be given for our life for whatever lifestyle we follow 2 Cor. 5:10.

A desire to live eternally in heaven must be created in the hearts of the young. That desire will come from a knowledge of God’s word. This is difficult to do because of the materialistic society in which we live, but it can be accomplished and will go a long way in helping the young resist the charms of a permissive lifestyle.

Conclusion: Is the young man Safe? There is no evidence that David gave time, attention and interest in the training of Absalom, spiritually or otherwise. There was not the proper discipline when Absalom did evil. Spiritual training was obviously lacking, seeing the kind of person Absalom was. Parents harm their children immeasurably when they withhold proper discipline from them, when they are not attentive to the upbringing of their children, when they are too busy with other things, such as house, jobs, sports and fulfilling their own ambitions. David was a busy man.

Some parents have traded a life for a living. Yet, “a living” is not the most important thing, a life is. Many parents are scrambling daily to make more money so they can buy more and better things, but oh what a price they pay! We are wasting our best when we waste our children. Our children are our future. They are our evangelistic field. If we lose them, we have lost it all. I ask the question, Is the Young Man Safe?

Rick Martin

The Authenticity of the Bible

Sometimes when you buy something that is authentic or real you receive a certificate stating it’s authenticity. Many times people buy something that they believe is real only to be disappointed to find out they have been duped. Many people doubt the realness of the Bible. In this article Aaron Battey shows that we can believe the Bible and it is exactly what it claims to be.

The Authenticity of the Bible

​There exist many people who doubt that the New Testament (NT) is actually what it claims to be: a compilation of 27 different documents written by 9 different writers, from A.D. 40 to 100.

However, the historian Luke writes, in Luke 1:1-2,

“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us.”

Can we trust these words of Luke to be true, and where is the evidence?

​We know the writings of Luke and other Biblical writers to be true and accurate for several reasons. First, Luke’s book of Acts contains 84 facts in its last 16 chapters that have been confirmed by historical and archaeological research (Colin J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History, 1990). Second, in the first three chapters of Luke’s gospel eleven historically confirmed leaders are named including Herod the Great (1:5), Caesar Augustus (2:1), and Quirinius (2:2). This evidence also confirms the accuracy of felloauthors Mark, Matthew, and John, since they tell the same story and mention many of the same facts. Finally, there are at least 30 historical figures in the NT confirmed by archaeology and non-Christian writers such as Josephus, Tacitus, Phlegon, Philo, Seutonius, and more (Geisler & Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, 2004). Several of these secular writers even admit that the Jesus, the New Testament writers attested to, did indeed exist among the Jews in the 1st century.

​How do we know the NT writers were not writing fiction? There are several 1st and 2nd century, writers of secular material who attest to a very similar storyline as the one presented by NT writers. Plus, why would so many sane men die for fiction? The trusted historian John Foxe (1516-1587) recounts of the gruesome deaths of Jesus’ apostles and many early Christians who were unwilling to compromise their faith. Again we ask, why would someone die for what they knew to be a lie?

The New Testament being a unified compilation of 27 different documents, written by 9 different authors, over 20 to 50 years, the authors’ writings proving historically accurate, and many of them dying for their efforts, speaks for itself.

Aaron Battey