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Children, what a wonderful word!  We are told in Psalm 127:3-5, “ . . . children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them . . .”  We see from these verses that children are a wonderful blessing which bring much joy to our lives.  Jesus…

Our obligations can be summed up in two categories: (1) Obligations to God; and (2) Obligations to others. Our response to our obligations will determine the kind of person we become and where we spend eternity. Let’s look first at our obligations to God. As we study the Bible we see that we have many obligations to God. I want to emphasize six that are very important: Fear God (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Hebrews 12:28). Obey God (I Samuel 15:22; Matthew 7:21).…

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion.  The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands.  One of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible.  Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips.  Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille.  Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve…

When the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought forth the Apostles he said, “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life” (Acts 5:20).  In verse 28 the high priest charged them with “filling Jerusalem with your doctrine.”  He didn’t mean it as a compliment, but it was a great tribute to the work of the Apostles. Nothing has changed!  Our mission is to “speak all the words of…

Listen to this petition in Psalms 119:36, “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”  What do you think most about?  Is it making money?  The word covetous means “overly desirous” (Thorndike Barnhart Dictionary).  Today, do you have an excessive desire for gain?   The request of the Psalmist really puts life where we ought to keep it.   Our hearts should be centered around the testimonies of God and not earthly treasures.  We must not let our possessions possess…

Can I Know I am Going to Heaven? The answer is yes.  Paul said in II Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”  Paul said we know we are going to heaven.  What gave him this assurance?  He had obeyed the gospel of Christ (Acts 9), and was following Christ every day (I Corinthians 11:1; II…

(This is advice to the young men of President James A. Garfield’s time, but can apply to all of us.) “Make few promises.  Always speak the truth.  Never speak evil of anyone.  Keep good company or none.  Live up to your engagements.  Never play games of chance.  Good character is above everything else.  Keep your secrets if you have any.  Never borrow if you can possibly help it.  Do not marry until you can support a wife.  Keep yourself honest…

The book of Acts is an extremely important book because it gives us the beginning and history of the Lord’s church from about 33 A.D. to 62 A.D.  Peter, who had been given the keys to open the kingdom or church (Matthew 16:18,19), is the main character of the first twelve chapters and Paul is the main character of chapters thirteen through twenty-eight.  It has rightly been called the book of Conversions because we read of thousands obeying the gospel…

Religious people seem to think so very little about adding to God’s word.  Yet almost as “Sentries” standing near the first of the Bible, in the middle of the Bible and at the close of the Bible God warns – “do not add to the word.” “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2). “Do not…

God through Amos dealt with a sin in Israel, the Northern Kingdom, that is so prevalent today.  The people were disregarding the commands of God because they were at ease in the lap of luxury. In Amos 6:1 we read, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion . . .” Listen how God describes Israel in verses 4 through 6 of this same chapter.  “That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat…

Jesus said, “Judge not that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1).  What did the Lord mean by this simple seven word sentence?  Is all judging wrong?  If this were the only statement on this subject in the Bible one might easily conclude that this is true.  All judging is not wrong.  Please observe that it is not wrong for a federal or civil judge to decide the sentencing of a convicted criminal.  Moses sat in judgment from morning till evening. …

Prayer is one of the great privileges those who follow God enjoy (Matthew 6:9).  Those who are Christians recognize their great need of prayer.  James said, “. . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).  It’s no wonder that the scriptures constantly admonish us not to let anything interfere with our praying.  For example, Paul said in Colossians 4:2 that we are to “Continue in prayer . . .” and in I Thessalonians 5:17…