THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume I
July 2006
Number 9
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
COMPASSION OR TREASON?
He
is (you are) too hard on people. Have you heard that one lately?
The point is that you need to soften up your expectations of the Christian
life. You need to stay out of their lives! You should not inform them their
miserable life is a result of their attitude and actions.
Is
it too hard to tell a fat man that his condition is caused by
eating too much and exercising too little? Is it too hard to tell
a hungry man that his laziness causes his hunger pains? Is it too hard
to tell the beggar that his financial difficulties are a result of his failed
stewardship regarding the things God gave into his keeping? Is it too
hard to tell a man the truth when he wants to hear a lie?
Christians
must always function with compassion in their hearts. To do less, is to cease
being like Christ. He was filled with compassion. However, the question is,
does compassion demand that we soft-soap the truth? Does it demand a tiptoeing
through the tulips, for fear we will disturb someone?
If
compassion demands this kind of action, Jesus did not know it. On many occasions,
people became upset with Him for the things He said. One occasion occurred in
Another
incident occurred over His teaching regarding how the Jews had perverted God’s
Law. Jesus’ statement was straight forward and to the point. The Pharisees had
violated God’s law by following the tradition of the fathers (Matthew
15:1-14). Not only did the Lord challenge a long held belief; He referred
to the proponents of the belief as hypocrites. Hard words, don’t you think? It
is these words that the disciples reference when they said, “... Knowest
thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying” (v.
12)? At this point, Jesus referred to them as blind guides. Was Jesus too
hard?
The
apostle Paul in speaking of false brethren said of himself, “to whom we gave
place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the
gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5). He later writes, “So
then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth” (Galatians
The
Christian must never speak words or act in a fashion that could be interpreted
as being sympathetic with the ungodly. When a local church of which one is a
member administers discipline, or makes a decision affecting the material
aspects of the church, or stands firm upon truth, every member is duty bound to
support those actions. Those members who give aid and comfort to the enemies of
the church will suffer eternal retribution for their treason. Which will it be,
true compassion for the lost or spiritual treason?
The Editor’s Page
A
first grade teacher seated her students in a circle. She asked them what they
wanted to be when they grew up. One by one, each child got up and announced
“I’d like to be a nurse like my mother,” or “I want to be a banker like my
father,” or “I want to be a teacher like you, Miss Smith.”
The
last child to speak was the most shy and timid little boy in the class. He
said, “When I get big, I’m going to be a lion tamer in the circus. I’m going to
face those animals with my whip and chair and make them leap through hoops of
fire and obey all of my commands.” Seeing the disbelieving looks on the faces
of his classmates that he could ever act so boldly or bravely, he was quick to
reassure them, “Well, of course, I’ll have my mother with me.”
Peter
admonishes the Christian to, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom
withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are
accomplished in your brethren who are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Too
often, Christians are shy and timid when it comes to standing up to the devil.
Being silent and cowering in a corner, are not the actions of a faithful
Christian. In this immoral society, Christians need to be lion tamers, not
cowards. Where do we get the inner strength to be so bold and brave? It comes through
the assurance that we have Christ by our side.
Jesus
gave His apostles the ‘Great Commission’ by telling them to, “Go ye
therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).
The
Christian’s bravery does not come from his/her personal strengths. It comes
from the strength of Jesus the Christ who is with them as they tame the lion.
Paul begins his discourse on the whole armor of God by alerting Christians to
be “strong in the Lord” (Ephesians
It
is a scary thing to face a roaring lion whose predilection is to destroy you.
However, we can be brave like the little boy because we know someone will be in
the cage with us. “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me” (Philippians
THE BEST PRAYING I EVER
DID!
Three
preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer while a telephone
technician worked nearby.
“Kneeling
is definitely best,” claimed one.
“No,”
another contended. “I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched
to heaven”.
“You
are both wrong”, the third insisted. “The most effective prayer position is
lying prostrate, face down on the floor”.
The
technician could not contain himself any longer. “Hey, fellas,” he interrupted,
“the best prayin’ I ever did was twenty feet up in the air hangin’ upside down
from a telephone pole”!
“There
are no atheists in foxholes”. We have all heard it. Nevertheless, what does it
mean? It means that in times of grave trouble people turn to God for help, even
those who claim there is no God.
Jesus
gave a model prayer in response to the request of the apostles. They asked that
He teach them how to pray. I believe it is significant that He began the prayer
with “Our Father” (Luke 11:1-2). Prayer is a privilege reserved for the
children of God.
On
one occasion, Jesus healed a blind man. He made spittle of the dirt, anointed
the man’s eyes, and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The man
followed Jesus’ instructions and was healed. This created a great stir among
the people. Some were condemning of the action and began to question the man’s
parents as well as the man. A portion of the man’s response says, “We know
that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his
will, him he heareth” (John
There
are different postures for prayer mentioned in the scriptures. Solomon knelt
with hands spread toward Heaven (1 Kings
While
we are speaking to the condition of the heart, what about praying only when
there is some tragedy in our life? Christians are told to pray without ceasing
(1 Thessalonians
The
best praying I ever did was when all was well. It is at these moments a man can
commune with his Creator without distractions.
The Last Word
ONE DEAD FROG
A
group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a
deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep
the pit was, they told the two unfortunate frogs they would never get out. The
two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other
frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.
Finally,
one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and simply gave
up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he
could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and
suffering and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When
he got out, the other frogs asked him, “Why did you continue jumping? Didn’t
you hear us?”
The
frog explained to them that he was hard of hearing. He thought they were encouraging
him the entire time.
—
Selected —
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FAMILY
MATTERS
ONE YEAR AND COUNTING:
The old adage says, “Time flies” and so
it seems. It hardly seems possible that we have completed a year with the work
here. It was a year ago the third Sunday in June that we began preaching here
and a year ago July 1st that we
moved into the preacher’s house.
This past year has been a very good one
for the Youngs. We want you all to know how much you mean to us. I personally
want you to know that you have helped me more than words can express. Your
encouraging words, the confidence you express in my work, and the genuine love
you have shown me have all made a difference in my life. Thank you is
inadequate to express our feelings for your acts of kindness and love. I pray
that God will give me strength and the good sense to return the same back to
you all. May ours be a long and loving future together.
Glen
####################
WHAT MUST
I DO
Hear: Rom
Believe: Heb 11:6
Repent: Lk 13:5; Ac
17:30
Confess: Matt
Be Baptized: Ac
TO BE
SAVED?
###################
The Pound church web site = www.poundchurchofchrist.org/
WALKING BY FAITH
9 AM
102.3 WDXC Radio
The Pound Proclaimer is published monthly by the Pound
All articles by the editor unless
otherwise stated
Editor: Glen Young
Phone: 276-796-5767=Office
276-796-7401=Home
Time of Services
Sunday: Bible Classes—10 am
Assembly—11 am
Assembly—
Wednesday: Bible Classes—
E-mail: gyoung47@ntelos.net or gyoung47@poundchurchofchrist.org
All questions or comments regarding the
content of this bulletin should be directed to the editor. He may be reached at
the e-mail given above or at
Our desire is to send The Pound
Proclaimer to those who want to receive it.
If you received The Pound Proclaimer and
do not want to receive it in the future, you may unsubscribe by clicking here
- ebulletin-unsubscribe@poundchurchofchrist.org
If you are not subscribed to The Pound
Proclaimer and wish to subscribe click here - ebulletin-subscribe@poundchurchofchrist.org