THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume II
November 2006
Number 1
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
The Ermine’s
Example
There is an
animal found in the forests of northern
Fur hunters have
devised a way to take advantage of this unusual trait. Instead of setting a
trap to catch the ermine, they find its home, and then smear the entrance and
interior with grime. The ermine, upon seeing the filth at its burrow, will not
enter. Without the safety of its burrow, the ermine is at the mercy of the
hunter’s dogs. Its instinct to preserve the purity of its coat is so strong
that it will die rather than defile its white coat with filth.
God requires
that those who would be righteous maintain themselves in purity. God instructed
Moses to, “Speak to the people of
The vile sinner
becomes clean (white) when he puts
on the Lord Jesus in baptism. “And now
why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his
name” (Acts
John tells us that,
“everyone who thus hopes in him purifies
himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Paul admonished Timothy
by telling him, “Do not be hasty in the
laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure”
(1
Timothy
The gravest
danger facing the church is not whether local congregations will lose their tax
exempt status from the IRS or that they will lose their buildings. The gravest
danger facing Christians is the threat of worldliness. Too often, it is
difficult to tell the Christian from the worldly sinner. The manner of dress,
the words that proceed out to the mouth, the places one frequents and the type
of entertainment we enjoy, all reflect upon our purity. When the desire is to
be with worldliness, it is impossible to keep off the filth of the world. Although
we are in the world, we are not to be of the world. James tells us that to
practice pure and undefiled religion one must “keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27b).
The instinct of
the ermine was to die rather than defile his beautiful coat. Pray that you,
dear Christian, will have the spiritual fortitude to maintain your purity even
if it costs your life (Matthew
The Editor’s Page
MARRIAGE IS A COVENANT
Do you remember
your wedding ceremony? As I think back on mine, I remember some things but most
of it is a blur. There is, however, a portion that my lovely wife of
thirty-nine years will not let me forget; especially when she is upset with me.
The preacher who
did our ceremony was extremely nervous. He was more nervous than me, if that
were possible. While we were waiting to come out and take our places, he was
trying to get me to call off the wedding and elope.
His nervousness
got the best of him during the ceremony. My wife’s name is Nila. During the
ceremony he referred to her as Nina and Delilah. As if that weren't enough,
when he did the vows, he asked Nila, “Do you, DELILAH, take this man to be your
lawfully wedded WIFE!”
So, when she is
upset with me, she asks the question, “Do you think, maybe, we’re not married?”
“Sure we’re married, darling. No one else will have me!” Can’t argue with that
logic, now can you?
The binding of a
man and woman together is more than the words some preacher, judge, justice of
the peace or captain of a ship may say. It is the realization that the two of
them are entering into a lifetime commitment. It is a covenant which they
freely and willingly enter; a covenant which binds upon them certain
responsibilities.
The problem in
our society is the casualness with which people enter into this covenanted
relationship. I don’t believe the easy access to divorce is the problem as much
as the lack of desire to shun covenant breaking.
God is not
silent on this issue. In speaking of the “strange
woman,” He says, “Who forsakes the
companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;” (Proverbs
This covenant is
to be a lifetime covenant. When Jesus was questioned about divorce, He
responded by saying, “Have you not read
that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and
said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to
his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one
flesh. What therefore God has joined together let not man separate” (Matthew
19:4-6). From what is said, there is no doubt that God intends for
me to remain married to the bride of my youth.
So, Nina uh, I
mean Delilah uh, I mean Nila, you are just stuck with me. When I married you on
that September evening these many years ago, I took you as my companion and
entered into a covenant with you. A covenant which this, your lawfully wedded
wife, uh, I mean husband, intends to keep!
CROSSING THE BAR
By Jack Goff
During the Second
World War, I spent three months at sea. Over the space of eighteen months, I
made at least twelve ‘land falls’. I would see the land seem to rise out of the
ocean, after many days of nothing but water as far as the eye could see.
In October 1889,
Alfred ‘Lord’ Tennyson was eighty years old. He had been to Aldsworth and was
returning home to the moaning of breakers on the sandbars near the shore. They
reminded him of his life and the short time he had left. I am now in my eighty
second year and have a similar perspective.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call
for me!
And may there be no moaning at the bar,
When I put out to sea.
Tennyson seemed
to echo the apostle Paul in his final letter to Timothy, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand” 2 Timothy 4:6. Tennyson seems to reflect on his full
life, and how short the future must be. He has had a long successful life. The
full tide must ebb.
But such a tide a moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound or foam,
When that which drew from out the
boundless deep
Turns again home.
The apostle Paul
says in 2
Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith.” At dusk, Tennyson can hear the church bells calling to prayer.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark.
For though from out our bourne of time
and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
The apostle Paul
says in 2
Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.” Let us note the difference in language; the poet
hopes, the apostle Paul is assured. “There
is a crown laid up for me.” The poet trusted the Pilot, Paul was a servant
of that Pilot. In order to be guided over death’s dark sea, we must allow the
Pilot to guide us in this life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. He
will guide us safely home.
—
The Last Word
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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?
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FAMILY
MATTERS
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