THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume IV
October 2009
Number 12
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
HOW DOES GOD
WORK TODAY?
The particular details of how God works
among men today is the source of much controversy. Does God visit misfortune
upon mankind? Does every event that occurs in life have the finger of God as
the force behind it? These and similar questions trouble the minds of men and
have done so for generations. There are times when even the Christian questions
why bad things happen to good people. Therefore, a study of “How Does God Work
Today” is in order.
As with any Bible study, we must first
accept the fact that if God has not revealed it in His word, then it is
unknowable. We must also accept that whatever is in the scriptures is true no
matter how outrageous it may seem.
Yes, there was a man named Jonah. Yes, he
was swallowed by a specially prepared fish and was in its stomach for three
days and three nights. Yes, he was regurgitated upon dry land (Jonah
The scriptures not only depict the wrath
of God being worked upon the wicked, they also record the loving kindness of
God’s protection and care. The saving of Noah and his family within the ark
during the great flood is one such record (Genesis 6-9:17). The fact that God
provided bread from Heaven, which the Israelites called manna, to sustain them
until they came into
Those who believe the Bible is the
plenary and verbal revelation of God’s word (1 Corinthians
When it comes to modern day events, some
are confused over God’s intervention today. It could be explained this way.
True Bible believers have no trouble believing the record of Jonah and the
great fish. However, this is not the case should some
‘preacher’ come to us and say he had just come from spending three days
and three nights in the belly of a great fish. Who would believe it?
The reason true Christians are skeptical
of such claims today is not because they deny the miracles of God. They do so
because they understand the difference between intervention by miracle and
intervention by divine providence. God’s intervention prior to the coming of
Christ was often extraordinary (miraculous). A man being swallowed by a great
fish, remaining alive for three days and nights, then being coughed up on shore
is undoubtedly miraculous. Natural means were used [a fish] in a supernatural
way. Adding to that, God plainly says He prepared a fish for the event.
God has used miracles in the past and
continues to have the power to do so in the present. It is not a question of
whether God can intervene in the affairs of men in a miraculous way, but does
He? The inspired men of the first century received revelation “And they went out and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying
signs” (Mark
Denying that God works miraculously today
does not mean that God is not working in the affairs of men. We refer to God’s
intervention today as divine providence.
The best example of divine providence is
that the scriptures of God have been preserved accurately through the
centuries. This is quite remarkable when you consider the number of times the
manuscripts were copied and re-copied. Added to this is the number of times the
manuscripts have been translated from one language to another. With the
discovery of more and older manuscripts, the accuracy of our modern language
translations has been verified. This could never be the case were it not for
divine providence.
How does divine providence impact upon
our lives? There is a verse found in Romans
A second verse we should consider is James
5:16. “Therefore, confess your
sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” If God has
no interest in the affairs of men, then prayer would be an exercise in
futility. Over and over again, Christians are commanded to pray. This is a
strong indication that divine providence plays a role in helping the Christian
endure life’s miseries while maintaining his integrity toward God. Every
Christian knows they cannot survive the onslaught of the devil without God’s
help.
History, both ancient and modern, is
filled with great and often sudden calamities. Earthquakes, raging fires,
tornados, hurricanes, and tidal waves have killed thousands. When these catastrophes
happen, is it God who caused them? If we consider that God is the one who
created the natural laws that govern such events, then yes, God caused them. If
we mean that God by miraculous power created each event specifically to bring
divine retribution upon men, then the answer is no. We have no scriptural
teaching that affirms miraculous, divine retribution in the Christian age once
the perfect law of liberty was come.
It is within the scope of divine
providence to believe that when great and sudden calamities occur, God uses
them to accomplish His will. Catastrophes afford the Christian the opportunity
to fulfill his responsibility to “do good unto all men” (Galatians
God’s
presence is felt daily in the lives of Christians. If it were not so, we would
fail. We must never forget it is in Him that we live and move and have our
being (Acts
The Editor’s
Page
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To
him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who
takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either” (Luke
6:27-29).
Not long after I obeyed the gospel, I
heard an elder brother preach. He was in his eighties at the time. One thing he
said has stuck with me all these years. In the course of his lesson, he said;
don’t let anyone cause you to hate them. His reasoning behind the statement was
this. He said that a person could get forgiveness for the act they committed
against you, but you could never get
forgiveness for hatred while it remained in your heart. There is true wisdom at
the center of this brother’s admonition.
Hatred is a very strong emotion. It
is every ounce as strong as love. When there is hatred in the heart, it will
consume and destroy the soul just like cancer invades the body and destroys it
from within.
Jesus admonishes us to love our
enemies instead of hating them. He does not give us this command just to test
us or make our lives miserable. He does it for our own good. Those who hate,
become mean spirited and vile creatures that have no part with the God of love.
They become obsessed with ‘getting even’. There is a man I know from when I was
a child. He tells the story of how a teacher paddled him when he was in
elementary school. One day on the play ground he found a rotting tomato. The
kind that is all mushy and stinky. He saw this teacher coming and he hid in the
bushes until she was near. This was two years after the paddling, but he would
not let go of his hatred for this teacher. Well, she came into range and he let
fly. Splat—bulls eye, the rotting tomato found its target.
Wait, that is not all the story. For
a moment, he felt the joy of revenge. However, it wasn’t long that the joy
faded and he began to cry. Because of overwhelming guilt, he went to the
teacher and confessed his deed. Hatred had consumed him for two years. It had
dominated his life. However, acting out on his hatred did not bring
satisfaction to this little boy. It only brought shame and reproach.
Jesus expects better of his brethren.
He expects us to rise above our petty, selfish feelings even to the point of
loving our enemies. He knows that hatred will destroy the loving, sacrificing
Christian character.
We make enemies by standing for
truth. Sometimes, even our brethren become our enemies. We feel resentment over
the slings and arrows cast our way. We must never, never allow hatred to come
into our hearts no matter the reproach heaped upon us by our enemies.
The example of Jesus from the cross
was one of asking the Father to forgive His murderers (Luke 23:34). Do
not let hatred cause you to lay in wait with a rotting tomato to take revenge
upon those who have spitefully used you. - END -
WORKING FOR THE
MASTER
PURSUE
HOLINESS
“For
God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
Christians are to be the example of holy
character. This is difficult because holiness does not have a good reputation
among people of the world. Christians who seek holiness are considered to be
uptight, overbearing, homophobic hypocrites. Regardless of the popular view of
true Christians, this politically correct caricature does not accurately
portray the true follower of God. We concede the fact that some ‘Christians’
are neurotic and emotionally unstable. These are those who have not, through
the practice of true holiness, developed a life reflective of holiness.
The atheistic psychologist promotes the
idea that holiness is incompatible with sound mental health. They contend that
‘holiness’ creates unhappiness because it requires an unrealistic life style.
The psychologist’s opinion in this matter is completely wrong. Holiness is
‘wholeness’ and health in the most comprehensive sense. When we consider the
etymology of the word, we find that it means holy-well or healthy-well. This
leaves us with the understanding that holy includes being healthy, completely
healthy.
The Psalmist proclaims that the righteous
are to “Give unto the LORD the glory due
to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms
29:2). Some have fallen into the trap of thinking our worship to God
is fulfilled in five acts [preach, pray, sing, take Lord’s Supper, give]. They
fail to see that worshiping God in the beauty of holiness is to reflect the
glory of His holiness in our everyday lives. This mind-set will cause one to
appear pious in the public worship but in their private lives they do not
reflect the holiness of God. This, in turn, causes them to be the stereotypical
caricature that is the popular view of the worldly.
The Christian has obtained promises
through his relationship with Christ. “Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians
7:1). The perfecting of holiness in our lives brings about certain
characteristics. Nathaniel Emmons referred to this when he said, “Holiness has
love for its essence, humility for its clothing, the good of others as its
employment, and the honor of God as its end.”
The spirit of man was created to reflect
the beauty of God’s holiness. The Christian, who longs for God and reaches a
childlike hand for Him, will touch the holiness of God. The one
who dedicates his whole heart to perfecting His goodness, will be engulfed with
a beauty of holiness that affords them the privilege of seeing the Lord.
“Pursue
peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews
THE LAST WORD
A MESSAGE
TO THE
We appreciate the work brother Joe
Shane did in our gospel meeting. His sermons were to the point and
biblically based. All who attended heard the Word expounded in its purity and
simplicity. Although the meeting is history, the Pound
NOTE: As
you can see this is October’s issue, which indicates we are still behind in
publishing the bulletin. It was our intent to be caught up by the end of
November. However, I will be having another knee replacement on December 8th.
Thank you for your patience.
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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
AUDIO SERMONS & RADIO PROGRAM:
If you would
like to hear a sermon you can access our Audio Sermons page. Also on this page
is a place to access our radio program [WALKING BY FAITH]. Place your cursor
over the title, WALKING BY FAITH radio program and click. This will take you to
a page where you can download a program. The program is a weekly so there will
be a new program uploaded each week. We also keep the sermons updated as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pound church web site = www.poundchurchofchrist.org/
WALKING BY FAITH
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The Pound Proclaimer
is published monthly by the Pound
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otherwise stated
Editor: Glen Young
Phone: 276-796-5767=Office
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