by David Long
"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!" (1 Cor. 16:22). A curse is placed on anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would that include? To answer that question, let's think about what it means to love the Lord. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (John 14:23). "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John 14:24). We may think 1 Cor. 16:22 doesn't apply to us because we say that we love the Lord but there's a lot of people who claim to love the Lord but reject His commandments. Do they really love the Lord? No! They are accursed. Dear reader, do you love the Lord? You really need to give that some serious thought because we don't want to be accursed. We will never make it to heaven if we are accursed.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Come and see
by David Long
Read John 1:43-49. Nathanael didn't believe that Phillip had found the Messiah so Phillip invited him to come and see. When Nathanael came and saw, he believed. We at the Higginsville church of Christ invite you to investigate. You may believe that the Bible is not understandable, come and see. You may believe that we can't see the Bible alike, come and see. You may believe that the Bible is not God's word, come and see. You may believe one interpretation is as good as another, come and see. You may believe that Jesus is not God, come and see. We invite you to be like those in Acts 17:11. Anything less and we won't make it to heaven.
Read John 1:43-49. Nathanael didn't believe that Phillip had found the Messiah so Phillip invited him to come and see. When Nathanael came and saw, he believed. We at the Higginsville church of Christ invite you to investigate. You may believe that the Bible is not understandable, come and see. You may believe that we can't see the Bible alike, come and see. You may believe that the Bible is not God's word, come and see. You may believe one interpretation is as good as another, come and see. You may believe that Jesus is not God, come and see. We invite you to be like those in Acts 17:11. Anything less and we won't make it to heaven.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Love multiplied
by David Long
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied" (Jude 2). When mercy, peace and love multiply, Christians and thus congregations grow and the word of God multiplies. "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied" (Acts 9:31). "But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24). Love multiples when souls are converted to Christ. Christians are spreaders of Christ' love by sowing the seed of the Kingdom. The Bible calls it "euaggelizo" to announce good news ("evangelize") (Acts 8:4).
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied" (Jude 2). When mercy, peace and love multiply, Christians and thus congregations grow and the word of God multiplies. "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied" (Acts 9:31). "But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24). Love multiples when souls are converted to Christ. Christians are spreaders of Christ' love by sowing the seed of the Kingdom. The Bible calls it "euaggelizo" to announce good news ("evangelize") (Acts 8:4).
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Love fulfilled
by David Long
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:1-2). Love is fulfilled when we help each other deal with our sins. Brethren who have been overtaken in a sin need restored, love will help bear the weight. What law is being fulfilled in burden bearing? The law of love (John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; Matt. 22:39). To do any less and we won't make it to heaven.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:1-2). Love is fulfilled when we help each other deal with our sins. Brethren who have been overtaken in a sin need restored, love will help bear the weight. What law is being fulfilled in burden bearing? The law of love (John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; Matt. 22:39). To do any less and we won't make it to heaven.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Love validated
by David Long
"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things" (2 Cor. 2:6-9). The word "confirm" here means "to validate; to give force to; to show something to be real." How do we treat human failure when it comes to us sinning and falling short the glory of God? We do Gal. 6:1-2. We exhort, rebuke and encourage each other to repentance (Acts 8:21-23). The church of Christ is the place where love is validated. A failure to show our love to be real is a failure of love.
"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things" (2 Cor. 2:6-9). The word "confirm" here means "to validate; to give force to; to show something to be real." How do we treat human failure when it comes to us sinning and falling short the glory of God? We do Gal. 6:1-2. We exhort, rebuke and encourage each other to repentance (Acts 8:21-23). The church of Christ is the place where love is validated. A failure to show our love to be real is a failure of love.
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