In This Issue

• BRETHREN YOU CAN COUNT ON

• DO YOU HAVE FOUNDATION PROBLEMS

• TWO WAYS TO KEEP MEMBERS FAITHFUL

• THE NANTAHALA MISHAP

• MORE INFORMATION...

BRETHREN YOU CAN COUNT ON

"You can count on him!" Have you ever heard it? We all have. Such a one is generally thought of as being steady and dependable; he is reliable. But it occurs to me that there are others than can also be counted on.

How about in the area of church attendance? We don't have much of a problem here at Taylors in getting folks to attend, and that is to their credit. But there are some that can be counted on not to be as faithful as they ought to be. If it be the regular services or a gospel meeting, you can count on them not to be there because something else came first with them! Can you be counted on to be lax or faithful in this area? 

Then there are others that generally show up at services, and they too may be counted on - to be late. I wonder if such folks know how a service or a Bible class opens? I wonder if they ever stop and think how distracting this can be to the teachers as well as others in the class? Can you be counted on to be late?

Then there are others that can be counted on - to blame others for their own shortcomings. "It's not my fault; so and so said such and such about me, and if he had not done that, then I would not have done what I did." Some want to blame others for their own guilt and such folks are not new among us!

When it comes to taking an active part in the Lord's work in general, you can always count on some to be totally disinterested. It is of little concern to them that someone visited the services and yet that visitor is completely ignored by some. You can always count on some people to do this!

Then some can always be counted on to withhold from God his rightful share of their income. Never mind that everybody else sacrifices; gives unselfishly so that the work of the Lord may be carried on. But you can also usually count on these in another area - they often are the ones who have all the "toys" life has to offer - at the expense of the Lord. 

But lest we appear to be too critical, there are also others you can count on. We can be thankful that in spite of all the negative examples, some may be counted on to involve themselves in every aspect of the Lord's work in a diligent and steadfast manner. There are the "Pauls" who are willing to "spend and be spent;" who unselfishly give of themselves to further Christianity. We are thankful for the "Epaphroditus'" who though "sick nigh unto " will continue in the work. There are the "Timothys" who are willing to "preach the word" both "in and out of season." May their number increase!

Let us each take stock of our own lives. Can we be counted on? If so, in what way? In a negative way or a positive one? Reliability is a trait of a devoted and dedicated child of God.

- Bill Moseley, Taylors, South Carolina

DO YOU HAVE FOUNDATION PROBLEMS

Have you seen the commercial with Nolan Ryan advertising Olshan Foundation Repair? The commercial asks if you have foundation problems with your home. The advertisement goes on to talk about the ways of repairing the foundations. At the end of every commercial Nolan Ryan always says “Fix it and fix right with Olshan”. My questions to you are these: 1) Do you have a crack in your spiritual foundation and if so why is it cracked? 2) What is your foundation resting on (or who is your foundation resting on)?

The bible tells us about weak and unstable foundations. I can remember when I was a boy in Bible class one the first lessons we learned was about the foolish man who built his house on the sand. We even sang a song and we loved the part where it said “the rains came down and the floods came up and the foolish mans house went SPLAT!” This was a parable told by Jesus. He talks about the person that does not listen to him. Jesus says in Mathew 7:26-27 “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” We have to understand that without a solid foundation that we can not stand. When we have problems in our life it’s as if the rains and wind are beating down on us, and without that solid foundation we will fall.

The Bible also tells us about strong and secure foundations. In the same parable about the foolish man who built his house on the sand Jesus tells us about the wise man. Mat 27: 24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock”. When we build our lives on the true Rock the true foundation we can stand strong. When we are faced with trials and tribulations our foundation will NOT fail.

If you have not set your foundation on Jesus then it will continue to crack and will not be repaired. The only way to fix your problems is to build on the Rock. I also asked what is your foundation resting on (or who is your foundation resting on)? There can only be one correct answer: “Jesus Christ”. If your foundation is built on a man or organization other than Jesus Christ it will not only fall but it will be a GREAT FALL. Moses was commanded by God in Num. 20: 8: “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.” We get more information about this rock that flowed with water in I Cor 10: 2-4: “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ”. We can understand the Jesus is the Rock, he is the foundation. If you have a foundation that is cracked or built on man then you need to fix and fix it right with Jesus!

- Jody Day

TWO WAYS TO KEEP MEMBERS FAITHFUL

There are two ways to keep members of the church “faithful.” The first way is to be sure everyone is involved. Have a project for each member, and make sure that he feels important in his role. Praise him for the good job he is doing. Make him feel needed; make him feel that the well-being of the whole congregation rests firmly on his shoulders. That will keep him “faithful.”

There are two problems with this method. In the first place, it encourages the creation of projects that are not remotely related to the work of the local church. One member plays on the church ball team; another member leads the Boy Scout troop; another is an active member of the “Dorcas Society”; another plans the program for the men’s luncheon. Everybody is busy all right, but in activities that are not authorized in the New Testament.

In the second place, members are often given roles for which they are not qualified. A lady is chosen to teach a class not because she is qualified, but because she needs to be involved. A man is appointed a deacon to help him to be “faithful.” Another man is appointed to serve the Lord’s Supper for a month in order to encourage him to be present each Sunday that month. This method thus places “the cart before the horse,” for no one should ever be assigned any work in the Lord’s service who is not already faithful and qualified for the work to be done (2 TIMOTHY 2:2).

The second way to keep people faithful is to develop within them a genuine love for the Lord. When people love the Lord, they will be faithful, and it won’t take some kind of “special” project to keep them faithful. They will also be involved: in worship, in study, in godly living, in sharing the gospel with a friend, in helping the needy. I have known literally hundreds of Christians who have never in their lives been appointed to any special work, but whose love for the Lord alone keeps them faithful. There is no superficial faithfulness on the part of these; theirs is a faithfulness that is real.

Special responsibilities are fine for those who are qualified, but the man who requires some special duty to be faithful has never learned what true faithfulness is.

- Bill Hall via Proclaimer, Pound, VA

THE NANTAHALA MISHAP

While vacationing several years ago in the rugged mountains of western North Carolina, our family decided to go white-water rafting down the Nantahala River. We are rank amateurs at rafting, but the portion of the river we chose is ideal for rookies. White-water is rated in difficulty on a scale of 1 to 6, and our course averaged a 2, with a couple spots rated 3. Despite our lack of experience, everything went very well, until the end.

About 200 yards before the course ends, lies the trickiest section. Large rocks cause the water to converge mid-river at the same time the riverbed drops, creating a short waterfall. It’s great fun – normally. But as we approached in perfect position to traverse the waterfall with ease, we became part of a three-raft traffic jam. Since rapids make “braking” impossible, we had no choice but to make the best of it.

At the edge of the fall, one of the larger rafts knocked us sideways and that’s how we went over. At the same time, the large raft was coming down on top of us. The result was that I ingloriously plunged overboard. The current is too swift to stand, or stop, or do anything except to be dragged along the rocky bottom. Aside from receiving multiple bruises, my wedding band was caught on a rock and pulled off, forever gone. (If anyone would like to pan for gold in the Nantahala River, I can show him the approximate location.)

Our rafting experience is not unlike life itself. How often do we see people doing well in life, only to get “wiped out” at the end? Scripture places a great premium on perseverance. “Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life,” Jesus promises in Rev. 2:10. At the end of Paul’s faithful, albeit difficult life he was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). By contrast, how tragic it is to see folks diligently walking by faith, only to fall away from the Lord in their later years.

Some disciples become discouraged with the problems old age can bring. Others are beset by loneliness following the loss of a spouse. And some seem to go off the deep end, cramming all the worldliness they can into whatever time is left. How ironic that we can be tempted to leave the Lord at the very time we need Him most.

The “crown of life” promised by the Lord will make the struggles of this life pale in comparison. Paul lived in full expectation that “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). He also wrote to the Romans, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). Don’t quit the race when the finish line is in sight.

The Dewhirsts’ first white-water trip would have been a complete success, had it not been for that mishap at the end. One hundred years from now, it will make no difference that I fell out of the boat – but it will make an eternal difference if I quit the Lord.

– Steve Dewhirst, , The Stonegate Standard, October 23, 2005

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