Forthright Magazine continues, more dynamic than ever!

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Thanks to a little help from our friends, Forthright Magazine now has its own site. All articles are now being posted there. Many if not all of the past articles will be moved there, too.

www.forthright.net

by Phil Sanders

Though 85 percent of Americans call themselves Christians, only 69 percent of Americans regard themselves as church members. Only 43 percent will attend church on a given Sunday. Another twenty-two percent will attend occasionally. Only 22 percent of Americans attend Bible classes on Sunday mornings. There are now 79 million “unchurched” people in America.

Many of these people are “notional” Christians. They claim to be Christians but do not practice their Christianity by church attendance. These are people who need a church home.

Why do they need a church home? For the same reasons you do. They need the spiritual help and climate going to church provides. They need to hear the Scripture preached and to remember the Lord’s death in His Supper. They need to praise the Lord in song and to pray about their needs. They need the Lord’s help and teaching from week to week.

They also need a church home, because we all need our brothers and sisters in Christ. Life has a way of handing us surprises. It means so much to have the support of loving brothers and sisters who will pray with us and for us when we need them. Solomon was right when he said that “two are better than one” (Eccl. 4:9). There is strength in numbers, and brothers and sisters assure our hearts when they walk beside us in serving the Lord. “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). Surely you know someone who needs a church home. Won’t you help them? Bring them to the Lord.

by Mike Benson

Back in the mid 1980's, an Avianca Airlines jet crashed in the mountains of Spain. Investigators reviewing the incident made a startling discovery. Recordings from the black box revealed that several minutes prior to impact, a computer-synthesized voice from the plane's automatic warning system told the flight crew on repeated occasion to "Pull up!" The pilot, evidently thinking that the system was not functioning properly, switched the system off. Minutes later they plowed into the ground killing both passengers as well as crew.

As I think about it, that tragic story reminds me of some of the people I know. They hear the warning messages of their conscience telling them to make correction in their lives; instead they merely tune out or turn off what they hear (cf. Exodus 8:15).

Dear reader, it is possible for a person to silence his conscience to such an extent that he no longer hears or recognizes the spiritual peril he faces (cf. 1 Timothy 4:2). But because he does not hear the warning, it doesn't mean that the danger no longer exists.

Think about it.

by Mike Benson

Yesterday I stood at the bedside of a dear brother in Christ. His doctor recently diagnosed him with brain cancer and has given him only a few weeks to live.

I watched as he wept in sadness as he thought about leaving his family. I noticed streams of tears pour down his cheeks as he considered the end of his earthly existence. I listened as he asked a fellow gospel preacher if he would hold his funeral. I fought back my own tears as my preacher friend petitioned the Almighty for faith and strength on behalf of this godly brother.

Then as I left the residence, I couldn't help but wonder, "How do people face eternity without the Lord?" "How do they leave this world without the security found only in Jesus Christ" (cf. Ephesians 1:3)? Fortunately, this gentleman has been a Christian for many years, and he'll step into the next world with the calm assurance that Jesus is and has been Lord of his life.

Come to think of it, we're all terminal, aren't we (cf. Job 14:1)? The end will just come sooner for some of us than others. Dear reader, what preparations have you made for your step into eternity (cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8; Matthew 25:46)?

Think about it.