by Phil Sanders

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

Words that shocked people in years past now fill our homes through television, radio, magazines and the internet. One can hardly walk through a check-out counter at the local grocery without seeing trashy, bold headlines of tawdry and indecent affairs.

Sex, violence and pleasure sells. Television producers, magazine publishers, and advertizing executives know that. This is why industries and retailers spend billions of dollars on seductive ads to tell their stories and sell their products.

One can readily see the results of this constant promotion of worldliness in people’s dress and behavior.

We should not be surprised that the world is worldly (1 John 2:15-17) or that it follows the god of this world (1 John 5:18-20). But we do not have to conform to this world! We can transform ourselves by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2). We can set our minds on things above (Col. 3:1-2). We can so live and so act as children of God that our minds are not set on serving the flesh (Rom. 8:1-12).

Paul said, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled” (Titus 1:15). It is easy to allow our own minds and consciences to be defiled by the impurity that surrounds us. Let us avoid every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22) and speak out against the deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11-12). Let us keep our eyes and our hearts fixed on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2), so that one day we can “see God.”

by Tim Hall

Don't ask me why, but I've always been fascinated with bridges. There's just something about their design, perhaps, or maybe it's their function. For whatever reason, though, I enjoy bridges -- walking across them, gazing at them (or writing about them!).

The most impressive bridge I've personally observed is the New River Bridge in West Virginia. Built as part of Interstate 77, it sits high above the New River; so high, in fact, that people parachute off that bridge at the annual Bridge Days Festival. Before its construction, I'm told, it took a very long time to go from one side of the river to the other. Now, one crosses the gorge in a matter of seconds.

The largest gap in need of spanning is the one we each create between ourselves and God. Isaiah wrote of this gap in Isaiah 59:1,2:

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you that He will not hear" (New King James Version).

If we had tried, we could not have created a more impassable gap than we have dug by our thoughtless sins. It is a chasm so deep that man is incapable of crossing it alone.

There is One, however, who has built a bridge to reopen the access to God that we so desperately need. Paul spoke of this feat, accomplished by Jesus Christ, in Ephesians 2:17,18:

"And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father."

Thanks to Jesus, we no longer must stand on one side of the chasm, wishing for a way to cross over to God. We are now given that bridge which, according to Jesus, is the only one of its kind: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

I don't know the materials needed to construct the New River Bridge; I'm confident the list was substantial. The materials needed for our bridge back to God was considerably simpler - three nails and two boards - but so much more durable (and expensive). Praise God for caring enough to build the bridge!

("Three nails, two boards, one bridge" - thanks to the anonymous author of these words for setting my thoughts in motion.)