by Stan Mitchell

"I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1).

A student at Oxford University began to tire of the boring lectures and hard work required to attain a degree, so he stopped attending class. Soon he had missed an entire term. The professor decided to contact the backsliding scholar and approached his dorm room. There the young man was, at two in the afternoon, asleep on his bed. Driven to indignation by the sight of the slovenly boy, the professor declared:

"You have hissed all my mystery lectures. You have tasted a whole worm. Please leave Oxford on the next town drain!"

I'm sure the professor felt much better after getting that off his chest!

Even in a day of the Internet and virtual reality, it still helps to attend class if one wants to learn his history lessons! Absentee parents should be a contradiction in terms, and perhaps you have noticed that turning up at work helps one's employment status enormously. Being present at Bible class and worship services also helps the Christian grow. You cannot treat beloved brothers and sisters in Christ with compassion and caring unless you see them. You cannot foster a relationship with a God you do not encounter on a regular basis. You cannot learn his will without frequently opening his word and studying it.

Conversely, I cannot imagine the most spiritual and Christ-like element of a congregation being those who habitually miss worship. Sorry. I just don't think it happens.

The result of habitual truancy is that our love for God is drained, the Bible becomes a mystery to us and our taste for spiritual things is diminished. God's will has to be, well, spoon-fed to us! And what I'm worried about most is that those who fail to attend might miss more than a "term"!

by Don Ruhl

Read Philippians Chapter 1

Many Christians imply by the way that they live, that God can save us from sin and save us to heaven in the end, but in between, we are on our own. Saving us from sin and hell are magnificent works, but can our Lord do more than that? Yes, He can and does. Listen to Paul's confidence and may each of us have the same confidence daily,

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phi. 1:6, NIV).

He saves us from sin, but then leaves us hanging, not providing what we need to be complete men and women of God? No way, but He continues to carry us all the way through all of our experiences in life. Therefore, place your faith firmly in Him and remember that as you go through this day, He is working to complete you as a man or woman. Try to figure out what He is doing to make you complete.

by Don Ruhl

Read Isaiah 23-25

After delivering prophecies of how God will deal with various nations and with the earth, Isaiah contemplates the works of God, then praises Him for what He does.

      O LORD, You are my God.
      I will exalt You, 
      I will praise Your name, 
      For You have done wonderful things;
      Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
      (Isa. 25:1, NKJV).

Read stories in the Bible, or look over the story of your life, and see that God does things in a wonderful way. His timing is always perfect, although now we may not think so. He is always vindicated. When you see this happen, take the time to praise Him.

by Barry Newton

From sitting at a table while enjoying some coffee to casually chatting in a small group, I have heard several wives describe their husbands as being from the old school. How would you describe the husband and father in your family? In your understanding, do the attributes of the ideal Christian husband fit more closely with old school thinking, new school ideas or is it a mixed bag?

Regardless of whether someone might classify the model Christian husband as exhibiting more old school or new school qualities, Scripture challenges men to adopt a specific style of living epitomized by Christ's relationship to the church. So who do you think initiated loving service and has served the other more, Christ or the church?

Clearly, Christians respond to Christ's love; Jesus took the initiative./1 His love to tend to our well-being caused him to serve our needs. Not only his obedience to God's will, but also Jesus' love for us drove him to the cross. So, who has served the other more, Christ or the church? Christ. This is the model for the Christian husband.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might make her holy, ... unblemished and holy. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives, even as their own bodies."/2

What does the model Christian husband look like? To follow the loving example of service found in the cross excludes a host of behaviors, attitudes, and motivations. Would a husband who is seeking his wife's well-being crudely degrade her or her ability? No. Would a Christlike man devoted to caring for his wife pursue a lifestyle characterized by issuing self-serving orders and policies? Absolutely not. Would household life be geared to revolve around him? Never.

Proactively, would not a husband shaped by the love of Christ seek to tend to the genuine needs of his wife? Would not such love motivate him to act and communicate through every avenue possible his desire to bless and care for her? Would not such a love create a history which would build her confidence that he was trustworthy and seeking her well-being? Husbands, behold the mandate of cross-shaped love for how you treat your wife!

There is something about the labels old school and new school which has bothered me deeply. Are not these tags sometimes dumped into a conversation to be the final word which can be spoken? Are not such pigeon holes sometimes evoked as a means to claim that someone is either incapable of change or to legitimize a lifestyle as merely being one option among equals? To such fatalistic and rationalistic attempts to dismiss living out Christ's love, Scripture holds forth a bold message about what a Christian husband ought to be. He loves his wife in the same way that Christ has loved the church by dying for her.

1/ 1 John 3:16; 4:9,10 2/ Ephesians 5:25,27,28