“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” We sing these simple words to our children. Sometimes simple truths are the most profound. God has spoken. Scripture completely preserves God’s message to us. This message provides our complete, sufficient, and exclusive guide to a right relationship with God in Christ.

Faithfully following the Bible, we can know that Jesus saves us. We can know God’s pattern for the church. We can have assurance in a world of uncertainty. God has spoken, and in the message of Scripture we find spiritual power that blesses all who will trust and obey.

The Current Apostasy

Sadly, not everyone is willing to approach the Bible in faith and accept God’s will for our lives. In every generation, detractors have rejected the authority of God’s word. Currently, many professors at ostentatiously Christian schools deny that the Bible is inerrant, completely true in all it affirms. This message of infidelity is fueling the many aberrations of the Community Church Movement among churches of Christ.

Radical changes are corrupting worship. Human organizational schemes are flouting God’s pattern for church government. The social desire for unity is diluting and destroying the preaching of the gospel. Unless we unite under the authority of Scripture, any wind that blows will track us into even more uncertain waters. God’s church must reaffirm its commitment to God’s word if there is any hope for revival.

A Candle in the Darkness

In the face of the current apostasy, the church of the Lord is seeing some of God’s servants rising to the challenge. Affronted by the error that imperils the church, courageous men of faith are investing themselves in the study and proclamation of God’s truth with increasing fervor.

One of these courageous men is Jimmy Jividen, a Christian scholar and evangelist. Jividen has touched the lives of thousands and strengthened their faith through his writings. Over the years, Jividen has addressed many important issues in his books. Each of them has made a great contribution to the work of God’s church. His latest work,Inspiration and Authority of Scriptures, is by far the most important study Jividen has ever presented.

Ideally designed for a quarter of study, this book contains thirteen chapters with discussion questions following each lesson. Jividen addresses the central role of faith in receiving the truth of Scripture and in applying it to our lives. Church leaders will find in Inspiration and Authority of the Scriptures a tool to help address the rising tide of unbelief.

by Stan Mitchell

In an excellent article, professor Michael R. Weed observes that the goal of forming "successful" churches, where everyone finds his emotional needs met is an "unchallenged" tenet of church growth advocates, and gives rise to the phenomenon of "church shoppers." "A constant monitoring of trends, tastes, and fashions through questionnaires, surveys and polls now rivals the study and teaching of scripture as the sign of a church's devotion to ministry and zeal for evangelism" (Christian Studies, Vol. 19 Spring 2003, page 14).

His remarks raise some good questions. How do we define a "successful" church? And who defines success? If people tend to go "church shopping," doesn't that also lead to church hopping? Who should be forming the church's agenda, man or God? And are we aware of the difference between human wants and divine requirements?

Of course visitors to our congregation should expect a warm and loving welcome. Make no mistake, Jesus Christ meets man's deepest longings. But like a patient visiting a doctor, the newcomer to church only knows that he hurts; it's for the Great Physician to diagnose the illness! "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners'" (Mark 2:17).

"They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 8:11). Humanity is indeed sick, and the illness is fatal. This is not a time for cosmetics and placebos. This is not a case of what the customer wants to hear, but of what God wants to say! If you want to go shopping, may I suggest the mall; if you want salvation, come to Jesus!

by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 13--15

When There Is Strife between Brethren

It is inevitable. There is going to be strife between members of a congregation. The issue is how are we going to deal with it. Pay attention to the way that Moses reveals a problem and how he shows Abraham dealing with it.

7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8 So Abram said to Lot, Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren (Gen. 13:7, 8).

Did you see what Moses inserted between his statement that there was strife and what Abraham said about it? Moses says, The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. Now why did he say that? Think of what Abraham does. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were witnessing the strife and this was not good. Lot and Abraham were relatives. Moreover, they were believers in the one true God. The people in the land were not. Therefore, what would happen if they witnessed fellow believers of Yahweh God fighting?

Abraham sought the way of peace and, as the rest of the story shows, he was willing to give up things to accomplish that peace. He was not interested in telling everyone else how wrong he thought Lot was.

Friends, if strife arises between you and another in the church, please look at your actions and follow the way of Abraham, who was the friend of God.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read Matthew Chapter 4

How Man Lives

Jesus goes without food for 40 days! Afterwards, the devil approaches Him, tempting Him, saying, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Mat. 4:3). Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes, He is the Son of the living God! Is He hungry? How many meals do we miss before we get hungry? Yes, Jesus was hungry. What does Jesus do?

4 But He answered and said, It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God' (Mat. 4:4).

Nothing can get Jesus to take His attention off the word of God. Let us look at ourselves today. Can something divert my attention from living by the words that God speaks to me?

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 10--12

It Works Better to Follow God in the First Place

After the Flood, all the earth was of one language. Then the people engaged in a project that did not glorify God and attempted to circumvent His command to fill the earth with people. What God says He wants done He is going to do. Therefore, this is what He did,

7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech (Gen. 11:7).

The natural consequence of the people speaking different languages was to separate. This insured that they would spread over the earth and fill it. That is what happened and it is still happening.

What would it be like, if the earth was still of one language? Many activities of the earth would speed along faster, including evangelism. I went to Russia twice to preach and to teach, but it was a very slow process because of the need to go through a translator.

What was done by God centuries ago, we cannot undo, but we can learn from this experience that we must think about our actions beforehand. If there is a proposal, how will it affect generations to come?

While the earth will never be one language again, in the next chapter of Genesis, the story shows us Abraham, a man through whom God desires to bring unity to the human race. God promised this man that through him, God would bless all the families of the earth. This is fulfilled in the descendent of Abraham, Jesus Christ. All of us through Jesus may once again be united.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100