by Mitchell Skelton Mark 2:13–17

After a series of revival sermons, a church had prayed enthusiastically for God to give them growth. It happened that one Sunday at worship a known prostitute entered the building and took a seat in the back of the building. Everyone ignored her. After hearing the sermon, she felt the call of the gospel and responded. The preacher and the congregation did not know what to do, much less say. After a very long and uncomfortable silence one well respected man in the congregation stood up, breaking the silence, and suggested that they all pray. He prayed, "Oh Lord, we know that we have prayed that this church would grow and that we prayed that many would hear the gospel and believe. However, when we prayed we didn't know that you would be sending such sinners as this. Don’t you know that we don’t allow people such as this in our church?" It was not until this moment that the members of this church realized that God had indeed answered their prayers!

What is your attitude toward the growth of the Lord's church? Are you ready and willing to accept what God has in store for his church? What about your attitude toward those on the fringe, are you willing to accept them into the fold when God calls? Jesus had an opportunity to show us the proper attitude toward "sinners" in the call of Matthew Levi. Matthew was so excited about meeting Jesus that he wanted all of his friends to meet him. It was during Matthew's "dinner party" that the Pharisees, who saw him there, questioned Jesus' disciples saying, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

Do you, like the Pharisees, constantly find yourself looking for the wrong in someone? Jesus warned of having such an attitude and taught that we should be concerned first and foremost with our own problems. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matt. 7:3–5).

Jesus didn't view the world as an opportunity for contamination but rather as an opportunity for conversion. When Jesus was traveling in Samaria, he came across a woman who had been married five times and was now living with someone who was not her husband. After Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman he spoke to his disciples with urgency proclaiming, "the fields are ripe to harvest!" (Jn. 4:35). Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel to ALL creation, NO EXCEPTIONS (Mk. 16:15,16).

When you consider the "sinners" of this world, what do you see? Do you only see their problems or do you see past the problems and see potential? The Pharisees looked at Matthew's group of friends and could see no good. Jesus never denied that these people didn't have problems. Jesus acknowledged their problems. Yet, Jesus saw past their problems and looked at their potential (Mk. 2:17).

When 16-year-old Eliza married 20-year-old Andrew, he had never been to school. Others might have written Andrew off as a "lost cause", but not Eliza. She persisted and taught him to read and write. Andrew proved to be a fast learner. He learned so well in fact that years later he became the 17th President of the United States. You see, Eliza's Andrew was none other than Andrew Johnson. /1

How do you view the world? Is the world an opportunity for contamination or an opportunity for conversion? What do you see when you look at the lost souls of the world? Is it only their problems you see or do you see their potential?

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mk. 2:17).

1 Bruce Rzengota, www.sermoncentral.com

by Barry Newton

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. These words could well have been written about life during the holiday season. It can seem like the holiday season is made up of a wreath of special moments and cherished memories intertwined with hurt feelings, misunderstandings, loneliness and tremendous frustrations.

People get frustrated, if not downright angry, when their dreams and wishes for the holidays are blocked or if the events unfold contrary to their expectations of how things should be. Tensions within families can run high. Where should we spend the holidays? When and how should the presents be opened? Why should they get to relax while I labor at making preparations? The list of colliding thoughts, values and expectations contributing to the boiling point seems to be nearly endless.

What can you do to improve your holiday experience? Here's a few thoughts appropriate for those who call themselves members of God's family.

1. Do not wait for someone to invite you to their home, invite them to your home

The Golden Rule encourages us to take the initiative in doing for others what we would like them to do for us. Instead of allowing self-centeredness to swallow up our thoughts, plan how you will be a blessing to others (Lk. 6:31).

2. Reach out to those who are poor as well as the lonely

While it is not a sin to invite those to our parties who have means or who are our friends, we can serve God and model Christian values to our children by reaching out to those who do not have ability to return our invitation (Lk 14:12-14; Rom. 12:16).

3. Forgive the past and let go of previous grievances

Unfinished business swirling up from feelings of past favoritism, resentment over long-standing injustices and just a whole host of other interrelationship matters can sour and destroy time together. God's people are to forgive others. Yes, life can be unfair and others have at times acted out of dark motives as we too are not innocent in all matters. But as children of God, we are to forgive and not bear a grudge against others (Eph. 4:32-5:1; Lev. 19:18). This is not just for their benefit but also for our own well-being.

4. Know how to respond to frustrating situations

While those who demand their rights and feel "I should be able to ____" will only increase the pressure within relationships to the breaking point, the peace maker responds by seeking the well-being of others in the same manner he seeks his own. Perhaps the wisdom of overlooking an offense will be needed (Prov. 12:16). Perhaps there will be the need to reevaluate just how important an issue is. A hundred years from now will it really matter if we do it this way or that? Perhaps letting others have their way this time would be an appropriate response.

During this pressure cooker season, we have a wonderful opportunity as God's people to remember what is truly important and strive to bless the lives of others. May your words and actions reflect our Savior's values and will.

by Phil Sanders

Into Your hands, Father, into Your hands, I commit my spirit into Your hands. All I am and have I yield to You. Your love and grace will bear me through, For You know what's best and what I should do, So I leave my soul within Your hands.

In His body He bore our transgressions; In the garden He gave in to Your plans. On the cross He committed His spirit, So we can live forever in Your hands.

Into Your hands, Father, into Your hands, I cast all my burdens into Your hands, All my stress and pain I give to You. Your love and grace will bear me through, For You know what's best and what I should do, So I cast my cares into Your hands.

Into Your hands, Father, into Your hands, I cast all my sins into Your hands, All I've said and done I bring to You. Your love and grace will bear me through, For You have told me what I must do, So I cast my sins into Your hands.

Into Your hands, Father, into Your hands, I commit my spirit into Your hands. My life on the earth I leave for You. Your love and grace will bear me through, For You have a place I'm going to, So I leave my soul within Your hands.

In His body He bore our transgressions; In the garden He gave in to Your plans. On the cross He committed His spirit, So we can live forever in Your hands.

by J. Randal Matheny

Last Friday, my family and I celebrated nineteen years of work in Brazil. With three other families, we arrived early in the morning of 28th November 1984 in Rio de Janeiro on a flight from Miami.

When the customs officials saw our documents, they ushered us all into a waiting area and began an item-by-item inspection. The health documents for our family had been prepared by Dr. George Hobby, who grew up as a missionary kid in Africa. Mindful of bureaucratic officials, he included everything except the syringes with which he had drawn blood. As a result, we were cleared, while the other three couples rushed off in a taxi to repeat the full list of health exams. Vicki, Micah, and I babysitted four piles of new missionary luggage in the airport lounge.

We lost our connecting flight and failed to arrive on time in Belo Horizonte's new airport. Nineteen years ago, there were no cell phones to call colleagues waiting to receive us. But with the Lord's blessing, he did get us all to our destination on that day.

That entry episode made an appropriate analogy for the ensuing years of work. It reminded us of truths like these:

• One waits while another runs.
• Expect plans to be changed.
• Make the body perform on demand.
• Find joy (and humor) where you least expect it.
• Know the difference between a dial tone and a busy signal.
• Expect people to take a long, hard look at who you are.

• Be open, transparent, and learn to risk.
• Live and operate on a shoe string.
• Take time to listen. And then some.
• The long way around may be the shortest route. And maybe the only route.
• Let Brazilians criticize their own culture.
• Identify and be as Brazilian as possible, knowing you will never be completely successful.
• Don't sweat flight delays; you could be stuck on a boat.
• Sources of support may come and go, but the Lord will never desert you.
• Man may never see what you are accomplishing. Doesn't matter, the Lord takes note.
• If you start it, who will finish it?

But it's fun trying.

I learned that in nineteen years, too.

The date of 28 November 1984 is stamped on my National Foreign Registration card. More than that, it is stamped on our hearts by a wonderful people who have infected us with their joy for life in Christ and love for his presence and glory.

So it's nineteen. And counting.

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psa. 90:12, ESB).

by Michael E. Brooks

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel" (Gal. 1:6).

Have you ever observed children at a gift-giving occasion? They are so excited with every new toy they unwrap, but so often within minutes have laid it down, maybe to never give it much attention ever again. New things grab our attention, but it takes much more than novelty to hold it.

A couple of months ago at Khulna Bible College in Bangladesh we bought a new reel-type manual lawn mower. It has no motor, and is powered only by the energy of the one pushing it. Yet, compared to the hand cutting of the grass and weeds that we had been doing, the new mower is modern technology. It makes the weekly maintenance of the campus much easier and much more productive.

We got back to Khulna from Dhaka, where we purchased the mower, on Monday. Friday is the normal work day on campus, when the grass is cut. Constantly during that week students and staff would go by the storage room and look at the mower. When Friday morning came someone ran to get it, and students vied for who would be the first to try it out. Throughout the morning lines formed as each waited his turn to push. It was fun to watch them in their enthusiasm for this new tool.

I am eager to return to Bangladesh, and one thing I want to see is whether the same enthusiasm for working with the mower continues after it is no longer so new. I suspect that excitement may wane. New and different soon becomes routine, then old, and eventually obsolete. Initial excitement turns to boredom and dissatisfaction.

Paul saw a similar phenomenon among the Christians of Galatia. The appeal of the pure and simple Gospel of Jesus Christ was no longer enough for some. Grace was replaced with a new system that afforded more glory to the doer. What man did outshone what God did. The new doctrine was logical, it was attractive, and most of all, it was new, at least to the Gentile Christians of Galatia. So many accepted it.

In our modern world we are constantly bombarded with the new. New fashion, new entertainment, new technology -- yes, and new doctrines and religions. When I graduated from college about 35 years ago there were 300 plus "Christian" denominations. Now it is said that there are over three thousand. New interpretations of Bible teaching are constantly being promoted, along with the latest fashion in worship styles and religious vocabulary. Many people move from one group to the next, always attracted by the newest and most exciting.

We should remember that God only sent one Savior, Jesus only built one Church, and the Spirit only wrote one Book. "But if even we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

Not everything new is better. Not everything old is obsolete. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

It is not novelty or change that should be our criterion for acceptance, but truth. John commanded, "Test the spirits, to see whether they have come from God" (1 John 4:1).