by Barry Newton

Rule #12 in the Newton household: Homework must be completed every day before you can play. My boys may not always enjoy this rule, but the self-discipline and education gained through doing homework is good for them. Accordingly, if I tell them to trot into their study area to do their homework, at times they are entitled to say, "dad, I do not have to study now, I have completed my obligation."

Now imagine the disaster which would follow if a husband told his wife, "honey, I do not have to spend time talking with you right now, I have already completed my duty." Or if we back this scenario up to the courtship, would any girl want to date a guy who acted like his time with her involved fulfilling the obligation of an assignment? Totally absurd!

While healthy relationships are characterized by each individual working hard to put love into action, for them it is a labor of love. They want to sacrifice time, energy, and money for their beloved. For a guy who is in love, there is no need to enforce a list of rules about how he must spend his time and money with the girl he is courting. He wants to be with her because his heart motivates him.

So when God looks into your heart as you think about joining together with the saints to praise him and study his word, what attitude does he see? Do you approach attending services as rule-based homework or a love-based relationship?

Sadly, people who say: "Well, the Bible does not say that I have to attend every time" or "Where's the rule that I have to go to Bible Class" have simply missed the point. Such questions betray their hearts even to the rest of us nearsighted humans. These are thoughts that bubble up from a heart that is more in love with other activities or pleasures than joining together with other saints to praise God and learn of his will.

Probably part of the reason why you will not find within God's message to us a list of rules about attending worship services is the same reason why wives do not post a list of rules for their husbands about how their spouses must show love to them. Wives desire their husband's hearts, not just ritualistic duty. Worship is all about God, not us. Worship is our response to what God has already done for us.

God has given us every reason to be filled with love and gratitude toward him. The natural response to grasping the depth and extent of God's love-based service toward us involves worshipping in spirit and in truth.

Need to grow in your attitude toward church attendance? Don't focus on what you could be doing. Don't think about the foibles of those with whom you will be worshipping. Meditate on the gravity and extensiveness of your sin and God's grace to you through Jesus' sacrifice. You may be amazed what happens.

by Richard Mansel

"The cross of Christ is a symbol of God's heartbreak over a world gone astray." All men need the gospel which is ultimately the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It is the central event in the history of the world. One man's suffering parted the waves of history. Christ gave his life so that we could be forgiven of our sins.

Christ became the bearer of our sins. As Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years earlier, "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers," and "for the transgression of my people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked" (Isaiah 53:7,8, NKJV). An innocent man, condemned to death for our sins.

"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all," 1 John 1:6 says. Then 1 John 1:7 adds, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Sin is represented in Scripture as darkness. That is why Matthew 27:45 says, "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land." Darkness represented the vile, evil sins placed upon his shoulders (Galatians 3:10-14). Jesus then breathed his last, and the worst sin of all mankind spread across the land.

The lessons we learn from the cross are powerful.

First, the cross reveals our sins. Acts 2:23 says, "Him, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death." Isaiah 53:6 says, "And the Lord, has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Second, the cross reveals the love of God. Imagine driving with your daughter in a rural area. You stop in front of a deserted building to make a phone call. Suddenly, a man wrenches open your passenger door and demands to have your car. Frozen with fear you pause. The angry man grabs your daughter and shoots her before your eyes. Tossing her aside, he curses and points the gun at your head. Trembling, you flee from your car.

Weeks later, the man is captured and sentenced to death for his horrific crimes. Yet before the execution could take place, you insist on being executed in his place.

This sobering scenario helps us grasp the true meaning of Paul's words, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). Maybe we have not given enough thought to the fact that an innocent man died a brutal death in our place.

The blessings of God are poured out onto all men and women. Peter writes that "He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Yet stop and think of all the ungrateful, unkind people who ignore his sacrifice. What if you saved someone's life and instead of being grateful, they hated the very sight of you? If so, we would know how Christ's heart breaks daily.

The cross should move us to realize the enormity of our sins. If we have not been to God, then the blood of his Son is still on our hands. The cross of Christ is our plea and our pardon. Paul wrote, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

by J. Randal Matheny

September 11th. The third anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. After three years, the difficult war on terrorism continues.

The difficult war of THINKING also continues.

Philippians 4:8 points the way:

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Dwell on these things. Why is the proper use of the mind so important? Three truths suggest themselves.

First, everything STARTS in the mind.

We thrill with the stories of those who trekked upriver to find the source of the Amazon, the Nile, and other important rivers. That knowledge may have been useful. But to those who want to steer true in life, no fact is more important than knowing where it all starts. In the mind.

The Contemporary English Version translates Proverbs 4:23 this way: "Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life." The original Hebrew word usually translated "heart" is properly translated "thoughts" here because the Hebrews thought of the heart as encompassing the whole of man's interior life.

The thoughts are the wellspring of life. From the thoughts bubble up the life-essence. From the mind spring actions, feelings, purposes, decisions.

The beginning of Christian life starts with faith and repentance, two actions of the mind. Conversion to Christ is first of all a mental action, a decision to believe in the message presented through facts, arguments, appeals, and promises.

Jesus said sin starts in the mind. "For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23, NASU).

So the mind produces the actions. That is why John Stott can say, "Self-control is primarily mind-control."

If we want to produce good actions, we must first think good thoughts, "dwell on these things."

Second, the mind is the primary spiritual BATTLEFIELD.

Satan's principle strategy is to gain control of my mind. And his tactics and methods are more perverse than those of the terrorists.

Before Eve sinned, the devil set up a trap to substitute God's positives with evil thoughts. Doubts about his word: "Has God said ...?" Lies about God: "For God knows ..." The devil attacked Eve's mind.

Likewise, Paul's great concern is for the mind. To the Corinthians he wrote, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Paul wants us to have a one-track mind. And a closed mind, at that. He continues ironically in verse 4: "For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully."

When the mind is closed around the true Christ and the true gospel, it should not be open to other influences.

The one-track, closed mind uses spiritual weapons to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). This net must not let a single one escape to damage the Christian thought-life.

The thought patterns of Christ are our best weapon in this war. "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose [literally, "mind"], because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin" (1 Peter 4:1).

Third, thinking is the EFFORT of meditation.

The information glut and the speed of the Internet are keeping us from the slow work of meditation. We don't stop and think anymore, we skip and scan. Instead of dwelling on these things, we dash to the next item.

Though none is wrong in and of itself, you can with difficulty dwell on these things while you

• watch TV or films
• listen to worldly music
• play videogames
• surf the Internet
• chat on the phone or messenger
• party
• play or watch sports

The problem is permitting these activities to occupy our time and mind space, rather than mulling over the truths, principles, promises, facts, and commands of the gospel as we let them slowly soak into the fabric of our thoughts and establish strong neural patterns in our brain.

Such an effort requires constant attention, exactly like the successful righteous man who "meditates day and night" in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:2). Only in this way will the mind be prepared for action as its hope is fixed "completely on the grace that is to be brought you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13).

September 11th. The day the long war began.

And when did you start to "dwell on these things?" Keep dwelling. To win the war.

by Kevin Cauley

There may be someone out there reading this column who has asked at this point, "Why study Greek?" It is a good question. Greek is a difficult language, as is Hebrew and Aramaic. So why study them? Why make things so hard on ourselves?

First, I have heard others ask, "Do I have to know Greek to be saved?" The answer is, "No, you don't have to know Greek to be saved -- but somebody does!" That's right! Somebody has to know Greek; somebody has to know Hebrew and Aramaic too! Why? Because those are the languages in which the Bible was originally written. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, but a section of the book of Daniel was written in Aramaic. So in order for us, who speak English, (or some other modern day language) to understand the Bible, someone, somewhere has to translate it from Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, into English. Without them doing that, then we couldn't know the message, unless, of course, we studied those languages and learned them ourselves.

Second, someone needs to keep the translators honest. There are about as many translation philosophies out there as there are translators. Some choose to translate strictly; others choose to translate loosely; some want to paraphrase instead of translate. If no one among us studies Greek, then who will be able to tell whether the translators have done an honorable job in translating? Should we just take their word for it? No! 1 John 4:1 applies to translators as much as it applies to teachers. Perhaps the verse applies more so, because translators are actually claiming to transmit to us the very words of God Himself. Does someone need to know Greek in order to test the translators? Yes.

Third, by keeping an open ear to the original languages, many misunderstandings can be clarified. Take for example Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9. In Acts 9:7 it says that the men who were with Saul heard a voice. In Acts 22:9 it says that they did NOT hear a voice. Is this a contradiction in the Bible? It is not. Rather, it is the Greek language expressing itself in two different ways. Sometimes the Greek word "AKOUW" means to hear an indiscernible sound (as in Acts 22:9), but the word can also mean to comprehend (as in Acts 9:7). These men heard the sound, but they did not comprehend the message. Knowing a little more about the language helps to clarify such passages.

Finally, the study of other languages can be rewarding in its own merits. The Greek language is a very picturesque language. One of the most picturesque passages in the Greek New Testament that simply does not come across in English is the latter half of Romans 6. The imagery of two armies fighting the eternal battle of good vs. evil really comes to life in Greek. The choice before each is to choose in which army to serve. One army owns a beneficent liberator as Captain; the other army owns an evil despot. One army wields weapons of justice; whereas the other army wields weapons of wickedness. One Captain rewards his soldiers with eternal life; the other merely pays the wages of death. Whose weapons will you wield in the battle between good and evil? The English languages simply doesn't do this passage justice; but in Greek, the picture is as clear as a DaVinci original.

Why study Greek? Indeed, with so many good reasons, why not?

by Michael E. Brooks

"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind" (Philippians 2:1,2).

As I write this I am listening to a recording of Bengali classical flute music. I am interested in the many different kinds of music in the world. Music itself is a constant. It is my understanding that all cultures have it in some form. But the instruments and styles of playing differ greatly. The music of Europe, North America, South America, India, China, and other places varies greatly. Also within each culture there may be much difference in popular, classical, and folk music, to mention only a few types.

Music is simply illustrative of the many differences that exist within and between human societies and cultures. Art, language, food, humor, and every other aspect of life demonstrate similar distinctions. Yet we all eat, talk, and enjoy culture and entertainment. Even within our differences there is common ground.

Which is most important? Do we as people focus more on what we share with others, or how we differ? The answer to this question may determine our relationships and our ability to benefit one another. Wars, arguments, hatred and disagreements in general tend to focus on differences. They emphasize one's own needs and desires and contrast them with those of others. James asks, "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members" (James 4:1)? Though his primary emphasis is the power of uncontrolled desire, he also points out the role of selfishness. I fight with you over what I want, not because of desire for you to profit. Difference divides, isolates, and makes enemies. We see this often in the demonstrations and rioting of special interest groups who subjugate the good of the society as a whole to their own particular cause.

Paul's exhortation to Christians is startling in its contrast. "Have the same love." That is, let each one of you feel the same towards others. Be one, be alike, and be in harmony and love with one another. This is made possible only when we focus on our commonalities, not our differences. We may be of different colors, languages, and customs, but we are all of the same blood and flesh and bone. We may have distinctive tastes and habits, but God made us all, and Christ died for all. Can we not focus on those great similarities, and overlook the little petty things in which we are distinctive? Is this not the appeal of the Spirit, who said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28)?

There are many kinds and styles of music. Yet we know music is being played when we hear it, regardless of how different it may seem to what we are accustomed to. There is a common element which defines it, and which creates in virtually all styles certain responses within the hearer. So there are differences between people, but none that prevent our mutual recognition and the exchange of "the same love."