by Barry Newton

Imagine going to a Bible class or listening to a sermon where the Scriptures are never consulted. Instead, a story like Little Red Riding Hood or perhaps a current event is used to illustrate a principle such as: telling the truth is rewarding or following evil ways will get you into trouble. While we might agree that these principles are good, whose message is that? Would it not seem like the preacher or teacher simply picked out of the air what he considered to be "a good idea" and then looked until he found a suitable story to illustrate his belief?

Possibly you will agree with me that this would be a spiritually anemic manner to teach a Bible class or preach a sermon. But what would you think about someone employing a biblical story such as Gideon to encourage using "a fleece" to determine God's will? If this was not the intended message, then whose message is that?

Is this not methodologically identical to never even opening the Scriptures? If the message being taught is simply some notion which the teacher thinks is worthy, then why even feign that the message comes from the text? Will not contemporary stories work just as well?

At least in my mind, there is a huge difference between using Biblical stories to illustrate a lesson clearly taught in Scripture and compiling a bunch of stories to illustrate a principle without showing that the Bible teaches that principle. Why?

1. There is no guarantee that the message being presented will teach what God desires. Is not such a message based upon whatever the teacher considers to be a good idea?

2. Does this not obfuscate that the class is not really a Bible class but actually a diet of the teacher's own ideas?

3. Even if the teacher has a good biblical knowledge, how is the student going to grow in learning how to accurately understand God's Word?

by Barbara Oliver

He was lost. The desert stretched before him, endless, dry, forbidding. He wiped the dust from his forehead. His sweat evaporated immediately, leaving only dry salt that irritated his face.

He saw it coming. The wall of sand raced toward him. He ran. Fear surged through him. No cover offered protection, only a few large rock formations sticking up from the desert floor like giant stalagmites. The storm was gaining on him. He felt the sand bullets striking the nape of his neck. He sprinted toward an outcropping of stone. His eyes stung from the whirling sand. He scoured the rock with his hands, searching for a place to hide from the storm that now enveloped him. He found a small cleft, just large enough to squeeze into. He pulled his jacket up over his head and lay protected from the stormy blast.

How often do we feel pelleted by worry, pain, disease, and death? How we long to find that cleft of rock! What joy to know that we have that protection! Fanny Crosby said it well in her song, "A Wonderful Savior:"

"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand."

And as God is inclined to do, he heaps the blessings on us.

He gives us friends. We all have that one special brother or sister in Christ to whom we can take any problem, any hurt, any joy, and know that, even though our words may not come out right, he'll understand our heart's intent. If you don't have such a friend, be one! "A man who has friends must himself be friendly" (Proverbs 18:24, NKJV).

He gives us an earthly family. I love my church family here in Winona. Not a large congregation, we are only about seventy souls. They are such a loving church, helping each other during difficult times, enjoying each other during good times. They are a cleft in the rock for me. I know that during times of crisis, those brothers and sisters will be there for me. I have no doubt!

He gives us a heavenly family. Angels watch over us (Matthew 18:10; Luke 16:12), the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26,27), our Brother lived and died for us and bore the separation from God for us. We have a Father who gave his most precious Son for us.

Surely, He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, and covers me there with his hand!

by A. A. Neale

Medical students in the U.S. must now take another test to get their licence to practice medicine. The National Board of Medical Examiners is giving the would-be doctors six chances to prove they have good bedside manners. The students are negotiating for ten. (Just kidding!)

As a professional class, doctors are lousy listeners. Maybe they're just reflecting the general population, but when I spill my litany of bodily ills, I want a doctor to be all ears.

I hail this move by the national board because too many doctors act like they are God and already know what you're problem is. They're all too ready to whack out a piece of your anatomy or write you off a prescription where they have stock in the company.

Speaking of which, my next recommendation is to give doctors penmanship classes and require they write so that an 8-year-old can read it. Preferably in block letters.

But back to the bedside manners. Here's what I would like to hear a doctor say once in my life:

• "I don't know what you have."

• "I would recommend you get a second opinion."

• "I'll see you next Thursday promptly at 10:00 a.m. Don't make me wait."

• "You look like a cover model for 'Men's Health Magazine.'"

• "I'm going to knock 50% off your bill, because you're such a nice person."

OK, so I can dream, can't I?

But what I do want to see is every one of God's saints following this directive: "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6, NKJV).

A doctor may find it difficult to improve his bedside manners, but Christians work incessantly to better their interactions with others.

• They cut out emotional static to listen intently (James 1:19).

• They take into account where people are coming from (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

• They see in every person a soul saved by God's grace and serving in the Kingdom (ibid.).

• They freely forgive those who are moving in the direction of God (Matthew 18:21-35; Colossians 3:13).

• They develop a soft spot in their hearts for people, and especially for their brothers and sisters in Christ. They're "tender-hearted" to one another (Ephesians 5:32).

• They judge actions and motives from a benevolent perspective, thinking the best of what people do and say (Matthew 7:1).

• They encourage and praise others whenever possible (1 Corinthians 11:2).

Better bedside manners for doctors may be a lost cause, but Christians are the salt of the earth and show the love and gentleness of Christ in all they do. And I'm thankful for that.

by J. Randal Matheny

A 34-year-old man in Henderson, Texas, prepared a candle-lit bubble bath for his wife. But he didn't have romance in mind. As she relaxed in the water, he knocked a radio into the tub. She caught it and threw it out before it hit the water.

Suspicious over his reaction to her quick reflexes, she went to the computer and discovered her husband had accessed web sites on bathtub electrocution two days earlier. The man was charged with second-degree attempted murder.

We should be so creative in putting to death the sins of the flesh. Not by hook or crook, deceit or cheat, but by honest confrontation with the forces of evil at work in and around us.

What can we do to mortify the flesh?

First, and perhaps hardest of all, admit it. A smoker once told me, "I can quit anytime I want to." He was fooling only himself. So confess It. Whatever It may be. Be transparent with God and with spiritual significant others. Getting it out in the open is halfway there to overcoming it.

Second, develop the fruit of the Spirit. Focus on growth, maturity, positive character, instead of the bad that pops up its head. A major step for me one day was when I prayed, "Lord, I know my self is not defined by this evil."

Third, dive into the Word. The Bible is life and strength. Jesus cited Scripture to ward off Satan's attacks. None better than his example.

Fourth, persevere. J. Andrews said, "Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th." Perseverance is not an excuse to continue in sin, but a reason not to give up on weakness.

Fifth, surround yourself with saints. No greater encouragement to holy living than wonderful examples of faithful people.

So you be creative in implementing these simple steps. Instead of causing someone's death, we'll find life for ourselves.

"For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13, ESV).

by Phil Sanders

When you are down, discouraged, disappointed and depressed, remember who you are!

Since I am in Christ, by the grace of God…

I am God's child (Galatians 3:26,27). I am a saint (1 Corinthians 1:2). I am a disciple (Matthew 28:19). I am a Christian (1 Peter 4:16). I have been justified by faith, completely forgiven and made righteous (Romans 5:1). I have died with Christ and died to the power of sin's rule over my life (Romans 6:1-6). I am free from condemnation (Romans 8:1). I have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). I have been bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19,20). I have been given the Holy Spirit as an earnest of my inheritance (Romans 1:13,14). I no longer live for myself but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14,15). I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live. I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Romans 1:3). I will be raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Romans 2:6). I have access through Him in one Spirit to the Father (Romans 2:18). I can access the Father through Him with boldness and confidence (Romans 3:12). I have been rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son (Colossians 1:13,14). I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (Colossians 1:13,14). I have Christ Himself in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built in Him (Colossians 2:7). I am made complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). My life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life (Colossians 3:1-4). I do not have to be afraid, since God has given me a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). I am sanctified by the suffering of Christ, and Jesus is not ashamed to call me brother (Hebrews 2:9-11). I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). I am part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. I have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). I have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3).

By the grace of God, we are what we are. Perhaps it would help us all to remember who we are when down or tempted or challenged.

You think about it, and it's pretty amazing what God has called us to.