by Stan Mitchell

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).

The tall man stepped to the platform of the train, and looked at the crowd arrayed before him. His angular features reflected the gravity of the moment. He understood the importance of what he was about to say. The site was the place where thousands of men had fallen in battle, the critical moment in a bitter, heart-breaking civil war. The time had come to speak the words that would begin the healing. Conversely, the wrong words might tear the nation apart again. He had to find the right words.

He began slowly, haltingly, then began to pick up steam. The crowd listened -- it was hard to tell how they were taking it. These were relatives of the men who were killed, colleagues, the wounds still fresh and painful.

The speech ended, and the crowd sat in silence. The speaker sat down heavily, convinced he had failed. But he was wrong. The crowd had been stunned by the breadth of the dream, silenced by the eloquence of its simplicity. They were so moved they could not respond.

You know the speech. It began, oddly, with an account of how many years had passed: "Four score and seven years" earlier, their leaders had given birth to a dream. Abraham Lincoln wanted that dream to be revived. And his Gettysburg Address went a long way in accomplishing that aim.

The nation survived, and grew, and prospered. You never know the good you will do if you say the thing you need to say. "I’m sorry." "I believe in you." "Thank you." "I forgive you." You may not see immediate results, but they may occur anyway.

Think it through. Be brave. Then say what needs to be said.

by Barbara Oliver

"I have this tool bar that I can't get rid of."

"Go to View, Toolbars, and unclick it."

"It won't unclick."

"Go to this site and download their software. It will find it and remove it for you."

"I am running it now. WOW, where did all this stuff come from? I didn't know it was on my computer! So, is this spy software free?"

"Not usually. They make you buy it before they delete all the junk."

"Ouch! Thirty bucks!"

Mike had been very careful. He only used his computer for research for sermons. But he discovered that behind the scenes, someone had been downloading software onto his computer from the Internet without his consent. It happens to us all. We innocently visit a web site, turn off our computer, go to bed, and BAM! The next morning we discover that we have extra toolbars, pop-ups, weird sounds, strange cursors, and other unwanted stuff.

How did it get there? How do you get rid of it? Like Mike, you usually have to pull your credit card out of your pocket and lay down thirty bucks!

In the church we are going along just fine, not many problems, pretty good growth, and then BAM! We discover that someone has been downloading spyware into the congregation.

Jesus warns that it will happen. The enemy plants tares in the field with the good seed, and before you know it, you have weeds in with the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). Peter warns against false teachers "secretly" introducing destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1, NASV). The Galatians experienced it. They were bewitched by the teachings of some of the Jewish brethren (Galatians 3:1), exchanging the freedom and the blessings they enjoyed in Christ for slavery under the old law.

Weeding out the spyware always demands a price. Some things we may have to tolerate awhile, "lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them" (Matthew 13:30). For example, new Christians often bring strange ideas with them. These will often disappear with teaching, time, and patience.

Some things we have to get rid of, regardless of the cost, because "a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough" (Galatians 5:9). Some religious people deny the things written in the Bible. They deny the virgin birth, the miracles, the creation, and some even deny the sonship of Christ!

There is an old saying, "Forewarned is forearmed." Peter says it better: "You, therefore, beloved, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness" (2 Peter 3:17).

We will always have to deal with spyware on the Internet. We must be careful where we go and what we allow to be downloaded. In our spiritual lives and family, we must also be careful not to let false teachers slip through our defenses. And though we cannot always prevent these problems, we must "be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14).

by Roger E. Dickson

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he died spiritually, for his sin separated him from God (Romans 5:12). He was also separated from the tree of life, and thus, took all humanity with him. All of us now suffer the consequences of his sin in that we all must physically die (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

In the midst of this human tragedy, however, God made a promise that a solution for sin would come (Genesis 3:15). Throughout the Old Testament there are hundreds of prophecies that foretold the coming of the Messiah who would make atonement for the sins of men. All of these prophecies were concerning Jesus, who would die on the cross in order to reconcile us to God. He also came to give us a way to conquer that which all of us fear: physical death (Hebrews 2:14).

God chose a man by the name of Abraham through whom He would bring into the world the One who would be the Savior of man-kind. God promised Abraham, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). From the time this promise was made around 2000 B.C., God continually reminded His people that there was a "blessing" coming who would bear the iniquities of the people (Isaiah 53). The promise was not only to the descendants of Abraham, the Jews, but to all families of the earth. It was God's promise to humanity.

The Seed!

So, who was the blessing? Peter stated, "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed!' To you first, God having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities" (Acts 3:25,26).

The Seed of Abraham that would bless all mankind was Jesus. Paul wrote, "Now to Abraham and His Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as to many, but as to one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). So the Seed was Jesus Christ. This was the Seed of woman whom God promised after Adam sinned, the One who would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15).

The Blessing!

Now, what was the blessing of Abraham that would come from the Seed? The Bible answers, "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed'" (Galatians 3:8). The Gospel in this promise has reference to good news that would be preached to all the world!

The Gospel was the good news of the Seed who would take care of our sin problem in our relationship with God. He would bring us to justification by faith (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16). He would thus reconcile us to God by His blood (Romans 5:10,11). This is how Jesus blesses all those who believe in Him and obey the commands of the Gospel. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 42, pgs. 38-39.

by Wayne Jackson

It is easy to be happy when all is well. It is difficult to rejoice in tragedy -- some think that it is very nearly impossible. The prophet Habakkuk suggests otherwise.

When Habakkuk had been confronted with the reality of the impending Babylonian invasion, he was sick to the bone. His body trembled and his lips quivered. Each day, with deep dread, he awaited the promised judgment upon his nation. In that time of terror no crops would be harvested; flocks and herds would vanish. What devastation there would be (Habakkuk 3:16,17).

Habakkuk could not divorce himself from his human emotions, but he determined that they would not dominate him. In the midst of his darkness he could courageously say: "... there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:18).

What a brilliant flash of faith! And what a lesson we can learn from it. Habakkuk's confident affirmation heralds this truth. Joy is an inward quality of choice. It does not depend upon external circumstances. It is grounded in a relationship with the Creator. Hard times may come, but if we know that we are with God, and that He is with us, our souls can be bathed in joy. Consider Habakkuk 3:18 carefully, and remember that joy depends upon the internal, not the external; it is intellectual, not circumstantial. This is the Christian view of life's events.

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 4, pg. 60.

By Michael E. Brooks

"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers" (1 Corinthians 3:5-9a).

After several years of enduring a "yard" of weeds, barren of shrubs, flowers, or any adornment, my wife, Brenda, and I have more recently spent nearly all of our "spare" time on landscaping and gardening. Our latest project was mulching all our foundation plantings and flower beds. Several pickup loads of shredded bark now cover the ground, keeping out weeds, preserving moisture, shading roots, and looking good to boot. This whole process has reinforced my early childhood opinion –- gardening is hard work! That opinion is now tempered, however, with the additional observation that the rewards are great. It is well worth the effort.

Are not the same principles true of working in the vineyard of the Lord? Christian service is hard work, but well worth it. We are partners of Jesus Christ, fellow workers with God himself. It just does not get any better than that. Christians are involved in the greatest labor on earth. Whether our ministry is preaching, teaching, edifying, helping, or leading by example, we are pursuing an eternal reward for ourselves and for those we serve. No goal is higher. No accomplishment is greater.

The metaphor of gardening (or farming) is one often used by Jesus and the Apostles in describing the work of Christians. Jesus prayed for "laborers in the harvest" (Matthew 9:22). He often used agricultural parables to illustrate truths concerning God and his kingdom (Matthew 13). Paul compared the preacher to "the hard-working farmer" (2 Timothy 2:6). And perhaps most famously he identified himself and Apollos as "those who planted and watered" in Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:5ff). These texts, along with many others, suggest several principles regarding our service to God.

First, there is important work for the Christian to do. Perhaps God could have arranged for the salvation of the world in some direct, miraculous manner, not using human help in any way. However, he did not. He chose to save the world through preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21; Romans 10:13-17). That means he chose to have humans assist him in achieving his eternal purpose. We are his fellow workers! You and I have meaning -- purpose in life. We matter. That is a great blessing, one which many may not appreciate, until the meaning-less-ness of their own lives leads them to depression and failure.

Secondly, like farming or gardening, Christian service is hard work, with many steps along the way. Ground must be broken with plow or hoe. Seed beds must be prepared, then the seeds planted. Weeds must be hoed or pulled, and fertilizer added. Young plants must be watered and they need to be mulched. Finally, at the end of the season the harvest must be gathered and processed, with the whole procedure beginning anew in a few short months. There is need for many laborers, and for each one to work diligently. Paul points out that no one has to do (or can do) all this alone. Each has his own gift, his or her own talent within the general area of Christian service. Some are planters. Some can better water. Others can plow, or hoe, or mulch. There is room and need for all. Recognizing this removes jealousy and pride. I do not own the vineyard. I do not deserve credit for the harvest. Others have done equally important work along the way. And none of us caused the increase. That was given by God. Be grateful for it, but never claim it as a personal accomplishment. We are his workers; the vineyard belongs to him. Pray for more laborers.