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BulletinGold
#136
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April
2012
|
Vol.
12
Num.
2 |
Editors:
|
David
Bragg
|
Edward
Thomason
|
| BulletinGold |
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In This
Issue:
|
Articles
|
Nuggets
|
Poems
|
Quotes
|
- “It Must Be In
There Somewhere…” by A. C. Quinn
- God
and the IRS,
by William Parris
- When
I Survey
the Wondrous Cross, Patrick Hogan
- A
Truly Healthy
Diet Plan, by Gerald
Cowan |
- Victory at
the Cross, by Charlie Gamble
- Brotherly Advice
- Marriage, by
David Sain
- The Quilt
|
- Have No Fear,
by Jo Ann Carlson
- Plant for
Eternity
- April Lace,
by Floy McHood
Lindsay
|
quotes & sayings for
bulletins and signs
|
| Editorial by
David Bragg |
Welcome to
the April 2012
issue of BulletinGold. Thank you for
your support of
BulletinGold and may God richly bless
your ministry.
David
Bragg
http://davebragg.blog.com/
|
| Panning
for Gold Feature
Articles: |
|
“It Must Be In There
Somewhere…”
By A. C.
Quinn
A busy waitress at an
over-crowded
fish restaurant on a Friday evening was
trying to
explain to patrons why there was such an
overflowing
crowd on this particular Friday night.
She explained
that it was Lenten Season, so a lot of
Catholic people
come to eat fish on Friday in observance
thereof. She
went on to explain that her denomination
observed Lent,
as well. She was asked by one of her
patrons where this
observance was spoken of in the Bible.
Her response was
the epitome of sincere religious
blindness. She said: “I
don’t know where it is, but it must be
in there
somewhere, or they wouldn't be doing
it.” The
flabbergasted patron to whom she was
responding wanted
so much to take this sweet lady aside,
and as Aquila and
Priscilla did Apollos (Acts 18:26),
expound to her “…the
way of God more perfectly.” However,
neither time nor
circumstances permitted such an
opportunity;
nevertheless, a door may be opened.
The exchange above is
a good example
of so many who are following blind
religious leaders as
the folks were following the scribes and
Pharisees in
Jesus’ days when He spoke to the same
issue:
Matthew 15:13-14 "But he answered and
said, Every plant,
which my heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be
rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind
leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall
into the ditch."
The results for those who do not heed
the warning today
will be the same as it was when Jesus
spoke.
One of the most fatal
mistakes
religious folks make today is that they
put their trust
in what men say rather than what the
Bible teaches on
religious matters. It, therefore,
behooves every
individual who is searching for the hope
and salvation
which God offers to the human race to
“Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me”
(John 5:39).
Those in Berea are the perfect example
of what people
ought to do--”…they received the word
with all readiness
of mind, and searched the scriptures
daily, whether
those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
There is one source,
and one source
alone, by which every controversy must
be tried, and
that is by the Word that comes from the
Lord
(Deuteronomy 21:5). It matters not
whether one desires
to know if observance of fasting during
a period
referred to as Lent is scriptural, or if
it is
scriptural to sprinkle for baptism, or
if instrumental
music in the public worship scriptural.
These and all
other religious controversies can be put
to rest by
simply searching the scriptures and
applying what the
honest searcher finds there.
- A. C. Quinn preaches for the West Main
church of
Christ in Wolfe City, TX. He may be
contacted at acuen30@netzero.net
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God and the IRS
By
William Parris
Income tax time
will soon be
upon us. Some of you probably have
received your
1040 booklets and have begun to read
them. The
booklet contains many instructions with
which we have to
comply. We may read them and say that we
agree with some
but would prefer our own way on
others. We can’t
decide to create a new tax deduction or
tax credit or
use our own tax rates just because the
instructions do
not specifically state that we cannot do
so. We
are required to follow them exactly as
printed and we
are required to file our 1040 forms by
the required
date. The IRS will accept nothing
less from
us. We can’t tell them that we
decided to do the
return our own way or we just never got
around to filing
the return.
God has
provided us with
instructions for our life in the
Bible. We are to
follow the instructions exactly.
He has a plan for
our salvation, for living our life, and
for worshiping
him. The IRS won’t allow us to “do
it our
way”. Why should we expect God to
require less of
us than the IRS?
- William Parris is a new member of the
College Church
of Christ in Victoria, Texas. Ken
Walters preaches
for the congregation and may be
contacted at http:www.collegechurchvictoria.org
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When
I Survey the
Wondrous Cross
By Patrick Hogan
Isaac Watts, who
lived from 1674
to 1749 continues to influence Christians
worship over 250
years after his death. During his lifetime
he wrote
approximately 600 hymns, many of which are
still used in
worship today.
In 1707, he wrote
"When I Survey
the Wondrous Cross." The words to the
second verse are:
"Forbid it Lord that I should boast, save
in the death of
Christ my Lord. All the vain things that
charm me most, I
sacrifice them to His blood." This thought
is surely based
on the apostle Paul's affirmation in
Galatians 6:14, "But
God forbid that I should boast except in
the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has
been crucified to
me, and I to the world."
When we reflect
on (survey) the
cross, we should truly be amazed and
humbled. When we
survey the cross we see the reality of
sin, for if it were
not for mankind's sin, the death of Jesus
would not have
been necessary. We also see the high cost
of redemption.
To redeem us required the death of the Son
of God! The
cost of redemption reminds us of how
serious sin truly is.
When we survey
the cross we are
reminded that the price for our redemption
has been paid.
Because of the cross we have been spared
from
condemnation.
When we survey
the cross we are
told in no uncertain terms that God loves
us. As
unbelievable as it may seem, He really
loves us.
May we, like
Paul, determine to
glory only in the cross of Jesus.
- Patrick Hogan serves as a minister and
elder of the
Shady Acres church of Christ, in Sikeston,
MO. He
may be contacted through the church's
website at http://www.shadyacreschurch.com
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A Truly Healthy Diet Plan
By Gerald Cowan
This
is about the time of the
year when it becomes apparent that the
diet plan you
included in your New Year’s Resolutions
is working – or
is not working, again. You went through
this last year
too, didn’t you?
For a healthy
diet there are
things you must avoid. They are not good
for you.
- Do
not eat humble pie. This is usually
nothing but
self-pity, a put-on that adds to
your other
problems.
- Do
not eat crow. This is deserved shame
and
embarrassment.
- Do
not eat your heart out. Envy will
always leave you
unsatisfied and wanting more.
- Do
not swallow your pride. It will
damage your
digestion.
For a healthy diet there are some things
you must always
include.
- Be
sure you hunger and thirst for
righteousness (Mt.
5:7). You will never take in
anything that will harm
you, or others.
- Go
on a strict bread and water diet.
The bread of life
(Jesus and every word that comes
from the mouth of
God; John 6:35, Mt. 4:4). The water
of life (the
Spirit that Christ gives to those
who believe and
obey him; John 7:37-39, Rev. 22:17).
- Gerald
Cowan preaches for the Dongola church of
Christ in
Dongola, IL. He may be contacted
at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com
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| Nuggets
&
Quick
Riches
-
misc. goodies |
|
Victory at the Cross
By
Charlie Gamble
I have heard lessons about victory in
the cross before,
but the other day I noticed something
that had always
been right before my eyes. There are
four “V” letters at
the angles of the cross. That is an
obvious sermon
outline. Victory over sin, victory over
death, victory
over hopelessness, victory over Satan
could be among the
topics. Just pick any four and start
preaching. Just
when it looked like Satan had won, Jesus
gave us the
victory. Likewise, when it seems that
life is getting us
down, we should remember that we are
already victorious.
Just look at the cross.
- Charlie Gamble preaches for the Brunswick
church
of Christ in Southport, NC.
. He may be
contacted at cgamble64@gmail.com |
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Brotherly Advice
Charlie was playing
with his little
brother, Mickey, when the little boy
asked whether he
could fly like Superman.
“Sure you can,
Mickey,” Charlie
said. “Just flap your arms really
hard.”
Mickey climbed up on
the windowsill,
started flapping like mad, jumped, then
smashed into the
floor, just a few inches below.
Horrified by Mickey’s
screaming,
their mother ran into the room and said,
“What
happened?”
Charlie said, “I was
just teaching
Mickey not to believe everything he’s
told.”
- Cybersalt Digest; via THE SOWER, a
weekly publication
of the Arthur church of Christ, Arthur,
IL. Ron
Bartanen, who serves as minister and
editor, may be
contacted through the congregation's
website: http://www.arthurchurchofchrist.com
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Marriage
By David Sain
Marriage is the
product of love that
begins as blind excitement and matures
into commitment
and responsibility.
Marriage is stronger
than death, yet
so fragile that we celebrate the
achievement of staying
together.
Marriage is a lot of
routines, yet it
needs daily attention ... and never to
be taken for
granted.
Marriage is growing
up and growing
old together, but it is also growing in
trust and
contentment.
Marriage is
disappointments and hurts
along the way. It is also happiness and
laughter along
the way. But the bad times are made a
little easier, and
the good times are made even better, by
sharing them
together.
- David Sain, via The Central Message,
the weekly
bulletin of the Central church of Christ
in Paducah
KY. Jim Faughn serves as an elder
and preacher for
the congregation. He may be
contacted through the
congregation's website at: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org
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The Quilt
As I faced my Maker
at last judgment,
I knelt before the Lord along with the
other souls.
Before each of us laid our lives, like
the squares of a
quilt. An angel sat before each of us
sewing our quilt
squares together into a tapestry that is
our life.
But as my angel took each
piece of cloth
off the pile, I noticed how ragged and
empty each of my
squares was. They were filled with giant
holes. Each
square was labeled with a part of my
life that had been
difficult, the challenges and
temptations I was faced
with in everyday life. I saw hardships
that I endured,
which were the largest holes of all.
I glanced around me.
Nobody else had
such squares. Other than a tiny hole
here and there, the
other tapestries were filled with rich
color and all the
bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed
upon my own life
and was disheartened. My angel was
sewing the ragged
pieces of cloth together, threadbare and
empty like
binding air.
Finally the time came
when each life
was to be displayed, held up to the
light, the scrutiny
of the truth ...The others rose, each in
turn, holding
up their tapestries. So filled their
lives had been.
My angel looked upon
me, and nodded
for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the
ground in shame.
I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I
had love in my
life, and laughter. But there had also
been trials of
illness and death, and false accusations
that took from
me my world as I knew it.
I had to start over
many times. I
often struggled with the temptation to
quit, only to
somehow muster the strength to pick up
and begin again.
I had spent many lonely nights on my
knees in prayer,
asking for help and guidance in my life.
I had often
been held up to ridicule, which I
endured painfully:
each time offering it up to the Father
in hopes that I
would not melt within my skin beneath
the judgmental
gaze of those who unfairly judged me.
And now, I had to
face the truth. My
life was what it was, and I had to
accept it for what it
had been...I rose and slowly lifted the
combined squares
of my life to the light. An awe-filled
gasp filled the
air. I gazed around at the others who
stared at me with
eyes opened wide.
Then I looked upon
the tapestry
before me. Light flooded the many holes,
creating an
image, The Face of Christ. Then our Lord
stood before
me, with love and warmth in his eyes. He
said: "Every
time you gave over your life to me, it
became my life,
my hardships, and my struggles. Each
point of light in
your life is when you stepped aside and
let me shine
thru, until there was more of me than
there was of you."
- Author Unknown; submitted by Amy
Hardeman, a
member of the Oliver
church of Christ in
Rogersville, AL.
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| Hearts
of Gold
- poetry |
Have No
Fear
By Jo Ann
Carlson
God only
seems afar off
When
troubles 'round you
press.
You're only
blinded by your
fears
But He's
still there to
bless.
You only
think God is not
near;
And prayers
you pray
unheard.
You'll find
His
ever-present love,
When you
read His Holy
Word.
He's a help
in time of
trouble,
And a
friend for just a
prayer.
God is
waiting patiently;
And He's
always, always,
there!
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Plant for
Eternity
If you would plant for a year, plant
grain:
Yours shall be grain, simple and plain.
If you would plant for a decade, plant
trees:
Yours shall be olives and shade and
ease.
To plant for eternity, plant men:
Eternal harvests shall be yours then.
- Selected
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April
Lace
By Floy McHood
Lindsay
Misty shades of green
Spread fragile fingers of lace
Across the trees, and touch the sky.
Floral sprays of beauty,
In rainbow colors,
Appearing here and there,
And birds flit by;
Reminding us again that God remembers
His promise of new life.
You will find His face
If you look deep into the magic
Of the morning,
As your eyes behold the mystery
Of April lace.
- Floy McHood Lindsay; via THE SOWER, a
weekly
publication of the Arthur church of
Christ, Arthur, IL.
Ron Bartanen, who serves as minister and
editor, may be
contacted through the congregation's
website: http://www.arthurchurchofchrist.com
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| Gold Mines ---- quotes,
sayings & sign messages |
"Do you
really
believe that Jesus has taken all your
sin, or do you
reserve a part for old times sake?"
"Those are the best Christians who are
more careful to
reform themselves than to censure
others."
Horace Greeley: "Fame is a vapor,
popularity an
accident, riches take wings. Only one
thing endures, and
that is character."
"Do not squander time, for that is the
stuff life is
made of."
"People who have no charity for the
faults of others are
generally blind to their own!"
John Bunyan: "Indeed, this is one of the
great mysteries
in the world - namely that a
righteousness that resides
with a Person in heaven should justify
me, a sinner, on
earth."
"One of the most difficult things to
give away is
kindness, for it is usually returned."
The best thing to save for old age is
YOURSELF.
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