At the very beginning, God made the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to grow in the midst of the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived (Gen. 2:9). When they ate of the fruit of that tree their eyes were opened and they knew good and evil (Gen. 3:5-7). God has always given man the choice to decide whether he will follow good or evil. God is the author of good. The truly good blessings we experience in life ultimately come from God, for “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Satan is the author of evil. The devil presents temptations that seem good—just as the serpent told Eve that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make her and her husband as gods—but in fact they are evil (Gen. 3:4-5). Satan lies (Jn. 8:44), beguiles (2 Cor. 11:3), and tricks individuals with his wiles (Eph. 6:11). As a result, “good” and “evil” can become confusing to those unfamiliar with the truth of God’s word or who are taken captive by Satan’s schemes. The present is a convoluted time where wickedness is lauded and righteousness is spurned; however, this is not the only time in history where such wrongheaded thinking has prevailed. In Isaiah 5:20, God pronounced this regarding the wicked in Judah: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

There was a period of time in our society where people were pressured to follow the principles of good and evil as set out in the Bible. Now it is becoming more popular for society to view Christians—with their moral absolutes rooted in the Bible—with suspicion, almost as if we are a threat to humanity pursuing what is good. But take courage, if society is trending this way, then the Lord’s church will find itself in an environment more closely related to the first-century world with its multiple gods, a pluralistic society that had contempt for Christianity’s exclusive claims. The church survived and flourished in a society that was antagonistic to biblical principles. The church can continue to flourish today and people can still come to see the true good instead of being deceived into following evil. How?

If Christians will truly model their lives after Jesus Christ then the church will flourish. Jesus suffered and died for those who hated and abused Him (1 Pet. 2:20-24; 3:18). Cowardly, wicked men who do not want to suffer for righteousness can hide under the guise of Christianity in a society that favors it; however, when suffering and persecution may occur for being a Christian (1 Pet. 4:6), the hypocrites find something else to follow for no earthly advantage remains for claiming to be a Christian. Notice this admonition from Romans 12:14, “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”  As Christians we can show the world the true good that is found in Jesus Christ, a good that springs out of love for others and returns good for evil. Paul continues with these words in Romans 12:17-21:

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

You may be the only good that someone can see in this dark world. Be the good, reflecting the light of Jesus in your own life that others may see the good and come to the truth (Mt. 5:13-16, 38-48).

–Mark Day

            From my last bulletin article, we examined a few of my favorite proverbs; this time around I would like to examine some Proverbs that can be difficult to swallow. These are not difficult to understand, but they are hard to accept and apply to our lives. Will you grow in knowledge by listening to what wisdom has to offer?

            A wise person is willing to take criticism and not take offense to it (Prov. 9:8). Have you ever met that person who goes into a defensive rage when corrected or criticized (Prov. 29:11)? Those who get angry at correction fit into the category of the scoffer or wicked man (Prov. 9:7). Yet, someone who is wise does not abuse or hate the person who gives them criticism. Instead the wise view correction as an opportunity to grow even more in wisdom (Prov. 9:9). Is there ever a point where we have perfected what we do in this life? David, a great and powerful king, was open to being rebuked by a righteous person (Ps. 141:5). Wise people openly accept criticism and if the correction is justified, they listen to the advice! If the criticism is not justified, thank the person for their advice and move on! There is a reason wisdom and humility go hand-in-hand. Those who despise criticism are prideful, not thinking they are in need of any correction. What happens to the prideful person (Prov. 16:18)? “Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Prov. 16:19).

            Have you ever been tempted by a get-rich-quick scheme? It almost seems like the majority of people in this world want to be incredibly wealthy, but do not want to work for it. Do you think that this only applies to our time? In ancient times people wanted to cheat the system to become wealthy by dishonest means too (Prov. 13:11)! Though people may obtain wealth through wickedness, it will not last. Either they will lose their dishonest gain in this life or when they die. There is a reason why you do not see U-Haul trailers attached to the back of a hearse, you cannot take things with you (1 Tim. 6:7)! One of my favorite board games growing up was “Life”. How do you win this board game? Once you make it to retirement, you count up all your money, and the one who has the greatest wealth wins. Is this how you win at real life? Another Proverb says, “Better is a little with righteousness than vast revenues without justice” (Prov. 16:8). It is better to work hard, have little, and be right with God. Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?” (Mk. 8:36). Instead of worrying about wealth, worry about your eternal soul.

            One does not obtain wisdom through genetics or purchase, but it is gained only through learning and experience. Will you take these proverbs to heart? Not only hear the words, but apply them to the way you live. God desires all righteous people to live by these wise sayings. God’s wisdom is far superior to that of men. Will you not follow His wisdom and obey (1 Cor. 1:18-25)?                                                                   

-Brandon Foresha

The words of the hymn “Beauty for Ashes” written by Grant Colfax Tullar provide us a much-needed perspective:

Beauty for ashes God hath decreed!

Help He provideth for every need;

What is unlovely He will restore;

Grace all sufficient: what need we more?

God gives for sadness “garments of praise;”

Stars for our twilight, strength for our days;

Hope for tomorrow, care for today,

Light for our footsteps all of life’s way.

Beauty for ashes, gladness for tears,

Sunshine for darkness, faith for our fears;

Peace for our turmoil, concord for strife,

Heaven at evening—then endless life!

The phrase “beauty for ashes” comes from Isaiah 61:3 where the promise of the Messiah would be realized and those who mourned in Zion would be found joyfully singing praise to God. Remember that Jesus read this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth and declared that He had come and was beginning that day to fulfill what this passage prophesied (Luke 4:16-21).

            In Bible times, ashes were a sign of mourning; the sorrow could be from loss (Job 2:8; 2 Sam. 13:19) or in repentance over sins (Job 42:6; Jonah 3:6; cf. Matt. 11:21). With all the bad news one can easily consume each day, remember the good news—the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came and fulfilled Isaiah 61:1-3:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,

            Because the LORD has anointed Me

            To preach good tidings to the poor;

            He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

            To proclaim liberty to the captives,

            And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

            And the day of vengeance of our God;

            To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

            To give them beauty for ashes,

            The oil of joy for mourning,

            The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

            That they may be called trees of righteousness,

            The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

All of the various pains we suffer as part of this life, whether it be from sin or from some other cause, can be turned into beauty by Jesus Christ. When Christ came into the world, God entered into human suffering, and suffered for our sins so that we can be set free from them. The sins of Israel and the suffering they would endure in captivity would be turned into beauty at Christ’s first coming. Likewise, God’s people today can enjoy the wonderful grace located in Christ and look forward to His second coming. Christians, set your minds on heaven; glorify God for what He has done in Jesus Christ to exchange the ashes of this life for the beauty of heaven that will soon be ours.

-Mark Day

Is the title of this article true? Is it the case that nobody gets to heaven without a fight? Some would possibly say “don’t you know that the Bible says we are to love everybody?” Some might even claim that such a statement is “mean spirited and not the attitude or character a Christian should have.” While it is true that children of God are to love all people (John 13:34; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 6:27) and have proper attitudes (Ephesians 4:15), this in no way negates the truthfulness that nobody gets to heaven without a fight.

Before we get to far in the article, I wish to clarify that I am not talking about evangelism at the point of a sword. As brother Foy E. Wallace said, “We cannot shoot the Gospel into a man nor machine-gun Christianity into a community. The Gospel is not coercive; it is persuasive.” The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. Did you notice that? Paul referred to our warfare. New Testament Christians we are at war. Not a physical war, but in a spiritual war, a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” That is the reason Paul would tell Timothy, and by extension all Christians in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” Those who have obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ are in the Army of The Lord.

As soldiers of The Lord we must ever be ready for duty, prepared for conflict (spiritual), and never retreat in the face of the enemy. When trials and tribulations come upon us in this life, we wade into battle wearing the armor of God, Ephesians 6:13-17, and “war a good warfare”, 1 Timothy 1:18. New Testament Christians cannot “turn tail and run” away from the battle. 1 Corinthians 15:58 is the “stand your ground” law of the kingdom when it says “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We are to be stedfast (seated, fixed, standing one’s ground) and unmoveable (unshaken, stable) in the work which Jesus Christ requires His children to do.

This leads us to ask, “What if we don’t stay in the fight? What if we do surrender. In Revelation 21:8 we read “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Those who are “fearful” are included with those who will not enter heaven. The basic meaning of this word is cowardly, fearful, timid, fainthearted. This word is used only two other times in the New Testament in Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40. This word translated fearful is never used in a good sense in the New Testament. These are those who shrink back and are unwilling to pay the costs of discipleship. In these God is not pleased: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:38-39). There is no room in the Lord’s army for cowards and one must not maintain such an ongoing attitude. We are to stay in the fight, regardless of circumstances, whether in times of pandemic or riots or whatever storm of life that comes upon us. If we do not, nobody gets to heaven without a fight.

-Jerry D. Sturgill