The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
June 5, 2005
In
This Issue:
The
Tick
by
Steve Klein
A
Lesson from a Squirrel
by
Mike Johnson
The Tick
Ever had a tick on you? Ticks are small bloodsucking mites. They spend a good bit of time just waiting in bushes, grass and woods for a victim -- you! Once you happen by, they jump on you and attempt to quickly crawl to a protected spot on your body. Then they sink their mouth parts into your flesh and begin to feed on your life blood. If undetected, a tick will fill itself full and then drop off, often leaving its host inoculated with some debilitating disease such as spotted fever, relapsing fever, Lyme disease, tularemia, encephalitis, or rickets.
The tick is a lot like many kinds of sin:
-
It may get on you when it is small and almost undetectable
- It doesn't demand much sacrifice, but it may cause a little irritation.
- Once imbedded, it's hard to get off.
- It gets bigger the longer it stays on you.
- It leaves you very seriously ill.
Some advice for dealing with ticks and sins:
-
Don't walk in places that are infested. "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise" (Ephesians 5:15).
- Examine yourself daily. "Examine yourselves as to whether
you are in the faith..." (2 Corinthians 13:5).
- Have others examine you, and help examine them too. "But
exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
(Hebrews 3:13).
- If one gets on you, get it off immediately. "Confess
your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you
may be healed..." (James 5:16b).
- If you realize you are getting sick, see the Doctor. Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Mark 2:17).
-- Steve Klein
A few years ago while walking, I saw a squirrel fall from a tree. This is something that I never expected to see. I have often watched squirrels perform all kinds of amazing acrobatic feats. I have seen them do a tightrope walk across a telephone wire; I have seen them jump from the nimble branch of one tree to the nimble branch of another tree; I have seen them make all kinds of graceful jumps, climbs, and hops. I am amazed at all that they can do. However, I never expected to see one fall! It happened as the squirrel jumped from one tree to another. It may have misjudged the distance or perhaps the strength of the branch on the other side. The squirrel fell from quite a distance up, doing a "belly-buster" as it hit the ground. The squirrel seemed unhurt. He got up apparently unscathed and perhaps a little embarrassed. I just never expected to see a squirrel fall; it was something that was just not supposed to happen.
There are a lot of things that happen but are not expected to happen. It has been said, "You can expect the unexpected." The following is a list of some things to think about which people do not expect to happen but often do.
The Failure of Marriage
The Bible teaches that marriage is to be for life. In
Matthew 19:6, Jesus said, "What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder" Jesus said, in Matthew 5:32,
"Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of
fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall
marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" Many people
understand this passage; they intend for their marriage to last a
lifetime, and they never expect it to fail. However, in spite of
expectations, marriages sometimes do fail. The success of a marriage
is not automatic. Marriage must be entered into with a determination
that the relationship is to last for a lifetime. Also, two people
must work to make sure that their marriage is a success. If they do
not, the unexpected may happen; the marriage may fail.
Children Who Go Astray
Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way
he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Ephesians 6:4 says that children are to be brought up "in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord." Christians should greatly
desire and expect that their children will grow up and become
faithful Christians. Again, this is not automatic, so it is important
that parents teach and train their children in the Lord's way. If the
do not, their children may fail in the most important part of their
life, which is their relationship with God.
Preachers Who Preach False Doctrine
Preachers are to preach sound doctrine (2
Timothy 4:3, Titus 2:1). They have a very important responsibility.
Many will listen to a particular preacher over a period of time and
gain confidence in him. Their confidence, however, may ultimately
produce complacency as they stop being on guard against false
doctrine. Consequently, they neither "try the spirits" (I
John 4:1) nor "search the scriptures daily" to see if what
is taught is correct (Acts 17:11).
Strong Christians Falling
Christians are commanded to grow (2 Peter
3:17,18). Many Christians do grow, and they become strong and mature
as children of God. Most everyone knows that there is a chance that a
weak Christian can fall. However, we do not expect it of a
spiritually mature Christian. It is not automatic that even a strong
Christian will remain faithful all of his life. Paul, who obviously
was a strong Christian, said in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
He also warned, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12) Are you a strong
Christian? If so, do not take it for granted that you cannot fall.
Instead, take heed, be careful, and continue to grow (2 Peter 1:5-11).
Being Lost Eternally
The Bible clearly teaches that the lost will
dwell an eternity in hell (Matthew 25:46). Many people believe in
some sort of punishment after death, but very few people view hell as
a threat to them. A survey showed that only 1% of our population felt
that hell was a threat to them. Most everyone expects to be saved
even though they are not Christians or are not faithful Christians.
In Matthew 7:21 Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven." Many people expect to
be saved but will not be. Salvation is not automatic.
Christians need to be on guard. It is not automatic that our marriage will be a success, our children will grow up to be faithful Christians, preachers will always preach the truth, Christians (even strong ones) will remain faithful and never fall, or that we will go to heaven instead of hell. We must not assume too much in any of the above areas. Remember the story of the squirrel. Things often happen that we never expect to happen.
Mike Johnson
~In Gospel Power, Anderson, Alabama, 1/24/99