THE CHURCH OF CHRIST WEBSITE

by Tom Wacaster

For slightly more than one year the Handley church of Christ has placed an article in the Meadowbrook News advertizing our services, location, and focusing on a wide variety of subject matter. Attempting to develop a lengthy discussion on any particular subject is futile in what limited space we were allotted. So, I would occasionally write two or more articles on one particular topic and run these in a series. The Meadowbrook News is not the only paper in which I have used had opportunity to place a weekly or bi-weekly article. Almost every place I have done local work we have used the power of the printed page to encourage the community to think and reason with us. Such articles, though short in nature, provide an opportunity to keep the church out before the public while teaching the truth on a wide variety of topics that are important to society in general, and to individuals in particular.

I have learned over the years that ...

By Ron Boatwright

January 22, 1973 (Roe v. Wade) is the darkest day in the history of the United States. On this day the U.S. Supreme Court made the unconstitutional ruling that killing an unborn baby is an act protected by the Constitution of the United States. It ruled that any woman who wants to kill her alive but unborn baby may do so whenever and however she decides. Since then 23% of all babies in this country are killed before they ever see the light of day. The total of murdered babies in the USA since 1973 is 46 million and climbing.

This legalized murder is called "Pro-Choice", but the baby has no choice. Any unborn child can be doomed to death if his mother deems him an inconvenience or burden to her life. It is argued that any woman has the right to do with her body as she chooses. But the baby she carries is not her body. Its life belongs to the body of another human being.

An awful inconsistency exists in this country. One ...

By David Sain

To help you set and keep your priorities straight, take the following personal inventory.

1. Which is more important to you? Making sure your dog (or cat) gets fed every day or making sure that your child gets daily spiritual nourishment?
2. Which is more important to you? Watching television or taking time for prayer and Bible study every day?
3. Which is more important to you? Speaking out on current political issues or speaking out to help someone understand Bible truth?
4. Which is more important to you? The time you spend playing sports, hunting, or fishing or the time you spend with your children?
5. Which is more important to you? The time you spend adorning your body or the time you spend improving the inner man?
6. Which is more important to you? What you think of last Sunday’s sermon or what God thinks of your response to the sermon?
7. Which is more important to you? The condition and appearance of your ...

A great number of women wonder if the perfect man exists. They have scanned the horizon and often come back thinking they must train a man to make him perfect. That leads them to the question, “Can a man learn to be perfect?” Certainly, a great number of women attempt to find out! In the long run, the realization of perfection depends upon the standard used and whether or not a man adheres to it. Many women believe their man reaches near perfection when they can get him to stop leaving his underwear on the floor and he begins putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Seeking the perfect man is no joke! A higher standard of perfection exists. A perfect man can be had!

In the pages of the Bible, Jesus stands as a sinless model of perfection. However, the Bible lists two other men as being perfect. Genesis 6:9 notes, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God.” Job 1:1, 1:8, and 2:3 declare Job “perfect and upright, one that ...

Jesus, the messiah of mankind, lived a life in the flesh like no other man. His words and his actions perfectly fit the pattern prescribed by God the Father (John 5:30, John 12:49-50). That all men save Jesus fall short of the Glory of God is factual (Romans 3:23). Yet, many who declare themselves prepared for faithful commitment to God soon find themselves transgressing against their vows to serve him. Their declaration of service comes before considering the cost – their life (Galatians 2:20). Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the sower.
How many souls have walked the path of those words? Hearts praise God every time a sinner comes to Him and humbly calls upon ...

By Tom Wacaster

A brief glimpse at the world in general does not immediately reveal much that is positive or constructive. A mad man rules over Iran, threatening to annihilate Israel if given the opportunity. In the face of economic sanctions and international condemnation, Iran remains defiant over its nuclear energy program. Al-Qaida and the Taliban appear to be as strong as ever. The European economy is in the tank, not to mention our own economic woes. To the dismay of much of Russia, Vladimir Putin will be re-elected as Russian President. Greece had to have a second bail out to the tune of several billion more dollars. Syria suffers under the heavy hand of government suppression. Meanwhile, back home our politicians fling mud at one another, and the approval rate for Congress continues to plummet to a new record low. Our government leaders appear to be completely inept at solving our social and economic woes; and they will remain inept as long ...

I never cease to be amazed at the overwhelming evidence of design that so engulfs our world. Only the fool would say there is no God. I recently came across this little tid-bit of information regarding water. It serves as a constant reminder that "God hath not left Himself without witness."

"Water is one of the most plentiful and, at the same time, most necessary substances on earth. Obviously, we know that it is necessary to drink six to eight glasses of water per day to have good health. We need water for cooking, for cleansing and many other essential daily functions. However, water has many more essential properties and necessary functions beyond what we normally think. Water has the property of absorbing vast quantities of oxygen at low temperatures. This makes life possible for the creatures of the seas and the lakes. Water has the unusual property that its maximum density is at four degrees centigrade, ...

By Charles Box

Good water to drink and use is a great blessing from God. Many in our world still depend on a well dug in the ground, near their house for water. “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” (Proverbs 25:25) The only cold of cool water that some will ever have is that water right from the well. Some of you grew up with a well in the yard and a dipper there at the well where people could draw and drink fresh, cool water directly from the well. In the Bible we read such great expressions as “the fountain of living waters.” O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah 17:13) The Bible even has the expression, “the wells of salvation.” “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3) Underground water is often found by Dowsing. ...

1. Baptism stands between the sinner and rejoicing. (Acts 8:39)
2. Baptism stands between the sinner and calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16)
3. Baptism stands between the sinner and the death of Christ. (Romans 6:3)
4. Baptism stands between the sinner and the blood of Christ. (Romans 6:3)
5. Baptism stands between the sinner and getting into Christ. (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27)
6. Baptism stands between the sinner and the resurrection. (Colossians 2:12; Rom. 6:5)
7. Baptism stands between the sinner and the new life. (Romans 6:4)
8. Baptism stands between the sinner and putting on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
9. Baptism stands between the sinner and cleansing. (Ephesians 5:26; Rev. 1:5)
10. Baptism stands between the sinner and sanctification. (Ephesians 5:26)
11. Baptism stands between the sinner and justification. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
12. Baptism stands between the sinner and becoming a new creature. ...

by Tom Wacaster

There are certain words in the Bible that astound the mind and thrill the heart. Words like "redemption," "forgiveness," "grace," and "salvation" are among those words. The worldly minded can never appreciate the magnitude nor the depth of those words as they relate to matters eternal. But those who have been rescued from the bondage of sin have an appreciation that cannot be expressed in words. The word "reconciliation" is another word that falls into that category. It is not a difficult word, nor is it hard to understand. Webster defines the word "reconciliation" as meaning "to restore to friendship or harmony, to settle or resolve." When applied to people it means to get two separated people back together again. It may refer to a husband who wants to be reconciled to his wife, or a father who wants to be reconciled to a wayward son. But when we use the word to refer to a sinner ...

By Tom Wacaster

Senator John Boehner used this analogy some months back when referring to attempts to "negotiate" with the President and his staff in matters concerning the economy, taxes, and balancing the budget. More precisely the Speaker of the House pointed out, "Dealing with them the last couple months has been like dealing with Jell-o," Boehner said. "Some days it's firmer than others. Sometimes it's like they've left it out over night." I have been preaching for almost four decades now, and I can attest to the frustration that comes with trying to reason with folks in a logical, analytical manner. Some folks simply cannot be taught; not because they are incapable of receiving the facts, but because they have become so close-minded that the truth cannot penetrate their thick skull. Pride and selfishness play an important role in hardening the heart and closing the mind to truth. It is even possible for a person to so harden his ...

by Tom Wacaster


Slowly but surely the coffin is being nailed closed for the Western world in general, and the United States more specifically. The front page of the December 7th issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram provided the following item: "Foreign aid to promote gay rights." Reading further, "The United States will being using U.S. foreign aid to promote gay rights abroad, Obama administration officials said Tuesday. President Barack Obama issued a memorandum directing U.S. agencies to look for ways to combat efforts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality." This "memorandum" is one more nail in the coffin that will bury the United States in the ashes of nations that have traveled the same path of moral indecency to their own destruction. Sodom and Gomorah "are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7). And example of what? These two cities serve as an ...

Early in our life, my wife and I lived in Springfield, Oregon. When my wife and I lived there, we lived in an undesirable location. We were young, in college, and couldn’t afford any better. The apartments we lived in certainly did not house the upper echelon of society. Drugs, foul language, fights, crime, and yes, even shootings were characteristic of the area. Despite the chaos surrounding us, we created two little 5x8 strips of lawn next to our back patio. We tried to make lemonade out of lemons. Years after having moved, we would drive by where we once lived. Amazingly enough, things became filthier, rougher, and more run down. The return trips we made each time served as memorial stones to us. They were reminders of how God had blessed us and delivered us away from those former times. Man observes many memorials, even marking their own graves with memorial stones. The practice of memorializing an event or entity does not correspond only to modern day observances. The ...

THE WORK WE WANT TO DO, AND WHY

Today there is confusion on every hand when we began an attempt to make sense of all the religious confusion that is prevalent. For a long time the problems to understanding God’s Written Word (i.e. the Bible) has troubled me immensely. As a result of this troubled mind we have now launched a medium through which we may be able to share our views about many aspects of Biblical truth. Indeed, we fully realize that there will be voices that have no desire to look further than their current circumstance, there will be some who are so entrenched in error that they cannot see (i.e. blind guides of the blind—cf. Matthew 23:16-24, “16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say,' Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; ...

1. Unless God was mistaken in His concern, we must reach out to people.
2. Unless God’s revelation of Himself in Christ was a meaningless gesture, we must reach out to people.
3. Unless Jesus was mistaken when He created the church, we must reach out to people.
4. Unless the disciples misunderstood what Jesus told them to do, we must reach out to people.
5. Unless no one is presently in bondage to sin, we must reach out to people.
6. Unless the penalty for sin is no longer death, we must reach out to people.
7. Unless the gospel is no longer “good news,” we must reach out to people.
8. Unless God’s “whosoever will” invitation has been withdrawn, we must reach out to people.
9. Unless the kingdom of God has vanished from the earth, we must reach out to people.
10. Unless Christ’s second coming for His own has been canceled, we must reach out to people. --- Anonymous

Consider this:
James 2:8-9 - 8 If ...

"Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord" (Acts 9:10). Luke records the beginning of a sequence of events that would eventually lead to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Many sermons have been preached on Paul the apostle; perhaps more than any other single New Testament character. And while we readily admit the almost super human accomplishments of this great apostle for Christ, we would do well to consider the man who played a vital role in the conversion of Saul. That man's name is Ananias. For some reason Ananias seems to have been forgotten when it comes to sermons and lessons about good and godly men. Acts 9:10 tells us that he was a "certain disciple." So far as we know he was not an elder in the church, and there is no indication that he served as a deacon, or even a preacher or evangelist for that matter. He ...

By Charles Box

Those who become Christians must believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Christians must also understand the Two Covenants. The Bible is divided into two parts: (1) the Old Testament, and (2) the New Testament. The Old Testament contains the Law of Moses. It is also called the First Covenant. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.” (Hebrews 8:7) The New Testament contains the Law of Christ. “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24) So we today live under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. We are to ...

By JASON HILBURN

Since the book Should We Pray to Jesus? was published in 2010, more material has been
published by brethren who believe Christians have Scriptural authority to pray to Jesus and the
Holy Spirit. Some new arguments have been presented in an attempt to support their doctrine.
What this author considers to be their main arguments will now be taken into consideration, along
with some further discussion of subjects previously addressed.

Part 1 - Daring Dismissal of Definitive Divine Doctrine
Recently some have tried to “explain away” some of the clearest language in the Bible. They claim
that since sometimes there can be an exception to a word like “always,” then “always” does not
mean “always” in Ephesians 5:20; that “for all things” does not mean “for all things” in Ephesians
5:20; “every thing” does not mean “everything” in Philippians 4:6; “nothing” does not really mean ...