Ok folks, clear your calendars because a very important event is coming up for which you want to be prepared. I’m not talking about Easter, Labor Day, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or even Christmas. No, it’s nobody’s birthday either. However, I think you will want to be ready for this because an event like this only occurs once every thousand years or so. Oh, you want to know what’s going to happen that day? Scientists estimate that on that day, a meteor about 1/3 of a mile in diameter will come close enough to Earth so that you can see it passing by overhead in the sky.
Have you ever finished a good book wishing there was more to the story? Have you ever watched a movie leaving the theater unsatisfied? Perhaps after a good meal you’ve wished there were more to come. Such things provide us with momentary pleasure, but our desire for more belies our unhappiness. Why are we so unhappy in our society today? We are the most prosperous nation on the earth yet one out of every four individuals in our nation is depressed in some way. What are we doing wrong? Are we confusing pleasure with happiness? Many feel that their happiness rests upon having one pleasurable moment after another. They reason that they simply aren’t happy unless each moment is filled with pleasure. We need to stop thinking this way and look at happiness differently. Happiness does not depend merely on having pleasurable moments, but rather, on whether we are content or satisfied with the moments that come our way. In other words, I don’t have to feel pleasure from something in order to be happy. Is this a strange concept to you?
A querist asks, “What do you consider a hindrance to spiritual growth?” One hindrance to spiritual growth would have to be the problem of neglect (see Hebrews 2:3). It’s been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and there’s more truth to that saying than we might realize. Because of the fast pace many of us experience in today’s society, it’s very easy to become careless in leaving undone the proper study of God’s word, praying in behalf of others, visiting the sick, or any number of other spiritual priorities that might be considered. In Hebrews 2:3, the Hebrew writer says that if no “transgression and disobedience” went by unaccounted for under the Mosaic law delivered by angels; and since the Lord’s message deserves more respect than the message of angels, what hope is there for those of us who would neglect “so great salvation” under the New Testament law of Christ? To ask the question is to answer it.
The following is a story of nature demonstrating the fact that struggles are a necessary part of growth and development for the Christian in this life. God places these struggles (or trials) before us to prepare us for that perfect home in heaven with Him.
We in the churches of Christ observe the Lord’s Supper on Sunday for that is the “example” given us by the early church under the direction of inspired men. “And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them …” (Acts 20:7). This is indeed a fitting day to remember the Lord for it is the day on which He arose from the dead (Mark 16:9) and was declared to be the Son of God with power (Romans 1:4).
We observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday for the same reason we observe it on Sunday in the first place, we have an approved apostolic example. “Which week?” one might ask. The week which has a “first day” is our reply. The Jews kept the Sabbath. how often did they keep it? Every week had a Sabbath, which of course, was every week. The early church was also to give on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). The Greek in this verse means “on the first day of every week” and is so rendered by the New American Standard Version. So, on the first day of every week, they communed and gave.
We take the Lord’s Supper only on the first day of the week because that is the only day we have authority from the Scriptures to take it. “And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). The consequence of adding to what the Lord has approved is outlined in the following verse: “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9)
Praise God that He is not absent from this world. In fact, He has created all of us with the purpose that man “should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him…” (Acts 17:27). You and I are built with an instinct seeking God to know Him, but the last part of Acts 17:27 is most encouraging, “though He is not far from each one of us.” God has not left us as “babes in the woods” but freely gives us reassurance that He is there