By Al Diestelkamp
There is little doubt that
one of Satan's tactics, in his effort to "kill and destroy"
(Jn. 10:10), is to divide and conquer. He knows that if he can
get Christians to "bite and devour one another" (Gal.
5:15) that he will not only win the parties involved, but will
also turn others away from Christ.
Satan doesn't care whether
the division among Christians arises from personal disputes,
cultural differences, or doctrinal issues. He's willing to use
any and all avenues of driving wedges and splintering the body
of Christ, one congregation at a time.
Knowing this to be one of Satan's
devices should motivate Christians to foil his plan by being
determined to "be of one mind" (2 Cor. 13:11). Of course,
in order to do this we must have "compassion for one another;
love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous" (1 Pet.
3:8).
Diverse personality traits
will sometimes provoke disputes among brethren. When that happens
we need to remember that we are commanded to "pursue peace
with all men" (Heb. 12:14). That means work at it! Otherwise,
it is bound to result in bitterness, which will "cause trouble,
and by this many become defiled" (Heb. 12:15).
The handling of doctrinal differences
is another area in which we need to work hard in order to maintain,
if at all possible, peace among our brethren. There is no doubt
that we must be willing to "contend earnestly for the faith"
(Jude 3), but we can do that without being contentious. Our defense
of the truth must be accompanied by a sincere desire to "keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3).
Click to continue
Back to top
By Andy Diestelkamp
The current public
debate over the legitimacy of various theories on the origin
of life and whether or not they should be taught as science is
healthy. At least in debate there is the opportunity for ideas
to be considered and compared; which is something that most atheists,
agnostics, and even some religionists are apparently not willing
to tolerate in the context of a science classroom. Why?
The National Academy of Sciences
explains its view in the conclusion of its 1999 publication,
Science and Creationism: "The claim that equity demands
balanced treatment of evolutionary theory and special creation
in science classrooms reflects a misunderstanding of what science
is and how it is conducted. Scientific investigators seek to
understand natural phenomena by observation and experimentation.
Scientific interpretations of facts and the explanations that
account for them therefore must be testable by observation and
experimentation."
The Academy further clarified:
"Creationism, intelligent design, and other claims of supernatural
intervention in the origin of life or of species are not science
because they are not testable by the methods of science.... This
contrasts with science, where any hypothesis or theory always
remains subject to the possibility of rejection or modification
in the light of new knowledge."
That last quote seems so objective
and open minded. Yet, those who contend that the spontaneous
generation of life from nothing is good science are quite intolerant
to suggestions that we are here by design. They claim that their
intolerance is because designer theories are not science which
can be observed and tested. Yet, the Academy also wrote: "Science
is not the only way of acquiring knowledge about ourselves and
the world around us. Humans gain understanding in many other
ways, such as through literature, the arts, philosophical reflection,
and religious experience." Is it possible that there are
things outside of their narrow definition of science that might
actually be helpful to science?
Click to continue
Back to top
By Frank
Vondracek
Jesus, the King, said,
"Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).
In another place, the Bible records Him to say, "Except
ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever, therefore, shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom
of heaven" (Matt. 18:3-4).
There can be no doubt to the
discerning reader that little children were used by Jesus to
illustrate aspects of the kingdom He was sent by His Father to
establish and build up. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the Living God," confessed Peter, and Jesus responded, "Upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:16-18). On the day of
Pentecost the Lord kept His word, "And the Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved" (Ac. 2:47). The
apostle Paul later wrote, "to the saints and faithful brethren
in Christ which are at Colosse," that God "hath delivered
us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the
kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His
blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:2, 13-14).
So, without a doubt, Jesus Christ has a church in existence,
and it shall remain on earth uninterrupted until He returns (Dan.
2:44; Isa. 2:2-4; 1 Cor. 15:24-28).
What is there about little
children that the Lord was so impressed by their example with
reference to the kingdom of heaven?
Click to continue
Back to top
GO KILL
A BEAR! By Leslie Diestelkamp
No doubt, most readers
have already heard the following story: A very large man and a very small man were talking.
Admiring the size of the larger man, the smaller one said, "Man,
if I were as big as you, I wouldn't be afraid of anything. I'd
go out in the forest and find the biggest bear and tear him limb
from limb."
The large man replied with
a smile, "There are a lot of small bears in the forest,
too, you know. Why
don't you go tackle
one of them?"
The story has a point that
is badly needed right now among the people of God. Many Christians
stand on the sidelines and tell what they would do if they were
as strong as others. Some like to tell what they would do if
they were elders of the church. Others would surely do a better
job if they were the song leaders. Some would sure like to get
into that pulpit and 'tell it like it is!"
Some preachers boast of what
they would do if they were preaching for the big church on the
hill instead of the little one in the valley. Other preachers
insist on telling us just what they would do if they ever got
into one of those new fields of the world! But there is work
in the kingdom for everyone. There are a lot of us little
fellows who need to quit coveting the strength of others
and who need to go out and tear some little bears apart!
An additional thought needs
to be injected right here. How can one ever qualify himself to
fight big bears if he hasn't first tackled the little ones? In
other words, as Christians, how can we ever expect to succeed
in great battles for truth and righteousness if we haven't learned
to do the smaller things that seem somewhat insignificant? Most
of us could start on the road to success by just bravely facing
up to the tasks that already are altogether suited to our "size,"
spiritually.
The lesson herein also applied
to churches. Some congregations may be doing almost nothing except
"keeping house for the Lord" because they think they
are not big enough for greater things. They may look upon the
large congregations with envy, and they may be satisfying their
consciences by reflecting upon what they would do if they were
big like some other congregations.
But the big church can't do
any more than the little church, proportionately. The church
is people, and a few people can each do as much as each one in
the larger groups.
Together, the few can do just
as much as the many in proportion to their numbers. Perhaps the
church where you worship needs to simply go out and find some
small bears to engage in battle for truth and holiness.
Try it. You'll like it!
LESLIE DIESTELKAMP
This article first
appeared in THINK,
Volume 4, Number 5, dated July, 1973
Back to top
Worship Services
JUST WHO
IS SERVING WHOM?
By Rick Liggin
It is not uncommon for us in churches of Christ to refer to our
regular worship periods as "worship services"--and
I personally do not have a problem with that. Admittedly, it
is not a Biblical expression; there is no place in Scripture
where an assembly of saints is called a "worship service."
But I do believe that the phrase does express a
Biblical concept. When the church assembles itself together for
worship, it does offer up a service to God! We do serve
God in our worship! And so, the point of this article is not
to oppose the use of this legitimate phrase.
My concern is that some of
us have developed a wrong view about the "worship services."
In fact, there's a real sense in which, I fear, that some of
us have gotten things completely invertedor turned around!
You see, when we normally think
of "services," we think of buying the services
of some company or taking advantage of (using) the services
offered by some institution. The point is that when we speak
of "services," we most often think of services rendered
to us. And that's where my concern is raised.
I am afraid that some of us
have come to think of "worship services" as a time
of worship when we are served!
Now, it's not that we think
that we are worshipped! We know better than that! But the point
is, I fear, that some of us get the aim of the "worship
services" inverted in our minds: we begin to think of "worship
services" as being something designed to serve us! And folks,
that's just not the case!
Click to continue
Back to top
