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Home Email About Us Services Articles Bulletin From God's Word Area Events Announcements Calendar Prayer Requests Plan of Salvation Audio Sermon Library Photographs	Encourage Truth By Doug Post January 18, 2004 "[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Cor. 13:6). Find the truth and sell it not, urges the Wise One. And once you find it, applaud it, praise it, accclaim it, says Paul. Love is pained when others do wrong and teach falsely. Love may rebuke, admonish, and even expose evil, but it will never gloat over another's fall nor take pleasure at another's failure, or to assume a posture of superiority or self-righteousness. Love searches out the good. It encourages those who do right. It celebrates what is true, sound, virtuous and genuine. It discovers those things "worthy of praise" (Phil. 4:7). Many versions translate Paul's second phrase as "rejoices in the truth." But the verb "rejoice" (Greek, "sugcharei") in the second phrase is not the same as that in the first. The second comes attached with a prefix, which can be an intensifier of the verb action or indicate active participation, or, here, perhaps both. Evil has more than its share of supporters and they reproach those who would insist on the truth. Silence, with eyes only for one's own pot, will open the way for evil to prevail. The great need, then, is for the righteous to encourage, support and proclaim truth! By respecting truth, we bring glory and honor to God!! Will you be one who loves like this:
	Our Purpose By Doug Post "Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?" (1 Cor. 9:7). Great churches are no accident! They grow out of a great love for our Lord. They reflect His great love through sacrificial giving. Great churches give great gifts because they purpose this in their hearts. Consider the words penned by Charles Fuller to help us understand the power of purposed giving. OUR PURPOSE: It is an affidavit of faith. It is an endorsement of trust. It is to notarize one's intentions. It is a commitment to hope. It is a signature of expectancy. It is to dare one's credibility. It is to document an inspiration. It is to predicate an adventure. It is to confirm a conviction. It is to announce a projection. It is to authorize a confidence. It is to establish a priority. It is to solidify a belief. It is to venture one's reliability. It is a cancellation of indecision. It is a motivation to tenacity. It is a disclaimer to the skeptic. It is a challenge to the unresolved. It is a desire to be put to the test. Christians are to purpose in our hearts. What does that mean? Pull out whatever's in the wallet when the collection plate passes? NO!! Give when and if we feel like it or feel we are able? NO!! To purpose is no accidental, sporadic, transient thing at all. Purposing means determining that we will give a certain amount in a free will offering. How much to purpose is a matter of faith, sacrifice, generosity, and joy. It is a facet of faithfulness. Are you a purposing giver?
	SO LITTLE TIME SO LITTLE TIME So little time, so much to do Before He calls me home! Lord, may I faithful be, and true Until the day You come. So many wasted years have gone, So few are left for me, Yet there is much that can be done To set the captive free. Someone must tell that story old Of Jesus and His love; Someone must lead them to the fold And happiness above. So may I join those reapers few Who toil from sun to sun, Because there is so much to do If souls to Christ are won. (KANSAS EXPRESSWAY, Springfield, MO)
	OUR ADVERSARY By Doug Post "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). It’s a simple, yet straightforward truth - we are engaged in battle! It is a sobering reality to realize that the war we are engaged in has eternal consequences. It is very real, and yes, it is very deadly (in a spiritual sense). Our adversary is a formidable foe, who cannot be overcome without Christ (Phil. 4:13). Hollywood's portrait of the Devil is a far cry from Scripture. In their fantasy, he is portrayed as red, with a pointy tail, having horns, a pitchfork, and hooves. This fascinating, but ludicrous portrayal, came about as man sought to mix Scripture with medieval lore. Faust also had a legend in which he called the devil "Mephistopheles" and pictured him as a sinister old man who has a pointed black beard. Despite man's efforts to portray Satan as some frightening looking character who lurks in every shadow, the Bible makes it crystal clear that these notions are without biblical basis. Our adversary can appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). He works not on the basis of fear by means of his appearance, but with deceit and subtlety (Gen. 3:1). He does not manifest himself as some fearful apparition, but instead works his desire through those whose hearts are open to evil. We take great comfort in the realization that our adversary is not all-powerful. Medieval lore raised his status to that of equality with God. Scripture, however, makes it clear that his power is nowhere near that of the power of God. When the sons of God presented themselves before God, Satan appeared among them (Job 1:6). The first two chapters of Job make it quite evident that any action which he took against Job, had to be permitted (cf. also Peter, Luke 22:31). Should Christians fear the evil one? Why should we? Jesus was able to resist him with scripture (Mt. 4). James encourages us, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Js. 4:7). Yes, he can be overcome. And with prayer and a familiarity with the Word of God, we can succeed. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Ps. 119:11).