What The Bible Says
“What The Bible Says - Vol. 1 / No. 12”
.jpg)
What The Bible Says
Vol. I - No. 12 / November 4, 2018
WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?
It was a 99° September day in San Antonio, when a 10-month-old baby girl was accidentally locked inside a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and the aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning purple and had foam on her mouth.
It had become a life-or-death situation when Fred Arriola, a wrecker driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer and smashed the back window of the car to set her free. Was he heralded a hero? The lady was mad at me because I broke the window, Arriola reported. “I just thought, what’s more important - the baby or the window?”
This story illustrates one who failed miserably to distinguish between what was truly important and something that was relatively immaterial. As Christians, we must make sure that our priorities are in the right order as well. Do we put the Lord first at all times? Many place Him first some of the time, but not all of the time. If we fail to have our spiritual priorities right, the results will be disastrous; we will lose our souls.
Notice a few of the passages in the Bible that teach us about our priorities.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37).
"Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’" (Luke 9:59-62).
"So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs’” (John 21:15).
Do we really put the Lord first in our lives? Is He our number one priority? If He is, there will be certain things obvious about the way we live.
Attendance. We will be present at all of the assembles (Heb. 10:25). Sunday night worship and Wednesday night Bible study are very important to those who really love the Lord. When it is time to assemble, those who value their relationship with God are always going to be there.
Studying. If our priorities are right, we will spend several hours each week meditating upon the word of God (Ps. 1:2). It is not hard to see what we value. Do you spend more in studying the Bible or watching TV? Do you read the paper from cover to cover each day, yet fail to spend an adequate amount of time reading the Scriptures? Answer these questions truthfully and you will see what is really important to you.
Giving. I have heard brethren say that we need to give until it hurts. The Bible teaches no such thing. It does tell us to give as we have prospered, not grudgingly nor of necessity but cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:6-7). If under the Old Law the Jews gave 10%, should we not at least give back to the Lord as much as they gave? If our priorities are right, giving as we have prospered will be no problem.
Visiting. All of us are busy each day. We get up each morning and head out to our jobs, returning in the evening tired from working all day. It is so easy to just relax and never call nor visit someone who is sick in the hospital or the weak Christian who has been missing services. Those who are devoted to the cause of Christ will exert the energy and find the time to make that call or visit (Mat. 25:31-46).
Where have you placed your priorities? If you have put the Lord first, notice the promise that He has made. “So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time-houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions-and in the age to come, eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30).
—Jim Mickells
CHANGE
We are moving into the season called "Fall" or "Autumn". It is a season of change. I remember the first time I had ever went away from home to college in Florida. It was in the summer of 1970 and I did not return till December of that year. I had considered what would it be that I would miss the most and concluded that, since Florida did not have mountains, it would be the mountains that I would miss. To my surprise, I did not miss the mountains nearly as much as I missed the change from Summer to Fall to Winter.
Some changes are necessary while others are not and some changes are welcome while other aren't. If all is normal, we change from a child into an adult, from young to old but some changes have to be deliberately made. They just don't happen by themselves. We are born into this world in a state of innocence; not knowing right from wrong. (Romans 7:7-12). But, through the process of teaching and learning what God expects of us, we make the same kind of choice that Joshua spoke to the children of Israel about in Joshua 24:15 when he said, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve."
Ultimately, on our own, we choose the way of Satan and the way of sin. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). We choose to sin and sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1,2). Thus, we choose death (spiritual death) for "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23). There is another choice which is available to us: the choice of being reconciled back to God. That choice involves meeting the conditions God as set for the removal of sin. Faith (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 10:17), repentance (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38), confessing Christ to be the Son of God (Romans 10:10; Acts 8:37), and being baptized (buried) will result in the forgiveness of sin (Colossians 2:12; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). This I can and will choose to do or not do. The choice is mine. If God's conditions are met, a change will occur: I will be changed from one who is lost in sin to one who is saved by the blood of Christ. What a change!
---E.R. Hall, Jr.
SENTENCE SERMONS
Many who expect to be saved at the 11th hour die at 10:30.
***
Nothing is more frequently opened by mistake than the mouth.
"What The Bible Says” is e-mailed twice a month. If you know of others who might benefit from the articles contained in this bulletin, we would be glad to have you submit their e-mail addresses and we will include them in the next mailing. If you are receiving this bulletin and do not wish to continue to do so, please e-mail us with your desire to be removed from the mailing list and you will be removed promptly. Continue to the bottom of this page for further instructions as to how you may contact us.
--- E.R. Hall, Jr.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
For The East Albertville Church Of Christ
meeting at
4777 U.S. Highway 431
Albertville, AL 35950
Sunday
Bible Classes …………..….…………… 9:30 AM
Morning Worship ……..…….….……… 10:30 AM
Evening Worship …………………........ 5:00 PM
Wednesday
Bible Classes …………..………........... 7:00 PM
Radio Program
Sunday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 8:30 AM
Monday - Saturday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 11:15 AM
Website: www. eastalbertville.org
