God

God's large enough to wear the evening sky,

with all its multitude of jewels, on His little finger,

yet small enough to fit inside a small child's heart.

God's mighty as a hurricane,

lifting us from any troubled situation,

yet He's gentle as a summer breeze,

stroking our weary faces with cool release.

God's constant, a million times more constant than our sun,

yet like a lovely cloud,

He seems wonderfully different each time we look at Him.

God cares enough about us to send fruit and flowers when we're ill,

yet He's willing to let our friends and relatives

share the joy and glory of giving.

God's busy taking care of ten trillion worlds,

yet He always has time to stop and listen when we call on Him.

God's complex, more complex than life and death,

yet He's simple as a kind deed or loving smile.

God is everything, to everyone, everywhere!

-Unknown

Prayer

“Prayer is the preface to the book of Christian living; the test of the new life sermon; the girding on of armor for battle; the pilgrim's preparation for his journey. It must be supplemented by action or it amounts to nothing.” ... Arthur Stevens Phelps

Assignments: September 13, 1998

Announcements: Sam Holden Opening Prayer: Sam Holden / Aaron Bass

Closing Prayer: Rusty McGrew / Dan Head Song Leader: Rick Holt / Clarence Gardner

Scripture Reading: Shane Bass / Chris Holp Lord’s Supper: Charles Fair / Loren Parker /

Bradley Holt

Building Cleanup: Holt

T HE SPIRIT’S SWORD

“And take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17)

The Northside church of Christ

Meeting at the North Bellingham Grange Hall · 5201 Northwest Road · Bellingham, WA

Visit our Web Site on the Internet: http:// www.davisinet.com/northsidecofc

Volume II, No. 30 September 13, 1998

THE CHRISTIAN'S WISDOM

Joe R. Price

Wisdom has always been a precious commodity to the insightful. By it one can escape many of the pains and pitfalls of life. While it does not insulate one from the life's tragedies, it enables one to maintain a proper perspective of it. Yes, the value of wisdom is great.

"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that getteth understanding. For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, And the profit thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her" (Proverbs 3:13-18).

Wisdom is the appropriate use of knowledge. For instance, the wise man, understanding evil, will fear it and flee from it. But the fool fails to give evil a wide berth, believing himself immune to its disastrous effects (Prov. 14:16). Wisdom is not so much what you know, as it is the right use of what you know.

To increase in wisdom, though, one must increase in a knowledge of God's will, for "...the knowledge of the Holy One is under­standing" (Prov. 9:10). We must know the will of the Lord to apply wisdom in our lives (Col. 1:9-10).

And that is where Ephesians 5:15-18 comes in. Here, the apostle of Christ describes the wisdom of the Christian. We are wise when we: (1) Live carefully, examining our conduct in the light of God's will - v. 15. We must watch our step (1 Cor. 10:12)! The fool has little concern for such matters. (2) Redeem the time we have - v. 16. Wisdom teaches us that an opportunity lost cannot be regained. Wisdom seizes its opportu­nities to do good (Gal. 6:10). (3) Understand the will of the Lord - v. 17. God's will is revealed in His word. Therefore, God's word is the wise person's source of guidance. He uses it to gain understand­ing so that his deci­sions in life will be pleasing to God (2 Tim. 2:15). (4) Live under the control of the Holy Spirit - v. 18. This is not a call to mysticism or miracles. The wise person submits his will to God's will. By obeying the truth which the Holy Spirit revealed (Jno. 16:13; 1 Pet. 1: 21), one is being led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 18). How wise to live under the control of Deity! But, the fool refuses to obey God's truth.

The question is, are we wise or foolish? We do not have endless possibilities to start to live wisely. "The days are evil," (v. 16), so we ought to be growing in wisdom every day. Obey the truth now and always, and you will show yourself truly wise.

UNFORGIVENESS

Thaxter M. Dickey

If it hasn't already happened to you, it very well may. Someone will wrong you and the hurt will fester until it dominates your life, filling your heart with a bitterness that not only prevents reconcilia­tion, but destroys your heart as well. The only cure and preventative to that kind of bitterness is forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not come easily or naturally, not in this sinful world, not in the hearts of us who are sinners. Forgiveness violates both our sense of fairness and our sense of our own importance. It just isn't right that someone should get away with hurting us. And, because it is so unnatural, forgiveness is one of the hardest things we do, and one of the most Christ-like.

Unforgiveness is too damaging to tolerate in our lives and in our hearts. An unforgiving heart, vindictiveness and a spirit of wishing to get even is too heavy a weight to carry around. It is a negative burden that, instead of making us stronger for the bearing of it, always makes us weaker. It absorbs our energy. It is one of the black holes of interpersonal life, sucking up our strength and leaving little or none for enjoying life or helping others or serving God. We always do more damage to ourselves than to others with our unforgiveness. An old story tells of a man who was carrying a bundle of dynamite underneath his shirt, taped to his chest. When asked why, he explained that he was tired of a certain fellow-worker pushing him in the chest all the time and said, "The next time he does it he'll get his fool hand blowed off!" Too often that is us, carrying a bundle of death taped to our hearts, a bundle of unforgiveness that harms us more than the person at whom it is aimed.

Unforgiveness is a burden we cannot carry without crippling our­selves; it is a luxury of self-righteousness and fairness that we cannot afford. But the worst about unforgiveness is not known until we turn to God's word and read that the basis for our forgiveness from God is the forgiveness that we offer others (Mark 11:25). No matter how difficult it may seem, no matter how unfair it may be, we can't afford not to forgive. And in fact it is a good deal that God offers us, as indicated by the enormous contrast in the debts in the story of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18). God's forgiveness is that much greater and more important to us than the little forgiveness we often withhold from those who've wronged us.

We often think we have a forgiving spirit because we don't carry a grudge about little things or about being bested fairly. But when we've been wronged and deeply hurt and another person is culpable, that's when forgiveness is needed and just when it is most difficult.

This healing power of a forgiving spirit begins in the mind of the forgiver and works its healing there even before it results in the reuniting of the two persons, which can occur only when the other one repents.

This healing power of a forgiving spirit is embedded in truth. It is not mere forgetting. Wrongs forgotten are not always wrongs forgiv­en. It begins with facing up to the wrong and the hurt that has occurred. In other words, forgiveness does not begin with forgetting; it results in forgetting. Nor is forgetting the test of true forgive­ness. That test is that our love and well-wishing for the other person is as it was before the wrong occurred.

We must not confuse excusing with forgiving either. We can all excuse ourselves for what we did wrong. Think of all the reasons you could give that you are not to blame for some wrongdoing: genes, parents, culture, situation and a hundred variations and combinations of each. We could make the same excuses for others if we were willing, but even that is not enough. If we have the true spirit of forgiveness, we acknowledge that the person is culpable and yet don't hold it against them even though we could, even though our nature cries out that we should. We often lose for ourselves the benefits of forgiveness because we depend so much on excusing, both ourselves and others; and so, if we can't find an excuse, we can't forgive. But true forgiveness is modeled after God's forgiveness. He forgives, not because we are not really guilty, but in spite of our guilt. Our forgiveness must be the same.

Search your heart today. Is there vindictiveness toward someone who has wronged you? Then remember the unmerciful servant who grateful­ly accepted his master's forgiveness of a great debt, but couldn't forgive his fellow servant a small debt and then found his own unfor­giveness returned to him (Matthew 18). Despite the fact that the wrong done you was unfair and the other person deserves punishment, do not let your heart rot with unforgiveness, do not shut yourself away from God's forgiveness. Forgive and obtain the blessings of a forgiving spirit: the healing of your own heart, God's forgiveness of your sins, and reconciliation with your brother when he repents.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I do not recall having read a more accurate and thought-provoking article on forgiveness by a brother than this one. Reread it, and use the Biblical insights therein to help forgiveness become a way of life within your heart. jrp

“Let us not inquire into the affairs of others that concern us not, but be busied within ourselves and our own spheres; ever remembering that to pry into the actions or interests of other men not under our charge may minister to pride, to tyranny, to uncharitableness, to trouble, but can never consist with modesty; unless where duty or the mere intentions of charity and relation do warrant it... Knock, therefore, at the door before you enter upon your neighbor's privacy: and remember, that there is no difference between entering his house and looking into it.”

... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), Holy Living