Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) Mount
Baker
Beacon Volume 03, Number 09
03/03/2024 Published by
Mt. Baker
church of Christ Location:
1860 Mt. Baker HWY
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 30821
Bellingham, WA 98228
(360) 752-2692 Sunday:
Bible Classes..........9:30 AM
Worship..10:30AM; 6:00PM
Wednesday:
Bible Classes.........7:00 PM
Web site: Mt. Baker church
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Editor......John Bass
| In this issue:
PURER IN HEART
John Edwards The apostle John wrote, "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 Jn. 3:3). The Scriptures put a lot of emphasis on the heart. God sees (Gen. 6:5), looks upon (1 Sam. 16:7), knows (1 Ki. 8:39), and searches (1 Chr. 28:9) our hearts. It should be our aim to be purer in heart (Ps. 24:3-4; Mt. 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:5; 4:12; 5:22; Jas. 1:27; 1 Pet. 1:22). "Purer in heart, O God" is a good song for the Lord's people to sing often. How can I be purer in heart?
Ask God For Help. The song, Purer in Heart, begins and ends with this thought: "Purer in heart, O God, help me to be." Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord (2 Chr. 20:4). We need to do that! The Lord taught, "Ask and ye shall receive" (Mt. 7:7; 21:22; Jas. 1:5-6; 1 Jn. 3:22; 5:14-15). The song, Yield Not To Temptation says, "Ask the Savior to help you, Comfort, strengthen, and keep you; He is willing to aid you, He will carry you thru." Some things to ask as suggested by the song, Purer in Heart:
"Watch Thou my wayward feet, Guide me with counsel sweet." How's your feet, from a spiritual standpoint? The Psalmist said: "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies" (Ps. 119:59). "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word" (Ps. 119:101). "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
(Ps. 119:105).
"Keep me from secret sin, Reign Thou my soul within." It is written, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). The Preacher declared, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:14).
Devote My Life Wholly To God. Psalm 119:2, "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." We must observe God's law with the "whole heart" (Ps. 119:34, 69). The downfall of Solomon was brought about because his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord His God (1 Ki. 11:4). It is said of Jehoshaphat's good reign that his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord (2 Chr. 17:6). Those whose lives are devoted wholly to God continue steadfastly (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 15:58). How about us?
Hide The Lord's Word In My Heart. God's word in the heart promotes a pure heart! "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11). The word of the Lord is pure (Ps. 12:6; 19:8; 119:140; Prov. 30:5). So, incline your heart unto God's testimonies (Ps. 119:36, 112)!
Purpose Not To Defile Yourself. Remember Daniel (Dan. 1:8)? There are things that will defile us today (Mt. 15:18-19; 1 Tim. 1:10). Determine not to do anything that will cause you to be unclean before God. Nothing will enter heaven that defileth (Rev. 21:27). Will we enter?
Flee And Follow. 2 Timothy 2:22 teaches us to "flee" and "follow". This we must do, if we wish to be purer in heart. "Flee youthful lusts", like Joseph (Gen. 39:12). "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace" (1 Tim. 6:11).
Have The Right Companions. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "…with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." "With them" puts us in the right company. "I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts"
(Ps. 119:63). Does that describe you? If we want to be pure, we must associate with those who are pure (1 Cor. 15:33)!
Think On Pure Things. Our thinking affects our purity! "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). The Philippians were instructed, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure…think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
"That I thy holy face one day may see" (Ps. 24:3-4). Top
GOD OR PRIMEVAL ATOM?
John Humphries The Big Bang Theory appears to be the prevailing bias today among scientists concerning the origin of the universe. One writer declares, “The universe as we know it started with an infinitely hot and dense single point that inflated and stretched - first at unimaginable speeds, and then at a more measurable rate - over the next 13.7 billion years to the still-expanding cosmos that we know today.” This “single point: is also called the primeval atom, primordial atom, ylem, or cosmic egg. But there are several questions that are debated among scientist: 1. What existed before the Big Bang? 2. What caused the Big Bang? 3. Is our universe the only one? Sadly, Genesis one and two are not accepted as factual information but are declared to be a myth.
It is claimed that these expanding substances from that “single point” (incredibly dense and exceedingly hot) eventually cooled and became our Milky Way galaxy (one among billions of galaxies), our solar system, and our earth revolving around our sun. We are assured that somehow, the materials from this “dense single point” came to life and evolved on earth, over millions and millions of years, into various life forms including plants and animals. They do not really know how. But this is the prevailing “science” in our text books in schools and universities all across this country. To question this prevailing bias, concerning our origin, is to “deny science” and expose ourselves as an “uneducated, prejudiced ignoramus”. The pressure is great upon our children (and the rest of us) not to dare question these “scientific facts”.
Someone exclaims, “How can these many, many scientists be so wrong?” They are very smart and highly educated. Their work, they would claim, is to do research, explore, test, and pursue knowledge concerning our universe and planet. This claim is certainly a noble one. Unfortunately, there are chinks in this noble armor. In the scientific community there exists a strong bias against the supernatural origin of our existence. They say that all that all that is taking place today is only natural processes. Therefore, all that has taken place in the past was only natural processes. The present is the key to the past, they say. This is called uniformitarianism. So, if all that has ever taken place are natural processes, then there is no supernatural. And if there is no supernatural, then there is no God. To be fair, there are scientists that embrace the Big Bang theory and the evolution of life on earth, who would claim to be theists and not atheists. They would say that God used the evolutional process to bring us to our present existence.
But to accept the Big Bang and evolution as our origin, is to deny the Word of God (Bible). If the Bible (Gen. 1-11) is wrong about our beginning, then how can we trust anything that is said in the Scriptures? We have no revelation from our Creator! And if we have no revelation from God, we are left to ourselves with no absolute standard of morality and ethics. And actually, because of widespread ignorance of the Bible and denial of God’s authority over us, we are in a violent and immoral world of rebellion against the Lord. Who can deny that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jno. 5:19). Therefore, the devil is involved in this bias against the supernatural origin of all things (2 Cor. 4:3-4). The Bible declares: “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts” (Ps. 10:4). When we leave God out of our thinking and research, it leads to pride and wickedness. And pride in our intellect and learning results in our downfall (Prov. 16:18).
This brief article has only introduced the issue. Much, much more needs to be said. But we wish to leave us with this thought. With every text book on the various sciences that are produced across the land, the very first sentence should be “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. This is the truth that will face every one of us in eternal judgment. Top
Created by John Bass, last updated. 03/09/2024 The Mount Baker Beacon is a weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA.
Send all questions, comments to the editor, John Bass at (360) 325-5149 or johnbass2468@gmail.com |
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