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The Country Baptist Church Newsletter “The
Voice Of The Country Church” |
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You Were Asked To
Pray For: Larry Platt, Bro. Archie & Barbara Griffin, Waylon & Pat
Abercrombie with their daughter and son, Randy & Donna Johnson, Loyce Smith, Junior & Edna Potts, Roberta Bruce and
family, Barbara Fails, Jim & Linda Meier, Dina and The Boys, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia, Kathy Rosinbaum, Don & Wynell
Hammond, Brenda Galusha, Baby Tucker Walker, Helen
Stone, Bro. & Mrs. Pinson, Leta Ellis, Chet
Reagan, Sidney Strawn, Amanda Tomlin, Helen Rowe, Kimberlee
McCool, Brother David and Anne Shortt, Jewell
Mathis, Justin Horne, Janette Sims; Richard Swan, Jean and Cheryl, Letha
Langford, David Ellis and family, Virgil Young, Gwen Davis, Allison Rodgers
Clay, Angela Hutson, Tiffany and Shannon Lemmon,
Bob Ellis, Elaine Woodall, Reese Carrington, Jack Whittle, Ronda Douglass,
Nancy, Rosa Tomlin, Pastor and Sister Hammond, Katie Fitch and Stephaine, Sarah Dooherty,
Scott & Gina, Otis Steward, Mark Ralston, Fay Johnson, Bro. Frank
Pittman, David Lemmon, Martha Haygood,Kim Stevens,
Lit Hatly, Brian Berry, Mike & Sally Leinhauserand,
all of our Troops and their Families. |
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A
Thought From C. H. Surgeon: Regulated Chastisement To be left
uncorrected would be a fatal sign: it would prove that the Lord had said,
"He is given unto idols, let him alone." God grant that such may
never be our portion! Uninterrupted prosperity is a thing to cause fear and
trembling. As many as God tenderly loves He rebukes and chastens: those for
whom He has no esteem He allows to fatten themselves without fear, like
bullocks for the slaughter. It is in love that our heavenly Father uses the
rod upon His children. Yet see, the
correction is "in measure": He gives us love without measure, but
chastisement in measure." As under the old law no Israelite could
receive more than the "forty stripes save one, which ensured careful
counting and limited suffering, so is it with each afflicted member of the
household of faith -every stroke is counted. It is the measure of wisdom, the
measure of sympathy, the measure of love, by which our chastisement is
regulated. Far be it from us to rebel against appointments so divine. Lord,
if thou standest by to measure the bitter drops
into my cup, it is for me cheerfully to take that cup from thy hand, and
drink according to thy directions, saying "Thy will be done." |
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A Thought For The
Week: Provoking Zeal Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For as touching the ministering to the
saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: For I know the forwardness of your mind,
for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year
ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.”
(II Cor. 9:1-2) Some folks spend their whole life
provoking others, but it is usually not for the good. The Corinthians had the unusual reputation
of provoking very many for the good.
The church at Corinth had many faults, but they had one tremendous
badge of honor - a zeal for ministering to the saints, and this zeal provoked
many others to do the same. O what a
marvelous thing to see the love of God stirring the hearts of men to care for
others. Yes, the church had many
faults, but this love of ministering to the saints seems to have overshadowed
the many faults. This zeal was so
great that it gave the Apostle Paul an opportunity to brag on them to the
Macedonians. Paul was impressed with
their zeal for ministering to other saints. Too often, a church looks at itself
and thinks that it has nothing to offer.
“What do we have to offer the kingdom work?” Well, zeal doesn’t cost anything, but it
surely can start a wildfire when it gets hot for the Lord. Heavenly zeal is contagious. When one comes into contact with fiery
zeal, he will either be provoked to join it, or it will provoke him to get
out of the way of it. The glorious
zeal of the Lord is as a raging fire consuming all in its path. The zeal of the Corinthians provoked very
many to get involved and do something.
It caused them to get excited about giving and helping others. It didn’t wait to see what others were
going to do; it got to the front of the line. All of the Lord’s work requires holy
zeal in faithful participants. One of
the major contributors to church apathy is the lack of holy zeal in the
things of God. Prayer is one of those
areas where holy zeal is almost at a famine.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our church had the legacy of having such a
holy zeal for holy prayer that it provoked very many other saints to get
involved in determined holy prayer!
Oh, if only a holy zeal in us would provoke others to bow their knees
before the throne of God with godly honorable intentions, until He answers
with the fires of heavenly zeal provoking to holy activity and revival! By Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr. |
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BLESSING THEM WHO
CURSE YOU: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine
enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Mat 5:43-44) While writing the December, 2005,
article for "Keener Thoughts," I noted the words of Shimei when he cursed David. "And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody
man, and thou man of Belial:" It was simply a criticism, an accusation
of wicked character, and the desire for God to dethrone David. This is a
biblical definition of cursing, and probably the one intended in Mat. 5:44.
By this definition, being cursed has been the lot of every president since
George Washington, and every preacher since Jesus
Christ. It seldom is stated to their face, but it comes. If we find ourselves
in a place of either authority or leadership, some people will disapprove of
us to the point of wishing us the greatest possible judgment from God. They
will genuinely see us as being wrong, and in many cases, even wicked. David
subjected himself to this cursing, and according to the words of our Lord, so
should we. This has never been easy for me. Through the years I have often
promised never again to defend myself from such criticism,
and imprecation again, and I have often broken that promise. Our Lord required more of us than to
merely endure this cursing gracefully, as He did, but also, to bless them
that curse us, as He also did. This exposition of God’s law, in Matthew
chapter five, is not a mere philosophical suggestion. It is the very law of
God for every man. The person who is sensitive to Scripture, will be driven
to his knees, as it were, because of his inability to fulfill such an exacting
requirement, as that which consummates this teaching, "Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect." (Mat. 5:48) His heart will involuntarily cry, "Woe is me
for I am undone," and "God be merciful to me a sinner." He
will, with Paul cry out, "And who is sufficient for these things?" Having said this,
let me assure you that the Christian should not sit helplessly, and passively
impotent, merely saying I am glad to be saved by grace. We should remember
that if we, indeed, are His sheep, we have a duty, a desire, and a
propensity, to follow Him. (John 10:27) He said bless them that curse you, and we should take that seriously. While we will not
do it as well as we should, we should endeavor to pursue it as a manner of
life. As Stephen died, he did not say visit their sins upon them and their
children, but "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." (Acts 7:60) I have told you what the word curse
depicts in this passage, but what of the word bless? That, being our
Christian duty, should be carefully defined in our hearts. There are several
meanings of this word and most of them are confined to things that only God
can do. However, in this context our Lord is instructing us to do good to them, to ask God’s blessing upon them, to be patient
and loving toward them, and to try to be a blessing to them. This goes
against our nature. Our nature is to curse back, to get even, and to
pronounce imprecations against them. This natural response fills families,
societies, churches, nations, and the world, with hatred, misery and wars.
Retaliatory cursing, will somewhat justify the initial cursing, and will
always perpetuate it. Let our prayer be this: Lord help me to bless those who
curse me, and to return, for their anger and evil, patience and loving
kindness. By: Forrest L. Keener |