I want to be pleasing to . . .

Dan Curry

How would you complete the title sentence?  It would probably depend on when the statement was being made.  For example if one was at work then it might be that one’s boss’s name would be the completion, or perhaps a co-worker.  If one was at home then probably the spouse or, if a child was the one stating the sentence, one’s parents.  Many people may come to mind that would be appropriate to complete the sentence.

However, one could and should be completing and meaning the sentence by inserting “the Lord”.  When we are pleasing to God and His Son then we will be pleasing to everyone else in our lives.  God has long had the principle that by living righteously in His sight then all of one’s life would be complete and have great meaning.

Consider these passages from God’s Word

Deuteronomy 6:1-5

"Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

 "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:24-25

"So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. “It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the LORD our God, just as He commanded us.

Ephesians 6:1-3

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

Psalm 119:142

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Matthew 6:33

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

(all emphasis added- dc)

All of these scriptures point to pleasing God and desiring to live a righteous life in His sight.  When we are living our lives in this way then everyone benefits.  Live for God and strive to please Him in all things.

Planting in the Good Soil

This year the weather has been great for planting. The weather has been warm and the growing season has started. While planting the garden with the kids the other day I began thinking about the words of Christ. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Mat13:8.

We have many evangelism opportunities here at Arnold this year. This month we will conduct a campaign to Strafford,MO. Later we will knock doors for our gospel meeting and continue for our Arnold evangelism program. We also have campaigns to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Eaglevile, MO; and Dyersberg, Please pray for these events. That we might reach the lost and plant in the good soil and that the Lord may be glorified by our actions.

Lads Rundown

Over the weekend we tried to keep all our readers up to date as to the goings on at the Lads Convention. Here is a rundown of numbers and events.

15 Adult participants

16 Student participants

Arnold participated in 10 of the 37 events offered in the Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes program. Arnold had six participate in the Twenty-six non-competitive events and four of the eleven competitive events. While Arnold only participated in six of the non-competitive events; we are utilizing many of the materials used to earn an award (i.e. Headed to the Office, GARD, GIFTS, PERLS). The event participation breaks down as follows; the numbers represent the number of participants from Arnold. Click here to view the rule book in PDF

Non-Competitive Events

Good Samaritan – 4

Centurion of Scripture – 5

Parade of Winners – 3

Year Round Speech –3

Year Round Song -4

Know the Books – 3

Competitive Events

Bible Bowl – 20

Scrapbook – 2

Speech – 13

Song – 13

The Lads and Leaderettes from Arnold did a super job this past year and it showed at the Friday and Saturday night awards. While the Lads program is a yearlong tool used at Arnold; the Annual convention is a nice pat on the back of encouragement for all the hard work done over the past year. Thank you to all the students, parents, elders, deacons and the Christians at the Arnold church of Christ for supporting such an essential tool in the Kingdom.

Lads 2012 Saturday Morning

Just downed a hardy Lads breakfast of Hotel Room Coffee and Chips Ahoy Cookies. Headed off with the rest of the adults to a crack of dawn judges meeting. Let the games begin.

Live From Lads to Leaders Convention 2012 Indianapolis

The first day of Convention is coming to a close. We are sitting in the awards ceremony now and I could not be prouder of the Arnold Lads and Leaderettes. The Friday night awards are for events that primarily take place over the course of the year and are non-competitive. These events focus on honing leadership skills, gaining biblical knowledge and service. Our youth participated in Good Samaritan, Centurion of Scripture, Parade of Winners, Year Round Speech and Song, and Know the Books. Each of the events that Arnold participated in are some of the most challenging and time consuming that the Lads program offers.

Good Samaritan: The participants earns points by doing good works.

Centurion of Scripture: The participant can earn an award by memorizing one hundred scriptures in groups of ten, fifty or all one hundred at a time.

Parade of Winners: Reading through either the New or Old Testament in a year.

Year Round Speech: A minimum of six speeches are to be given no less then two times in a year for a minimum of eighteen times.

Year Round Song: A minimum of six songs lead at least three times for a minimum of eighteen times over a year.

Know the Books: A three level award raining from knowing all the books of the bible to being able to provide the theme of each book.

Much more to come tomorrow. Our kids are participating in Speech, Song Leading, and Bible Bowl.

What Are You Doing With Your Day?

by: Dan Curry

How many times do you feel like just staying in bed and relaxing or sleeping just a “few more minutes”? If you are honest probably more than you would like to admit to yourself or anyone else. This is a feeling that all of us have at one time or another. It is interesting that usually this is when it is a day when there is something that is a “have to do” thing. You know like work or school or some appointment that must be kept. Now if it is a day off and there is a “fun” thing scheduled there is no problem in jumping out of bed and getting ready and starting the day. Our perspective is completely and totally different. Seemingly mundane things however can also be changed to “fun” things if we have the proper perspective toward them.

Many times when it comes to our Christian responsibilities we develop this same attitude of “Do I have to?” Of course, this certainly should not be the case at all. We need to remember that a willingness to submit to God’s will also means that we must willingly be ready to DO His will. Not just when it fits into our schedule but every day.

Many passages come to mind but let us look at two of them. In the first one Jesus is about to heal a blind man in John chapter 9, notice verse 4:

John 9:4

"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Some translations put it as “I must work” but the original language indicates “We” as more accurate. This denotes that not only was Jesus indicating that He needed to be doing the will of the Father as an opportunity arose but that His disciples must be doing the same thing. Neglecting that opportunity was not an option in His mind and neither should it be in the mind and hearts of His followers.

Does this mean that we cannot work or attend school? Certainly not, but what it does mean is found in Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Also we must remember the words found in James 4:17

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Neglecting one’s duty as a Christian is sin. Every Christian is to be an example to others around them. So whatever you are doing, whether at work, school or even during leisure time, a Christ-like attitude should be demonstrated. This is a process and although one should never expect perfection one should be striving for growth and improvement constantly. When you are “seeking first the kingdom” then it will be easier for you to shine your Christian light.

Make a commitment to yourself to not be neglectful. Do not avoid or put off studying God’s word. Surrounding yourself with fellow Christians as much as possible, both in attending worship as well as other functions and in your leisure time will only help. The more you have and develop close relationships with like minded people the easier it will be to have the right mindset.

Finally do not be neglectful in sharing your faith. Be ready to “make a defense” as Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15. God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Do not be guilty of procrastination in assuring your place in the Lamb’s book of life.

Jesus said that “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day. So what are you doing with your Day?

Shame: Suppress or Address

by: Dan Curry

When you were young and you did things that you knew would get you into trouble with your parents, what did you do? Try to hide it? Come right out and admit it? Most children hide it and hope they do not get caught. Or they think Mom and Dad will not find out. Maybe you even think that you got away with some things. You know, that one or two things they never found out about. But you know you did it and some part of you still feels the shame of going against their rules. At least to some degree, we felt bad that we had disobeyed them. Perhaps the fear of the punishment that would be had caused us to repress the feeling of shame, but it is there anyway.

Sin causes us to feel that same pang of guilt and shame, knowing that we have sinned against the loving all powerful all knowing God. This feeling should lead us to seek the forgiveness that He is able to give. Yet many times that feeling is suppressed. There is that feeling of “I can do what I want”. The allurement of the sin is greater than the desire to please God. James describes it like this in chapter one and verses 14 and 15:

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

When we give in to the lust or desires of the flesh it is displeasing to God. We may feel that pang of shame and then we have a decision to make. Do I suppress it or address it? This is a constant battle wanting to be pleasing to God and submit to His will, but giving in to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life that John writes about. (1 John 2:15-16) Paul explains this battle very well in Romans 7:15ff. We, too, have this battle raging in us.

But as Paul stated in verses 24 and 25, we can thank God that we can have forgiveness through Jesus Christ. When we address the issue of sin, then we can have forgiveness. God allows this wonderful blessing as Christians. After being baptized one has an avenue of pardon through recognizing the shame of sin and instead of suppressing the feeling, He gives us the ability to address it. Look again in 1 John 1:6-7

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

And again in chapter 2:1

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

Our righteous Savior knows our weaknesses and wants us to be forgiven and to walk in the Light. Knowing this, Christians can be assured that if our heart is right then we have a way of being forgiven those times and of those things that bring us shame. We will never keep things from nor should we think that anything is hidden from God. We know when we sin. Let us admit it and address it. Suppressing it only leads to more sin and separation from the God who loves us and sent His Son for us. Address never suppress.