Eastland eBulletin 6.17.07
For Your Benefit...
- If you plan to be in the Ladies' Class next quarter, a sign up sheet is on the table in the foyer, along with a copy of the book. Lora Shields is teaching.
- The other two adult classes will be "A Remnant Will Return" (OT post-exile period, taught by Reggie); and "James & 1-2 Peter" (taught by Cloyce).
Calendar
- Sunday Night — Monthly singing at 5:00.
- June 17-22 — Central Shelby (Shelbyville).
- June 18-22 — Expressway (VBS); Galena, IN (VBS).
- June 20 — Taylorsville Rd (Singing).
- Fall Meeting — Eastland's fall meeting will be with David Thomley on October 19-21 (Friday-Sunday). Prepare now.
The Blessing That Becomes A Curse
By Reggie Robarts
By Reggie Robarts
Materialism/love of money/worldliness poses a most serious danger to the child of God. When I was a young teenager I remember hearing a preacher say that worldliness posed the greatest obstacle to Christians of going to heaven. He made it clear that he did not mean worldliness as it pertained to the immoral, unethical things in which people become involved. Most, not all, Christians can resist those ugly carnal sins that are so much a part of the ungodly, unregenerate life. The worldliness he had in mind was the seemingly innocent things that gradually command all our devotion, time, and energy. It sucks the fervent spirit of commitment to God right out of us and replaces it with a god of material things including money, success, pleasure and other such things. When we acquire the material things we seek, they create another area of judgment for us, because God will hold us responsible for the use/misuse of our abundance. I made that point in the sermon last Sunday and I hope that I was listening and you were too.
I came across the following article and I thought it added some worthwhile thoughts to this critical subject. Kent Heaton wrote this for the Trenton, Fla. bulletin on November 7, 1999. He titled his article "Cursed by Blessings":
The irony of life is that while we struggle with all our might to have a better life but, it is the better life that so often makes our lives worse. Robert Burton (1621) said: "If adversity hath killed his thousands, prosperity hath killed ten thousands. History is replete with examples of societies that fought long and hard to gain a sense of prosperity and then when finding that prosperity sunk to the depths of degradation in not knowing what to do with newly gained prosperity."
The strength of the United States is found more in history than in the newspapers of today. In our struggle to find a level of prosperity and comfort, we were united and strong. In gaining a large portion of prosperity, we have become sluggish and divided. The impact of these social ills has crept into the body of Christ. The church in a prosperous world is becoming like the world around it. We are not persecuted nor is there great conflict against the foundation of the church. The real battle is being cursed with so many blessings and taking for granted all that we have. Today we have a greater ease of travel, higher levels of comfort, more disposable income to use, and more access to knowledge than ever before. Yet we travel less to refresh ourselves with God's word, find ourselves more willing to sit in a pouring rain to watch a ball game than to be with the saints at the meeting house, give less to the Lord and know even less about His will.
God warned the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 8 about forgetting Him when they entered the land of Canaan with all its wealth of material goods. Time and time again (Deut. 6:10-12, 11:16-21) He warned them about becoming too comfortable and forgetting God. This is what they finally did, grew fat and satisfied, and forgot God.
The church struggles today to maintain even the present level of interest in spiritual things. The Bible is more readily available in more forms than ever before in the history of man, yet fewer children of God know much about its content. Life is based on comfort in travel, comfort in sitting, ease of time and availability of opportunities. Why then do we find such difficulty in having Christians attend services on Sunday night, Wednesday night, gospel meetings or home bible studies? Are we too busy for God? Is the kingdom of God no longer what we are seeking first? Blessings turned to blight, blessings turned to a curse. Maybe it would be a better thing for God to take the church away from us and give it to a people who are more willing to suffer and die for the cause of Christ than those of us who are living in the wealth of blessings and doing little for Him who died on the cross.
The last thought is not a radical one. I have heard other preachers say in years past that one day the USA might be the one that needs to be evangelized by others from foreign lands. By people that have embraced the gospel with fervor and devotion and would like to restore a nation like ourselves, who had let it slip from their grasp, who did not appreciate or use the blessings we had.
We need to be encouragement and exhortation, and we need to be buoyed by enthusiasm and energy from the joy of being a Christian, and we need to be inspired to want to share the message with others. But we also need to be "rebuked" along with the exhortations and encouragement. As Paul told Timothy in II Timothy 4:2, "reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering." Jesus told His disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Our abundant prosperity can become a tremendous asset, a true blessing, to be used in the cause of Christ. We too, as Jesus told His disciples He had in John 16:33, can overcome the world.
So let us be careful that we do not let our material things be a burden that buries us in a world which is passing away.
Idea of the Week
For this week…I will stop making excuses and I will do one thing I have been putting off or avoiding as a Christian.
This specific idea was not submitted on any of the lists, but was inspired by a "to do" list from one of the elders. Each of his ideas was written in sentence form beginning with the phrase "I will."
The will to do something is the first step in accomplishing something. Without the will, the actions will die before they begin. Perhaps that is why so many well-meaning Christians never get around to finishing what they have started, why they seldom realize their plans.
Many Christians spend their time in wishful thinking about the future: "We oughta do this; we oughta do that."
Others spend their time in excuse-making about the past: "I'z gonna — but something happened."
Neither approach is fruitful. This week, decide and act.
