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Helping Christians be conformed to the image of the Son of God.

Our Spiritual Resources (George A. Klingman)

December 12th, 2013

By George A. Klingman

How  great is  our heritage! We have  entered  upon large possessions! Will we  be true and faithful stewards in our  Master’s house? We can do all things “through Christ who strengthens  us”’ “Our sufficiency is of our God.” Our  responsibilities  are great but  we are of good courage for God Himself has said, “I will never  leave thee, nor forsake the.” We have:

  • God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, as  our  own Father;
  • Jesus Christ His  Son as  our own Lord and  Savior and elder brother;
  • The Holy  Spirit as our Helper, our  Comforter, and  our  Guest.
  • God’s Holy Word “as a lamp unto our feet, and light  unto our pathway”;
  • The greatest message that  ever graced the lips of man—a living message to a dying world—the  good news of the kingdom—the gospel of our salvation.
  • The church of the living God—with her  ever-increasing fellowship, spiritual worship, mutual  edification, loving service and  sympathetic ministry to the  needs of others, all in  hallowed  association with the sacred  feast of the “Lord’s Supper” which we celebrate “In remembrance  of  Him! “Proclaiming His Death,” “Till He Come.” What a “blessed hope”! How fortunate we are to begin each  week in such  close communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
  • And we have  prayer. ‘What a privilege  to carry  everything to God in prayer”! Let us take as our  Golden Text the words  found in Phil. 4:6-17 and, by the grace of God, make it our own rich experience.

– This is  from a  circular letter of  G. A. Klingman, minister, to the  membership, Washington, D.C.   This   was published in the April 1929 Word and Work. (Vol. XXII, No. 4)

  •  Bro. Klingman was the  preacher at Portland Avenue Church of Christ (1894-1902)
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An Approved Servant of the Lord -One who Walks Worthy of the Lord (Larry Miles)

November 30th, 2013

LarryMiles1            Is  anyone ever  “worthy” of the Lord? On a  human standpoint, no one has  been or ever  will be worthy.  We do  not  deserve salvation.  We always  fall short of the   glory of God.  All of  us are  sinners. The   Christian  is one  who is a  sinner saved  by grace.  Outside of  the   redemptive  work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we   are  doomed  to a  “devil’s  hell.” But, praise the  Lord that  God  so loved  us that he  had a  plan that  would  redeem fallen  mankind.

What  does   Paul mean in Colossians  1:10 where   he writes: “that  you may walk worthy of the  Lord…?”   Perhaps a   better way  saying it is that we are  to walk in an worthy  manner. We  are admonished in God’s Word  to look to  Jesus as  our  example in all things.  The  realization that we are  “in Christ,” and therefore redeemed  by the blood of the Lamb should  not  make us  haughty and  proud.  We  should never think we are  better than  any one.

In  Col. 1:10 and  in Ephesians  4:1 we get   some  explanation on  what  it means  to walk  worthy of the  Lord.  The Colossian passage   says that the  goal of  walking   worthy of the  Lord is that we are  to live  lives that are  pleasing to Him. The result of that kind of a life is one that is a fruitful and  abounding  life of   loving service.

In Eph. 4:1 we read: “I, therefore the prisoner of the  Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which  you were called.”  If we  just had  verse  1 we would not know  how to  “walk worthy.”  But  we have Eph. 4:2-3  to  give  some insight on  what  it means  for  “An  Approved Servant of the Lord”  to walk in  a worthy manner for the   Lord Jesus.

We are  to be a people  who are  not  haughty; a people who do  not think  we are  better than others. We  must be  those  who are  humble and gentle in our  dealings  with others. Most of all, we are to  bear  with  others in love.  We must  also strive  to “keep the  unity of the  Spirit in the bond of  peace.”

Remember,  we  called  our a  domain of darkness into the  marvelous light of the  Gospel. We must practice  what we  preach. We must live out our  life’s  daily as  we seek to be draw near to the Lord Jesus.

-Larry Miles, Louisville, KY November 29, 2013

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The Gifts of Christ

November 29th, 2013

Note:  this    was the  first  article   that  I wrote.  It was written in  September of  1975–

            “And my God shall supply every need of yours according to His  riches in Glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

Most  everyone likes to receive gifts, I  enjoy  receiving  gifts from my  loved ones. Knowing that they were given in love adds  to the  blessing. Love is  one of the  greatest  experiences  that the Father  has  given  to us. However, no matter  how  precious our love  for others is, it  cannot compare  with the love of God. Here are  some  instances of the love of God:

  • John 3:16 – The Love the Father  had for the  Son.
  • Romans  5:8 – The  Love  of Christ  for  mankind in their sinful condition.
  • Ephesians 5:25 – The Love  Christ  has  for the  Church.

We can  share in  heavenly  gifts. If we come in faith to the  Lord Jesus Christ we  can be  partakers  of the  joys  of Christian living. Here are  a few of the  dividends  we  reap trough  trusting in Jesus.

Eternal Life: In Christ we receive eternal life, and the key  word is  life. Every  person is  an  eternal being. You will spend eternity in either  Heaven or  Hell. But if you have  been  born  again you have  eternal life with the Lord in Heaven. We  know that  Christ  came to give us a richer  life (John 10:10).

PRAISE GOD THAT HE LOVES US  SO MUCH!

Spiritual Food: By a careful study of the Word, we see that  Christ is our spiritual food. Just as  we  need food to survive in this world, the  child of God also needs food to  live by. Some folks can not  see the need for this  type of food. Isn’t it great that we have ben given the  privilege  to study the thoughts of the  True and Living God as He has revealed Himself through the inspired writers. This food gives us strength for our spiritual being and fuel for our journey through this life (1 John 5:20). What the manna was  to the Children of Israel in the wilderness, Christ is to His  redeemed during  their  journey here  awaiting the day “when we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2)

The Word  of God: The  great  evangelist of a  bygone era, George Whitefield once asked a coal miner in Cornwall, England  what  he  believed. “Oh,” said he, “I believe what my church believes,” Whitefield  then  inquired, And, what  does  your  church believe?”  “Well,” he answered,  “My church believes what I  believe.” Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitefield then asked, “What do you both believe?” The  coal miner  answered, “We both believe the same thing.”

This sort of unintelligent faith is pathetic and only  brings forth error. Each  Christian should have an  unshakable faith in the Bible. The Holy Scripture are another of the  benefits of the Christian life. We should have a desire to let God speak to us in this manner. Dr. George Sweeting, President of Moody Bible Institute, speaking at the  1975 Founders Week on the  Bible said the  following: “This  book is the  unchangable, unshakable, unmistakable Word  of God, and you dare not  neglect it. Think of it! Not  man’s word, but God’s Word! If the Lord came  personally  to you, would  you  ignore Him? Today you stand  before the Bible as one  stands before a  beautiful cathedral. You will never know its glory till you enter.”

The Bible is the love letter of  God  to  us. Jesus is  coming “soon.” We have the   promises to  read, love, cherish and refer to  till Jesus comes for His own. Our  prayer  should be that of the  Apostle Paul in  1 Cor. 16:22: “If  any man love not the  Lord, let  him be  anathema. MARANATHA!” We have the promise of His coming in the  Word of God and it is  our privilege  to have the Bible.

These are  but a few of the  gifts  we receive.  Christians  must desire  all that  God has  for us.  He  has  given us  EVERY spiritual blessing. We must use these spiritual  blessings to grow in Jesus and to help others in their walk for the Lord.  Maranatha! (1 Cor. 16:22)

-Larry Miles, September  1975

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