Newsletter Vol.3, #21—June 17, 2007
Matthew 11 2Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
Vacation
Clara and I plan on leaving in the morning for Waxahachie (Sherry’s). Because of the time required for my recovery from surgery, I’m going to treat this as a working vacation for me. I will be working on the lessons on Romans during the week and I plan on going to the debate at Allen tomorrow night.
Bible Debate
Is Water Baptism
Necessary To Salvation ?
Monday at 7:00 p.m.
1414 West Exchange Parkway
Patrick Donahue (of the church of Christ, 256-721-0726, www.BibleDebates.info) will affirm:
The Bible teaches that a person must be baptized (immersed in water as a believer) to be saved, that is, to become a Christian.
Steve Morrison (214-769-9081, www.BibleQuery.org, Fellowship Dallas Bible Church, www.FellowshipDallas.org) denies
Next weekend is my family reunion at Floyd’s home in Garland. We plan on returning to Lubbock on Monday, June 25th. (James 4:15 ESV … "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.")
Hypocrites in the Church
The man who says he is kept away from church by hypocrites is not influenced by them anywhere else.
Business is full of them; but if he by chance sees where he can make some money, he does not hesitate because there are hypocrites making money.
Society is crowded with them, and yet he never thinks of becoming a hermit.
Married life is full of them, but that does not make him remain a bachelor.
Hell will be full of them, and yet he is not doing anything to keep from going there. He makes you think he is trying to avoid hypocrites; and yet, he takes not one single step toward the only place where no hypocrites can go--heaven.
Honestly now, is he not being a little hypocritical?
(The Old Path II, January 28, 1996) www.dcoc.org
The Old Cat Came Back; She Just Couldn't Stay Away
Bobby Cohoon
Cora is famous for spending most of the day hidden. So, walking through the house and not seeing her is no big deal. Of course, like most cats, she comes out for attention, when she wants attention. Or at times she will make an appearance to terrorize the dogs. Though she is much smaller than they, she holds seniority as the matriarch of the animal kingdom in our house. She never, though, misses a meal. Usually she is "Johnny on the spot" at the first and slightest sound of her food being opened. But, this night she did not. After calling her several times, I made a quick inspection of the house and Cora was no where to be found. We looked under beds, under couches, under everything that she could get under and a few things she could not. We searched high and low. The dogs did not help in looking; they just stood around waiting for their food. It was agreed that somehow Cora had slipped out an opened door (though she has not been out in many years).
At 12 midnight I was in the neighborhood trying to figure how to call a cat quiet enough not to wake the neighbors, yet loud enough for the cat to hear it. For a pampered cat, we knew she had stepped into a hostile world. A world where her in house seniority would not help against neighborhood dogs or whatever else might be roving in the quiet stillness of the pitch black night. Around one a.m. she turned up in the house. I grabbed her and hugged her (while I dried a few tears) as the dogs looked on as in disbelief that I would be happy to have her back. I fed her. We thought she was a goner, but the cat came back ~ she just couldn’t stay away!
Many people in today's world are like Cora: they are lost. But we learn, from reading the three parables of Luke 15, they can be found if they are lost! There is rejoicing when the one that is lost is found. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep Jesus ends it this way: "And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (Luke 15:5).
Similarly, Jesus ends the Parable of the Lost Coin like this: "And when she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost'" (Luke 15:9).
And, in the Parable of the Lost Son Jesus says: "But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:32).
When one that is lost comes to the Father there is rejoicing: "Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:10).
Sadly, many of us act like dogs. We look at what is once lost as always lost. We shun those who live outside our own self-made ideals. The Pharisees criticized Jesus for hanging out with the sinners: the lost. Is it your goal to shun those who are "lost" or to be more like Jesus and seek out that which is lost and rejoice when they are found? ~ http://littlesorrrel.blogspot.com
"The Superexposure of Nudity"
David Halbrook
“Designers explore a risky new strategy: Modesty,” is the subtitle of a Time article titled “Looks Like a Cover-Up,” in which we are told that according to the Paris fall 2006 fashion collections, we could “wave adieu to the . . . navel-bearing sexuality of past seasons.” (Of course, who knows what spring 2007 holds in store?)
The article ended with a quote from fashion designer Miuccia Prada, who is head of a fashion company which had revenues of 1.9 billion dollars in 2002. “The superexposure of nudity seems not to have given much happiness to women.”
The miniskirt was originally designed with the intent of making women happier by allowing them to show off their legs and thus to seduce more men into bed—so said Mary Quant, who is generally recognized as the one who popularized the miniskirt.
Of course such attire does not bring happiness to women! Oh, it may bring the “passing pleasure of sin” for those women whose bodies are pleasing to the male eye (Heb. 11:25). Yet even for them, the “window of opportunity” is short, for eventually time catches up with them (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7). Then, there are those women who are made to feel as though they have no beauty because their bodies are not the “mini-skirt type.” Mrs. Prada is right when she said that women do not find happiness in “the superexposure of nudity.”
One other thing that I found interesting is that Mrs. Prada recognizes that you can have clothes on and still be nude/naked/exposed. Her comment is not concerning the happiness of women at nudist beaches but is concerning recent fashion trends. She understands that women following these trends have been nude. More importantly, God demonstrates this truth. Genesis 2-3 shows us two different shades of nakedness; total and partial. In Genesis 2:25, Adam and Eve are “naked and not ashamed.” After their sin, they put on loin-coverings and yet, by his own admission, Adam was still naked (3:7, 10). Not until coats of skin were given to them by God, do we find that Adam and Eve are clothed (3:21).
The next time someone argues that their revealing skirt or athletic shorts don't make them “naked,” will Mrs. Prada be able to convince them of the truth? No, she won't. They have Moses, Jesus, the apostles, and prophets. If they do not hear them, neither will they be persuaded, though one should rise from the pinnacle of the fashion world and speak the truth.
Time March 13, 2006 p60 ~ A copy of the Time article in its entirety is available online at www.time.com. Search the archives for “Looks like a Cover-Up”