The Christian life begins with birth (John 3:1-5); it ends with death (Heb. 9:27). From the beginning unto the end the Christian life is a school – a period of discipline. The secret of learning is threefold: Ask much; remember much; teach much. 

I am very thankful to live in the United States of America. Though it is far from perfect, and has some shameful blots in its past, our country is a place where folks can lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Timothy 2:2b NKJV)

I want to introduce a series of articles concerned with living morally in an increasingly immoral world. In the first few articles, let us examine the logical relationships between morality, ethics, law, society, and God.

 12 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Eccl. 12:1).

Like it or not, we form an impression of people based off of what they leave behind. For example, if someone leaves trash and junk on a place, we tend to think negatively of him. I know of some, who after finishing a meal at a restaurant, neatly stack their plates, silverware, and napkins for the waitress or busboy before they leave, so as to make their job easier. The Bible speaks of impressions we form of others after they die: The memory of the just is blessed: But the name of the wicked shall rot (Proverbs 10:7). Our memory of someone will be either positive or negative based on the legacy they leave behind.

Christians under the New Covenant are commanded to Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). This can only be accomplished through daily study of our Bibles. However, biblical illiteracy not only typifies the heathen, but also (now at home) who claim to believe in God.

 Our heavenly Father is endowed with emotions not unlike the emotions that we, as human beings, experience. However, there is this important difference: His emotions are altogether pure, also more intense. The Bible ascribes to him the following emotions.

 Fathers are the design of our heavenly Father. Not all fathers are great, nor are they all good, but that does not prove that God is a bad designer. No, that only proves that some fathers depart from God's design. But to those who hold to the words of God, though they are not perfect men and have their shortcomings, they are a great example for their children, as the Scripture says, The just man walketh in his integrity: His children are blessed after him (Proverbs 20:7).

 Compared with all other literary productions, the Bible stands singularly and peculiarly alone. The earliest part of it is the old-history. It traces that history back to the very beginning, and develops it from the religious standpoint, throwing a divine light upon it all. As a whole it bears the impress of inspiration, by which its authors were divinely guided to tell the Divine shaping of events

 There are some who believe that once a person obeys the Lord and becomes a child of God that he can never lose his salvation, even if he resorts to murder, adultery, or any other sins. This teaching is sometimes referred to as "once saved, always saved." That may be a comforting doctrine, but it is a false comfort, for there is no teaching in Scripture that supports it.

 The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion to be lived every day. It is not a Sunday religion only. Fuller, a Theologian, said, “Measure not men by their Sundays, without observing what they are all the week after.” This is good advice, for many do not live through the weekdays like they appear to live on Sunday. The Christ like personality must be reflected in the Christian each day that he lives.

Yes, it is that time of year. A time of joy for youngsters who leave behind the rigors of academia and embrace the carefree days of summer. Oh, to be a youngster again! But there is a question those youngsters need to answer:  What have you learned? It would be foolish to brush off this question without caring. For time spent in study should count for something, or else it is time wasted. 

I personally think that memorials are a good thing, because it helps us to remember the past events and it can help us to remember to look to future events. May I, at this time, point out that man did not come up with the concept of memorials, God did.

 Who are those who stand with Christ?

What are the Lord’s requirements for this companionship?

 If there is one emotion that has gotten people in trouble, it is anger. Have you ever been angry and did something you later regretted? Prisons are filled with folks, who in the heat of the moment, lashed out in violence against someone else. Sometimes, it can only take a few seconds to permanently hurt others as well as yourself. The wise man writes that anger can be a "snare for your soul" (Proverbs 22:24,25). Being lulled into this trap can ruin your life. 

May we pray: “God, help us never to be too busy for our mothers. If your Son could take time and great effort while on the cross in his hour of death to show his love for his earthly mother, help us to love our mothers while we have her in our life!”

 I remember where I was when I learned my very first memory verse. It was in Wednesday night Bible class. Over the years I have never forgotten this verse, as it is special to me being the first verse of God's word that I memorized. From the King James Version, it is: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21). Not only has this verse become special to me, but also Wednesday night Bible classes.

 We may not understand any particular reason for preaching, for hearing, for believing, for repenting of sins, for confessing Christ before men, for being baptized into Christ, except God commanded these acts.

 There may be sometimes when you are pulled into a religious discussion with your non-Christian coworkers, friends, or relatives. They may ask you what you think about certain matters, such as heaven and hell, marital conflicts, the nature of God, etc. Because they know you are religious, they want to know what you think. You need to understand that this is a great opportunity, not to tell them what you think, but what God has said about such matters.

 The real short cut to success is down the trail marked “HARD WORK,” . . . To an improvident relative, Abraham Lincoln wrote in a letter to John D. Johnston, November 4, 1851, “If you intend to go to work, there is no better place than right where you are; if you do not intend to go to work, you cannot get along anywhere. Squirming and crawling about from place to place can do no good. . . . Part with the land you have, and my life upon it, you will never after own a spot big enough to bury you in . . . .Your thousand pretenses for not getting along better are all nonsense; they deceive nobody but yourself. Go to work is the only cure for your case.”