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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
How to Survive in Today's World
Is it just me, or is the whole world really falling apart? Every day the headlines tell us of one more horrible crime, one more case of child abuse, one more way man seeks to hurt man.
The attack on the World Trade Center did more than kill and injure thousands of people. It impacted our economy, our way of life–even our peace of mind.
How can we continue to live in this world without losing our hope and our mind? What do we need in order to survive?
Homes that Provide Refuge
God did not establish the home by accident. He knew man would need a haven, a refuge from the day’s stress and strain. I’m not talking about a place to hide from the world, but a place that gives back what the world takes away.
In the very beginning, God knew it was “not good for man to be alone,” Genesis 3:18. Why? Partly because He also knew what we would face from Satan and his emissaries.
It has long been known that humans and animals have different reasons for bonding together. Animals bond together for physical protection, while man does the same for emotional protection. Godly homes can aid man in surviving today’s world.
Youth needs the experience, wisdom and security of Mom and Dad. Some things can be found only in a home—a Godly home.
Giving Hope to Others
One thing we definitely do not need is to become self-centered, ignoring the needs of others. Social scientists have told us for years that when we help others, we help ourselves even more. How much more we have to give by offering others the hope of eternal life. In so doing, they survive and so do we, Acts 20:35.
One reason we are in this “mess” is the fact that man is alienated from God, Isaiah 59:1-2. Bring man back to God, and survival is possible, including heaven’s joys.
When we finally realize that this world is not our final home, we will be able to seek those things that enhance eternity, not just the present. Note Luke 18:29-30: “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”
Have you tried God’s way of survival?
God’s Remedy: Bible Study
No, there is no magic potion, no miraculous happiness and peace in merely reading any book. But the answers needed to survive in a world gone astray can be found only in the pages of God’s Word.
No, even there we will not find a way to force man to be considerate of his neighbor. Nor will our reading the Bible change the minds of others. But what we are talking about here is survival. To survive—even to prosper—today!
Two thousand years ago, young Christians faced circumstances at least as frightening as ours. If a Jew became a Christian they were met with scorn from their own family, not to mention the persecution coming from Rome.
Making a living day by day was a challenge because Caesar required that they regard him as a god. How did the Holy Spirit revive the spirits of those wavering, beleaguered saints? He gave them a dose of history, spoke of their forebears, their heroes of the past with which they were familiar, Hebrews 10-11.
They were encouraged to read of Moses, Abraham, Noah and others whose faith endured much trial and pain. He reminded them that others had faced difficulty and survived! He told them that those same men and women were there, cheering them on, trying to bolster their faith.
Those early Christians could not just give up and become dismayed; they needed to “stiffen their back bone,” to recall their past, their confidence. Anyone can survive when things go well, but we know things will not always go well with us. We can make it, but only with the faith that comes by hearing God’s Word, Romans 10:17. Don’t be satisfied with just surviving! Let’s determine we will beat Satan at his own game.
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“Let us not grow weary while doing good: for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart,”
“We search the world for truth; We cull the good, the pure, the beautiful, From all flower fields of the soul; And weary seekers of the best, We come back laden from our quest, To find that all the sages said Is in the book our Mothers read.”
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise…Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul,”
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Adornment of Women
(Part One of Two Parts)
The attitude of most religious groups toward 1 Timothy 2:9-15 and all other Bible subjects, is well expressed in the comment of THE INTERPRETER’S BIBLE, pp. 406-407 on this passage. It says, “It does not meet the needs of the world which could not afford to be without the special gifts which women bring to the leadership of the church. Here is a case where an early Christian’s understanding of the will of God needs to be corrected by further light which God has caused to break forth from His Holy Word.”
In other words, Paul did not know what he was talking about. He disagreed with Jesus and needed some modern theologian to correct him! This is typical of the thinking that permeates the whole of the most comprehensive and scholarly commentaries of the whole Protestant world. The results of that sort of thinking from most of the leaders of Protestant thought are seen in every facet of modern life today. It has permeated every segment of society and has been imbibed by many members of the Lord’s church, especially those preachers who are proud of the degrees they have received in those theological schools.
Let us examine some of these verses in more minute detail to see what the will of the Lord is. In this study, we want to notice how women are to adorn themselves. The word “adorn” is from the Greek word “kosmeo” which relates to the English word “cosmos” from which we get our idea of “world” because of the orderly agreement of the universe. It is also the base or root of the word “cosmetics,” which first had to do with orderly arrangement, then the consequent beauty or harmony of a person or thing. The idea here is the things that make a person or thing in harmony with itself and its environment, therefore attractive.
This verse is very similar to I Peter 3:3,4 “Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” I knew a woman who read this and assumed that it was forbidding the wearing of gold, so she gave her jewelry away. If she were logical and consistent she would have given her clothing away also, for if the verse forbids wearing of gold, it forbids putting on apparel.
If one reads the verses carefully, he should see that they do not forbid the putting on of gold or apparel, but say the adornment--the things that make the person attractive--are not to be the outward and material things, but the inward and spiritual things. If you are a Christian and you are known mostly for the clothes you wear, the way your hair looks, or the jewelry you have, you are known for the wrong things. Your reputation should relate to your meek, quiet spirit and your good works.
There is a very close connection between this term “adorn” and the word “modest” as both relate to an orderly, decent, well-arranged life. This word (kosmios) is used only twice in the New Testament. In I Timothy 3:2, it is used about an elder when it says he must be “of good behavior” (kosmion). The word in the New Testament does not have primary reference to the length of a woman’s sleeves or skirt, but to the orderly, decent manner in which any person lives or dresses. (See conclusion – Next Week)
What Should Be Our Attitude Toward Clothing?
- Queen Esther did not emphasize outward beauty (Esther 2:15), and she was blessed.
- We are partly responsible for what reactions occur because of the way we dress (Matthew 5:28; Luke 17:1-2; Ezekiel 16:44; 2 Kings 9:30). (Clothing can cover and still be immodest by being too tight; too loud, too short; too low-cut, too odd or out of place... drawing improper attention).
- We shouldn’t absorb our thinking with what we will wear, nor should we be selfish with what we have. (Acts 9:30; Jas. 2:14-18).
- We should not be impressed by fine clothing, designer labels, expensive jewelry (James 2:1-4; 2 Peter 3:10-12. The “earth and all the works therein shall be burned up...seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness….?”)
- We should not desire expensive clothing or jewelry. (I Timothy 2:9; I Peter 3:1-6).
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