Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

What a Nice Obituary! Local newspapers devote two pages of each issue to the news   of deaths in the community. Pictures are not unusual, and the family or friends who supply the information for the obituary determine their content. Seldom do we read that the deceased was wicked, “grumpy” or dishonest. This is the time to be nice, to find good things to say about the departed friend or relative. That’s the way it ought to be, for friends and family need to be comforted. If you read very many, you know that a common statement found therein is that the person has departed to be with his/her “Lord in heaven,” or words to that effect. We can certainly understand why such positive thoughts come forth at such times. I don’t want to make broad judgments about individuals – I don’t have sufficient information to do so. But if you believe every statement written in the paper you would think Jesus was wrong when He said “few” will find the way that “leadeth to life,” Matthew 7:13-14, while “many” will find the way that “leadeth to destruction.” On the obituary page, however, it is obvious that most folks think heaven will be the most populated place rather than hell. We won’t argue that point here, but it may be worthwhile for all of us to be reminded that at some point in the future (unless the Lord returns first) there will be an obituary written about you, me – each and every one of us. What will be said, what will be written at that time about us? Will our friends or family who provide the information have to be very imaginative in finding kind, pleasant words without speaking that which is patently false about me...about you? The Bible includes many “obituaries” about those characters within, and very positive comments about some people are written – coming straight from the Lord Himself. David is referred to as a good and righteous man who:  “…did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord…save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite,” 1 Kings 15:5. Not perfect, not sinless, but “upright”. If David was “upright” in God’s eyes, we can be, too. When God recommended Job to Satan, He described him as “upright,” using the same word He used to describe David. Neither was Job “perfect” in the sense that he was without sin, but he was, in the eyes of God, an “upright” man, a righteous man. In the New Testament a man by the name of Cornelius was described by his neighbors and his fellow citizens as following: “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews,” Acts 10:22. Those words from his peers describe Cornelius as a man worthy of respect, though he was a representative of their enemy, Rome. He had a good attitude toward biblical and heavenly matters. However, in our introduction to him in Acts 10:1, the Holy Spirit used these words to describe him: “…a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.” Add to these the names of Noah, Zacharias, Elisabeth and many others. There have been many righteous, upright people down through the ages, and God is aware of the nature of their character. Must one be “perfect” to be regarded as “righteous” by God? “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” Matthew 5:8. “…speak every man truth with his neighbor,” Ephesians 4:25. “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” John 3:5. “Whatsoever things are true…honest… just…pure…lovely…of good report… think on these things,” Philippians 4:8. “…if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgiveyourtrespasses,” Matthew 6:14-15. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” Matthew 25:21. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” Matthew 25:40. No, you will not be “perfect”, but God is willing – not only willing, but anxious – to forgive you and me. An “obituary” will be written about you, and how you live your life today will determine what it will contain. Carl Garner

Failure to Look at thw "Whole" Once there was a village where all the inhabitants were blind. When a man passed one day riding an elephant, a group of the village men cried out asking the rider to let them touch the great beast, for though they had heard about elephants, they had never been close to one. About six of them were allowed to approach the animal, each being led to touch a different part of the body. After a time, the rider left, and the blind men hurried back to the people to share their experience. "So what is an elephant like?" the people in the crowd asked their six friends. "Oh, I know all about elephants," boasted the man who had touched the animal's side. "He is long and narrow, built like a thick wall." "Nonsense!" shouted the man who had touched the elephant's tusk. "He is rather short, round, and smooth, but very sharp. I would compare an elephant to . . . well, let's say a spear." A third man, who had touched the ear, chimed in. "It is nothing like a wall or spear. An elephant is like a gigantic leaf, made of thick wool carpet that moves when you touch it." "I disagree," said the fourth man who had handled the trunk. "An elephant is much like a large snake." The fifth man shouted his disapproval. He had touched a leg of the great beast. "It is plain to me than none of you knows what an elephant looks like. It is round and reaches toward the heavens like a tree." The sixth man, who had been placed on the elephant's back, cried out, "Can none of you accurately describe an elephant? He is like a gigantic moving mountain." To this day, the argument has not been resolved, and the folks of that village still have no idea what an elephant looks like. Sadly, the denominational world has the same blind concept of the Lord's church—they are unable to understand the whole picture because they blindly feel in only one area. Beloved, it is putting all the characteristics together that make the one true church of our Lord. We must diligently study in detail the “blue-prints" (the New Testament) to see how the Lord wants His church. In the words of Paul, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates,"  (2 Cor. 13:5).    (Borrowed from Avenue T, Temple church bulletin - Tom Moore)