Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Drifting Along... We live in an unstable age in many respects. The radicalism of some and the modernism of others has created such divergence, such division, each in its own way, that a vast majority of people find themselves drifting somewhere in the sea between the two extremes. That they have chosen to avoid the extremes is important. They recognize the error of abandoning divine authority, Matthew 16:19; Colossians 3:17, and they shrink at the possibility of reacting to the other extreme of enforcing mere opinion, Matthew 15:9. Unfortunately, knowing the opposites they wish to avoid has not provided them the doctrinal stability they crave. Rather, they drift along, a bit unsure of themselves outside of knowing what shores to avoid. That sea can be a dangerous place. If people simply drift with the tide or go with the wind, they will find an easier time, even hinting at a sense of tranquility, yet they are moving in a direction determined by another and therefore are slaves to the elements. Before his death, Joshua told Israel, “Be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left.” Joshua 23:6 Achieving the proper spiritual balance is no easy task. It takes courage, strength of will, energy and effort, discernment and wisdom, and most of all a studied knowledge of what God has said, Acts 17:11. This is the chain that holds us fast to the anchor of the soul, Hebrews 6:19. Israel thought they knew where they were going. After all, they were physically in Canaan. Joshua had seen to that. However, they failed to anchor themselves spiritually and drifted with the culture toward a perverted form of what God had given them, Judges 17:11-13, Galatians 1:6-9. They exhibited the most dangerous form of ignorance – they did not know what they did not know. And, that is what ultimately ruined them, destroyed them spiritually, Hosea 4:6-7. Their lives reflected their ignorance and their culture instead of God’s will, and so they drifted farther, all the time thinking that the Lord was pleased and surprised whenever someone should indicate otherwise. Many people in the church today are actively questioning and searching. Some have abandoned radicalism; others are coming back from modernism. Regardless, if they are to become something other than a statistic of those spiritually adrift, we must help them find the anchor of hope provided by Jesus Christ by turning them to God’s Word, and we must determine to hold fast to our Lord. And remember—it is accomplished by turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, in doctrine or practice that we might be able to help others who are also searching. Kevin Rhodes, Cleburne, Texas

Drifting Along Soul you are drifting along on the tide; Out on life’s ocean so boundless and wide; Drifting away in the morning so bright; Where will you be when you anchor at night? Drifting along with a smile and a song; Never once thinking that you may be wrong. Morning has changed to the noontide’s red glare; Still you are drifting, but answer me – where? Why are you drifting along as before? Thoughtlessly down to eternity’s shore? Noon-day has passed, comes the set of life’s sun; Where are you now, when your drifting is done? Words by Christine S. Beveridge, Music by V.O. Fossett Good Old Joe: He Couldn’t Say No Popularity was his middle name. Its prod was pride; its price was pain. He never learned the word called NO, They spoke of him as Good Old Joe. His life was one long laughing spell, and how he felt you couldn’t tell. His favorite words were “yes” and “sure”. Yes, good old Joe was Simon Pure. So when he died they wrote these lines, and laid him down midst whispering pines. “Here lies a man – His name was Joe. But what he stood for, we’ll never know.” Author unknown

Study! “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness” (2 Timothy. 2:14-16). The apostle Paul wrote these words to a young preacher named Timothy. Paul encouraged him to study the Word of God. As a child of God, we are all admonished to be students of the Word (2 Peter 1:5). However, we oftentimes find excuses for why we are not studying the Word. These excuses usually run along these lines: I’m too busy to study the Bible. I don’t know how to study the Bible. I don’t have the proper tools needed to study the Bible. I don’t need to study; I already know enough (there are some who really feel that way!). I’m too tired to study the Bible. I’m too embarrassed to study the Bible. It’s too boring. Whatever the excuse, there are no reasons. You may never have heard of William McPherson. William was severely injured in a dynamite explosion. The charge exploded in his face. He lost the use of, not only his eyes, but his hands, and he lost the feeling in most of his face. He realized how much the Bible meant to him in those dark hours after the accident. He dearly missed reading his Bible. He could not read Braille because of the loss of his hands, so he tried reading with his lips. However, due to the nerve damage, he found this was impossible as well. The only alternative was to try to read with his tongue. He learned to read the Moon Type system of dashes. Of course, the metal left his tongue cut and bleeding, but after years, he was able to conquer this problem. William lived for sixty-five years after the accident, and he was able to read through his Bible four times in those sixty-five years! I think that pretty well dismisses all of our excuses. How about you    Kerry Clark