Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Problems I Wish We Had Why would anyone “wish we had problems”? Doesn’t the world present enough problems for us already? Everyone has problems. Yours are yours, and you must deal with them. Mine are mine and I must deal with them. So, why would anyone wish for more? It is said that a person can be known by the problems he/she faces. For the person with a lot of money, a broken washing machine is no problem, just an inconvenience. For the person who has no clothing, that “problem” just doesn’t exist. We choose some of our own problems, and our problems often reflect our priorities and our convictions. The church in the first century had problems, but usually they were not like those we have. A faulty air-conditioning system could be a disaster to us. Failing to meet the budget, a teacher who is late for class, misbehaving students – these problems are often expected. I wish we had other kinds of difficulties. Problems that indicate our priorities are in proper order. Problems that say…we know what we should be doing and are doing it. What would it say about the church in Dripping Springs if we had the following problems? A shortage of parking spaces. It could reveal a glitch in our planning, but it just might say that there has been an increase in interest in the community. A classroom shortage. This might show that those who formerly had “better things to do” now want to study the Bible. The community is stirred up. Our neighbors have discovered what we believe and why. And that we will not compromise. We are spending a lot more money than ever before. Some may call this a problem, but it could be that we are helping to spread the gospel to the whole world. That’s not a problem! That’s what we should have been doing all along!Worn-out Bibles. Yeah, that could mean we are looking up the scriptures quoted by the preacher. The Bible commends those who were willing to “search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so,” Acts 17:11. Crowded hallways before and after Bible classes. That likely means more people are in class studying the Bible, and that next week there may be even more people there. That’s not a problem – that’s exactly what we want! Utility bills going up and up. We don’t like to deal with money problems, but we do like it if biblically authorized and wholesome activities take place in our facilities. Our members can get to know each other, and we are encouraged and inspired by the lives and examples of each other. Complaints that the library is too small, or there is not enough reading material available. The experience of most churches is that their library is not used enough. If we have people who want a larger library it means that more are taking a look at what we have there. That is not a problem, either. It is a sign that we are looking for things to read that will be helpful to us in our Christian life. We spend too much on printing, subscriptions and postage. Each week we print over 100 copies of the bulletin, and 50 copies of a mid-week announcements sheet. Letters, DVD’s, CD’s, and other materials go out daily. The numbers going up could mean that more are in the assemblies, and that is not a problem at all. Spending more on paper and ink? Yes, and we will gladly spend even more – to “solve this problem.” Too much time spent on giving answers to questions from the community. That would be a good problem to have. It would mean that our neighbors are aware of our presence in Dripping Springs. Questions are openings for us to answer, and answer with the Bible in hand. We all need to heed 1 Peter 3:15: “…sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” Every one of these “problems” can be ours if we but do what we ought to be doing – making a difference in people’s lives.    Let’s get busy creating more “problems” like these. Carl B Garner

“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever,” Daniel 12:3

WHINE, WHINE, WHINE The Bible’s best were treated unfairly. Moses, the mighty leader of Israel, mocked and rejected by his own people, was once on the verge of being stoned by those he had been commanded to lead (Exodus 17:4). Elijah the Tishbite, a faithful and courageous prophet of God, was nonetheless forced to flee for his life from the fury of Jezebel (1Kings 19:2-3). The apostle Paul, a faithful preacher of the cross, endured a life fraught with persecution upon persecution. He described them thus: “…in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep…” (2 Corinthians 11:23-25). And wasn’t Christ, the Prince of Peace, “despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3). Didn’t our Savior suffer “the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18), for sins which He never committed? If you feel that life is not fair; that those around you don’t appreciate you, take advantage of you, or in some way are intent upon mistreating you, you are in good company. The question is not whether you will face such adversities (remember Paul’s promise of 2 Timothy 3:12, “…all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”), but rather this: what will you choose to do—or cease to do—in response to them? When the going gets tough will you complain and quit the good works of the kingdom; or will you, in faith, forge forward? You and I have been gloriously called by the gospel, not to whine, but to work, and continue working—as Christians, as indefatigable soldiers of the cross, living but to spend and be spent for the cause of Christ. We are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19). As disciples of Christ, we are stewards, we are slaves. As such, we must, in spite of whatever life or the world hurls our way, be able to finally say as did Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,” (2 Timothy 4:7). Perhaps you can help me. I can’t seem to find the beatitude which reads, “Blessed are the whiners…” Dalton Key