THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

Men and women of faith have always been characterized by a devoted prayer life. From Abraham to the apostle Paul, spending time with God was a vital part of the lives of those who sought a higher walk of faith. Abraham lived by faith and through his constant need of communing with God was a friend of God. David wrote his prayers down in psalms to declare the intimate peace he shared with the Father. Daniel failed not in his daily prayers even in the face of death. Jesus spent many hours in deep confidence with His Father and died with a prayer on His lips. The early disciples knew the power of prayer in their daily lives as testified by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.

Life needs prayer. Prayer needs faith. Sometimes life seems harsh and unanswered questions challenge our faith and cause doubts to rise in prayer. We know the power of prayer. “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16). Jesus taught His disciples to “pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). The early church was admonished to be devoted to prayer (Romans 12:12). Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Prayer must be constant (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Jesus promised in the sermon on the mountain that when the disciples ask they would receive; when they sought after a blessing from God it would be found; and when one knocks upon the door of promise that it would be opened (Matthew 7:7-11). Yet life sometimes does not find the answers we are seeking. With our faith and trembling prayers we seek God’s blessing in our lives. We may seek the concern of a loved one who is failing in health and though we earnestly pray for their recovery find loss. Our desire for a blessing in life may be pleaded before the throne of God daily and still find lacking in the answer we seek. Is it because of a lack of faith that blessings do not come? Are we being punished because we do not have faith enough to bring about the desired result through the pleading of the promises of God?

In our health and wealth religion of prosperity the idea is left that if you pray for something and it is not received then your faith is lacking. If you pray for God to bless you with children and yet you remain barren, is it because of your lack of faith in God? When a loved one falls ill to a disease and prayers are constantly offered for their recovery and yet dies do we say our faith was not great enough in prayer? The great chapter of faith in Hebrews 11 is not only about those who found victory in this life through their faith and their prayers but also the stories of those who prayed just as hard and had as much faith if not more and were not delivered (Hebrews 11:35-38).

Faith is the love of God working through our love in prayer expressing our deepest needs to a Father who loves us. He hears our prayers. He knows our needs. He answers every prayer. Our faith is not diminished when he says, “No.” There is nothing God cannot do but God will not do everything we ask. His answer should build our character of faith to trust Him more and more – regardless of the answer He gives. Faith is not based upon the answer but upon the request. Our trust in God is to rely upon His will in our lives. When life brings challenges, we show our faith by praying to the Father. Our faith then brings the challenge to light when the answer is received from the Father.

“A generation has arisen that does not know the Berlin Wall, who have taken the collapse of communism as a simple fact of societal development, who did not witness the civil rights conflicts, to whom the Khymer Rouge sounds like an exotic face powder, and to whom the cold war sounds like a winter military exercise. Freedom isn't taken for granted by them; they have known nothing but freedom. They are not to be blamed, for they are the blessed beneficiaries of hundreds of years of struggle, suffering, and strife in the battle for freedom in this world. We have won the war against unreasonable oppression by government. But, as Alexis de Tocqueville warned in his dissertations on American democracy, those who have never known the hardships endured to obtain freedom will eventually suffer the loss of that freedom, as they do not have a true appreciation for it. Learn the history of your nation; it is essential to preserving it.” (AP)

So it is in Christ. Know trials and conflicts borne by those who labored to bring us liberty in Jesus Christ, lest we forget and lose that freedom. Remember what others have suffered to bring you liberty in Christ, so that you will treasure that freedom and engage yourself in the struggle to preserve that freedom in your life, and labor to bring that same freedom to the rest of the world.

What did the prophets go through to bring freedom to you? Hebrews 11:36-40 - “Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

What did the Savior go through to bring this freedom to you? Isaiah 53:4-6 - “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

What did the apostles and writers of the inspired word of God go through to communicate this freedom to you? 2Corinthians 4:8-12, 15 - “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you… For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.”

What have those who have preached the gospel or served as shepherds in the local church gone through so that you can enjoy freedom in Christ? Philippians 2:30 - “Because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.” Hebrews 13:7 - “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.”

The Savior, the prophets, the apostles, elders, and evangelists have labored, often sacrificially, so that you can have the opportunity to live in the liberty that is in Christ Jesus. You are under obligation to remember their struggle and to continue the struggle to preserve that freedom. Do not forget or take for granted the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed on your behalf to bring you freedom from sin and death, or you will lose it.

Galatians 5:1 - “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” John 8:32 - “’And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.’”

Have you ever wondered why there are so many denominational bodies and why believers in Christ are not all united? If you have been disturbed by this question, you are not alone. It is frequently asked by sincere, honest people seeking the truth.

In the religious world, both Protestant and Catholic churches are divided and subdivided into different denominations each of which is characterized by a distinctive name, a particular creed, a form of organization, and a type of worship peculiar to itself and different from all other churches.

Despite the fact that some sincere people cannot answer the question as to "Why the number of divisions?" most of them will agree that it would be desirable if all people were united in one body in the name of Christ our Savior.

· Believe there is one God. The Ephesians were told to maintain unity on the basis of this truth (Ephesians 4:3-6).

· Realize the dangers of division. The apostle Paul taught against religious division saying all should be united (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

Are willing to yield human opinion to the authority of God's word. The Bible makes it plain that man's wisdom is not a safe guide in religious matters. Jeremiah 10:23 says, "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps."

The apostle Paul writes, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:20-30).

Yes, unity can be attained in religion if all people will abandon all beliefs and practices that are foreign to the Bible and be satisfied to teach and practice only those things found in and authorized by the word of God.

The local church of Christ in this community is a group of Bible-believing people who are trying to conform all aspects of their lives to the will of God and the image of Christ. They accept the Scriptures as their only authority in religious matters. If you are interested in things spiritual and are wanting to learn more of Christ and His will for you, please visit them. They would be happy to help in any way they can to make your life right with God.

When personalized license plates were introduced in Illinois, the Department of Motor Vehicles received over 1,000 requests for the number "1". The state official whose job it was to approve requests said, "I am not about to assign it to someone and disappoint a thousand people." What was his solution? He assigned the number to himself.

A little boy and a little girl were riding a mechanical horse in a shopping mall. The little boy, who was riding in front, turned to the little girl and said, "If one of us would get off, there would be more room for me."

Nowhere is man's creativity more apparent than in his ability to discover new and original ways to commit the original sin. It all began in the Garden of Eden when the devil convinced Adam and Eve that he had found a way for them to move God over and become "Number 1." And the beat goes on-and we keep looking for ways to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. We look for ways to be first on everyone else's priority list. We look for ways to be first in line. We look for ways to be first at the checkout counter. We look for ways to be the first ones getting out of the parking lot. We look for ways to win in the game of "first come, first served." But these are mere symptoms of the real transgression. In the case of Christians, our creativity as sinners is revealed most clearly, when we look for ways to be known as disciples of Christ without following His example.

"We are Number 1! We are Number 1!" All well and good, perhaps, to hear the chant ringing out from football fans, but when we hear it ringing out from our hearts, it is all pride and imagination. Remember, therefore, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts" (Luke 1:51).

Ä The Devil’s cleverest wile is to make men believe that he does not exist. (Gerald C. Treacy, The Devil!, 1952)

Ä Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it. (George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, 1903)

Ä To be proud of virtue is to poison yourself with the antidote. (Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1758)