We Need Our Savior

Mary's Lamb Mary had a little Lamb; His fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went, The Lamb was sure to go. He followed her to school each day, T'wasn't even in the rule. It made the children laugh and play, To have a Lamb at school. And then the rules all changed one day, Illegal it became; To bring the Lamb of God to school, Or even speak His Name! Every day got worse and worse, And days turned into years. Instead of hearing children laugh, We heard gun shots and tears. What must we do to stop the crime, That's in our schools today? Let's let the Lamb come back to school, And teach our kids to pray!

National Pride Have you ever wondered why strong nations fall? Think about it: strong nations always have the best armies, most up-to-date weapons, strongest economies, and the best citizens. So why do they fall? And we must admit that they do fall! The British Empire fell. Rome fell. Alexander’s Greek kingdom fell. Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and countless other strong nations have fallen and lie in the dust. Why? The Bible suggests two reasons. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). We usually think of the individual when reading this verse, but it seems to me that it also applies to national pride as well. It was said, “The sun never sets on the British empire,” but now it is in the dark! Isaiah 14 records a proverb against the king of Babylon who was so full of pride that he thought he was “the Most High.” But Jehovah of hosts “cut off from Babylon both name and remnant” (22). Take warning, brethren, for it has been recently said by those in high places that “America is the only nation on earth that the world cannot do without.” Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34). Now you know the second reason strong nations fall. Need I say more? When politicians and judges make laws that sanction sin, they are acting as if they were God Himself. That pride and the sins which follow it will lead to the destruction and fall of any people. Alton Norman Owingsville church of Christ Owingsville, KY (Bulletin Digest September 2015)
[Luke 15:11-32] In a short story “Capital of the World”, Ernest Hemingway tells about a Spanish father who wanted to be reconciled with his run-away son. The despairing father missed his son so much that he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper. It simply read: “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven! Love, Papa.” But Paco is a very common name in Spain and when the father went to the hotel, there waiting were eight hundred young men named Paco expecting to see their forgiving father. I think of this advertisement being similar to what we read, in so many words, in the Bible. God, our heavenly Father says, “My child, meet me at the cross as soon as possible. All is forgiven! Love, Father.” We too often forget that God has reconciled the world to himself through the sacrifice of his own son, the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one goes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). Jesus never said ‘salvation is over there, go and get it’. He said ‘follow me and I will take you there’. Into Jesus’ death and resurrection we are baptized, to be raised in his likeness, a new spiritual creation, “…When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3: 1-4). This country is doomed without our Savior.