“Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  A seemingly simple statement that is not so simple to do.  Why is it so hard to confess your sins?  I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself, and I think it applies to others as well:  PRIDE.

Why does pride keep me from confessing my sins?  I wear a mask, metaphorically speaking.  I don’t like dressing up and wearing a mask for a costume, I really don’t like wearing costumes at all.  The metaphorical mask I wear is that…

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GOSSIPTOWN
(By Bobby L. Graham)

Everybody's been to Gossiptown at least once in life.   Most people spend much time there, because they enjoy the amusements of the place or the company they meet there.   Frequently they meet people much like themselves; and occasionally they become so astonished at what they are like when seeing others doing the same thing, that they wake up and decide to leave the place and never return again.

Gossip and all sorts of activities associated with it occupy the time of the people who live there or visit there.  …

I first met her in high school. She was older than I and exciting. She’d

“been around.” My parents warned me to have nothing to do with her, but

I kept meeting her on the sly. She was so sophisticated and worldly. It

made me feel grown up just being with her. It was fun to take her to a party

in those days.

We began seeing more of each other, after I started college. When I got a

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in

heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my

burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

I am increasingly aware of the limits that my body can sustain. Whether it

is losing control of weights in a public forum, or painfully working through

We know that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, we have

a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling

from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we

do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed,…

Have you ever done something that your God-given conscience told you

that you shouldn’t, but you did it anyway, only to bitterly regret it later?

The following old story illustrates how foolish that is. One cold morning a

man was walking in the woods and spied a snake. Because of the weather

the snake was stiff and motionless. The man picked it up and put it in the

bib of his overalls. Before he got home the snake warmed up and

There are numerous prophecies throughout the Old Testament. While

many of these speak of doom and gloom for the nations in the area

surrounding Israel, such as what the book of Obadiah says about the

Edomites and what the book of Jonah says about the Ninevites, 700 of the

prophecies in the Old Testament speak about the details of the life of Jesus,

from His birth to His ministry, and even describing His death.

One of the most…

It was the summer of 1992, and the Olympic games were being held in

Barcelona, Spain. There was one particular afternoon that Great Britain’s

Derek Redmond took to the track and competed in the men’s 400m

semifinal. It was about 200m into the race that Derek Redmond felt the

intense pain of a torn hamstring, prompting him to tumble to the ground.

With a determination to finish the race, and out of sheer pride for his

country, he…

The post The Best Source of Comfort appeared first on South Seminole Church Of Christ.

            A person who is in Christ has a new life. Jesus told Nicodemus, "I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:5-7) Paul wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he…

The post The Light of the Body appeared first on South Seminole Church Of Christ.

THE GROWTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
(David A. Cox)

“But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”  (2 Peter 2:18).

Peter points out that being a Christian is not just a one-time decision made, and then it is over.  Being a Christian involves a lifetime of growth. The Christian is a child of God and a part of the family of God.  The family analogy gives us the picture of brothers and sisters, children, and parents.  God is the Father.  As the Father, He…