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Do We Lay It to Heart?
Robert Turner

Every parent knows the difference in "Do I have to go?" and "Do I get to go?" "Do I have to go to bed?" means the child wants to stay up. "Do I get to go to the show?" means the child wouldn't miss it for anything.

Isn't it strange that some of us will wave those same clear signals with reference to the Lord's services, and not see that we are being just as transparent as our children? "Do we have to go to Bible study?" says the same thing about our desires as it does when voiced by our child. When one asks, "How much must I give?," he is clearly saying, "I do not want to give anything, and would like to know how little will pay the bill." Either that, or he has failed to grasp the most fundamental and essential element in the spirit of acceptable service unto God.
"Do We Lay It To Heart?" (continued from page one)
There can be no coming to Christ except we deny or give up self (Matt. 16:24). Translated into the context of "doing" this means we must first want to do all possible (100% committed) to serve the Lord. The proper spirit must motivate the doing, or it is shallow and empty -- may even be an abomination in His sight (Hos. 6:6). God told the priest of Judaism, "If ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name...then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessing; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart" (Mal. 2:2).

Lay it to heart! That means truly respect God; take Him seriously. The priests had offered polluted bread on the altar (Mal. 1:7); offered blind and lame animals as sacrifice (Mal. 1:8). They said of worship, "What a weariness it is!" (Mal 1:13-14). To make this current, they said, "Do we have to do or give?" "Do it any old way, just get it over with; we want to go home to the TV." And to top it off, when rebuked, they acted so innocent and said, "When did we ever do that?"

"Oh, that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain" (Mal. 1:10). Better to close up shop -- call it off -- than to play at worship, and not "lay it to heart."

In The World, But Not Of The World
selected - via Bulletin Gold

We are to be in the world but not of the world. This can be illustrated by noticing the submarine. It is in the water but not of the water. If it is on the ground (out of the water) it is of no purpose...it is not accomplishing its mission.

But when it is in the water it must be insulated (not isolated) from the water. If the water ever gets into the submarine then there is cause for alarm and emergency. We must be insulated from the world but not isolated from it. We must live blameless and without fault in the midst of a perverse world (cf. Philippians 2:15)

Because I Don't Want to
Luke Bower (Adapted)

     Dr. George Wald, Harvard graduate, Nobel Prize winner in physics and devout evolutionist, said: "There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose. Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God … there is no other possibility. Spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasteur and others, but that just leaves us with only one other possibility … that life came as a supernatural act of creation by God, but I can't accept that philosophy because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation leading to evolution."
     How many times have you heard someone say they don't believe God would condemn a particular sin or require a particular thing, even though the Bible says he does?
     God is God; we are not. It matters what God has said, not what we think. Take a look at your life. Is there anything you are doing or accepting that is against what we know God has told us? If so, restore God to the rightful place in your life as Lord and Creator.