MARCH 3 , 2023
Editor | Dr . Shelton Smith Vol . LXXXIX , No . 5
Why We Are Not Changing Bibles
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Increasing Your Bus Attendance
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The Pastor and the Mrs .
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This Same Jesus Is Coming Again
GARVAN W . WALLS Pastor , Mt . Pisgah Baptist Church , Oliver Springs , Tennessee
“ And I saw heaven opened , and behold a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True , and in righteousness he doth judge and make war .
“ His eyes were as a flame of fire , and on his head were many crowns ; and he had a name written , that no man knew , but he himself .
“ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name is called The Word of God .
“ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses , clothed in fine linen , white and clean .
“ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword , that with it he should smite the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and he tread - eth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God .
“ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written , KING OF KINGS , AND LORD OF LORDS .
“ And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a loud voice , saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven , Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ;
“ That ye may eat the flesh of kings , and the flesh of captains , and the flesh of mighty men , and the flesh of horses , and of them that sit on them , and the flesh of all men , both free and bond , both small and great .
“ And I saw the beast , and the kings Continued on p 19 ▶
I really do love church . In fact , I began going to church before I was born . I have not yet burned out and I am not trying to get over it . Instead , I keep trying to get more of it .
“ And the Philistines came up yet again , and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim .
“ And when David enquired of the
LORD , he said , Thou shalt not go up ; but fetch a compass behind them , and come upon them over against the mulberry trees .
“ And let it be , when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees , that then thou shalt bestir thyself : for then shall the LORD go out before thee , to smite the host of the Philistines .
“ And David did so , as the LORD had commanded him ; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer .”— II Sam . 5:22 – 25 .
Here is an interesting account that comes from a perennial war between two familiar nations of
Who Is in Charge Here ?
DR . SHELTON SMITH
A Moving of the Mulberry Leaves
DR . JEFF FUGATE Pastor , Clays Mill Baptist Church , Nicholasville , Kentucky
people . Israel and the Philistines were longtime enemies .
Israel was a nation of the people of God . They were the apple of His eye . The Devil hated them and he hated them through the Philistines , a godless and heathen people of that day .
The Philistines were a very ag - gressive enemy . They would steal Israel ’ s crops , their livestock and
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THE FINAL CHOICE
GIPSY SMITH
“ And as he reasoned of righteous - ness , temperance , and judgment to come , Felix trembled [ that seems to indicate that he was terrified ], and answered , Go thy way for this time ; when I have a convenient season [‘ more ’ is often put in when you quote this verse , but ‘ more ’ is not there ], I will call for thee .”— Acts 24:25 .
This is a very interesting picture . I wish I could paint it ! God ’ s proph - et , God ’ s messenger , plus a man and woman who were living very sinful lives .
Paul is in prison , awaiting trial . These two want some new excite - ment , something to amuse and something to entertain . Though they live in sin , time hangs heavy .
They are spending their money for that which is not bread and their labor for that which satisfieth not ; and like the man of whom we read who longed for some new pleasure and offered a reward to anybody who would invent one , these two want something else to excite , some thing to pass away the time .
So they send for God ’ s prophet to entertain them . Says the verse that precedes this one , “ He sent for
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Jesus said , “ No man can serve two masters : for either he will hate the one , and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one , and despise the other . Ye cannot serve God and mammon ” ( Matt . 6:24 ). So He ’ s telling us that somebody is going to be in charge .
A few chapters later Jesus said , “ Come unto me , all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls . For my yoke is easy , and my burden is light ” ( 11:28 – 30 ).
The invitation there is to get yoked up with the Lord . Our job
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will be easier — our lives will be better — if we simply yoke up with the Lord .
Now , I want you to look with me at the Sermon on the Mount , where Jesus said , “ Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide is the gate , and broad is the way , that leadeth to de - struction , and many there be which go in thereat : Because strait is the gate , and narrow is the way , which leadeth unto life , and few there be that find it ” ( 7:13 , 14 ).
So note in verse 14 He says , “ And narrow is the way .” Jesus said “ narrow ” is a good thing , but it seems to have gotten a bad name
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among a lot of Christians . It ’ s like you ’ re too narrow if you pay attention to too many things that the Bible mandates .
Well , folks , let ’ s look at it this way . There are places in town where they require you to wear a uniform and to take orders . The boss is the boss . The manager runs the place . The menu is determined before you even walk in the door and nobody says that they ’ re legalists .
You might say , “ About whom are you talking ?”
I ’ m talking about McDonald ’ s .
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Satanists in Idaho Planning Capitol “ Ritual ” to Protest Bill
A group of satanists is opposing the “ Vulnerable Child Protection Act ,” a bill that would make the dispensing of experimental puberty blockers and performing sex-change operations on youth — both of which can lead to sterilization — a felony . If the bill passes both chambers of the state legislature and is signed into law by Governor Brad Little , it would mean anyone convicted of performing such procedures could face up to 10 years in prison .… A satanic group in
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