A publication of the:
Butler church of Christ
Our meeting location is:
201 5th Ave.
Butler, PA 16001
724-287-0628 (building) / 724-282-9417
(home/office)
Assembling Times:
Sunday Bible Class - 9:30 AM
Sunday Worship – 10:30 AM
Wednesday Bible Class – 7:00 PM
Editor / Preacher –
Brian A. Yeager
Check out the web site:
(I Corinthians 10:31 and I Peter 4:11)
(Colossians 2:6-8) “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” When an alien sinner becomes a Christian they leave a life of sin and hopelessness by entering into a spiritual life of faith and hope in Christ through faith, repentance, confession, and immersion (Romans 10:17, Acts 3:19, Romans 10:10, and Romans 6:1-6). At that point, Satan no longer has a stronghold on them. However, his work at making them fall has just begun. Thus, a child of God must be deeply rooted and firm in Christ Jesus our Lord. For, the world will be at the heels of a Christian to spoil [carry one off as captive] he or she. The way to overcome the attempts of the prince of darkness is to be steadfast and busy in doing the Lord’s bidding.
Steadfast and Busy
(I Corinthians 15:58) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” The word “stedfast” in the previously quoted verse means “firm”. The word “unmoveable” means “not to be moved from its place”. The word “abounding” means “to remain”. So, a Christian who will find themselves out of the reach of Satan needs to be firm, not moveable from Christ, and remaining in the work of the Lord. If we, as Christians, are always busy thinking about and doing spiritual things (Galatians 5:22-25), Satan is going to be hard pressed trying to find time in our lives to introduce to us fleshly things (Galatians 5:19-21).
We, as Christians, need to be examining ourselves frequently (II Corinthians 13:5). If we are finding faults with ourselves we need to ask why. If Satan is winning in our spiritual battles there is a reason. Is it that our study habits are horrible (John 5:39 and Acts 17:10-11)? Is it that we are around worldly folks more than our brethren, thus the influences we have in our lives are bad influences (I Corinthians 15:33)? Is it that we are still desiring milk when we should be consuming meat and teaching others (Hebrews 5:12-14)? If we are losing in our spiritual battles there is a reason.
Conclusion
We must take root downward and bear fruit upward (II Kings 19:30). Just as a tree with deep roots, our faith should not be moved in terrible storms. But, if we are suffering from the blowing weed syndrome, we have a choice to remain in that condition until we loose, or face the truth and make some changes. There will be no such thing as an unfaithful Christian in Heaven (Matthew 7:21 and II Corinthians 5:10). Are you rooted and firm in Christ?
**All definitions in this article
were taken from Thayer’s Greek – English Lexicon of the New Testament.
Quick
NotesThose In Need of Our Prayers:
Joan Croyle, Marie Glunt (a friend of
the Papp’s who is suffering from cancer), and Julie Rado (a friend of the
Graham’s who has been diagnosed with breast cancer), the Goforth family,
and Valarie Johnson.
Out of Town:
I (Brian) will be preaching a meeting
in Warrenville, SC the 25th – the 30th. I will be leaving on Saturday
the 24th and returning on Saturday the 31st. Thus, Bill will be teaching
next Sunday morning’s Adult Bible Class, Mike will be preaching, and Mike
will be taking care of Wednesday night’s service.