THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 45, DECEMBER 8, 2002

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND A LITTLE BIT OF THAT  

            Every now and then there are several things that I would like to mention, none of which is large enough to constitute a whole bulletin article.  That being the case now, it is time for a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

            A few weeks ago I was talking to Albert Dickson, who is one of the preachers at the Mill Road Church of Christ in northern Cincinnati .  Albert used to preach in New York City and he was telling of some of the work that he had done there.  The thing that stood out in my mind was his tale of some of the door-to-door work that he did there.  They would pass out invitations in the neighborhoods for worship services, Gospel Meetings, and bible studies; just like we have been doing for the past two years.  They received some visitors as a result, but not a whole lot.

            Long after Albert had left New York , he received word from the congregation that a gentleman had attended services as a result of one such invitation that he had received 5 YEARS EARLIER.  That gentleman eventually obeyed the gospel and became a mainstay of the congregation there. 

            When I was working in Norwood with the church that is now Fairfax , we did extensive door-to-door work.  After one such pass out, a young man came to services because he had received one of the invitations.  As it turned out, he and I had gone to school together, a study was begun, and he became a Christian.  That man now attends at West Mason. 

            The point is simply this – we may ask “What good does going door-to-door do?”  The truth is that we never know what good might come from it or how long it might take to manifest itself.  But there are two things I do know for certain.  One is that giving people the opportunity to come and hear the gospel or to have a private bible study does ME good.  The second thing I know for certain is that God said through Isaiah in Isa. 55:8 – 11, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

            Our job is to plant the seed, to put it out there.  God is the One who gives the increase.

            In a congregation the size of Northern Kentucky , there are a host of problems and trials that brethren are going through that we might not all know about.  Some are most certainly having private struggles, others struggles that might be a bit more public.  There are always those who don’t feel real well physically, although they are not sick enough to miss services or work.  There will be some who are feeling a little bit down emotionally, some who might be having troubles on the job and things are not always absolutely perfect and smooth in every family, even among Christians.    

            I believe that is one reason why God has told us to “pray one for another” (James 5:17 ).  Prayer by brethren for brethren seems to have been very common in the apostolic age.  Paul often prayed for the brethren.  Philippians 1:3 - 4 is just one example of him expressing this truth.  He wrote, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.”  Paul asked the brethren to pray for him.  Remember 2 Thessalonians 3:1 - 2?  He wrote, “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.”  Look at what Acts 12:5, has to say, “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”  

            So, let’s pray for each other.  We don’t have to know all the details of every situation in order to pray for each other.  I can pray that if there is a problem in your life or a trial you are going through, that the Lord will help you with it.  I can pray that if everything is going along just fine, that it will continue just that way. 

            Did you ever notice how easy it is to tell somebody else what they are doing wrong?  Or how easy it is to recognize short-comings in others?  Did you ever notice how easy it is to get to feeling better good about ourselves when we only use God’s word as a looking glass through which we see others, and not as the mirror it was intended to be through which we see ourselves?  

            It reminds me of Paul’s question in Romans 2:21, “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?”  

                                                Greg Litmer