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 5, NUMBER 23,  JUNE 12, 2005 

“BEHOLD, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW!”

            As I walk around the church building these days and sit in the office, I am just amazed at how different things look and at how much more room we have.  Everything is so bright and shiny, and it is great to see the smiles on the faces of the brethren as they “take the grand tour” of the new facilities.  Even the preacher’s office, that had been eliminated due to the need of the room for classes, has been replaced with a spacious, brand-spanking new office which is absolutely appreciated by me.

            All of the physical changes here at the Northern Kentucky building reminded me a little bit of Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where he wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  That pretty well describes a major portion of the building here, “old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new,” although a building that is only seven years old to begin with can hardly be classified as “old.”

            The addition to the building, as well as the renovation of the existing facility with the expansion of the auditorium, was accomplished in the good old-fashioned way.  It came about through work.  Some existing walls had to be removed.  The foundation had to be dug, the forms erected, and the concrete poured in the same old way as always.  The framing had to be done with saws and hammers.  The dry wall still had to be hung and finished with good old manual labor.  The painting was still done with rollers and brushes, and the carpet and tile were laid with sore knees and a lot of sweat.  The point that I am trying to make is this – in order for “all things to become new” – the old methods had to be used.

            Nobody gets “in Christ” and nobody becomes a “new creature,” except by the same method and in the same way that people have gotten in Christ and become “new creatures” since the Day of Pentecost we read of in Acts 2.  Paul describes it in this way in Romans 6:3-4, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

            Most people like new things.  They like it when the “old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.”  But know with a certainty that the only way to do that spiritually, is to “ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein” (Jeremiah 6:16).

                                                            Greg Litmer

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN

            It is hot enough to be summer, and why not, summer will arrive on the 21^st of June.  That means that it is time again for all Christians to reaffirm in their own minds the standards of modesty and decency that God commands of His children.

            In Genesis 3:9, we learn that Adam and Eve “sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”  It is obvious that such skimpy apparel was not pleasing to God.  In Genesis 3:21, it is written, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

            Hence, it is clear that from the beginning, God did not intend that mankind should run around in brief and revealing attire.

            Again in Exodus 32:6-25, we learn that God became so angry with the children of Israel that He was about to destroy the whole nation.  What had they done to so anger Jehovah?  After they made a golden calf to worship, the Bible tells us they had a great feast during which they took off their clothes and danced “naked.”

            And now what does the New Testament teach?  In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, Paul wrote, “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness.”  When should we learn such things?  As early as possible.  Parents, take heed!  Young people need to be taught to be modest, discreet and chaste. 

                                                            Raymond Harris

“MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE”

When sickness enters into our lives,
And we cannot function as we would,
We turn to our Heavenly Father on our knee,
And He says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

As we walk down the hospital corridors,
And see the tears in brethren’s eyes,
In despair we may turn to Elijah’s juniper tree,
But He says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

When to the funeral home we are called,
And at the casket we all meet,
The Word teaches us that this is as it must be,
And God says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Greg Litmer