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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 5, NUMBER 42, OCTOBER 23, 2005 GOD’S PART AND MIND The title of this article may involve two extremes. David said, “The battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). So, some people may say, “Let the Lord do it.” But that is not what David meant. And such attitude will not accomplish God’s purposes. God uses men to do His bidding and to accomplish His will. God did not destroy Goliath with a miraculous stroke from heaven. But God did give victory through the use of David, His servant. From this we may learn that God doesn’t do everything that He could do Himself, but He expects us to do our part too. And when we do it, He gives the victory. The other extreme is that some people seem to think that we have the right to plunge into every scheme and project that seems good to us. We merely declare it to be the Lord’s work and then we expect God to bless us in it. NEW TACTIC Some today would not fight Goliath at all. They would simply try to “win him over to our side.” They would call for a conference. They would plead for him to sit down and talk it over. They would say, “We can all live together in this valley.” But compromise was not the means to victory for God’s people then, and it will not win today. Others would say, “Let’s just go around Goliath.” Or some may say, “Leave him alone and perhaps he will go away. But there comes a time when we must stand and fight against sin and Satan – against false doctrine and unscriptural practice, in the church and in the world. Satan can’t always be avoided, sometimes he must be overcome. And often he won’t go away at all until we have put him to flight by faithfully fighting the good fight. We do indeed have the consolation that the battle for truth and righteousness is the Lord’s battle and that evil will be overcome insofar as we make ourselves fully available to be used of God in every scriptural way. But when we make peace with error, when we declare a truce with evil, when we fail to take up the sword of the Spirit and when we do not volunteer for “active duty,” we will have delivered the victory to Satan and the cause of Christ will suffer a manpower shortage (see Eph. 2:10 and 1 Cor. 3:9). Leslie Diestelkamp WRONG IS WRONG In a time of sagging morals, Satan provides many rationalizations for improper behavior. Those who would live faithful Christian lives must not be “ignorant of Satan’s devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). Wrong is wrong despite our efforts to excuse our actions. WRONG IS WRONG, Even if You Don’t Get Caught. From ‘little things’ littering the highways and breaking the speed limits to ‘more serious offenses’ such as adultery and stealing, our society seems to think the only wrong is getting caught. It just isn’t so. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good,” (Proverbs 15:3). WRONG IS WRONG, Even if You Do It For A Good Cause. The honorable purpose does not justify a dishonorable deed. Many who would not think of gambling, have no resistance to buying a raffle ticket or playing bingo if the proceeds go to a ‘good cause.’ Stealing is stealing even if it is done by a mother who does it to feed children neglected and abandoned by their father. WRONG IS WRONG, Even If Others Do Worse Things. It will be little comfort to you in the judgment, if you should be lost, that others you know did things which you considered to be worse than your sin. WRONG IS WRONG, Even If It Doesn’t Bother Your Conscience. Conscience can be trained to accept wrongdoing, but sin is a transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), and whoever transgresses God’s law sins in so doing, even if his conscience does not condemn him (1 John 3:20). WRONG IS WRONG, Even If It Is Commonly Considered All Right. “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). The Christian should “enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:14 -15). “Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21 -22). …Selected GOSPEL MEETING
Please remember that our Gospel Meeting with John Smith will be beginning Nov. 6 and continue through Nov. 11. John is an excellent preacher of the gospel and just a wonderful fellow. I have told him on several occasions that he is the second best preacher I have ever heard. You will benefit greatly from his gospel lessons. John will be presenting lessons on Sunday and Thursday that will have a special emphasis for the young people. Those of us who are older will learn from them as well. Please plan to attend each service and be prepared to come on Saturday, Nov. 5, for a work day in preparation for the meeting.
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