Problems And Trials
Bulletin Of The
HANCOCK
COUNTY
CHURCH
OF
CHRIST
Editor:
Donald P. Ames
May 29, 2011
Vol. 1, No. 8
There are problems in life we cannot avoid
No matter how hard we may try.
There are times we get so discouraged
As we sit and wonder “Why?”
We could give up and say, “It’s no use,”
And simply sit down and quit.
Or, we can take the “bull by the horns,”
And try to the best of our wit.
We can press forward and go right on—
Determined it won’t get us down.
And we may be surprised to find
Support from others in town.
And soon we become so busy,
Instead of tears we will find
That sometimes it almost seems
God had other plans in mind.
--DPA
4197 S. 600 West
New Palestine, Ind.
46163
The Parable Of The Flying Feline
(317) 840-6778 or
(317) 894-3888
One morning the preacher’s wife found a kitten that had climbed
up a tree in their back yard and was afraid to come down. She
coaxed and offered warm milk, but the kitten would not come down.
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At breakfast, she told her husband and he tried too, but to no
avail. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so they decided that
if they tied a rope to the car and pulled it until the tree bent down,
she could reach up and get the kitten. So, he found a rope, tied it to
the tree, and bent it down; all the while his wife called out that she
could almost reach the kitten, but not yet. If he went just a little further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for her to reach the kitten.
But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.
The tree went “boing” and the kitten sailed through the air, out of
sight.
They both felt terrible. They walked all over the neighborhood
asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. No, nobody had seen a
stray kitten. So they prayed, “Lord, we just commit that kitten to
Your keeping,” and went on about their day.
A few days later she was at the grocery store, and met one of the
church members. She happened to glance into the shopping cart
and was amazed to see cat food. The woman was a cat hater and
everyone knew it, so she asked, “Why are you buying cat food when
you hate cats so much?”
The church member replied, “You won’t believe > >
[P.15]
this,” and then told how her little girl had been
begging for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a
few days before, the child had begged again, so
the Mom finally told her little girl, “Well, if God
gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.”
The woman told the preacher’s wife, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees
and ask God for a cat. And really, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten
suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its
paws outspread, and landed right in her arms!”
Never underestimate the power of God and
His unique sense of humor.
(Selected))
(Via Fred Garrison)
Prayer And Faith
In our health and wealth religion of prosperity, the idea is left that if you pray for something,
and it is not received, then your faith is lacking. If
you pray for God to bless you with children, and
yet you remain barren, is it because of your lack
of faith in God? When a loved one falls ill to a
disease, and prayers are constantly offered for
their recovery, and yet they die, do we say our
faith was not great enough in prayer? The great
chapter of faith in Hebrews 11 is not only about
those who found victory in this life through their
faith and their prayers, but also the stories of
those who prayed just as hard and had as much
faith, if not more, and were not delivered (Heb.
11:35,38).
Faith is the love of God working through our
love, in prayer expressing our deepest needs to a
Father who loves us. He hears our prayers. He
knows our needs. He answers every prayer.
Our faith is not diminished when He says, “No.”
There is nothing God cannot do, but God will not
do everything we ask. His answer should build
our character of faith to trust Him more and more
– regardless of the answer He gives. Faith is not
based upon the answer, but upon the request.
Our trust in God is to rely upon His will in our
lives. When life brings challenges, we show our
faith by praying to the Father. Our faith then
brings the challenges to light when the answer is
received from the Father.
–Alan Piner
(Southport; Indpls., Ind. bulletin)
[P.16]
Why Is It Called The
“Church Of Christ”?
Do you wonder why it is so important that the
church be designated properly? Let us give
these
very vital reasons:
1. The church belongs to Christ by right of
purchase. “Which He purchased with His own
blood” (Acts 20:28 NKJV). No other person or
thing, therefore, should have any part in the title
of the church.
2. The church is the body of Christ. “And He is
the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18).
The body of Christ is the church of Christ, so it is
altogether logical and right that the church be
called “the church of Christ.”
3. The church is the bride of Christ. “For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall
become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I
speak concerning Christ and the church” (Eph.
5:31-32 NKJV).
4. The church operates under the sold authority
of Christ. “All authority in heaven and earth has
been given unto me: go therefore…” (Matt.
28:18-20).
Since it operates by no earthly
authority, by what right should it be called after
any earthly being or thing?
5. Christ is the Savior of the church. “Christ is
head of the church, and He is the Savior of the
body” (Eph. 5:23). So we are obligated to no
other person or thing. Why should we desire to
glorify any other than the Savior?
--H. L. Collett
(Via Robinson, Ill. bulletin)
Treasures in heaven are laid up only as
treasures of earth are laid down.
---0--If one’s faith is too weak to obey God, it is too
weak to take him to heaven.
---0--We must strive without strife, and contend
without malicious contention.
---0--It gives me great comfort to know that any
year now my teen ager will grow up and know
just as little as I do.