Reading The Bulletins
News From Here And There:
Bobby Reynolds will be leaving Mooresville Pike church in Columbia, Tennessee, in July, and will move to Nashville to labor with the Rosebank church. The Rosebank church is only about two years old and was started by H. M. Phillips .. . . Robert L. McDonald is moving from Edna, Texas, after nearly four years there, to Houston where he will assist the Greens Bayou church.
I had a man to tell me once that I was a "Guardian man." And I have heard others called by that "awful" name recently. In the Gospel Advocate of recent date I see where someone speaks of a "Guardian elder."
Now who is such a character? What constitutes one a "Guardian man"? I've studied the question carefully, and have come up with the answer. If I believe the church of my Lord is able to do the work God has enjoined upon her without man-made machinery, I am a "Guardian man"! If an elder believes that the local congregation should do its own work instead of turning it over to human institutions to do, he is a "Guardian elder." Perhaps that isn't an awful name after all.
— A. C. Grider, Preston Highway Bulletin Louisville, Kentucky
My Money Creed:
I BELIEVE: The money that comes to my hand is mine only in trust. It belongs to God, just as I belong to God, I am His steward.
I BELIEVE: This money is not "filthy lucre." It is not the "devil's coin"; it is stored up human power. It is so much of myself which I can keep at work furthering the purposes of my Lord through His church.
I BELIEVE: That to spend my money rightly is my solemn task as a Christian. Unless I do this, my prayers and my confessions of faith will be like saying, "Lord, Lord," and not obeying His commandments.
I BELIEVE: My money is an indispensable factor in advancing the purposes of my God for the continuous expansion and permanence of the church. It cannot be otherwise since God never errs, but has always required His people to make definite provision for the financial side of His kingdom.
I BELIEVE: I should set aside a definite portion of my weekly income to be devoted exclusively to the support of my Lord before I make any plans of my own wants and pleasures. This amount should be made available to the "treasury" every "first day of the week."
I BELIEVE: This portion should not be less than ten percent of my income. Not because tithing is commanded in the Gospel, but because the Gospel does command proportionate giving. The Old Testament reveals that patriarchs Abraham and Jacob devoted tithes to God's glory under "patriarchy"; the Israelites were obligated to devote the "first tithe" to the temple.
I cannot conscientiously give a smaller portion under the "law of love" by which I am saved, than Israel was commanded to give under a "loveless" law, which should not save them.
— F. B. Shepherd, Via Riverside Reminder, Fort Worth, Texas
Parable Of Mixed Marriages:
"And it came to pass that the Sons of God married the daughters of men, and, Lo, they were soon contaminated with their false religions.
"Some reasoned thus, 'We must go with our companions part of the time so they'll go with us part of the time,' not realizing that when they went with the companions they had to forsake the Lord and His worship.
"Others allowed their companions to keep them at home or to take them to places of amusement except for only one service, usually on Sunday morning. These not only did miss the edification the services provided, but did fail to encourage the ones who were trying to carry the work of the Lord forward.
"By and by this influence resulted in the complete departure of some from the faith. Others remained in semi-conscious spiritual condition. A few were able to overcome and even convert their companions. Some others found a way, even though difficult, to take an active part in the work of the Lord, and showed they could 'overcome evil with good'."
Did you marry out of the Lord? If so, which of the above categories are you in? Remember that your first duty always is to the Lord, and that we are to be in subjection to our companions only, "as it is fit in the Lord." (Col. 3:18.)
— Bruceton Reminder ... Adapted
In the state of Tennessee there is an interesting thing developing and the results should be interesting and vital to all. House Bill No. 489 by Wesley Flatt, Wayne Estes and Harold B. Roney, and Senate Bill No. 413 by Mr. Speaker Jared Maddux, will, if passed, permit divorce and remarriage for only one cause — that of adultery. All other causes for which divorce is now granted shall only be a judicial separation not dissolving the marriage bond. People in Tennessee who favor the passage of these bills are urged to write to the members of the House and Senate insisting that such be done. We are concerned about the outcome, but it is the prediction of the editor of this column that these bills will not pass.