THE BEACON - Electronic Edition - 1/14/04 In 2004 . . . In 2004 I will "give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting" (Psalm 118:1). In 2004 I will "write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). In 2004 I will "speak, as it were, the utterances of God" (1 Peter 4:11). In 2004 I will "preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void" (1 Corinthians 1:17). In 2004 I will "do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit" (Philippians 2:3). In 2004 I will "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). In 2004 I will "be anxious for nothing" (Philippians 4:6). In 2004 I will "be at peace with all men" (Romans 12:18) In 2004 I will "rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4). In 2004 "I shall not be afraid" (Psalm 56:11). In 2004 I will "examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). In 2004 I will "judge not according to appearances, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). In 2004 I will "render to all what is due them; tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Romans 13:7). In 2004 I will "strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble" (Hebrews 12:12). In 2004 I will be "contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality" (Romans 12:13). In 2004 I will "deny ungodliness and worldly desires" (Titus 2:12). In 2004 I will "walk in the light as He Himself is in the light" (1 John 1:7). In 2004 "I shall pay my vows to the Lord." - by Hal Hammons _________________________________________ Five Ways To Make A Happy Home 1. Make God a part of it. After all, He originated it and He deserves a place in it. Remind yourselves - He is there with you at all times. Let the thought of Him influence your treatment of each other and shape your family's priorities. 2. Love your mate. And tell it! It is reassuring to even the very best relationships to know there's love in it. Learn to express your affection. Spend time together and keep your relationship strong. 3. Listen to your children. I mean really listen. Sit down with them periodically and let them say what's on their mind. All of us like to be heard occasionally. Let each child know they are special. 4. Plan at least one meal each day with the whole family. No TV or radio. Give thanks to God, enjoy your meal and talk with each other about your day. Smile and laugh together. 5. Make every day count. Having everybody at home won't last long, and it deserves the best treatment you can give it while it does last. Strive to enjoy every day with your family while you are together. Make memories you can treasure for a lifetime. - by Paul Bailey _____________________________________________________ How Happy are you? "Rejoice in the lord always: and again I say rejoice." (Phil. 4:4) Look at all of the blessing that Christians have. The material blessings are available for everyone and they are without number. We live in a country that is well blessed with material things, freedom, beauty of all kinds and how long could the list be! Even the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the ground that we walk upon are blessing from God. In addition to these things Christians have the forgiveness of sins, fellowship with God and fellow Christians, and the hope of an eternity in the presence of God. God has written to us about the assurance of His love, the blessedness of His hope, and the wonders of salvation. We can, by adhering to His word, bask in thesunshine of His love. When we look around us and observe fellow Christians, what do we see and hear? There is murmuring and complaining. There is worry about mundane things and things that we cannot do anything about, and we complain about everything in sight. We must learn to exercise our minds, and learn to separate the good from the evil. God says "rejoice" and we need to be learning how. - by Tom Wheeler __________________________________________________ "High Maintenance" From time to time you might hear someone described as "high maintenance." It could be a man referring to his girlfriend, or a husband discussing his wife (or vice versa). The phrase might be used in regards to any person who shares a relationship with others. The meaning of this expression is this: this individual requires constant attention. They expect and demand that others will attend to their every whim and expectation. Typically, these people will not do anything for others, because it seems that it never crosses their mind to think about what someone else might want or need. Their total emphasis is on "me, me, me!" Unfortunately, there are some members of the church who are "high maintenance." These are the folks who are always complaining about things that they feel should have been done for them. a.. "I was sick, and no one came to see me." b.. "I was overlooked when someone was selected for." c.. "I've never been invited to ______ 's house for a meal." d.. "I wasn't included when some others made plans to." e.. Etc., etc., etc. A little investigation will show that this "high maintenance" individual has never done any of these things for anyone else. Usually these folks are not particularly friendly, almost never show hospitality, don't visit the sick, never see about the needs of others, and generally ignore any situation that doesn't involve their own interests or desires. They are self-centered and full of self-pity. Such folks need to learn to look outside their own circle, to realize that "self" is not the most important thing. Paul said it this way: "In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:3-5). - by Greg Gwin ____________________________________________ Trends . . . A study in Psychological Science, July 2003, reported that those who are caregivers for others have a significantly higher life expectancy than those who do not help others. The reasons for this are not known, but we would suggest that the concept of serving others is good for the server as well as the one being served. - via Science News, July 26, 2003, p. 51 Matthew 23:11-12 "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." _____________________________________________ Some quotes worth pondering . . . "Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured." "Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there." "Hot words never resulted in cool judgment." "When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always becomes angry." ______________________________________________ News from Collegevue . . . January 11, 2004 Good morning, and welcome to the services here at Collegevue. If you are visiting today, we extend a special greeting to you, and we invite you to return again as soon as possible. Do you have questions? Need Bible study assistance? We will gladly study any Bible question with you. Just let us know how we can help. Continue in prayers for those who are sick, including: James Sanders, Archie Stoltz, Linda Smith, Kris Johnson (in the final days of her pregnancy), Lucille Vick's brother, Cindy Andrews' grandmother, and others, including many that are down with the flu and colds. We encourage you to keep up with your Bible reading schedule. In conjunction with this, a new class begins today for those who are interested in discussing the readings each week. If you want to participate, we simply ask that you note your observations and jot down any questions you might have as you read each day. We'll discuss these in the class each Sunday morning. The special adult class on Revelation, taught by Andy Dvorak, will begin on Wednesday evening in the big classroom down the main hallway. The elders are asking for volunteers to help clean the building. If you can assist in this work, there is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board. Children's Bible drill classes will meet at 5:40 today. Be sure to bring your kids. It's not too early to be planning for our gospel meeting with Joel Plunkett. The dates are March 7-12. Mark your calendars now, and keep these dates open. Figures for the week of 1/4/04: Sun.: Bstudy, 141; AM, 163; PM 131; Wed., 129; Contrib., $3252 ______________________________________________ "The Beacon - Electronic Edition" is sent out weekly from Columbia, TN, and contains articles and information taken from the most recent "paper" bulletin of the Collegevue Church of Christ. We hope you will use this material in any way you can that will glorify our Father. Please give proper credit to the respective authors. - Greg Gwin ggwin1@bellsouth.net