Do you still check your bank statement each month? With the advent of online banking, people can check on their accounts at any time, and not ever have to look at their statement. But a statement can still be useful in several ways; one of which is that it tells you the amount of deposits and the amount of withdrawals for that month. For most, the number of withdrawals will outpace the number of deposits; but hopefully only in the transaction number and not in the dollar amount.

One might say in common vernacular that I am the product of a singing family. Years ago, my family and I would travel in snow with chains on the rear tires just to go to a Sunday afternoon singing. Actually, in truth, all Christians are members of a singing family. Christ as the head of our family, the church, has so commanded that all Christians sing. Paul, in the Ephesian letter, exhorted, “. . . be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 5:19-20).

In the seventh chapter of the book of Proverbs, Solomon is giving his son a warning to stay away from a bad place. He tells his son of an event that he once witnessed. He once saw “a young man devoid of understanding” (v.7) making his way to the house of a prostitute. She is described as shameless (v. 13), and she seduces the young man. However, Solomon says that when the young man yields to her appeals, it is like he is led away “as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks” (v. 22), and that he does not realize that it will cost him more than he wants to pay (v. 23).

At times men and women want to lie down and go no further because they lose the truth of watching. “Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour. . .” (Matt. 25:13). Awake, my dear Christian friend if you are asleep, for there is an expectant future, a future which holds many pleasant surprises.

Rising like a prince among the peaks in that mountain chain of days, the Lord’s Day has a distinctive and towering glory all its very own. In order that we might evaluate and properly use this “first day of the week”, we need to consider some of these special characteristics found in the New Testament.

It is officially the spring season, and for me, it comes not a moment too soon. A lot of ink has been used to describe this seemingly magical time of year when the temperature warms, leaves appear, and green grass and dandelions grow. Webster's describes spring as, "an early or flourishing stage of development." Metaphorically, we associate spring with youth; summer with adulthood; and fall with old age. Spring can be delightful, both in seasons and in life.

It is shocking how far reaching the effects of just one bad, sinful decision can go. It's like throwing a rock into a creek and watching the ripple effect. Sin can put oneself and others in harmful situations now and even in the future.

The term "saints" appears 95 times in the New King James Bible. It is also translated as "holy," or "godly." But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him (Psalm 4:3, NKJV).

It is shocking how far reaching the effects of just one bad, sinful decision can go. It's like throwing a rock into a creek and watching the ripple effect. Sin can put oneself and others in harmful situations now and even in the future.