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Introduction to Prophets and Prophecies
(Class by Bill Ingram, Jr.)

Worshiping the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness
(Sermon by Dan Jenkins)

Psalms - Part 1
(Sermon by Dan Jenkins)

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Making Evangelism Personal Again:
Creating a Prospect List
(Class by Dan Jenkins, on Wednesday, September 1)

It may be because I do it too often, but I just enjoy hearing when others take a rather well known expression and get confused about the precise wording. Most have heard the expression about throwing out the baby with the bathwater. It probably originated many years ago when a baby would be bathed in a basin and after bathing the baby, the parents literally would take that water and through it outside. The obvious meaning is that one should not ignore the value of any cherished item and get rid of it because of the “bathwater” that surrounds it.
Recently I heard someone change this expression in a prayer when he said, “Lord, help us not to throw out the word with the bathwater.” At first I was confused, but then I saw precisely what the brother meant it in the prayer he prayed so fervently. How often has our religious world failed to examine truth because all they could see was the “bathwater.”

Immediate satisfaction and instant gratification.  That’s what we all want!  We don’t like waiting.  We are not very patient sometimes.  That’s one reason that fast food, instant coffee, microwaves and cable modems have grown so popular.  However, it is not possible to apply this “on-the-spot fulfillment” to every aspect of our lives.
When it comes to building homes and commercial structures, it still must be done one plank and one block at a time.  When it comes to building our financial resources, it still must be done one level, one job, one raise, one promotion at a time.  When it comes to building our various collections, it still must be done one coin, one stamp, one book, one spoon at a time (although sometimes they can come in lots). 

The story in Numbers 20 of Moses striking the rock (when he was commanded to speak to it) is familiar to us.  In your mind, what size was the rock?  We may think of something small when we think “rock,” but remember that it gave enough water for all the Israelites (a couple million people).  By definition, the rock that Moses struck was a large, cliff-like, mountainous mass.

The same Hebrew word, sela, is used repeatedly in the Old Testament as a metaphor for God Himself.  Think about these verses:  “The Lord is my Rock…Blessed be my Rock…To you I will cry, O Lord my Rock…Be my Rock of refuge…He only is my Rock…the Rock of my strength… my God the Rock of my refuge” (Psa. 18:2, 46; 28:1; 31:2; 62:2, 7; 94:22; etc.).

– David Sproule
Thought for the Day
September 6, 2010