Articles

This congregation has quietly and consistently, for over a decade, helped with orphans in Komsomolsk, Russia. It is so infrequently mentioned, and so far away, that an appreciation for that good work can easily slip from our heads and hearts. The brethren (from Kalispell, Montana, through whom we serve these young souls), send out a monthly report most of you never see. The following is a brief su...

The local news network reported last week that a young man was killed. He was sitting in a home playing video games with friends when a stray bullet from a would-be intruder’s pistol ended his life.Another report told of three motorcyclists killed when a driver momentarily lost control of his automobile.Then just yesterday, news came from a friend that a loved one of theirs who went to sleep, neve...

Jesus was homeless. He said the foxes had holes and the birds had nests, but he had nowhere to lay his head. Would we think him a bum?Jesus told a Samaritan woman that she and her people did not know what they worshipped (John 4:21-22). He even told some Sadducees that they were in error not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). Would we think him rude?Jesus openly condemned...

God inspired several prophets to speak to the hard-headed and rebellious Israelites. These men were persecuted, ridiculed, defamed and demeaned, yet they preached, taught and wrote what God wanted said.Their messages were absolute truth and the timing and content of their presentations to their fellow Israelites was under the full direction of the wisdom of God. In spite of all of this, they had v...

Did You Deserve Better?Every child deserves a good childhood. This includes you. You should have been born to two loving, caring parents who worked together to make a happy home. If you did not have that, you got cheated, and that’s not fair.It is not fair if you were born into dysfunctional circumstances. It is not fair to you if your parents divorced, or were abusive or were addicts or reprobate...

“Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened…..”, Luke 3:21Jesus prayed as he was beginning his work on the earth. Does it make sense to conclude that it is a good idea to talk with the Lord as you or I begin any worthy effort?“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God”...

Jesus said in John 13:7, “If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” Both the power and pattern of prayer are contained in that verse. Prayer is to an unlimited God, and needs to be presented by a submissive, Scripture-abiding servant of God. Thomas Benton Brooks was on target when he wrote: “If you would have God hear you when you p...

In the Old Testament book of Jonah we find God’s reluctant servant, who may well be like so many servants of Christ in the church today.He was called to serve God by going to Nineveh and preach repentance to the people there. He runs away from doing his job as a servant—gets swallowed by a huge fish, then repents and is spit out on the shore of Nineveh to complete his job. His reluctance is seen i...

The Elders at Choctaw are calling us to consider February as a "Month of Prayer" to help encourage us to walk and talk with God. Our desire is to establish a relationship with the Creator similar to Adam's before sin entered the world and God walked with him as a friend.God has always wanted to dwell in and with man, but the sin problem is always in the way. Thankfully, He prepared a way through t...

Ever been in awkward situations where you would like to say something to someone but just don't know what to say. A death in a family, and you would like to offer condolences but you just don't know what to say. You find a person you know has developed an incurable illness...and you don't know what to say. Maybe it's a suicide, a divorce, or a parent with a "problem child" - a wayward brother or s...

The physical universe in which we live is subject to the passage of time. All things physical within this universe are subject to time. Eternity is not time.In the beginning (a “time” reference”) God created the physical universe and it would seem time itself. We cannot control, manipulate or adjust time in any presently (another “time” reference) known way. We have the means to measure time, and ...

It was noted in last week’s article that bad weather is usually the reason for canceling assemblies of the church. There are, however, other compelling reasons for doing so.This year, for example, Christmas Eve falls on a Wednesday. Traditionally, no other night of the year is as oriented towards home and family. This being true, leadership here has decided to forego holding an assembly on Christm...

The Wednesday night service is as inconvenient a habit as you can have. You have to rush home from work and rush through supper or delay supper until late. Cannot watch your favorite TV shows. Play havoc with sports schedules, hard to tell the coach you cannot make Wednesday night games or practice. If you have kids, it means organizing them when they are tired and getting them to sleep past their...

Circumstances sometimes dictate that the leadership here at Choctaw make the decision to postpone or even cancel one or more assemblies of the church. This is always a difficult call for those of us taking part in making the decision, simply because we take every assembly of the Lord’s church seriously.I want to address three specific considerations that are at the forefront of these decisions reg...

PHRASES WE LOVE ANDWANT TO HEAR"Congratulations, it's a ........!""You Passed!""You are the ONLY One!""Your the Winner!""I now pronounce you....!""Your tests came back negative!""I pretty sure we got it all!""I missed you!""I love you __________....!" (fill in the blank)"I'm so proud of you!""How can I help you?""I'm going to let you go with a warning..."Feel free to add your own phrase(s) to the ...

Solomon concluded that the above was the “whole” duty of man in Ecclesiastes 12:13.In the book of Proverbs alone, Solomon used the idea of fearing God or His commandments at least 21 times. Below are a few examples of the positive benefits of fearing the Lord:1:7 – it is the beginning of knowledge3:7 – it is the antithesis of evil9:10 – it is the beginning of wisdom10:27 – it prolongs life13:13 – ...

Matt Patterson in The Oklahoman (November 17, 2014, pp. 1,2A) writes about Marvin and Bobbie Margo’s devotion to OU football. They set a standard of faithfulness to football that each member of the church would do well to consider in his or her faithfulness to God, the Father, as we make our journey into eternity (cf. Rev. 2:10)!Consider their example of attending the games. They got seats for the...

The apostles apparently assuming the worst of a man born blind, asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered:It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Meas long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. John 9:3-4The man’s blindnes...

No one wants to hear that their identity has been stolen. Someone else using your good name for their own personal gain is a terrible thing to do. The idea that someone else would violate your personage by stealing and destroying your reputation is despicable. And to make things worse, it is becoming one of the most common of crimes to date. It takes forever to wade through the red tape trying to ...

Jesus never gave anyone a big bag of money and said, “There, that will solve your problems”. I find it interesting that while Jesus gave sight to the blind, made withered limbs whole and even raised the dead, he never healed anyone of Greed, Lust, Hatred, Pride, Ignorance, Cowardice or any other fault in character or behavior.Jesus never said, “If you really love each other, having sex is not...