by David Flemming
We've heard a lot about the President's plan: "No Child Left Behind." I think we can all appreciate the importance of this concept and the changes for good that are hoped to be gained by it. We who are Christians have the same spiritual hope of, "No Child Left Behind." We want all of our children brought up in Christ and taught His way. Even more, a dedicated Christian will want to reach out to others; family, friends, workers, anyone our lives touch, to bring them closer to God.
We are extremely blessed at Mt. Juliet to have so many willing and dedicated workers in all walks of life and a wide range of ages, from the very young to our more mature members, who realize that in Christ the retirement plan begins after we leave this life. We have been blessed with an ever increasing membership. Along with growth comes need and more responsibilities, giving more opportunity for service and the use of our individual abilities.
This is very good. However, with growth there is also more opportunity for Satan to sow his seed and do his work. He works on our minds to sow discord in our hearts and minds. We have a tendency perhaps to feel left out, to feel things are getting too big, to think things are not the way they should be, and many other such thoughts. For example, if I was not a teacher I might think or say," If I was still teaching, I would do it this way," or "If my wife was still teaching, she would do it right." These are examples, not real events. We have people from many states and many congregations who have come to us, many who were former teachers, deacons, elders, and preachers. We have been blessed by God! I hope none of us will speak out against our brothers as a means of "HIDING OUT." It is my prayer, as we work together for God that we will continually look inside ourselves to be sure we are doing what we can for our church family, not hiding out, not being contentious, or feeling neglected. And, should we ever have any difficulty with anyone, let us be Christian enough to talk to that person before we talk to others. Let us never give Satan a foothold at Mt. Juliet.
Ephesians 4:11-16 "And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ-from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."