Topic(s): Prayer

When I was growing up at the Lincoln congregation in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the elders was a man named Roy Jacks. He was a good Christian man who served the Lord throughout his lifetime. He and Lucille were married for 77 years and they brought up their children in the Lord.

Brother Jacks died last week at the age of 99 after suffering two heart attacks. Living to the age of 99 and being married for 77 years are both remarkable feats in life, but I want to tell you something that was noteworthy about his death.

When it became obvious that his health was deteriorating, his wife and children were called to his bedside. While they were all together, they had prayer. The amazing thing is that Brother Jacks led the prayer himself! He knew the power of prayer (1 John 5:14-15; James 5:13-16; Matthew 7:7-8), and prayed often. Shortly after that prayer, he went into a comatose state and six hours later he passed from this life. The last thing he did was lead his family in prayer!

What will be the last thing we do with our families? It will likely be what we have done with them all along. “The family that prays together, stays together.” Think about it.

—adapted from Ricky Phillips, Florence, Alabama

Do I Look Like the Type of Person...?

Topic(s): Joy

Bill Bouknight tells the story of a little boy who was trying to raise some money by collecting old bottles, going door-to-door in his neighborhood. When he came to the home of a woman who was the “town grouch,” the little boy asked, “Do you have any coke bottles?” “No,” she replied with a scowl. Then he said, “Do you have any old whiskey bottles?” “Young man,” the woman replied, “Do I look like the type of person who would have old whiskey bottles?” The little boy studied her for a moment and then asked, “Well, do you have any old vinegar bottles?” Isn’t it tragic that some people go through life so negative and sour and bitter? Don’t become the “old grouch” in your family. Smile. Love. Laugh.

“Rejoice evermore” —1 Thessalonians 5:16

To Have and to Hold

Topic(s): Love

Our daughter Ireland will sometimes start crying for no apparent reason. We check her diaper. Fine. Try to nurse or feed her. Nope. See if her gums hurt. They’re fine. Take off or put on clothes. Doesn’t matter. Pick her up and hold her. That’s the answer.

Over the past 50 years numerous studies have been made regarding babies and human touch. Babies that are held less often tend to be weaker and sicker. Those that receive a lot of cuddling thrive in comparison. With premature babies, physical touch can often make the difference between life and death. Researchers have come to the conclusion that this is not just a “want” of a baby; it is a basic need right up there with food.

Over the years, Athena and I have visited a nearby retirement home. We visit the elderly and listen to their stories. We let them tell us about all the people in the photographs that line their room. What lights their face up more than anything else is when I give them a hug and hold their hand during our visit. They crave physical contact.

I don’t think the need for touch disappears when we are no longer infants and suddenly reappears when we are aged. Too often, we suppress that need, thinking it makes us weak or less independent. Some say, “I don’t really like to be touched or held.” I don’t think they were born that way. I believe every human needs lots of touching.

One of the most common threads of all the blissful relationships I have witnessed is the physical closeness of the couple—two people who realize the basic need to be held often. I wasn’t a hugging sort of person when I married. But everything that I read and all that I witnessed indicated that I needed to do that if I wanted a blissful relationship. So from day one of our marriage, I gave the formulaic hugs and kisses, not because my heart felt like it, but because my head knew it was right. Within months of frequent hugs and cuddles with Athena I began to appreciate the warmth and closeness. Now it is hard to pull us apart.

Hugs, holding hands, and lots of cuddles are not just for babies and grandparents. And for some relationships it can mean the difference between life and death.

—Michael Webb http://www.50secrets.com/edited for space

“. . . they brought young children to him, that he should touch them . . .” --Mark 10:13

Is It a Sin to Live Together Without Marriage?

Topic(s): Marriage, Sin

Society is rapidly accepting this idea, but what does God think? According to the Bible, a man and a woman living together unmarried are classified as “living in fornication.” Fornication is a broad word meaning, “every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse.” A couple engaged in sexual unions is either married or sinning; there is no middle ground. The Bible says, “. . . to avoid fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2). One must cease fornication and be forgiven of it in order to go to heaven (Revelation 21:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9).

Since God instituted marriage in the first place (Genesis 2:24), this question is not merely cultural. The Bible gives no set ceremony as to what must be said or done as one enters a marriage; every culture is free to set up a system to recognize a couple has become husband and wife. In our country the law says that a couple must obtain a license and appear before one recognized by the state as authorized to perform marriage ceremonies. Each entering marriage must comply with the law of God and with the laws of the land (1 Peter 2:13-15; Romans 13:1-2). If the state does not accept a marriage without a license and ceremony, then neither does God. We might also point out that there are “marriages” that the state recognizes that God will not (Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:1-4).

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (John 4:18). She had met the requirements of the state five times, but not the sixth. This teaches that we must comply with the laws of the land and that mere cohabitation does not constitute a marriage. If sexual union makes a marriage, then Jesus erred in saying, “He whom thou now hast is not thy husband.” If sexual union makes a marriage, then everyone who employs the services of a prostitute is married to her. God must join two together for them to be married. Jesus said, “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6). God only joins those who meet His requirements.

God in Our Families

Topic(s): Family

Happy moments, praise God (James 5:13).
Difficult moments, seek God (Psalm 63:1).
Quiet moments, worship God (Psalm 4:4).
Painful moments, trust God (Psalm 7:1).
Every moment, thank God (Psalm 100:4).
—Via The Green Plain Proclaimer