Topic(s): Evangelism

• While churches concern themselves with missions abroad, many miss the opportunity afforded by the 400,000 international students who study in the U.S.A. each year. Many of them are open to new ideas and would be responsive to the gospel.
• The special person called to do missionary work is every person who is a member of the church of Christ. The call does not come to a chosen few, it is to every one of us.
• The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we must become.
• If you fail to support missions, you are voting to bring missionaries home and to cease missionary work.
• If the Bible is a missionary book, the people of the Book are charged with being a missionary people.
• A church without missions is a church without a mission.
• God is the head of the missionary movement—the devil heads the opposition.

—Via The Searcher – Southhaven Church of Christ, June 19, 2005

“...Seek and save…” —Luke 19:10

Dwelling Place

Topic(s): Blessings, God's Mercy

I have no desire to go back and begin life over. I much prefer being in the adult department where I am now than in the nursery where I began. When I came into the world there was provided for me a little house not much more than a foot long. As I needed more room, my landlord added to my house until it grew to almost five and a half feet in length. Here I have lived for more than ____ years. I will not take time to tell you of the termites (malaria) which bored into the very framework of my house until it almost collapsed. But my Landlord repaired it and fixed it until was practically as good as new. Then the storms of disease swooped down upon my house, wrecking the timbers and twisting the boards until it appeared certain to fall. After some months my Landlord repaired it again. Recently, I learned that I might be compelled to move out on short notice, indeed, without any notice at all. I do not know what kind of house I will have to live in on the other side, but whatever it may be it will be all right. My Landlord was a carpenter in Galilee a long time ago, and He knows exactly how to prepare a dwelling to meet my needs.

“...I will prepare a place for you …” —John 14:2

Laus Deo

Topic(s): God's Sovereignty

On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument, in Washington, DC, are displayed two words: Laus Deo. No one can see these words from the ground. In fact, most visitors to the monument are totally unaware they are even there.

These words have been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches in the air, perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation, overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia, capital of the United States of America

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, unnoticed words. Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world. So, what do those two Latin words, composed of just four syllables and only seven letters mean? Very simply, they say “Praise be to God!”

Though construction of this giant obelisk began in 1848 when James Polk was President of the United States, it was not until 1888 that the monument was inaugurated and opened to the public. It took twenty-five years to finally cap the memorial with a tribute to the Father of our nation, “Laus Deo!”

From atop this magnificent granite and marble structure, visitors may take in the beautiful panoramic view of the city with its division into four major segments. From that vantage point one can also easily see the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles l’Enfant...a perfect cross imposed upon the landscape, with the White House to the north, the Jefferson Memorial is to the south, the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.

A cross? Why a cross? What about separation of church and state? Yes, a cross; separation of church and state was not—is not—in the Constitution.

Within the monument itself are 898 steps and 50 landings. As one climbs the steps and pauses at the landings the memorial stones share a message. On the 12th Landing is a prayer offered by the City of Baltimore; on the 20th is a memorial presented by some Chinese “Christians;” on the 24th a presentation made by Sunday School children from New York and Philadelphia quoting Proverbs 10:7, Luke 18:16, and Proverbs 22:6.

When the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4th, 1848, deposited within it were many items—including the Holy Bible presented by the Bible Society. Such was the discipline, the moral direction, the spiritual mood given by the founder and first President of our unique democracy ... “One Nation, Under God.” I am awed by Washington’s prayer for America. It is clear when one studies the history of our great nation, that Washington’s America was one of the few countries in all the world established under the guidance, direction, and banner of Almighty God, to whom was given all praise, honor, and worship by the great men who formed and fashioned her pivotal foundations.

When one stops to observe the inscriptions found in public places all over our nation’s capitol, he or she will easily find the signature of God, as it is unmistakably inscribed everywhere you look. Though many try to disprove and reason, their arguments are weak and easily disproved. Their efforts will forever be in vain; God assures us of that. Have you noticed as of late, how many more people are coming together, affirming the fact that this nation was, from the beginning, built on God? ...The truth is, we have always been one nation under God!

You may forget the width and height of “Laus Deo,” its location, or the architects but no one who reads this will be able to forget its meaning. ...

—Submitted by Kevin Briley

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD . . .” —Psalm 33:12