Vol. 36, No. 5   May, 2012

WHAT EVERY HOME IN AMERICA NEEDS
                 By Dr. George Mills

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.” (Mt. 7:24-25).

“And that ROCK was Christ.” (1Cor. 10:4).

Of course I could bore you with facts about the condition of our country today. But we all know these things. What I wish to share with you today is most definitely NOT “politically correct, “ but is “Biblically correct,” and that makes the difference. These things are God’s answers to any society. Today, for a few moments, let’s JUST SUPPOSE some things would happen. Remember, we are “just supposin.’ Just suppose congress met and decided, and the Supreme Court agreed that…..

Every school  day MUST begin with prayer..

The Bible is the authority on all subjects, especially creation.

The ten Commandments are to be posted in the school hallways and in every classroom.

Abortion clinics are to be outlawed.

Homosexuals must be returned to the closet.

AND JUST SUPPOSE THAT…

Every Church voted to use only the King James Bible.

Now, just suppose all of these things were voted on and approved by congress. What effect do you think that all of this will have on this downward spiral in this society?

               ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

In fact, things would probably worsen! You see, THAT’S NOT THE STARTING PLACE! You do not treat a cancer by applying bandages on the surface symptoms. Does that mean that we are not to stand against immorality and sin in the land? Certainly not! We are to “cry aloud and spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression.” (Isa. 58:1).
Our starting place is not in the courts, not in congress, not in the classrooms, our starting place is in the Homes of America. Let me share with you some things that every home in America needs…
     A LEADER,  SOME LAW,  MUCH LOVE.

God’s first establishment was the home and marriage., (Gen 2-3). This is the basis for every society. A wise man once said, “As the home

goes, so goes society.” First, let’s look to the…

1. A LEADER..Every home MUST have a LEADER. Who is that one? The Bible is clear..”But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.”(1Cor. 11:3) Our Great Leader of the home is none other than our Great Saviour; the Lord Jesus Christ! I remember when our children were growing up we had a motto on our dining room wall:

    “Christ is the Head of this home.
      He is the silent listener to every conversation,
      He is the unseen guest at every meal.”

We tried to honor that in the raising of our children. We rehearsed with them constantly in family conversations that Our faith and trust MUST be in Christ! There was never any discussion as to whether we should go to Church,
this was a settled issue. We went to learn about our Lord and His Love for us. Our children learned the songs, and Bible stories that will remain with them all of their lives. CHRIST is the HEAD OF THIS HOME! That should be the motto of every home!

A) THE HUSBAND AND FATHER. Under Christ, the Husband is to be the leader. He is not to be a Tyrant, not a Terror, but a Leader. I believe that the Bible is very clear that the husband is to be the leader in the home. He is to be the leader in the Spiritual and moral establishment of the home. In the very beginning, God established the home with proper working order. God said to Eve; “Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.” (Gen. 3:16). God has Divine order over all of His creation. The stars, the planets, the animal kingdom. From the greatest down to the smallest, God has Divine order. When everything works according to that Divine order, things turn out alright. When things go against that, the results are chaotic. Our homes are out of order! We must  get back to Bible order in the home! There is no other way to change the way we are heading, we must work on our homes. Let every man assume the place of leadership under Christ and take charge of his home. The wife is not to be some lowly creature, or door mat, she is that wonderful creature God made for man to bring out the best in us. “Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”(Psa. 128:1-3).
Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.”(Eph. 5:25).

B) THE WIFE AND MOTHER.
“Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” (Eph. 5:22).
There is to be a mutual submission in the home. The husband and wife submitting to one another. The Apostle Peter gave a list of what the wife should be like, (1Pet. 3:1-6). Then he turned to the husband and said, “LIKEWISE.” (1Pet. 3:7). Likewise, in the same manner the wife is in submission, so should the husband be. What he said to the wife, he said to the husband. Two coming together with a oneness of purpose and that is to establish a Christian home. If the wife or the husband refuses to assume their rightful place in the home, then all is vain, nothing works. We. have tried according to the teachings of the philosopher, according to N.O.W. According to the educators, according to the “how to” books and all fail. Let us turn back to the BOOK!

Prisons are overcrowded, why? No home! Drug addiction, why?No home! Sexual transmitted disease in epidemic proportion, why? No home! No respect for law and order, decency, why? No home! Gang violence, why? Child molestation, child abuse, child killings, why? No home! Unsafe streets, schools, and neighborhoods, why? No home!  More policemen patrolling schools, more security on school buses will not solve the problems. The list is endless, all because of a home failure! We cannot depend upon officials to do what the home fails to do! Is your home a place of peace, of safety, of joy and happiness? It can be, it should be, it MUST be! When Husband and Wife join together with that oneness of purpose to build a Christian Home, it WILL be!

C) CHILDREN. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour thy father and mother which is the first commandment with promise.” (Eph 6:1-2). Again, this all starts with the home in order.

2. SOME LAW. Everything that functions right is governed by laws. Every home, if it is to survive, must conform to the laws God established for the home. I cannot recall the times when I failed at some project, I had to go back and read the instructions. Had I taken time to do that in the first place I would not have failed….Laws in the home should be…

CLEAR, WELL DEFINED. Children should know exactly what the rules of the home are. Children today get their understanding of society from the TV, video games, and the various means of modern communications of today. Video games should be carefully selected. Computers should be placed where they can be monitored. Christian children should have access to some of these things, but access should have limitations and restrictions.

ENFORCED. If rules at home are not enforced, the rules outside the home will not be enforced. School rules, traffic rules, etc. It all begins in the teachings and examples set in the home.
“And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children and shalt talk of them when thou walkest by the way, and when thou riseth up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” (Dt, 6:6-9). “For I know him (Abraham) that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” (Gen. 18:19). “As for me and and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Jos. 24:15). Children learn about life in the home. They observe and copy their parents. Praise God for good, Godly parents who set the example. Children learn all about Decency, modesty, honesty, and courtesy by observing their parents.

Girls dress modestly  and decently because Mother dresses modestly and decently.

Boys are honest and courteous and loyal because Dad is honest and courteous and loyal.

Every home needs a LEADER, every home needs LAWS. We do not begin by placing the Ten Commandments on the walls at school, we begin by placing them on the walls at home, and in the hearts of our children. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am for the Commandments to be posted in schools, but the starting place is in our homes.

(A) A ROD…
When Laws are broken in the home, God has given a way to handle that. The old saying, “spare the rod and spoil the child” is not in the Bible, but it sure is Biblical in nature. Don’t get some of these “how to” books because they will not tell you what the Bible says. The experts of today will stay away from this area..

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Pr. 13:24).
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Pr. 22:15).
The ROD and REPROOF give wisdom BUT A CHILD LEFT TO HIMSELF bringeth his Mother to shame.” (Pr. 29:15).

A CHILD LEFT TO HIMSELF..Now, that’s child abuse. We are reaping so much crime and violence because children have been left to raise themselves. I can hear the objections of many today; “Now preacher, that sounds abusive, you should never chasten a child that way.”  Well, the other ways are failing. “Well then, is the rod the only way of discipline?” Certainly NOT, but it is part of it.

(B) REWARD. In the same way a child needs discipline when he/she disobeys the rules, they should be acknowledged when they are not breaking the rules. Our discipline should always be fair, honest and tender. Always in love. Bless them when they are good, correct them in love when they disobey.

3. MUCH LOVE.  Every home must breathe LOVE. Every husband must LOVE, HONOR, RESPECT, CHERISH that dear wife God gave him. Every child should see their parents expressing their love for one another daily. That helps put security in the heart of a child. Not only do we love our mate, we must love our children. They MUST know that “My Mom and my Dad love me.” They should never have to question that. I cannot understand spousal abuse, or child abuse. My love for my wife and children is precious I could never physically harm one of them. A father unmercifully beating his children…I just can’t understand that. As I look back over the years I can see how I failed in so many ways as a father but to physically abuse…NEVER!
Every home needs a LEADER, LAWS, and LOVE!

A LEADER without love is a LOUSE!
LAWS without love LOSES!
A ROD without love produces REBELLION.

To correct our problems in this society we cannot start in the Court House, the School House, the State House, or the Church House. We must start in the House we call HOME!

May every Father, every Mother assume our rightful role in the family according to the Bible (KJB). God bless our homes today. If your home is not a Christian home, today, right now, Receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Personal Saviour. Tell Him in your own words that you Believe that He died for your sins on the cross, that He was buried, and that He arose from the dead to be your Saviour and guide through life. Begin today to build a Christian home and that way we are rebuilding society, one home at a time. May God bless you. God loves you!

CHRISTIAN HOMES ACROSS THIS LAND! THIS IS WHAT AMERICA NEEDS MOST!

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                         MY HOME

“I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a Rock.” (Mt. 7:24).

                 By Pastor George Mills

                My home is a Fortress,
                   With walls, firm and stout,
                With strong pillars beneath,
                   And watchmen about.

                 My home is a Castle,
                    With furnishings grand,
                Fine drapes in each window,
                    And servants at hand.

                My home is a Palace,
                    Where I dwell as a king,
               And love is there with me,
                    Why, I have everything!

               My home is a cabin,
                    With a warm, glowing fire,
                In a place of such comfort,
                     Where I have my desire.

                Now the Walls of my home,
                     Are the Prayers that we pray,
                The Strong Pillars beneath,
                     Are His Words we obey.

                 The Watchmen about me,
                     Are the Spirit’s Great Care,
                 And the Furnishings so grand,
                     Are Love, Faith and Prayer.

                 As a King in my Cabin,
                      Or in the Palace I love,
                 There clothed in His Goodness,
                      And kept watch from above.

                 My Home is a Haven,
                       For Wherever I roam,
                 With Christ, my Strong Tower,
                       I am always at Home.

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                     FROM MY HEART
                         By Mildred Mills

             HERE COME THE GREATS!

We are now the proud Great Grandparents of three  little handsome Great Grandsons!  We have Carson, better known as “Mr. Personality” and he will be three in July of 2012. I could go on and on about Carson and tell you how cute, how smart and precious he is, but I won’t, just take my word for it. He shares his newly learned Bible verses with all who will listen. His little brother, Ryan, is one year old and he is the adventurous one of the two. He loves to climb and do all the daring things that makes Mom hold her breath. Mimi’s name for him is “Fearless Ryan.”  They are so precious in our sight and God’s sight too. Then we have our little Levi and he is only 3 months old and has a special place in our heart. A spot made just for him. He is soooo cute, and soooo loved and Mimi calls him our “Gentle Giant. So now we have;

             “Mr. Personality,”
             “Fearless Ryan,” and our own little,
             “Gentle Giant.”

Three little guys that are so precious, sweet and cute. I look at their little hands and feet, their little lips and beautiful eyes and think of how pure and innocent they are now, but they are still in need of the Saviour. I pray for each one of them and ask God to save them at an early age and spare them a life of sin. I ask Him to use them for His glory.
Carson, Ryan, and Levi, you have made Mimi and Papa “Great Grandparents” but in our eyes the three of you are the GREATEST! Trust Jesus and serve Him with all of your heart all the days of your life.
“And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2Tim. 3:15).

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           TEEN TALKS THAT MATTER
            By Ashley Stevens

       HOW TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST

Every day we should have a goal in mind to be more like Christ. We need to start by spending time with Him and building a relationship with Him. We learn to build our faith through hearing the Word of God. That’s what Romans 10:17 instructs us to do. It tells us that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” We also see in the Book of Jude how we can build our faith through praying. Jude tells us, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” The best advice I can give you is to begin each day with God. We need the power of God to meet the trials and temptations of this world. As teenagers we face many challenges. The devil is going to test your faith, so make it a habit to start your day in prayer. Don’t let man, mind, or the devil get you distracted from building your relationship with Him. Pray to God that He will help you to gain victory over the trials that you may be going through. In Luke 22:46, the Lord instructs us to “Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” By beginning your day in prayer, you will notice a difference in your day. God even tells us in the Book of Jude that prayer will increase your faith. If you strive to do these two simple things each day, you will begin to see a difference with your relationship with Christ. When your relationship with Christ grows, you will be able to see that you become more like Him each and every day.
P.S. Don’t forget to take some time out on Mother’s Day to thank your Mothers for everything that they do for you. Remind them that you love them, and that you are thankful that God has blessed you with them in your life.

Until next time…

         HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Ashley Stevens

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               BEARING MUCH FRUIT
                         (John 15:1-27)

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that ye should go forth and bring MUCH FRUIT, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name, He may give it you.” (Jn. 15:16).

Please take a few moments and read the entire fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel.
The last verse of Ch. 14 ends with; “Arise, let us go hence.”  They left the upper room that evening and made their way to the garden of Gethsemane. As they walked and talked on their way, they probably passed vineyards. Jesus used the vine to illustrate the great need of BEARING FRUIT. In fact, in ch.15 the word ‘fruit’ is used eight times. Let’s see some lessons on our bearing fruit for Him.

1. THE MEANING OF FRUIT.  What does the Saviour mean when He says ‘fruit?’ There is a two-fold meaning. They go together.

CONVERTS. Someone has rightly said that the fruit of a Christian is another Christian. Paul said to the Church at Rome; “Oftimes I proposed to come to you but was let hitherto that I might have some FRUIT among you also as among other gentiles.” (Ro. 1:13). Paul had won many to Christ in other cities, he wanted to do the same at Rome.

CHARACTER. The second meaning of fruit. “But the FRUIT of the Spirit is love, joy peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23). Today, much is said about the GIFTS of the Spirit, but little is said about these GRACES. Without these GRACES, GIFTS are useless. The Corinthian Church had an abundance of GIFTS, (1Cor. 1:7) but they lacked these GRACES. As you read the letter to the Corinthians you will read about cliques, envyings, divisions, lawsuits, immorality, fightings, but no love. Gifts without GRACE are useless.

2. THE METHOD OF FRUIT BEARING.                
According to Ch. 15:2, God, who is the husbandman removes the dead wood and cuts back the good wood. This is the cleansing, or purging. This gets rid of all the places where disease could spread to the rest of the vine. Did you ever see an orchard or vineyard that had been pruned? The farmer had cut back the trees in such a way you would never believe that fruit would grow there again, but it does, ABUNDANTLY!  This purging is a must in order to produce fruit. We are reminded by the Apostle Peter, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as some strange thing happened to you.” (1Pet. 4:12). We are reminded that trials are one of God’s ways of purging our lives that we might produce fruit. When God finds fruit, He purges that it may produce more fruit, that ultimately it might produce MUCH FRUIT.

3. THE MOTIVATION FOR BEARING FRUIT.
In this great Chapter we are reminded that our relationships must be right…

1. OUR RELATION WITH CHRIST MUST BE RIGHT. The word “ABIDE” appears several times in this Chapter. The word ABIDE means “TO LIVE” “to continue in a place.” “to be fixed.” “If ye abide in Me.” If we continue in Him, if we are fixed in Him, If we live in Him. That relationship must be right. He said, “without me ye can do nothing.”

A) TO ABIDE means to live in His Word. V7 says, “If ye abide in Me and my WORDS abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. There must be a constant diet of the Word of God.

B) TO ABIDE in Him is to obey His Word. “If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love.”(v10). Not just study the Word, not just memorizing the Word, but putting it to practice in daily living. To the trusting child of God, His commandments are not hard to obey. “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.” (1Jn. 5:3).
C) TO ABIDE in Him means to keep our lives clean. “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” (15:3). This is a sad time in our land. Gross immorality is everywhere. The believer must keep his/her life clean. We must have a steady diet of the Word of God (KJB). The Bible reveals our faults, we confess, God cleanses, and…MUCH FRUIT!

D) TO ABIDE in Him means that we maintain a, active prayer life. “Ye shall ask.” If our lives are clean before God, if our love is fixed on Christ, and we have a steady diet of the Word, we are on our way to an abundant harvest. Make sure there is nothing between my soul and the Saviour

2. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH BELIEVERS MUST BE RIGHT., (v12-17) This little band of believers will face trials far more difficult than we can imagine today. They must love one another. I am not saying that we should drop great doctrinal principles we hold dear and follow after this phoney ecumenical show-biz “christianity” we see today. Bible believing people need one another. We need the prayers of one another. The Corinthian church had no love. Oh yes, they had gifts, but no love. The Laodecean church had no love. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.” (Jn. 13:35).

3. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD MUST BE RIGHT. (v18-27). After He speaks to disciples about their need of one another, He warns them that the world will hate them. Several reasons why the world hates us…

THE WORLD HATES CHRIST, THEREFORE THE WORLD HATES CHRISTIANS. “If the world hate you ye know it hated me before it hated you. In every edition of the WILDERNESS we include the warning, AND THE WORLD IS A WILDERNESS, It is no friend to the Christian.” It hates you because it hates Him

THE WORLD HATES CHRISTIANS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PART OF THE WORLD. (v19) “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world HATETH YOU” Mark it down, the world does not like to see the Christian coming.
THE WORLD HATES CHRIST, THE WORLD HATES CHRISTIANS because the world’s condition has been made known

The WORLD is the system that is opposed to Christ. It is a composite of people, philosophies, organizations, religions. It is world wide, powerful, and deceiving and controlled by Satan. It hates Christ, the Bible (KJB) and followers of Christ. We cannot bear much fruit for Him if we are part of, fashioned like, think like, look like the world. The ‘church’ has courted the world for so long until the world is IN the ‘church’ and the ‘church’ is in the world in that you cannot tell them apart.

4. THE MANIFESTATION OF FRUIT BEARING. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth MUCH FRUIT.”(v5) That’s where I want to be!
I think that all of us need that time of self examination. Is my life bearing fruit for God? If not, check up on relationships today.

My relationship to Christ.
Is everything right between me and the Saviour? Is the Holy Spirit flowing freely and producing that fruit? Remember, the Apostle Peter had to deal with this very thing in Chapter 21. Jesus asked, “Peter, do you love me?”  “Yes” Peter said. Peter had some choices to make that day.

My relationship with other believers. Do I really love the brethren? Am I just hypocritical?

My Relationship with this world, is it right? The world paints beautiful pictures but it does not fulfill that which it promises.  Dear Child of God. Let us keep our lives in Biblical order that God may use us to produce MUCH FRUIT for His Glory!

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WHAT MUST I “GIVE UP” IN ORDER TO BE SAVED?
This is a common question asked by most people before they come to know Christ.

Some have the idea that before they can be saved they must give up some habit, or a way of life, or lifestyle before they can be saved.

I cannot quit enough, stop enough, start enough or turn enough in order to be saved. However, there are some things in which you cannot trust in order to be saved…

You must GIVE UP any hope that being Saved from the power and penalty of sin is in any person other than Jesus Christ. “There is none other name under Heaven  given among men whereby we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12).

You must GIVE UP any trust in any Church, Denomination, or earthly creed to save you.

You must GIVE UP any hope or trust that Water Baptism will save you or will add to Salvation.

You must GIVE UP any hope and trust in any man, preacher, or pastor.

When  all hope in man is “GIVEN UP,” we must by faith alone, receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.” He is there, wherever you may be. In your own words, ask Him just now to save you from the penalty and power of sin. He will hear your heart’s cry. Trust nothing or no one other than Christ and His finished work for you!