By David Sproule

The July 2008 issue of Reader’s Digest had an interesting article on pages 162-169 entitled, “Why We’re Happy.”  Before pointing out his five keys to happiness, the author noted that happiness is not based upon the acquisition of things or being accepted by others or any other factors that “we typically hear about.  Things like winning the lottery, getting liposuction, and earning a master’s degree don’t make people happy over the long haul.  Rather, the key to happiness, and the difference between happy and unhappy Americans, is a life that reflects values…”  You may be thinking the same thing I was thinking when I read this—“That’s exactly what God said!”  Notice further what this researcher of happiness concluded when he summarized five “happiness predictors,” as he calls them.  You’ll find he is not revealing anything new.

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By Robert Lupo

Music is a powerful form of communication. By combining the right melody with the right harmonies and rhythm, a simple poem can be transformed into an unforgettable expression of deep emotional thought. It is no wonder then why God asks us to sing songs to Him in worship.

Songs have become one of the primary ways messages are conveyed in today’s culture. From catchy jingles in lawyer commercials to soaring politically-charged ballads, our minds are being shaped by music. Music helps us pay attention, connect emotionally and remember ideas.

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By Flavil Nichols

During the War Between the States, a young woman learned the truth and obeyed the gospel. Her sweetheart, J.B. Halbrook, was a confederate soldier. He was captured by the union army and kept a prisoner in Michigan until the war was over. He was given a ticket to Nashville, TN and $2.50. From there, he returned to Centerville and found what was left of his home and family. He found his girlfriend and they were married. His wife studied the Bible with him, and he soon became a Christian. He thought the truth was so good and so simple that he began to teach and baptize many of his friends and neighbors. He began to preach, but he recognized his need for more training, so he came to the original Mars Hill Bible School, taught by T.B. Larimore. Upon completing his studies there, instead of going back to Tennessee, they moved farther south, coming into Walker, Marion, Fayette, and Lamar counties in Alabama. One of his many converts was Charley Alexander Wheeler. His wife taught him to read from the Bible. Along with his wife, C.A. Wheeler obeyed the gospel and soon began preaching to others. He started more than 100 congregations and baptized more than 6,000 people. But wait, the story is not ended! One of those 6,000 was my father, the late Gus Nichols. Twelve thousand were baptized under his preaching. Among those baptized by Gus Nichols, no one knows, nor can know, how many began to preach “the glorious gospel of Christ” (2Cor. 4:3,4 ); but I personally know several. I, Flavil Nichols, am ONE whom he baptized and whom he encouraged to preach the truth. And under my preaching, about three thousand have been baptized. A few among them preached the gospel also!

Only eternity can reveal the total results of the conversion of that one girl nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. The results are not yet all in! But this shows that TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND people have become Christians through this single thread in the fabric of her influence.

“Go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). YOU are important, tool Dear reader, if you go to heaven, others probably will be saved by you! “For what knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how know est thou, 0 man, whether thou shalt save thy wife” ( 1 Cor. 7: 16)? “Let you light so shine before men, that they may see you good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Each ONE is very important.

By David Sproule

How many times have you heard it said? Or maybe you were the one saying it? “The Bible is too hard to understand.” People have been saying that for years. But, is that true? Should we set the Bible aside and dismiss it as an incomprehensible book? Or have we maybe been misinformed and the Bible can actually be understood? Let’s consider this.

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By Jack McNiel

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. (Proverbs 3:27-28 KJV)

To whom is “good” due? The New Testament tells Christians that they are to do good unto all men, especially their fellow Christians. What is meant by doing “good”? In the context here, it is something that we have a limited opportunity to share. The “good” could be showing benevolent love in providing some physical sustenance. Or more importantly it could be by showing love for their eternal welfare and speaking to them about spiritual matters.

The focus here is on the urgency of the matter at hand. This might be your or their only opportunity to give or receive. Life promises us nothing beyond this very moment. Who knows when the Lord will return or when we or our neighbor might come the end of life’s journey?

Read Galatians 6:10; James 4:13-17

By Kevin Cauley

April 1st, 1972 is probably not a date that you would remember well, but on that day, Jim Croce released his song, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” The song tells the story of a pool hustler named Jim who hustled one too many people and ultimately received his comeuppance. In the chorus, Croce sings, “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the ol’ Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Jim.” It is this comical list of things that made the song famous. It rose to number eight on the billboards. Are there some things that you “don’t mess around with” in relationship to God?

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By Brad Harrub

God does exist. All of the best-sellers in the world that espouse otherwise will not change that fact. But if we really expect our children to believe and follow the One True Living God, we must start thinking outside the box! Sadly, the atheists of this country are doing their job better than we Christian parents are. It’s time someone state the obvious: What we’ve done in the past hasn’t worked. If you do not believe this, just walk into a church building and inquire if anyone there has children who have abandoned the faith. But be prepared—for the line that forms before you may be much longer than you ever expected. Far too many young people are leaving the church only to turn around and embrace secular humanism, or even worse, atheism.

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By Kevin Cauley

Not too long ago, the State of New York’s legislature passed legislation that permitted a woman to abort a child up to the time of birth. The governor signed the bill into law, and the legislature cheered. Not too long after this happened, Virginia’s recently elected governor proposed something along the same line. Such news saddens me because it tells me that our society is drifting further from God each day. Who, in their right mind, would cheer the death of a newborn infant? Yet, some would cheer the death of infants seconds from being born.

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By Brad Harrub

Humans have a propensity towards “works righteousness.” We may not want to believe it, but deep down, most of us think we are playing a major role in our salvation. I think many Christians acknowledge the role Jesus Christ plays in our salvation, but the reality is we scour the Scripture to find things “to do” and then work real hard believing we play an important role.

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By Tyler King

When the prophet questioned God’s tactics in using a pagan and disturbing nation to accomplish His will (Habakkuk 1), God responded in simplicity; “have faith.” We talk often about faith and how we need to constantly “have” it as if it’s a possession. While faith can indeed be had, I would also suggest that it needs to be lived. In that same discussion, we often spend so much time in talking about what faith is that we miss what it does. Here are four quick ways that faith impacts our life, according to the Hebrew writer when recalling God and the prophet Habakkuk:

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