DISCIPLE

Yes, that was a long time ago, back when children were taught in the home values like godliness, respect, courtesy, modesty, and integrity. They were required to memorize and recite these 20 precepts, in order to fix them in their minds. We may smile at the language, but it would be well for children - AND adults - to learn them in our day. 1. Fear GOD. 2. Honour the KING. 3. Reverence thy Parents. 4. Submit to thy Superiors. 5. Despise not thy inferiors. 6. Be courteous with thy equals. 7. Pray daily and devoutly. 8. Converse with the Good. 9. Imitate not the wicked. 10. Hearken to instruction. 11. Be desirous of learning. 12. Love the school. 13. Be always cleanly. 14. Study virtue. 15. Provoke nobody. 16. Love thy schoolfellows. 17. Please thy Master. 18. Let not play entice thee. 19. Refrain thy tongue. 20. Covet future Honour which only Virtue and Wisdom can procure. the book is still available from sellers like Amazon and other bookstores: The School of Manners, or Rules for Chil...

by R. E. Harlow VOLUNTARY INERTIA A polite name for laziness.      A preacher once referred to the “idle” shepherds of Zechariah 11:17. He confused this word with “idol” but he had a point. Those who desire to be overseers desire a good work. We should pray for laborers. And the night is coming. There is plenty to do. One’s own family, hospitality to others, teaching the Word, watching over the flock, taking care of the assembly, visitation, praying, counseling, personal Bible study... All honor to elders who make tents and give sacrificially of their time to God and His people. It is hard not to be cynical about couch potatoes. Stewardship of time is a prime responsibility of every child of God. Speaking of time, Einstein may have called it the fourth dimension, but for mortal man it is our only real possession. And it is not limitless. Every April you lose an hour when Daylight Savings Time becomes effective. Do you miss it? It is a valuable commodity. Of course you wil...

       Actually it won't! People today freely use the phrases: "on the right side of history," "on the wrong side of history," "the bar of history," and how "history will judge..." this or that person or country. Nelson Mandela is one of those who said, "History will judge us..." But, how can history think? It can't! They mean historians and what they will write. What does it even mean to be on the "right side" or "wrong side" of history? What is the standard used, and who decides or decrees which is which?     Truthfully, the whole concept is fundamentally flawed. History (especially that which is written by humans) does not, will not and cannot judge anyone! There is no "bar of history." It matters little what historians or societies say about people or movements. It has often been observed that history in large part is written by conquerors, and they put things as they wish.     There is also the...

  by John W. Brahmall (1899-2001) This subject may not appeal to some folks, but for those who have reached the sunset days of life, a study of it will prove helpful and encouraging. For others, let me suggest that you try to enter into its message or save it until you find yourself in the classification of “Old Age.” It will come soon enough. There can be nothing more beautiful than the declining days of a believer in the Lord Jesus. The character of an aged believer should be more attractive than ever, and though the light of this earthly life may be fading and the shadows deepening, there should be an increasing mellowness, sweetness , and serenity of spirit. “We all do fade as a leaf,” writes Isaiah (Isa. 64:6); “yet,” another has written, “The leaf is never so beautiful as when it is faded. No artist ever painted a picture so beautiful as the panorama of woodlands transfigured with indescribable mingling of gold, crimson, and saffron, as if a flood of d...