Cross Way Publications Monthly News
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Poem of the Month
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Autumn Leaves
By: Lucia K Haase
Sure as leaves will soon be falling,
Jesus Christ today, is calling-
ancient wind within the trees,
voice as softly as the breeze...
Leaves of different shapes and hues,
Jesus has a plan for you;
guidance day to day to seize-
voice as softly as the breeze...
Oh, the Autumn leaves are glowing!
Blessings will be falling, flowing!
Can you hear Him through the lees-
voice as softly as the breeze??
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Scripture of the Month
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Psalm 19:7-11 (NKJV)
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
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Quote of the Month
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"In truth you cannot read the Scriptures too much;
And what you read, you cannot read too well;
And what you read well, you cannot too well understand;
And what you understand well, you cannot too well teach;
And what you teach well, you cannot too well live."
From Martin Luther
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Poet Notables
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1. This month, we have been blessed by the financial contributions of Gabriele Embry, Donna Hendrix, Julie Pisacane and Elaine Robinson. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry.
2. Welcome to our August 2010 members. Please be sure to stop by their Poet Pages to enjoy their poetry:
Wade S. Arfsten
Kindle J. Billingsley
Judy C. Burdine
Deborah K. Finley
Lerato Gulashe
KC Hart
Chevonne Chantal Lawrence
Tabbatha Brittany Leaton
Renee J. McDaniel
Jacqueline Ann Piech
Mary-Jane Potter
Zachary Omar Quinteros
Diana Sebera
Ivorty Jazz Shields
Laura-Jean Stevener
Sylvia Stonehouse
Deborah Adams Thompson
Brianna Triplett
Doris J. Williams
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This Month's Devotional Thought
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The Hebrew poetry of Psalm 19:7-9 presents six lines that parallel each other. Each line has three segments: the first segment in each line is a name identifying the word of God, ("the law of the Lord", "the testimony of the Lord", "the statutes of the lord", "the commandments of the lord", "the fear of the Lord", and "the judgments of the Lord"); the second segment in each line is a quality given for the word of the God, (it "is perfect", it "is sure", it "is right", it "is pure", it "is clean", and it "is true"); and the third segment in each line is an effect of the word of God, ("converting the soul", "making wise the simple", rejoicing the heart", "enlightening the eyes", "enduring forever" and "righteous altogether").
The word of God is a special revelation of Jesus Christ, making known what He has done for us on the cross of Calvary. It has immeasurable value when we accept what the Bible says about what Jesus did and put our faith in Christ as the One who took our place, bearing our sins, and suffering the penalty of those sins for us. The word of God is the tool that the Spirit of God uses to enlighten us to the wisdom of God in salvation; it is used to convert the soul of the sinner so that soul might be made altogether righteous in the sight of God and be the joyful recipient of eternal life. Because it can have such an effect on our lives, the word of God is a treasure, "more to be desired than gold" and more valuable than "much fine gold", (Psalm 19:10).
The highest value of God's word is most certainly its revelation of Jesus Christ and its warning to the sinner not to reject the offer of salvation that God has made. The great remuneration of the Bible is realized in obedience to the Gospel. The Bible has no value to a person who will not read it and no reward to the person who reads it, but refuses to obey it. The benefits of the Scriptures are realized only in the lives of those who pay attention to what it says and take it to heart; obey its instructions and practice its precepts.
A common complaint is that the Bible is too difficult to understand. There are certainly portions of Scripture that are not easy to grasp. It is a spiritual book requiring the Spirit of God to open our eyes to its truth. However, the greatest difficulties about the Bible are those passages that are clear and easy to understand, but not so easy to obey. As an example Jesus tells us to "... love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you", (Matthew 5:44). That's pretty easy to understand, isn't it? But how easy is it to put into practice? As we need the Spirit of God to teach us what the Bible means, so the same Holy Spirit is needed to enable us to walk in the truth He gives us.
As sinners, our tendency is to do those things which satisfy the sinful desires of the flesh; to conform to the world around us; and to assume we can be happy living the way we want in total disregard to what God reveals in his word. As sinners saved by grace, we require that same grace of God that saved us to keep us from our former mentality - that way of thinking that continues to invade our thoughts and presses us into things that we should avoid at all costs. What are those things that we should do that we don't, and those things we should not do that we do? - Well, we'll have to read up on it! God's will for the life we are to live is found in His word. God gave us the gift of language and wrote down what He requires of us so that we might live full, meaningful lives in the perfect will of our Creator.
Obeying God's word will result in "great reward", (Psalm 19:11). The reward is in knowing we are glorifying God and enjoying His fellowship. We will see God work though our obedience in reaching others for His kingdom. The reward of obedience is eternal life, (Hebrews 5:9), and obeying God confirms the assurance of our salvation, (I John 3:24).
Philip Hoffman
