October 2007
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Truth shortened ... is sometimes not very true
by Mark Roberts
I remember watching football games as a boy with my dad. If I left the room for some reason, say to get something to eat, dad would wait until I was out of sight of the TV and then shout, “He’s running for a touchdown!” Of course, I would race back into the room to see this great run, only to find that the ball carrier had been tackled after a routine play. Dad would grin and say, “Well, he was running for a touchdown, he just didn’t make it!” This little anecdote illustrates how we have to be careful with what we say. If we aren’t, we can mislead people, and when folks are misled about the Scriptures this is a very serious matter. Matthew 12:36 contains a sober warning from our Lord: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Of late, I have noticed some common “short answers” on key Bible issues that may be shortening up the truth a little, and thus may not be very true.
All that is in the World
by Pat Farish
John writes “Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).