Nile Street Notes Anna Church of Christ 104 Nile Street, Anna, Illinois 62906 833-5815

Website: www.annachurchofchrist.com

Vol 23. Issue 47 Nov. 22, 2009

Show Her! Don’t Just Tell Her!

I read an article recently that touched me deeply; it also prompted me to try to be a more demonstrative husband. That of which I was reminded I would like to pass along to others who may need a little nudge as well.

A delightful Christian lady in another state wrote an excellent article
in which she discussed the fact that many men have a difficult time verbally expressing their emotions.

She quoted the well-known quip of the wife who complained to her husband that he never told her that he loved her, and she wanted to hear that. He is reputed to have said, “I told you I loved you when we got married; if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”

She commented that she was not complaining about her own mate; she declared that he was attentive to her emotional needs. But she related an incident that occurred in an entirely “non-romantic” setting that moved her more deeply than a dozen “I love yous” might have done.

One day they were in an auto store, and he wanted to look at tires. As she tagged along, he went directly to the rack that contained Michelin Steel-belted, Radial tires. They looked like just any other tires to her—round and black! She asked him, perhaps with some degree of consternation: “Why are you buying the most expensive tires in the whole store?”

“Honey,” he replied, “these are for your car. I want the safest tires available for your car.” She related how deeply those rather matter-of-fact words penetrated her heart. The dear lady said that her husband could have said, “I love you” ten times that day, and it would not have meant as much to her as, “Honey, these are for your car.”

My father’s side of my family was never very affectionate outwardly. They loved one another (I never remember a family feud), but when they came together on special occasions, they just shook hands. My dad did the same to me; it was the “Jackson” way.

When my sweet wife and I married, I had to learn to be more demonstrative. For years Betty nicknamed me “Kawlijah,” after the “wooden Indian” who “never said a word” in Hank Williams song of that title. I am far from perfect now, but I’ve learned to do better.

I do not understand men who treat their wives so indifferently, much less those who deliberately wound them with insulting words or actually assault them physically. And some men of this temperament profess to be Christians!

They are not remotely so. Such men do not deserve a godly wife; they haven’t the faintest concept of Paul’s admonition: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it.” Later the apostle said that a husband should love his wife “as his own body” (Ephesians 5:25-29). If some husbands treated their own bodies no better than they do their wives, what emaciated wretches they would be.

Many a woman who has been mistreated by her husband eventually has had her fill and, in weakness, seeks a new man whom she believes will treat her lovingly—even though perhaps she had no scriptural right to marry (Matthew 19:9).

The forsaken husband then imagines he is justified in finding himself another woman. What about that situation? He has no more right to another wife than if he had been an adulterer. Husbands need to let their wives feel loved—both in word and deed.

- Wayne Jackson vis Christian Courier

SERMON TOPICS

A.M. – “Who Is Satan?”

(Gen. 3:1-5)

P.M. – “The Temptations of Christ”

(Matt. 4:1-11)

Those For Whom We Are Praying:

Kathleen Ritchey

Rodney & Nikki Lingle

Bill Whitnel

Mitchell Shock – Grandson of Rosemary’s cousin.

Paul Etherton - Sara Wilkins’ father. Cancer in lymph nodes.

Brittney Carter

Bonnie Mangum

Jeannie Britt - diagnosed with kidney cancer. Her address is: 212 West Ash Street, Cobden, IL  62920 if you’d like to send a card or letter.

Ivis Wright

Larry Barnhart – Wardell’s son. Had back surgery Friday. Doing well.

Quotable Quote: “When you find yourself in the hole, stop digging.” - U.S. Grant

Wisdom From Proverbs: “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart” (Prov. 11:28).

Welcome! If you're visiting with us, we extend you a special welcome and invite you to come back at every opportunity. If our worship seems unusual to you, please let us know what you find different. We endeavor to worship "in Spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24) and do only what scripture authorizes (Col. 3:17, Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19).

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES/MEETINGS

* Ladies' Appreciation Breakfast Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. for women 45 and older.

* Men - It's time to schedule a Prayer Breakfast. Let R.W. know which date/dates work for you.

* 4^th Sunday singing at Marion at 2:30 p.m.

* Please clip "Box Tops For Education" & put them in the box in the Preacher's office.

* Please continue to drop any Bible questions in the Question & Answer box in the foyer.

* Please continue boycotting Pepsi & Frito-Lay products as they support the homosexual agenda..

BIBLE QUESTION/ANSWER:

Last week’s answer: That it was wood is inferred from I Peter 2:24, Col. 2:14, etc., but we are not told what kind of wood or tree.

New question: To whom was Samuel speaking when he said, “To obey is better than sacrifice?”

Sentence Sermon: “Don’t let the good things in life rob you of the best.”

Birthdays &Anniversaries

Mellie Karraker – 11/26

Geoge & Dawn Lackey – 11/26

Breanna Dillow – 11/27

Jamie & Carolyn Driskill – 11/28

Satan’s Plan

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

Satan continued, "So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Satan then issued this directive: "This is what I want you to do! Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"  

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive. Encourage them to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night! If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere. That will fragment their marriages quickly!"  

Let them be excessive in their entertainment and recreation. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences." 

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families, having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

Has the devil been successful in his schemes? You be the judge!

- Selected