Here are the issues of JesusChrist2001 that have been produced so far.
Something New
Dear Friends,
I’m sorry that I haven’t written in a while. I have been pre-occupied lately with different occurrences in my life right now. Grades last semester were not up to the expectations that I had made, but this semester proves to be a promising one. Since the last newsletter I have gotten together in person with a woman that I met on the Internet. I would appreciate your prayers in this relationship, which I have entered with this young lady.
This morning I rededicated my life to God. I felt that I have been “back sliding” from God’s word, and I want to get back on track. I would also appreciate your prayers in this matter. In December of last year I told you that January 2001 would be “Testimony Month”. However, I have only received one testimony, which I will be sending out shortly. If you haven’t noticed, this newsletter is being sent to you from a different email address than the last one. Since it is no longer the year 2000, this is now the JC2001 newsletter. The new email address is [email protected]. As for the testimony situation, you may send them anytime you wish. Whatever God is doing in your life, if you want to share it please do so. No deadlines or time limit, as God is not limited to any certain time. As 2 Peter 3:8 tells us, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
I pray that God will be with you throughout this New Year, or rather I pray that you will continue to grow in Jesus Christ, because God is always with you. Forever and ever. Amen.
Being “Renewed” Through Jesus Christ,
Adam Bockwich
Testimony #1
Hello once again. This week I will be sending out the testimony that I received back in December. Following the testimony I have included a Bible verse which I beleives goes along with the message. This testimony is sent from Tim Wilson, a SFA student who is a regular attending member of the Yellowhouse (Church of Christ Student center). His email address is [email protected], if you wish to contact him.
Tim writes:
The Lord has been so good to me. He allows me to see a new day and just allows me to be counted among the living. He blesses me even when I don't deserve any blessing. I hank God for HIs sacrifice he made- allowing His Son to die on the cross for me. He has blessed me in so may ways: He introduced me to the Yellow House, I am so grateful for that b/c the Yellow House is a spiritual home and helps me to continue to strive and be Christ like. The Lord has also inspired me to do my first sermon. He encourages me daily and continues to walk with me. He is my refuge and strength. I know God is good!.
GOD is good/all the time/and all the time/God is good/to us.
Tim Wilson
Thank you so much Tim for sharing with us how God has affected your life. One verse which I beleive goes along great with this is
Psalm 34:8. It reads "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."
May God bless you all in all that you do in your lifes. Comments are always welcome, and please feel free to send your own testimonies anytime you like. Thanks again to Tim. God Bless.
In His Loving Goodness,
Adam Bockwich
Anonymously Giving
Greetings once again my friends. I hope that this week finds you all great. I am doing wonderful.
This last Tuesday, a friend of mine at the Yellow House pointed out that I had a note on the encouragement board. Someone had donated a new bicycle to me. The note had some keys to the lock on the bike and was signed anonymous. At first I started asking everyone if it was them who had purchased it, but then another friend reminded me of what the Bible says about receiving credit and honor from people for what you do.
Matthew 6:2-4 says “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
I know I have trouble with this sometimes. I feel that when I do something good for somebody, I should receive recognition. But I tell you, the message that I give to you this week is that when you do good to or for others, keep it a secret and God will reward you, because he will receive the credit instead. I pray that God will watch over you in the times ahead in your life and God Bless.
Anonymously Working With His Help,
Adam Bockwich
Living In Love
Hello. How are you this week? I am doing great. As Valentine’s Day fast approaches, we think more and more about Love. Husbands loving wives, boyfriends loving girlfriends, and so on… But what about those people who are single? God has blessed me this year with a girlfriend, but in past valentines, I have been single. What do you do in this situation? Do you just try to ignore the holiday? Following are scriptures about love out of the Bible, and some advice on how you can celebrate Valentine’s Day even if you don’t have a significant other.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
This is a great description of love, but here are the main verses I want to focus on for this week. In Matthew 22: 37-40 Jesus has just been asked what the greatest commandment is. Here is his response: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The advice that I would give you is that you show your Love to others. If you see someone who needs help, help him or her out. If you see someone who is having trouble, help ease the trouble if you can. Not only on Valentine’s Day but all year round. Show them the love that you have received in Christ Jesus, this is the best gift of all.
I pray that God will create opportunities in your life to show his love for you and that you will be able to show this love to others. God Bless.
Trusting In His Love,
Adam Bockwich
Defining Neighbors
Hello again my friends. I hope that everyone is doing great this week. As you know, Valentine’s Day was yesterday, so for the lesson this week I would like to expand upon last week’s lesson. In the last lesson I mentioned the greatest commandments, the second being to love your neighbor as yourself. This week I want to look into a scripture, which talks about just who “your neighbor” is.
In Luke 10 verses 25 through 37 an expert in the law is testing Jesus and asks him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what is written in the law and the man replies with the greatest commandment. Jesus tells him that he is correct. But this does not satisfy the man. Let’s start in verse 29.
“But he [the expert in the law] wanted to justify himself so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of the these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The above scripture is known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What can we learn from this? That basically everyone is our neighbor. We should have mercy on everyone who needs it and help those who are less fortunate than us. May God grant you and me the strength to do just that.
Helping Neighbors With His Help,
Adam Bockwich
Loving Enemies
Salutations. I sincerely hope you are all in great spirits this week. For those of you who may live around Timpson you are invited to come and enjoy a presentation the youth group of our church, Woodland Christian Church, is putting on this Sunday morning. Those of you who live not so close are also welcome if you wish to travel some. If you are interested, please email me ASAP and I will give you more details.
The last couple of weeks I have been writing about love. There was discussion of loving God, loving your neighbors, and just who your neighbor is. This week we will look at loving your enemies. Is there anybody in your life that you can’t get along with, someone you just can’t stand, someone you might consider an enemy? I would urge you to pray for that person or persons. Let’s look at what Jesus says about what action you should take toward your neighbor.
Matthew 5:43-48 says, “You have heard that is was said ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to raise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Basically, summing up these lessons: LOVE EVERYONE. Now let me clarify one thing that I have heard concerning sinners (which if we admit it we all are or have been in one small way or another). Love the sinner, hate the sin. I pray that God will give us all the strength to show his love to everyone in all we do.
If you will look after the notice, there is a new question and answer section, which is being added to the JC2001 newsletter. This section is for you. If you have a question about perhaps a certain topic in the Bible, or anything related to God (no matter how insignificant it may seem) please email it to me. I will try to either answer it in the next newsletter or at least put it up for others to give their comments. Also if anyone else wants to add anything or correct me (because I am wrong sometimes, GASP!) email me it and I will add it as well. Thanks.
Loving the World with Jesus,
Adam Bockwich
Notice:
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please send me an email at [email protected] with the word "remove" in it. Thanks.
Question: In the commandments we are told to honor your mother and father, but we are also told to not bear false testimony (tell lies). If your parents tell you to lie to someone, do you do it?
Answer: For me this is a hard question. I guess it would depend on the situation. If I knew that my telling the truth would jeopardize my parents lives I would have to lie. On the other hand, if the information, which I am told to withhold, could hurt another person if not told, I would have to tell the truth. What do you think?
Questions, comments, concerns, crackers (oops), criticism?
Please send them to me here at [email protected].