By Joe R. Price

“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:9–11, NASB95)

Fathers desire to fulfill the requests of their children. Indeed, fathers bear a particular responsibility to provide for their own house, and failure to do so is a grievous sin (1 Tim. 5:8). If earthly fathers give good things to their children when they ask, how much more does our heavenly Father do so. Jesus reasons from the lesser to the greater to impress upon us a fundamental truth: Our heavenly Father gives us the “good things” we need when we ask of Him. God hears and answers the prayers of His children, and He does so in ways that are best for us. God not only supplies our daily bread, He also supplies us with every spiritual blessing in Christ, which sustain our spiritual life. In the parallel passage of Luke 11:13, Jesus identifies the “good things” given by the Father as the “Holy Spirit” (whose presence confirmed the kingdom had come, Lk. 11:20; Matt. 12:28). God answers our prayers in harmony with His purposes and for our spiritual good. This is our faith as we pray to our heavenly Father.

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After years of serving individuals and churches from its bookstore in the Louisville, KY, area, Religious Supply Center (RSC) will soon be closing its doors. This difficult decision was the result of health issues resulting from cancer surgery and treatment experienced by Jim Berryman, owner and operator of RSC.

The Guardian of Truth Foundation (also known as Truth Publications) is partnering with RSC to ensure that the popular Discovering God’s Way Bible Class curriculum will continue to be offered to individuals and churches. On November 15, 2016 the companies reached agreement in principle for Guardian of Truth Foundation (also known as Truth Publications) to become the publisher, and its CEIbooks Bookstore in Athens, AL, to become the primary supplier, of this outstanding resource beginning December 1, 2016. Robert Harkrider has spearheaded the development of this excellent product and will continue in this regard.

• “We wanted the Discovering God’s Way material to be available for use by individuals and churches for many years to come and the merger with Guardian of Truth Foundation will ensure that happens,” said Jim Berryman, owner/operator, Religious Supply Center, Inc.
• “I am pleased to continue my work on this series with Jim and the folks from Guardian of Truth Foundation,” said Robert Harkrider, editor of Discovering God’s Way.
• Scott Willis, President & CEO, Guardian of Truth Foundation, Inc. added, “We are excited to add such a high quality set of Bible class literature to our product portfolio. Discovering God’s Way will complement our other products and fill an important area in the materials we publish. Further, we are excited about working more closely in the future with some key executives of Religious Supply Center.”

RSC has also provided materials other than Discovering God’s Way, which RSC is now working to liquidate. Contact RSC today at (800) 626-5348 for attractively priced materials in their current Inventory Reduction Sale.

For more information about the Discovering God’s Way series, please contact the friendly staff at CEIbooks at (855) 492-6657 or visit their website at www.ceibooks.com.

Click here for Children’s Workbooks and here for Teen and Adult Workbooks.

By Mark Mayberry

Last Saturday, Sherelyn and I were able to attend the memorial service for Lisa Jennings that was held in San Angelo, TX. Sitting in the audience, reflecting upon the meaning of the event, these thoughts came to mind:

Memorial services are a time of quiet reflection, when those who have suffered loss are surrounded and supported by family, friends and brethren. Thank God for the relationships that we share with one another through physical and spiritual kinship.

The fleeting quality of life sometimes escapes our notice as we are busy with daily activities, but watching the commemorative slideshow produced in honor of Lisa, seeing the experiences of 50 years compressed into mere moments, is a reminder of life’s brevity. What is life? It is a vapor, a shadow, a whisper…

Our hearts were comforted and strengthened through singing gospel hymns, Jeff Trees’ beautifully worded prayer, and Tim Jennings’s heartfelt reminder of life’s ultimate purpose: “We are here to honor the memory of Lisa Ann Jennings and to honor her God. She is now at peace and in paradise.”

Over the last few months of Lisa’s life, Boyd recorded various thoughts and reflections entitled, “A few drops from the river of my mind.” He shared these with his brother, Tim, who in turn shared them with us.

Appropriate honor was shown to a wonderful Christian woman, who set a loving example, and faithfully served her husband, children, brethren, and friends. Such devotion deserves our respect. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Yet, suitably, the emphasis was not upon Lisa, but rather upon her God. In accordance with Boyd and Lisa’s expressed desire, Tim Jennings closed by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and reminding those assembled, “Our relationship w/ God is the only thing that matters!”

Sadness and shared sympathy brought us together, but we do not weep as others who have no hope. Christians are blessed in life and death.