​   “Hold the line!”  It’s an emphatic statement that calls for immediate strength and action and commitment.  It even carries the idea of a strong command.  One might think of a football team, on a given play, being exhorted by its coach or captain to “Hold the line!” If the opposing team breaks through the line, it could mean the ballgame.

​   People visit with us here at Sunny Slope all the time.  Sometimes, it’s people who are traveling.  They’re in town on a Sunday or Wednesday night and stop to worship and study with us.  Other times, it’s people who have family or friends who are members here.  They visit with us in response to an invitation given them by their family member or friend.  Still others simply live in the community, maybe in the neighborhood, and stop in to worship God and check us out.  There are also people who were members of the Lord’s church in another part of the country, who have moved to this area and are looking for a good congregation to call home.

   I once read an article telling about two friends who were walking through the desert, talking.  They got into an argument, and one friend slapped the other in the face.  The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

​   Just because something is made the law of the land does not make it good or moral or right.  Legal is not automatically equivalent to right, or good.  There have been many examples throughout history of rulers and legislative bodies of various countries and localities passing laws that made particular actions legal that were not necessarily moral or right or even beneficial to the society at large.

​   Peter portrays the devil as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8).  Upon reading that verse of scripture we naturally envision the mighty king of the jungle stalking prey, ready to kill with swift and awesome violence and then rip open and hungrily devour its victim.  But such an image does not necessarily fit the way the devil works to bring a soul to destruction.

​   The apostle Paul exhorted, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).

​   How many times does God have to say something for it to be true?  Just once!  How many times does God have to say something for it to be authoritative?  Just once!  How many times does God have to say something to demand our respect?  Just once!  How many times does God have to instruct something for it to be binding?  Just once!

​   “Let go, and let God.”  This motto, or slogan, is used by many people in trying to get across the point that we, by ourselves, cannot do what needs to be done in our lives.  Only with God’s help can we ever be truly successful in life.  This statement should serve as much as a reminder to us, individually, as it serves to teach others this truth.  Too many times we tend to forget God in our efforts to deal with some challenging situation in our lives.

​   Peter portrays the devil as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8).  Upon reading that verse of scripture we naturally envision the mighty king of the jungle stalking prey, ready to kill with swift and awesome violence and then rip open and hungrily devour its victim.  But such an image does not necessarily fit the way the devil works to bring a soul to destruction.

   Sometime back it was reported that a seminar was held for ministers in training.  One of the motivational speakers scheduled to address the crowd approached the speaker’s stand and said, “The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn’t my wife!”  The crowd of prospective preachers were shocked until he went on to say, “And that woman was my mother!”  The crowd burst into laughter.