I know a man who repented when he became afraid of dying in a car wreck or in his sleep. He knew he was not right with God, and that should he suddenly die he was going to hell. That haunting torment contributed to him getting on the right path. How about you, are you afraid of dying? Car wrecks happen at any moment. Where are you going if it should happen to you?

I know a man who repented when he observed a peer living the kind of life he ought to be living. It was like a mirror was held up to his life and it was disappointing to see the great difference in the two. It was a shame. How about you? Are there others you know about your age and circumstance who have got their act together spiritually? Can’t you see acted out before your very eyes the life you ought to be living?

I know a man who repented of his sinful life when he finally got fed up with living a lie. He put on airs of living right to some but was doing ungodly things with others, often on the same day. This hypocritical life got tiresome and he longed to be just one or the other. Thankfully he turned to the Lord. How about you? Tired of living one kind of life before some and another to others? That gets old doesn’t it? Why not choose to live a sincere life pleasing God?

I know a man who repented because he finally realized what a dead-end life he was living. Though only in his early 20’s, he became aware of just how wasted was his daily life, with no real goals, hopes or accomplishments. And he began to feel like he must do something about it. Sound familiar?

So here are four things that can motivate repentance...1) Fear of dying, 2) A good example, 3) Two-faced living, and 4) A dead-end life. Any of this ring true with you? If you need to return to the Lord there’s no time like the present.

—by Whit Sasser

Everyone I know is busy. There's more to do each day than there is day to do it. I was told that very productive people find ways to make use of little bits of time. Here is an idea to help us do just that. Can you wedge this activity into your busy-ness? Follow this link to a web site called I Commit to Pray. The right to pray cannot be taken from us. We have a direct line to the Father through the Son with the help of the Spirit from anywhere and at anytime we choose. This site invites us to pray for others around the world who have named the name of our Lord and are suffering. You might also pray that these come to know God's truth completely. Don't know if this is for you, but give it a look and see. I pray that God may bless you.

One of the most amazing realities of scripture is its ability to speak to us wherever we are. That is, as we grow and mature Bible passages and narratives bring deeper and richer lessons.

David and Goliath is a classic example. Found in 1 Samuel 17 it is one of the most famous of Bible stories. We teach it to all age groups but to each we teach it differently. With the youngest we sing, “Only the little boy, David, and only a babbling brook,” and focus on 5 smooth stones. The stones went up and the giant came down and we skip the gory details. With middle school-ers we talk about the gory details, because they seem to enjoy that. With high-school age we might focus on David’s older brother making fun of him. With college age students we might focus on the courage it would take to step out alone facing such a daunting foe. With adults we focus on Saul being Israel’s giant and how he should have fought Goliath instead. The narrative has depths of rich meaning that speak different things to us depending on our maturity.

The point is, just because you’ve read a passage once doesn’t mean you’re done. Don’t assume that because you studied something in Junior High class you don’t need to study it again.

Every time a Bible study begins expect to be impressed by a new facet of the text you haven’t considered before. Approach the text with fresh eyes. You’ll be amazed how consistently the Word brings forth new truth. Have you read it lately?

There are so many churches in the world today! Jesus wanted His disciples to be as united as He is with His Father (John 17:20-22). How can we achieve that unity? As we draw nearer to Christ we will find ourselves nearer to eachother. Granted some things in the Bible are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:14-16) but Paul said that when we read what he wrote we can have his understanding of the scriptures (Ephesians 3:1-5). Are you working diligently to understand God's word? We invite you to join us for Bible study. Come grow (closer to Christ) with us. 

Dennis Allan is one of my heroes. Raised in the US he long ago moved to Brazil to preach the gospel. He didn't go for just a couple weeks. He moved there. He lives there. Today he shared this most encouraging story which illustrates how those who seek God will find Him, no matter how difficult (Matthew 7:7). 

Ever wonder how the Lord gets people like the Ethiopian eunuch in touch with someone to teach them? Here´s an interesting one. A man named Pedro, after studying a lot of material on our website, sent us an e-mail with some good Bible questions and commented that he already understood his need to be baptized. He gave his phone number, which was not formatted the way Brazilian numbers usually are, so I did my best to decipher it and passed the contact along to brethren near where I thought he lived (Porto Alegre). Tiago, a faithful Christian there, began corresponding with Pedro about 6 weeks ago. Result: Although Pedro is not from Porto Alegre, he made a trip there, coinciding with studies the brethren had scheduled with Gary Fisher over this past weekend. Pedro has now been immersed for the forgiveness of his sins and is spending time with brethren there and making plans to travel to spend time with others. By the way, his formatting of the phone number was correct; I misinterpreted it. He was not writing from Porto Alegre, but from Canada, and visited his home country of Brazil to obey the gospel. May God be praised for enabling those who seek to find!