St. Elmo Church of Christ

Last night I attended a neighborhood meeting of people concerned over the proposed closing of our neighborhood post office. One by one they voiced their concerns and arguments for saving the local office. Finally one gentleman asked, “Isn’t there an e-mail address we can use to oppose this?” I thought that was an amusing question – using e-mail to save the post office – when e-mail is actually a factor in the postal problem. Does such thinking ever appear elsewhere? How about a member (or several members?) who would be alarmed if the church was about to close, yet they do little to help keep it open? Could they perhaps e-mail the elders from the ball park, the cinema, or the TV room indicating their support of the congregation? Wouldn’t that be as good as actually showing up at every assembly? I love irony, wherever I find it. –JTS

Occasionally in the news someone “goes missing” and the family is frantic for his return. Search parties and volunteers comb the woods and fields looking for him. They only give up as a last resort. After discussing the stories in Luke 15 about the lost sheep, coin, and son, I asked our Wednesday night Bible class what they would most want should they ever become lost. The answer was pretty obvious – we all would want to know that someone loved us, was looking for us, and would not give up until he found us. That’s the message of those parables, isn’t it? If we are lost spiritually, it’s our own fault. God is waiting for us to come to ourselves and come home to Him. And He rejoices when we do. Remember, He’s always looking for you. –JTS

It’s that time again — newspaper and TV reporters are looking back and making lists of the best, worst, and the like for the past year. I should be on that list as one of the world’s richest men. I have good health, a wonderful family, a loving church, and more blessings than I could possibly list or count. I hope you feel that you should be listed as well. Paul writes in Ephesians 1 that every spiritual blessing is in Christ, and that’s where we are. As we begin a new year, let’s be sure and count our blessings. They far outweigh anything missing in our lives. Happy New Year to some of the richest people I know. –JTS