Church of Christ in Mansfield

02/16/2026

Romans 2:1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

A Little Walk Around Yourself

When you're criticizing others
And are finding here and there
A fault or two to speak of
Or a weakness you can't bear;
When you're blaming someone's weakness
Or accusing some of pelf—
It's time that you went out
To walk around yourself.

There are lots of human failures
In the average of us all
And lots of grave shortcomings
In the short ones and the tall;
But when we think of evils
Men should lay upon themselves,
It's time we all went out
To take a walk around ourselves.

We need so often in this life
This balancing of scales;
This seeing how much in us wins
And how much in us fails.
But before you judge another
Just to lay him on the shelf—
It would be a splendid plan
To take a walk around yourself.

-Author Unknown-

01/20/2026

John 10:7-9 7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Only One Door

Charles H. Spurgeon made a penetrating observation when he said there were many rooms in the ark but only one door. Similarly, there is there is only one door in the ark of our salvation, and that is Christ.

01/13/2026

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Let Him In
One day the great artist, Michelangelo, stood outside a window. Inside he saw a canvas with a few brushes and paints next to it. All that was missing was the hand of the artist. “Oh,” cried Michelangelo, “If I only be inside, what a picture I could paint!” That's exactly what Christ wishes when He stands outside your life. “Oh, what I could accomplish, if only I could get in!” Allow Him to get in. Open the door of your heart. Believe on Him. Obey Him. Then He will bring peace to your troubled soul.
(Illustrations of Bible Truths, pg. 208)

01/09/2026

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

God's Offer of Grace

Picture a table set with delicious food. Hungry people are gathered around it. God has prepared the food. It is free. If there are some who sit at this table and do not taste the food, it is their own fault. To be in the midst of plenty and to go hungry is certainly unreasonable behavior. Yet that is what is happening all the time. God's bounty is not taken advantage of. God provides spiritual food, but He will not force it on anyone. Man must reach out and partake of it.

(Illustrations of Bible Truths, pg 94)

01/05/2026

Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Dig into the Word

The Gospel hidden in mystery should arouse our best and most active faculties. That is why we are commanded to search the scriptures, not simply to read it. It is the great repository of all the truths and mysteries of our faith. It is a rich mine that we ought to dig into and shall never exhaust. Just as gold and diamonds and most other precious stones and metals lie concealed in the depths of the earth, so the most valued things of revelation are concealed by the great Creator and Redeemer from the common view of the world. Only as this mystery stimulates us to dig into the Word shall we unearth the treasures that God has there for us.

12/30/2025

12/30/2025

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Available to All

An unbeliever once ridiculed the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ by saying, “If Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost, why is it that there are so many unbelievers?” The Christian to whom he was speaking stopped a very dirty little boy who was passing by and turning to the unbeliever said, “Can you blame soap and water for the filth of this boy?” It was available to all. But only those who accept it experience its regenerating power.

(Illustrations of Bible Truths, pg. 204)

12/23/2025

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

A Forked Tongue

This is told of a Christian man whose most intimate friends could not find out anything about his religious affiliations. One day a friend of his, on being told that he belonged to the church, exclaimed, “Why, I have known him intimately for some years, but I never dreamed he was a Christian!” He could not possibly conceive how the mouth that spoke so violently and indecently of his fellow men could be opened in church to praise and bless God.

12/19/2025

"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matt. 18:4-6)

Years ago, an old woman was noticed to be picking up something in the street in a slum area. The policeman on the beat noticed the woman's action and watched her very suspiciously. Several times he saw her stoop, pick up something, and hide it in her apron. Finally, he went up to her and with a rough voice and threatening manner demanded, "What are you carrying off in your apron?" The timid woman did not answer at first, whereupon the officer, thinking that she must have found something valuable, threatened her with arrest. The woman opened her apron and revealed a handful of broken glass. "I just thought I would like to take it out of the way of the children's feet," she said. Oh, how we need people like this timid little woman who cared about what hurts "children's feet." (From Illustrations Unlimited by James S. Hewett, p. 328)

Mark 10:13-14 says, "Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.'"

12/17/2025

"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3)

"Last night my little boy confessed to me some childish wrong; and, kneeling at my knee, He prayed with tears, 'Dear God, make me a man Like Daddy--wise and strong; I know that You can.' Then, while he slept I knelt beside his bed, confessed my sins, and prayed with bowed head, 'O God, make me like a child, like my child here, pure, guileless, trusting thee with faith sincere.'" (From Andrew Gillies, in Pulpit Helps, June, 1992)

12/15/2025

Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" (Matt. 16:24)
Three military recruiters showed up to address high school seniors. Each recruiter, representing the Army, Navy, and Marines, was given fifteen minutes to speak. The Army and Navy recruiters got carried away, so when it came time for the Marine to speak, he had just two minutes. He walked up and stood silent for a full sixty seconds, half of his time. Then he said, "I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marines, but I want to see those two or three immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed." He then took his seat.
Later, when he arrived in the dining hall, he was greeted by a large number of students who were interested in becoming Marines. The recruiter knew that commitment comes from appealing to the heroic dimension in every heart. (By W. Frank Harrington)
Likewise, Jesus appeals to the heroic dimension in every heart. Let us deny ourselves, willingly take up our crosses, and follow Him.

12/11/2025

"And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt. 15:9) "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." (Col. 2:8)
A young married lady was fixing a fancy ham dinner for her husband. As she was about to place the ham into the oven she took a knife and cut off the end of the ham. Her husband asked, "Why did you cut the end off of the ham?" She replied, "I don't know; that's the way mamma always did it." Later, at the family reunion the young couple asked mother why she always cut off the end of the ham. She answered, "That's the way mamma always did it." They went to grandmother and asked her why she cut off the end of her hams. She likewise replied, "That's the way mother always did it." They then found great-grandmother who was still living at the time, and asked her why she always cut the ham's end off, and she said, "I cut the end of the ham off because my pan was too small!"
Similarly, many today worship God according to the traditions of men, and it has far more serious consequence than losing the end of hams