North Main Church of Christ

North Main Church of Christ to seeking the lost and sharing the Gospel. Come visit us this Sunday!

09/03/2026

Fire Preparedness

During the past several days, people across North Central Texas have watched with concern as the Ross Fire swept across Palo Pinto and Jack counties. As of this wreiting, the fire has burned approximately 85,000 acres, damaging homes, ranch buildings, businesses, fences, pastureland, and other property. Livestock and wildlife have been killed or displaced, families have been evacuated, and the total financial loss may eventually reach into six or seven million dollar figures.

But money alone cannot measure such devastation. A home represents years of memories. A ranch may represent generations of labor. Pastureland sustains livestock and livelihoods. A business may support not only its owner, but employees and their families.

Fire does not stop to consider what stands in its path. It consumes.

Once a wildfire gains strength, everything ahead of it is endangered. Grass, trees, fences, barns, homes, livestock, and businesses can be threatened within hours. Firefighters work desperately to establish containment lines because they understand an important truth: a consuming fire must be taken seriously before it reaches you.

That lesson has an even greater spiritual application. The Bible repeatedly uses fire to describe the holiness of God and the certainty of divine judgment. The writer of Hebrews gives this sobering reminder:

“For our God is a consuming fire.” — Hebrews 12:29

God is loving, merciful, patient, and gracious, but He is also perfectly holy and just. Sin will not be ignored forever. A day of judgment has been appointed by God.

Jesus warned repeatedly that such a day is coming. In Matthew 13:40–42, He compared the judgment at the end of the age to weeds being gathered and burned. In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus described the final separation of the righteous and the unrighteous, concluding, “These (the unrighteous – RJ) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
The apostle Paul gave the same warning. He wrote that the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven “in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those who don't know God, and to those who don't obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:7–8). Notice the two classes of people upon whom the vengeance of God will come upon: (1) those who do not know God, and (2) those who do not obey his commands.

Peter describes what will happen to the physical creation itself: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” — 2 Peter 3:10

An 85,000-acre wildfire seems enormous. Communities prepare evacuation routes. Families gather belongings. Livestock are moved. Emergency personnel stand ready. Why?

Because when destruction is approaching, preparedness matters. No sensible person in the path of a wildfire would say, “I know the fire is coming, but I will prepare later.”

Yet spiritually, many people live exactly that way. They know life is temporary. They know death is certain. They know Scripture teaches that Christ will return, the dead will be raised, and every person will face judgment. Yet they continue postponing preparation for eternity.

Peter therefore asks: “Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness?” — 2 Peter 3:11

That is the question. Not simply, When will the world end? But, Am I prepared when it does? Preparedness for wildfire is wise because lives and property are at stake. But preparedness for eternity is infinitely more important because your soul is at stake. There will be no firebreak capable of stopping God's judgment. There will be no evacuation route away from the return of Christ. There will be no opportunity after He appears to begin preparing.

The time for preparation is now. Hear the gospel (Romans 10:17). Believe in Christ (John 8:24). Repent of sin (Acts 17:30). Confess your faith in Christ (Romans 10:9–10). Be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:27). Then remain faithful to Him (Revelation 2:10).

Earthly fires remind us how quickly material things can disappear. But the greater question is not whether you can save everything you possess. It is whether you are prepared to meet God.

“For our God is a consuming fire.” — Hebrews 12:29

Are you prepared?

~Ron Josselet

08/27/2026

Blessing Blankets

From time to time, Christians adopt practices intended to express kindness, compassion, encouragement, and concern for others. One such practice is the giving of “blessing blankets.” These blankets may be given to the sick, grieving, elderly, or those experiencing hardship.

There is nothing wrong with giving someone a blanket as an expression of love or goodwill. Christians are commanded to show compassion and generosity. Paul wrote, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Hebrews 13:16 likewise says, “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

The term “blessing blanket” is not necessarily unscriptural. If it simply means a blanket lovingly given with the hope that it will provide warmth, comfort, or encouragement, the blanket may certainly be considered a blessing in the sense that it is a helpful gift.

The question arises when the blanket is believed to have been spiritually “blessed” so that it possesses or conveys divine protection, healing, spiritual power, or some special sacred quality.

Christians are commanded to bless others. Paul said, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14). Jesus taught, “Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you” (Luke 6:28). In these passages, blessing others involves speaking well of them, doing good toward them, praying for them, and seeking God’s favor upon them. It does not mean transferring spiritual power into an object.

God remains the source of every true blessing. James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

Under the Law of Moses, the priests were instructed to pronounce a blessing upon Israel. Numbers 6:24–26 says: “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”

God then said, “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). The priests pronounced the blessing, but God supplied the blessing.

Some may point to Acts 19:11–12, where handkerchiefs or aprons associated with Paul were carried to the sick and miraculous healing occurred. However, Luke specifically says, “God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul.” This was an extraordinary display of miraculous power associated with Paul’s ministry. The passage does not instruct Christians generally to pray over blankets, cloths, or other objects so that they acquire spiritual power.

Christians today are described as “a holy priesthood” who offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Hebrews 13:15–16 identifies such sacrifices as praise, doing good, and sharing with others. Nothing in the New Testament authorizes Christians to create religious ceremonies in which ordinary objects are given supernatural significance.

Therefore, there is an important difference between praying for a person while giving a blanket and praying over a blanket with the belief that prayer places spiritual power into the object.

If Christians give someone a blanket and say, “We have been praying for you, and we hope this gift brings you comfort,” there is nothing unscriptural about that. Christians may certainly pray that God will strengthen, comfort, and provide for the recipient.

The concern begins when the blanket itself is treated as though it has acquired divine protection, healing power, or sacred status because someone has “blessed” it. The blanket may be a wonderful gift. The prayer may be completely scriptural. The kindness may honor God. But the power does not reside in the blanket.

The Christian may give. The Christian may pray. The Christian may encourage.

But God is the One who blesses.

~Ron Josselet

08/20/2026

Heaven Is the Christian’s True Home

In last week’s article, we considered Jesus’ words about who will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

The New Testament shows what that obedient response looks like: hear the Word of God, believe that Jesus is the Christ, repent of sins, confess Him before men, be baptized for the remission of sins, and then live faithfully and obediently until death.

After Jesus returned to heaven, His apostles carried that same message into the world.

On the Day of Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, Peter preached that Jesus had been crucified, raised from the dead, and exalted at the right hand of God. When those who heard him were “cut to the heart” and asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”, Peter answered, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:37–38). Those who “gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:41).

The apostles were not preaching a different way of salvation from the one Jesus had taught. They were carrying out His command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Jesus had said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16), and that is exactly the message His apostles proclaimed.

As the gospel spread, people heard the Word, believed in Christ, repented, confessed their faith, were baptized into Christ, and began new lives as His disciples. But becoming a Christian was not merely about being saved from past sins. It also gave believers a new destination and a new sense of where they truly belonged.
Paul told Christians at Philippi, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Christians live on earth, work on earth, raise families on earth, and serve God on earth—but their ultimate citizenship is somewhere else. Heaven is their true home.

Peter described that hope as “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). Earthly possessions eventually wear out, decay, or pass into someone else’s hands. The Christian’s heavenly inheritance cannot be stolen, destroyed, or diminished. God Himself has reserved it.

Paul used another beautiful picture when he wrote, “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Our present bodies are temporary. Our earthly lives are temporary. But what God has prepared for His faithful children is eternal.

That hope changes the way a Christian lives now. Paul wrote, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).
He also explained why Christians can live with their hearts set on heaven: “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Everything surrounding us now—possessions, accomplishments, difficulties, even life itself—is temporary. The Christian learns to look beyond what can be seen to what God has promised. That eternal perspective gives courage during hardship and keeps earthly concerns from becoming more important than the heavenly home ahead.

The apostles carried Jesus’ message of salvation throughout the world, but they also continually reminded Christians where that salvation was leading them. Paul assured believers that the day is coming when “we shall always be with the Lord” and then added, “Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17–18).

That is the heart of the Christian’s hope. The journey that begins with obedience to the gospel ultimately ends in the presence of Christ.

Heaven is the destination. Heaven is the inheritance. Heaven is where Christ is. And for the faithful Christian, heaven is home.

~Ron Josselet

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1302 North Main Street
Weatherford, TX
76086

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