Jesus, the Son of God, thought, spoke, and lived on the earth without sinning a s time (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).  He was tempted to sin but never gave into that temptation (Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15).  He knew that with every temptation there was a way of escape, and He always took that way 1 Corinthians 10:13).  He went about doing good (Acts 10:38) from early morning into the night.  Sometimes He stayed up all night in prayer to the Father (Luke 6:12).   His only aim was to be pleasing to God (Matthew 3:17, John 8:29).  He was perfect in every way.   In view of such a beautiful life, consider how Jesus was measured, criticized, unjustly accused, and finally murdered by some who wanted to silence His simple personal message of love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for all people.  Jesus’ enemies were not the “sinners” of the world but religious people, those who claimed truth and righteousness, those from His own family (John 1:11-12).   Has the world really changed?   Even today as Christians, we are often measured, criticized, unjustly accused, and some are even murdered for the cause of Christ.  Sometimes the greatest threat to our faith comes not from the world but from those within our own family or even from within the church.  What shall we do?   Jesus has instructed us in Matthew 5:43-48 concerning those who would curse us, hate us, and despitefully use us and persecute us.  We are to love them, bless them, and pray for them.  When we follow His instructions, we are then truly sons of our Father in heaven.  We are then “perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  We must remember that our aim is to be pleasing to God.   Paul wrote in Galatians 1:10; “For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men?   For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”   May we all seek to love one another as Christ loved us so that all will know that we are His disciples (John 13:34-35).  May we follow our Brother Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:2-3 “… with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”   On Sunday we will conclude our series “Expecting the Impossible” with a lesson to every Christian.  Sometimes Christians expect the impossible when we  expect growth without diligence, when we expect diligence without love, and when we expect love without true concern for others.   People will not care how much you know until they know how much you care.  This principle was true in New Testament times and is still true today.   On Sunday evening Cindi and I will be away in Washington D.C. until Wednesday visiting our nation’s capitol.  We ask for your prayers as we travel.   Our Vacation Bible School is now only a week away on July 22nd through July 26th.  Our theme is “Neighbors for Jesus.”  What a joy it will be to meet with our family, friends, and neighbors to share great lessons from God’s word.  Make sure you invite and remind those you love to come and be with us.  Pick up a flyer from one of the tables in the lobby to present to them as a reminder of our very special VBS.   Mark your calendar for our annual state-wide All-Night Singing here at St. Andrews Road on August 3rd from 7:30 until...  This is one of the highlights of the year for South Carolina churches of Christ.  Come and be a part!