^
"Then David said unto the messenger, thus shalt thou say unto Jo'ab. Let not
this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another; make
thy battle more strong against the city and overthrow it; and encourage thou
him." (II Samuel 11:25)
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent, and do the
first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove the candle
stick out of his place, except thou repent." (Revelation 2:5) "When I kept
silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." (Psalm 32:3)
Sin brings sorrow. Sin. my friend, brings silence. Sin also when it is finished
brings death. (James 1:15) David recognized that God's hand was heavy upon
him and he confessed his sin. David did not enjoy his silence and he cried out
unto God. I will acknowledge sin unto thee. (Psalm 32:5)
Sin is an experience and it brings sorrow to those who do not recognize the
hand of God when it is heavy upon them. Here we see a man (David) who knew
sin and also knew the forgiveness of God. He knew about sorrow, sins and
silence. David also shows to you and I w hat a person can and will do when there
is no light upon the path way or there is no voice speaking to our hearts. Sin.
silence and sorrow are all the experience of the hand of God upon a nation of
people.
There are those among us who are unsaved and it seems that they are as
familiar with God as we are. They show concern, fellowship, walk hand in hand
and they even show a trace of God's great love. But when you read Psalm 32:1
it shows us a person that sin is here, not a theory but as an experience. Psalm
32 was written of a man who knew sin. He knew sin in his own life. He knew
the sorrow, silence and the making up of sin. David's encounter with sin was
as a great flood of water. He felt like his soul was drowning beneath. He felt like
his soul was in a prison house and he cried to God "Thy hand is heavy upon me."
Sin brings sorrow and silence. Sin is what God says it is...death, sorrow and
silence. David tried to hide adultery, fornication, falsehood and murder, but the
hand of God was too strong.. ."Day and night thy hand was heavy upon me."
(Psalm 32:4) David had no rest when he kept silence. David wanted forgiveness
because the hand of God was heavy upon him. David said, "1 acknowledge
my sin. I said I will confess my transgression unto the Lord."
David was a king, but he could not escape the hand of God. The child died.
I have seen in my life time a mother and dad stand over a cold grave of a child
and still walk right back in to a state of sin, silence and sorrow. My friend, you
can't use intellectual ignorance to free yourself from sin, sorrow and silence. It
I
taxes a spiritual ignorance. "Ye must be bom again " You must be delivered
front sin that vexes the soul. As we said before, sin is an experience, as sorrow
is an experience, silence is an experience and all these express how one feels.
When you add up David's sin. they paid four to one. Following lust of his
eve came adultery , fornication, falsehoods and murder
It was here that Ood met David and he said, "And mine iniquity have I not
hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord." (Psalm 32:5)
^ The hand of God was heavy. Can you imagine Dav id trying to sleep at night?
A child had died. His daughter had been raped by her brother. His two sons had
been killed. One brother killed the other and his best friend. Jo'ab killed
Absolam. No wonder David cried out. "The hand of God is heavy upon me."
Can you imagine a father or mother that can keep silence knowing their
daughter has been raped? Can you imagine a brother w ho w ould kill his brother
and his dad kept silence? The church today is silent. The church is always silent
w hen the preacher is out of his place and he no longer uses the w ord "repent"
or to say "God will come quickly, somebody better repent."
The church today is like David, trying to hide adultery, fornication.
falsehood and murder. In doing so the church has sin. sorrow and silence.
Let me say again, sin is not a theory. Sin is w hat God said it is. Death, sorrow
and silence.
My friend what Robeson County and all other counties better do is repent.
Robeson County needs a revival that w ould bring folks to a conviction that God
is right and we are wrong. Then and only then w ill we hear those sweet words.
"Thou shall not die. but live." (II Samuel 12:13)
In the Fayetteville Observer June 16th, the head line read "Churches in
Uneasy Truce, the Presbyterians Remove ban on Gay Clergy." One of the
members said, "We have lost our identity. We don't know who we are or whose
we are."
My friend, where there is sin. sorrow and silence there will also be falsehood,
fornication and adultery. Can not you see or feel the heavy hand of God? The
loss ofemployment of over 8000 jobs in the past seven years. Robeson County
now ranks 17th in the nation for venereal disease.
Christian folks, bom again believers should never reach a state of "not
knowing who we are or whose we are." What we need to be concerned about
is the fact that we are doing God's will. We need to pray for forgiveness. The
reason our jails, prisons, hospitals and psychiatric wards are over crowded is
that the hand ofGod is heavy upon us. Like David we have kept silence and have
not escaped the hand of God. Look around you. Daily someone" is killed or
murdered. Why? Because of their deed thou hast given great occasion to the
enemies, the child also that is bom unto thee shall surely die. (II Samuel 12:14)
You and 1 will get no further than David. When he said to Jo'ab. "Let not this
thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another." (11 Samuel
11:25) Folks today like David compare each other's loss saying "Well,you are
no better than those who lose a child." Folks, we are talking about sin, sorrow
and silence. We are telling you that the hand of God is against sin! All nations
that forget God shall be turned to destruction. (Psalm 9:17)
I Pediatric Pointers I
by Dr. Joey Bell, Pembroke Pediatrics
Somelimes as parents (and as
physicians) we have to use our sense
of hearing to determine if our children
are sick or not Remember that
certain sounds can be a tip-off that
something is wrong: a cough can be
a sign of pneumonia, and wheezing
can mean a child may have asthma
\nd while snoring is most often
thought of as being restricted to adults,
n is seen in children and can be a sign
of a medical problem
Snoring is the sound that occurs
when the airway collapses during
inspiration (breathing in). Most normal
children snore at one time or
another, and many, particularly those
who have nasal allergies, snore almost
cvcry night In most children
who snore, increased breathing effort
successfully compensates for a
collapsing airw ay and both the breathing
pattern and sleep is unaffected.
However, if the obstruction is sev ere
tlike with poor muscle tone in the
airwavsor large tonsils and adenoids)
the snoring can be more pronounced
and the normal sleep pattern may be
disrupted I or reasons that are not
understood fully, disrupted sleep can
lead to growth failure, daytime
drowsiness, bcd;wctiing. high blood
pressure, school failure, headaches,
and other nonspecific symptoms. If
I ho obstruction becomes extreme,
children may go short periods of time
w ithout breathing (apnea) which puts
a big strain on the heart and can lead
to heart problems.
Snoring that is associated with
airway obstruction and is causing
health problems should be evaluated
by a physician, linlarged tonsils and
adenoids are by far the leading cause
of airway narrowing, snoring and
abnormal breathing patterns 111 children
Removing the tonsils and
adenoids may often eliminate or improve
these conditions Remember,
a tonsillectomy or adcnoidectomy is
not indicated for the vast majority of
snoring children, and just because
this procedure may decrease snoring
does not justify its widespread use in
children who are otherwise normal.
A good rule of thumb for parents
is to remember that if snoring is
regular, not interrupted by periods of
no breathing, does not lead the child
to assume unusual postures during
sleep or twsweat profusely, it is probably
not a health problem In the
absence of other signs or symptoms,
further evaluation is rarely indicated
ll'you are concerned yon may want to
make a tape or video of your child lor
your doctor to evaluate
That's, all on snoring See you
next week'
Sports Vision Safety
(NAPS)?According to the Better
Vision Institute, more than 90
percent of the sports-related eye
injuries that occur in America
each year could be prevented with
protective eyewear.
When playing sports, athletes?especially
children?need
to protect their eyes.
Children and adolescents are
especially susceptible to injuries
because of their fearless manner
of play and athletic immaturity.
Parents and sports enthusiasts
can take the following steps to
ensure adequate eye protection for
everyone participating in sports:
Get an eye exam. Protection
starts with prevention.
Purchase specialized eyewear
from a reputable dealer.
For racquet sports, eye safety
guards or industrial-quality safety
glasses are necessary.
For football and other contact
sports, helmets with eye
shields are recommended.
For high-speed or contact
sports, such as skiing and hockey,
shatterproof polycarbonate lenses
and special frames provide good
protection.
For snow skiing, water skiing,
tennis and other outdoor
sports, sunglasses and protective
goggles also can protect the eyes
from glare, UV rays and exposure
to weather elements.
For more information, visit the
Better Vision Institute Web site at
www.visionsite.org.
(NAPS)?Tire safety advice is
available from the Rubber Manufacturers
Association at www.rma.
org/tiresafety. The site also features
a Driving Quiz, information
and links for tire manufacturers
and a link to the Be Tire Smart?
Play Your PART consumer information
brochure that can be
downloaded for free.
Scratching your head for fun
kids' projects? Find fun in your
kitchen. Food-related projects
teach kids valuable lessons in
measuring skills, safety and teamwork.
For more creative kids' projects
involving Sugar in the Raw,
request Sweet Fun...Naturally!
Send a self-addressed stamped
($.34 postage) business-size envelope
io Sweet Fun, Brooklyn Premium
Corp., 60 Flushing Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11205. Find additional
fun at www.sugarinthe
raw.com.
For information on USA Tennis
Month and the Tennis 1-2-3 program,
visit the Web site at
www.usatennis.com.
For information about how pets
can help children learn responsibility,
check out the American Pet
Product Manufacturers Association's
"The Pet Owner's Manual"
at www.appma.org.
The piano was invented in
Italy In 1709.
Why we're doctors
for the Locklears.
Thomas Locklear:
"I can get my annual physical:
They have dermatology services to treat
any skin problem. They do their owi
X-rays and lab work. And they accept
all kinds of insurance."
Matthew Locklear: I
"I can get all my forms I
filled out for baseball." J
Grandma Locklear:
"I can make sure my
diabetes stays in check-and 1
keep my allergies from J
slowing me down."
Zoe Locklear:
"1 can get my yearly exam. Plus, the kids
can see die same doctor. 1 can get nutritional
^ information for the whole family."
Elizabeth Locklear:
"1 can go to the fitness center
v with my mom."
p.i : . . v'Grandpa
Locklear:
"I can keep my cholesterol
^ and blood pressure
L under control."
If there's one thing the Locklears believe in, if s getting
the proper health care. If there's one thing they don't
believe in, it's driving all over the place to do it.
That's the reason they come to a FirstHealth Family
Care Center. And maybe if s the reason you should bring
your family here, too.
We're the place to go for all your family's health care,
from the youngest to the oldest. In many cases our family
practice physicians can even perform procedures you'd
normally have to see another specialist for, such
4 ;>> *. ???
as dermatology or women's services. And we're
backed up by the entire FirstHealth network of hospitals,
specialists and other health care professionals.
So the next time you need health care for your
family, make an appointment at a FirstHealth Family
Care Center near you.
FirstHealth
FAMILY CARE CENTERS
www.firsthealth.org
For on appointment at the FirstHealth Family Care Center in Pembroke, call 521-6029.