DIRECTION FOR LIFE

Thanks to Bob West, and his friend John Hess, Lewis and Clark Bible church has a new logo. The logo will be used on church letterhead, business cards, and other church literature. It was several months in the making and started with the desire to produce a logo that would be unique to our church and speak to our Biblical emphasis.

The logo features an open Bible as its foundation. This speaks to our commitment to God's inspired and inerrant Word in its authoritative role in directing us in all matters related to faith and practice. 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness."

The compass is in keeping with our identity as "Lewis and Clark" Bible Church. The explorers, Lewis and Clark, used a compass to guide them over rivers and across great mountain ranges to their final destination. The compass kept them headed in the right direction. Likewise, the Bible gives us "direction for life." Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." 2 Peter 1:19, "And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the days dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts."

The phrase "Direction for Life," situated above the logo, was Bob's idea. It speaks to the ability of God's word to provide direction to us. As someone has said the BIBLE contains "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." Every Gideon Bible includes in the preface a tribute to the Bible. This tribute says in part: "The Bible

contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the PILOT'S COMPASS, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. CHRIST is its grand Subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end."

The compass points to the east and the west and speaks to our God-given responsibility to share the truth with others. Jesus commissioned His Apostles to "be (His) witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The church was commissioned to spread the gospel and every believer has his own "Jerusalem," in which to witness. But God privileges us to pray and to give to help others take the gospel message to even "the remotest part of the earth." The church is ever endeavoring to "hold forth the word of life" (Phil. 2:16) before the lost wherever they might live.

The logo is a useful tool, but the Biblical perspective on which it is based is more than that. That perspective instructs us and guides us in all matters. The question, "But what does the Bible say?", should guide us in all that we think, do, and say. The Bible reveals truth that is meant to be shared. Our logo applies this Biblical perspective to our identity in a compelling fashion.

Pastor Jerry