Pursuing God, Loving People

How to prepare to hear God's word

2010-08-26T22:56:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday morning we studied about how to be a "Good soil hearer".
After describing a good soil hearer the Lord Jesus instructs those who have ears to hear, to take heed how they hear. He tells them to lit. see what they hear, to perceive, to understand, and cling to the word of God until it produces a huge harvest.

For those who believe they have ears to hear, what are some steps one can take in order to "take heed how they hear".

Below is a list of practical steps from John Piper on how we can take heed how we hear and allow God's word to produce a full harvest in our lives.

1. Pray that God would give you a good and honest heart.
The heart we need is a work of God. That's why we pray for it. Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart." Jeremiah 24:7, "I will give them a heart to know Me." Let's pray, "O Lord, give me a heart for you. Give me a good and honest heart. Give me a soft and receptive heart. Give me a humble and meek heart. Give me a fruitful heart."

2. Meditate on the Word of God.
Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good." On Saturday night read some delicious portion of your Bible with a view to stirring up hunger for God. This is the appetizer for Sunday morning's meal.

3. Purify your mind by turning away from worldly entertainment.
James 12:1, "Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch. This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship. Instead, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Your heart will unshrivel and be able to feel greatness again.

4. Trust in the truth that you already have.
The hearing of the word of God that fails during trial has no root (Luke 8:13). What is the root we need? It is trust. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream." Trusting in the truth you already have is the best way to prepare yourself to receive more.

5. Rest long enough Saturday night to be alert and hopeful Sunday morning.
1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything." I am not laying down any law here. I am saying there are Saturday night ways that ruin Sunday morning worship. Don't be enslaved by them. Without sufficient sleep, our minds are dull, our emotions are flat, our proneness to depression is higher, and our fuses are short. My counsel decide when you must get up on Sunday in order to have time to eat, get dressed, pray and meditate on the Word, prepare the family, and travel to church; and then compute backward eight hours and be sure that you are in bed 15 minutes before that. Read your Bible in bed and fall asleep with the Word of God in your mind. I especially exhort parents to teach teenagers that Saturday is NOT the night to stay out late with friends. If there is a special late night, make it Friday. It is a terrible thing to teach children that worship is so optional that it doesn't matter if you are exhausted when you come.

6. Forebear one another Sunday morning without grumbling and criticism.
Psalm 106:25, "They grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the LORD." Sunday morning grumbling and controversy and quarreling can ruin a worship service for a family. When there is something you are angry about or some conflict that you genuinely think needs to be talked about, forebear. Of course if you are clearly the problem and need to apologize, do it as quickly as you can (Matthew 5:23-24). But if you are fuming because of children or spouse delinquency, forebear, that is, be slow to anger and quick to listen (James 1:19). In worship open yourself to God's exposing the log in your own eye. It may be that all of you will be humbled and chastened so that no conflict is necessary.

7. Be meek and teachable when you come.
James 12:1 "In meekness receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." Meekness and teachability are not gullibility. You have your Bible and you have your brain. Use them. But if we come with a chip on our shoulder and a suspicion of the preaching week after week, we will not hear the Word of God. Meekness is a humble openness to God's truth with a longing to be changed by it.

8. Be still as you enter the room and focus your mind's attention and heart's affection on God.
Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." As we enter the sanctuary, let us "come on the lookout for God and leave on the lookout for people." Come with a quiet passion to seek God and his power. We will not be an unfriendly church if we are aggressive in our pursuit of God during the prelude and aggressive in our pursuit of visitors during the postlude.

9. Think earnestly about what is sung and prayed and preached.
1 Corinthians 14:20, "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature". So Paul says to Timothy, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything" (2 Timothy 2:7). Anything worth hearing is worth thinking about. If you would take heed how you hear, think about what you hear.

10. Desire the Truth of God's Word more than you desire riches or food.
1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." As you sit quietly and pray and meditate on the text and the songs, remind yourself of what Psalm 19:10-11 says about the Words of God "More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

American idols

2010-08-26T22:42:00.002-04:00

This is a test I wish all of my congregation would take time to answer.

I make it available for all who are passionate about loving God supremely and want to keep themselves from idols.

13 Questions to Diagnose Your Idolatries
August 25, 2010 | By: Tyler Kenney | Category: Recommendations

This past Sunday, Kenny Stokes preached his second message on 1 John 5:20-21, which ends, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." (See his first sermon on this passage.)

Near the end he laid out 13 questions, adapted from an old Puritan sermon, to help us identify the idols of our hearts:

What do you most highly value?
What do you think about by default?
What is your highest goal?
To what or whom are you most committed?
Who or what do you love the most?
Who or what do you trust or depend upon the most?
Who or what do you fear the most?
Who or what do you hope in and hope for most?
Who or what do you desire the most? Or, what desire makes you most angry or makes you despair when it is not satisfied?
Who or what do you most delight in or hold as your greatest joy and treasure?
Who or what captures your greatest zeal?
To whom or for what are you most thankful?
For whom or what great purpose do you work?
Click here to Read or listen to the rest of his sermon.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/2624_13_questions_to_diagnose_your_idolatries/

Living for the Glory of God

2010-08-13T09:47:00.000-04:00

I started listening to John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" Regional Conf. this morning and was challenged by the truth that God does all things for His Glory and that the essence of a wasted life is to not recognize that truth and to not live your life for the purpose of Glorifying God in all things.

Initially this sounds very theological and you may feel the temptation to avoid it and focus on more practical things, but let me admonish that there is nothing more practical, nor fundamental to our everyday lives than recognizing God's passion for His glory and our responsibility to glorify God in all things.

This is a weighty matter and I believe requires, prayer, perseverance, meditation, practice, and most of all the Spirit to effectively appropriate this truth.

I want to put down some of the scriptures and thoughts that I had this morning for meditative purposes and in order to package this truth in such a way that it is easier for me to process and apply.

The Scripture makes it very clear that the purpose of God in all things is to Glorify himself.
The Heavens declare the Glory of God:
Ps 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. NKJV

The Earth declares the Glory of God:
Isa 6:3 And one cried to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!"

Jesus declared the Glory of God:
John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" NKJV

Paul declared the Glory of God:
Phil 1:20-21 "20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified (Glorified) in my body, whether by life or by death." NKJV

Additional verses:
Isa 43:6-7
Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth --7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." NKJV

Israel:
Ps 106:7-8 "7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea -- the Red Sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, That He might make His mighty power known." NKJV

The Gentiles:
Rom 15:7-9
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, NKJV

The Heavens declare the Glory of God, The Earth is full of the Glory of God, The angels give glory to God, Israel was chosen for the glory of God, the gentiles were saved to the glory of God, Paul lived to the glory of God, Jesus lived to the glory of God, and the absolute purpose of my life is to glorify God in all things.

1 Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God
NKJV
I am to glorify God in my marriage, in my parenting, in my eating, in my drinking, in my playing, in my money, in my work, in my serving, thru all of these things I am to magnify the greatness of Christ.

Questions I ask myself:

Do I demonstrate that Christ is more precious to me than food, entertainment, money, career, reputation, sports, sex, hobbies, etc...

Note: Not that any of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but do I give greater value and worth to these things than I do Christ Himself?

Are they more glorious than He is? Rom. 1:21 "Althought they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful...v. 25 Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.

For me, I shamefully admit that I have greater affection and committment to some of these things than I do Christ. I find myself glorying more in created things than the Creator. For me, this is when I am guilty of "wasting my life"
I am to show in whatever I do that Christ is more precious to me than anything.
David said,
Ps 63:3 "Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! " NLT
God's love towards David meant more to Him than anything in the world, even more than life itself.
Very much like the Apostle Paul when He said "to die is gain", Christ was better to him than anything in this life. Paul saw it as "Far better to depart and be with Christ" This is glorifying Christ above all things.
I am to join in w/ all of creation and declare the glory of God thru the giving of my praise, my possessions, and my person. (Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 13:15-16)
I glorify God by treasuring His Word above all things and seeking to live my life as a husband, father, servant, steward, according to God's will revealed in scripture, not my will or the standard set by our culture.
There is no way that I can share all the different ways we are to glorify God by the way we live our lives as parents, spouses, servants, stewards, etc...according to the scriptures. You will have to study those things for yourself, but we should desire to know what God's will is in each area so that we may glorify Him in all we do.
I will close w/ this verse though it probably should have been inserted earlier.
As we seek to live a life that cherishes Christ above all things, let us find encouragement in the words Jesus prayed in John 17.
John 17:26
26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." NKJV

I have never seen this before, but Jesus literally asked the Father to give us the same love with which He loved the Son.
Jesus would not have asked this if were not possible.

We can ask the Father, and by the Spirit, the love of the Father for the Son can be imparted to us!
This gives me Hope! This gives me encouragement!

As I strive, and as I grow in Grace, through the scriptures, and by the help of the Holy Spirit, I can live my life to the Glory of God, for which I was created.

The War for the Mind

2010-07-20T11:30:00.000-04:00

(I have read so many things lately that I would like to post and share with those of you who follow the blog. I am sorry I have not had time to put those thoughts into a post. Right now time only affords me the opportunity to study God's word and then respond in personal worship and personal application. I still long to be able to share all of the fresh truths God has spoken into my life, but until my schedule allows, I want to share with you some things that are easy to get posted and hopefully this will be helpful to you until I can share thoughts from my own heart)

This is an article I came across by John Piper which sheds great light on the intensity of the battle for the mind and practical steps on how to win. I hope it will be helpful to you.

This article was triggered by the drift of my mind on Sunday afternoon toward the Apple Computer video ads. They are funny. But as I was pondering Mac vs. PC, I began to ask myself if I was lured away from being spiritually minded. I do believe it is possible to think about computers in a spiritual way. But was I doing that? Or was I drifting into the very fascination and desire that makes God feel remote and the Bible unattractive and heaven irrelevant and hell inconceivable? It was a critical moment. God snatched me.

Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.

I long to be spiritually minded all the time. I want to see the world with spiritual eyes—computers and all. So I stopped computer gazing and wrote the following strategies for being and staying spiritually minded. They are not in any particular order. Only as they came to me with a few tweaks.

Realize your outer nature is wasting away and inner nature must be renewed by setting your mind on things that are above.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Take radical steps to keep your mind pure.
You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:27-29)
Make God the gladness of all your joys.
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4)
Literally the phrase “my exceeding joy” is “gladness of my joy.” I take this to mean that in all our joys God should be the gladness of the joy. Every joy should become a joy in God. If a joy cannot offer a taste of who God is, and be enjoyed the more for that, then it is unspiritual joy.

See each person you meet as you will see them a hundred years from now.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.(Luke 16:22-23)
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 5:16)
Ponder that at every moment, even your happiest, there is misery and wailing in 10,000 places, some of them very near.
Will that not kill all our joys? Better to be real and sad than happy and fake. But I don’t think we have to choose. Real and happy and sorrowful is possible. That is why Paul says that he is “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Listen to this heart-wrenching story that David Brickner (head of Jews for Jesus) tells.

Some months ago I was flying home from a meeting when the man sitting behind me began gasping for breath. An announcement over the plane’s intercom called for a physician. Soon a doctor and several nurses came to the man’s aid but to no avail. I began to pray for the man and his wife, who was sitting beside him. The pilot announced that due to a medical emergency the plane was going to land in Edmonton. I could hear the activity behind me escalate as the doctor and nurses took turns doing CPR. If you’ve never been near a person who is dying despite these efforts, I can assure you that it is not much worse than what we see on television. The sound of air being forced out of a human being’s lungs, the sounds and smells of the death rattle were horrific. I heard the doctor pronounce, “Time of death, 10:25 A. M.”
And then the captain announced that the passenger’s situation had “stabilized,” and therefore we would continue to San Francisco. I don’t know how many people realized that what was announced as though it was the passing of the emergency was actually a veiled announcement of the passing of this man’s life. Certainly those of us nearby knew. The flight attendants pulled a blanket over his head. His wife, still beside him, was sobbing and moaning. And then the flight attendants began to come through the aisles . . . serving lunch! Lunch!? How could anyone in that cabin eat after what had just happened? But they did. (Jews for Jesus, Newsletter, Nov. 2006, p. 1)
That is a parable of the world at any given time. Some are eating lunch and thousands are wailing. It helps to remember this when we are carried away from reality with some computer ad.

Remember Jesus’ warning about what chokes spiritual life: cares, riches and pleasures of life.
Those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. (Luke 8:14)
The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)
Ponder what smells good to God and what he delights in!
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
For we are the aroma of Christ to God. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10)
Be friends with spiritually minded people.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (Proverbs 13:20)
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Read God-besotted, spiritually minded writers.
For example, read the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and John Owen in Volume Seven of his Works, On Spiritual Mindedness. Here are some sample sermon titles from volume 25 of the Yale edition of Edwards’ Works, just to give you a flavor how different things were in those days:

"The Great Concern of a Watchman of Souls"
"The Beauty of Piety in Youth"
"The Church’s Marriage to Her Sons, and to Her God"
"Yield to God’s Word, or Be Broken by His Hand"
"Saving Faith and Christian Obedience Arise from Godly Love"
"The Peace Which Christ Gives His True Followers"
"Men’s Inhumanity to God"
"Christ Is to the Heart Like a River to a Tree Planted by It"
"God Is Infinitely Strong"
Ponder your life that will very soon be without a body.
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
How attached are all your joys to your body?

Think about how short life is.
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)
Ask for spiritual-mindedness.
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
The psalmists pray often for the heart and mind they long to have.

Remember you died with Christ and have crucified the flesh.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
The most basic key to spiritual-mindedness is the deep assurance that you really have died and risen with Christ and that you are forgiven and justified in him.

Accept God’s appointed suffering as discipline to bring about greater spiritual mindedness.
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:7-11)
Go to the hospital to pray with a dying man.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
I did this last week and it had, as always, a sobering effect and blew away much worldliness from my mind.

Risk being thought foolish and weird.
It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:25)
Realize that millions of people in the other religions of the world are not looking for people with more American cultural coolness or techno savvy. They are looking for a “holy man,” a “man of God.”
The question will not be, “Is he quick-witted and fast-talking and clever?” The question will be: “Does he pray a lot? Does he know his holy Book, much of it by heart? Is he self-denying and focused on God? Is he powerful in his weakness?”

Longing to be spiritually minded with you,

Great Commission Resurgence Update

2010-07-20T11:15:00.000-04:00

This is an article Al Mohler, President of Southern Theological Seminary posted on his Twitter page.
I wanted to share it with you because I don't feel many Southern Baptists in our area are familiar with the adoption and intentions of "The Great Commission Resurgence". This was a monumental vote in the Southern Baptist Convention of which I fully support. I invite you to take time to read this in order to be excited and informed about the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Baptists' plan tries to address dwindling numbersBy Kelly Jasper
Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2010

Southern Baptists have adopted changes they hope will lead to a denominational growth unlike anything in their history.

The Southern Baptist denomination, founded in Augusta in 1845, is planning to divert funds outside of the area to address declines in membership.

The denomination, founded in Augusta in 1845, is struggling to address declines in membership. When delegates gathered for an annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., in June, their focus was a document calling for a Great Commission Resurgence.

"I see our convention at this point going through some transitions I am troubled about," Harrell said. "The GCR is a rallying cry."

The report urges a response to a number of statistics, namely that 6 billion of the world's people, including an estimated 258 million in North America, are "without Christ."

In 1950, Southern Baptists had about 27,800 churches. In 2008, the number had grown to about 44,800. Yet Southern Baptists baptized about 33,800 fewer people in 2008 than they did in 2005.

Ed Stetzer, the president of LifeWay Research, the denomination's research arm, has declared Southern Baptists "a denomination in decline."
He says the church, the country's largest Protestant denomination, has struggled to respond to a changing culture, an aging membership and new, young leaders who are choosing partnerships with other churches and church-planting networks.
The average Southern Baptist tithes 2.5 percent. Southern Baptist churches keep 94 cents of every dollar in their offering plates, forwarding 6 cents to the Cooperative Program, which funds international and domestic missions and seminaries and provides for operating expenses.

It's a bloated bureaucracy to some, but the bedrock of Southern Baptist cooperation to others.

Most agree, however, that something must be done to address declines in membership and baptisms.

The Great Commission Resurgence includes seven recommendations, all of which were adopted in June, including one that would allow Southern Baptists to give directly to missions, rather than funneling that money through the Cooperative Program.

The Cooperative Program was created in 1925 to fund missions but now also is used to fund other programs and entities of the church.
The SBC describes it as "the crown jewel of the denominational world, pulling together the resources of almost 50,000 churches and missions."
Many are concerned that the GCR will diminish giving to the program.
"There's a fear that it's going to ultimately destroy the unity of the Cooperative Program when the Cooperative Program is what defines us as Southern Baptists," Harrell said.
Georgia Baptists will give $45.5 million to the Cooperative Program this year. South Carolina will give almost $32.2 million. The funds are split among three pots: one that is kept, one that is given to the national convention and one to cover costs of both the state and national conventions.
The pot that goes to the national convention is largely spent at mission agencies.
One of those agencies, the North American Mission Board, which is based in Alpharetta, Ga., sends some of the money back to the states in the form of cooperative agreements. Those agreements will be phased out over the next seven years.
That's a loss of $900,000 a year for Georgia Baptists and $500,000 a year for South Carolina Baptists.
The money currently funds a portion (or, in a few cases, all) of the salaries for 151 missionaries in Georgia and 129 missionaries in South Carolina, said Mike Ebert, the communications team leader of the North American Mission Board.

Rethinking the impact

Baptists in the South are being asked to make a sacrifice, said J. Robert White, the executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention, who served on the task force that developed the Great Commission Resurgence.

"Stronger conventions need to support weaker conventions," White said, noting that South Carolina and Georgia are the two oldest conventions in the country. "State conventions like Georgia should send that $900,000 to parts of the country that don't have many Southern Baptists."

That's the goal. While the North American Mission Board spends most of its funds -- up to 77 percent -- in areas with few Baptist churches, Southern Baptists, as a whole, do not.

"Approximately two-thirds of our Cooperative Program dollars are spent on regions where only one-third of the population resides. In other words, the greatest percentage of mission funds remains where our own churches are concentrated," according to the GCR recommendations.

The changes could force Southern states to do away with some of their missionaries or find other ways to fund them.

"We have 2,100 churches in South Carolina, and this will mean something different to every one of them," said Roger Orman, the associate executive director of the communications and mission development team of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

The convention has set a meeting for Aug. 24 in Winnsboro, S.C., for churches to come and learn about the effects of the GCR.
In Georgia, White is optimistic.

"Our churches will need to increase the Cooperative Program support as they're able to help us make up this gap," he said. "We believe we can make it happen without losing people or ministries."

Working as a group
Until the state conventions make changes, it's difficult to measure the local effects.

Many of the Augusta Baptist Association's 62 member churches already give to the Cooperative Program faithfully.

However, several of the area's most vibrant ministries, and the association itself, don't receive funds channeled through the Cooperative Program, said the Rev. Don Wheless, the executive director of the Augusta Association of Baptist Churches.

Local churches have, for instance, established 12 churches in the past 12 years. While some have been more successful than others, it's a sign that this area is committed to church planting and evangelism -- regardless of where the money is coming from, Wheless said.

"When we work as a group, we're able to pull together our resources," he said. "Our churches believe in that. They find ways to make it happen."

Family and Church update

2010-06-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

Here’s what happening with the Johns family and FBC.

Currently I am sitting at Chloe’s gymnastic practice. She is trying to make the level 4 competition team this summer. She seems to be built for gymnastics and I think she has the tools. We’ll have to see how hard she’s willing to work. She loves gymnastics and is constantly doing cartwheels, walkovers, handstands, and other tricks around the house.

I am so proud of how Dawson and Chloe performed in school this year. Dawson made straight A’s this year and received the Principal’s award for having made straight A’s his entire time at LBES. Chloe also made straight A’s all year except for 1 B during the 1st 9 wks. We will chalk that up to the transition from 1st grade to 2nd grade. I give thanks to God for the way He has blessed them both physically and academically.

Dawson recently completed the Book of Revelation and challenged me to Bible Trivia on Revelation. You better not try him unless you’re pretty current on the Apocalypse!
He is now reading the Book of Acts and has made it thru chapter 9.
I regret to say that I am not currently leading Chloe. She typically has a girls devotional book that she works thru, but I have not been leading her to do that recently. I have been talking with her about the gospel for quite some time and focusing a lot on the centrality of God, His person, His law, and his grace. However, I need to be much more structured in my discipleship of her. Nancy and I will have her at home by herself for the next few days so I hope for some quality time to impress God's word upon her heart.
Nancy is currently studying thru "A woman's walk with God" by Elizabeth George, and recently concluded a study by Priscilla Shirer “One in a million”

I am currently all over the place. I am reading portions of David Platt’s book “Radical”, “Praying Hyde”, “Too busy not too pray”, “The purpose of man” by A.W. Tozer, and others. I am preaching thru Hebrews, Mark, and I Timothy. I am going to take a brief break from I Timothy to preach on the Subject of Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. I want to cover this before I tackle the phrase, “the husband of one wife” in I Tim. 3. My goal is to post my studies from this subject on the blog. I am also moved to memorize as much of Ps 119 as possible in the near future.

Nancy and I recently attended The Southern Baptist Annual Convention in Orlando and were very refreshed and renewed by the messages and the results of the Convention.

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force brought forth 7 recommendations in the form of a motion that will revise and revitalize Southern Baptist’s commitment to fulfill The Great Commission and take the gospel to the nations. Hopefully more info. to come on this Historical vote. All the messages were great, but the messages from Steve Gaines, Tony Evans, Matt Chandler, CJ Mahaney, Russell Moore (Adoption), and Mac Brunson (convention sermon), specifically ministered to me. I have copies of each of these messages if you are interested in listening to or watching them.

On the church level, I am excited about evangelist Sujo John, a survivor of the 9/11 terrorist attack, being with us to share His testimony of survival and salvation.

He will be sharing his testimony of How God saved he and his wife from the 81st floor of the world trade center during the P.M. service and we will have refreshments and fireworks to follow.

Our youth choir is currently at SONPOWER with 800 other teenagers. Our teenagers, one the skit competition and will be performing on the final night. Go FBC!

VBS is right around the corner, Honduras Missions Trip in July and Student Ministry and College retreats.. Please be in prayer for the church to be edified and sanctified, sinners to be evangelized, and God to be glorified.

Final tidbits:

The Celtic’s really made me mad.

Georgia knocked Florida out of the Softball World Series

Florida lost their first game in the CWS (Go Bruins)

It’s taken Chad Rollins and I 3 days to paint one room.

Family Fun Nite was awesome. Wish more of the church would have come.

I need to lose 20 lbs. (Pray for me)

Bella is absolutely wonderful. I love that lil bucked tooth baby. Her Highness.

Brandon Saunders did a great job preaching for me 2 Sun. nights ago.

Can’t wait to baptize Kenny Johns and Cathy Willingham.

The Noles just knocked the Gators out of the CWS

Blessings Friends,

Gospel centered insights on parenting and marriage

2010-06-02T13:37:00.001-04:00

This is a link to a 2 hr. Q and A session with Paul Tripp, Author of "Age of Opportunity" and "Instruments in the Redeemers Hands"

I watched half of it last night and found his Gospel Centered approach to Parenting and Marriage very insightful and convicting.

I feel as though many parents and spouses today have never been taught how to parent and to be married from a grace-filled, Gospel centered, approach.

If you are looking to live out the gospel in every area of your life, especially parenting and marriage I encourage you to take time to watch this video.

P.S.
There will be some biographical info. in the beginning that you may or may not want to hear. It is brief and then they will move on into the Q and A

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/2444_fulllength_streaming_video_of_ask_paul_tripp/

Ghana West Africa

2010-05-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

We recently were made aware of a need for Bibles in the rural Northern Region of Ghana West Africa.
This need was expressed by "Evangelist Ralph" who is seeking to minister in the rural village areas of the Country. We have been in connection w/ "Evangelist Ralph" thru James Croft Evangelistic Association since 2002. We made our congregation aware of this need and took up an offering of $1,110.00 to help w/ this need. This will supply 220 Bibles to these villages where people do not have access to the Word of God.
Thank God for "Evangelist Ralph" and the work He is doing. It is a joy to share in this ministry.
Here is the e-mail we received from Him upon receiving the news.

Jason,

I spoke with Evangelist Ralph (Raphael Adjei Kingbi) today and told him of the donation for Bibles. He was VERY excited!! I will be sending him the money next weekend, as he will be in the capitol city of Accra the next week preaching a crusade. He will then purchase the Bibles as he returns to the Northern Region. He will then begin a series of revival meetings in several villages and will distribute the Bibles at that time.

Here is an e-mail I received from him:
“Hi papa James, let me greet you in dagbani......anuwulaa... you will respond naaaa....which means good evening. Thank you so much for your concern for the Lord's work in Ghana and most importantly up here in the northern region. May the Good bless every member of the congregation who has contributed to the purchasing of Bibles for the people, and your pastor too I pray for the Lord's anointing over his life and ministry, and for you papa may the Lord heal you completely and grant you good health for you to continue His work. say Amen Amen Amen. For camera I don't have one but I will see with if I can get one. Boy am I excited and give you all the reports about the ministry and the bible distribution. Hope to hear from you soon.”

Tebow chooses principles over pocket book

2010-05-07T13:00:00.001-04:00

I guess since I can officially "pull" for Tim Tebow now since he doesn't play for the "Gator's" anymore, but rather is a teammate of "Knowshon Moreno's" out at Denver. I cannot be ashamed to promote articles that have him sporting his gator attire.
I really enjoyed reading this. I'm thankful for the overwhelming faithfulness and integrity of Tim Tebow. He has truly shone as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. (Phil. 2:15)

http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/blogs/Finding_Home/2010/04/20/tebow-chooses-principles-

Ministry Update

2010-05-07T12:43:00.000-04:00

Wow! So sorry it's been so long since I have shared anything with you all thru the blog.
There have been many verses and truths that I have wanted to share, but simply have not had the time to sit down and write them down for you. Hopefully, I will be able to go back and revisit those truths for my own personal appropriation and continued application, as well as, sharing them with you as well that you might benefit from some wonderful truths God has shared with me.

Before I get back into regular blogging I want to share with you a ministry update for the purpose of:
1. Explaining why I have not been faithful to blog and that I do not intend to be an unfaithful blogger. I consider blogging a ministry whereby I can continue to personally disciple others by opening up my life for them to see my walk with God. I want to pass along to others everything I can that might help others grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Servant, a Parent, a Pastor, a Leader, a Soldier, a Christian. Therefore, I will continue to seek to be faithful to you that you may continue to grow up into Him, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
2. Expressing all of the things that have been going on in my life so that you can see the demands of ministry to the church and my family and that you would help me thru your prayers for me that I would be fruitful in every good work, not grow weary in well doing, and that I would minister according to the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ by His wonderful Grace.
3. Extending an invitation for you to join with me in serving others and praising God for what He has been doing in our church.

Okay, so, here's what I've been busy doing.
Preaching thru 3 different books of the Bible each week (a.m. Mark, p.m. I Tim., Wed. Hebrews)
Reading The Discipline of Grace, Prayer by Philip Yancey, and listening to a multitude of sermons for my own personal growth and devotion.
Personally Discipling: Kyle Parrish and Ryan Sellers
Evangelizing 3 men in our community
Serving: 2 homeless families in our community. Praise God both have places to live now and we are continuing to help them spiritually, financially, emotionally, and in every other way.
Ministering to the 3 precious people who are in the latter stages of terminal cancer and 2 other members who have recently become homebound.
lining up 4 different couples for premarital counseling
enlisting and equipping new youth workers and planning for graduate recognition, weekly services, summer camps and activities. (thanks Chad, Amber, Sheila, Pam, Celeste, and others for your help)
meeting, praying, and searching for new youth and family pastor...need to draft Job Description by May 16th our nexe meeting
Starting a new young married's class
working towards reestablishing Wee Praise choir (Thankful for those who have faithfully served and those who God is given a passion and vision for the future)
Getting prepared for Sr. adult trip May 11, SBC annual conv Jun 17, and D6 conf in Sept.
Working out the details of Son power, VBS, Homecoming, and a special July 4th emphasis.
Men's prayer at 6:00 a.m. on Thurs.
Meeting tonight to continue to develop our vision for missions in Honduras.
Collected money for 220 Bibles for unreached people groups in West Ghana Africa

While at home:
Attended 2 honor roll assemblies, 2 field days, and 2 field trips (Wild Adventures and Sea World) Wouldn't miss it for the world.
Celebrated Nancy's Bday and Chloe's Bday. (Disney on Ice in J-ville)
Mother's day coming up
Got the car fixed, got the lawn treated, working on addition to the house, and Nancy's getting ready to paint and replace carpets.
Bella's is Amazing, but is hyperactive and can't entertain herself. She's unstoppable and eat's 14 times a day.
Nancy and I have both been to the dentist for the first time in 3 yrs and they were so kind they invited me to come back 4 more times. (seriously)
Anyway, I won't continue to share all the details of our lives, but I want you as my friends to sincerely know what life is like right now because I need your prayers. Prayers that I will not lose my first love; prayers that I will be faithful to Pastor my wife and children; prayers that I will not be a Martha, but a Mary; prayers for strength and grace and wisdom. ( A big part of the reason for this post is to make that request for prayer.) This is a busy season and I need help. Be sure not to receive this as whining, complaining, or arrogance, but rather, this is my life and I could use your prayers and any other way you can help in serving the church.
I want to be found stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
I want to be busy about my Father's business.
I want to be laboring as much as anybody, but I want to be laboring in the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you to all of those who watch our kids, thanks to kp for mowing my grass, thanks to Randall who takes soooo much off of my hands and exemplifies true deacon ministry. Thanks to Stephen who adds so much to this ministry and serves this flock well. Thanks to my wife who is a faithful helper to me. Thanks to Vick and Clay who keep the grounds up and Mr. Bill who keeps the flowers up. Thanks to Karen who's been a tremendous blessing as Mrs. Preschool Director and to all the other many servants and teachers who make ministry happen every week.

Just a few more things to get to and I think things will return to normal.
David, we're going to jump on Men's Ministry soon
Get parsonages renovated
Have a leadership training and prep for the fall
work on a formal membership process / recovery of inactive members. (We recently had 7 people complete our membership class and were voted in as new members and we have approx. 15 about to go thru our next new members class)
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this will keep us busy.

Before I go, I want to thank the Lord for Graciously providing laborers for the Harvest, the baptism of Ryan and Will, Ralph's new s.s. class, our women's study that avg. 50 on Monday nights, The young married's new s.s. class, our new H.S. girls teacher, Our new M.S./H.S. boys teacher and Wed. night teacher, potential Wee praise directors, Barbara Riherds Baptism and teaching role in Preschool, our upcoming Children's Musical, our prayer times last night during Natl. day of prayer, The Bibles collected for Ghana, West Africa, and so much more....gotta go for now
Blessings to all and stay posted

Middle School Shout out

2010-04-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited about the work God is doing in and thru our M.S. ministry.
Here's a quick clip Sheila Andrews sent me from this past Wed. nights service Project.

Pastor Jason,

We had a total of 7 students and 3 leaders go tonight to the Parkside Assistant living facility in Starke. I think the students enjoyed it as much as the residents did they said they had fun and want to go back. Their was one 91 year old lady named Laura that had us all laughing like crazy. The girls got to polish one ladies toe nails, another ladies finger nails (in her favorite color hot pink) and fixed one ladies hair. We also met a gentleman named Mr. Wainright who grew up in Starke and at one time was the Sheriff and the park across the road from the facility was named after his mom. Our goal in tonights outreach (visit) was to share the LOVE OF CHRIST!

Next weeks outreach:
Pam knows a woman in Lake Butler that has always been there to help others but now has cancer, she is checking with her this week to see if we can visit her next week maybe taking her a meal or to just visit and let the students take her some baked goods that they make. We talked as a group when we got back tonight and we told the students that we will let them know the final details Sunday before sunday school.
This outreach is in putting to practice the truths they learned thru their recent small group Bible Study "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.
I am so thankful for Pam, Cindy, and Sheila, who are doing such a good job in leading our Middle School students.
I also want to thank our H.S. students who are also investing in the lives of our Middle School students on Wed. and Thurs. afternoon.
Praise God for what He's doing in this area of ministry.

The Power of God

2010-04-18T06:37:00.000-04:00

I am writing down some of the thoughts from my devotions this morning out of the Book "Primal" by Mark Batterson.
I'm writing these in order to reflect, meditate, process, and digest them, and pray that these truths will ultimately bear fruit in my life.
Perhaps, they will serve as some benefit to you as well.

"A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils. A high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems" A.W. Tozer

When the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, Japan on, Aug. 6 1945, the bomb produced so much energy that the glare from the blast would have been visible from Jupiper, roughly 390 million miles away.
the energy produced by that bomb was the by-produce of a subatomic reaction that used only 1% of 2 lbs. of uranium. 1/3 of 1 oz. of uranium was translated into an explosion 2,000 times more powerful than that of any bomb in the history of warfare up to that time.
That's an awful lot of energy in a very, very, small amount of matter.
Question: If that small amount of energy is virtually inconceivable or what if it were 2/3 of 10 oz. of uranium can we even imagine what that blast, that power, that energy would be, and yet God is the master Creator of all energy in the Universe.
Our God...My GOD...My Savior, My Father, My Friend, then One I come to worship this morning, the One I will proclaim this morning, the One whom the choir will be singing about, the One whom my family and I will be worshipping this morning, is the sum of all energy, the creator of all energy, THE ALMIGHTY!
Do not stand in awe of the Atomic Bomb. Do not stand in awe of Nuclear power. Stand in all of the one who Created it!

To take it a step forward and personalize it, listen to Paul's prayer in Eph. 1
Eph 1:19-21

and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

NKJV

"The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead is at work within us."
"Without Him, we can do nothing. With Him, all things are possible."

Is this the truth we are living by today?
Is this the God we are coming to worship today or is this who we are coming in expectation of today?

"Loving God with all our strength is living in His strength. But many of us never flip the switch. We never receive the power He promised. And without His power, we become nothing more than theological Christians"

"The quest for the lost soul of Christianity is about rediscovering the primal energy that sustained the first century Church"

"The word for "strength" that Paul used in his prayer is the same word that Jesus used in the Great Commandment. (Love the LORD thy God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) It refers to supernatural strength beyond your natural ability. The moment you put your faith in Christ the best you can do is no longer the best you can do. The best you can do is the best God can do."

John 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, NKJV

"Billions of Galaxies trace their origin to 4 words"
"If God can create billions of galaxies with 4 words, what can't he do?"

What are you expecting from God today?
What are you expecting God could do in your situation today?

"The same voice that spoke order into chaos at the dawn of creation is still doing it. He can speak order into the chaose of your life. He can speak light into your darkness. He can bring back to life the parts of you that have died and it doesn't even take four words"

Depending on His infinite power:
"I can't do what God has called me to do today. Not in my own strength. But God never calls us to do something we're capable of."

"Most of what God accomplishes through our lives isn't because of us. It's in spite of us"

Identify several, if not many things that you cannot do today. Identify those things that you do not have the strength, wisdom, ability, power, or control to do, and turn it over to God and pray that He will accomplish by His mighty power to the praise of the Glory of His name. In your weakness let His strength be made perfect.

"All of us love miracles. We just don't like being in situations where we need one. But that is a prerequisite. You will never experieince the power of God until you put yourself into a situation that necessitates it."

Let us be conduits of God's power by dependence and faith instead of obstacles to God's power through unbelief and self-dependence.

Question: How do you know if you're doing this or not? Your prayer life is the expression of your dependence on God.

G.K. Chesterton, "How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos"

*Unless otherwise noted all quotes are by Mark Batterson from "Primal: The quest for the lost soul of Christianity"

Excerpts from a "Christian Atheist" part 1

2010-04-13T05:57:00.000-04:00

A collection of underlined thoughts from Chapter 2 of "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel

Title: When you believe in God but not in prayer

"The truth is some Christian Atheists believe in God, but they don't believe n prayer. They might claim to believe prayer works, but their actsion say otherwise. Some rarely pray, and when they do, they don't expect anything to change"

"Admittedly, when prayer becomes an empty, meaningless ritual, it is boring. But when you remember who you're talking to---when you acknowledge that the God of the universe is honestly, truly excited to hear from you---that truth alone will change your attitude toward prayer. Move the focus from yourself onto God..."

"One more excuse for avoiding prayer---and this is the deal breaker for most of us Christian Atheists---is that we just aren't sure our prayers will make a difference. We've tried praying before and nothing seemed to happen. After several failed attempts, praying seems at best ineffective and at worse a waste of time."
Question: Does anyone ever feel this way at a typical church prayer meeting? Just a personal question. Is anyone really expecting something to happen in most church prayer meetings.

Story: "A pastor once asked his church to pray that God would shut down a neighborhood bar. The whole church gathered for an evening prayer meeting, pleading with God to rid the neighborhood of the evils of this bar. A few weeks later, lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. having heard about the church's prayer crusade, the bar owner promptly sued the church. When the court date finally arrived, the bar owner passionately argued that God struck his bar with lightning because of the church members' prayers. The pastor backtracked, brushing off the accusations. He admitted the church prayed, but he also affirmed that no one in his congregation really expected anything to happen. (Ouch)
The judge leaned back in his chair, a mix of amusement and perplexity on his face. Finally he spoke: "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Right in front of me is a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and a pastor who doesn't"

Mark 11:24 Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Of course there are certain biblical conditions to this, but do not miss the point)Heb. 11:6 "For without faith it is impossible to please God for He who comes to God MUST believe that He is; and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him"
Expect the presence of God, Expect the power of God...

Consistent prayer: I Thes. 5:17 "Pray without Ceasing"
Persistent prayer: Luke 18 "Men ought always to pray and not faint"

P.U.S.H.: "Pray Until Something Happens"

Fervent prayer: James 5:16 "The effectual, fervent prayer, of a righteous man avails much"
Confident prayer: I John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence that we have in Him; if we ask anything according to His will we know that He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, then we know that we have the petitions that we ask of Him

Anon. "prayerlessness is practical atheism"

Question: What is the difference between an atheist who doesn't pray and a Christian who doesn't pray?... Nothing.

May we all repent of our prayerless tendencies and glorify God thru strong faith demonstrated in confident, fervent, consistent, prayer.

Do you ever wonder?

2010-04-13T05:16:00.000-04:00

Reflections from "Primal" by Mark Batterson

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. Albert Einstein

"The very first revelation of God in Genesis is that of an Artist. And the very first reaction recorded is HIS reaction to HIS creation. Like an artist at the unveiling of his own masterpiece, God steps back at the end of each creation day to look at what He has made. His reaction? God saw that it was GOOD.
That simple refrain is repead each day until the sixth day. Then God steps way back to survey the full scope of creation. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. His primal reaction is wonderment at His own work."
Do you still wonder? ...

"The sunrise is so consistent that we take it for granted, but few things are as miraculous as the celestial dance that takes place on a daily basis. Our planet spins around its axis at a speed of 1,000 mph. And while our planet does a 360 every 24 hrs., it is alos hurling through space at an unimaginable speed of 67,000 mph. You may not have any big plans for today, but you will travel 1.6 million miles in your annual lap around the sun. And to top it off, the Milky Way galaxy is spinning at approx. 490,000 mph. It takes the Milky Way 200 million yrs. to make one full revolution."

We do not have to go to Wild Adventures, Universal, or Six Flags to get a thrill. We simply need to behold the glory of God in every sunrise and sunset, every rotation of the earth, every starlit night, and every look into the Heavens and allow it to create in us the Primal state of Wonder and Worship.
The great commandment is to love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind...Agreed?
Part of loving God with all of our soul (the seat of our emotions), is found in seeing the wonder of God; and stepping back and saying O God You are Good! You did a really, really, good job today. Bravo!
Do you ever Wonder?

Check out this passage of wonder in Psalm 29
Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty
A Psalm of David.
1 Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The LORD is over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood,
And the LORD sits as King forever.
11 The LORD will give strength to His people;
The LORD will bless His people with peace.
NKJV

You may not understand some of the verbage, but it's not about understanding the pictures, it's about understanding the passion for God and His Glory and to stand in Awe of His greatness and respond with an overwhelming emotion of wonder and praise and love that joins in with all who are in His temple and Proclaim "Glory!" "Bravo!", The LORD is Good, the LORD is powerful, The LORD is my Lord!

"Nikola Tesla was one of history's most prodigious inventors. Tesla was granted more than 100 U.S. patents. His most famous---for alternating current---is the power system that supplies our homes with easy access to electrival power via aoutlets. Every time you flip a switch, you owe Tesla a thank you. Tesla had an idiosyncratic personality, but one ritual in particular is both revealing and inspiring. During thunderstorms, he would sit on a couch near a window in his home. Every time lightning struck and thunder claapped, Tesla would rise to his feet and applaud God.
Do you ever wonder?...

"For the record, there are approx. 2,000 thunderstoms somewhere on planet Earth at any given time. And there are appors. 100 lightning strikes per second, or 8.64 million lightning strikes per day! That is a lot of standing ovations. But according to the psalmist, the angels shout, "Encore!" after each one...
When was the last time you gave Him a standing ovation? "

Prayer and the Gospel, Part 1

2010-04-12T07:13:00.000-04:00

On Sunday nights we have been studying thru the Book of I Timothy and last night we came to Ch. 2:1-8.
I want to write about this message because I know the emphasis that Paul placed on the truth in this passage has not yet taken root in my spirit and will not bear fruit in my life unless I continue to cultivate it in my life. I do not want to move forward this morning in another book or with another truth, but I want to grasp the heart of the Apostle as he communicates the priority of "Prayer and The Gospel"

1 Tim 2:1-7
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle -- I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying -- a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
NKJV

Background and Context: The Foundation for Paul's 1st letter to Timothy is found in chapter 3:15
1 Tim 3:14-16
These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
NKJV
Paul has left Timothy to serve as an apostolic authority in the organization and oversight of the Church in Ephesus. Timothy had serve with Paul for approx. 15 yrs. at this point and Paul felt there was no other disciple who shared his mind as did his true son in the faith, Timothy.

So, Paul is writing to instruct Timothy on the necessary conduct of the church of the living God who IS the pillar and ground of Truth.

The Brief Synopsis of Chapter 1 is Paul's comforting and charging Timothy as he stands for the Truth of the Gospel. The heart of chapter 1 is connected to the theme that the church of the living God IS the pillar and ground of truth. Paul's exhortation to Timothy is Stand for the truth, Stand against false teachers, stand always for The Gospel. In v. 12-17 Paul pauses to praise God for the power of the Gospel in His own life. (Why not do that sometime today yourself?) In v.18-20 Paul commissions Timothy again with a charge to wage a good warfare for the truth. Holding on to "The Faith" and having a good conscience as it pertains to the truth.
Note: Before we transition into chapter 2 make sure you feel the heartbeat of Chapter 1. The church is the Pillar and Ground of truth and our message is the GOSPEL. Our Hope, our rejoicing, our glory, is in the Gospel! Paul's passion is rooted in the fact that the hope of the nations is found in the Gospel of the Glory of God in Jesus Christ.
Now read Chapter 2 in this context:
1 Tim 2:1-5
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
NKJV

Therefore: refers back to what was said in v.18-20. Paul is connecting the necessity of prayer as it relates to waging a war for the truth and the proclamation and progression of the Gospel.

I exhort: this is not a command that comes from from a king or a position of authority, rather Paul uses a word which means to plead. Paul is coming along side of Timothy and pleading with him to pray, pray, pray, for all men, kings, all who are in authority...for the sake of the Gospel.

first of all: The Priority of prayer and the Gospel. *This is where I have to stop and examine my heart and demonstrate repentance in my life.
Paul pleads with Timothy that above all things you pray, pray, pray, for all men that they would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Illustration: Notice how this truth is illustrated in the life of the Apostle Paul in Romans 9-10
Rom 9:1-4
I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,4 who are Israelites, NKJV
Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved NKJV

This is the account of Paul's passion in prayer for the Gospel and the Jews. However, he not only had this passion for the Jews, but he also labored in prayer for the salvation of the Gentiles to whom he was called to be a minister of the Gospel.

Application:
Do we have this kind of passion for the salvation of all men?
Does this passion express itself thru supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for ALL men (seeing that God desires [Greek: thelo "a wish or desire that arises from one's emotions] all men to be saved and come to the knowlege of the truth)?
Is prayer and the Gospel to all men "first of all" in my life?

The answer I regret to say is an overwhelming no. However, I do not plan to stay this way. I have seen the error of my way and repentance is in my heart that I might be found a faithful minister of the Gospel beginning "first of all" with prayer for all men.

Who will you be praying for today? (I would love to hear your responses to this question)
Today, my heart is for the black and hispanic community in Lake Butler. My hearts desire and prayer for them is that God would allow us to reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that they would become disciples of Christ thru FBC Lake Butler.

I know this is but a small portion of Paul's exhortation, but this is my first step of repentance.
Please pray for me and with me as I seek to be obedient in this area.

I want to leave you with a quote from The Puritan Pastor Richard Baxter as we focus on developing a desire to see all men saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

O, if you have the hearts of Christians, let them yearn toward your poor ignorant ungodly neighbors. Alas, there is but a step betwixt them and death and hell. Many hundred diseases are waiting ready to seize on them, and if they die unregenerate, they are lost forever. Have you hearts of rock that cannot pity men in such a case as this? If you believe not the Word of God and the danger of sinners, why are you Christians yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not bestir yourself to the helping of others? Do you not care who is damned as long as you are saved? If so, you have sufficient cause to pity yourselves, for it is a frame of spirit utterly inconsistent with grace. Dost thou live close by them...or meet them in the streets...or labor with them...or travel with them...or sit and talk with them and say nothing to them of their souls or the life to come? If their houses were on fire, thou wouldst run and help them and wilt thou not help them when their souls are almost at the fire of hell?

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T22:26:00.000-04:00

Just keeping it short and simple I wanted to make a few comments about this weekend.

First of all I want to praise God who according to His infinite wisdom has created a master plan which included the creation of man for the purpose of knowing Him and glorifying Him forever. I thank God for ordaining that I be born into His world and for every good and perfect gift He has graciously allowed me to enjoy over these 36 yrs. (which are also a gift from Him). Though created in the image of God and for His glory because of "The Fall" every man is born an enemy of God, a sinner, a rebel, children of darkness, disobedience, and the devil, and abides under the Righteous, Just, wrath of God against criminals (lawbreakers, sinner, you and I!) However, God, according to the good pleasure of His will and to the praise of the glory of His grace, set forth His Son as a propitiation for my sins. He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for me, he placed my sins on Him and the sins of all His people and God poured out His wrath on His Son, that my sins would be forgiven and I could be declared "Not Guilty"/Justified in His sight and that I would be reconciled to Him. On the 3rd day he rose again for my Justification. He placed the blood on the mercy seat and Heaven and placated the wrath of God. The veil was torn, the access was given, and I have been raised w/ Him to sit in Heavenly places. O I could say so much more about the Glorious Gospel and the Glory of My precious God Jesus Christ. But this is the foundation of what this weekend means to me. So first and foremost I worship my Lord for the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ who died for my sins, according to the scripture, was buried, and rose again the third day.

Secondly, I want to praise God for His grace in our church in that we have a Worship Pastor, a Worship leading choir, Sound men, band, and an abundance of gifted singers for the purpose of making His Praise Glorious. I sincerely give thanks to God for this and do not take it for Granted. Thanks be to God for the garment of praise He has clothed us in and for the worshippers He has developed for His glory. I love worshipping with the family at FBC.

Thirdly, I thank God for all the people I didn't know today. I want all of my friends to know the joy I have as I think of all the people, especially in the second service that I didn't know, but I got to preach the GOSPEL, w/ all my heart, and plead with them this one time. Who knows what God might do. Please pray w/ me for the all the faces you have not seen or do not know that were here and heard the word of God. Pray that God would give the increase, that the word would bring forth fruit in their life, that they would be protected from the tempter, the Holy Spirit would be poured out on them, and they would be born again to the Glory of God. Let it be so, Lord Jesus, in Your name we pray. (Please pray God's will to pass, be a partaker in the work of God, and share in the Thanksgiving that will be offered by many)
I usually know most people, but I was know where close today.
I am very thankful that God graced us with around 460 in attendance.
Yes I am grateful for a great crowd. I love the privilege to minister to masses. It is a wonderful blessing that God allows us this kind of opportunity to share His Gospel and Glory. Lord, give us more.

It was a great day and I thank the Lord for such a blessed day.
Live in the reality of the resurrection!
Heb. 13:20-21

P.S.
I am not proof reading this so it may be rough. Out of time.

Trip to Lifeway

2010-03-30T10:15:00.000-04:00

Last night while Nancy and I were having our date night I stopped by "Lifeway" to buy Nancy a new book for her devotional time. By the way, I would encourage husbands who are seeking to disciple your family to provide your wife with resources that you think would be helpful in her spiritual development. Nancy is definitely capable of selecting her own material, but she trusts me as the spiritual leader with suggesting material that I think would be beneficial to her. She told me she wanted to focus on prayer and so I went in for the purpose of finding a couple of good options on prayer. (If your anticipating a great story or testimony right now, stop, because that's not what happened). Rather, what happened is what almost always happens when I go into a Christian bookstore; I go in looking for one thing and come out with a bunch of things. Does anyone else seem to have this problem? I am a sucker for books! I lack self control. I confess! Is it okay to lack self control when it comes to buying Christian material for the feeding of your soul and your spiritual development? (Not that I already have many books from the last visits to the Christian Bookstore or websites that I haven't read yet, that I had to have the last time I justified the investment to the expansion of my personal library.)
So anyway, I did it, I broke down, I came out with more than I went in for and I just wanted to share my new purchases. If you really love reading, new books are like new toys, you want to tell people about them and take them all out...so anyway. Here's what I got.
A.W. Tozer: The Pursuit of Man
A.W. Tozer: The Purpose of Man
Jerry Bridges: "The Discipline of Grace" *Remember that one Brian! Remember the one I bought you that time; that you so enjoyed. (BTW, this will tell me if you are reading my blog posts...I expect a comment)
Francis Chan: Forgotten God (Bela has already snatched...Nancy was a little bitter about this, but I told her I would by her another one.)
Craig Groeschel: The Christian Atheist *I am so excited about this book. I hope I am not let down. I love the title and the subject matter. Caption: Believeing in God but living as If He doesn't Exist.
Philip Yancey: Prayer (Does it really make a difference)
Billy Hybels: Too busy not to pray
Jim Cymbala: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (I love this book on prayer!)
A new DVD on the story of Ruth (Family Night)
DVD's on the Case for Christ and the Case for Faith (I want the kids to watch these with me)
Bringing your kids to Christ and 20 things I need to tell my wife (2 small books)

So there you have it, a typical trip to Lifeway for me.

BTW...I did achieve my purpose, I did offer Nancy several books on prayer. She has chosen to begin with "The Pursuit of Man" and "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire"

If you have read any of these books and would like to comment I would love to hear what you have to say. I will try to share with you my thoughts about these materials as I go thru them.

Hope your finding time to give attendance to reading and to apply your heart to knowledge and instruction. Prov. 23:23 "Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding."

How to fight the battle against sin in our lives

2010-03-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

This is a video clip used to provoke thoughts concerning the intense battle we have with indwelling sin.
I have posted below the video a link to the 2 full-length messages preached by John Piper on "How to make war against sin" These messages can be read or listened to on-line. If you are serious about Holiness and victory over sin, or if you need to get serious about a life of holiness then I encourage you to listen to these messages.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2002/

This message might change your life!

2010-03-16T06:26:00.001-04:00

I listened to this message this morning by the grace of God. I pass it along to you because of it's foundational message concerning the Purpose of God for the universe, His church, and especially YOUR LIFE.
This message should change your life. I must admit that in order for it to bring forth its full fruit in my life I must spend more time in meditation, examination, and supplication concerning the truths it contained.
Dear friends, I implore you to set aside all potential for distraction and pray for God to reveal and develop this truth in you for the glory of God.
David Platt: Extravagant Grace, Extravagant Glory: Psalm 67
http://www.chbcaudio.org/audio/2010/03-14-10.mp3

Lessons from Peter and John on Witnessing

2010-03-15T17:15:00.001-04:00

Acts 4:5-22
And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked,"By what power or by what name have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,16 saying,"What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.19 But Peter and John answered and said to them,"Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
NKJV

I want to pull a few thoughts out of this text that I heard in a message last week for your meditation.

What can we learn from Peter and John on how to faithfully proclaim the Gospel?

I. The Empowerment for sharing the Gospel.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
The word of God specifically notes before Peter shares with boldness that there was a significant factor contributing to His ability to share; He was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with Power from on High.
Acts 1:8 "And you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses"

Witnessing is dependent upon the filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Are you filled with the Holy Spirit today? Could that be the reason for your inability to share your faith?
Peter certainly struggled to Testify of Christ before he was filled with the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact he was so weak and afraid in His flesh that He denied that he even knew Him. Let this be a reminder of our need for the filling of the Holy Spirit each moment for the purpose of sharing Christ with the world.

II. The Evidence for Sharing the Gospel.
If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

In this passage the healing of a lame man gave evidence to the power of Christ and set the stage for Peter and John to bear witness that Jesus was the Risen Christ.

Question: What evidence is on display in our lives and in our churches today that give us the opportunity to share the testimony of Christ?

The scripture speaks that we give evidence of the power of the Gospel and the risen Christ through the power of God in our lives producing love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodnees, faithfulness, and self-control.
The scripture teaches that men will see our good works and glorify our Father who is in Heaven. What evidence would be found in your life, in your family, in your church, that would give you an opportunity to let it be known to all, that what you see is the result of the power of Jesus Christ.

III. The Experience for sharing the Gospel.
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

The text says that the hearers marveled at the way Peter and John gave witness because they were uneducated and untrained men. Then without knowing the referenced where the source of their testimony came from..."they had been with Jesus"

In this verse we see that it is not instruction that you need to share Jesus with others, but Intimacy.
It is not more education that is necessary for us to be effective in sharing Jesus with others, it is more experience with the Lord Jesus.

This goes all the way back to the invitation Jesus gave some young fishermen on the shore of Galilee.
"Follow ME and I will make you to become fishers of men"

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit today? If not, Why? Eph. 5:18 "Be being filled with the Spirit"
Is there evidence of God at work in your life that will afford you the opportunity to share with others what Jesus has done in your life?
Do you have a story to tell others because you have been with Jesus? All anyone needs in order to share Jesus is a personal experience that comes from a personal walk with Him.

Let me hear your thoughts.

Worship: The Ultimate Priority #1

2010-03-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

Wow! What an incredible day yesterday as we focused out attention and our affections on the worship of our God. I thank God for the preaching and the leadership of Terry Williams Director of the Dept. of Music and Worship for the Florida Baptist Convention. I am thankful for the Grace of God in sharing His word with us that we might learn what His priority is and how we can most effectively accomplish that for His Glory and our Satisfaction. Lastly, I want to thank God for His Mercy and Grace extended toward us thru the Precious Holy Spirit to reveal His Glory to us, to dwell with us, to enable us to come into His presence, by the blood of Jesus, and worship Him. To God be the Glory.

Here are a few things I want to encourage you to ponder as you grow in this grace of worship:

1. Keep the Main thing the Main thing.
What is the main thing?
Mt. 22:37 "Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all you mind.' This is the FIRST and great commandment"

Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. BUT ONE things is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which whill not be taken away from her. (v.40 Mary sat at Jesus feet and heard His word)

Rev. 2:2 "I know your works, your labor, ...Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your FIRST love."
There is a Biblical Chronology of Priority: Worship, Walk, Work, in that order.

*Prioritize worshipping God this week by loving Him with your will, your Desires, your emotions, your effections, and your intellect. Sit at His feet, pour out your love, praise, thanksgiving, and sacrifice unto Him.

I Peter 2:5 "you also...a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifics acceptable to God thru our Lord Jesus Christ"
Heb 13:5 "Therefore by Him let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually which is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."
Ps. 100:1 "Make a joyful shout to the LORD...serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing...enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courst with Praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name."

Continue in the words which you heard this Sunday until they have brought forth the fruit of worship in your life.
John 4:23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him"

Mark 14:3-9 Mary pours out on the Lord Jesus an alabaster box of oil worth 1 yrs. wages and worshiped Him. The Lord Jesus said she had done a "beautiful" work and that wherever the gospel is preached this shall be a memorial to her. The link between this story and the gospel is she is illustrating the very essence of the Gospel. The Gospel reconciles us unto God that we may sit at His feet, know Him, touch Him, love Him, and worship Him. Is that what the Gospel has done for you?
Accountability:
I want to ask those of you who have time and are able to comment on what steps you have taken to be a worshipper this week. What kind of committment have you made to live a life of worship. I am looking forward to hearing from you, as well as, others who are reading the blog as well.

Christy Nockels: A Mighty Fortress

2010-03-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

I want to make everyone aware of a singer whose music ministers to me and leads me to worship my God. Her name is Christy Nockels if you don't have any of her stuff go check it out.
Here's her Song: "A Mighty Fortress"

Building Faith at Home #1

2010-03-09T14:49:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday night I shared a visionary message about our committment to building faith at home and how multigenerational faith is formed best within the structure of the family. This concept has been abandoned to a large degree as the church has taken a much larger role in the spiritual formation of our children. I believe the church is a great instrument in the evangelization and discipleship of our children and students, but I do not believe the church is the primary instrument; that is reserved for parents and grandparents. This uncharted territory for many of our families may seem overwhelming or even hopeless. I encourage you to take heart. This is a principle we are committing to for the long haul and over the next few months we are going to continually provide training and assistance for our families as we embark on this journey of building faith at home. One of the tools that I will use is making resources available thru the blog. Please check back regularly for continued instruction, motivation, and innovation. In the video I've posted below you will find simple, yet practical, methods for passing your faith along. Keep me informed of your progress!

Do you desire God?

2010-03-06T16:04:00.003-05:00

Sermon Prep or worship

2010-03-04T10:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was one of those days where everything was a struggle.
I woke up at 5:15, came over to the church, started the coffee, and got ready to start my day in God's Word, Prayer, and worshipping in His presence.
My first obstacle was my mind was running everywhere thinking about all the things that had to be done that day. I tried to read a chapter in the book I am reading on Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength(Primal by Mark Batterson), but I really struggled with focus.
My second obstacle was "Fatigue"! Man, I was sooo sleepy yesterday morning. This really affects your ability to comprehend as you read, as well as, to pray with fervency. This was definitely one of those morning where I could fall asleep praying. So, I tried singing, I tried walking (too cold), I tried it all, but to no avail. Finally, I went home at 7:00 to get the kids up for school having not really gotten into God's word, or having "really" prayed or worshipped. I did my best, but I was starting to feel discouraged and overwhelmed; I really needed that window to count because Wed. is sermon prep day.
So, I get back into the office, and if any of you can identify with this, once you get in the office, it's hard to have "Quiet Time". E-mails, Phone calls, projects, etc...but I continue to strive to just spend time with God because I know that without Him I can do nothing. If anything of eternal value is to happen tonight at church it will be thru prayer and not my ability to prepare a sermon and speak.
Before I know it I've just concluded a 43 min. conversation with Randall over ministry issues and margin for sermon prep time is now slim to none; but I still just want to meet with God not prepare a sermon. Do you ever have moments like this? Where you really battle between do I go ahead and do what needs to be done or do I clear the schedule and just spend time with God? I tend to have these fairly often. I guess I'm just a pretty strong believer on everything flows out of the time you spend at His feet, the time you spend pursuing the Vine, and that when you keep this the priority God seems to add to you everything else. (I do want to insert here that I am not legalistic about the blessings of God and I know that God blesses many times in spite of us, and that his blessings are of Grace. But Grace also flows thru Divinely ordained means).
So, I made my decision, I don't care about preparing the message, I will trust God for that, I NEED GOD! So, I think about all the resources available to stir my heart with the word of God and I'm looking for something specific now. Something you need to learn when choosing reading or listening material is that there are certain writers, speakers, and books of the Bible that focus on specific needs. My need wasn't so much doctrinal, ecclesiological, instructional, as I needed something worshipful. The Glory of God! I remembered KP telling me about a message he had listened to by David Platt (whom I had never listened to) about "where the Glory dwells". That sounded like just what I wanted to hear. Over the next 59 minutes I listened to God's word and it changed my day. It stirred my soul. It was the greatest thing that happened to me the entire day! Those thoughts changed my heart toward God, they overflowed into my worship at church last night, and they continue to renew my mind today. Sermon Prep would not have done that; only sitting at His feet. There is a great lesson to be learned in the difference between ministering for Him and ministering to Him. My heart this morning is to share with you the lesson in my life of when to work for Him and when to worship before Him.
May God bless you as you worship.

Here is the link to the message I listened to by David Platt.
http://www.brookhills.org/audio/276/CHRONICLE-PART1-6_AUD.mp3

Ramblings

2010-03-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

Too tired to post a devotion so I thought I would just share some thoughts.

Started reading "Primal" this morning. It is the new Book by Mark Batterson Author of "Wild Goose Chase" and "In a pit with a lion on a Snowy day" The emphasis is on taking Christianity back to its simplest form. "Love the LORD your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength"
Do we overcomplicate it sometimes? Do we get wrapped up sometimes doing so much for Him instead of just being with Him. I know I do.
I listed a quote on Twitter today that kind of summed up what God spoke to me about today.
Mark Batterson wrote "I've discovered when I've lost my way spiritually, the way forward is often backward"
Can you look back on your walk with God and remember special seasons of Love for God.
I wrote down some things today.
I remember lights off, two candles burning, and a radio playing worship songs as I was at total peace in the presence of my God and Christianity was at it's primal stage. Loving God with all my heart.
I remember waking up one of the first Easter mornings after becoming a Christian and driving down to the boat ramp and sitting at the waters edge shouting praises to the God of Creation and the Savior of my soul.
I thought back on the times where our worship Pastor and my cousin Garrett would go in the sanctuary and get in the presence of God and worship and pray with all our might. We would call out on God, we would pray over one another, we would walk the aisles and pray, we would pray over the choir loft, and just get lost in the presence of God, and that was Christianity.
There are many more situations that I could write of, but the point is, this is Christianity in its primal form and I don't ever want to get away from just being in Love with the God who is in love with me.
I love you Father. I love you Jesus. I love you Holy Spirit.
You are my Glory and Song. You are my joy; my delight.
You are my Dearly Beloved and I worship you.

Amazing Truth

2010-02-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

Do not rush thru this!

Heb 8:1-2
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
NKJV

The Book of Hebrews is a declaration of the Supremacy of Christ in all things.
He is better than the Prophets, Angels, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and much more is identified in the letter.
In our context He is demonstrating the Supremacy of the Priesthood of Christ over the Aaronic Priesthood. There is much that I could say about the far exceeding greatness of His priesthood (you can get that info. thru the Hebrews sermon series available on our website), but I want to glory in one stated in our verse above.

The Writer(believed to be Paul) goes back to his main point in this section on the Supremacy of the Priesthood of Christ and He tells them that they(Believers in Palestine) now have a Great High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens. What Priest had they ever known from Aaron's seed that could sit down in the Heavenly Sanctuary and specifically at the Right Hand of the Throne! If a sinful priest had tried to do that they would have been killed on the spot. They couldn't even go into the Holiest of All in the tabernacle on earth without offering blood for their ownselves and even then they had to hope the sacrifice would be acceptable and they would not die in the presence of God. But This Priest, after the order of Melchizedek, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins sat down forever at the right hand of God.
Which priest, which Mediator, would you choose? One who has to offer sins for himself, one who has to offer sacrifices over and over again, one whose work was never done, or one whose work is finished and is approved of Jehovah to sit at His right hand. I choose that Priest! Everytime...with Joy...I choose Jesus by the Grace of God. (Which was His exhortation and point) BUT WAIT! There's more.

I asked the question who in the world have you ever known who could sit down at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens? Nobody, right? Nobody but Jesus! Look again. The New Testament says that you and I are sitting at the right hand of the throne of God in Christ.
Eph 2:4-7 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, NKJV
Eph 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," NKJV
Col 3:1-4 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Listen, We are in Him, and He is where? Seated at the right hand of the Throne of God.
That's where we are seated and accepted by God thru Him. Hard to believe?
Check this out...
Rev. 1:4 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. NKJV
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, NKJV

The scripture declares that you and I are priests. We are allowed access to God to offer sacrifices (Heb. 13:15; I Peter 2:5)
However, we are not only priests (which is amazing in itself) we are called a Royal Priesthood, we are said to be Kings and Priests. We are Kings and Priests because we sit at the Right hand of the throne of the Majesty on High in the King of Kings. This is the Truth! This is what makes Grace so Amazing and the Gospel so Glorious!

But that's not all...Right now this is our Position and we abide their by faith...But one day faith will become sight and Position will become Practice. Here it is described.
Rev 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. NKJV
One day we shall sit with the Master in the Heavens at the Right hand of God, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with the greatest Joy any world has ever known, and we shall sing a new song, Worthy! Worthy! Worthy! is the Lamb that was Slain who has redeemed us out of every kindred, tongue, and nation. Amen and Amen.

God is in control

2010-02-25T10:13:00.003-05:00

Luke 22:7-12
Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."
9 So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"
10 And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready." NKJV

I was listening to a message yesterday and was really blessed by the glimpse of Sovereignty revealed in this passage.

In this passage Jesus sends Peter and John ahead to prepare for the Passover Meal; (what would become known as "The Last Supper" Jesus would share with His disciples.)

He tells Peter and John that when they come to the city a man will meet them carrying a pitcher of water. He then tells them to Follow him into the house, find the master of the house, tell him "The Teacher" asks for the Guest room, and there prepare the supper.

Additional Note: Why didn't Jesus just tell Peter and John where the house was since he already knew? Perhaps because Judas Iscariot was with them and this would have enabled him to betray Jesus, and the Soldiers/Chief Priests would have sought to arrest Him before the appointed time. Therefore Jesus knowing this ordained that things should be done in this way though it may have been confusing to Peter and John.

So, Jesus sends Peter and John to do something and He is absolutely in control of everything. He knows who they need to run into, where they need to go, and why it needs to happen in this specific way.

The lesson in this passage is that when God asks you to do something, when God sends you on a mission, or when God sends you thru something; He may not tell you why He's doing what He's doing, but you can be absolutely sure that He is working all things according to the good pleasure of His will, according to His Father's perfect timing, and out in your future he knows every person you need to meet and every resource you need provided.

O that God would reveal to each of us that He is just as in control of our lives today and how they relate to His plans and purposes as He was in the lives of Peter and John.

Why was Jesus Baptized?

2010-02-20T23:59:00.004-05:00

As we are studying thru the Gospel of Mark on Sunday morning we have come to the Baptism of Jesus. This is a very important event in the life and ministry of Jesus and there are many significant aspects of this account. But one of the most difficult questions to answer is: "Why did Jesus need to be baptized?" If John's baptism was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mk. 1:4) and Jesus had no sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Peter 3:18) then why did He have to be baptized.

Matt 3:13-15 (provides us with a little further insight.)
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. " NKJV

Jesus said His baptism was necessary "to fulfill all righteousness"; to do everything that was right according to God and His Word.
Here are the answers that I would give you and I certainly welcome any other answers or insights that you may have.

1. John's Baptism was a commandment from God and Jesus as a man was to live in perfect obedience to God's law and though he had no sin of his own He was in absolute obedience to God's law.

2. I believe the baptism of Jesus is symbolic of His work on the cross. In being baptized he is identifying with the sinners for whom He will die. He is not baptized for his own sins, He will not die for His own sins, but for the sinners with whom he has come to identify with. He will then rise from the depths of the dead and bring salvation to all who believe. I believe this work of salvation is symbolized in Jesus Baptism.

3. There is one other thought or answer that is given and that is that Jesus was baptized because He had to fulfill the legal requirements for entering into the priesthood. For further explanation
of this answer please click on the link below.
www.carm.org/questions/why-was-jesus-baptized

How to pray when you're tired

2010-02-20T07:29:00.004-05:00

Have any of you discovered the obstacle of fatigue in your prayer life?  For example, It's 10:00 p.m., the day is over, the kids are in bed, the house is clean, and you sense a need to spend 1/2 hour in communion with the Father before you go to bed. However, the spirit is willing, but the flesh indeed is weak.  You are so tired all you want to do is go to sleep and even if you did try to pray your mind wanders or you drift off while you're praying. This also applies to our morning prayers as well. To those of you who do not get enough sleep at night, or you are not a morning person, drowsiness and fatigue, hinder your prayer life and bring a burden of guilt because of the deficiency in your prayer life. I can identify with all of these feelings and more. I want to share with you just a few simple things that I have learned to do to overcome the obstacle of fatigue in prayer.

1. Walk and pray- One of the best things to do when you know you are tired or distracted in your prayer time is to have a prayer walk. You can either go outside or simply pace back in forth in your room, but remaining active will keep you alert and enable you to spend that much needed time in prayer.
2. Sing and pray-  This is a really helpful tool for me.  Singing is helpful in several ways.
Singing renews our mind to the Glory of God and His Grace. These truths excite our inner man and this joy of the Lord is Strength in which we need for prayer.
I believe when we sing and praise the Lord in faith that the armies of heaven are released and God's presence comes to us and we are renewed for the battle. This is illustrated throughout the O.T. (II Chr. 20) and The N.T. (Acts 16)
Lastly, when we sing we create adrenaline and our bodies begin to break through the wall of fatigue and we produce the energy needed physically to pray fervently.
*Sometimes I have to take a prayer drive to do this.
3. Write your prayers- Sometimes the only way for me to press thru distractions and fatigue is to pray verbally with passion and fervency. However, my circumstances do not always allow me to do that. You may be in an office environment, perhaps someone is asleep in the other room, whatever it may be. Therefore, I encourage you to write your prayers. You can be as fervent as you want and it will help you to stay focused as you pray.
4. Prayer Partner-  There are times when you need to call someone to meet you for prayer because you simply will not pray unless you have this form of accountability. Do not feel guilty for having to do this.  I can't explain our weakness but sometimes just having someone there praying with you is all you need to be devoted to prayer. Eccl. 4:9-10 "Two are better than one, for it the one shall fall the other shall lift him up"

These are just some of the tools I have learned to battle the enemy of fatigue and the weakness of the flesh.
If you find these suggestions helpful or if you have some methods that you have found useful in being devoted to prayer, please share those in the comment section.
Pray On!

Is my life to be Pitied?

2010-02-16T10:03:00.002-05:00

The Apostle Paul writes in I Cor. 15:19 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable"

If you are familiar with this text then you know that I Cor. 15 is hailed by many as the greatest discourse on the doctrine of "The Resurrection" in all of scripture.

In the text above Paul is saying that if the resurrection of Christ did not happen, and in this life your only hope is Christ, then you are to be pitied.

Hang in here with me...
Why would I be pitied? Why would you be pitied? Why does Paul draw the conclusion that if there is no resurrection then Christians are to be most pitied?
Don't Miss This!
"Because in this life they had lost everything!"
Matt 10:39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Paul was saying, If there was no resurrection it would be of unspeakable consequence that we would still be in our sins, we would not be reunited with loved ones, and most of all we would not be with our God and Savior.
But there is an added misery to the Christian if there is no resurrection in that he not only would miss eternal life, but he wasted this one as well. (Read I Cor. 15:30-32 for additional note)

My question to you today is: Would this be true of many Christians today?

If there were no resurrection (speaking hypothetically as did Paul), would most "Christians" lives today be described as... "to be pitied" because they lost their lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel? Would they be considered by many the "most pitiable" because they were not lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (2 tim. 3:2); they did not love the world and the things of the world (I Jn 2:15); they laid down their lives and took up the cross daily(Mt. 16:24); they loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength,(Mt. 22:37); and were stedfast, unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord? (I Cor. 15:58)
Or
Would most "Christians" lives be described as "not too bad". Hypothetically, If it didn't work out in the end, they didn't miss out on anything, they pretty much lived like everyone else. Nothing lost.

If this is true, I believe this is an indictment against Christianity.
Paul expresses that the natural conclusion for a Christian is that they were to be most pitied because of the Heavenly minded, God Centered, Christ centered, Gospel centered, self-sacrificing, others serving, life that they would live.

Consider: If there were no resurrection, would my life be pitied? What about yours?

In conclusion, Paul goes on to say, "But now Christ is risen", and we know there is a resurrection, and there is forgiveness for sins, and the hope of reunion, and glorified bodies, and the eternal presence of the Lord!
But what about our lives here? What about our window of preparation for eternity?

Luke 12:16-21
"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.19 And I will say to my soul,"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
NKJV

May we all live in the light of the resurrection and the eternal and be found rich toward God on that Day.

Seeing People

2010-02-13T08:19:00.005-05:00

How will you see the people you come in contact with today, tomorrow, or next week? How do you currently view the people who you are in contact with at work, at the ball field, at church, closest friends and family members? Thru what lens do you view them?

*Please slow down and contemplate the question and answer which I set before you today, as it is one of staggering reality and essential to our Biblical worldview.

The following is a quote taken from a message on the life of C.S. Lewis.
May God open our eyes to properly see people.

"Finally, Lewis’s conception of our final and eternal Joy in the presence of God, and what an unspeakable wonder that will be, enables him to stand in God-exalting awe of what it means to be human. He has helped me rise above my petty complaints and see people—at least from time to time—as the staggering wonders that they are in the image of God.

C.S. Lewis
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. . . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." 51

Hold Fast to the Word of God

2010-02-11T10:21:00.002-05:00

This message was preached by John Piper during prayer week at Bethlehem Baptist Church.

It appears that John Piper reads the entire book of Philippians as his text, but he was actually quoting the entire book from memory.

He went on to a preach a message entitled: "Holding Fast the Word of life"

Here are some concluding statements he made that I pray will simply motivate you to spend more time in God's word and that in doing so you will shine as lights in the world.

"God has brought you here today so that he could tell you through my voice: I have an invitation for you. I have a gift for you. I give you my very word. It give it to you. Take it in 2010. Take it and hold fast to it. It is your life. Your light.

Hold Fast the Word
Hold fast to it for the sake of faith. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17).

Hold fast to it for the sake of your joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Hold fast to it for the sake of your freedom. “If you abide in my word . . . and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

Hold fast to it for the sake of your holiness. “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Hold fast to it for the sake of the Holy Spirit. “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5)?

Hold fast to it for the sake of life. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Hold fast to it for the sake of strength and stability and fruitfulness. Your delight will be “in the law of the Lord, and on his law you will meditate day and night. You will be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that you do you will prosper” (Psalms 1:2–3).

Give Yourself to the Word
God has a gift for you in 2010. An infinitely valuable gift—his word. Receive it. Hold it fast. Give yourself to it. Amen. "

To listen listen, read, or watch the entire message click on the following link:
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTitle/4465_Holding_Fast_the_Word_of_Life_in_2010/

Pursuing God

2010-02-06T08:22:00.013-05:00

Do you ever have those moments where the Spirit of God makes God so real to you that you feel like you are before His throne? You feel that you are in His very presence; that you are fellowshipping with Him in your Spirit; you feel as though you could reach out and touch Him. His presence overwhelms you, Faith is erupting, you feel as though as you are praying the answers are being confirmed, one burden after another being transferred from your Spirit into God's hands and the peace of God that passes understanding is feeling your heart and mind! These are those times when I feel like Peter on the mount of transfiguration and I want to say "Lord, it is good for us to be here, can we just stay here." I hope you can identify with what I am talking about.

Let me ask you another question. Do you ever have times like that and you say, "O, why don't I do this more often! This is so sweet, this is what it's all about, this is knowing God, O God I taste you and I want more!"
My burden this morning is that I/we settle way too often for a form of Christianity that does not experience the Living Christ.
I want to call you to a renewed Pursuit of the presence of God and to experience the goal of the Gospel. As John Piper puts it, "GOD is the Gospel"

The Lord Jesus prayed and described salvation like this in John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may KNOW YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent"
The Apostle John wrote in I John 1:4 "Truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ." Can you and I emphatically say this?
The Apostle Paul wrote in Phil. 3:8 "I count all things as loss for excellency of KNOWING CHRIST!"
Peter writes concerning the Gospel in I Peter 3:18 "Christ also suffered once for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us TO GOD" ...That we might know GOD...Intimately, as He did.

GOD is the Gospel!

I want to share with you a message that communicates the Title of my blog and the prayer of my heart for myself and for all those who name the name of Christ. I preached this message in 2008 as I was reading, "The pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. I pray you will listen to it and that God will stir in you a desire to Pursue Him like never before.
1. Pursuing God's Presence
http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=71
2. Pursuing God with Passion.
http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=72

FBC Haiti Relief Project

2010-02-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

FBC Lake Butler will be participating in Buckets of Hope ministry offered thru the Fl. Baptist Convention.

Convention Announcement:
Buckets of Hope Offer Opportunity for Every Florida Baptist

(If you want to contribute a “Bucket of Hope,” you may bring it to our association center for distribution.)
Every Baptist can have a hands-on, life changing affect upon the people of Haiti by participating in a Southern Baptists “Buckets of Hope” ministry.
The “Bucket of Hope” consists of a plastic five-gallon bucket packed with selected foodstuffs. For approximately $30 an individual Baptist can purchase the materials and assemble a “Bucket of Hope.” In addition, Baptists are requested to include a $10 cash contribution, placed in an envelope and attached to the lid of the bucket, to offset the cost of transporting the relief buckets to Haiti.
Project deadline: By March 15, 2010, the “Buckets of Hope” must be completed and delivered to your local Baptist association collection point. Florida disaster relief volunteers will facilitate the pick-up and transport of the local “Buckets of Hope” to Hialeah, Florida, for placement in cargo containers for immediate shipment to the island nation. After delivery to a Hialeah warehouse, before loading in cargo containers, all the buckets will be labeled indicating the “Bucket of Hope” is a gift of Christian love and support from Southern Baptists.

If there is anyone who is interested in leading our efforts toward the March 15, deadline please contact me, as soon as possible, so we can begin to inform our congregation.

I want to thank our congregation for the $2,788.00 that was given last weekend and encourage you to continue to participate thru various ministries offered thru our church and convention.

For more info. you can visit the FBConvention website listed in the "links" bar.

Within The Veil

2010-02-04T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Joy of my heart this morning comes from the fact that I am seated within the veil and I am invited to live within the veil today.

Many of you may know there were 3 chambers in the O.T. Tabernacle in the wilderness. The Outer Court, The Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The Presence of God dwelt between the Cherubim over the mercy seat on the Ark of the covenant which was within the veil in the Holy of Holies. Only one man, the high priest, was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies (The Presence of God) and he was only permitted to do this once a year to make an atonement for his own sins and the sins of the people. The people of God were not allowed, and were not invited, to come into the presence of God.

However, the Book of Hebrews tells us that thru Jesus, our Great High Priest, The Minister of the New Covenant we are not invited to enter the Holy of Holies (The presence of God) in the tabernacle on earth, but that we are invited, yea, encouraged to enter into the Holy of Holies in Heaven thru Him.

*Honestly, how many of you woke up this morning believing this to be your privilege?
**How many of you know that today you and I as children of God are invited to not only come but to dwell in the Holy of Holies, The Presence of God, thru faith in Jesus name.

The Hebrew writer says in Heb. 6:19 "This hope which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil"
This hope is our anchor that keeps us from drifting?
Where will you live today? Where will you dwell? I choose to live within the veil!

Please meditate on these verses and live within the veil today.

Heb. 10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb. 7:19 "for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God."

Heb 6:19-20 "This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God's inner sanctuary. *(This is our Privilege) Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek.

Rom. 5:1-2 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God..." (This verse is loaded!)

Eph. 3:12 "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him"

Eph. 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love..."

Today, if you are a born again believer, the scripture declares that you have been justified (Declared Righteous by God), by faith (In the fact that Christ was born under the law, that he might fulfill the law perfectly on our behalf, becoming a curse for us to redeem us from the curse of the law [Gal. 3:10-13], becoming our sin, absorbing the full wrath of God against our sins, and then rising from the dead and making atonement for our sins, that we should be Holy and without blame before Him.) you now have access within the veil, wherein you stand and REJOICE in the hope of the Glory of God.

Bless the LORD, O My Soul and all that is within me! Bless His Holy Name!

Sharing/Accountability

2010-02-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, last post before I have to lock-in for sermon prep.
I want to know what everybody is studying, listening to, and reading.

Here are 3 reasons why I ask this:

1. For Accountability purposes.
I want to occasionaly prompt you to examine your time and progress in God's word. A young pastor shared with me recently the greatest advice I ever gave him. He said I told him years ago, "You're going to have to learn to love reading". I give you this same counsel.
Ref: I Tim. 4:13-16; I Peter 2:1-2; Mt. 4:4

2. For Sharing purposes.
I would like to know the books, messages, and passages you are reading that are challenging, encouraging, and ministering to you. I would like to make these messages, books, and links available to others that they may grow thereby.

3. For Joy purposes:
3rd John v. 4 "I have no great joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
It will so fulfill my joy to hear from all of you about your progress in the faith!
I can't wait to hear all the wonderful things God is doing in the life of His Children and my Friends.

Here are the areas I am reading and studying right now?

Free Reading: The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan (I am at Genesis 5, Ps. 9, Mt. 11, and Acts 8) I am reading thru these consecutively.
Books: Spiritual Depression by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones; Finally Alive by John Piper; The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. *All are exceptional
Audio/Video: A Plethera of podcasts, on-line sermons, and DVD's. (Technology has greatly enhanced our ability to have the word of God piped in anywhere, anytime. Shame on us if we don't make ourselves available to it.)
Sermon series:
Sun. A.M. - The Gospel of Mark.
Sun.- Open Study
P.M.- The Book of Hebrews.

Anyone up for a Bible Study?

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

How about Hebrews 6:4-6? "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame."

Many of you may be familiar with this passage, but have you ever studied it for yourself.
This is one of the most intriguing passages in all of scripture. Those who hold to the belief that a true believer may ultimately fall away (i.e. Lose their salvation), use this as one of their main proof texts. How would you respond?

After you've taken time to study I would love to hear a brief summary of your interpretation of the text. Or if you are not sure and would like to ask questions, submit them as well.

I recently studied this and preached it to our body...I will go ahead and post the link.
I fielded Questions from the floor at the close of the message. You may be interested in hearing that as well.

"Moving Forward or Falling Away?"
http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=65

*For those of you who disagree with my interpretation, I will provide you with resources that help support your view. Unless your view is "losing your salvation"...don't think I can give you anything to support that.

Encouragement

2010-02-03T09:19:00.000-05:00

2 Cor. 1:24 "Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm"

This verse expresses my heart for those of you who will take the time to appropriate these sermons into your life. I do not wish to lord over your faith or put pressure on you be asking you to listen to this, listen to that, but I passionately desire just to "work with you for your Joy (In God)" that you may stand firm in the faith.

These are just a few messages that have served as a source of encouragement for those in our church who have been facing difficult battles, and the message by Piper I listened to last week and found to be a a cornerstone of faith as it pertains to suffering.

Please take a moment to e-mail me or comment if you were encouraged by these messages so others will be encouraged and I will know in what way I can best be a helper of your joy.

1. Title: "What to do when you have Trouble?" Ps. 37:1-4

Speaker: Jason Johns
http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=24

2. Title: "New Hope for a New Year" Ps. 42

Speaker: Jason Johns

http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=50

3. Title: "The Prison of Confusion"

Speaker: Jason Johns

http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=32

4. Title: "Subjected in Hope"

Speaker: John Piper (Preached at the Village Church)

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/4446/Audio/

5. Title: "Patient in Tribulation"

Speaker: Jason Johns

http://fbclakebutler.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=54

Sermons that have changed my life!

2010-02-02T08:39:00.000-05:00

I listed below the links to 4 of the most impacting messages I have listened to over the past few years. Note: There are many, many more, but these have greatly shaped my view of The Gospel, Prayer, The Family, and The Christian Life.

1. John Piper: "Be Devoted to Prayer

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/118/Audio/

2. Paul Washer: "The Gospel...Mt. 7"

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=74091412491

3. Voddie Baucham: "The Centrality of the Home"

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5209234630

4. Frances Chan: "Lukewarm and Loving it"

http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=bestwebsermons.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2F268generation.com%2Fvideoplayer%2Fplayer.php%3Fvideoid%3Dp073%26quality%3Dhi

Why start a blog?

2010-02-01T12:46:00.000-05:00

I have waited a long time for this day! I regret that it has taken me this long to get started, but I am ready to serve the Lord and His body thru the information provided on this blog site. It is my desire to make available to you the truths of God's Word which I am learning thru my daily devotions, various books I am reading, the preachers and sermons I regularly listen to, and any other means by which I am receiving spiritual nourishment. It is my desire and prayer that you will utilize these resources for your own spiritual growth. I am making available to you wells from which I drink fuly and seek to pour out into others. I invite you to avail yourself to my online library at Shelfari.com. I have listed many of the books that I have read, ones I consider favorites or must-reads, and the books that I am currently reading. You will find some of the classic books of the Christian faith, as well as, current authors whom God is using in our generation. Please pray that God will grant me favor and time so that I will be fruitful in every good work (Col. 1:10). I encourage your response, comments, and questions. Use this as an outlet to ask questions concerning the scripture or possibly a sermon that was preached. I look forward to sharing God's word with you and contributing some way in your spiritual growth to the glory of God!

P.S.
For a more detailed explanation of why I believe it is important for a Pastor to blog; click on the link below.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/