Obedience-A Word with Lost Meaning

Isaiah 1:16 - 20

Words are not hard to come by today. Occasionally you will see new words that the Webster’s Dictionary has come up with. For example; how about the word, ‘aerobicized’ or ‘aerobicised,’ which is an adjective meaning; (of a person's body) toned by aerobic exercise: aerobicized Hollywood women. Here’s one for you; ‘twonk.’ This word means a stupid or foolish person. We all know a twonk or two; don’t we? I am amazed at how many new words people come up with. I remember when children in the south were told we shouldn’t say the word, ‘ain’t,’ and now it is in the dictionary. In fact my computer underlined the word in red, which it sees as a misspelled word. It is amazing at the new words, but what about the words people quit using. I’m sure there are many we don’t use, but there is one particular word that we see used less in our actions than any one word. The word is ‘obedience.’ This word means the act or instance of obeying; the quality or state of being obedient. Obedient means submissive to the restraint or command of authority. Of course the word ‘obey’ means to follow the commands or guidance of; to conform to or comply with. Most of us would say we know what these words mean; but do we use them?
In God’s Word, the Bible, we find the word ‘obey,’ appears 69 times in 66 verses. It appears 44 times in the Old Testament and 25 times in the New Testament. The word ‘obedience’ appears 16 times in 16 verses. They are split evenly in the Old and New Testaments. The word disobedient appears in God’s Word 13 times; 2 in the Old Testament and 11 in the New. I’m sure that there are other words or phrases that appear in the Bible, which imply obedience also.
I was reading in the first chapter of Isaiah, when the scripture in verse 19 caught my eye. As most preachers do, I love verse18, where the Lord says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” This verse reminds me of what God can do to a willing person, who wants to obey what God requires of them in repenting of our sin and asking Jesus to come into our heart. There is NOTHING so bad, that Jesus can’t forgive us of. It is a copout for someone to say, “I’ve been too bad to be forgiven.” There are ‘none righteous, no not one.’ There is no man, woman, boy or girl that is worthy of the salvation that the Lord gives freely. But HE gave it to us to make us a way to get back to HIM. Thank God for HIS marvelous grace.
In verse 19, we find a condition for this act of mercy. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:” Is a person willing, and can that person obey this way? What a question. There is less obedience in this world than ever before. In fact, Paul told Timothy it would be the signs of the end time. Obedience starts with parents. If parents cannot be obedient to God and HIS Word, then how do we expect our kids to be obedient to us? Obedience is a forgotten action. We make excuses for not wanting to follow God’s Word. We make excuses for not wanting to serve God. We make excuses for not wanting to follow the laws of the land. We always have an excuse, don’t we? One thing my wife is always on me about is the stop signs. If I pull up to one and don’t see anything coming, I have a bad habit of just rolling right through it, slowly. I yield, instead of coming to a complete stop. So what’s the matter with that, huh? I am breaking the law! Now I know I’m not the only one who does this. Many who read this have done the same thing. It’s not just about that though.
To be obedient to God, we must be obedient to HIS WORD. We need to be separate from this world. We need to stand out, so people can see a difference in our lives. The world needs to see Christ in us and through us. HIS WORD is the book of instructions that show us what we need to do, how to act, and how to exemplify Christ. Judah had a problem. They were fighting against what God said to do. He told them that they had to be willing to be obedient. We need to be willingly obedient too.
Obedient kids are rarely seen today. They all think mom and dad dropped on their heads and don’t have a clue what we are talking about. Just as all adults did to some extent when we were kids. My mother had an answer for disobedience. However, today’s parents think it is insane to pull the belt off or stand against rebellious children. According to most adults, we don’t need to use the rod of correction, but give them ‘time outs,’ or ground them. This isn’t even a temporary cure anymore. Why? Because it isn’t in line with God’s Word. Proverbs tells us over and over to discipline the child with the rod of correction, and it won’t kill them, but it will make them grow up in obedience. In 2 Timothy 3:1 – 5, Paul tells Timothy, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” If you really look at these verses, you find out that all of this come from not being obedient to God. We have to be shown, don’t we? All of these, and more, that Paul talked about in 2 Timothy, come from us thinking we know better than God. We know how to do it better! If you don’t believe that just ask someone. God’s way is the ONLY way, and obedience in the key. We like to refuse and rebel against doing it HIS way, don’t we?
He has an answer for that in Isaiah 1:20. “But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” We refuse to hear God’s warnings and choose to do it our way. Elvis Presley sang the son, “I did it my way,” and we see his end. He overdosed on medication and died. His way wasn’t God’s way. Many people loose their lives, because they do it there way, and not God’s way. Many people choose to reject God and live the high life of this world, by doing it their way. What will they say in the end? “God, I love you, but, life only comes around once!” That is a true statement by the way. Life does only come around once. There is life everlasting; where you can live forever. It’s called salvation. Jesus died that all may live. That word ‘all’ is a mighty small word; because not all will take advantage of the free gift of salvation. It means you would have to give up the ways of the world for HIM. Pride comes in the way; disobedience comes in the way; and then your rebellion comes in the way. The Lord told Judah what would happen if they refused and rebelled that they would be devoured by the sword. The sword is the Bible, which will be used in the judgment of all people. We need to realize that as Judah found out, we will eventually learn that disobedience will separate you from the Lord. Yes, if you are saved you will still be saved, but there is great rewards for obedience – the biggest being that you have made your relationship closer with Him, and won’t be a stumbling block to others. The sacrifices that Judah were making was pretend sacrifices, trying to justify the fact that they were living like they wanted to, and still trying to follow law. However, as said before, Judah found out that they could straddle the fence, because God still counts it as sin. Sacrificing the worldly life for Christ brings many blessings, but we find that when we live for the world and like the world, it only brings heartache in the end.
Mike Richardson said, “Sacrifice does not always require obedience however obedience always requires sacrifice. We sacrifice the flesh every time we obey God. My challenge is to continue to try to grow closer to God by obeying Him. Listening to what He says never leads us wrong.

What A WEEDEND

Becky and I started our weekend really early. She was off on Friday and I took off before 11:00 a. m. Things have slowed down, somewhat, at work, and my vacation along with Becky's has officially started.

Friday, Becky took Aaron's fiancee' to Longview for a ladies day out. Shae got her nails done, I think, for the very first time. They also picked up the wedding cake to bring home. I mowed the yard, and weedeated.

Saturday, Becky took Shae to get her hair done and do some final preparations for the wedding, which happened at 2 p.m. The wedding went off as normal and now Aaron and Shae are married. Woohoo... The whole thing too 12 minutes. All this money spent on a wedding, and it only takes 12 minutes?!?!? The wedding, reception and all was done by 4:00 p.m. We all rush to the house, grab our things and take off to Denison, Texas to be closer to Unity MBC, where I was scheduled to preach. We arrived at the hotel at 9:30 p.m. after leaving Carthage at 5:00 p.m.

Sunday! I had the great opportunity to preach to a loving church. I preached from Isaiah 1:16 - 20, entitled, "Obedience - The Key to a Healthy Relationship to God." The church had Sunday school, then the Choir had an Independance Day Contata. It was really great! The message was delivered, the seed was planted, and God was honored. What a great day... Then it was eatin' meetin' time. The church had great food and there was great fellowship. Afterwards, Becky and I were back on the road by 1:30 and we got home about 7:00 p.m. We stopped at the outlet mall in Terrel and then at the mall in Tyler. Of course what's a trip without stopping at Braums to eat some ice cream; Becky's treat. Now, Becky and I will be on vacation this week. We are headed to Houston on Tuesday to have so time together by ourselves. Good to go...I hope. LOL.

Another day

Well, this past weekend was surely busy. Not only did I have to work, but afterwards I accomplised a great deal at home. Becky and Aaron worked on putting 12 x 12 pads down while I worked on my chicken pen. We have about 26 chickens, and I'm thinking that I'm going to get rid of some. We will see. The exciting news was the fact that Carthage is still classified as a dry city. The whole county is dry, and in this man's opinion it needs to stay this way. We are thankful that there are still people who vote for right against wrong.
Rain is on the way. We need it, but without the hail and a tornadoes. After the weekend, Monday brought some bad things down at work, but hopefully they will get better or God will put me in a new church or mission to work in. We will see.

Another rainy day.

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. Normally I put a 'Thought of the Day," on here, but I've not been to motivated lately, since I've been working seven days a week. Lots of things going on at my house. We had all of our pine trees cut down, along with three sweet gum trees. It has really opened up our yard too. We also had to have a new septic system put in our yard, because our old one's field line was destroyed by our neighbor's tractor; long story. With all of this done, I still have ton's of work to do.
Since I blogged last time, I had the opportunity to preach at Old Union MBC about a month ago. They are currently seeking a pastor, and again, I'm not the man. I've grown really discouraged in the fact that there are so many judgmental people in our work. Shame on us. However, if God is true to HIS WORD the way I believe HIM to be, HE will use me somewhere, one day.
I wonder, sometimes, if God is ignoring my prayers. I have such a desire to pastor again, but, yet, I am not giving the great opportunity to.
Aaron has moved back into our home. He is engaged to a girl, and they are supposed to marry in June. What bothers me about this is that neither one of them show the fruits of salvation in their lives, and both are unemployed, and not really looking hard for a job either. I find it hard to welcome him back into my home, because the boy needs to work, and he has not self motivation. Becky, nor I, could stand by and see this boy and his girlfriend live on the streets any more. For those who may read this, pray for both of these kids, because they need it badly.
Rain moved in to the county today, and there was even a tornado that touched down between my house and Beckville today. Mostly trees are damaged. Nobody was hurt that I know of, thank the Lord.

What a weekend.

This past weekend was as busy as it gets. I was called by Hopewell Baptist Church, in Clarksville, Texas, to come and preach to them. Working seven days a week is tough, but my boss let me off. This churches' pastor died after pastoring there for 45 years. Becky and I went up that way on Saturday night and stayed in Mt. Pleasant. I called a double header in Hughes Springs late Saturday evening. The first game was Hughes Springs 1 and Avery 0. The second game was Pittsburg 4 and New Boston 2.

Becky has been sick. She has coughed for about three weeks. When I got to the motel on Saturday night, she was running fever. However, it broke and she was able to go to Hopewell with me. These folks are really nice and seemed interested in me. However, we shall see. I preached the morning service and then we ate at the fellowship. I enjoyed some raisin pie. We left there around 1:30 and came back home. Becky wasn't able to go to church at our home church that night, but I made it.

We woke up on Monday with more rain. I hate to work on Mondays after I've preached on Sunday, but I made it. Looking forward to going to other churches one day. I pray that God will open that door for me.

Thought of the Day

Free Life Insurance!
Guaranteed Satisfaction
John 3:15 – 18

I think we will all agree that we are in a day and age when insurance is a necessity. We have to have house insurance, liability insurance, car insurance, medical insurance and the list just keeps going. I recently heard a commercial about life insurance. They asked, “What will you leave your family when you die?” They continued by saying that a death in the family usually puts the survivors in a bind and that is what life insurance is all about. Life insurance is for the surviving family. I often think of the life insurance policy on my wife and me both. Is it enough? Should I get more? All too often we think about how good of shape we leave our family when we leave. It’s a last gift from us to them, I suppose. One time I heard a life insurance man make a comment about a policy that made me think. He said, “The policy isn’t for the dead, but for the living.” When you pay so much for insurance, you think well how can I afford it or how do I benefit from it?
When we buy a car, we usually want the best protection that money can buy on it. We get the insurance for it, a warranty insurance policy for it, and if we could get one, a gas insurance policy on it, so if our gas gets stolen we can get the gas replaced. I say that laughingly, but there is something I would like for us to think about. What insurance policy is there that benefits the person who dies? So here is an idea; life insurance that dead people can benefit from. Guess what? It’s already there! It’s called everlasting or eternal life! And on top of all this, IT’S FREE! It doesn’t cost you anything and it has satisfaction guaranteed, too. Our Father in heaven made a way for us all. It came through the death, burial and resurrection of HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON JESUS CHRIST. Jesus said, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3: 15 – 18 KJV).
This is a no risk policy that cost you absolutely nothing, nadda, zip; nothing at all, well except the fact that you must become a new creation in Christ. The policy includes, but is not limited to, contentment, peace, happiness, and above all, it insures the person who accepts this policy the absolute freedom from ever having to go to hell when they die. It also insures that these emotions, though not limited, are for eternity. Now you may ask, ‘Why do I need this?’ It’s simple; because ALL, including you and me, have sinned and come short of the glory of God, (Roman 3:23). Because of this sin we have eternal damnation ahead for all, including you and me. Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death ;”(Romans 6:23), and this death is not just a physical death either. The writer of Hebrews said, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” (Heb 9:27 KJV). It’s guaranteed that you and I will eventually die from this old body. Our bodies are dying simply because of the sin in our lives. If a person could actually see how they looked in a mirror because of sin, well, none of us would look at ourselves. Even the pretty girls and handsome guys are not exempt from this death. Of course, most people live like they will never die, but that’s another subject. The death that Paul is talking about is the spiritual death; eternal separation from God, FOREVER. There will be no partying there; you will not see friends, have nice visits, or anything like that. There will only be weeping and gnashing of teeth, (Matthew 24:51), where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, (Mark 9:44 – 48). Paul continues in Romans 6:23 by saying, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD. It’s a gift for the taking, and did I say, IT’S FREE!?!?
We need to understand that hell was not created for men, women, boys or girls, but for Satan and his angels. However, when we reject the free gift of eternal life or the insurance policy, of God, and die in our sin, that sin cannot enter into the kingdom of God. If you still don’t understand this need, let’s review. We’ve established that we, you and I and everyone else included, are condemned to hell for sin in our lives. If we die without accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we will be separated from HIM forever. Jesus paid that debt for us though. That’s right, you and I put Jesus on the cross to die in our place. However, He rose again on the third day, and now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, waiting to come get those who have this insurance policy that HE paid for. You cannot earn this policy, like it was a coupon at a grocery store, for the good works that you might do on this earth. There are no brownie points! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” (Ephesians 2:8 – 9). It’s a free gift for the asking, but it is not just handed to you because you think you are not a bad person. Did I mention that it is FREE?
Daniel was shown something that backs everything up. He was shown things that would happen in the last days of this earth, and he was told. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt,” (Dan 12:2 KJV). This eternal life insurance has been around since the beginning of time, and something that eventually will not be offered again. The Lord deals with people for a while and eventually does not talk to those who continually reject what HE is offering them, for FREE. It will be for a limited time, up to HIS discretion. There may come a time that you want to seek God and not find Him as Esau did. “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears,” (Heb 12:17 KJV). It is time for man to seek God. Isaiah addressed that when he said, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon, (Isaiah 55: 6 – 1 KJV).
So, it is decision time. What are we going to do with this FREE offer? It is a no–brainer for those who really want eternal life. Jesus is the only way to the Father. HE said, “I am the way, the Truth and the Life: No man can come unto the Father, but by ME, (John 14:6 KJV).” Here’s you chance: what will it be; Eternal life or eternal death? His will is simple: (John 6:40 KJV) “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” This is a life insurance policy that nobody should turn down.

Thought of the Day

Forgetting Humility
Thinking Highly of Ourselves
Romans 12:3

My wife and I just love watching animated movies. On Saturday we watched the movie, ‘Cars,’ again. In fact I probably like this movie to a point that would give kids a run for their money. I can remember my boys getting hung on movies when they were little. They would watch them over and over again until their mom or I would say enough. Amazingly enough you will find things in movies that will catch your attention and make you think. This movie is about a race car that thinks he is the very best, and no rookie could do what he was doing. He has fired several crew chiefs and lost his racing team, because he considers himself a one man show. He doesn’t think that the cars and sponsors in the background had helped make him who he is. He is sponsored by old rusty cars that he is not thrilled about, and is working for a new sponsor whose driver is retiring. In fact, the retiring car told him that he was a good race car, but that he was ‘stupid.’ He began telling him what he needed to do, but he got wrapped up in his dream of this retiring race car’s sponsor and didn’t listen to the experienced car’s advice. As the movie goes on, he gets lost and finds himself in a lone lost town named Radiator Springs, in Carburetor County, on Route 66. Except for a classy looking sports car, he finds himself surrounded by a rusty old wrecker and some older model cars while he serves a sentence handed down to him, by a judge, who turns out to be an older racing car legend, who was basically put to the side in racing after having a wreck. Lightening McQueen was having to fix a road that he tore up, so they hooked him up to an old asphalt machine named, “Bessie” and he endured some rough times trying to fix the road while focusing on the big race and himself. He wasn’t getting the picture, but that would change in time.
Paul told the people of Rome, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think: but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith,” (Romans 12:3). Lightening McQueen, the car, was full of pride; or as my Grandmother would say about people like that, “He’s full of himself.”
There are people in this world that believe they are the best at what they do. I find that people that think they are okay, but do know what’s going on, are usually the best at what they do; and they don’t usually toot their own horn. Pride is the downfall of all men. Solomon wrote that the Lord hates pride, (Proverbs 6:16 – 17). Most men have to be brought down hard from pride, with humility. James wrote in James 4:6 KJV, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
As I watched this movie, I laughed at Mater, the rusty old wrecker, but I found that there was humility in him. He enjoyed the simple parts of life, and loved other cars for who they were. There is a lesson there too. We are told that we are to love one another. We remember how Jesus answered the lawyer in Matthew 22:35 – 40. Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” I know that this seems hard to do, but very often the reasons we find it hard to love our neighbors is because of our own prideful self-centered egos. We ask ourselves, ‘what would other people think?” This is the same kind of attitude that Lightening McQueen, the car had. Doc, the old racing car asked him, “When was the last time you thought of anybody beside yourself?” He couldn’t answer that question, because he was being humiliated.
God has a way of making his children humble. Humiliation hurts us most of the time. The reason it hurts is because we are use to seeing things done our way and not God’s way. Sure, we say we love the Lord and we follow HIS leadership, but truth is, most of the time we have to make ourselves a convenient time for HIM. In this movie there was a car, named Sally, who takes Lightening McQueen for a drive. They stop at this old run down spot that used to be a hotel and she explained how she wished she could have seen it in its day. Stickers, as she called him, was having a hard time understanding, so she started explaining what had happened to her. She was a big time lawyer in LA, who got tired of the big life and took a drive. She broke down and Doc fixed her up in this little town. She said she was taking a drive and fell in love. McQueen asked, “Were you rich?” She answered with, “That was a different life.” He then asked, “Did you fall in love with a Corvette?” She then took him over to this cliff and showed him the scenery and told him, “I fell in love with this, and decided to stay.”
Sally had given up her high priced life, which was no doubt full of pride, and traded it in for the humility of a little town that she was trying to help rebuild. A humble life is for the taking of those who seek Christ in their lives. It starts off with salvation, which means a person has to put his/her pride to the side and admit that God is right and they are wrong; that he/she is definitely lost without Christ. Then they must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and repent. They must then believe He died on the cross for their sin and was buried and arose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. They must confess HIM before man. Paul said, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” (Rom 10:9 – 10 KJV). Salvation is only the start of seeking Christ, and it is available to all people; backgrounds don’t matter. Christians must seek humility in their lives on a continuous basis. We must not live our lives in the past any longer. Remember that all the old things are passed away and our lives have changed through Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17. Humility allows us to quit living our lives like we did before we met Christ, and causes us to start seeking the positive things that Christ has provided for us. This, then, gives us the opportunity to praise HIM for what HE has done for us, and helps us lead people in the direction of Christ.
As the story goes in this movie, Sticker learns a great deal. He finishes his sentence of rebuilding the road and then he starts helping the other cars in this community, by buying things from them, and acknowledging them. He is later rushed off to the race without saying good bye to Mater, the tow truck. As he is about to get out of his haul truck, he starts trying to focus upon himself again, but humility has hit him so hard that he could not get his mind where it needed to be. When he does start the race, he goes fast, but starts losing focus. Suddenly, all of his friends show up to the race. Doc Hudson becomes his crew chief and the rest of the cars, except for the three or four back in Radiator Springs, become his crew. He has the chance to win the race, but sees the car, which is going to retire, knocked out of the race by another car which was just like he used to be. Stickers stopped, didn’t win the race, and in humility goes back to the other car and pushes him to the finish line. In the end, he really is the winner.
His humility made him real friends. He also had the opportunity to go to the big racing sponsor, but after his lesson of humility, he decided to stick with the old rusty cars that gave him his break. He had seen the light of what it was supposed to be all about. In our prideful ways, we think we acquire friends only to find out in the long run that they aren’t friends at all. Humility usually gives us tons of friends. Through humility we can gain a friend that is closer than a brother and HE never turns HIS back on us. HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST. We gain HIM through salvation.
This man, for one, has learned that life is full on peaks and valleys. A friend of mine, who resigned the church he was pastoring recently, told me, “I believe that the mountains are overrated. When we are on the top of the mountain we only have self to look at. That’s where pride is. It’s in the valleys that we remember where we’ve been and who we depend on, because it’s then that we have to look up.” This is a very truthful saying. So the moral of this lesson is simple. Let us take the advice that James once said, and Peter reiterated in 1 Peter 5:5, “be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

Thought of the Day

God’s Images
Have Men Forgotten Who They Are?
1 Timothy 3:7


I went into Life Way Christian book store yesterday with the idea of finding another CD of a choir that I just love to hear sing. They didn’t have any CD’s that I was interested in, so I decided to start looking at other things, such as Bibles, books and other stuff. As a minister, I could spend hours in a store like that, because I just like it. I’m a person who likes watching other people too. I have sat in malls before waiting on the lady of the house to finish shopping for whatever she is buying, and I have really been amazed at the things I see other people do. Sometimes I wonder if we aren’t like robots. Every family is unique in their own way, but we are basically all the same. It makes me look at what God has done with even greater amazement.
In 1Timothy 3:7, Paul wrote that in the last days men would be, “Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” When thinking about people in general I have a tendency to wonder what it was like in the beginning. When was the beginning? Scientist and Bible scholars alike have their opinions, and I’m not arguing when the beginning started, because right now, it really doesn’t matter. Today, there are people trying to second and third guess a God that exist and today they try to put a disclaimer on the fact HE even exists, and HE didn’t create them. It seems like the smarter man becomes, the dumber he is. We loose sight of truth. Despite what some people are trying to prove or disprove, my Bible tells me, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by HIM; and without HIM was not any thing made that was made,’ (John 1:1 – 3). In the book of Genesis we find that man was created from the dust of the earth, chapter 1:26. Not only was man made, he was made in the image of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is proved when the Lord said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” That is why people look the same. Sure HE made different races, and some of us weigh more than others, but we are made just like God, by HIM. Isn’t that exciting?
There is something much more exciting though. Despite all of our wicked ways, HE has made a way for us all to go to heaven. HE died on the cross in our place. That’s right; our place. People in general do not deserve the blessings God has given us much less the salvation from our sins HE offers us. Many people in America say that they believe HE exists, but few there are that accept HIS FREE GIFT. People in general think they can live the way they want to, and never pay attention to God or accept HIS free gift, and when they die from this life that some man will preach them into heaven. After all, how many funerals have you ever heard preached that a person died and went to hell? Most of the time a person is lifted up on this earth as a good person, and people are shown the qualities that person may have had during their lives. Still, many forget that you cannot get to the Father, but only through Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.” He is the only way to heaven. And still, we do not deserve this gift.
We need to remember that our bodies will return to the dust from which it came. As a great teacher I had in seminary said, “We are a cup of dirt, with a little water to hold us together.” So, the next time you think you look good, remember; YOU’RE DIRT. Funny, huh? Where is this leading too? Let’s remember that even when we think we are getting by with something; somebody knows. HE knows our every thought, every saying, every action, and our every movement. In John 2:24 – 25, the scriptures says, “But Jesus did not commit HIMSELF to them, because HE knew all men and need not that any should testify of man: for HE knew what was in man.”
A person can tell a whole church, their friends, and their family that they know Jesus, but does Jesus know that person? Yes, HE knows every person, but if you read this chapter, you find that many believed in HIS actions, but they did not accept HIM for who HE is. John wrote, “HE was in the world, and the world was made by HIM, and the world knew HIM not,” (John 1:10). There will be a time that men will find out whether or not Jesus really knows them. HE will say, (Mat 7:23 KJV) “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” The people who accept HIM now, can hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” (Matthew 25:23).
Unfortunately, people ignore God, even folks who accept HIM as their Savior. The things of the world drag us down to the point of not paying attention to the things of God. Of course, some of it is selfishness on our part too. We work our hours, play our hours and then we think Sundays are our sleeping day, and again, God doesn’t fit into our time; what a shame. It’s time for us to quit being like the disciples were when Jesus asked them to pray while HE did in the garden. Both times HE found them asleep, and I’m afraid HE would find many Christians asleep if HE came back today. So, if this fits you, ‘wake up!’ We have a God that loved us enough to die on the cross for us, and now we should seek HIM. If you look around you will see HIS image everywhere. Some of the images know HIM and some don’t, but they should all remind us of HIM and what we should do for HIM. Man can continue to try to disprove the points made in God’s Word, but I choose to believe it. You may ask, “WHY?” It’s simple: IT’S THE TRUTH, AND I BELIEVE IT.

Thought of the Day

Liberal Christianity
No Labor with Full Benefits
Psalm 116:12

Last night our men had a brotherhood meeting at the church. Our pastor brought a lesson on “The True Christian Attitude.” He gave us some good points and talked about how we should be working harder to please the Lord. So, as I was working this morning it was pouring down rain, I had a thought. The cold front that was predicted came through with a vengeance. Oh, well, it’s not quiet that cold, yet, but after 3 days in the 70’s with beautiful sunny skies, it makes it seem like a vengeance anyway. As I was in the middle of finishing my well test the thought came to me about the benefit of having a job. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I do not want to work on Sundays, and in March we start 7 days a week. I enjoy teaching my class and the occasional opportunity to preach, and I’d much rather be with family in church. The question that came to me is this; if the Lord paid us to work for HIM, would we still have a job, now? In our thought for today I am reminded of what the Psalmist asked, in (Psalms 116:12 KJV). “What shall I render unto the Lord for all HIS benefits toward me?”
If you were offered a job, and the company told you that they were going to start you off at a wage that will afford you anything and everything you would every need and give you insurance at no cost, how long would it take you to say yes? The first thing that most people would want to know is what type of job it was, and how many hours a week it would require. However, the money and benefits would cause most people to jump on the job, but for the fun of it, this job also allows you freedom to do what you want, but you needed to do this job every opportunity you had. I bet you can see where this is going, can’t you?
Fact is, the money and luxuries that would be available to all of us would show us just how greedy we are; and this should make all of us ashamed. Granted we all want the perfect job, but guess what? That’s life. I don’t have the desire to work a secular job on Sundays at all, but for now that is what I have. I’m praying God will open a door to pastor the church HE has for me, but that opportunity hasn’t opened yet. However, we do have a job to do, and if we examined our lives we would see that we have benefits, freedoms, and all of our needs taken care of, pretty much. Do we earn this by doing our job?
We live our lives for the one letter word, ‘I’. God usually isn’t right where HE needs to be in our lives. When things seem to be going good for us we are happy go lucky, but when the first stone in the road comes and the road seems to get bumpier as we go down it, we then ask the LORD, ‘What’s going on? HELP ME!’ If He doesn’t answer fast enough, in our opinion, and then we start paying attention to those things of the LORD that we were totally ignoring during the good times, huh?
In today’s world if you don’t do what you were hired to do, you usually become unemployed pretty quick. The Lord hasn’t hired us to do anything either. Yet, HE has required us to be busy. We need to remember that Jesus has paid our sin dept by dying on the cross and HE offers us salvation by grace. So our dept of sin was paid for. However, we are often guilty of taking HIS grace for granted. We live for self and not for Christ. There is nobody who can really and truly prove that statement wrong either. We are not faithful to Christ whatsoever. I can hear people now saying, ‘Wait a minute! I go to church…’ Shame on us for saying we are faithful just because we go to church. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t go to church, because we need too! That is not all we have to do to be faithful to HIM though.
Paul wrote, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful,” (1 Corinthians 4:2). What are we suppose to be faithful at? The word stewards means manager. His children are supposed to manage HIS kingdom business down on this earth. How is this done? We do this by being obedient to HIM and what HE has told us to do. We are to be faithful in a number of things; going to church, studying our Bible, praying, witnessing, making disciples who make disciples, etc., and there are scriptures throughout HIS Word that backs these up. However, it doesn’t stop there. We are to be faithful to HIM! Personal question; Are you faithful to HIM?
Many people who profess HIM as their Savior trade HIM in for their lusts and desires to fit into this world. We ignore the scriptures that tell us to be separate from the world, to abstain from all appearance of evil, and not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but to reprove them, and we do things like Elvis Presley used to sing, “Our Way.” The scriptures for all of these are 2 Corinthians 6:17, I Corinthians 5:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:22, and Ephesians 5:11. I left out the fact that you can’t love the world and God too; that’s found in 1 John 2:15. What about the change that Christ brings into your life, (2 Corinthians 5:15 – 21)? You can say you’ve been saved and pretend all you want too, but if there was no change in your life, then you by all accounts were not saved. That’s what the Bible teaches and I believe it.
People don’t like to hear messages on servitude, but being faithful to HIM and serving HIM is what life is all about. Truth is, if we started serving God as hard as we have served this rotten world and the sin in it, then our lives would be more dedicated to God. We need to be FAITHFUL TO HIM! HE is ALL that matters! It’s not me, you or anyone else that matters, but it is HIM. Until a child of God decides to be faithful to HIM, that child will never be satisfied in their lives, because this world offers no permanent satisfaction; it is all temporary. God’s satisfaction lasts for an eternity.
We want to quote Matthew 28:18 – 20, which tells us to ‘go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” but does our lives show these verses in our actions, and do we do it? There is a misconception that it is only the pastors, deacons, and teachers who are responsible for spreading the gospel. We need to understand that it is every child of God’s responsibility to lead people to Christ. This is our job. Jesus told the disciples and others who watched HIM ascend into heaven, “ye shall be witnesses unto me, (Acts 1:8). Talking the talk is easy to do, but walking your talk is very hard, if you aren’t faithful to HIM. So, with this thought in mind, let me ask the question again, in a different way. If everything you have in life now depended upon how you served God and were faithful to HIM, meaning you could loose it all; would you still have it now?
Unfortunately we do get involved in things that bring us away from Christ and HE suddenly gets dimmer and dimmer in our lives. He still offers grace and peace to those who return to HIM, but at one point in our lives we must really see how important it is to be faithful to HIM. It’s not a game. We have a job, and we have been paid more than enough to do it. HIS love is enough. So, would you be fired today by God because of your performance for HIM? Unfortunately most of us would be unemployed. Thank God for HIS bountiful and wonderful grace.
Finally, Paul said it best about our work for God when he said, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire,” (1 Corinthians 3:9 – 15).
This should cause us to render the question, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all HIS benefits toward me?”

Thought of the Day

Serving God and Loving Him
A Commitment to Obeying
Honoring Your Parents
Exodus 20:12

The fifth Commandment turns to rules for living in the world, so to speak. The first four Commandments deal with what God requires in serving Him, and of course, we know that we could speak for days and not cover everything that it really takes to totally serve Him. The fifth Commandment goes directly to the point of what a child should do in his life concerning his/her parents. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
If there is anything in this world that really gets neglected is that many parents or most of us do not enforce the fact, with their children, that they are required, of God, to honor them with obedience. Is this totally the children’s fault? We can all say that each person, even children, have the right to make decisions. Many will make choices that are not good in their lives, but usually wrong choices are made because parents drop the ball. We can find scripture throughout God’s Word that tells us how to raise a child. What happened to the generation of kids that new that obeying and honoring your Mom, Dad, Grandparents, and adults in general was an understood thing? That generation still exists today. That generation of kids is parents or grandparents today. We knew when Mom or Dad told us to do something that there was no arguing about it. We just did it! As a teenager, my mother had strict rules for me. I was not allowed to go to the skating rink, which was only a half a mile away from me until I turned 16. There wasn’t anything wrong with skating, in my mind, but when Mom said no, she meant it. My mother required so much respect from my brother and I that if we thought a smart thought, we were slapped before we knew how to say the thought. What’s wrong with this picture?
Many so-called scholars would tell us that discipline and spanking kids is emotional and physical abuse to children. However, the scripture tells us to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 KJV). The key to this whole statement is the world ‘train’. The scripture also tells us, “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell, (Proverbs 23:13 – 14 KJV). How does a parent train his/her child to honor them with obedience? Solomon goes into great detail with showing parents how to train their children. The key to raising obedient children is discipline, and God is very big on it. He told us, through Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, that a very good tool to train a child with is using the rod when it is necessary. In fact He tells us if we do not discipline or children by spanking that that we do not love our children. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes (Proverbs 13:24 KJV).” Parents should also own up to the fact that we teach our kids to disrespect us and not obey us, by our actions toward God. OUR ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. If we, as adults, cannot obey God, then why do we think our children will be obedient to us? Raising a child is not an easy thing to do. In fact, I can remember when my mom would tell me, just before I took a good swat with the belt. ‘This is hurting me more that it is you.’ I did not understand that fact until I gave my own child a good spanking. Children, now, are just as we were when we were kids. They have the same ideas we had by seeing just how much they can to get by with. Just as all of us parents were, they also were conceived in sin.
Kids do not take responsibility for their actions today, because they are trained to be that way by their parents. We are quicker to take up for them and defend them than we are to hold them accountable. When a child is an infant, the mom and dad are so proud. I dare say that it may take a couple of weeks to finally soak in that the child is a responsibility, but it takes years to find out that they are big responsibilities. My laughing joke is that the only bad thing about babies, besides the dirty diapers, is eventually they grow into a hormonal maniac called a teenager. Remember when you mom would say, “One day you will pay for your raising with children of your own?” I’m not trying to say that children are not a blessing from God, because they are, without any reservations. God puts these children in our lives so we can “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph 6:4 KJV). They are God’s children given to us to raise the way HE wants them to be. Unfortunately, many of us fail this great test.
So, how do we raise them to be obedient and respectful to parents and adults in general? We do this by being obedient ourselves; to God. Parents cannot tell children, “Do what I say and not what I do.” This simply does not work. If we do not have discipline in our lives, how can we expect our children to obey? The writer of Hebrews, which I believe is Paul, talks about the Lord disciplining HIS children. Paul writes, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live,” (Hebrews 12:6 – 9KJV)?
Any teen or young child that reads this might think they have excuses for the way they live, but they don’t. I know that I have drastically failed my kids in parts of their lives, just as many parents feel they have done also. However, the fact still remains that they have to make choices just as we did when we were their age, but we can teach them the difference between right and wrong by showing them how to be obedient and how to be held accountable. The Lord holds HIS children accountable, just as we need to hold our children accountable.
Children need to be taught that for every action, there is a reaction in anything that is done. This applies to everyone; adults and kids. Rejecting Christ guarantees a person who dies with that action, an eternity in hell. Kids can be lead toward Christ with discipline in their lives. Solomon said, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him,” (Proverbs 22:15), and then he gives another answer by saying, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame,” (Proverbs 29:15 KJV). These answers are a full proof plan on how to get a child headed in the right direction in their lives.
Honoring our parents is a never ending thing. We should always honor them; even when they make mistakes. Marriage or leaving home to live your own life does mean we have the right to disrespect our parents. Obeying our parents is the right thing to do, in the sight of God. How do we honor them? We honor them by obeying them as we obey God. Being obedient to God is a way to be closer to God. That’s what the Ten Commandments are written by God for. They teach us how to become closer to God with obedience in our lives. Remember; The Ten Commandments are laws with purpose.

Thought of the Day - 02/04/08

Cleaning Up Our Lives
A life’s Chore
2 Corinthians 7:1

This past weekend, Becky and I spent all day Saturday cleaning up the house. We both work so much that we just allow things to keep going until we finally say enough. I had already started on my mess, which took all day to relocate, while she started in probably the cleanest room in the house. However, as she worked toward my location, she slowed down too. Even though she accomplished more than I did, I was reminded of how filthiness slows us down in our lives too. Thinking about that, I was reminded of what Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 7:1. He said, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Life, in general, has a tendency to drag a person down. Christians are no different. A statement that David made about ‘the wicked prospering,’ shows us how much we desire to be like the world. We can’t seem to separate ourselves from it, can we? Amazing enough, we should know that we are obligated to live for Christ. He gives us direction in our lives, through HIS Word, but at times we choose our own roads in life too. I can’t count on my hand the number of times I went my own way, thinking, ‘I know this is wrong, but…’ Sin is sin, no matter how much man tries to totem pole them. In God’s eyes, no one sin is greater than another, except for the sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. That is an unpardonable sin.
If we study up on the church at Corinth, we find that this particular church had many issues. I think that many of the issues that they had where based upon the fact that maybe they weren’t growing spiritually like all Christians should. Paul laid out a grand example of how Christians should live in Roman 12: 1 – 2. Paul begged the Christians at Rome to surrender their lives to the Christian duties. He said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
This particular passage is often preached in many churches simply because it directs us with an authority that stands out more to some people. However, we need to examine the directions that Paul is stating in this passage too. Paul said to present your bodies a living sacrifice. This means that we should strive to live for the Lord with all we have. We need to discipline our lives to where HE can been seen. It’s all supposed to be about HIM anyway, right? It will be about HIM, whether we try to make it about HIM or not. The part of Romans 12 that catches one’s eye after the charge in verses 1 and 2 is verse 3. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.’
For a person to be able to clean up the filth in his life, he must first humble himself and allow God to show him how dirty he is. Obviously the people in Rome, just like the people in Corinth, had what is called an ‘I’ problem or ‘me’ problem. ‘Look at me, I’m so important!’ Most people have a big problem admitting that they are wrong. Why? The answer to this is easier than we think; nobody wants to admit that they are sinners. The reason for this is simple; we have an inferiority complex, to some extent. If we don’t fit into a certain group of people, we don’t feel needed or wanted. Nobody wants to admit that they are bad. We can’t believe that God would actually allow somebody to go to hell when they die, simply because they don’t accept HIM as their Savior, by repenting of their sins and asking HIM to be LORD of their lives. After all, where’s the justice in that, huh?
We all need to realize that hell was created for the devil and his angels; not for man. If a person chooses to live his life for himself and rejects God, then they put themselves into hell at death. It’s not God’s fault! He paid every person’s way into heaven by allowing HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to die on the cross for us. It’s not HIS fault if a person doesn’t choose to pick up their paid ticket. There are people who have accepted the free ticket, but choose to live life as they please. These folks, like many others, need to clean their life up. Paul instructs us to ‘be separate,’ (2 Cor. 6:17). He also stated to ‘abstain from all appearance of evil,’ too, in 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
Cleaning our lives up for Christ’s sake is the only way we can truly have a relationship with HIM. Sin separates us from God, and the call of repentance is loud. We should be challenged today to listen to HIM and ask HIM to show us what needs to be cleaned up. We need to give HIM our all. If you were served food on a dirty plate who you be willing to eat the food? That’s how some of our lives are; we expect God to bless us and accept us with our plates full of dirt. The main reason that the church of Corinth was so dirty was the same reason we are today. There is no real fear of God in our lives. Oh, it’s pretty easy to say we fear God, but does our life show it? We love to talk our talk, but we don’t necessarily want to walk our talk, do we? Walking our talk is a great way to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” It’s just a thought.

Thought of the Day

A World of Unrest
Fulfillment of Prophecies
2 Timothy3:1

I was reading an email I received about Missionaries being in high danger in Africa. I don’t personally know all the information, but it reminded me of the scripture in where Paul wrote to Timothy, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
Anyone who really studies God’s Word knows that the end times are closer. If we look at the world as a whole, we find people anxious and busybodies everywhere. People are doing just what God’s Word teaches they would. In 2 Timothy 3, we find that Paul describes people, and things they would do, that are currently happening today. Wars and rumors of wars; other religious trying to push their beliefs upon Christians, people being persecuted and tortured all under these humanistic ideas. Descriptions of bad things happening to Christian people everywhere is on the news also.
The word ‘perilous’ means dangerous. Can anyone remember of any more dangerous times than there are now? Our children can’t play outside without being fearful of their lives; People cannot feel safe, because of drive by shootings and other murders, and America still has, for now, freedom to preach God’s precious Word. There is no safe place in the world now, anywhere. America comes close to being safe, but we have to worry about Americans killing, hurting, or destroying each other, and of course the terrorists too. How important is God to America? How important is God to people who are faithful in church? Would we stand up for God if our lives were in trouble? Would we? A lot of people, who stand under the name of Christ can’t be man or woman enough to stand up against what God’s Word teaches, but we say we love God, don’t we?
The missionaries I’ve read about are great men of God. They have to deal with situations that we, in America, only read about happening in the Bible. Some missionaries loose their lives and/or their families for standing up of Christ. This will get worse too. My statement is based upon what the Bible tells us. Still we sit at home and enjoy our freedom and leave God out of our day to day living. We also try to ignore God when He is trying to get our attention too.
It’s time for us to start getting over our petty differences and start preaching the gospel and living for the Lord while we have the freedoms to do so. Missionaries literally give their lives to preach Christ and Him crucified to people who need HIM. We waste our time on other things, because after all, we go to church. There are many scriptures that point to the returning of the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, but yet the prophecies have not yet all been fulfilled. I read an article that a man said he thought we were in the great falling away part of the prophecies, and even though people are walking away from God, we haven’t seen the worse part of it, I don’t believe. Prophecies are hard to interpret, and I’m not one that is well versed enough to describe them all, but it is plain to see that we are seeing one fulfilled – PERILOUS TIMES. We are definitely in the latter days, but there is much more to happen. Jesus told the disciple that ‘the fields are white unto harvest,’ but where are the harvesters? So, while we wait on His coming to come to pass, let’s get busy doing what we’ve been told to do. Do you remember what that is? “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” We need to remember our directives, and we can also be reassured that when HE said, ‘lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,’ HE meant it.

Thought of the Day 01/29/08

The Death of Darkness
A life without light
John 3:19 -21

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I love messing with plants. I told some people one time that the reason I like messing with flowers and plants are two fold. First they are pretty when they are healthy and secondly they don’t talk back. Yeah, that is kind of funny to me. Every year, for the past 4 years, I have cherished some of the plants. I had hibiscus shrubs, in pots that were 8 foot tall. They were actually outgrowing their pots and I was going to plant them this spring. I also had several different types of hanging baskets, roses, etc. You get the point, I’m sure. I always stuck them in a shed that had windows which allowed light inside and a shop light for night. When it was too cold for them I turned a heater on and even though they would loose leaves and make a mess, they always came back in the spring. They were an enjoyment to me.
My shed is full of pots and plants. Yesterday, I went in to water them and found that the cheap shop light quit on me. It was pitch dark in the shed, but the heat was still on. When I looked in the shed I found every plant I had put in the shed dead. No chance of them coming back it seems. This would have usually upset me, but for some reason it didn’t this time. As I was driving from Louisiana this morning God started showing me some things while I was thinking about how I had not been able to save the plants.
If you look at people today, you see people going about their business day in and day out and there is no change usually. We choose to do things that provide us a lively hood and try to enjoy life to the uttermost. We even catch ourselves doing things that God cannot be pleased with us about either. I was reminded today that we are much like these plants that I’ve lost. We need food, water, and tender love and care. We want to be warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. Just as the plants need food, water, tender love and care, they also need light, so they might live.
If you look in the New Testament part of the Bible you will find that men’s lives are full of darkness. Darkness represents sin, and therefore we are dying in our sins. People in this world seem to have their own agendas. Oh, I know we all have certain agendas, but people in general do not have God anywhere on their agendas. We live in darkness and wonder why we aren’t spiritually healthy. We are condemned to death, just as my plants were, because they were not in the light. No light showed down on them. Jesus explained it this way, talking to Nicodemus, who was a teacher of the Word and didn’t understand what Jesus was telling him at first. He said, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”(John 3:19-21 KJV) Our deeds, everything we do, as individuals are evil. Paul said, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23.). Even people who claim to love the Lord and claim to be HIS children try to remain in the darkness of this old world. We don’t feel accepted by the world, while we are living for Christ, so we live like them, do like them and act like them. Here is the bad news about that: The world hates you anyway.
Paul told us to be separate from the world. When you are truly saved there is a change that tells the world that you are different. Jesus said that we can’t live for the world and HIM too. John tells us that we cannot love the world and God at the same time. He goes on to say if we love the world the “Love of the Father” is not in us. What does that mean to you? Saved people can use the excuse of just being a sinner saved by grace all we want too. Even though it is true that we who have put our faith in God are sinners who were saved by His marvelous grace, we should not take advantage of that grace. We should follow the light to be stronger and spiritually healthier. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,” (John 8:12 KJV).
I am reminded of the fact that when Jesus called upon the disciples HE said just two words, “Follow ME.” They dropped all that they did and followed HIM. Did they have issues? Yes, they did have issues, but they still followed Christ. Had my plants had the proper light they would not have died. They would have gotten stronger and healthier, and when spring came around they would have provided fruit for the eyes to see. But, darkness took all the life out of them and they died.
Darkness kills everything and everyone. Paul said, “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 6:23. Only true light can make something live. Men who choose darkness rather than light end up dead and empty for all eternity, unless they really seek the light, Jesus Christ. Choosing darkness over light is rejecting Christ. Child of God remember what Peter said, in 1 Pet 2:9 KJV, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” He has called us all out of the darkness in to HIS light that we may all have eternal life. Do you want to live? Child of God; let’s all remember that HE is the LIGHT of our Life and that we should seek to get even closer to HIM. Just some food for thought.

Thought for the day

The Gospel
The Power of God
Romans 1:16

I was given the great opportunity to preach at Woodlawn MBC, in Denison, Texas again. This time is was different though. The man who had been the pastor there, which is a great friend, had resigned the church. Going into a church a week after a good pastor has resigned gives me a weird feeling. There was a since of unrest in the pit of my stomach, and I was only filling in for this church. I was not being considered as a candidate to be their next pastor. A preacher only knows what God lays upon his heart. If most would be honest, the message you study up usually sounds better on paper, while you are writing it up, than a man is capable of presenting it. With that being said, I think of Paul. What a great example to us all!
If you look at Paul and his ministry, you see the qualities that only most pastors can wish they had. He was a man that stuck with his principles. Paul was a religious man and at one point on the wrong side of the ball. Some conclude that Paul, who was Saul at the time, may have already been saved, but didn’t understand the Christian movement and didn’t want to hear about Jesus. He was a Pharisee, (Acts 26:5,) which was his life of religion. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and had commission for the chief priests to persecute and punish people who claimed the name of Jesus. He had a sense of pride and arrogance about himself. However, one day that would change with an impact that lasted the rest of his life.
He had been consenting unto the death of a devout man of God. Stephen, from what I’ve read, was kind of a tall man that people didn’t push around easily. He was a deacon that loved the Lord Jesus Christ and preached the gospel. Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul, held the coats of other men while they stoned Stephen to death. It was a gloomy day for Christians that day, but later that day things would change with that huge impact. Paul, who was going down the road to Demascus, met Jesus face to face. If you study the book of Acts, you find in that Jesus told the church of Jerusalem, “Ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth,” (Acts 1:8). The church at Jerusalem had apparently gotten comfortable in their situation. A church of 3000 plus people was satisfied at just being themselves and serving the Lord there. This did not sit well with the Lord and therefore HE allowed Saul, later to be known a Paul, to persecute and cause havoc in the church. The scripture teaches that this church was scattered abroad. After Paul was saved, and received training from the Lord, he was sent out to this scattered people and started new churches. What a great story!
With the things that it took for Saul to be against the church, now Paul would be just that strong for the LORD. He said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jews first, and also to the Greek,” (Romans 1:16). Paul had the opportunity to preach the gospel that he once despised, and he did it with all that was in him. The people he once hated, he now loved. The people he once represented, he now preached the truth too. He really wasn’t ashamed of the gospel and its power at all.
With this quick look at some of the things about Paul, I am reminded of where I came from and what God has done for me in my life. I can’t say that I’ve always been as on fire for the Lord as I should be, but I know that I have a duty. That duty is to preach the gospel; to serve God with everything I have. Why? The reason I have the obligation of serving God is simply this; HE GAVE ALL FOR ME; WHAT DO I GIVE BACK? Preaching at a church or in a crowd shows me just how powerful God’s Word really is. The Lord reminded me, again yesterday, that it’s not about the preacher whatsoever. It’s all about Christ and HIS WORD, which is HIS power. There are times that as preachers, deacons, and teachers that we feel that we have done God an injustice in trying to teach the Word or Gospel.
If a man surrenders to the opportunity of preaching or teaching God’s Word the way God leads him too, and that man follows God’s direction, that man can not fail. Oh, yes, he can stumble with words, fumble around with the scripture, or just plain mess up in his delivery, but when God’s in it, it makes and impact. I cannot tell people how many times that I felt like I did yesterday, when I thought I had basically blew the good message God had given me, with my pitiful delivery. However, God showed me different. When we blow it, is usually when God uses it the most. People say that ‘the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness: but unto us which are saved it is the power of God, (I Cor. 1:18)’. The lesson I that I was shown yesterday, as times before, reminded me that the Power of Christ is in the Gospel. It is in HIS WORD and if I share it the way HE intended for me too, that HE would bless it and it would bring honor and glory to HIM. We all can be like Paul in this one way: Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Tell people about Christ and use HIS WORD to allow its power to burn in the hearts of people. If we are obedient to that extent, then HE will bless it. Preaching or teaching can be tedious at times, but if we humble ourselves and allow God to use us, we will show we aren’t ashamed of His Word either. So the next time you preach, teach, give a devotional, or just lead a Bible study, keep this one thought in your mind the whole time: It is all about HIM; not about me, and don’t be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Show it to people like it is the matter of life and death; because it is.

Sunday

What a great day in the Lord! Yesterday, Becky and I was in Denison and I had the opportunity to preach the morning service from Isaiah 41:10. As on a number of times, I thought I butchered the message up, but God used it anyway. Everyone seemed to really respond to God's Word and several said it was exactly what they needed. It is just another way that God shows me that He uses His Word to reach hearts when effort is made to preach it. I hope that God continues blessing them, and I have encouraged them to start praying for the new pastor that the Lord had for them. The crowd, apparently, was a lot larger than most of the members anticipated. After services, we were invited to go to lunch with Ron Brown and his wife. We had a great visit with them and feel like we have made some really great friends. Hopefully this church can go on serving God in an even larger way. I know that their former pastor is still very much loved and appreciated, and they all hope that he follows what God has for him. It has always been a blessing to me to be able to go there and preach, and I thank God for those opportunities. He is surely a great God.

Just a thought

I had a post on here earlier that could have been misunderstood. So I deleted it and decided to try to be clearer on my thought. We are in a society that never seems to be satisfied. Unfortunately, what we do in this world and at home eventually sneaks into our churches. I've been a Missionary Baptist for most of my life. For a short period of time I went to an Independant Baptist church, where I really started learning the Bible. I came back to the Missionary Baptist because of what their stances are, and I believe that they are the closest to teaching the real truths of God. Although I do not agree with some of the individual churches stand hard on, I choose to not hold grudges toward those churches because they don't necessarily believe as I do.
With that being said, I am certainly not shocked at anything that goes on in churches to much any longer. I realize that the scripture teaches that there will be a great falling away before our dear Savior's return. I guess that I've always believed that the falling away was the fact that people just didn't want to come to church any longer. However, I realize that this is classically a correct belief, but I see major changes happen among Christian people that at one time excited me, but looking into it further, I descovering people are getting away from really serving God. We have gotten away from teaching the Bible and started trying to teach men's opinions. Christians do not study the message the pastor teaches or the lesson someone else teaches to make sure it is doctrinally sound. We accept it a face value. After all, the pastor went to a Seminary or College and he has a degree, so he has to be right. I am not knocking higher education, because it is needed. However, just because a preacher or teacher has initials behind their names doesn't mean they are always right and doesn't mean that they cannot teach false doctrine.
Education is good, but if churches are still falling appart, it should bother us! One of the problems I see is that we make serving God more convienant for ourselves, instead of ourselves more accountable to God. What I mean by this is we do not see the need to serve God. Many times I have heard, and I have been guilty of preaching, that we only give ourselves to God an average of 5 - 6 hours a week, when HE gave everything for us. I can remember when sports were not played on Wednesdays or Sundays at all. If there was a softball game or football game being played around town, it usually consisted of members of certain churches playing them after lunch and they were done by 4 p.m. Why? Because church started at 6 p.m. and it was understood that you had to be there. I can remember when stores were closed on Sunday just so people could go to church. If you had baseball, football, or basketball practice on Wednesdays, you were home by 5 - 6 p.m.m to go to church. We did not overlap these times. Now, churches have to schedule functions, revivals, etc, around school activites, summer sports, and whatever else we have. Today, there are very few revivals that go longer than 3 days. I can count on one hand of churches that I know of that still have 5 days of revival services and two of them still have morning and evening services. That's just unheard of, huh? People have gotten out of really living for God and have focused on living for this world. What's wrong with this picture?
Churches are closing their doors, people who call themselves Christians are falling out by the wayside, simply because they don't have any moral values anymore, and worse than this is people are dying and going to hell because 'Christians' do have time to do what God instructed us to do.
I honestly don't understand the movement that is going on, but God's Word tells me this would happen. I've been to some churches that when a preacher made a good point and someone said 'Amen,' others would look back at that person like they lost a screw. Can someone please explain to me what they don't believe that church is necessary any longer? What needs to change in churches? I can remember churches in the town I live in building gyms for the young people, just to attract them so the numbers would come up. Kids would enjoy it for a short period of time, but then they would quit coming too. We have gotten away from the basics. Mom's and Dad's need to get their children back into church, so they can be taught to serve the God that sent HIS Son to die for them. Not only that the parents need to be with them. We need to work on building churches up and not tearing them apart.
Churches are hurting because there is a generation of people who have decided to follow their own beliefs instead of listening to God. Moral of the story.......Don't only hear God; let's listen to HIM. Just a thought.

A Cold Rainy Day

A day when I finish early from work finds me wishing I could go outside and do some things. However, the cold rain is a very big deterrent. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to preach God's Word to a church, which I have come to love and appreciate. They really need our prayers as they search for a new pastor. Filling in, this time, is different. I have filled in for their now former pastor a few times and knowing things were okay at the church made it really enjoyable. Filling in at a church without a pastor is somewhat different. God has laid a message on my heart for these folks, and I ask my friends who read this to pray that HIS will is done in this message. Pray for these people. They really need it.

A cold tough day

Today has been especially tough. The cold north wind in open areas was almost to much to bare. Becky has a head cold, and I've been hurting most of the day. No real pain, just aching. My back hurt for about two weeks, but it has eased up, thank goodness.
For my friends, who might read this, please pray for me. I really need it. March 1, we go back to seven days a week, and I really love to go to church on Sundays. I've got a class to teach, and I need to be there. However, I have bills to pay too. I thought I was going to be given a chance to pastor again, but the church who lined me up, decided to not listen to me. It's kind of disheartening. If some of my preacher friends need a fill in or just want to allow a man to preach, feel free to call me. I'm available. Pray for my friend, Wayne Butler, as he seeks God's will in his life. Later.

Thought for the day 01/17/08

Serving God and Loving Him
A Commitment to Obeying
Observing the Sabbath
Exodus 20:8 – 9

Committing to obeying the Lord is a very important commitment. For a person to make a covenant or promise that they are committing to doing anything are also very big steps. When the Lord gave the Ten Commandments, He intended for His children to obey them. The Lord continued with the Commandments by writing, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor they stranger that is within they gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it..” We find that the first four Commandments are focused on what we need to do for the Lord in worshipping Him. The fourth Commandment is concerning the Sabbath day or the day of rest. In the New Testament age, when the Sabbath is mentioned, most Christians want to say it is Sunday, when we go to church. Sunday is not the Sabbath day whatsoever. Sunday is the day we choose to worship God, but it is not the Sabbath day. A study has shown that between Friday evening and Saturday evening that the human body, when rested, gets what’s called ultimate rest. The reason for this is simple. God intended for man to rest. Society however, has made it almost impossible for people to be off on weekends. We demand electricity, gas, water, etc, and therefore we push the seven day work week. Many of us can remember when there was a ‘Blue Sunday.’ The only places that might be open on Sundays were gas stations. However, the love of money, by man, and the demand for products, by man, has made Sundays another business day. Still, this is not the Sabbath we are commanded to remember.
The Fourth Commandment starts out with the word "Remember" not only because many seem to have forgotten, but also because He wants us to always remember the seventh day in honor of Him and what He has created. This memorial established at the end of the creation week is the only known basis for the seven week cycle we know today. When God decided that He was satisfied with what He had created, He set the seventh day apart as a perpetual, weekly appointment to celebrate the creation with Him and He asks us to rest from all our works as He did from His. As the longest of all the commandments, this one contains what many believe is God's Seal. Much like a Presidential Seal, this commandment contains three important parts. A close reading of this commandment reveals His Name (Lord), His Title (made, Creator), and His dominion (Heaven and Earth). It should be noted that this claim by God makes the devil very angry and jealous. In fact, the devil hates this so much that he has worked very hard to have this commandment altered in an attempt to deceive mankind.
Many men have chosen to set Sunday aside as the Sabbath day. However, we need to remember that Sunday is the first day of the week. I look at the Sabbath as God intended for it to be. It is suppose to be a day of rest. In my mind, if we rest on Saturday, to get the ultimate rest, then on Sunday we worship God with all our strength. That is the way it should be with God anyway. God first – Man second. This is the way God intended for it to be and He expects it still. Remember, the Ten Commandments are laws with purpose. I found this saying on the net which really hits the point concerning our world and God’s laws.
"Never in the history of the world has there been ten rules that have caused such a disturbance in the conscience of a people as to affect a society, church, and government as do the Ten Commandments." - Founder, GodstenLaws.com

Ten Commandments are laws with purpose

Thought For the Day: 01/10/08

Serving God and Loving Him
A Commitment to Obeying
Using God’s Name Wrongly
Exodus 20:7

I’m reminded of a friend of mine, who is an Independent Baptist Pastor, in Houston, who told me an incident that happened while he was going to school. He was going to college, during the day, and I believe he was a night supervisor for UPS. He can correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m sending these to him also. If I remember the story correctly, he said there was an employee who acted upset. He said every time that he consistently cursed and used the Lord’s name in vain. He told me that he got so fed up with the attitude and language of the man that every time is used God’s name in vain or cursed, that he would start praising the Lord by saying hallelujah, glory to God, etc. After a while this man asked him what he was doing. He answered him by saying, “Well, you are praising your god, so I thought I would praise my God.” The man shut up then. Amazing huh?
In our study of Exodus 20, we come upon the third Commandment, found in verses 7, that the Lord gave; “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” This Commandment is probably one that real Christians hold to very hard. My God’s name does not end with the “D” word. It’s unfortunate that as a child that man I respected in church turned out to be what my mother used to call, ‘potty mouths.’ One of these men was a big member of the church I went too, and was in a leadership role. I always stayed away from him simply because of his attitude. However, when I got older, I saw this man in a local barber shop and it seemed every sentence had curse words in it and lo and behold, he even used God’s name in vain. Should this shock me? It shouldn’t shock me, because using God’s name in vain and cursing is something that people train themselves to do. Most men and women who do this do not even realize that they do it. And, then again, some don’t care. I’m reminded of a Steven Curtis Chapman song entitled, “What About the Change?”
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away: behold, all things become new.” So why does the old man hang round so much? The problem as I see it is that too many people are hooked on their baptisms, and the idea of just praying the prayer. They think because they were baptized at a young age, they were raised in church, or that they said the prayer that one of these is enough. My Bible teaches that if the Holy Spirit isn’t dealing with them and that they then don’t truly repent of their sins, that they aren’t saved. Baptism doesn’t count for anything but obedience after salvation of the lost soul. If a person is really and truly saved, there is a definite change that doesn’t just last for a few days and goes away. It is seriously noticed by others. All of a sudden God becomes real to that person and they start depending on HIM.
I’m not saying that a child of God can’t fall back to their old habits, but there again God usually gets their attention fast. People who fall into this trap of what we call “backslidden,” get there because they choose not to train themselves to stay close to God. They don’t make efforts to be there. It would have been real easy for me to have stayed out of church when I left the first church I pastored. I could have used that as an excuse. Worse than that, I could have let my relationship with God go. It is a choice we make, and when we ask HIM to help us, HE will help us stay on track.
I do not know any person’s heart! Neither do you! Only God does. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us something that really “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The Lord answers that question with this; “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings,” Jeremiah 17:10. That answer gave me some insight to some of my issues. He gives us according to our ways and to the fruits of our doings. I guess that could be said in a different way, like, “You reap what you sow”. We reap the fruit of the sin we sow. On top of all this, we should understand that we can keep the evil thoughts and saying from coming out of our heart through our brain and out of our mouth. How do you keep the trash of our hearts pushed down where they can’t come out? By filling it full of God’s Word, praying, etc; basically the same spiritual nutrition as God expects us to do.
We need to understand that there are other ways of using God’s name in vain, and not by just the common one you might hear. A lot of times we use HIS Name in slang. The words gosh and golly are just two words that come to mind. Usually when these words are said, the person saying them catches themselves before the name, “God” comes out. The terrible thing about cursing is that once the habit is formed it is used as a tool for Satan. A 2 year old says a dirty word that mom or dad says and they laugh because it is cute to them. However, saying these words is not cute. The parents later hear the child of age 10 – 12 let out a few bad words and then they want to say something about it. It’s too late! Christian parents who may us foul language as by words need to realize that they are killing their testimony to their kids and may be driving their kids away from God, unknowingly. There are many things that we tell our kids not to do that we do ourselves. Bottom line is; we need to clean our lives up by being obedient to God’s Commandments. Take them seriously, because the Lord was serious when HE wrote them. Committing ourselves to the Lord, is committing one’s self to being obedient. Remember Ten Commandments are laws with purpose.