Thought for the Day "Tea Bags in Hot Water

Tea Bags In Hot Water
What Comes Out When the Bag Burst?
Mark 7:20 - 23

Like most East Texas natives, I love sweet tea. I can drink a gallon a day if it were there. I was boiling a couple of tea bags as I stepped away for a few moments. I returned in just about five minutes to find that the tea bags had busted and tea grounds were all over the boiler. Now, I had a mess! Sure the tea could be drunk as soon as I put it into a gallon pitcher, through a strainer, and add a cup and a half of sugar, but what a mess! I just hate when that happens.
As I looked at that boiler of tea grounds it occurred to me that man is no different than those tea bags. Think about it for a minute; if our lives were represented by the tea bags and the world was the pot of water we could probably make the analogy. Tea bags do not bust in cold water. However, put it into a pot of boiling water and watch those bags bust wide open in about five minutes.
In Mark 7:20 -23, we find that Jesus said, “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Jesus was careful to show that this is what is inside of men. Until God convicts a man of his sin, they don’t’ see anything wrong with their lifestyle. Man justifies it before themselves and only before themselves, because we cannot justify it to God. God hates sin! (Proverbs 6:16-19). Isaiah said, in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;” We have to understand that these rags he was comparing sin too were what came off of lepers’ sores. They were full of corruptions and they smelled terrible. This boiler full of tea grounds looked awful, but not as awful as sin does to God. Man is not righteous before God without Jesus!
So, where did the awful sin come from in man? It is simple. We were conceived in sin. David said, in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Because of our sin our heart is unclean. All these sins that are mentioned in Mark 7:20 – 23 are in every man’s heart. When we think bad thoughts of someone we might need to think about what we are doing. In Proverbs 23:7 Solomon wrote, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
Many people, even people who claim salvation, have a big issue. This sin, though well hidden from some people, is never hid from the Lord. When we get put in hot water, or wrong situations, the bag busts and all the grounds are shown. Funny thing though, just as the tea bags, the grounds can be seen all the time. That must be what Moses was talking about in Number 32:23 when he said, “and be sure your sin will find you out.” They are not as invisible to the world as many think they are.
Even though our life is as dirty, God wants to clean them up. He will if we allow Him too. Just by repenting of our sins and allowing Him to be the Lord of our life. If we do allow Him to be Lord of our life then we don’t have to live for anyone or anything, but Him. We must try to put our personal beliefs and ideas to the side, if they don’t line up with God’s Word. Reason for that is simply said by Solomon also. “There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” That death is eternal separation from God. So remember that what comes out of the tea bag when it burst was there all the time; just like your life.

Thought of the Day - A True Friend

A True Friend
The Definition of a Real Friend
Proverbs 18:28

Over the last couple of months I have been able to find friends of what I call, ‘yesteryear.’ Many of these friends are people I went to school with, played with, worked with and the list goes on. I was thinking about the impacts that each one of these friends made upon my life. Some made greater impacts upon my life than others, but granted every one of them made an impact.
Many times we have all had friends that were like family. We fought with them, played with them, argued with them, laughed and cried with them, and we shared special moments with them. Some moved off to far away destinations and we may not have had contact with them. Some live next door, and many moved to another town, but we keep up with them. Now, with the computer and internet we can keep up with a lot of people and even find people. Even with all this technology many friends just seem to disappear. That brings me to my thought for today.
Solomon wrote, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” (Proverbs 18:24). There are two statements in here and both are true. For a man to have friends he has to be friendly. Every group of kids, that grows up together, end up in some different kinds of categories, or clicks, so to speak. You have the one group who seem to do everything right to be in the ‘popular’ sect. Then you may have the middle of the class group and then the group nobody seems to hang around. It didn’t matter what group you were in, you had your friends in that group. It didn’t make any difference at what group you were in, you had to show yourself friendly to that particular group. Then, you weren’t guaranteed to be liked either.
Our nation is in this same turmoil today. It doesn’t stop in school. You still fit in an upper, middle, or lower class and many of these look down at the others. Many still ignore people that they feel are beneath them; it doesn’t matter how friendly those others are. However, the friendships that are true never really end.
The second statement in the verse is talking about nobody else, but Jesus. He is the greatest friend any human can ever have. In Hebrews 13:5 we find that He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Many people who call themselves friends to others drop them like a hot potato when something bad arises. Jesus will be there for you. Your friends on this earth cannot love you like Jesus does. If they do say they can, ask them would they be willing to die for you. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, (John 15:13). Jesus died that you may have life. He hung on the cross for everybody, which includes you. He clarified this verse in verse 15 when He said, “I have called you friends.” This friend has provided you a place to stay when you leave this earth. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, (John 14:2).
This friend provided you with life everlasting. It’s up to each individual to accept that by repenting of their sin and asking Him to be their Lord and Savior. He will always be there, because He said He would. In Matthew 28:20 he said, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Amen.
With all these worldly friends God has blessed us with there is none that is a better friend than Jesus. Thank God that He is a true friend indeed.

Honoring God with Obedience

Had a great day on Sunday. Preached from 1 Samuel 15:22. Thought I'd post the notes. Anyone can use them, or study them out more.

Honoring God with Obedience
1 Samuel 15:22; John 14:15; 15:14

INTRODUCTION

A. There are many Christian people who make the decision to not follow God’s instructions.
1. Even though they say they are seeking God’s direction they really aren’t.
· Some have their own agendas to fill
· Some have their own ideas or beliefs on something or how to do something
· Some even choose to go with traditional ways because that is what some preacher or teacher said way back when.
· There are even some that have their minds made up to do it their way, because they believe their way is the right way.
2. Many have even chosen to eliminate God in their daily lives.
· They don’t study the Word of God or pray daily.
· They don’t support churches that they belong too, with attendance, finances, or even prayer.
· They easily upset over petty issues that are of no real importance.
· The lack of God’s direction is evident in their lives.
B. Saul and Samuel are two great examples of what to do and what not to do in obedience.
C. Three things we can learn from this lesson to help us with our Christian walk and teach us on why we should listen to God
D. From the beginning of time man has had this idea that his way was better than God’s way.
E. The Lord said, (Isa 55:8 KJV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

KNOW THAT MAKING EXCUSES FOR NOT FOLLOWING GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS IN UNACCEPTABLE VS. 21 & 24

A. Saul had an excuse for it all
· Wait, I obeyed God; I did exactly what He told me too. The sheep on oxen, well, we took the best of them, because we wanted to sacrifice them to the Lord.
· Excuse no. 2 – I know I sinned, but the people scared me and told me to do it.
· Even though he admitted he sinned, he then blamed it on others by using the word ‘because.’
B. Today we all have an excuse for everything.
· I planned on coming to church, but I was just tired.
· I would have gone to church, but I had to work all week and it was my only day off.
· I know the Bible says that, but….

KNOW THAT OBEYING WHAT GOD TELLS US TO DO IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING WE CAN DO. VS. 22

A. We are in a world that believes doing good things will get us to heaven.
B. This world thinks that just because they say they serve God, go to church, or have been baptized, that this will get them to heave.
· Ephesians 2:8-9“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.”
· Saul had this same attitude; “I know that the Lord told me to destroy it all, but after all, I was thinking about rewarding God.”
· That’s what he was saying, but truth is he was only thinking about the value of what he had.
· HE WAS THINKING ABOUT SELF.
C. Even though He sees us worshipping Him and trying serve Him, we need to remember that listening to Him and being obedient honors him.
D. We can say what we want, but God knows our every thought.
E. He knows what’s in our hearts!

KNOW THERE IS A PENALTY FOR SINNING AGAINST THE LORD. VS 26

A. Saul lost everything he had.
· His kingship.
· His authority.
· His relationship with his friend Samuel.
· His relationship with the Lord.
B. He was removed from being the king by God.
C. He didn’t have anymore authority…..God removed it!
D. It broke Samuel’s heart to the point he cried all night long about it. However, after it was over Saul did not see Samuel anymore.
E. His relationship with the Lord, as he knew it was gone.
F. Today we make decisions to go into different directions than the Lord tells us.
· We pray and ask God to lead us or show us to what he wants us to do; when He does, we choose to ignore it, because He can’t be in that.
· Churches ask God to show them directions to go, but because many have different ideas, they decide to follow their ideas.

SAMUEL’S OBEDIENCE HONORED GOD.

A. A quick look into Samuel’s life.
· Dedicated to God by his mother.
· Raised in the temple.
· Heard God call his name three times and as instructed by Eli he answered, “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.”
· Became of Judge of Israel.
· Anointed Saul King of Israel.
· Obeyed God and with a broken heart told his friend Saul that he was no longer King.
· From a child he obeyed God even when it hurt him.
· He was blessed.
B. If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15.
C. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. John 15:14.
D. If any man serve me, let him follow me. John 12:26.
E. Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for the is the whole duty of man.
F. To bring honor to the Lord we must;
· Fear HIM. This means to respect Him.
· Obey HIM. This means to do what He asked or tells you to do.
· Follow HIM. To follow Him you must first be a servant, which shows respect to Him and honors Him with obedience.
· Are you obeying him and hearing what he is telling you to do with your life; your service to Him; and with path of life?

PLEA TO THE LOST

A. Your cannot be obedient to God if you do not know him
B. Romans 3:23; 6:23;

Following Jesus

Following Jesus
A Choice for Man and Churches
John 12:26

In preparation for Vacation Bible School there are bulletins that are issued that has the VBS theme on them. When I got my copy the scripture underneath the picture read, “If any man serve me, let him follow me.” This scripture is found in John 12:26. The Lord immediately had my attention. Bro. Dale preached the message, but I couldn’t get this verse off my heart and mind.
I shared this with several people, and on more than one occasion I was asked, “Are you ready to follow Him? I believe it is the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir that sings a song entitled “Daystar,” which is one of my favorite songs. On the chorus the song sings, “Lead me Lord I’ll follow, anywhere you open up the door. Let me know your wisdom, show me things I’ve never seen before. Lord I want to be your witness; You can take what’s wrong and make it right. Daystar shine down on me; let your love shine down through me in the night.” Most hymn books has the song in it that we love to sing that sings, ‘follow…follow, I will follow Jesus, anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on.’ The amazing thing is that it is easier said by the mouth than it is done.
Jesus told the disciples on the night He was praying in the garden, “the heart indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41. This has been man’s calling card from the very beginning. We are like Peter. We are bold at times, and hiding at other times. We say we are willing to follow until God puts the challenge up to us. Then we find one of those excuses we have in the bag.
Jesus was willing to die for us on the cross, and we say we are willing to serve Him. To serve Him we must follow Him with boldness. That will go against all traditional beliefs we might have concerning the church, against all opinions we have, and against to doubts that Satan puts up against us. When we as churches follow Christ, we should do it boldly. That means that we make stands when others are not making stands that please God.
So, what’s the lesson we learn here? The lesson I’ve learned for myself is that maybe I’m not serving God the way I’m suppose too. How do I come to that conclusion? I’ll answer that question with the same question you may be answering it with. Am I really willing to follow HIM wherever he leads me, with a willing heart? This is a choice we have as people and churches. However, the true answer should be, yes Lord, here am I, send me. Then when He does send you; go! Thank you Lord for speaking to my heart.

Thought of the Day

A Penny’s worth of Trust
Words from God
Matthew 11:28 – 30

Many people have days when their hearts are heavily burdened. Today, I was looking in Matthew 11:28 - 30, which reads, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy lade, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and burden is light.”
I was thinking to myself about how I feel so rejected and how nobody seems to care, and today I was sent an email. It was almost like any that I get from friends. This friend, Nita, from Greenwood, Arkansas, sent it to me as a forward. It was a simple email that had been forwarded no telling how long. But, of all days, it came to me. The email read like this;
You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. This gives you something to think about.
Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.
As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value. A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this? 'Look at it.' He said. 'Read what it says.' She read the words ' United States of America.’ 'In God we Trust?' 'Yes!' 'And?' 'And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful! When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, 'In God We Trust,' and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message. It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient.
This penny spoke to the wealthy man’s heart, just as before. He may have very well been wealthy because he put his trust in God, but who knows? Many times we choose to go our own directions, because we get tired of fighting the world and its problems.
Today was a down day for me and God knew it. A church, in Texas, had asked me to preach to them and I had explained my divorce before I went. They still wanted me to come, and I did. I enjoyed the time there and looked at all the possibilities. Last week this church called me to come back again, and I told them that I would get back to them. My job is behind and I called to tell them that I would not be able to come on the date they wanted me too. The man told me that he was just going to call me to tell me that one man in their small congregation didn’t want me to be their pastor, so there was no need for me to waste my time coming there.
I told Becky that I was giving up on ever pastoring again, because rejection just brings me too much heartache. After I read this email I was reminded of what the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 118:8, which says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” What a statement!
Today, many of us base our decisions on what we think rather than what God leads us to do or what HE teaches us in HIS WORD. We are all guilty of this corruptible sin. We need to remember what the Lord said in Isaiah 55: 8 - 9. He said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” As I have said before, opinions are like noses; everyone has one and they all smell. When we have to make decisions about anything, we need to ask God and trust in HIM to show us what we need to do. If HE leads us to do something, then do it while we throw our opinions out the window.
When I think of the widow’s mite, I think of how Jesus used it to show us that HE wants our all. It would not be my all, if I chose to give up doing what HE called me to do. Jesus was rejected on all fronts, but HE continued to do what our Father told HIM too. The email about “IN GOD WE TRUST,” is a reminder to me that God does have something for me to do and HE is very much in control.
Trusting in God is the only way for me to serve HIM in the capacity that HE wants me too. All of this in a simple email. Thank God for good Christian friends who allows God to use them the way HE wants too. Thanks for the reminder of how I should trust in God Nita. Thank you for your encouragement Lord.

What a great day!

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to preach to a small church who has big goals. This particular church came from a sister church, but does not have a home of their own yet. For the first time ever, except in my own home, I had the great opportunity to preach in one of this church member's home. Counting my wife and I, we had 13 people. I preached from Hebrews 10:7, and 22 - 24. The title of the message was how to follow Christ. I believe the apostle Paul outlined this message very well. I have preached verses 22 through 24 a couple of times before and later found verse 7, which to me ties it all together.

Verse 7 says, "Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will O God." What a great statement made here. God is looking for willing hearts to do HIS will. Paul wrote the following outline in this particular passage that is of great encouragement.

I. Let us draw near. (vs 22)
a. Drawing close to God is the way to have the greatest relationship to Him that anyone could have.

b. The way to draw near to HIM is;

* With a true heart.

* In full assurance of faith.

* Having our hearts sprinkled from a evil conscience, which to me means having a clear conscience.

* Our bodies washed with pure water. This does not mean baptism, but I believe it means the

change that only Jesus Christ, the living water can make in a person's life.

II. Lest us hold fast. (vs. 23)

a. Holding fast to the profession of our faith

* Don't let go of the faith, which God gives us, because it is the only way to please God.
* Faith without works is dead.

b. Hold fast to our faith without wavering.

* We are in a world that is does waver from its faith.
* Christians should maintain their relationship with Christ through faith.
* It doesn't matter what comes our way, Christ is the only stable in a Christian life.
* Let's not waver from our faith and turn back toward the world, which hates people
who stand for Christ anyway.

III. Let us Consider. (vs. 24).

a. one another to provoke.

* We should encourage each other instead of down grading each other.
* We should encourage each other in love, and not to make ourselves to look better
than anyone else.

b. We encourage one another through love by being as faithful to Christ and HE is to us.

c. We should consider the lost with brotherly love, by showing them direction to Christ in
and through our lives and testimonies.

This is not the complete message as I preached it, but anybody who chooses to study it out can sure get a blessing from it. I know I did, and I hope you do too. Pray for Faith MBC in Hewitt, Texas as they really are seeking God's direction in this church. Pray that if this is where God wants my family at that he will reveal it clearly to them and us too. I hope ya'll have a blessed day.

Your Heart's Trust

Your Heart’s Trust
A Tool to Use
Psalm 28:7

I was recently asked to pray with a lady who was broken hearted. I did not ask any questions, but when I was asked to pray with her and another group of people, I could tell she was really in pain. God knows her pain, and His will be done. Now I can imagine that everyone, at one time or another has their heart broken. We can relate to the loneliness that it brings, and even though people pray with you, it is like you are totally alone in the situation. I can remember the last time I was totally heart broke. I did not have anyone to talk too. My mom was on her death bed, not knowing anyone. My brother had bigger issues than mine to deal with, and I had no family to talk too. It was almost like when you approached people they would try to avoid talking, because they didn’t know what to say. I tried to talk to a couple of good friends, but I found that they had no words for me that gave me comfort, and in turn it made them feel bad. It really is a sad situation to be in.
David wrote, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; may heart trusted in HIM, and I am helped: there fore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise HIM.” In this Psalm, David is praying against his enemies. I find it real interesting at how he starts his prayer. “Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my rock:” What a powerful statement this is. We are real quick to say that the Lord is all powerful, which HE is, but David seems to have a real understanding of it. How many times have we wished we could hear God’s answer verbally? David says, ‘be not silent to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear my voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee” This is one of the greatest requests that I’ve read in God’s Word. He’s saying, “Lord, I need you to hear me and tell me what to do.”
If you read the whole 28th Psalm, you will find that David is addressing a need to the Lord for relief of a burden. Then in the end, David acknowledges that he can do nothing without the Lord. Wow! So what can I learn from this? We see that David continues “Blessed be the Lord, because HE hath heard the voice of my supplications,” verse 6. The burden David had is for the Lord’s protection against the enemies and for the protection of his people. As the King of Israel, he took his job very seriously and I believe he really loved these people.
The burdens we bear at times seem to almost totally unbearable. Heartaches seem to come more often than not. This world causes us to struggle with decisions we have to make. Sometimes decisions are totally out of our hands, but we have to bear the brunt of the force, so to speak. This is why Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mat 11:28 – 30). The burdens that David had were tuff, but I tell you now, he knew who could handle it. This leads him to say, “my heart trusted in HIM, and I am helped”
Trusting in the Lord is the key to a happy life. When people talk about trusting in God, it is general referred to as accepting Jesus as Personal Savior. However, and I do agree that we must trust in the Lord to be saved, this is not the trust that David speaks about. Sometimes, when I really desire something, I try trusting in everything, everyone, or even myself to obtain it; when I should requested the Lord to show my heart what I needed to do, or allow happen. To me, listening to your heart is only good when you know its God speaking from it. We know that the heart is exceedingly wicked, but as a child of the King, you know when HE speaks through it. David was saying in laymen’s terms, “You know what, I gave it to you and I know you’re going to handle it. I am helped.” He worked his faith to the point that he said, “God you have a problem; I’m going to bed.”
It doesn’t matter what kind of problems we have at times, we need to realize that as a child of the king your heart trusted in HIM and HE will always help. Cast all your cares, your worries, your heartaches, and your fears upon HIM, and He will be your help. Remember; He is our strength, and without HIM nothing can be done. The key to that is allowing HIM to handle it.

Thought of the Day

Waiting on the Lord
A Way to Grow in Strength
Psalm 27:14

There is a young man in our church’s youth group that is an encouragement to me just about every time I see him. He’s really disciplined in the way he takes care of himself. He is going to be a senior in high school, where he plays football and lifts weights. As I look at him, I wonder some things about myself and some other people. If our spiritual lives for God were seen as muscle to God, what would you and I look like? This young man is disciplined in the way he eats, they way he exercises, and the way he lives.
The Psalmist wrote, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Many of us have read Isaiah 40:31, where the scripture tells us, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Many have sung this verse in a song. This takes a discipline that many Christians do not have. The biggest discipline you’ll ever learn is waiting. Waiting on the Lord takes disciplines like my friend has in his life. So let’s look at some of these and just see what we can learn from it.
Learning to wait upon the Lord is learned by what we eat. Think about it for a second. If we eat what old Satan feeds us or this world feeds us, we soon develop, what I call, the attitude of Nike. The huge shoe monstrosity developed this saying when Bo Jackson played for the Oakland Raiders and whatever baseball team if played for. The world has this attitude toward anything; “Don’t think about it; just do it.” Christians develop this attitude and call it faith. However, when it falls short of what we want, we state, “Well I just didn’t have enough faith.” That’s not necessarily true either. There are things we do need to step out on in faith, and pray that God will use us. However, in our day to day lives we sometimes may huge decisions without waiting on the Lord’s instruction. I have learned, the hard way, that when I wait upon the Lord, He never leads me wrong. If I learn to wait upon HIM all the time then I become fit spiritually and don’t become ‘fat and lazy,’ as a Christian, lol. Lesson to learn; do not believe the world’s instructions, because it will always lead you in the wrong direction.
Learning to wait upon the Lord is learned by how we exercise. Physical exercise seems to be in the past tense for me. Amazingly, when I was 16 – 25 years old, I stayed in good shape, because I participated in sports such as baseball, softball, football, and weight lifting; and no I was not what people call ‘cut’. When I was 26 – 36 I still got some exercise, but it went way down. At 48, and yes I know I’m still a youngster to some, some exercise I get is just being able to get up out of bed, because I’m so stiff, or my back hurts, or something hurts, etc. You that are my age or older know what I’m talking about. Spiritual exercise is apparently no different in our spiritual life. I am 28 years old in my salvation. I’ve gone to church most of my life and even though I know that I do not know everything about God’s Word or God, I feel okay spiritually. However, there have been many times that I was not even okay. Spiritual exercise comes through daily Bible studies, daily prayer, and a good regiment of church faithfulness. The more we use these spiritual exercises, the easier all the things such as witnessing, preaching, working for the Lord, etc, become to us. This young man can lift more weight than I can, because he works out daily. He was not able to accomplish these goals over night, but instead he was faithful in these exercises. Spiritually strong people can do more when we exercise spiritually daily.
Learning to wait upon the Lord is taught by the way we live. I am reminded of many examples that Jesus used in the Bible that were not able to live for Christ, because of the way they wanted to live for the world. Jesus told us that we cannot live for HIM and the world at the same time. Money is the root of all evil and we all want that root. In an earlier ‘thought of the day,’ I made the comment that we need to be content. However, many of us are never content. We have to have more money. A rich young man came to Jesus and asked him, “What can I do to inherit the Kingdom of God?” Jesus told him to keep the commandments, and the young man told Him, “I have done this since I was but a youth.” Jesus said, “Then give all your money to the poor, sell all you have and follow me.” The man went away sad because he thought that was too high of a price, for he was very wealthy. Living for Christ takes a huge regiment of eating the right spiritual food, exercising with our weights daily (studying, praying and worshipping), and living our life like each day is our last day for Christ on this earth.
Many things you can learn by watching discipline athletes, but I can honestly say that God has told each of us how to become stronger for HIM. As I examine myself, I have decided that I don’t look like a big body builder in my spiritual life, but I know how to start building that way. How about you?

Thought of the Day - July 28th

Contentment in Christ
Seeking to find His will
Philippians 4:11

As I woke up this morning, it took me a little while to gather my wits about myself. Many would say that I do not have many wits about me, and at times I would agree with them. When I finally got myself going I realized it was my birthday. First I thanked God for allowing me to have another good night’s rest, and I thanked Him also for allowing me to wake up to spend another day to try to do HIS will in my life.
I have had time to ponder on the forty eight years of my life today. I have to wonder if I’m as content as I need to be. Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content,” (Phil 4:11 KJV). I know that I’ve not always allowed contentment to override my wants. I have desires, or wants, that do not seem to be available.
Today, I heard on the radio about a girl who started off on the wrong foot as a teenager and allowed God to bring her to where she is today. During the trying times of her life she was molded by God and she allowed Him to direct her path into a better life. She allowed the mistakes of her past to be used, by God, to make her content to be the person she is in the present. I can say that if we allow God to mold us the way He wants too, HE will put us in a place that will honor and glorify HIM.
As I look on my life, I can remember some of the horrible mistakes that I have made. There is not enough time or space to cover them all. I know that probably one of the biggest mistakes I made was not listening to my mother when she tried to lead me. At times, I wonder how my life would have changed had I really listened to her. Maybe some of my heartaches would not have occurred had I listened early in my adult life for sure. Even with all those mistakes, I have many great things that happened in my life too. I have a loving wife, whom I love very much, three great sons, mistakes to the side, and most importantly I know Jesus as my personal Savior. I met HIM on October 3, 1982 and I answered the call to preach in 1999. Even though I’ve never considered myself a good speaker, I love sharing HIS WORD with people. I thank God He called me to the ministry, and look forward to the next work HE has for me, should HE have one.
With all the positives and negatives in my life I realized that God has been molding me into what HE desires for me to be and I know HE is not finished. I can’t say that I’ve always gone in the direction He wants me too, but I can say that HE is always there to keep me on track. I can’t say I’ve always been a good husband, father, or person either. However, I can say that God has forgiven me for things I’ve done wrong, because I asked Him too.
I can recall when the only church I’ve ever pastored called me. I was so excited about the opportunity and I can honestly say that the people there showed their love toward me and my family. I can remember preaching at that church, and looking back, I can see a bunch of mistake that I made in my short time there. I cannot say I was a good pastor either. However, I can say I had a desire to be one. I had a desire to be friends with all them members and they treated me like family. I still feel that I failed miserably in areas that I could have been better in. However, it wasn’t about me being a pastor. It was about me making myself available to be used of God. God used me as a tool to convey HIS thoughts and we saw several saved during the time I was there. The first 2 ½ years, I did make myself available to HIM, but the last year of my pastorate brought me much discouragement. I’ve come to believe it was mainly because I allowed myself to loose focus on my calling. I became so discouraged that I didn’t know what to do. I prayed a lot, but I saw things happening in the church that I didn’t like, which caused me to be discontent. Therefore, I grew even more discouraged. People were leaving after we had a small growth spurt, many telling me that it wasn’t me, and some who were faithful just dropping out all together. They said that they just wanted to do something else, and unfortunately I still took it personal and allowed it to discourage me. I started feeling that I was not liked anymore and I became lonely. I allowed that to cause me to loose focus and I got in the way of God doing a great work. Some of them had grown discontent just as their pastor had. I believe it is because we all stopped praying as we needed too. As any pastor does, I wanted that church to be in better shape than what it was when I arrived, should I have to leave, and I can’t say it was.
When I accepted the church, I had no plans of ever leaving. I was very happy and satisfied, and I was there until Jesus came, but things change. I lost my wife and I needed a wife who would support me and minister with me, but that was no longer there either. I needed people to pray with and for me, and there didn't seem to be anyone available. I had lost control of something I should have never tried to control in the first place. After all, it is not about me. I grew even more discouraged. Discontentment leads to discouragement.
I left the church that August and felt like I had done the Lord such a poor job as a pastor that HE would never use me again. I will say that I loved the members of that church with a deep convicting love, and even after leaving those members are still on my heart and mind. Not long after I arrived back home, I saw my current pastor. He invited me to church, but I really didn’t have a desire to go anywhere. Some of the other pastors didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me. However, he encouraged me and prayed with me and I finally gave into going on a Sunday morning. As I listened to this man preach it was like I was totally by myself. I had no family with me and I didn’t feel like I had a friend in the world. After all, I failed the only true friend I’ve ever known, Jesus. I had met the woman I would eventually marry, but I still didn’t feel like I was loved by anyone, and I sure didn’t feel of any use any longer. After services, the pastor came up to me and said, “Come back tonight and preach for us.” I told him, “I don’t know about that,” as I thought God doesn’t want me behind a pulpit anymore. I went to church that night dressed in jeans and a golf shirt, not planning on preaching, but just to try to get a hint of the vigor I had for Christ again. The pastor asked me, “Are you ready to preach?” I said, “I guess, but you don’t have to let me,” hoping that he would say okay, I’ll preach tonight, because I didn’t really feel like it. I felt like I didn’t want to make another fool of myself and that’s exactly what I felt like I was going to do behind a pulpit. I felt that if God really wanted me behind a pulpit I would have stayed at my church. What a horrible thought! God will use a willing heart. He was showing me something.
God put me in the church I’m in now for a reason, and I’m very thankful for my church family. When I first started going there, I was still very discouraged. I didn’t want to be in a church setting. I kept blaming myself for doing God an injustice behind the pulpit and the duty HE gave me. I have thought and prayed, ‘God give me one more chance to prove to you that I can do a better job, and I will give it my best,” but my prayers haven’t been answered in that direction yet, and I’m not guaranteed they will be. I was still discontent. I can only hope that the members of the church, which allowed me to be their pastor for 3 ½ years can find the love in their heart to forgive me for not being the great pastor for Christ that I needed to be. I am like any human, I could say that the reason I failed is not totally my fault, because I didn’t feel like I had the support that I needed and desired, but that would be passing the blame. That could be part of the problem, but as I look back, I see that the real problem was me. I was not content to allowing God to use me in a miserable situation as HE had in better situations; again, discontentment brings discouragement.
I have a great class that I wished was larger at times, and there are people who really love God in it. It’s a ministry for me, and I can only hope that God is using me in a way that will honor and glorify HIM. Periodically I’m asked to preach there and I love trying to do just that. I still have a deep desire to pastor another one of the Lord's churches, but for now I must learn to be content where God has me. Maybe this is the lesson I needed to learn.
I’ve said all this to state the conclusion I have come too. If we really desire to work for God the opportunities are out there. We make the decision to take those opportunities or let them pass by. When God opens doors, be ready to go through them. My prayer for this next year of my life, should God allow me that time, is that God will show me the opportunity and give me the faith to walk through those doors that HE does open. And on top of all that, I pray that HE will help me be content in whatsoever I do. Contentment in Christ is a desire that Christ has for us all.

Saturday!

Saturday! I have a day off......lol. Well, this week seemed to go by quickly. Summer time always flies by, but it becomes miserable when it is hot and dry. I had the opportunity to go to camp again on Wednesday. I was able to talk to people whom I haven't seen in several years. Bro. Paul Clark and I visited for a while. He just recently lost his dad, but is excited to know that he is in Heaven. He preached on Wednesday night and I enjoyed it. The message was entitled, "Seven Bad Things About Heaven." The camp had about 250 registered campers and I believe they had 23 saved and 3 young men to surrender to the ministry of our Lord. That is exciting. On Thursday night Becky was able to go to camp with me and I introduced her to all my friends. Roger and Carla Bachelor were there, and I've known the them for a long time. They are members of Pinkham MBC in DeKalb, Texas. They may have a new pastor already and I pray that he is the one God wants there. Camp seems to just get started good when it is time to go home. I know that anytime I've spent the week there that Friday seemed a long way on on Monday when we arived. However, the week flies by and I always wanted to stay longer. It's such a great place to get away from the world. Becky told me to schedule a week off for camp next year. I hope that God opens the door to a church, which I can take to camp. That would be the greatest thing to me in the world.

I received two calls from churches this week looking for help. One is in Avenger, and Bro. Gould is wanting someone to help him with the church. The church is struggling in attendance, and the man that lands this job will hopefully be used of God to help it grow. I will know in a few weeks if I'm to go there. I also received a call from a church in Aubrey, Arkansas who is looking for a pastor too. I've got a while to prepare for this one as I am not scheduled to appear there until September 7.

I fill in for Bro. Dale tomorrow night and I'm still working on the message.....later on this one.

Camp Time!

Yesterday brought back many memories for me. I took a load of suitcases, ice chests, and many other objects, along with my niece and Albert, to Pine Springs Baptist Encampment, in Laneville, Texas. I had the opportunity to see many friends I have not seen in years. Our church took 34 to camp this year, and I believe it was the largest for this church in some time. This is camp no. 4, the camp I was raised up in for over 30 years. I was not able to attend it every year, but I do have many friends who still do.

It was good to see many pastors whom I attended school with at TBI. They all wanted to know if I was pastoring anywhere, lol. I haven't had that special opportunity in almost 4 years. There are many of our churches seeking pastors, but it seems like God has not opened that door yet; but, HE will, one day. I always enjoyed taking kids to camp when I was pastoring, and even when I was a youth director also. The picture of this tabernacle reminds me of lots of things that happened there from the time I was a youngster to a teen. God has saved many souls in this building and continues to do so. The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is what does it! Camp is one solid week without the world dictating you something to do. It also gives you one solid week of fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, to worship Christ, and to preach the gospel to a lost bunch. I may try to go to camp next year, with CMBC, should I not be anywhere else.

I saw a man I've not seen in about 4 years. Bro. Paul Clark is one of the men whom I count as a great friend. He loves the Lord and preaches the gospel with a fire. God has used the Clark family for many years. He just recently lost his dad, Bro. Clyde Clark. Brother Clyde was a warrior for God too. Bro. Paul pastors in Hillsboro, Texas, and God has blessed him so much. His son, Brother Jason is a missionary to France, and I'm glad to see that God is keeping HIS ministry going on through this loving family. My prayers go out to this family during their time of sadness. However, we know that Bro. Clyde is at the feet of Jesus and suffers no longer.

For those friends of mine, who read my blogs, which I don't seem to have much time for anymore, I ask that you pray for me as many have contacted me about possibly being interested in pastoring their churches. I've really prayed hard about this, but some of the contacts I've had, have not called back as I was told they would. Just pray that God will show me without a doubt what HIS will is, and that I will have a heart to accept it and continue in what I'm doing until HE puts me where HE has plans for me. Also, pray for several churches without pastors. May God send to them the man HE wants them to have, and may these churches see who he is. Thanks.

What a weekend!!!

Monday morning! We woke up with rain, even though it wasn't more than a half inch, but it was rain. Thank the Lord for that. This past weekend was really busy. I worked on the lawn mover, and didn't get it running still, the swimming pool pump went out, had to get a new one, my Boston terrier had 5 puppies, and I was asked to preach on Sunday night. I was contacted by a church in Alexandria, LA, about preaching for them, but that didn't materialize and then I was able to go to work this morning; in the rain. LOL.

I preached from 1 Samuel 3:1 - 11 last night. The message was intitled, "Hearing God." We did have a couple respond, but I just love when God takes over and gets me out of the way. I really enjoyed preaching though. We have 2 churches in our area without pastors right now. I hope I get a chance to preach some more. I really love sharing God's Word with churches. We will see.

VACATION

Well, Monday is here! Back to reality. Becky and I just finished up a vacation that started with a wedding were Aaron and Shae were married, and then we went to Unity MBC, in Denison, Texas. We were there in their pastor's absence. We always enjoy the visit with this church. God really seems to be blessing this church, and I thank God for that.
On Monday, June 30, Becky and I stayed at home and got some things done; namely, planting trees, bushes and other plants.
Tuesday, July 1, we made the trip to Houston. Highlight of the day; Going through Norstroms, in the Galeria, on the way to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. I saw a suit coat for 1095.00 dollars and a ladies blouse that might go for 25 dollars in Wal Mart for 289.00 dollars. We enjoyed the meal and returned to the hotel. We stayed in the Indiglo Hotel.
Wednesday, July 2, started off at Chic-fa-le and then took us to the Johnson Space Center and Minute Maid park. There were some interesting things at Johnson Space Center, but overall, it was boring. It had been about 35 years since I had been there. Minute Maid park was fun, even though the Astros were beat by the Dodger 4-1. There was a nice fire work show after the game.
Thursday, July 3, took us to Galveston, after breakfast at McDonalds. We went fishing. Becky had never salt water fished before. She caught a lot of Whitings and on nice red fish, 20" long, weighing between 3 - 5 pounds. I enjoyed watching her. I helped a man with a flounder and caught one small whiting. Becky wanted to swim, but must not have been in the cards for this vacation. We stopped a Pappa's Sea Food to eat on the way home.
Friday, July 4, we slept till 8:00 a.m. We stated off at IHOP again, and then we went to the Houston Zoo and had planned on going to another park for a concert and fire work display. The zoo brought back a ton of memories for me, but the rain put a damper on some of the things. We spent most of the day there and then we went to the Katy Mills Mall, where Bass Pro Shop is. After eating at the Rain Forest Cafe, we looked around and decided to leave just before the mall closed. As we got to the parking lot, we notice thousands of people sitting on their cars and in chairs and found out that there was going to be a fire work show right there; so we stayed. It was really nice. Arrived back at the hotel around 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 5, we checked out of the hotel and went to IHOP for breakfast. We stopped at a Houston Plant and Flower store just north of Houston, but did not buy anything. Then we made the last minute decision to go fishing at Lake Livingston. After a quick stop at Wal Mart, we were off to the state park where we fished from yet another pier. I caught on striper and we both fed the fish until about 4:00 p.m., when we decided to come home. We arrived back at our house by 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 6, we went to church, shelled purple hull peas and basically rested. Now it is back to reality with our everyday life of work.

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.”