Natural

Good Morning,

I can just picture myself trying to explain to my parents that I was simply “born this way.” For me to say, “It is so unnatural for me to clean my room.  The fact is I am very uncomfortable when I am told to clean my room, it makes me feel strange and awkward,”  would not go over well. My perspective would not last long before I found myself doing what I was told no matter how I “felt.”  

We make too many excuses for our actions, such as: “I was born with a biological issue that makes me susceptible to booze, and therefore, I am a drunk.  I cannot help myself even if I wanted to, I was born this way!”   If I were to be picked up by the police for shoplifting, I would never get away giving the excuse,  “But officer, I was born a thief, and I cannot help myself.” We all know that those ideas are stupid; they are excuses rather than valid explanations.  

Ephesians 4:19 “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

Sinful habits control us because we have surrendered or yielded our members to them. Our lives can become controlled by sin whether that sin is shameful morals, drugs, laziness, or being a slob.

Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

One’s first drink of booze is not pleasant, it is not so for anyone.  No one savors their first cigarette; it is unpleasant. After a while, and enough smoking or drinking, the act becomes pleasant, coveted, and craved — a habit that becomes difficult to overcome.  Instead of naming deeds as wrong and telling people to confess them as sin, they are told these vices are okay, and they are allowed to make excuses for their behavior. Slavery and bondage will follow!

The explanation, “My dad beat my mother” is no excuse for bad behavior.  The fact that someone is born lazy and careless (sinful in nature) does not excuse him from Bible commands to be diligent.  Right is still right no matter what weaknesses one may possess.  We all know that some people are more athletic than others and some people naturally write more smoothly and attractively than others.  My penmanship may not be as nice as another’s, but we can all write legibly!!  

Ephesians 4:17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”

vs. 18 “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:”

vs. 19 “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

vs. 20 “But ye have not so learned Christ;”

vs. 21 “ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:”

The passage continues and explains how to beat these terrible habits:

vs. 22 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;”

vs. 23 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”

vs. 24 “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

The Bible says we should “put off” these deeds, stop doing them.  We need to label the wrong and acknowledge those deeds as corrupt.

We need to fill our mind with good, meditate upon holy and righteous ideals, and fix our thinking.    Finally, we need to put on the new man; start doing right on purpose.  We should begin to develop new habits and routines.  Of course, we need the Lord to help us do this; these changes cannot be made without the help of God.


Bible, prayer, and humility will draw divine help and surely make the difference in defeat or victory. May we not make excuses for our behavior or the behavior of our children; and may we repent of our shameful ways and walk with God. 

Pastor

Sacrifice

Good Morning,

The Bible teaches a great deal about sacrifices. The first sacrifice began with God’s sacrifice of a lamb (we suppose) to make robes for Adam and Eve.  Throughout the Old Testament, many sacrifices were made, and each sacrifice has a special meaning to God.  Though, the sacrifices did not end with the coming of our Lord; rather, the spiritual application of those sacrifices began with Christ, "The Lamb of God."

In our lives, as spiritual priests, we are to offer up acceptable sacrifices to God.  We understand that a sacrifice costs something to the one who offers it.  A penny given to a child is no sacrifice to a working adult.  A sacrifice must include a cost.  Notice these few examples of New Testament sacrifices:

Our Bodies

Romans 12:1  “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.”

Our Praise and Thanksgiving

Hebrews 13:15 "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

Our Financial Gifts to the Ministry and to the Poor

Hebrews 13:16 “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (The word communicate is a financial term in this verse.)

Philippians 4:18 “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”

Service of Others

Philippians 2:17 “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.”

As I said at the beginning, a sacrifice cost us, and in many cases, it hurts.  

When we are suffering or sick, it is difficult to offer praise and thanksgiving to God, yet it is right and pleasing to Him. We are to praise God because He is good not because our lives are good. 

Offering our bodies to the Lord's will perhaps include attending church when we are tired, moving to a mission field, or avoiding certain activities to please God. It may be that in so doing we may lose friends, but this sacrifice also pleases the Lord.

Serving others to the point of hurting is not wrong; it is a sacrifice. That is what Paul was talking about when he penned, “…offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith…” (Philippians 2:17)   The bus worker who misses many weekend activities to visit the bus route or pick up people for church or the choir member who shows up early for practice (but could show up just in time for church) both forfeit their time to make the church service more pleasing to others. These sacrifices are pleasing to God. 

In the area of finances, our giving can also be a sacrifice and pleasing to God.  Do not fret if your financial support of the ministry costs you or even hurts you.  Did the sheep only offer wool (a painless, soon replaced gift to others)?  No, countless sheep were sacrificed in the Old testament, and their blood was pleasing to God.  

Sacrifices please God.  To offer something to the Lord that is expensive or painful to give honors God and pleases Him greatly.  

Pastor

Contentment

Good Morning,

There is no end of evil in our world, no end of the pain inflicted upon one another, and no end of the ways Satan moves mankind to do ill to their own.  We read a b statement in 1 Timothy 6:10 that is very familiar, yet unheeded:  "For the love of money is the root of all evil…”

Look at the context of this passage.  

First, the exhortation to be content.  If we have food and clothing, we need to intentionally develop a contentment with the bare necessities. The opposite of being the "root of all evil" is that contentment is "great gain."

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

vs. 7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

vs. 8 “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Paul proceeds to warn about the dangers of greed, covetousness, and the desire for more.

vs. 9 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

Look at the list of terrible things one can fall into: temptation, a snare, foolish and hurtful lusts, destruction, and perdition. Verse ten adds “erred from the faith” and “many sorrows” to the list.

That list ought to instill fear in anyone with even half a brain, but in fact, most do not believe this anymore than they believe "it is better to give than to receive."

Paul goes on to state the famous quote about all evil.

vs. 10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Solomon writes about the wretched end of those who love money enough to do wrong to get it: "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain..."  Mark 4:18-19 says that the love of money chokes the word of God out of our lives. Joshua 7:24 tells the sad story of Achan and how his love for money cost the lives of his entire family.  Judas went to Hell over thirty pieces silver.  Acts 5:5 tells how Ananias and his wife died over covetousness.

In our world, much of the legal activity is over twisted words and circumstances in hopes of gain. The Bible warns of the dangers of bribes or allowing gain to move us to utilize a different perspective than truth would call for.

"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.” (Deuteronomy 16:19)

Businesses are ruined; friends break relationships; family members tear each other apart in hopes of gaining an inheritance; employees slander and attack employers over little matters turned into significant events: all of these are done in hopes of gain – let us remember Paul quote’s: “For the love of money is the root of all evil."

I have listened to good people who could not find a way to save their marriage. They went from decent, honorable people to corrupt, evil workers of iniquity over the possessions they were splitting. 

Expounding on this aspect would take another article, but I will mention the marriages that have been broken because someone wanted to succeed at work more than keep their marriage. Countless hurts are caused because one or both parents sought lucrative careers and failed to "train up a child in the way he should go."   Others chose to work extra hours and failed to teach a Sunday school class or go soul winning – eternal loss also follows the love of money?  The harm caused by the love of money is beyond human description.

Contentment - that is what Paul urges us to seek.

Pastor  

Appreciate & Love Him

Good Morning,

Mark 8:31 “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

From 1996 to 2016, I had my own children involved in the youth department of our church.  Most of that time, one or more of them was learning to drive, or just starting to drive alone.  For around twenty-five years, I had one or more of our children in our Christian school; the boys were involved in football, both flag and tackle.  Beginning in 2004 until the present, I have had my own teens in the world of dating and searching for their future spouse and life-long careers.  Beginning in 2002, I sent my first child off to Bible college, and for many years at least one of my children has been in Bible college or headed that way.   So consider this: youth department, driving, school, football, college, dating and career choice – that basically sums up three decades of my life.  Those places and areas of influence involve four of the people whom I love more than anything else on earth besides my wife. Did I care what went on in these areas of life?  Unless you are dumb on purpose or a stranger, you know I have cared, watched, attended, participated, and became involved in every way possible (including white-knuckle experiences of teaching two blond girls to drive).  Did I do my best to have my own children in the very best places possible and surrounded by the safest and most God-honoring circumstances I could find?  Absolutely!  

In Revelation 13:8, of our Lord, we read that He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”   Jesus' future was planned as one of sacrifice.  

As a parent, I would never intentionally have allowed my children in a place of danger.  I did my best to be sure the car was safe, friends were vetted, activities were supervised, and that the school was academically superior, the college was a place to secure the will of God, and that those they dated passed every possible check I could come up with.  My best effort as a human was frail, but my wife and I worked at it.  What idiot would place his family in an unsafe car or a dangerous situation? I might not know the car had some trouble, but I certainly tried to keep it safe. I could not possibly know everything (unlike those arrogant writers in fake news and cyberspace who are sure they know everything), but I worked hard at making circumstances right.  

Our family went to Yosemite: my children, grandkids, and my wife and I (who are now the old folks).  On some of those mountain tops, I was a little more than fearful for the kids or grandkids who ventured too close to the edge. (This grandpa’s sanity was regularly tested!)  Because of my diligent caution, I watched and saw far more of my children than I did of the scenery.  No one sits ideally by and watches those they love enter into danger without intervening to avoid tragedy. 

Anyone who thinks that any of us would place our own children, or any of those we love, into a situation in which they will be in danger is not only an idiot and a liar but also ridiculous.  We all seek the best for those we love. 

In Mark 8:31 we read, “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” 

While God allows us the chance to guard and protect our own children, He planned a path of sorrow and suffering for His Own Son.  While God offers us liberty to do our best to ensure the best of friends, God knew His Son’s friends would abandon Him.  While God allows us to seek a stable, loving future for our children, He planned a cross and suffering for His Son.  

God planned that His dear and only begotten Son would face trials and suffering for one reason – His glory.  

Could we perhaps draw near to God in love and appreciation?  Could we say, “I love you” to God a little more often? Could we look at our children and consider how God might have felt seeing His Own Son grow up while knowing the sad future He would face.  We do not know everything, and we will fail along the way, but God could have guaranteed a perfect life for His Son. Nevertheless, He planned suffering and death for Jesus in order to secure life for you and me.  That kind of love deserves to be returned.

Psalm 31:23 “O love the LORD, all ye his saints…"

Pastor

Things We Can Lose

Good Morning,

This morning, I am addressing a subject that will probably end up in our pulpit at one point: “Things the Church or the Christian Can Lose.”  Although we cannot lose our salvation, once we have been born again, there is much we can lose. I urge Christians to be very careful not to forfeit the great possessions that come with a close walk with God.

Joy

The Psalmist wrote, “Serve the Lord with gladness;” Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord alway;” and Jesus said to the Father, “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13)

Many believers only find hallow and temporary joy in their possessions, their money, or their position; but Jesus provides true joy.

Shout

Hearing Christians shouting at a ball game is common. Hearing people shout at the television, correcting the referee or some player who made a bad decision is also funny to watch. Sadly, many Christians have lost their shout. They can listen to sermons and wonderful Christian music, and never utter an “Amen” or a “Praise the Lord!”  Something caused the Christian to lose his shout.  We can observe any secular event, whether it be music, drama, or athletics and know that an audience response is common. We think a shout is more Scriptural, perhaps than applauding, but whatever the response, do not lose the excitement of being in the house of God. God’s house ought to be filed with “Amens” and “Praise the Lord” ringing throughout the church service.

Song

Another tragic loss in many Christians is their song. David said the Lord has “…put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God…” Paul wrote to the Colossians and Ephesians about singing and exhorting one another with song. The Christian life is one that should be filled with singing and rejoicing. Show me any young person who is following a certain crowd of teenagers, and they will have songs that go with that crowd. The child of God who experiences the new birth and closeness to God will find the songs of Zion dear to his heart and near to his lips. Allow me to urge you to relax, sing out, smile, and enjoy the thrill of singing with the people of God.

Sweetness

Many a Christian has found himself with a bitter spirit. The warmth and the sweet and gracious attitude to “love your neighbor, as yourself” kind of Christian living, somehow escaped him. There was a day when he humbly bowed his head to trust in Christ, knowing they were unworthy sinners, and certainly unworthy of the mercy and forgiveness of God. Then something happened, perhaps several somethings, and a critical spirit, a bitter heart, a spirit of judgment, or something from the world came into their lives and robbed the child of God of the warm sweetness that comes from knowing they have been accepted in the beloved.

These are just four of the many things the child of God can lose. How are you doing in these areas? Has this corrupt world robbed you of the precious possessions that Jesus gave you? Perhaps, today would be a good time to seek to draw near to Him, and to get right in those areas that are wrong. God may reveal to you the need to separate from certain people, situations, or circumstance that have drained the song, the joy, the shout, or the sweetness from your Christian life.

Pastor

Love Your Neighbor

Good Morning,  


In the Middle East, many girls are forced to be a partaker in an arranged marriage to some old guy she does not love; she is expected to act the part of a wife even though she does not want to. This practice is far from love and yet, it is exactly what the protesters and others are asking everyone to do by bowing down to them or surrendering the police departments to them.

Who ever liked someone more because someone forced you to be nice to them?  I remember my mom telling my brother that he could only go to his friend's house to swim if he took me along. Being three years younger, I was unwanted, and I knew it.  I did not want to go along!  No one can compel people to feel anything; feelings are inside a person and have to come from within to be shown on the outside.  When a law is passed or a political pressure is applied to MAKE  someone appear to "like" someone else, it will not do anything but breed bitterness and resentment. 

God invites us to love Him; He makes it the most important commandment, yet it is our choice and, sadly, one that most people ignore.  God only wants sincere love.

Matthew 22:37 “Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart…"

When we are forced to do something or compelled to some fraudulent act of kindness out of fear, ridicule, or harm, we are only one steppingstone away from the oppression of the people in North Korea. They all salute rocket man like they saluted Hitler - out of fear.   This is the very reason why God exalts freedom so much.  God will not force you to like Him – it is your choice!  Wise people seek to change the heart not the actions.  If the heart changes, the actions will follow.

If we want to change the ugly treatment around us or hope to create a love for all, it will be done by changing the hearts of the people not the laws. Laws that force me to treat someone nicely will only make me bitter and resentful. When we lead a soul to Christ and give them the indwelling Holy Spirit, we will see the new nature take over; they will naturally begin loving others.  

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”


Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,”

The answer is always the same: go, preach, win folks to Christ, get them involved in a Bible-preaching church, and they will learn to love others. They will do it naturally, not out of necessity.  

Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

vs. 20 “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. Amen."

Pastor  

Trust Him

Good Morning,

These are the words of Joseph after his father’s death, and in response to his brothers fearing the wrath of the brother they sold into slavery. 

Genesis 50:19 “…. am I in the place of God?”

vs. 20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

First of all, Joseph felt it was not his job to “get even,” for he was not in the place of God.  We can trust God to take care of evil; we do not need to exercise vengeance.  

Secondly, God has a plan when evil men hurt us. Yes, it was difficult for Joseph, and there is no way of knowing all of the emotional hurt he dealt with being sold and resold.  But God was not dead, and God had a great and wonderful plan. 

Third, we see that the suffering of Joseph was going to be used to save others, and most assuredly, he saved entire nations.

vs. 20 “… to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Paul wrote something similar: 

Philippians 1:12 “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel…"

Paul suffered much, but God had a plan and used the suffering of Paul greatly to save the lost.

I wish all of us could focus on the lost getting saved more than our own comfort and well being. We are choking on self-help, yoga, meditation, natural remedies, gyms, spas, and diet plans while the world is dying and going to hell.  I believe God would rather a fat man, who is unhealthy and living on junk food, go to the world soul winning than a healthy person sit in a detox program cleansing their inward parts while the world goes to hell. 

What is it you have faced?  How will God use that hurt to open doors to share the Gospel.  If you have faced cancer, then cancer patients will listen to you more readily than to me.  If you were orphaned,  then the poor and forgotten child will listen to your message of Christ more easily than to someone like me who had a loving home.  

Do not think God cannot use our hurt.  Commit the difficult trials to His divine will and rest in the goodness of God that He has a plan – a wonderful plan.  Living by faith will remove bitterness and much anxiety. Trust Him; rest in Him; believe Him.

Pastor

Theology or Bible?

Good Morning, 

Danger approaches when theological prowess takes precedence over simple Bible reading. In the first Bible college I attended, I remember hearing a teacher talk about unbiblical statements that we make. He said that it was not uncommon to hear a preacher, pray, “Lord, be with us….“ he went on to explain the theological nonsense of that statement, the idea that God was everywhere, that there was nowhere God could not be, and that, therefore, of course He was, “with us.“

Now that sounds very intelligent and coming from the lips of a seminary graduate, who boasts of his Greek and Hebrew training it’s pretty impressive… Until you read your Bible.

1 Samuel 3:19 “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” 

Genesis 39:2 “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man…”

If one would read his Bible and pay attention, he would see this phrase is not uncommon.

We all know stories of a couple sitting together at a table, both looking at their phones, almost oblivious of one another.  They are with each other, but they are certainly not close. They are not helping or encouraging one another. They are in the same locality, but far from the same spirit.

Psalm 139:8 says, “…if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” We understand that the judgment of God and separation from God mean that when a person goes to hell, he is not “with” God in the same sense that someone in Heaven is, “with God.”

If you skip church and go to the golf course, I certainly believe God is everywhere he is, “omnipresent,” but if you think He’s as close to you on the golf course as He is to you at the preaching of God‘s Word and going forward at an invitation to take time for confession and prayer, you are not paying attention (and you like golf far too much). If someone thinks he can go to a casino and surround himself with heathen and pretend to be with God, he is only fooling himself.

Likewise, someone in a church that has no power in the preaching, no conviction in the message, no lives being changed, no souls being saved and baptized, and no young people being called to the ministry, yet pretends to be as close to God in that church as he is in the church that exalts the Bible, the Savior, and the work of God, is deceiving himself.   

You can be in His presence; for David says in Psalm 16, “…in Thy presence is fullness of joy.” Allow me urge you to slow down enough to read your Bible, to stop the hurried life enough to bow your head, and to take time to speak with the King. The presence of God is available, but this sinful world draws us away from His presence. The great satisfaction and joy of the Christian life is not found in simply being saved but in being set apart to walk with the King, in His presence.   

Let us conclude with a reminder to be guarded when you hear a Bible teacher or author write things that sound theologically profound, yet the words violate the most logical and obvious principles found written in your Bible. Years ago, I determined to choose my Bible over theologians; I urge you to do the same.

Pastor

A Friend Loveth

Good Morning,

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loveth at all times…” but today you will be assaulted if you are loving toward “sinners.”  You may remember that Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners:

Luke 7:34 “… Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!“ 

When we consider our Lord and His commands to us, how can we overlook the clear statement in 1 Corinthians 13: “Love, never fails.”

The destructive attitude being embraced by our culture is vastly different from the Scripture. When someone fails to measure up to the standard of those self-appointed inspectors, character assassination ensues and is followed by endless destructive attacks.  

We read of our Lord and the woman in John 8: “Woman, where are those thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee…. Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.”

The problem our Lord faced with the Pharisees was His fellowship with sinners.  Luke 5:30 “But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”

Referring to the earlier text in Luke 7:36-46, we read that a broken-hearted sinner loves God more than a self-righteous man. 

I would like to remind you of Paul’s words:

Romans 14:4 “Who art though at judgest another man’s servant…”

Mercy is the cry that arises from the godly heart that considers the lost and broken world around them.

John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."   

Just how Christlike are we? 

Pastor

Liquor

Liquor

Good Morning

A Christian view of liquor is well reported by J.Frank Norris in the following discourse.  He was a young man who had been accepted to pastor a very influential church. For, perhaps, the first time in his life, he was “somebody” –but there was a problem. A committee was promoting liquor in the community, and some of the men in leadership of that committee were members of his church. He had to make a decision. 

The following is an excerpt of the words of J. Frank Norris’:

What surgings of soul! What conflicts I had. One voice said, “Now you are the pastor of a great city church, and don’t stir up a row over this liquor question. These men are men of wealth and prestige, bankers and capitalists and you will make a fool of yourself to say anything about it – besides you can’t do anything about it.” But another voice said, ‘You, the pastor of a great church – will you permit officials and deacons to remain on your official board who are personally responsible before the world for this liquor convention? Have you forgotten the rivers of tears that liquor caused your own sainted mother? Have you forgotten how it wrapped its slimy coil around one of the best, and one of the most brilliant men who ever drew the breath of life and wrecked him? Have you forgotten that liquor knows no race, no color, no wealth, no poverty?”

I was brought up when a small boy on the editorial writings of Henry W. Grady, and I recall how he said: “My friends, don’t trust it. It is powerful, aggressive and universal in its attacks. Tonight it enters an humble home to strike the roses from a woman’s cheeks, and tomorrow it challenges this republic in the halls of Congress. “Today it strikes the crust from the lips of a starving child, and tomorrow levies the tribute from the government itself. There is no cottage humble enough to escape it – no palace strong enough to shut it out… “It is the mortal enemy of peace and order. The despoiler of men, the terror of women, the cloud that shadows the face of children, the demon that has dug more graves and sent more souls unshriven to judgment than all the pestilences that have wasted life since God sent the plagues to Egypt, and all the wars since Joshua stood before Jericho… “It can profit no man by its return. It can uplift no industry, revive no interests, remedy no wrong… It comes to destroy, and it shall profit mainly by the ruin of your sons and mine. It comes to mislead human souls and crush human hearts under its rumbling wheels.”

“It comes to bring gray-haired mothers down in sorrow to their graves. It comes to turn the wife’s love into despair, and her pride into shame. It comes to still the laughter on the lips of little children, and to stifle all the music of the home and fill it with silence and desolation. It comes to ruin your body and mind, to wreck your home.”

My decision was made; I acted promptly. I called a meeting of the deacons in the old church – just had one small office in the corner – and that meeting was held just before the morning service. I held that paper in my hand, with their names on the Liquor Committee, and I never shall forget my experience, my feelings. I had come to the do-and-dare decision. It was life and death. God was good to a young preacher that morning.

 I knew then for the first time a little something of what Daniel must have felt when he stood before Belshazzar and read the handwriting on the wall. I knew then something of what Peter must have felt when he stood before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.’’ I knew something of what the Apostle Paul must have felt as he stood before the Roman Courts, and even Caesar himself. I was entering into a new world.”

Pastor

Use It Or Lose It

Good Morning,

As parents, we have all told our children something only to have them later say they did not hear us.  As married people, sadly, this also happens between husbands and wives.  We get used to people talking; we think we know the direction they are heading conversationally, and we simply complete their comments in our minds without hearing them clearly — then confusion happens.

God warns us to take heed how we hear His Word.

Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

God gets tired of our not paying attention.  If we fail to HEAR, we are not going to get any more information.  If we pay attention, listen, and obey, we will be trusted with more truth.  If we fail to listen and honor the things we heard, we will lose even what we have known in the past.

We all know people who used to be vibrant Christians, but today flounder without knowing what to do, where to go, or even doubt their own salvation.  We are not referring to a lost person, but to someone who lost the truth he had in his head and heart.  

Peter warns us that if we do not apply what we have heard, we can easily forget that we have been saved:

2 Peter 1:9 “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

Saved?  Sure, but this person just forgets the truth, forgets all the wonder salvation brings.

Faithfulness to church, to Bible reading, and to faithful Christian living is not just good for those around us and those we serve, it is vital for our own security and stability. God places great esteem on the believer of great age who stands true to his faith over decades.  

Take heed therefore how ye hear...

Be sure to cling tightly to the truth you know, to live it, to love it, and to embrace the things learned from God’s Word.

Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”

A casual Christian will most often become a casualty.   Do not think there are not people who will spoil us or slowly pull us away from living the truth we all know.

Colossians 2:6 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:”

vs. 7 “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

vs. 8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Once we pull away from biblical obedience,  God will pull away the truth we have learned in the past, and we will flounder spiritually.  

Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

May we be doers of the Word, faithfully living the truth God has given us.

Pastor

Paul’s Instructions On Giving

Good Morning,

In our busy world, I would like to express a few thoughts in the area of giving.  Expenses are high, and world events bring uncertainty, but Paul’s instructions are simple and clear. 

1 Corinthians 16:2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”

Let us outline this verse:

1  “…the first day of the week…” - That would be Sunday.

2  “…every one of you…” - That would be EVERY ONE OF YOU.

3  “…lay by him in store…” - Throughout the week, we ought to prepare to give.

4  “…as God hath prospered him…” - Each one is to give in a manner that reflects the goodness of God in his life.

Every one should be giving - EVERY ONE - and they should be doing so on Sunday.  The rest of the week, all believers should be considering their giving on Sunday and be preparing for it according to how good God has been to them.

What is happening in the world does not change these instructions.  The cost of living does not correct what is written in the Word of God.  When considering these principles, our offering plates ought to be overflowing, and our upcoming victory rally ought to easily reach our goal.  

Pastor 

I Do Not Want That Church

Good Morning, 

I do not want a ministry without blessings, without hard work, or without a heart broken for the lost. The church without a broken heart for the unsaved will soon not be at church at all. The church that will not work for the Master will find itself without the Master.

I cannot imagine a church without young people being trained to serve the Lord, or a baptistry that is not used regularly. How can we call ourselves a church if the very identifying character traits of the New Testament church are not present among us?

The New Testament church “preached everywhere, the Lord working with them.” (Mark 16:20)  The plans for our big day to bring church to the community is as normal an event as you could find in the New Testament. We are adding groceries as Thanksgiving gifts, but the membership going to the community and preaching the Gospel was a daily occurrence in the New Testament.

Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”

Acts 20:31 “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”

Do not allow yourselves to be content with the church that sings conservative hymns, has a choir instead of a rock band, and carries a King James Bible. Those elements, without the work of the ministry become a façade behind which lazy, heartless, and disobedient Christians hide.

Pastor

test

test

Better In Church

Good Morning

I was listening to Candice Owens recently. (I do so every six months or so, just to hear what she is saying.)  That gal is conservative and articulate and would agree with us on much; but here are the two main subjects she talked about. 

The reverse prejudice in NASCAR and Elon Musk blaming elite schools for turning his children into gender-confused commies.  Regarding NASCAR, she said that if they had offered an internship with the requirements being “white,” the world would have exploded, but to say it required a black, Spanish, etc. was, somehow, okay. That observation is clearly true, and I find it amazing that NASCAR did this (she was accurate in her comments on the situation).  As I recall, I was talking about the same subject thirty years ago when scholarships were only available in certain areas for minorities (certain universities even stopped offering scholarships to Asian students).  Candice Owens has thousands of followers, and I am glad for that (I only have a handful).  Listening to her provides a breath of fresh air.  Honestly, though, she says little that has not been in Bible-believing pulpits for decades. 

Regarding her comments on Elon Musk, the same can be said about Sean Hannity, who commented years ago that he sent his daughter to a big-name university, and she returned thinking he was an evil man ruining America (or something similar).  Decades ago, I said, “Of course, that happened!” He sent his child to a school filled with anti-American, socialist-communist, anti-God, teachers and programs. Candice’s listeners could have received that revelation decades ago in any number of Bible-believing churches. I am glad she said it; my observation is that she is decades behind any good church. 

I have been preaching against the corrupt colleges, universities, high schools, and elementary schools since I started our church in 1982, and I heard it from my pastor several years prior to entering the ministry.  

I am not criticizing Candice Owens; I like her, and am so glad she is getting truth to an audience I will probably never reach.  Had her audience been in old-fashioned Bible-believing churches, they would not be mourning their bad choices regarding life.  Had Elon Musk joined our church he would have known better, and we would have had our new building.

When I say, “the church” in the following comments I am strictly referring to Bible-believing, KJV preaching, separated churches; there is a reason for that caveat, but I will not explain it here. Be sure that when I say, “the church,” I am not meaning Catholic, contemporary, Mormon, or others like that.  

Now to the thoughts that were provoked by my observation:

• The church is the place that offers light in a dark world.

• The church is the place where Truth overshadows darkness.

• The church gives wisdom so parents can see what lies ahead.

• The church is the place where truth is clearly compared to the lies of the world.

• The church is the distributor of vision – the ability to walk into a situation and turn a few words into philosophical statements. (i.e. I had not heard President Obama speak five minutes before it was clear that he was Anti-American, anti-God, liberal, against the Constitution, and so much more – it took only minutes to notice.  Every moderate or conservative who voted for him could have been enlightened and forwarned had they been a member of an old-fashioned, Bible-believing, separated, Baptist church.)

The church offers protection from error and warns about forks on the road of truth or error.  The church trains the eye and ear to identify and classify foolishness and wisdom.

The church is the answer!  (Remember my comment on what kind of church.)  

Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” 

Psalm 19:11 “Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” 

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” 

Titus 1:3 “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching…”

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

vs.19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Many such verses tell of the power of the Word of God and of the preaching of the Word.  It may not be “trendy,” and it may not be something spectacular and new, but “new truth” has been in our pulpits for generations, folks just want to discover truth without getting too religious or committed to the holiness of God. 

I heard a good young mother talk about a podcaster who made profound statements about training children, but the very subjects she commented on would have been common in a Fundamental Baptist pulpit anywhere from California to New York.  There is a difference though; you pick and choose your podcast, but the preacher is in your face three times a week.

I, for one, love it!  God bless the church! 

Pastor

Great Tragedy

Good Morning,

One of the greatest tragedies of this decade, and perhaps this century, is the loss of confidence.

Organizations like the FBI, DOJ, and the medical industry were organizations we held as noble people in groups we looked to with confidence and assurance.  To say we have lost confidence in them, well, that is an understatement.

Heroes, like the Untouchables, were people Americas youth looked to with admiration, respect, and even a supernatural awe. Today their credibility has been shattered; much of America holds little or no trust in these groups of people.  Sadly, those that we considered the backbone of “the land of the free, and the home of the brave,” are nothing more than agenda-driven, tools in the hands of evil rulers.

The cadaver of America is quickly decomposing before our eyes. The maggots are multiplying, the stench drifts everywhere, and the more close up the view, the more repulsive our response.  

We have seen statistics manipulated and factually twisted.  We have witnessed the protection of criminals and the attack of the honorable.  We have clearly seen vile officials use once trusted organizations as tools to control the people and trample the rights of citizens under the “jackbooted” thugs of government.  The government designed to protect freedom has worked its way into controlling countless areas of our lives with no more motive than corrupt dominance.  Public trust seems to be at an all-time low regarding those we once heralded as heroes. 

Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. 

The tragedy occurs when this disease grows and produces a society of total selfishness and utter greed, with no respect for good or the lives of others. Why should I care about the good of others when my leaders trample upon all those under their power? The ripple of selfishness and evil dominos throughout society.  When this occurs, America as we know it will be gone.  

We were, for generations, raised with the “golden rule” of “Do unto others…” That philosophy has clearly changed to "Do to others whatever it takes to get what I want." 

The path of healing for this mortifying carcass lies is doing what we do because God tells us to, living selflessly because God asks us to, and working honestly with our own hands because God commands it. When people stop doing what is best for themselves and start doing what God asks, no matter the result, mercy and Divine help may return. 

John 12:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

vs. 25 “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

We had better take this seriously, for the time will come when God takes away what we have and gives it to another nation.  I believe it happened to England, and most surely it happened to Israel.  We need to die to selfishness, to greed, to the entertainment industry, to the love of sports more than Sunday school and church, and then cultivate a love for God and others back into our hearts (the first and second great commandments).  Believers need to fall, broken before the Lord, repentant, and then, perhaps, God will have mercy.

Matthew 21:43 “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

vs. 44 “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

Pastor

More on Stewardship

Good Morning,

Stewardship is much more than money; it is how we live from day to day.

1. Money represents our time.

2. If you make $10 an hour and give $10 to the work of Christ, this means you gave an hour of your life to the cause of Christ.

3. If you make $10 an hour, and I make $20 an hour, and we both give $10 dollars, who gave the most? You gave an hour and I gave 30 min.

4. It is not for me to judge your stewardship, It is for me to judge my stewardship.  

5. What am I doing with the time, talents, and treasures that God has given me to use for His glory?  

Why should we teach about stewardship?

1. The New Testament talks more about money than it does Heaven or Hell. 

2. Almost all stories in the Bible deal in some way with our money, our time, or our possessions.

3. 11 of 39 parables talk about money.

4. 1 out of every 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke talks about money.

5. Some say there are more than 800 verses that deal with money.

Stewardship is using our time, our talents, and our treasures in a way that is pleasing to God.

Everything belongs to God.

Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."

Everything belongs to God, and it is up to God to decide how it is suppose to be used.  

1. My hands, my eyes, my home, and my marriage should all be stewarded for God’s glory. 

2. It is not about me!

3. The big differences between humanism and Bible Christianity:

         a. Bible Christianity:  is all about the the Lord Jesus Christ

         b. Humanism teaches:  it is all about man

4. We are to put God first; everything should be about God!

Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;  that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

Pastor 

Surrender

Good Morning,

Romans 12:1 “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.”

A sacrifice is a costly willingness to present  something offered for any purpose, even death.  This verse speaks also of a living sacrifice, one that is available for whatever the Lord desires to do in our lives. Many times, a sudden death seems easier than a long-term sorrow. 

Surrender to the perfect will of God is rarely what we desire.  We understand that God is wiser, and He views life from an eternal perspective, but we still wrestle with many troubles God places in our lives. 

In the storms of life, in the sorrows we face, in disappointments and heartbreaks we endure, ultimately, we should lay down on the altar and say, “Thy will be done.”  Not that we enjoy or desire the situation, but because we love and trust the Almighty God, even in suffering.  

When you face a situation you did not desire nor, in human eyes, deserve, but find yourself facing trouble and often multiple troubles, you are also faced with the opportunity to present your sacrifice.

As Paul write to the people in Philippi, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”  

Surrender and trust is seen in 2 Corinthians as Paul talks about his outward man suffering; in the next verse, he speaks of “light affliction.” 

2 Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

vs. 17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

That is what makes heroes like Daniel, Joseph, and many others – they surrendered and committed their lives to Christ and to their God.

1 Peter 2:23 “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:”

Surrender, yield, and trust are all vital to victorious Christian living. 

Pastor

More On Evil

Good Morning,

Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Genesis 8:21 “...for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;”

I wrote on evil a few months ago, but in our current world, I thought a little more on the subject would not hurt. 

Evil is present in mankind –  Athaliah killed all her sons so she could rule the kingdom (2 Kings 11:1). Jehoram killed all of his brothers so he could become king (2 Chronicles 21:1-4). Adonibezek said, “Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table:” (Judges 1:7).  Really?  Simply cut off thumbs and big toes and left them like animals under his table?  Killing your enemy is obviously wrong, but torture and humiliation is truly evil.  Evil is not new, and that which we see in our world is quite tempered by the mercy of God, many Bibles, and churches internationally.  

Evil lives in this world – right now, a living, plotting entity, both spiritual and physical. You are not exempt. If you listen to the wrong people, you will find yourself committing evils that you will greatly regret.  Each of us is capable of evil deeds and of being the victim of evil deeds. 

I teach the students in our school to be alert while walking through their world.  I warn them about earbuds and looking at a phone while walking.  I warn them about keeping their eyes open and driving with an awareness at all times.  Most victims are those who are not paying attention, but sometimes difficulties are allowed by God to enter the lives of the best of us. 

Wrong friends or wrong counselors may cause one to do evil. “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.” (Exodus 23:2) Many people are told that taking from a large company and not hurting anyone personally is a justifiable evil.  Endless lines of people will lie and slander to get money, or will fight over estates and business deals to get money.  The Lord says the love of money is the root of all evil.  

Cheating or being deceitful at work for a desired position is not uncommon, and hurting another to gain something is evil, but both are present in our world. Trying to make another look bad so their own godless life does not seem so pitiful is another common evil. 

Jesus warned that jealousy, pride, envy, greed and things like these give birth to evil actions.  Guarding what we hear is a huge step toward protecting us from being personally involved in evil deeds.  

Another evil we may easily slip into is that of accusing God or slandering His faithfulness.  To accuse the promises of God as wrong is evil: “And they brought up an evil report of the land.” (Numbers 13:32)

To murmur and slander godly leaders is evil.

Numbers 14:27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?”

When religious leaders try to turn you away from obeying the Bible is also evil.  

Deuteronomy 13:5 “And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”

To slander a person and make their name bad is evil. (Deuteronomy 22:14)

Titus 3:2 warns that we not speak evil of others: “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

If we are not careful, as Christian’s, we can follow evil rather than good... 

3 John 11 “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”

Evil is not just the man who cuts off the thumbs and toes, it can be you or me.

Pastor

Differences

Good Morning,

The spiritual mess the world is in stems from our trying to think about life with no differences, such as “all religions are the same,” or “all personal choices are fine,” and other foolishness ideals.  Of course, there are differences!   Some people say an individual can identify as a dog or another gender – both assertions are simply stupid.  Children pretend.  Maturity faces facts.   We are being told there is no difference in genders, no difference between right and wrong, and no difference between sinfulness and holiness. Theologically we are being told that there is no difference between Old Testament and New Testament or between folks before the Mosaic Law and folks after the preaching of the Apostle Paul.

Of course, there are differences!

God made the difference clear between nations. 

Exodus 11:7 ‘But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”

God chose Israel and did not choose the others. 

God said that the Old Testament-Jew was to consider some animals as unclean and that those animals should not be eaten. 

Leviticus 20:25 “Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean…” Of course, that changed with the ministry of the Lord and the beginning of the New Testament church.  Things changed after a certain point in time.  

Right and wrong both exist, and the preacher’s job is to point out the difference. 

Ezekiel 44:23 “And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.”

I rebel against the idea that there is nothing really “wrong.” I am disgusted with pastors who will not take a stand against anything. Taking a stand is the pastor’s job!  As Paul told Timothy, “…reprove, rebuke, exhort…” (2 Timothy 4:2)

We live in a society that tries to make every religion the same, one in which we all end in the same place. What nonsense! Many religions of the world think Jesus is a blasphemous liar. Other religions, consider Jesus just another man. Jesus made it very clear that He was God in the flesh; that is what made the Jews so angry.  Jesus is either completely crazy, an absolute liar, or HE IS GOD in the flesh.  Muslims tell their people that blowing up others will get them to their “happily ever after,” while other religions say being good and saving lives will get them to Heaven – both cannot be correct.  

Differences are assumed and logical. Have we not been told that there are always changing and new variants of COVID, and that each needs to be treated differently? 

There are differences in social cultures around the world. Until the last hundred years, there were folks in Iowa that probably did not know what rice was, and some people in California who did not know what grits were.  What idiot is trying to tell us that everybody is the same. That philosophy is the most ridiculous statement on the planet.  There are such vast differences that we should be careful whom we choose to marry; for a divided home is a mess. 

Our political parties are not the same. Now, there are a group of liberal conservatives (like saying, clean dirt) who are trying to draw the conservatives to line up with liberalism. They are trying to merge conservative and liberal philosophies, but that is not possible. Conservatives believe in small government and in protecting the sanctity of life in the womb; liberals do not believe those things. They are not the same; they are not even close – they are diametrically opposed. 

Just because somebody is religious does not mean they are pleasing to God or that they will go to Heaven.  The various versions of the Bible are different, seriously different. Churches are different.  It is a regular occurrence for one of our members to knock on the door of a faithful member from another church and to find out that person has no idea if they are saved and going to Heaven.  Most of the time, our member is able to show them the Bible and to help them get saved.  There is a difference!  

Rock and roll is different from hymns like ragtime is different from jazz.  Wear your basketball uniform to an NFL tryout and see if there is not a difference in sports.

Men and women are different, and if a body is exhumed one hundred years after death, our scientists can tell from the remains if it was a man or woman – we are not the same.   

All that to say that some behavior is wrong; do not be embarrassed to say so.  Some behavior is bad enough for you to avoid spending time with them, even if they are Christians. 

Romans 16:17 “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” 

I do not have to be unkind to the person who thinks differently, but I also do not have to pretend they are right in their ideas. The word “queer” has a simple dictionary definition, as does man, woman, dog, giraffe, and piano.  No matter what society says,  adultery, fornication, whoremonger, and drunkard are all Bible terms with Bible definitions.

Pastor