Being Thankful

I cannot begin to express what God has done in my life. Beginning with my parents continuing with the family (wife and children) that God has blessed me with is truly amazing. To top all of that off He has allowed me to serve in the ministry of the Gospel and with a church that has a passion to share that Gospel across the street and around the world. The daily blessings of God are too numerous to account but life is good. That brings me to the point of this blog. I have come to realize that so many people exist and so few live! The Apostle Paul made this clear in Philippians 1:21, 22- "For me to live is Christ". It was his passion- what excited him, thrilled him, motivated him! What do you live for? Not what are you doing with your life? After all that Christ has done for us should not we "LIVE" for Him? Have a GREAT Thanksgiving! God is good! All the time! All the time! God is good! I was just thinking.

Change

I am not a person of change. We lived in the same house the entire time I was growing up. My parents bought a new home once I left for college- they may have been trying to tell me something. I like stability. I like to have people around me that I can trust and are not going to find a reason to leave when tough times come. This is such a paradox in a Christian's life. We are constantly changing to become more like Christ. We are constantly surrendering to the will of Christ which usually means change. The great aspect of a Christian's life of change is that Christ never changes. In church changes are hard. Most of the time they are me with opposition. But if we are constantly changes into what Christ wants us to be shouldn't the church be open change! I am not talking about abandoning the Gospel or our doctrinal truth but maybe we should be a little more open to change! Are you allowing Christ to change you-day by day? If you are not-maybe that is why change is so hard for you to accept. I was just thinking.

What A Day!

Sunday was a special day at our church. We dedicated the new Sanctuary and Educational building to the glory of God. It was an amazing day! We had several guests and many of our church family that have moved in recent days were able to be here enjoy the day. I am thankful for the love and dedication people have for this church whether they are able to physically attend or not. There are some of our senior adults who can not come now because of health reasons and yet they still support the church with their prayers and resources God has blessed them with. Their commitment is such an encouragement. The people here love each other-we are not perfect by any means-but we are a family.I do not get to see my family in Georgia but about once a year. I could not imagine giving up the chance to be with them if I possibly could. That brings me to a question-Why would anyone not want to be with the family that loves them and has supported them many years?  Maybe the parallel question is, "Why would I leave my family?" The longer I am in local church ministry the more I am intrigued why people leave a church. I know that many times the decision is extremely difficult-I am not questioning that! Is it a question of commitment? It is a personal preference? Many times God gets blamed for it! I am so thankful for my family at First Free Will Baptist Church of North Little Rock. Share your reasons with me. I was just thinking!  

Dedication Sunday

By the grace of God and a lot of hard work by some great church members and construction crews, we will have the dedication of the new Sanctuary and educational building this Sunday, September 28, 2008. There will be an Open House on Saturday, September 27 from 1-4 o'clock. Everyone is welcome! It has been a long journey to this point. There have been many lessons learned along the way about myself and the congregation of this church. I don't know if every Pastor feels this way or not, but these are the best people I could every hope to serve. I have been at this church for about 20 years and together we have been through many trials and joys. During my years as a Youth Pastor I always told our young people that God will never ask you to give something up that He will not replace it with something better! That truth has been proven again! Is God asking you to give something up in your life? He may be trying to replace it with something better! Be patient and when you can't see His hand-trust His heart! I was just thinking.

Time

The last few week it seems like there too many things to do and not enough time to get them done. We are finishing the building project at the church, the daily ministry needs of our church family that need to be addressed, my love for my own family and marriage and my personal walk with Christ always demands attention. These are just a few of the things that demand my time. You could make your own list and it would be just as important.  It would nice not to worry about time! That would take away a lot of stress! Whenever I stop and think about it, it comes down to priorities. I have mention this before in a sermon but it is becoming more practical than ever before to me-God is not my first priority, He is my only priority! Is that true in your life? I have to stop and ask myself that question several times a day. I was just thinking!

RE: Life!

The older I get the more complicated life gets. I wish that things would remain simple. Can you remember the care free days of being in elementary school? What you wore to school was chosen by your Mom, she fixed your lunch, your Dad made sure your bike was "rode worthy" to ride to school, and even school was not a worry- grades were S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). My biggest concern was in citizenship. If I came home with a U, I was in trouble. Life was simple. As we get older, the stress of college, career and family tend to weigh on us heavy! For those that know Christ there is help! He told us that we can "cast all of our cares upon Him". When I go to Christ my Heavenly Father takes care of my needs and almost feel like that child again in elementary school. Life is simple- we just tend to complicate it! I must remind you that all of my concerns are not removed from my life by Christ, but at least I know Who is giving me the wisdom and strength to work through them. Is your life complicated? Make it simple-Trust God. I was just thinking! By the way- the dedication for our new church building is September 28, 2008! An open house is planned for September 27th. Keep a check on the website for more information. I hope to see all of you there!   

Playing By The Rules

I know that you have probably been watching the Olympics this past week. An interesting event took place on Monday. Two young ladies tied for a gold medal after a gymnastics routine on the uneven parallel bars. The judges went to a third step tie breaker to see who had won the gold medal. The young lady who lost (from the USA) stated this, "You know the rules going in, so you just play by the rules". I wish everyone thought that way. Many of us want to change the rules when it comes to our lives and our relationship to the Lord. We believe that others should have to play by the rules but not us! God establihsed His rules a long time ago and they have not changed. It fact, they will not change. Most of us know the rules, we just choose to change them along the way. I has a class in Bible College called Biblical Ethics and we talked at some lenght about "situational ethics". It basically means we change the rules when it best suits us. Do you think that God intended for us to live that way? Can you think of a time in your life when God's principles should change to fit your needs? Think what the Olypmics would be like if they changed the rules half way through an event! Chaos and confusion! Does your life ever feel that way? Maybe you need to just live by the rules! I was just thinking.

Just thinking

This is the first time I have ever had a blog. In fact, I am not sure what it means. I think it is just a good way for me to share with our church family. God is good! All the time! All the time! God is good!

If you come to our church you will more than likely hear that phrase. It is easy to say that when things are going well, but it should be just as easy to recognize God’s goodness when things are not going well. We woke up this morning and found part of our bathroom ceiling in the floor! But God is still good! It did not change that fact. It was a little depressing, but God is still good! If you are having a tough day today just remember the goodness of God. It is an absolute truth! He never changes! I was just thinking