Recent TweetsWell I’ve never been drunk…but Monday’s for a preacher has got to be the closest thing to a hangover that I ever want to experience! Even with that…there might be enough coherent thoughts to pull together some cool things to be thankful for!
September is going to be an incredible month! In addition to cooler temperatures that will usher in football season and beautiful fall foliage, we have awesome opportunities taking place in the fellowship.
The New Normal
The life of Jesus is characterized by fulfilling the teachings of God while at the same time transforming our world. Each Sunday morning in September we are discovering “The New Normal” in our lives as followers of Christ. In order for us to experience God’s presence we must place our lives under His description of The New Normal…which really hasn’t changed for 1000’s of years! Living the “New Normal” is the key to an abundant life.
Phase 1 Completed
As we finish up the month we will begin a new era in the life of First Baptist. As we complete Phase 1 of our building program, we will finally have an opportunity to have seating for those who have a passion to worship God in a contemporary worship setting. It is great to see God’s people embrace one another as we provide traditional, blended and contemporary venues that allows us all to worship our Creator. Our renovated gym will be an incredible space that will continue to impact lives for many more years.
Phase 2 Begins
As you know, we are also preparing to break ground on a new preschool building that will address an area of our ministry that must be corrected so we can reach the next generation for Christ. Soon you will be receiving information for a special ground breaking celebration that you will want to attend. Be in prayer for this process…it will be an exciting journey.
Upward Basketball & Cheerleading
Have you been praying for Upward Basketball? Our newly renovated gym will also be beginning a new ministry that has literally reached children for Christ around the world. Two “p’s” come to mind that are necessary for this ministry to spread through our community: Prayer and Participation! All of us can pray for the children and their families that we need to impact for Christ. Please remember to pray every day for what God wants to do through Upward this winter. Also, have you signed up to participate in this ministry? There is a job for every one of us who have a desire to win children for Christ. Sign up this Sunday and your life will be better for it.
Faithfulness
All of this is possible because of your tithes and offerings. Please make sure that each Sunday we honor the Lord with our tithe…which is 10% of your income. You know, Scripture teaches that this is the first portion that is distributed from what God has allowed us to oversee. Also, as God leads, be faithful with your offerings which is always in addition to your tithe. This would include your commitment to “What If…” that we are a part of. These are exciting days because of God’s love and our faithfulness.
So what’s your story?
God is doing incredible things in your life. Often, your story will be a source of encouragement and strength to those who hear it. When God works in your life, visit our website and send me a note. As the opportunity arises we may use your story to strengthen the family! I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Patriotism…it is a lost conviction. The older generation has a clear understanding of what it cost to have America. It appears that the younger we are in age the more we have lost the understanding that God allowed many of us to be born in America. That is a huge blessing that brings about a massive amount of responsibility. This week one of our daughters asked us what other countries did to control immigration. We thought and discussed it for a minute and then wondered if other countries even have problems with immigration? Does Iran need to control the throngs of people that are trying to get into that country to experience a life of blessings and opportunity? Recently our president traveled across the globe and announced that our country was no longer a “Christian nation.” We can debate various aspects of that statement but the debate ends when God’s Word says that “we will reap what we sow.” End of discussion! As we turn our eyes away from the blessings that God has given this country then we lose the awareness of responsibility that we must understand so that this country will remain strong. Listen to this Congressional response to Pres. Obama’s comment.
So if you are thinking “what is the big deal” then travel with me to some third world countries that have no foreseeable hope of a bright future. Read the news and notice the incredible job our soldiers are doing trying to fight people who hate us because we have freedom and opportunities. Visit Arlington Cemetery, Pearl Harbor or other places like that which represent the lives that have been given for freedom. Walk through Washington D.C. and read the inscriptions that talk about God’s presence in our country and if that it too difficult then get out a dollar bill and see where we put our trust!! I’m not talking about patriotism just for the sake of patriotism. I am patriotic because of God and the foundations of this country that was obviously based on what His Word teaches us. He has blessed this country and with those blessings comes responsibility. May God bless America!
Just enough! After months and months of prayer and hard work, we have received “just enough” commitment to continue on the path of improvement so that we can reach more people for Christ.
Sunday, we celebrated some great milestones:
We have just enough to continue down this road. However, we don’t have enough to just coast for the next three years. Several things need to happen:
These are exciting days, and we have many more exciting days ahead of us as we anticipate what God will do. As a part of the First Family, commit yourself to prayer and faithfulness so that He will have a Family that He can work through.
For several years we have been taught about “mission statements,” “vision statements,” “strategies,” and “procedures.” I’m not sure what all that means and it seems way too complicated to incorporate all that terminology around here. We just simply say we strive for people to be “committed to God, know His ways and do His work because it’s all about Him!” Of course, this was first described by Jesus in what we call the Great Commission. Life’s most important fact is: “It’s ALL about Him.” Whether things are going well or we are experiencing tough times…it is all about Him. Today I was at www.fbctmen.com and came across this great clip by Pastor Voddie Baucham. Listen to this and see if it changes your perspective on today!
Flip the coin of life and up pops the opposite of the fulfilled dreams I talked about in the last entry. Almost daily I see people watching dreams crash. In a matter of minutes, people can transition from celebration to discouragement. Sharing life when dreams come true is easy. However, when bad things happen to those good people, life gets hard. Good people lose their jobs, get sick, go through tragedy, and experience a host of other devastating things. When it happens it is not fair, right or easy to swallow.
So what do you do? At some point, bad things happen to all of us. How do you respond?
Determine to get better not bitter
Use the opportunity to learn
Capitalize on the situation to be a witness for Christ
Trust Christ…He was not surprised
Remain extraordinarily faithful
Believe and live in light of Romans 8:28
Anticipate God’s blessings in the days ahead
Pray for peace, wisdom and His perspective
Everyone likes a success story. You know, good guys doing well. However, my guess is we gain greater strength and encouragement observing good people remaining faithful in hard times. We admire them and want to emulate them because they give us hope for the hard day waiting for us.
It has been said that “sometimes the good guys win!” Don’t you love it when good guys do well? Success stories are just fun to watch.
Yesterday John Calipari became the new Kentucky basketball coach. According to Calipari, the Kentucky job had been a dream of his for many years. His dream came true! I’m not a Kentucky fan and really don’t understand making that much money just to get some guys to put an orange ball through a ring. How sweet it is to watch a dream become reality!.
Some people are filled with jealousy and envy when others do well. In their opinion, dreams don’t come true without a long list of inappropriate activities taking place. Accusations of lying, cheating, deceiving, and other unacceptable behaviors are fired at the successful person. The truth is, on some occasions, the complainers are right on target.
However, sometimes people react negatively to others dreams because they simply don’t dream themselves. An elderly friend of mine scoffed at the notion that someone would go out to a swamp in south Florida and build a theme park. But for Walt Disney his dream became a reality. Many people thought launching a “plane” into space and expecting a return flight to earth was the height of foolishness. Today the shuttle proves dreams can come true. A friend of mine in Huntsville speaks of politicians who ridiculed the thought of shooting down one rocket with another…have you watched the launches out of Hawaii lately? Bullseye!
If you are dreamer, seeing others accomplish great things will motivate you to pursue the dreams God plants in you. God is a God of dreams/visions/blessings. Want a dream? Dream that one day you will hear “well done good and faithful servant!” When you chase God’s dreams for you, expect to come in first!
Aren’t our “passions” peculiar? We spend a fortune chasing teams and competing in various events. We act like rabid animals and calls ourselves dedicated fans. This is really nothing new; man has always been competitive. By the way, this is a God-given trait. Watching people follow their passions is really a lot of fun, but where is the eternal benefit from these pursuits?
As I was watching the SEC basketball tournament, God reminded me of who He is and what He can do. Auburn (don’t miss the point Bama fans) was about to begin playing and the television broadcast showed the team huddled together and a perfect opening in the circle with our own Drew Smith praying with the team. The game was played and after the game another shot was televised again with a close up of Drew with guys huddled around him. Drew had his eyes closed. They turned up the volume as Drew said …”God we thank You and praise You…” then the volume was quickly lowered. The entire viewing audience caught this amazing scene for God. As I sat there cheering for a faithful Christ-follower, I remembered that God can use our passion for Him – if we let Him. We all have passions that God has placed in us. In His grace He has given them to us. Often, we don’t remember to use them for Him. Whether you are on the ball-field, racetrack, playing Bunko, catching a fish, or trying to put a round ball into a basket…be passionate…and ask Him to use it!
