But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

1Co 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

What a glorious day we had yesterday! The Lord is so wonderful and it is so exciting to see His providence at work in our church. We were blessed to have a missionary that is also a friend of mine stop by and present his work that he has been called to do. It was exciting to hear of the saved souls in North Africa in the Muslim 10/40 window. This missionary has been living in a closed nation that normally rejects the gospel message, however because God is gracious and that He wishes none to perish this man and his family have been allowed by Gods grace and protection to live amongst them and lead some to the true Savior-Jesus Christ. Brother A.B. has a website that I encourage you to take a look at and see what is going on, and then I challenge you to pray for him and their work over there. You can find their website in the link to the left, Call For Muslim Evangelism. Then it was the preaching hour and what a way to end the year, as the above verse states this is the purpose of the preaching, not all this goofy purpose driven into the ground garbage. The Pastor preached a great message on setting our sites to be a church that would be God honoring, from the pew to the streets, to any nation that we can reach! Our Pastor has such a great burden to see each and every person come to know the Lord as their Savior, and he also has a great burden to see each and every soul that is saved to grow in knowledge of the Bible and not mans teachings. These past couple of months of being around my Pastor have been greatly encouraging as I see him fulfill the Bible way of doing things. There is no rock concerts, there are no crazy theatrical performances, there is only preaching, and the preaching of Gods word at that! The year is not over yet but the Lord has blessed us again this week as two were saved last night. One a young man came forward during the invitation and accepted the Lord, and after services that night a young girl was talking to her aunt after being in church all day and she asked her aunt if she could talk with the preacher. It is a joy to know that God deals with the heart and not by a class of people, a race of people, or an age of people Glory to God. This aunt called the preacher and he being the soul winning pastor he is jumped in his car and went to her house, they were able to talk about salvation and she accepted the Lord! Friends do you see how good God is? If we will just stay committed to his work and stay consistent with our calling then we shall reap! Friend if you don't know the joy of the Lord, or you might be wondering why I write what I do then I beg you to please contact me and let me explain to you the goodness of God and His mercy by sending His Son to die for our sins and forgive us of those sins that we might have everlasting life! This year at Calvary Baptist Church we have seen 53 come to know the Lord and what a joy it is to see these lives changed for His glory. Now to the verse that was provided..the preaching should be for:

• Edification, that is for knowledge. To instruct especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement. The preaching should build us up in the faith according to the Word of God.
• Exhortation, that is persuasion. A communication intended to urge or persuade the recipients to take some action. When we hear the Word of God preached it should make us think about our lives and leave us with a thought of how we are lining up with Gods word as we live out our earthly lives. We should be making a decision every time we hear the Word of God preached.
• Comfort, that is compassion. We never know what a person is going through so as we preach, may the words be comforting enough to show them their need for a Savior, the only true comforter in life.

May God bless you at the end of this year and if the Lord doesn't return until the beggining of next, may you have a Happy New Year!

But as we were allowed of God

1Th 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts

Good morning dear friends, I hope all of you had a wonderful night in church last evening as you found your place in the pew. We heard some excellent preaching last night that just stirred me up a little more to go a little farther in life. The Pastor used the versus from 1 Thessalonians 1-8 for his message. What stood out the most before he was even able to finish with his point that was in the above verse. In it, it says that "as we are allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel." What an awesome privilege to be able to take part in. If we would just stop and think about this for a second before we go forward today. I mean with all my heart dear friends that we don't "have to", oh no "we get to" proclaim the gospel, as we are entrusted by God. I know the command is given in the gospels themselves to go forth and preach to every nation, tribe, and tongue, however how much more glorious is it to know that God choose us to speak of His greatness. The preacher made some great points on this last night, I mean God could choose many different methods for a way to bring forth the gospel message of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, went to the cross of Calvary taking with Him the sins of the world upon His shoulders, dying in our place as the sacrifice for those sins, being buried, rising on the third day as He was seen of many, and now is ascended and sitting on the right hand of God until His glorious return---Hallelujah to God be the glory for the gospel! It gets me so fired up to even think about the gospel and that this wonderful act of redemption for this old dirty sinner has been entrusted to me and you to go out and tell the world that Jesus saves my friend. God could have easily chosen nature to tell of the gospel message as nature wouldn't back talk God, nature wouldn't hesitate to proclaim His glories, but why do we find ourselves afraid sometimes to proclaim the message that we have been entrusted with? God could have chosen the Angels as they in no doubt would've set themselves to the task, but again, no God choose to use us. I thank God today that He has entrusted me to tell somebody about Jesus and what He has done for me in my life, and what He is willing to do for you in yours if your not saved. Friend may you find just one person today and share with them the good news of the gospel. May you not stand idly by as some sinner is struggling in life and you have the very message of hope within in you dear friend that could set him free from a life of bondage. But as we are allowed of God make every effort my dear friend to see sinners saved, that we may all rejoice at the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior and stand before Him without shame for what we have been trusted with.

And there were also with him other little ships.

Mar 4:36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
Mar 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

Good morning dear friends, I hope all finds you well and ready to go through another day. I came across this verse because of how it applies to our lives this day. Many times in our life we find ourselves in the midst of a storm. There is the ever mounting pressure of bills, there is the pressure of lifestyle, there are the waves of the storm. Some days the storm is relentless, and others it seems as if the storm is starting to abate. Now when I look at my life I see that there is this man tossed about and beaten and battered, and it becomes very easy for this flesh to say just give up. I am encouraged though, as the Bible says in these verses as you continue to read on that there is the God of the storm. Just about the time you think that you are going to go under there He is, as He stretches forth His hand and says peace..be still. The Lord Jesus is all that we can rely on to make it through, He is the one one that understands the situation, and as the disciples screamed out, we too must then cry to Him. I am also encouraged to know that no matter how bad all this seems, I am not the only one going through struggles in life. As I take time out to look about I see other ships too. There are plenty of others that may be in a worse situation than me, and I would like to think as I am going through the storm together with them I may be able to throw out a lifeline and pull them together with me, then as one we can look unto the Lord for our deliverance from the situation. Let us never forget that even when were in the storm at least we are still rowing. It is when the ship has sunk that it is over, however during these passages that follow the ship never sank it made it to it's destination. Albeit it was a little tattered and worn, God made a way for it to safely pass. Friend if your in a storm today I encourage you to look unto the Lord and call unto Him, then as He brings you to the safety of land don't forget to give Him the glory! Another thing is not to forget those out on the rough sea with you, encourage them also and then all can rejoice and thank God for the things which He has done!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Well the Christmas evening is rapidly coming to an end, and all the presents have been given, and all the hustle and bustle is winding down. If by chance you didn't leave no room in the inn for Him last night, maybe you can gather around and invite Jesus into your lives tonight. I know for a fact that Jesus has room for you in your life dear friend, and he stands at the door and knocks. Invite Him in, see what a change in your life Christ can bring. As the angels were gathered in multitude, why don't you just join in with them and other Christians praising God for all He's worth and all He's done. Give glory to God as He gave us His only begotten Son, who has been the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. What a gift to receive this night if you are not saved. The precious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you are saved and were caught up in the holiday mess of commercialism and mayhem, then I beg you please take a moment dear friend and stop and thank God for Jesus, at least this night if not any other during this season. Pray dear reader for the peace of Jerusalem, and pray that God would give peace on earth, and good will to men. In closing tonight I would like to say Happy Birthday to Jesus my Lord and Savior. May God bless until the morning and may all of you had a very Merry Christmas!

Because there was no room for them in the inn

Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Good morning dear friends, what a wonderful day it was yesterday in the house of God! Another came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. His name is Michael and he is 10 yrs old! He and his mother have been visiting for quite some time and they both joined the church last night, hallelujah! I am so excited for our church as there has been much going on, and the Lord is the centerpiece of it all! Our Pastor decided to use the above verse for a special day in honor of Christ. Usually when we read the above verse we don't think of the implications of what is said. Dear friend, if you will notice the verse says there was no room for him in the inn. From the beginning Christ was rejected and He hadn't even begun to preach of the glories of God! Well our church fully accepts Jesus as the head of the church and the promise of our salvation, so instead of no room for Him in the church we packed it out for whosoever would come. We had such wonderful services and the preaching was great! Yesterday we took up our Christmas offering and this year we are applying it to our building fund. We are going to raise $10,000.00 towards the groundbreaking on a new church building. God blessed us because after both services we have managed to receive 5100.00. We are all so excited to watch God bless and see lives saved because of His Son, we are also thrilled in the fact that we could receive such a wonderful offering from His people. Now I want to also encourage you to read the account given to us in the Bible concerning the birth of our Lord and Savior. In America we have over dramatized, commercialized, communized, and nearly destroyed the true meaning of Christmas. It is during this day that Christ was born, no folks it's not about the presents, it's not about the food, it's about Christ and Christ alone. If it were not for His birth then there would be no holiday, if it were not for His birth then I for one of many would not be sitting here glorifying Him. From the foundations of this world Christ was, and will continue to be, the reason for my life and purpose on this earth. May God bless you this Christmas eve, and may you glorify Christ before you think about anything else, remember to count your blessing and name them one by one, they have all come because of The One..Christ Jesus. If by chance you are surrounded by family and friends that don't know Christ as their personal Savior then I encourage you friend to ensure that you witness to them of the importance of His birth, and their need of salvation.

Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in

Luk 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Good Morning dear friends, what an enjoyable evening we (church members) had last night. We gathered together at the church and went Christmas caroling to the silver saints and a few others. The smiles of those precious people when they opened up their doors and saw all of us standing there, and when we broke out in song. I hope and pray that when I reach an age that I may not always be able to make it into the church house that there will be the heart of those left in the church to come visit with me. What a joy to uplift the spirits of those dear people. Also I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that there was one SAVED during Wednesday nights service. Unfortunately I was on the road and just was able to squeeze into service right at the end when there was some good old fashioned shoutin for the Lord. This brings me to a point and thought about all that has been going on in the past two days, the Bible speaks about visiting the sick, and the poor, this is something that a lot of folks are leaving out nowadays. I praise God for our Pastor who still remembers what his Bible says and encourages us to get out in to the highways and hedges that the Lords house may be full. Please pray alongside of us as the soul that was saved needs some prayers answered. What a victory over Satan when we can see Jesus cleanse them and make them whole and secure their salvation. Friend this past week has been hard on me personally and some decisions had to be made, however I praise God that I didn't have to go through it alone, the Bible says as Jesus was speaking He gave this promise..I will never leave you or forsake you. Friend if your in need of talking to someone that sticketh closer than a brother then I encourage you to talk to Jesus, as the old hymn says "what a friend we have in Jesus". Dear reader what would our church houses be like if it were just a holding tank for saved folks? Don't get me wrong I love the fellowship with the saints and nothing goes better in my life than when I am around my spiritual family, but how it makes me want to shout for glory when we are able to go out and see people come in from off the streets, listen to the Word of God, and get SAVED. I'm getting so fired up thinking about people getting saved that I want to run out into my warehouse and shout right now. Friend if you don't know who Jesus is, or about His atonement for our sins, then I am praying for you today, that you might come to know Jesus as your Savior and you can rejoice with me as I rejoice with the saints. To God be the glory great things He hath done.

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Well good morning dear friends, I was out of state again yesterday and when I got in I was a little tired after the work that needed to be done, and the drive back home. Yesterday I was observing one of our houses being put together, and with that there were many people on site. There was a crane operator, a 5 man framing crew, and the builder and truck driver. Now with all that being said these folks had to work together to get the job accomplished, and I started thinking about the above verse this morning. Now the spirit that was there of course was not the true Spirit of God, however there was a good indication that all that were involved had the same mind and the same heart..lets get the job done, and get it done right. I just wanted to take a few moments and encourage you today to get behind your pastor at your local church, and get in the same mind, and direction of the people of the church that way whatever vision your pastor and church has it can be more effective. There is nothing more disappointing to your pastor, or to other people involved in the Lords work than to hear about those few that don't yoke up and get in the direction everybody else is going. Just as the guys on the job site were doing they were keeping peace with each other so that a job could get accomplished. Not all of them could be leaders, not all of them could be followers. There had to be those willing to take a position of responsibility and get things going, then there had to be those that knew their place and how they could help in order to pull together for the common goal. This is no different than in the church, there is the Pastor, then there are the members, each one rightly fit into their place in order to do the will of God according to the Spirit. Paul states in his letter the fit and functionality of the individual members of the body, all in peace working together to get the work accomplished. Paul stated if all were one piece of the body then the body would quit functioning. I just wanted to encourage you friend today that there is something that you can do in your church; or for your pastor, what needs to happen is you need to pray and see what skill you can offer for the service of the Lord. It may not be as glorious in your mind as say the preaching, or teaching. Friend there is something that you have to offer and the Lord would gladly use you in His service if you would just give it to Him to use. All of this though has to be brought back into the thought as represented in the above scripture, that this all must be done in the Spirit with the bond of peace. Keeping yourself in humble service my friend is a wonderful thing in the Christian life, never think of yourself as knowing all there is, at the same time don't think that you don't know anything and can't be used. Find your place and serve, serve, serve.

and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea

Jon 1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

Again dear readers we find ourselves looking at the life of Jonah. I don't know why but I love this part of history, and enjoy the lessons that are available in it. Yesterday we talked a little about Gods will and how Jonah had almost missed it. You see I forgot to mention yesterday that there is a simple way, a plan A if you choose to accept it, then there's always plan B, C, D. It's totally up to you if you choose plan A or not and it would be a whole lot easier. As we continue reading though we see the ignorance of Jonah and his decision. While this great and mighty tempest is come against the ship and every man is crying out to his god, Jonah decides to go below and sleep. Now isn't that like our lives? Instead of confronting what is coming at us with God and His wisdom, we usually decide to lay down and just hope it goes away. I remember a statement when I was little, anything worth having is worth fighting for. Meanwhile back on the topside of the ship we see that the people had more concern for Jonah than he had for them, they were getting rid of their wares faster than Jonah was snoring. What a shame when we have an opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives and all we think about is ourselves. Jonah could have been on the topside helping them, or better yet he could have been alongside them petitioning God for mercy. We could be doing are part as this illustrates how we should be in our lives. Friend there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in your church, or help in people's lives instead of being selfish and sleeping during the storm. What we need to remember is during the storm there is still the God of the storm, and we should be petitioning God to see us through it safely. We also need to remember that looking at this Jonah wasn't the only one going through the storm, there were innocent bystanders because of his decision. A lot of times in our lives we like to think that the decisions we make only affect us when in reality it affects a lot more. Again it goes to show our selfishness, and how we are only looking at the moment versus the outcome. As Christians we need to have a heart that is thinking on others also while we are praying through our own storms, someone else may be alongside us in the storm and we might forget them, then they could become a casualty. Friend let me encourage you to keep on, even when the waves seem restless enough to overturn the ship, look to the Lord for help and believe that He will if called upon.

So he paid the fare thereof

Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Good morning dear readers, I have found this after meditating on some decisions that I have to make, and this was a sermon that was preached at one time in my life so I thought that I would share it with you. You see God Word does not return void, this may not have applied in my life at the time, however if you stay diligent to listen to Gods Word it can be a help and a comfort in your life. Now Jonah was given a command of the Lord, and we see here that it was against a great and mighty city. Historically this city was in Assyria, and it was corrupted and wicked above all else. Now the Lord wishing that no man would perish even was willing to send this prophet unto to them that they might repent, however because like Jonah we are apt to get into the flesh we can learn a few things from him. Now we see that Jonah did indeed rise up, however in his first mistake he went the wrong way. Friends I know its hard to do some things that the Lord might have you to do, however the Lord said that He would not put anything on us that we couldn't bear. Secondly if the Lord is willing to use us, He most definitely will supply our need, and will bring us through. Now you may ask how do I know this? Well friend I will have to answer by the word Faith. Now if we can trust the Lord for our salvation, then most assuredly we can trust Him for our everyday needs? You see in the begging of this Jonahs problem was a heart problem for those wicked Assyrians, however most of the time our problem isn't a heart problem it is a faith problem. Now when Jonah decided to run he ran to a ship headed for Tarshish, which was directly opposite of the direction that the Lord had told him to go. Now if you read on there was a very profound statement that follows..so he paid the fare thereof. Now you say friend everybody has to pay a fare to ride on a ship, but I want you to look and see the true fare that Jonah paid for his disobedience, this can be found in the following versus and chapters. Not only did Jonah have a rough start, but I believe if he would have obeyed God at His first call then his life would have been blessed rather than him suffering for those three days. It hurts a lot sometimes my friend when there is a definite leading of the Lord to do whats right, however I do believe that if we would just humble ourselves and obey we would not have to pay the fare thereof of our mistakes in disobedience. Friend I hope this encourages you to trust and obey the Lord, for He has us in mind when there are decisions to be made, and above all else honor God by seeking His will first then all other things will fall into place. May God bless.

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Psa 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Good morning friends, wow its been a couple of days since I've said that. Well it is inventory prep time at my facility and I have been very focused on counting every part and locating everything. Now when I started doing this I said boy this is going to be easy there are only a couple thousand parts to have, however as we kept going forward I found stuff that I really didn't even have on my books. The Bible in the above verse invited the Lord to examine David, and to prove David. I believe that before David foolishly asked this of God that he did a pre-inventory of his own life. I started thinking how that pertains to our lives, the Bible says in 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? You see we are to take an inventory of our lives and see whether we be in the faith, we are to look and see where we stand, whether it be with God, or against God. IF we would examine ourselves, then we would not judge others but we would be looking inward and seeing where we are falling short. I was also thinking about those little sins in life that we may not be aware of. You know those sins of omission that we might not be aware of yet because we haven't studied our Bibles, or we haven't been in the church house so they haven't been brought before us? Remember dear Friend it is a daily walk with Jesus that helps us to grow, while we are looking at ourselves and comparing ourselves with scripture to see where we stand let us not forget that God is always taking note of what is going on in our lives. Instead of being like this present world and doing inventory once a quarter, or once a year, let us take inventory daily. If we were to do this in light of Gods Word then my friend I believe that we wouldn't let a sin debt build up in us. I also believe that we would grow more because we would constantly be digging into the Word and learning and heeding to honor God. Friend I challenge you today to take a pause and do a little inventory in your life to brush away the cobwebs and see where you stand according to scripture, and not this world. I can tell you that the Bible says; if we confess our sins, then He is faithful and just to forgive us of them, and when the Bible says He it is referring to Jesus Christ. Then as David was able to boldly come before God and petition him to examine him we to can ask God to examine us and see where we stand. Now don't let any of this discourage you friend as the more we are able to look at ourselves against scripture the more God will honor this by allowing us to see what we have to work on in our lives. Then as we get the things out of our lives and put the Word of God into our lives you will come to see that you are walking with God instead of against Him. May God bless.

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Pro 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Good evening again friends, I just got off the road from driving from Ohio. I left this afternoon after a full day of meetings. Well everything went great as no one was fired :) I was a little restless last night so today's post will be very short since I have been up since about 4:30 eastern time. During my drive back home, one of my favorite CD's just happened to start skipping (maybe I wore it out?), anyway I had to resort to the radio for that time frame of non quietness. As I was skipping through the channels looking for a Christian station I heard the most absurd song in a while (go figure, radio, duh). This song however happened to be on a Christian station, the reason it blew my mind is for the few different non biblical standards that it projected, however two things really stand out.

1. The Lyrics
   The lyrics have a chorus of "I was able to sneak into heaven on a borrowed halo", "St. Peter found me wandering around and asked if I was lost?" "I'm floating around on a broken wing"
2. The Brainlessness of those that:
   a. Play this stuff
   b. Buy this garbage

I knew our world was a mess, but whoa! I guess what offends me most is the thought of some sinner "sneaking into heaven". Friends don't let this world fool you please read previous posts, but I believe that the Bible makes it pretty clear that nothing escapes the eyes of the Lord, and I can positively say that NOBODY is going to be doing any sneaking when it comes to that great and terrible Day of the Lord and getting into heaven for that matter. Friends, I love you and I am praying that you would not find yourself buying into this foolishness for deceitful gain by vain babbling. I look forward to tomorrow, and until then may God bless.

I will make you fishers of men

Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Good evening dear friends, I have found myself traveling again so I must post later in the day when this occurs. I am on the road headed for Ohio, and a business meeting. The purpose of this meeting is for training in the upper management so that we may continue to be a leader in our line of business. Well for homework they have assigned us to read a book called "From Good To Great". Now the whole purpose of this book is to encourage companies to look at their management and find those few things that would make a difference in their leadership to take them from good to great. I chose this verse today because it started here in my mind at the model for training leaders. What a simple bunch of folk, I mean they were just regular labourers, they didn't even have a certificate from a two year college? Now when I read my Bible I found 12 ordinary men that God used and they were no doubt "good" at what they do otherwise they would have never been in that business. Now I am no major analyst, or writer, or super scholar, but friend I watched a great leader Jesus Christ take them from "good to great". You say hows this brother, well I say pick up your Bibles and watch the transformation. You see I enjoy these little jaunts into the corporate world and love to laugh at how much we think we have this all figured out for our companies and lives. There is fact after fact that in order to be a good leader the disciples had to learn to follow first. Whew, you mean that there's no person "born" into greatness? No, I believe that there are those that have a flair about them that would enable them to gather people together, however that is not what Christ was. Jesus simply said "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." You see friend the Lord had to make them fishers of men. Now I can sit here and try to mix the secular world with the spiritual, but I will leave that up to the writers and the scholars. What I want in my life is to remain humble that I may as stated in 2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; You see the success of myself, and my company lays in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for that very reason I know that if I continue to honor God, He will in no doubt bless us. If I stay humbled, then I can learn to lead, and when the need is there for me to lead then the Lord will place me into that need considering that I have already learned what I needed up to that point from the Lord. Now don't get me wrong dear friend there is much to learn from reading this book, however I place more value on Jesus and His teachings rather than another author. I mean think about this dear reader, God has allowed His Word to endure forever, and in that time He has raised up leaders, and took them from good to great within His own will. The Christian heritage that I have has survived for more than two thousand years, now what a model of models to look at to see how things should be done if we want our lives to prosper. First and foremost I believe that this one single thing applies as the base of this model in order for it to grow...the foundation if you would have to be Jesus. From there my friend as I hear a lot say, I am just a pilgrim on a journey, and praise God I know where it ends! Take heed on what type of foundation that you build thereupon as Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Until tomorrow may God bless.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Good Monday morning dear readers, what a great weekend. The Lord has added yet again to the family as one came unto the saving knowledge of Jesus and accepted Him as their personal savior. Hallelujah for this as our Pastor and our church has such a burden for souls this is such an encouragement. While thinking about this over the weekend I kind of started thinking about our memory verse for the this last week "Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." What a simple statement, but deep in thought and action. Oh friend if it wasn't for the Father having mercy on us, and extending His grace what a horrible life we would be living, knowing that the only path in life would lead straight to a devils hell. However friend there is a way, one way, and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. There is a lot to be said of mercy, and this is just one way we can show Christ likeness in our lives by showing mercy. What is mercy you may say? Well mercy in the eyes of God is this...
MER'CY, n. [L. misericordia.]
1. That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. The good old hymn probably says it best when you look at the words, "mercy there was great and grace was free." You see friend God did not have to have mercy on us as we are sinners, one and all, but it was because of His compassion that God desired to have a relationship with His own creation, and in order for that to happen He had to have mercy otherwise we would be receiving exactly what we deserve. It is mercy that God shows whenever I sin and I confess that sin, it was mercy that brought Jesus to this earth, it was mercy that allowed me to call upon the Lords name and He to hear my cry. It is mercy when I go to that old fashioned alter and bow before Him and talk with the Lord and deal with the things on my heart that He allows me to leave there forgiven. Friend, my challenge to you today is to exercise this in your life towards another. I also challenge you to study this word in detail, as it would only bring you closer in your walk with the Lord when you understand what mercy is all about.

Be ready always to give an answer to every man

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Good evening my dear friends, well it feels odd saying that as I normally post early in the morning. Well I would like to apologize as I had to be on the road very early this morning in order to meet my business obligations. Well I am a little convicted as I should have just did my post last night and hit the good ol send button this morning. I would like to say in defense to that the Lord has allowed me time to learn a little more this day, which in turn on my long drive back has allowed me to meditate upon. The thought that came to mind this afternoon after a busy day of meetings was communication. How important communication is and what words we choose to use. You see there was a misunderstanding from the beginning of the conversation that probably would have shortened my presence in the room. So I dwelt on the thought of communication on the way back to the house whether we are communicating properly as Christians? Communication is not merely the act of speaking, no it goes further than that. There is a process as there is with many things in life. Here is what I have found out about communication:

Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. Communication requires that all parties understand a common language that is exchanged with each other. Exchange requires feedback. The word communication is also used in the context where little or no feedback is expected such as broadcasting, or where the feedback may be delayed as the sender or receiver use different methods, technologies, timing and means for feedback.


1. Content
a. What type of things are communicated
b. The Gospel Message, or a message to Believers

2. Source/Emisor/Sender/Encoder
a. By whom, we as Christians, or the Pastor

3. Form
a. In which form; by audio, by sight, by non-verbal
b. Remember how you act or react says a lot!

4. Channel
a. Through which medium, is it a tract, a book, an e-mail?

5. Destination/Receiver/Target/Decoder
a. To whom; A lost and dying world, or to discouraged Christians

6. Purpose/Pragmatic aspect
a. With what kind of results; well the main result is for salvation, after that it is for instruction in righteousness.

Friend I hope that we are all communicating effectively, as the Bible says we are to stand ready with an answer to every man of the Hope that is within us. I would also like to say our communication should be seasoned with salt, as we are commanded to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Until tomorrow may God Bless.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Good morning dear friends, church was wonderful last night and the preacher brought out a great message on the foolishness of preaching. The Bible declares in 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. While I will not repeat word for word what the preacher preached on, for I would rather have you hear him I may or may not repeat some of his points. Thank you preacher for studying to bring us a message that would stir our hearts and minds unto the things of God. In the above versus I came across the word knowledge and started to think about the wisdom of men, knowledge, and how its used today. The Bible declares that Gods ways are not our ways, nor our ways His ways. You see Paul was speaking to the Israelites here and how they had zeal, but not according to knowledge. I find a lot of people in this world today have some zeal for God, however because of false doctrine it is not according to the knowledge of God. I have a good friend that believes in a God who can save him, however, he believes after calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins that he must now work to keep himself saved. You see friend this is not according to the knowledge of God. Even the Israelites were struggling with this as it seems from the above versus, they believed in God, and His righteousness, however they have denied the finished work of Christ on the cross. They seemed to think they could live righteously by themselves. In these versus, Paul of the stock of Abraham, himself a very learned Jew had indeed settled this in his heart that it is because of Jesus and His righteousness alone, and that through Jesus, and Jesus alone can we even be presented before God the Father in righteousness. It is not about what we do, but what about the Lord has done for us, making Himself the final, spotless, blameless sacrifice which was required. Now I am not disregarding Holy living, for the Bible says Be ye Holy for I am Holy. No friend this means according to the knowledge of God as it is revealed unto us to live in Christ, that is to do all to the glory of God, knowing however that there are none righteous no not one. That reason alone my dear Friend is why I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, because I have fallen short of the glory of God, and there is no way for me to be righteous outside of Jesus Christ. A lot of denominations teach as it is written according to Romans 10: 3. These denominations go about trying to establish their own righteousness according to their misinterpretation of the Bible. I praise God that I don't have to work to keep myself saved! My Lord and Savior has finished that work, and now I labor in a different manner that is in His work. To preach the gospel, and to show them Jesus Christ high and lifted up, but as to my salvation it my friend is secured in the only One who was able to present Himself to God the Father in a sinless life, as sin for the world and bore that upon His shoulders that I may have eternal life through Him. That my friend is the Bible way, through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly states in Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. My friend I encourage you to throw off the shackles of bondage that men may have laid upon you, which have made your walk grievous in this life according to man made laws, and accept the finished work of Jesus Christ and His righteousness for the remission of your sins that you may be a new creature in Christ Jesus and receive eternal life. I love you today my dear friend, and I pray as Paul prayed for Israel, that they might be saved if they would understand according to the knowledge of God, Jesus Christ. I also pray for those that the Lord allows me to come into contact with and has not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior. I pray this very hour that if you are lost and wandering in sin, that you would admit that you are a sinner, and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and that believing that Christ died on the cross of Calvary shed His blood for you, and that He died and is risen, and is coming again in power and glory to reign forever more to everyone that believeth.

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Well a very good morning to you friends, I hope all was a wonderful day yesterday. I happened to be talking with a dear brother and while thinking on the things that we were discussing this verse came to mind late last night. Here is Paul the experienced missionary, preacher, teacher, Apostle, doing exactly what we are to be doing in this day and age. Paul is training still young Timothy, his son in the faith. You see Paul knew that service for the Lord would not come without its trials and temptations in the ministry, so I believe Paul started in verse 1 and starts to set in on helping to encourage the young preacher. Paul had already given Timothy the qualifications, the charge to set things straight, and the encouragement to not let those take advantage of him because of their age. Now we see Paul putting the plow into the soil a little, I believe Paul understood that like many of us we would need to hear from the experienced preacher that there are going to be rough days, there are going to be times that we feel that we are not making a difference, there are times that we might have the flock become a little rebellious. Steadfast though Paul says, Preach the word! You see sometimes we might want to slack a little because we allow the flesh to see that there might be a rift with some because of a stance on the word of God, but Paul says to Preach the word. Not only should the preaching happen in the pulpit, but we should be out on the streets in the highway and hedges preaching the gospel, Paul again states further to be instant in season, out of season, hang in there and be prepared no matter where you are whether its in the church house or out, whether you feel that your not making a difference or you are, whether things "seem" to be going right or not. Be instant in season, out of season, keep your hand to the plow and do not become discouraged. Friends I'm not going to tell you that everyday will be a mountain top, its after we've been through the valleys that we can look back and praise God that He has brought us through. Remember friends Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,. Paul also says with our preaching and our steadfastness to continue that we should reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. This was a charge from Paul to Timothy to stand for the faith and stay true to the Bible and the teachings contained therein. Timothy was encouraged not to waver, but to be with his flock, and in the world that surrounded him a leader, a pastor, and a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May this encourage you today to stay the course and be found before God the father working in His fields labouring until the Lord Jesus Christ calls us home.

For they are most rebellious.

Eze 2:7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

Here in the book of Ezekiel the Lord is encouraging Ezekiel in His duties as a prophet. The Lord has given him warning that the children of Israel are hardhearted and backsliding, they have a problem with hearing. I think the same goes for today's time. Everywhere I look I see preachers having a rough go of it because of the fickleness of the people. I see preachers being run off from their pulpits by hard hearted folks. Friends let me encourage you to not become stiff necked to the things of the Lord. Let me encourage you not to be rebellious against the man of God, or the Word of God. There is much to be gleaned from this very passage, even though it is written about the children of Israel during the time of the captivity, we can see how the Lord dealt with them and their ways. A lot of people would say that this was the Old Testament, well I would say history has a way of repeating itself. The Bible, the Word of God is given to us in completeness for our instruction, and for a memorial of the things of God. We would do well today to remember that with sin comes consequences and with the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Words of God comes a consequence so great that it endures into eternity. The Lord God wanted to be Israels God, but because of their wickedness and rejection they were led captive by false gods and paid for it a lot of times with their lives, or their children's lives. It is so wonderful to know that if we choose to accept the Lord Jesus Christ and His ways then for eternity we will be with Him. However, if we choose to be stiff necked like the children of Israel then we shall be led away captive by sin and then the judgement, and at the end of the judgement to be cast into the lake of fire that burneth forever and forever. Friend, today you see that there is a consequence for sin, and for the rejection of God. I hope and pray that you don't let this opportunity pass you by to ask yourself if you are living like the children of Israel against the Lord and His Words, or maybe you don't understand all that you have come across today. I would love to help you read through the Bible, Gods Holy Word and show you what He has written to us that we may understand Him through Jesus. Drop me a line and until tomorrow may God bless.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

2Ti 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

What a truly wondrous day it was yesterday. We were able to see one come forward and get saved! Praise the Lord for this as our prayers at Calvary Baptist Church are to see God move in peoples lives and to see them get saved. The preaching was great as we were encouraged all the way from Sunday school to Sunday evening preaching with some great scriptural teaching. I have heard many a pastor preach about what we should do and why we should believe, but sometimes the how is left out. We heard some great teaching on the refuting of 5-point Calvinism, and then Sunday evening we were exhorted to become students of the Word. This was accomplished not only for that veteran saint, but also for that newly saved soul. We were given some of those insights on how to read the bible and apply certain methods of study that you would only generally get in a bible college. I think this has helped out all of us and I thank the preacher for not only preaching, but apt to teach as the bible states. I do have to apologize for missing a posting on Saturday as I tended to things needed around the house for my wife and family. I look forward today to another great week as the Lord has been blessing me not only during services, but also in my workplace. We have been slow at work and all of my men have been laid off for a month or so. I started praying and some others that are not part of my company have prayed along with me and I know that God has answered because I have been able to call my workers back and we have work until February now. I say all of this to encourage you to stay in the fight. Many a person gets discouraged friend in serving the Lord and not knowing the outcome of whats to happen. If we had everything laid out in front of us as to the trials and tribulations for us to walk more closely with God do you think we would take that path? Well I believe that since I am just merely a feeble man that is so dependant on the path of least resistance I would definitely look for the easy way out. If we were quite honest with ourselves I believe all of us would say that too. You see the Lord said that by trials and tribulations it works patience in our lives, this leads to experience, then when we enter another test we can know for shure that it is the Lord that will deliver us out of that time according to His will. The Lord says our faith will be tried like the fires that are used in silversmithing, allowing the dross to be pulled out of the silver leads to pure silver, allowing the Lord to work in our lives removing the things that weaken us, or keep us from Him allows us to draw closer and have a better relationship with Him. All this is done to conform us to His image as we are continually in a growing process along our Christian walk. So be not afraid for I know that the trials are sometimes hard, but be encouraged because the Lord said He will never put you through anything that you cannot lean on Him to deliver you from.