Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Pro 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Good morning dear friends, another weekend has passed and it was good! We have made some more progress on the teen building, as the Lord held of the rain on Friday for us to get the door in, however did it ever pour down on saturday! There was a great message preached on Sunday morning that had me thinking all day and night after a comment that the preacher made after he preached. The Pastor preached on the subject of a pardon, and how Christ signed our pardon with His blood on the cross of Calvary, a pardon though is only good for the individual that accepts it, so there again it is a personal decision in life, no man can force you to accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and no man can force you to free yourself from the bondage of sin through Him. The Pastors comment was if we truly understood the value of a pardon like the inmates on death row look at one, then why don't people come running to the the alter to accept Christ? Well that stuck with me and I want to add to the preachers thought as I came across the above verse in my daily devotions a couple of days ago. You see because a sinners eyes are never satisfied then thier appetites are never satisfied. When lost peoples eyes and their appetites are set on the things of this world and the pleasures that are contained in them, then as the Bible says in Pro 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. You see friends, if we could but get sinners to understand that there is no true freedom in sin, and there is no ecscaping judgement by good works, or by church membership, or by baptism my friends then maybe we could see them saved. It is only though after a sinner realizes that he is one that this verse can mean anything to him. The Bible is very clear that sin is but for a season, and it states in Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. You see friends there is no escaping death from sin, there is only eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible also says in Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: friends the only way to escape this judgement is to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, that He would cleanse you from all unrighteouseness and that you would become of a child of the King! Accpet HIs pardon, and enjoy life everslasting. Remember, the Proverb stated the way of life is above for the wise. Friends, I hope today that this has been an encoragement for you to look unto Jesus for that full pardon from a life of sin and eternal damnation, and that once recieving Him as your personal Savior you would desire to grow in knowledge and grace!

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Hello dear friends, yesterday was a busy day and it was good to see some things get accomplished. We were able to complete the roof on the teen building, and get 1/2 of the floor decking laid. We will be framing in the door and getting the fascia finished off today and hopefully we can get this thing wrapped up so we can get the teenagers in there. We also had a tremendous turn out for visitation last night, there were a lot of families that showed up and we were able to cover a lot of visits. I was riding with one of our deacons and we were talking about the cold shoulders that we happen to come across while out door knocking, and the seemingly non-caring attitude of most folks and how they just seemed to roll their eyes when invited to church. Friend, I don't know where your at in your life, but I remember when I was lost no one ever really cared enough for me to come to my house to invite me to church, had they I might have given it some thought at least, at a minimum I would have listened politely. The Bible says from today's verse that those that don't believe are condemned already, that is they have decided to choose option B for their life. Option B has this to look forward to..

• Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth
• Fire that never shall be quenched
• Being in torments
• Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched

Friends we already live in a society that brings enough pain and agony into our lives by what it has to offer, and there are plenty that readily accepts it. Why do we continue to accept the meaningless here and now, why not look unto Jesus and accept Him as your personal Savior if you have not already? Remember there is life after death, where are you headed? When I asked a few people this question last night they said they really don't know, then I asked them if I could show them from the Bible their options for life. Their response was I don't have time, meanwhile in the background there was a room full of people. smoking, drinking and cutting up! Don't have time I thought, man the Bible says our life is but a vapor here on earth. Friend let me encourage you to take time to make sure you know whether you are going to heaven or hell, a little preparation today sure beats an eternity in torment and pain! I encourage you to consider it now for you never know what the next moment may bring. As the old preacher says in Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter....Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Finally, brethern, pray for us

2Th 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

Good morning again dear friends, what a great night of preaching we had last night! God was so good to us to send some visitors also, and we are so thankful for His faithfulness. The Pastor has been walking through the book of II Thessalonians and it has been good for us as a church. Last night we were exhorted to look at what Paul was writing to them because of false teachers and a false letter that they received earlier. In the first three verses of Chp 3 Paul lays the groundwork for a productive Christian life in the faith. It all starts in prayer as the preacher says..the Bible backs this up by saying Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. You see when they started with prayer they were able to be kept close to God and to be on guard. We see three results that Paul had mentioned in those three versus because of their prayer life and praying for them as the preachers of the word:

• In V1 we see that it Optimizes the Word of God
  That the Word of God may have free course, and be glorified.
  When the Word of God is preached without compromise it glorifies Christ
• In V2 we see that it Ostracizes Wickedness
  For all men have not faith
  It separates those that believe from those that would question, or lead astray
• In V3 we see it Organizes us into Worship
  But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you and keep you from evil
  Worshipping the true God through devotion and prayer, which is able to hide His words in your heart that you be grounded and unwavering

Friends in the above verses we see the results of a simple request by Paul, for if we pray for the the services, the preacher, the message about to be preached, then the Word of God can have free course and the Lord can be glorified because of the change in people's lives! Friends if we spend more time in prayer, and less time in being preoccupied then we can have a relationship with the Lord that would not only stablish you, and keep you, but it would change you. People today always seem down in the dumps, or over worried, but if we could pray for others and the things that God would have us to pray for then we can have a more abundant Christian life abiding within the True vine that is Jesus Christ! My prayer for you today is that you would know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, not just know Him for His name and what He has done, but to have a relationship with the Lord and KNOW Him.

Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful, friends I can say truly it is! I woke up with this song on my mind very early this morning,and what a great day I look forward to. Yesterday was another awesome day as we (Calvary Baptist) were privileged to host our first preachers fellowship! I think our Pastor was greatly encouraged because we had a good crowd, and the preaching was excellent! Our Pastor had his Pastor, Bro. Redman in to start off the preaching and what an encouraging message it was to hear about sticking by the old time religion, the old time singing, and the old time preaching of the word. We may not always be liked for what we preach, but praise the Lord it is the truth straight from the Word of God in love, to see others change their lives for God's glory! Were not in it for the glory ourselves, no friend, but that Christ might be glorified by people coming unto Him and giving themselves in humility, and honor, that He might cleanse their souls for the remission of sins from this world and be born again. Then we had Bro. Tom Wallace come and preach for us, and he had a message of "This place is the only place, there isn't another place like this place". He encouraged us to stay in the fight and treat our ministries right and thank God for the ministry that He has called us into, and that there shouldn't be all this ministry hopping going on. Our personal ministries should be the like "this is my ministry, and there is no ministry like my ministry", and we should do all that we are called to do for the glory of God! Again we were blessed by some excellent singing by the Hinkle Family for our fellowship. As we continued throughout the day we had one other nursing home for them to visit, then on to our own nursing home ministry yesterday evening to finish things off. What a blessing it has been to be around this family, and how genuine they are in their life. Let me tell you that Pop Hinkle sure can eat....just kidding Pop. Now friends as the above verse states, every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. What are you labouring for today? It is riches laid up here on earth that moth and rust doth corrupt, or are they riches set up in heaven that are everlasting? I want to encourage you to labour today to bring God the glory, win a soul over that your labour might not be in vain. I know we all have to have jobs to pay bills, but what bills have we created in place of the regular necessities of life? When we could be giving more labour to the Lord, we are usually labouring for material things. friends I just want you to think about the sweat and toil for those things, is it really worth it, or could time be spent far better by going out soul winning, or maybe just doing something simple around the church house to support your pastor? Not all labour has to be glorifying in the flesh, but all labor dome with the motive can be God glorifying, then will come the reward!

And the King shall answer and say unto them

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Good morning dear friends, what a wonderful and blessed day I had yesterday! Our church has the privilege over the next few days of hosting the Hinkle family while they are in town. They are such a blessing as they travel across the United States ministering to the elderly in nursing homes, senior centers, and just about anywhere they can find them! We were in three different nursing homes yesterday and what a joy it was to see them uplifted during their day, I can only imagine what it will be like when I reach that golden age. I sure hope there are still caring Christians left in this world to visit me and comfort me during my time of need! They are such a wonderful family, they travel 365 days a year and have visited over 4,000 senior centers last year. We all had an excellent time of fellowship afterwards, and then we went to the church to help them set up for some singing that will be done today. We at Calvary Baptist also have a busy day today, as we are hosting a preachers fellowship and then afterwards we have our own nursing home ministry to attend to. Glory to God that He has allowed us to do these things and uplift His holy name, as the Bible says He is worthy of all praise. We are excited to host this preachers fellowship and our prayer is that it will be encouraging both for the Pastors that are in attendance, and the our church. Let me encourage you today Friends to think upon those that are less fortunate than you in health and mobility. Think about those that may be in the prison houses today, dead in their sins and trespasses and having no one to tell them of the wonderful love of Jesus, how He came and died for their sins if they would just accept Him as their personal Savior for the remission of those sins! Friends the Bible says we are to visit the sick, those that are in prison, and clothe the naked, and to tend to the widows and elderly, let us not forgot to do these things as we travel this world as a pilgrim on a journey! If you read the following verses I believe you will get what I am trying to say today, Matthew Chapter 25, verses 34-40. I hope and pray that this has stirred your heart to remember those that may not have the fellowship that you have, and that this would make you desire to reach out to those and share the good news of the gospel with them in their time of need. Remember, one day that could be you in a wheel chair all alone, or in a jail cell all alone, or sick and have nobody to come by your side and comfort you.

Did not our heart burn within us,

Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Good morning dear friends. I hope yesterday was a wonderful day, and that you and your families made it to the Lords house to give Him praise for He is worthy! As we all know in the USA it was resurrection Sunday, however since this blog may reach some of you that are not living in the US I wanted to make sure you knew what yesterday was about for us. I looked forward with great anticipation to see church family, and new faces on this day because of what Christ has done for us. A lot of people focus on Christ on the cross dying for the sins of mankind, and rightfully so as that was why He became lower than the angels and took on the form of man, yet He was the Godhead fully sinning not! I like to focus however on resurrection day because Jesus overcame death and the grave, and He fulfilled exactly what He said He would! As I was preaching in Jr. Church yesterday the verse above came across and stuck out at me. I had another thought to preach, but the Lord laid it upon my heart to preach about His resurrection and then on the above verse. I was explaining to the children that the disciples had heard the Lord speak of His death, burial, and resurrection, however they either didn't understand, or they let the current events that had just happen cloud their minds. If you read in the gospels they all were doing something different, some went to fishing, others listened to the report of Mary Magdalene and accused her of fables, yet others were on their way to Emmaus. I really enjoy the part that the Lord has recorded for us as a testimony of His Resurrection along the Emmaus road. The Bible says they were walking and they were sad, now I would be sad to if something that was dear to me was taken away so abruptly, however if they had been listening to Jesus during the time they were with Him then they would have remembered all the things that He had foretold them. If they would have had their hearts a little closer to the Lord they wouldn't have been so mystified that the stranger they were talking to at the moment was the Lord indeed, risen and comforting them along the way. Friends it just like us in this life, we need to be so familiar with the Bible, that when opposition, false teaching, temptations, and the devils tactics come against us we are not downtrodden, but able to overcome because of the Word of God! We should have such a prayer life that we are in the Lords presence and know it! People say, preacher how do you know, all I can say is as the men to Emmaus realized afterward their hearts burned within themselves because of the closeness of the Lord! When was the last time you allowed the Word of God to penetrate your heart that you understood what the Lord was trying to tell you, when was the last time that during the preaching of His word that there was a fire in your heart to change your ways that you might glorify Him? Friends the Lord desires a relationship with His people that goes beyond what this world can describe, but you must first seek Him, then obey and learn of all that He would have for you in your life. As the Lord was walking with His wearied disciples the Bible says He started in the book of Moses and carried on expounding all the prophecies that were just fulfilled. The Bible says He did this because their hearts were slow to believe! Now here is the risen Lord, telling them one more time, and reminding them what needed to happen so that they would not be dismayed! Praise God that the Lord is a risen Savior able to overcome all that this world has to throw at us, now it is up to us to accept what He has done and call upon His name for salvation. Friend I hope this has encouraged you to walk a little closer with the Lord today, and trust Him fully, and to take His word faithfully where ever you may go, because of His finished work on the cross, not only because of the cross, but that He arose and is alive and sitting at the right hand of God the Father!

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Good morning again friends. We had a pretty good night of visits yesterday, and were able to come across a young family that may just come out and visit with us, they moved down from a city north of us a while back and haven't been going to church anywhere. During our visiting time the Pastor and I were conversing about people as you try and help them out in life. We were discussing how people don't just listen, then we thought that it may go beyond listening, are they comprehending? As I write to you when I can, I started thinking about that this morning if what I say makes a difference? Now I know that some of you may be reading it, but are you comprehending what I am saying when I talk about Salvation, or any of the other pieces of scripture that I may try and explain. the reason for that thought is we are always so busy in our lives to maybe read something, or hear something, however we always aren't comprehending. We aren't comprehending because in our minds and our hearts we are already trying to either come up with an answer, or we are trying to rebuttal what is trying to be said long before we even earnestly listened to what is being said. I can remember in the Bible when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John onto the mount of transfiguration. As that happens Christ is literally transfigured into His glorified body and Moses and Elias appears! Peter being the great example of how quickly we are to put foot in mouth pipes up and tells the Lord what he wants to do, however about that time the Bible says in Matthew 17:5 a great cloud overshadows them and says " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." Now I have a side note in my Bible that I had written awhile ago and it says "Peter, Shut Up!" Sometimes when we ought to be listening and watching, we are usually speaking and acting. Friends the Godhead appeared mightily, and yet Peter was about to miss out on some more great instruction for his life. Isn't that just like us? I find it funny and frustrating at the same time anymore when someone comes to the preacher to ask a question or get advice from a scriptural standpoint and about the time the preacher starts to talk that person wants to start interjecting! Friend if you go to someone to hear what they have to say, then kindly be quiet and listen, if you don't understand then wait till that person is finished speaking, process it in your mind, and then ask further questions, don't keep interrupting because just like good ol Peter you may be missing what is about to be said! When the preacher is preaching, just listen, let the cares of the world pass by, put off your flesh and enter into the house of God with the purpose to hear something from the Lord! Friends I just want to encourage you today to listen to the Lord, and as the Bible said...hear ye Him! It's when we aren't listening that we are usually hurting ourselves because we have missed exactly what we needed in our life to help us overcome the problem, or situation that we are dealing with. Remember that preacher isn't preaching just to hear himself! Not only listen dear friends but understand. Pro 28:5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. When the preacher or the Word of God says something, seek to understand it, that is listen to what is being said and apply it to your lives for your benefit! Friends I hope that you have a blessed day, and that in doing so you would hear first, then think about what you are going to say, then respond in love!

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him

Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Glory to God! We had such a special blessing last night in our services as we had one young man come forward and accept the Lord as his personal savior! His name is Les and I ask that you would pray for him. What a wonderful night of preaching as we were hearing a sermon out of II Thessalonians chapter 2, it was encouraging to know that the Thessalonian church had on their mind what we ought to have on ours...the coming of the Lord. The problem they had though was a person deceived them into believing that was the hour of Christs return. From the letter of Paul to them he explains to them that what they are going through is expected of Christians (the persecution they were facing) and that there are certain things that are going to happen before the Lords return. Speaking of the Lords return, have I mentioned this week that He must needs be turned over and face death on the cross of Calvary for the remission of our sins, not only die for our sins but glory hallelujah be resurrected and ascended until that appointed time! The Bible says that He was seen of many after His resurrection, however it is quite interesting to see how most of the disciples and those closest to Him received Him when He was seen. The Bible speaks of the two men on the road to Emmaus and they were talking to one another about the events that just occured, however in their rehearsing of the events they didn't think to remember what Jesus had told them the whole time that He was with them. It took Jesus drawing them into fellowship again and while sitting down and after breaking bread the Bible says in Luke 24:31 their eyes were opened! Friends let me encourage you today to keep your eyes open, and keep them on the Lord. Don't be distracted about the things that are going on in this world as like the disciples and the men to Emmaus, it will only discourage you and lead you astray. Instead get into the Word of God and understand the things that must be, just as Jesus told His disciples what must occur, and then be ready to endure those things knowing that we have our Lord and Savior to deliver us when that time comes, and the trump of God shall sound, then all those that are His will be caught up! We need to keep focused on Jesus so we won't be deceived like the Thessalonians were, we need to understand what is to take place as it is in today's age, because my dear friends the stage is being set for that son of perdition, the wicked one to return. Know this though that if you are saved, you are safe from the tribulation time, not only safe but secured for eternity with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings! Well tonight is visitation at the church and I am praying that there will be some new faces out to labor for the Lord. I hope to see some new faces this Sunday in services, not just because it is Resurrection Sunday, but because we were faithful to sow and the Lord bless and give the increase!

And said unto them, What will ye give me

Mat 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Good afternoon dear readers, I have been away this morning on visitation with the Pastor to Nashville. We had a church member in the hospital for surgery and that meant a lot to him that the Pastor would come and be with them. Well there are only a few more days until Resurrection Sunday I can’t wait to see how many visitors we may have to celebrate this time with us! As I have been going thru the events of Jesus’ life with the Jr. Church kids I thought I would share a thought with you that I had with them. The Bible says that Judas covenanted with the chief priests to deliver Jesus unto them, and the thought I had is Judas had to make a decision in his life to do this. Judas obviously had greed in his heart as it says "what will ye give me" My question then is what decision will you make about Jesus in your life? I mean Judas was a disciple that was a part of the innermost moments beyond what Jesus would tell the multitudes; Jesus spent time with him personally and directly teaching him of the things that were to come. Judas had a firsthand knowledge of the interpretations to the Beatitudes, the Mount of Olivet discourse, he was allowed to see things that weren’t even written in the Word of God! Yet Judas for some reason decided it would be better to sell out the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Had he not listened to the Lord about the riches of this world and what they would bring. Had he not understood that without Jesus there is no purpose to this life? Unfortunately for Judas this realization came about after selling out the Lord, friend I ask you today are you trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to be all that He said He would be, do you trust in His Word that He will accomplish all that is written for us? In Luke Chap. 22:4 the Bible says that Judas did all this out of the presence of the disciples, how do I know this, it’s because the Bible says he went “his way”. Friend if you are walking in your own knowledge, or in the trust and faith of something besides Jesus Christ then you will end up making a decision like Judas. I find it very interesting that Judas had went his own way, instead of being with the disciples in “the way”. Friend are you willing to sell out the Lord for a mere thirty pieces? What is your price, is it a little entertainment, is it a little meat, is it a little comfort for the here and now? I can tell you this about making a decision, I am looking forward to that day when the trump of God shall sound and I can see my Lord returning as He has promised to do! You see friend I have decided that instead of trusting in this world I am going to trust in Jesus for the answers, guidance, and direction for my life. I have made a decision to accept Jesus as my personal Savior, and His Word that He is my all in all. Friend I encourage you today to look into the scriptures and read for yourself what the Lord has endured, and what He came to this earth for, so that you to may believe on the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins for everlasting life. Friend the decision has to be made and whether you admit it or not to yourself after reading this you will have made one already. The decision will either be to accept the Word of God and believe that Jesus came and died for our sins, or to reject that and go on living a life of sin only to die and go to a devils hell. Friend don’t sell out the Lord for a little temporal enjoyment during this time on earth, instead place your trust in the Lord that you may inherit eternal life through our Lord and Savior! I have heard a quote that at death it is only the beginning. Think about this, eternity where will you spend it? Judas wasted all that he had learned on such a little thing, instead of that, why don’t you take what you know about the Lord and tell others that they may be saved from the hell fires that await them.

Awake to righteousness, and sin not

1Co 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
Good morning dear readers; today I want to focus for a few minutes on the word righteousness. Now I know that most would roll their eyes and say here comes the self-righteous. Well friends let me begin by giving the definition of righteousness as I want to discuss the application I hope to convince you of today:
RIGHTEOUSNESS, n. ri'chusness.-- The active and passive obedience of Christ, by which the law of God is fulfilled. Websters 1828 Dictionary.
Now friends the Pastor and I have been talking about today's view of Christendom, and how there is a lack of reverence and fear unto God. We see people in the church house acting like the world, we see people not leaving the cares of this world when they enter in and worship God. There are those that complain how rough life is, and how they get nothing out of church anymore. Well friends let me encourage you to awake to righteousness as it is defined above, we know that in and of ourselves we are not righteous, that we are no more than filthy rags, sinners saved by Grace. Now I believe that if it weren't possible for us to live in righteousness then God would never allowed it to be put into His Holy Word for our edification! You see the preacher and I have tried to make a statement about how we as Christians act today, in Christendom we see people trying to bring God down to our level, instead of us trying to live a Holy consecrated life and bring ourselves to Him! Now this has nothing to do with salvation, what I am trying to explain here is the truthful fact that after you are saved you are to try to honor God by all that you do, spiritually, mentally, and physically. We are to awake to righteousness, that is simply put, obedience to Christ! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins, and if He died for them and buried them in the depths of the sea then why should we continue to live in them, turn to righteousness and live a separated life consecrated to Christ for His honor and His glory as an example of what He has done for you in your life to others. I have had people try and tell me that there is no way for us to be righteous, well that just depends on how we look at righteousness. As I stated earlier without Christ there is no righteousness, however with Christ as my righteousness, then when I do the things that He has commanded and I obey the leading of the Holy Spirit then I am trying to live righteously, not for myself that I am better than anyone, but for the honor and glory of God! Too many people today have forgot the command of God "Be ye Holy, for I am Holy!" they instead have lessened themselves to some type of creature that cannot do anything right until they are physically present with God in heaven. They just go on living their lives without ever trying to separate themselves from the things of this world, and then complain about why God is not active in their lives. Now I would like to think again that if God gave us the command to be Holy that then through Christ, that is Christlike thoughts, Christlike actions we can attempt to live righteously in the sight of God. Friends will we always make the right decision, will we always have those righteous thoughts and actions, unfortunately no, however we have Christ the author and finisher of our faith that can and will lead us and guide us as we are submitted to His will to accomplish these things. Again dear friends the cry goes out to awake to righteousness, and make a decision today to live a life acceptable unto God not trying to be menpleasers, but attempting to live a life for God that would encourage others to do the same. The last part of the verse says "for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." That is because we don't take the time to read our Bibles and separate ourselves from the things of this world, therefore we are failing to let others know about righteous living and a Holy God, and that my friends is a shame for you and I. I hope and pray that this will encourage you today to understand what righteous living is about, and then decide to live for God more wholly.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead

1Co 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Well good morning dear friends, I believe that you might have thought that I have fallen off the face of the earth. I took a vacation with my wife and child since we had spring break together. As I stated in my last post last Monday I would write to you when I returned about the adventures that we had. On Monday I traveled to my parents house in Alabama to visit with them and other family members. My daughter enjoyed it greatly as she was able to see her uncle and cousins, while visiting with my brother she was able to ride on a bulldozer while he was clearing land for his church building! She was all smiles as she though that was the coolest thing in the world! Then we had a couple of good days of fellowship, then it was time to get back home for Wednesday night services at Calvary Baptist! Well this Sunday was another excellent Sunday as God blessed our services with a visitor that the Preacher and a few of us men have been praying for, she is a Jewish women who wants to know more about Jesus and from what I heard yesterday it moves my heart to know that Holy Spirit is working on her because she went to the alter. I will ask that you continue to pray for her as she has not made a decision yet to accept the Lord as her personal Savior that we know of. We also had another wonderful day in Jr.Church the children were attentive and they are starting to understand an order to worship I even had one little girl ask if we could sing a song after we take up offering like "big church". We had new member fellowship last night and it was a great time in the Lord, everything was very peaceful as everybody enjoyed all the good food, and even the children were sitting down nicely! I look forward to this upcoming Sunday, as it is Resurrection Sunday, the day our Lord and Savior rose from the tomb as He promised He would! I have been reading in 1 Corinthians last night about the resurrection and how Paul disputed with some of those that still did not believe in the Lords resurrection, Paul asks them this question...v13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: v14 and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Glory to God I stand upon His Holy Word, that what the scriptures says about the Lord Jesus Christ is true! Now friends I want you to understand that even in this one thing some of the Corinthians were having trouble understanding the true Christian faith, that is the following attributes to the gospel message:

• Christ was born of a virgin as was prophesied
• Christ lived a sinless life, preaching and teaching of Salvation through the only begotten Son of God for the remission of sins
• Christ died on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the whole world that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life
• Christ was buried
• Christ was resurrected HALLELUJAH, and seen of many Christ has ascended to the right hand of God as our high priest and is awaiting the appointed time to return again

You see friends most of the Corinthians believed all the above aspects, but for some reason could not grasp the resurrection, but if you look at what the Bible says then it only makes sense... to believe all the things about Christ, but not to believe in the resurrection makes everything else void. We must believe all things that the Bible says about the gospel message, for without Christ rising from the dead then how can He come again to set up His kingdom for eternity? Friends I want you to understand that this is the gospel message, this is why the Lord went to the cross of Calvary willingly suffering shame, and dying for you and I that are so undeserving. Christ died for us that we might have eternal life through the shedding of His blood, the perfect Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice which no man could accomplish! Friend the Bible says that if you believe with your heart, and confess with your mouth, then thou shalt be saved! Know this also friend that if you have believed this gospel message, then your new life in Christ begins today. With that new beginning know that you are eternally secured, you are a child of the King, and your walk with the Lord begins. I hope this has encouraged you to see that my preaching is not in vain, and that your faith is not in vain if you put your trust in Christ and Christ alone!

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD

Psa 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
Good morning dear friends, I hope and pray that your weekend was good and that all services were God glorifying! We had a good time in Jr Church again and wee blessed with 24 young children in there. We have been walking from the outskirts of Jerusalem into the city as we make our way scripturally to the cross by Resurrection Sunday! I don't know why I found this verse but I guess it's what the Lord put on my heart to encourage us with today! There are of course some days that the battle can get a little frustrating and sometimes it looks as though we are going to fall back, but as the Lord says be of good courage because we must never forget the victory is already won! So raise up the banner and hold it high, stand fast in the battle strengthen your heart and prepare for today's challenges, knowing that whoever puts their trust in the Lord shall overcome! Friends today is short as I am going on a road trip so I will post tomorrow of today's adventures. May God bless and may you find encouragement through the Word of God!

That ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father

1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Good morning again and praise God for another wonderful day. We had a great time at church last night, and afterwards we had some more wonderful fellowship! You might ask what in the world were you doing at church on a Thursday night? Well friends whenever those doors are open, if I am not providentially hindered then you’ll find me among God’s people in God’s house! We were going through a visitation training class that the Pastor is teaching so that we may better glorify our Savior by being prepared whenever we may come across folks during our visitation time, or if were just out and about on our own! It has been a good study so far and I believe we are all getting something out of it. We have learned that some have fears and others are just too proud to let theirs be known yet. It’s encouraging being around others that are like minded and want to see people come to the knowledge and understanding of our dear Savior. We even had one new person join the study, and what a blessing that was. Afterwards we all went to Dairy Queen and fellowshipped for a while over some hamburgers, fries, and a half eaten sandwich from the Pastor. He was making room for his blizzard, so I being the human garbage disposal for our group ate it. Friends I just want to encourage you to find your place in the house of God and amongst His people, you’ll never know what your missing out on unless you get around them. I used to remember before I was saved, and when I used to persecute my dear wife for hanging out with all those “Bible Thumpers” that I thought I was cool. Well friends isn’t the love of Jesus wonderful, for He has allowed me to become one of those “Bible Thumpers” after He so graciously saved me! I just can’t express how much in words I love God, my family, my Pastor and his family, our church, and the sweet sweet fellowship that He has brought me into! During the rough days, you know when the world just seems to be a little bigger than you can handle, then I can look to my God and say please Lord help me. Friend if you don’t know the fellowship of the Savior then that means you are probably lost, the Lord Himself has said come and dine. That is be a partaker of everlasting life that He has provided by His death, burial and resurrection for our sins. All you have to do friend is call upon the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and believe in your heart that He died, arose, and is coming again, confess this with your mouth and the Bible says in Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Friends then enter into His rest, and enter into fellowship with the saints of God by being faithful to church, and your pastor because of the love of Christ. I just wanted to encourage you folks today, it seems on my blog that most of the hits to it are for the entry titled “And forsaking not the assembly of yourselves together”. Friends there must be a desire in some of your hearts for true worship and true fellowship, so I just want to encourage you to find a true Bible teaching, Hell preaching, Sin hating, Missions minded, Independent, Fundamental Baptist church. One friend that has a pastor that cares for your souls and one that will pray with you, love you, and teach you according to the Word of God. If for some reason you don’t know of one please contact me and I will try to help you in any way I can to find one close to you. Leave a comment, or e-mail me it would encourage me to know that you have a desire to learn more about Jesus. Friends have a blessed day.

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him

Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Good morning again friends, I have been reading through the book of Mark in my nightly devotionals and came across this verse. It is such an encouragement to know that our Lord and Savior waits with open arms at everything in our life, and that He also gives opportunities for all people in life. If you will notice in the preceding verses that the young man came to Jesus, that is a wonderful first step if people could just take it. There was no pleading, or begging, or gimmicks. This young man came running and fell at the Lords feet. His question was one that all people really do ask whether rich or poor, or whether wise or barley educated! His question was what must I do to inherit eternal life? Now friends even the worst of people know whether they admit it publicly or not that there is more to this flesh than what we presently see, and this young man was concerned enough to ask what is it going to take to inherit it. Now Jesus being the truth, the way, and the life said unto the young man, because the Lord knew that this man had everything in life that was good compared to others of his time. One thing thou lackest…you see friends even though you may have all the money in the world, or that you may have all the education in the world there is one thing thou lackest…Jesus Christ! The Lord knew that this man would pay for himself to get into heaven, that this man would work to gain acceptance to get into heaven, and that this man would no doubt go to college to learn something to get into heaven, however that is not what the Lord said it takes to get there. The Lord told him, sell everything that you have, now the Lord knew that he of course had manifold amounts of money, and that was what has kept him all these years, it was this mans faith in his money that prevented him from taking the next step in his life for the Lord. Jesus knows that the money prevented him from going forward, but even more so was that which followed, take up the cross and follow me. No doubt this young man had been watching Jesus and His disciples from far off, and heard the kingdom message, and it stirred his heart to want to be with the Lord in heaven, however just desiring is not enough for faith, it is putting it into action. You see this mans money is what he thought had sustained him all this time, if he would have just accepted Jesus and followed after Him, then this man would have learned that there is a Lord in heaven that can provide for all his needs. We see the scriptures talk about the feeding of the four thousand, we see that the Lord knew when it was time for those that were following Him to stop and take rest. The Lord knows everything in our life and is able to meet that need and go exceedingly beyond that for His glory! If this young man would have just trusted the Lord to provide for him, and obeyed the Lord in following Him then I believe that this young man would have never looked back on what he previously had. Now friends it is easy for us to read about this, but what a joy it would be of we could just learn from this and sell what we have and follow after Jesus. Friends if we could let go of the things that hold us back from serving an awesome God, then I believe that we would see great things done by the Lord in our lives and in others. If we could get to a point of saying Lord whatsoever I have is yours by your grace, please use me and it for the furtherance of the gospel then I believe we would be acting in the way that the Lord was trying to get across to the rich young man. Friends, what hinders you today from giving up all that you have, to include your own selfish ways for the Lord that He may work mightily in your life? Friends what is in your life that you won’t give up that prevents you from falling on your face and asking for forgiveness and calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life? The Lord simply says as He has to so many….come, and follow me!

But Thomas, one of the twelve

Joh 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Good morning friends I hope all is well in your lives today. Last night we had our Tuesday night services at the nursing home as we are allowed this ministry by the grace of God, and before things were started the Pastor shared with us that one of our charter members of our church has passed on to be with the Lord. I personally never had the opportunity to meet this lady, however from the testimonies of the few that were in attendance at the nursing home she was a wonderful person. What makes it better though is she was saved, so there is no reason to fear of her soul, but to rejoice as the Bible says..to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! I would that you pray today for the Pastor and the Byrd family for strength and comfort during this time. Now as we were going through the preaching at the nursing home my eyes wandered over to the above text and it kind of stuck with me for some reason. If you read the text we find out that the disciples were gathered together just after the death of Jesus and were behind closed doors. During that same day Jesus Himself appeared unto them just as He had promised that they should see Him again! What caught my attention though was the fact that Thomas was not with them..where was he? What was he doing, or what was he thinking? Now the Lord showed up and what a blessing it was, as the disciples were obedient to Jesus and held fast the faith that He would rise, here is the wandering Thomas missing out on a blessing! If Thomas would have been gathered together instead of out on his own, then his faith would've been strengthened without having to be embarrassed by the foolish statement that he made later on. Think about this, what if Thomas would've doubted so much that he left the fold of God, and turned his back on God and the things that God had planned for him in his life? All the misery that he would have to endure, and all he had to do was believe in simple faith. I mean he was one of the twelve that had heard that the Lords death must be so. Yet Thomas is just like the rest of us, for we have the Bible, every promise, and every statement from the Lord. We have His words to guide us, comfort us, teach us, and direct our paths if we would just believe. Now remember, God does not force you to worship Him, but what if out of a willing heart you decided to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and worship Him freely out of spirit and truth? Now I also look at Thomas and the example of friendship, when the disciples needed each other the most to encourage themselves..where's Thomas? When the Lord shows up as He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, the Lord just proves the point to trust no man, but to seek God. Now Thomas was a saved man, and he couldn't forsake the assembling of himself with the others so after eight days the Bible says they were all gathered together again, with Thomas this time and Jesus appears, now this was great for the disciples, however a greater lesson for Thomas. The Lord says unto Thomas in Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Now friend wouldn't it be better to just accept by faith and believe than to dis-believe only to be proven wrong? I ask you today when others are gathered together to worship the Lord, and truly His presence will be there, where will you find yourself? When things are the hardest in life and there is no mere mortal answer, where will you be wandering at? Friend how much easier would it be to believe that if you knew Jesus Christ as your personal Savior that He has you in mind during all the trials of your life and He is there to comfort you? Friend today is the day of salvation, the Lord beckons that whosoever will to come unto Him and believe with all your heart, mind, and soul that He is the Christ, the Messiah that has been born of a virgin, died on the cross for the remission of your sins, and that He has risen and seated on the right hand of God until His glorious return! Friends the question for today is do you believe, or will you continue to wander about lost in this sinful world full of trouble and turmoil? What a shame it would be when the Lord comes again to find you unbelieving, and while you may say I knew of your name, that He would say depart from me ye workers of iniquity for I never knew you. For the Bible makes it very clear that the devil and the demons know of His name, and tremble, but what Jesus wants to know is do you know Him personally? Friend don't put off making a decision to believe on the name of the only true Son of God for the remission of your sins, believe in your heart, and confess to the Lord that you are a sinner that needs to be saved, then with all assurance know that you are if you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and begin life anew, born again turning from the past and looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!

My grace is sufficient for thee:

Good afternoon dear friends, I find myself posting a little later today than normal because I was just restless from sleep last night and when I awoke I had appointments to get to! Well anyway I wanted to at least get something written for your encouragement. I know the pastor is feeling a little under the weather, and we all have been touched by the flu bug here in Tennessee within the last month and a lot of folks have been down and out , both spiritually and physically. All that to say this as the Lord said unto Joshua..Be strong and of a good courage! Friends I am so glad that even in my sickness He is still my Lord and Savior! We are to be strong through our afflictions and of a good courage through our trials! I like it when I might be a little under the weather and I just need to something to lift me up spiritually and I can go to the Word of God and find encouragement in 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Friends when we are at our weakest and no man may have the answer then glorify God that He has allowed you to think and turn to Him for the answer. It is usually in my weakest moments that I draw closer to God, because as the Bible states "lean not unto thy own understanding, that draws me closer to Him and to understand that what I am going through may just be for a season. Friends I encourage you today if you might find yourself a little under the weather and a little downtrodden to pick up your Bibles and be encouraged through His Word that the Lord give you grace that is sufficient to bring you through! Friends if by chance you don't know the grace of God, that is the forgiveness of sin by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and the finished work on the cross of Calvary, then I beg you today to turn to Him. Let the Lord come into your life and renew your body, mind, and soul by the remission of your sins for eternity, that you may inherit eternal life through Him and be born again!

Other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Good morning dear friends what a wonderful and blessed weekend we had at Calvary Baptist! We were so privileged to have our Missions Revival soar into the next level and the testimonies from last night were just awesome! On Friday we had Brother Alexander Spears preach, and then he had to leave because of a death in his family, however the Lord blessed us by sending Brother Mike Tabugan our way! Brother Mike is a Filipino national that was saved because of the the church that we support in the Philippines, he was a fruit of the labor that we entered into years ago! This goes to prove that the Word of God is truth, and truth unto life everlasting through Jesus Christ our Lord! Oh that we would understand that even though we weren't physically there in the Philippines, our support to that missionary helped him to labor and sow, and water, and praise God, He giveth the increase, and because of the faithfulness of our giving we too reaped and were able to bear witness of that fruit! On Saturday Brother Mike and Brother Carl Stanley went out on visitation with us and stirred the hearts of those around them by labouring to reach souls in our own city! Then we had our International dinner that night and Brother Mike led a wonderful devotional, on Friday night however he made a comment that I think is appropriate for us in America to remember, he said "please don't let out blessing turn into a curse". What he is referring to is the blessings of good jobs and a good life as given by God, as we have much, much, much more than many people in this world! I know we all have bills to pay, but a lot of those bills are our fault because of our frivolous desires to have things verses our desire to worship a Holy God and support our local churches! God has blessed our nation for so many years and now look at where we are, secure in our own conceit as if we had anything to do with making ourselves of any stature. Because we have been blessed we are now spoiled and unthankful, people have now wanted to move away from any mention of God, because they think that it is not because of Him that has done anything for us. Quite contrary my dear friends, it is because of the Lords long suffering arm that He has blessed us, but how long will He allow our iniquities to go on? Now I know that isn't a popular thing to say, however mad it makes you it is the truth. Did you know that only the rich have cable television in the Philippines...and here we live in America and well over the whole population can't even survive without a stupid satellite dish and 300 channels of absolutely nothing. Friends I just want you to understand that there is much more to this life than the things that we burden ourselves down with when it comes to luxuries, now you may say I am not driving a Cadillac, well be thankful to God you have what you have, most countries people can't even afford a junker! I was walking and talking with Brother Mike and I started observing the houses and the yards full of toys (cars, boats, motorcycles) then I became convicted of our own prosperity in America and all we ever do is find a way to whine, I want more, I deserve this, this is garbage it's not like so and so's. Well I say hogwash, it's by the grace of God that we have what we have! Friends I just want you to look and evaluate your life and see if there is anything in it that may be distracting you from seeing the blessing of the Lord, and if there is confess that to God, and ask Him to forgive you and begin to thank Him for what you have, then ask the Lord to use you according to His will. Sunday was just as great with all the wonderful preaching, and I even had the privilege of preaching at our Jr. Church; the kids were so great and attentive. I even had one little guy ask me after the services if he could help by ushering! Praise the Lord that he came forward! I am praying dear friends that God would move in the lives of our church members, and that the preacher would be encouraged by those that will make sacrifices for our Savior. Friends may this be an encouragement to you to see God change your heart from un-thank fullness to thank fullness for the many blessing that we have no matter the size!