Monday, November 4, 2013

Awards Day

.



Awards Day with some of our children from church.



Monday, October 28, 2013

Fall Fest 2013

.
Beaverdam's fall Fest was a smashing success. We fed over 150 people. I have no way of knowing how many we had Trunk or Treat, participate in the games, or roast marshmallows- walk in the cake walk- ride the Hayride-or get their face painted. Here are a few pictures...


Savannah, our youngest Trunk or Treater. A spry 7 weeks old!


 Face painting


 Luke running a game station.

Our illustrious leader and her crew from Alice In Wonderland


 I can't believe that Reagen is old enough to Trunk or Treat!

 The Duck Dynasty crew was well represented at the Fall Fest this year


Who doesn't love a good cake walk!?

 Trunk or Treat time at Connie and Chuck's Trunk

Good ole Uncle Si, complete with Tupperware cup and Sweet Tea


Sunday, September 15, 2013

George Webster

.

George; another new creature in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17



Thursday, September 12, 2013

Twice Lost; Always Lost

.

The doctrine of perseverance is about as Baptist as they come. I knew nothing of particular redemption (Ephesians 1:3-6), predestination (Romans 8:29-30), or preeminence (Colossians 1:18 ), when I was a boy, but bless God I knew all about the doctrine of perseverance.




Of course I wouldn't have known to call it perseverance. To me it was simply known as, "Once saved; always saved."



When I got older, people started telling me that you could actually lose your salvation. Some said, "Just sin one time and 'zap'; you're back on your way to Hell." Others said, "Oh no, no, no! You have to mess up big-time for God to send you to Hell." All the while I'm thinking that must be a miserable way to live. Always looking over your shoulder like that. Viewing God as this Big, Cosmic Meanie with a switch waiting eagerly for you to botch it up again.



So, being that I am so withdrawn and innocent and all, I would ask them politely and with no malice, how they could be such meatheads and think about God in that way. Now there were always Scriptural "proofs" that were offered to verify their points. Always taken out of context or viewed 180* out-of-phase from what the authors intended. There are certainly too many to mention in one post, but here are two of the biggies:



Mark 13:13; And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (KJV)



The critic says, "Aha. See. You have to endure to the end in order to be saved." But he is looking at it completely backwards. Those who endure (Hupomeno: to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith) to the end (Telos: always of the end of some act or state, but not of the end of a period of time) the same (Houtos: literally; this man) is saved. (Sozo: to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment) The "shall be" in the King James is not in the Greek manuscripts. It was added by the translators to smooth out the transition from Greek to English. This clause can be rendered, as I have done, with the verb "is" or as the translators of the NASB have done with the clause "will be."



The literal word-for-word Greek is: And be hated of all for my sake * : but endure unto end, same saved .


Here is that same passage in the King Steve Version:

Those who hold fast to the end of their state is the saved man.

Or, put in another order, "those who are saved will endure to the end." I'm not saved because I endure until the end; I will endure to the end precisely because I am saved!


Then there is Hebrews 6. The detractors of perseverance absolutely love Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6. Lord have mercy, that's all I hear in this debate from Armenians is Hebrews 6. Show them any passage that relates to perseverance and they'll inevitably go to Hebrews 6. Well let's quickly look at that.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:4-6 (NKJV)



The best part about this passage when speaking to an Armenian is the point blank rejection of being able to lose your salvation. First of all, the writer tells us from the beginning that he is speaking of impossibilities. But even beyond that, even if the Armenian is correct and you COULD lose your salvation, this verse plainly says that you couldn't be saved again!



Get this down: Your only choice is Once Saved; Always Saved; or Twice Lost; Always Lost. See it there? If they fall away...it is impossible...to renew them again to repentance! Why? Because the writer of Hebrews will tell us shortly that, "Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many," (9:28) and Peter said, "For Christ also suffered once for sins." (1 Peter 3:18) He says that if you lose your salvation, the only way to get it back is for Jesus to die on the cross again. That's absurd! Which is his point. For IT. IS. IMPOSSIBLE.



"So Hotshot, what is he talking about, then?" you ask. In this passage he is describing people who have tasted the heavenly gift, but not bought it. To borrow an illustration from Adrian Rogers, let's say you go to Kroger and they have those little cheese cubes out for you to sample. You grab one and it just melts in your mouth and you say, "That's the BEST cheese I've ever had. Give me a couple of pounds and wrap it up." And you take your package up to the register and the girl rings it up and says, "$25 please." After you stuff your eyeballs back in your skull, you tell her "No thank you. Why, there is no way I'd pay $12.50 a pound for cheese." You tasted it. It was heavenly. You liked the way it smelled, the texture, the sensation, and how it rolled on your tongue. But when it came down to brass tacks, you were unwilling to pay the cost. That's what he means here. (Read more about the passage from John MacArthur HERE.)



The real proof text, though, comes from Romans 8. Here Paul lays it out so succinctly that it defies argument. Once you are saved, ya stay that way.


For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 838-39 (NKJV)


Nothing, and he means nothing, can separate us from God. Not even ourselves. Why, you ask? It's because of what the perseverance is in. Or, better stated...Who the perseverance is in. Notice I never called this the Perseverance of the Saints. That is because it is not. I can't persevere. And neither can you. Old Jacobus Arminius got that part right. We continue to fail, to fall short, and not meet God's standards. That is why this doctrine is the Perseverance of the Savior. He preserves us. Listen again to the last part of vs 39... (Nothing can) separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Did you see it this time? The love of God which is in...Jesus. The salvation is not in me. The perseverance is not in me. It's all in Him. "I am putting you in the Father's hand," Jesus tells us, "and nothing can take you out of the Father's hand." Death can't. Life can't. Good angels can't. Demons can't. Nothing in your future can. Nothing from your past can. Nothing in heaven can. Nothing in Hell can. There is nothing that God has ever created that can, not even you. You are God's child now, and you will always be His child. What a wonderful way to live.
.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Even More Baptisms

.
Two more came forward this Sunday. A father and son. I'm so proud of both of them. God is so good.

We will be scheduling these Baptisms soon. Pictures to follow!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

More Baptisms

.

The last three weeks we have had folks "walk the aisle" and come forward seeking baptism in celebration of their new found faith in Christ. The breakdown by age is still about the same for my ministry as a whole, one high school freshman, a twenty something new dad (his wife joined our little congregation by the most Baptist of ways...The Moving Of The LETTER) and a sixty-five year old man. The sixty-five year old gentleman told me in the hallway right before the service that he had just prayed with his Sunday school teacher to receive salvation.

God continues to pour out His blessings. Many preachers comment/write/brag about numbers. Sunday school is X. Worship is X. We've baptized X number of people. I'm a numbers guy myself. Heck, like most preachers I'll count anybody who is not moving. When I go to Luke's football games I'm counting the people in the visitor's stands. Preachers also love to exaggerate numbers. Be careful if a preacher says his church had "almost" 500 Sunday. He really had 200, which is ALMOST 500...ministerially speaking. There is also the combination count. 100 in the early service, 200 in Sunday School, 175 in late worship, so we "touched" 475 people today. The numbers may be hyperbolic to emphasize my point, but yes, the "almost" and "touched" numbers are frequent lunch conversations with ministry insiders.

I love numbers, as I mentioned, as much as the next preacher. But one of the numbers I like to tout is age percentages in regards to baptism. Those under 18 make up about 1/3 of the baptisms that I perform. The rest, obviously, are adults, and most of them out of their thirties. I like this trend because it is the opposite of every other ministry that I know or have read about. All churches mostly baptize the young, and for good reason. Jesus said that unless we have the faith of a child, we could not become a disciple of His. Most adults loose the ability to act with that kind of uninhibited faith.

Well, at any rate, my record holds. Three professions of faith: three baptisms: one child and two adults. To God be the glory!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Dr. Preacher II

.
Another class closer to Dr Preacher.




Just completed Advanced Family And Marital Counseling. And just started my research project for my D-Min. It will be about a two year endeavor researching and writing about the effects of premarital counseling on divorce, and how a potential mentoring program for the church might help prepare engaged and newly wed couples for the issues that wreck many marriages. Prevention. Many ladies have worked out the minutest detail of their wedding by the time they enter adolescences; much less before some shlub asks “will you?” Yet, in all that planning of perfect dresses and seven tiered cakes, they neglect to plan for what to do when they face financial trouble, mother-in-law conflicts, and (shhhhh) sexual issues. (For him, consider the analogy of proper automotive maintenance: counseling likened to oil changes and tire rotation. i.e. preventative maintenance now is far less costly that repairs later!) However this analogy breaks down by gender, the point is the necessity of starting the marriage out right. Mentoring can help alleviate the troubles that married couples experience in those critical first five years.

The end will justify the time, energy, and effort that I will put into the task. But, please pray for me as I negotiate the aspects of writing a formal research project.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Twenty Three Years And Counting

Today is my wedding anniversary. Despite the fact I earn my living with the dispensation of words, I'm not much on prose. But let me tell you about what this day means anyway.




23 years ago Patty Anderson woke up a single woman. Within eight hours, she had become Patty Leigh. Well, they say hind sight is twenty-twenty and all that...but looking back, I can say I wouldn't blame her if she would want to change her mind about that day. It has been rocky at times. Four states, about 20 moves, 7 jobs, the loss of a child, and at least a million tears later, who could blame her?



But here we are twenty-three years down the road and we are more blessed and happy than at any time in our lives. We have given our youth, dreams, money, and health to be right here. And while at times it has been tough, it has never been a question that we would make it to this day, and beyond.



To say that I love Patty, this woman that God put into my life and made my best friend, would be to do an injustice to the relationship that we have. Love fails to capture the true essence of what we have. And while it may sound kitschy or cliché, the only phrase I can think of is soul-mate. We have become...no, we are... so close that our souls have intertwined, and we have become, as the Bible says, one flesh. What we do, we do for each other as if it were for ourselves. I know, I know, it sounds like circular logic, but it is not. It is something you can only experience, not be told about in writing.

My prayer for every couple is that their love be as true, as sacrificial, and as eternal as ours. Some couples are married for 50 or 60 years. We will be side by side in heaven, my darling, forever. I have no doubt that whatever form August 4th takes in eternity, we will know that day! And anniversary cake in heaven (Angel Food Cake?) will be divine and calorie free! I look forward to spending my life and after-life with you.



Patricia Dawn Anderson LEIGH. You are my BRIDE, you are MY bride, and I love you dearly. And as for me...well, I woke up this morning, twenty some years later, more in love with you, and happier with you on my arm today, than I could have ever imagined was possible in 1990.



Happy Anniversary, Baby. I-heart-You.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Seattle, Alaska, and Victoria 2013

.

Here are some shots from our recent trip through the Pacific Northwest. We visited Seattle WA, then Juneau, Skagway and Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska, and lastly Victoria British Columbia in Canada.







In Seattle we rode the Ducks, saw the Space Needle, and shopped at Pikes Place Market, where we ate Fish and Chips at The Market Restaurant.









Our ship was the Rhapsody of the Seas. Our first port of call was Juneau the capital city of Alsaska.













While in Juneau we traveled to the Mendenhall Glacier in the Tongass National Forrest. The scenery was incredible.









Next up was Skagway Alaska. We visited the Gold Fields, saw some mush dogs (and puppies) and panned for gold. I got $10 worth of gold dust.








Our last view of Alaska was at Tracy Arm Fjord where we stopped by the Dawes Glacier.







After two days at sea, we landed in Victoria, British Columbia. We visited several places most notably Craigdarroch Castle and Fisherman's Wharf.






Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Great Is Thy Faithfullness

.

There are about 200 geysers in Yellow Stone National Park. However, only 1 geyser stands out. It is not the largest, or the one that shoots water the highest. But it certainly is the most popular.

Its popularity is due to one thing: its dependability. Because once every sixty-five minutes it shoots a stream of boiling water over 170 ft. into the air. You can practically set your watch by it. They call this gyser "Old Faithful."

There are a lot of things in life that you could call faithful. The sun is faithful to rise every morning and to set every night. The tide is faithful to come in and to go out. The government is faithful to tax and spend, and then tax and spend some more. But there is one thing that is more faithful than all of these other things put together, and that is God.

Lamentations 3:22-23 say, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Robert E. Lee once said, "Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less."

I heard about a man who was talking to a big tall strapping giant of a fellow. He said, "If I were as big, tall, and strong as you, I would go out in the woods, find the biggest bear I could find and wrestle him right down to the ground." The big man just looked at him and said, "There are plenty of small bears in the woods too."

Some people say, "If I just had a million dollars imagine all the things I could do for god." But as I tell our folks here at Beaverdam, the fact is, you'll do the same thing with a million that you would do with a hundred.

God is looking for a few faithful men and women to change the world. All He asks is for volunteers who do their duty in all things.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Living The Good Life

"Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest, being the character of the deity; and, without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing." ~ Sir Francis Bacon

"He has shown you, o man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8


The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness...and goodness. Galatians 5:22


What does it mean to be good? For some it is the culmination of life. To live the good life, so-to-speak. A hot tub, back rub, and a drink at the pub? The Money, Mansion, and Mercedes in the garage mentality? For some it is a virtue. How well did they treat other people? Did they kick dogs or push down old ladies?

Some say goodness is a matter of the head. If we will only educate our citizenry, teach them ethics and morals and values, they will be good. My question is, whose values and ethics. If it is based on majority rules, then abortion is an ethical (i.e. a good) thing. No, goodness is not about education. If you educate a thief, you’ll only get a smart thief.

Some say goodness is a matter of the hands. The fact is, doing good does not make you good. Goodness is not something that man manufacturers. It is something that God gives. The Bible makes that abundantly clear. “There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:12. People are not basically good. People are basically bad.

So the biblical conclusion must be that, “Good ain’t good enough.” We consistently fall short of meeting God’s standards of piety and goodness. This means that goodness is not a matter of the hands or a matter of the head. Goodness is a matter of the heart. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Goodness is not a matter of what you know, nor what you do. It is a matter of what you are. Goodness is not a deed that you do; it is fruit that you bear. It is not about what you know, but about Whom you know.

See, if you have love in your heart, joy in your soul and peace in your life; then you will be patient and enduring, you will be kind and ...yes...even good. Nevertheless, it all goes back to love in your heart, doesn’t it. And how do you get that? Micah 6:8, the last part says that you must walk humbly with your God.

How do we live the good life? By having a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Luke

.
I cannot begin to tell y'all how proud I am of my son Luke Leigh. He is currently at Palmetto Boy's State; a program sponsored by the American Legion that is like summer camp for political junkies. It's great practice for his ultimate goal of world domination and benevolent dictatorship of the world.

Next week he will be at the US Naval Academy for a college visit and then staying for the week to participate in the Navy Wrestling Camp. (Fear The Goat!) He is; as of this date, a candidate at Annapolis and the Air Force Academy.

But my pride in him is not found in his accomplishments or eventually whatever college he attends. It is in who he is as a person, and the man I have watched him become. He is caring, funny, smart, and above all, he loves the Lord and is not ashamed to share his faith.

Monday, June 3, 2013

You’ve got to try a little kindness

.
I love Aesop’s Fables. When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to hear during story time. I read this week where scientist have proven one of the fables as true. Huh. Well, I’ve known that for many years. The old boy knew his stuff. And one thing he knew about was Kindness.
Aesop told a fable about the wind and the sun having an argument. Which was stronger, as I recall. The sun made a bet that the one who could make a man take of his coat was the strongest. The wind went first. The sun hid behind a cloud. The wind blew and blew, but the harder and more fierce the wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his coat. Finally, exhausted, (pun intended) the wind gave up. The sun’s turn was next. He came out from behind the clouds and shone on the man. The man quickly took off his coat. Moral of the story? Warmth, friendliness, and a gentle touch are always stronger than force and furry.

So it is with our daily walk. Do you see how these fruits are building. Love leads to joy, which brings peace, allowing for patience and endurance that will manifest itself as kindness. Listen, you’ve got to "try a little kindness." The stuff is addictive!

Remember Glenn Campbell? Back in the 70’s he crooned...

You’ve got to try a little kindness
Yes, try a little kindness,
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness,
You’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people, on the narrow-minded streets

Not bad advise at all!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Peace Like A River

.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. Joy is contentment with life and our circumstances. Not happiness as we think about it. Well, peace is a similar fruit in that way. I want to let you in on a little secret about peace. Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the presence of Jesus in the midst of your problems. You see, you cannot always rejoice in your losses, but you can always rejoice in the Lord.


Paul told us that we should “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) What is the opposite of not being anxious? Not worrying. The English word worry comes from the German “wurgën” which literally means to strangle. Worry strangles out our love and joy, and robs us of our peace.

I heard about a man who was a worrier. He worried so much and about so much, he caused people around him to worry. One day he came home from work and he was happy as a lark, his disposition had totally changed. His wife said, “What’s gotten into you? You’re not worried about anything?” He said, “No. Not at all.” She asked him what had changed sense he left for work. He said he had hired a professional worrier to worry for him. Naturally, this worried the wife. She said, “How much is that costing us?” He nonchalantly told her, “$1,000 a day.” She almost passed out! “How are we going to afford that bill!?” she screamed. To which he replied, “I’ll let him worry about that.”


Let me tell you what worry does, spiritually speaking. Worry makes us practical atheists. We may say we trust God, but when we worry, we’re telling God we don’t think much of Him or His abilities. We also tell God we think He is a liar. That He does not keep His word. Like Romans 8:28 or 1 Peter 5:7 where we’re told He works things together for good, and that we are to cast all of our cares upon Him.

So to have peace, we need joy—contentment in our circumstances. And to have joy we must have love—a commitment we make to ourselves and others. Then we may have true, Biblical peace. As Corrie Ten Boone once said: "When I look at the world, I get distressed. When I look at myself, I get depressed. But when I look at Jesus, I am at rest."

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Mother's Day 2013

.


Ms Thelma, my other Momma, received the award for Oldest Mother. Congratulations on her 81 birthdays. Quite an accomplishment in and of itself.




Preachers Wives

Great post from a friend and pastor's wife.

http://craiganandkeri.blogspot.com/2013/05/satans-attack-on-ministry-families.html?spref=fb

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I've Got The Joy

.
So the fruit of the Spirit is Love, then Joy. So I’m pondering on the aspects of joy for the Believer. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that joy, for the Believer, is to be separated from happiness. It’s not that we shouldn’t have happiness. We should. It’s that our joy should be present regardless of our feelings. In-other-words; you cannot be happy without being joyful. But you can be joyful without being happy. Happiness is external. Joy is internal. Happiness depends on outward circumstances. Joy depends on inward character. Happiness depends upon what happens to you. Joy depends upon Who lives within you. Happiness is based on chance, while joy is based on choice.

Think of happiness as laughter and joy as peace or contentment. Laughter is good for you, and laughter is healthy. Solomon said: "a merry heart does good like a medicine." (Prov. 17:22) The usual reason for laughter is because something makes us happy. But we don't always laugh because we are not always happy.

But there is a contentment, a gladness of heart, that goes above and beyond happiness—joy. Biblical joy is peace. Consider what James said, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials. (James 1:2 NKJV). How can we be happy when we go through a trial? We can’t. But we can be content, knowing that, “All thinks work together for good, to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)

So laughter is good. So how about a joke? A rabbi and priest and a lawyer walk into a bar...OK, maybe not. On a serious note, Vance Havner once said: "The men of the world are not laughing at Christians who 'get happy' over being saved, half so much as they are disgusted with Christians who are showing no evidence of a dynamic transforming experience that makes us love what once we hated, and hate what once we loved."

David put it this way, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.” Psalm 5:11

Laughter is good, but joy is better. Joy resonates in the life of the Believer who has found that God is all they need, because God is all there is. Billy Sunday said, “If you have no joy in your religion, there is a leak in your Christianity.” Jesus said in John.15:11, "these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

What does it all mean? I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart...down in my heart to stay. As many church signs have quipped, No Jesus—No Peace. Know Jesus---Know Peace.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

First Fruits: LOVE

So I have been reading and studying about love this week in preparation for this series of messages. The first fruit is love, and that makes sense. It is the gateway to the other fruits. (You really can’t have peace, joy longsuffering, etc. with out love.) What I am finding is that the Bible sees love differently than the way we see love. We tend to see love as a feeling. God sees love as a commitment. We see love as an emotion. God sees love as a responsibility. We see love as a matter of the heart, and God sees love as a matter of the will.

I can’t help but think about (and show my age) The Partridge Family crooning “I Think I Love You.” If you “think” you love me, you don’t love me very much! However, our Western Culture has taught us that love is an emotion, a feeling. And a fifty percent divorce rate to go along with that. I don’t advocate arranged marriages, but communities that have them have a much lower divorce rate that we do. I heard about a woman from India who defended arranged marriages by saying, “We don’t get to choose our parents or our siblings, but we grow to love them. The same is true with our husbands--we grow to love them.” As I said, love is a commitment, not an emotion.

It is a commitment God makes to us and asks us to make to others. It is why Jesus said that the Greatest commandment was to “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.” Matthew 22:37 (The Message) Then love others as we love ourselves. Jesus says there is a hierarchy of Love. God first. Others second. Ourselves last. What would happen if we all lived that example. I should think divorce rates would plummet. Infidelity would disappear. As would child abuse, rape, jealousy, envy, disrespect, and strife. Wars? Murders?

Overall, though we must get it straight and love ourselves and others and God the way God loves us. With a commitment and a dedication. How do we start? By loving ourselves enough to trust in God and His love for us. So start by loving yourself enough to ask God for His love to dominate your existence. Quit sitting on the premises and start standing on the promises! And remember, God loves you and wants the best for you.

Still feeling a little out-of-favor these days? A little unworthy? Then remember this---
God does not love you because you are valuable. You are valuable because God loves you.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Fruits Of The Spirit

.
I’ve been planning a series of messages coming up that will focus on the Fruits of the Spirit; you know love, joy, peace, Longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness, and self -control. We are often (Believers) represented as trees in the Scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 1 we are like a tree planted by the waters.

There is such an interest in the Gifts of the Spirit these days. We all have at least one gift, no doubt about it. And in all honesty, most have more than one. But no one has them all. However, we are all called to have all of the fruits. It makes more sense to me to focus on the fruits, then, instead of the gifts.

It’s like a story I heard about a boy that used to climb down a tree near his bedroom window in order to escape punishment. One night he over heard his father tell his mother that he was going to cut down the tree, because it had stopped producing fruit. The panicked boy spent all night with a bushel of apples and a tube of superglue, and the next morning the tree was full of apples. He then listen for his father to come in with the morning paper and ran downstairs to the breakfast table to see if his plan had worked. Sure enough, the father said, “I can’t believe it, that old tree is full of apples.” Then, looking right at his son, he exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!” Getting nervous, the boy said, “Why do you say that dad?” His father smiled and answered, “Because it’s a pear tree.”

The one thing about a tree...it is known by its fruit. A peach tree doesn’t grow cherries and a pear tree doesn’t grow apples. Fruit reflects the character of the Tree that produces it. Umm...and a Believer’s character is reflected by the fruit he produces. Makes some sense, uh? Are we producing love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control?

So focus on these nine “fruits.” Are they present in your life? Do you bear them all? Do you love, have joy, and are you at peace? Are you longsuffering? Are you kind, good, and faithful? Do you exhibit gentleness, and self -control? Let the Holy Spirit fertilize your life and till the fallow ground of your heart so you will bear much of these fruits.

Food for thought.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

D-Min

Boo-Yah!


                                                          DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
                                                          Program GPA: 4.00

Course No.                              Course Title                                                                 Grade 

DMPC 927      BIBLICAL COUNSELING AND THE LAW                                    A
DMBC 811     ADVANCED BIBLICAL EXPOSITION                                            A
DMPC 827      ADVANCED BIBLICAL COUNSELING                                         A
 DMPC 929      THE SKILLED COUNSELOR                                                          A        

TH 535            APOLOGETICS                                                                                A        
CO 620           BIBLICAL COUNSELING IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY            A        
EV 710            PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH GROWTH                                           A        
BE 523            CHRISTIAN RHETORIC                                                                 A        
TH 561            VALUES AND ETHICS                                                                   A        



































May Day

Today is Wednesday, May 1st.


Know what that means?















16 weeks till kick-off!

How 'bout them Dawgs!?!?!?!?!?!














Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Biblical Turbulence

.
 
A new post at Biblical Turbulence, for my more "heady" followers.
 
 
 
Biblical Turbulence; smoothing out your biblical questions

Monday, April 22, 2013

More Pics From Sunday

.
Liturgical Dance Company