Fish For Souls

Pastor Quits Sports

2011-01-20T15:10:00.005-05:00

I was at the church the other day and ran across a tract entitled “Pastor Quits Sports.” It had such a tremendous message that I wanted to share it.

Pastor Quits Sports

Football in the fall. Basketball in the winter. Baseball in the spring and summer. Your pastor has been an avid sports fan all of his life. But I’ve had it! I quit this sports business once and for all. You can’t get me near one of those places again.

Want to know why?

1. Every time I went they asked me for money.

2. The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly.

3. The seats were too hard and not at all comfortable.

4. I went to many games, but the coach never came to call on me.

5. The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.

6. I suspected that I was sitting with some hypocrites - they came to see their friends and what others were wearing rather than to see the game.

7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.

8. The band played some numbers that I had never heard before.

9. It seems that the games are scheduled when I want to do other things.

10. I was taken to too many games by parents when I was growing up.

11. I recently read a book on sports and now I feel that I know more than the coaches do anyhow.

12. I don’t want to take my children to any games because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

If you have ever talked to someone about coming to church I am sure that you have heard some of these reasons given for why they will not come. I find it interesting that people do not apply the same standard to other things that they would apply to the church. I have never heard of someone quitting on sports for any of the above reasons, but many have left the church using one of the above as their excuse. People would look at us like we are crazy if we were to apply the above standard to anything else in life, so why do we apply it to the church?

Of Course I'm a Good Person

2011-01-04T12:45:00.003-05:00

I must say that it amazes me how self-righteous people in our society are today. Everyone thinks that they are a good person and that they have not done anything bad compared to some. Most Christians would probably tell you that they are a good person, even though it is contrary to what the Bible says about us.

I was talking with someone last week and they were adamant that they had not done anything bad, even though they admitted that they had smoked marijuana before. Their defense was that they had not killed anyone, so they had to be a good person.

The problem is that we are using the wrong standard to judge our supposed goodness. When we compare ourselves to other people it seems as if we are okay because we don't do some of the things that they do. The Bible warns us that we are not to compare ourselves with other people and says that we are not wise to do so. We must use the right standard to judge ourselves if we are going to determine whether or not we are good. When we use the Word of God as our standard, all of the sudden we do not seem so good anymore. It is because God's standard is perfection and we ALL fall way short, no matter who we are.

Our self-righteousness comes from pride. Most people are unwilling to admit that they are wrong about something because of their pride. We must be willing to admit that we are wrong, sinful, and wicked before we will ever see our need for Jesus Christ. I must say that it amazes me that many lost people will accuse Christians of being self-righteous and thinking that they are better than those who are not Christians. These same people will fight to the death defending their own goodness and how they are not sinners. In reality what they are doing is calling God a liar because the Bible says that "ALL HAVE SINNED" and that there is "NONE THAT DOETH GOOD."

Are We Just Giving God Lip Service?

2010-12-28T12:31:00.003-05:00

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” - Matthew 15:8

The longer that I have a Christian and especially the longer I have been in the ministry I can’t help but think that we are just giving God lip service. We know the right lingo to use and we know how to act the part, but is it really in our hearts?

The Bible tells us that when we are born again that we become a new creature in Christ, the old things are passed away, and all things are become new. This means that our old way of talking (vulgar language), our old way of thinking, and our old way of living is gone. It does not mean that we will not struggle or be tempted to still do things the old way, but it will be the desire of our heart to not go back to the old ways, it will be our desire to please Christ. When Christ saves us it should change our whole view of the world and the way we live our lives. If you look in many of our churches you see many people who have made professions of faith in Christ, but there is no change in their lives. Many of them are living in open sin and even acknowledge that they are not ready to give it up.

I can’t help but think that we are saying one thing with our lips but our hearts do not really believe what our lips are saying. If we really believed that Christ could come back at any moment or that we could die at any moment I firmly believe that our hearts and lives would be different. Do we really believe that there is a place called Hell, and that people who die lost without Christ actually go there? Do we really believe that we are going to give an account to Jesus Christ for every thought, every word, and every deed in our lives? Do we really believe that as Christians we cannot live in a lifestyle of sin? Do we really believe that Jesus Christ sees everything and knows everything about us?

If we really believe all of these things then why do we live as though they are not true. I do not point a finger at anyone else without pointing 3 others right back at myself. In my own life I struggle with the thought of whether I am just giving the Lord lip service. If we really think about the seriousness of what the Bible teaches it is sobering indeed. I believe what it boils down to is that we have more lost people that are members of our churches than most of us realize. I also believe that for those who are truly born again it means that we all need to repent and get our hearts right with God, myself included. This what is wrong with modern day Christianity, the lost world sees right through us. They see us professing one thing with our lips but they do not see it mirrored in our lives, and we wonder why the we can’t reach people in our communities.

If we really believe in our hearts the things we say with our lips then it will change our lives. It will impact our witness and testimony for Christ in ways we cannot imagine.

The Christian Atheist

2010-04-10T11:23:00.003-04:00

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." - Isaiah 29:13

"He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." - Mark 7:6

Over the last several years I have come to the conclusion that there are people in the Christian faith that are what I call "Christian Atheists." These are people who will tell you they are Christians with their mouths and then will deny the Christian faith by their lifestyle. "Christian Atheists" can be anyone from the lay person in the church to the deacons and the pastor.

Many of these people will claim the Bible is the Word and of God and their final authority but they live their lives completely contrary to the principles found in the Bible or they treat other Christians in a manner completely contrary to the Book they claim to believe and follow. You will hear them talking about people dying lost and going to Hell but they have no desire to get personally involved with missions either by giving financially or by giving their time. You will hear them talking about standing before Christ at the Judgement Seat to give an account for their lives but they live as if they really don't believe that is true, or they just don't care. These are just a few of the examples that I have personally seen and I am sure there are many more.

The Lord Jesus Christ called the Pharisees hypocrites for doing these exact things. They were paying lip service to God in front of the people but in reality their hearts were far from God. Anyone can pay lip service, so we must keep in mind that our walk is more important than our talk. If we really believe that we are going to have to give an account to Christ for every idle thought, every word spoken, and every action of our lives we should be scared to death. We wonder why lost people aren't getting saved and why the world has lost what little respect it used to have for Christianity. Could it be that what we are saying with our mouths completely contradicts what we are living by our actions? We say we believe the Bible is the Word of God, we say Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, and we say we are going to give an account to Christ for what we did in this life, but then we live our lives as if we were atheists. Something to think about...

Believing the Impossible

2010-02-16T14:21:00.003-05:00

The following is a quote from George Wald in an article from the May 1954 Scientific American:

"When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is not third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!"

I came across this quote today in a book that I have been reading. The above quote explains why many people choose to believe in evolution. The root of the problem is God Himself. People refuse to accept creation because of what follows. If the universe was created then there is a Creator and then all of the sudden we are accountable to that Creator for our thoughts, speech, and actions. I had someone tell me the other day that they had a problem with a wife submitting to her husband as the Bible teaches. I really have a hard time understanding this because if you have a job you have to submit to your boss. When we were children we had to submit to our parents. No matter what stage we are in life there will always be someone that we will have to submit to their authority. The same holds true with creation and the Creator (Jesus Christ). People in our society today cannot stand the idea of having to submit to the authority of God because they want to do anything and live any way that pleases their flesh. Somehow people today have this idea in their heads: who is this God to tell me how to live my life? That is like a child telling their parents they have no right to tell them what to do or to set rules for how they will behave while living in the home of the parents. As long as we are living on this earth created by God and breathing the air God gave us who are we to reject God's authority over us?

How sad it is that there are people who would rather believe something that they know is impossible just because they reject the idea of God (Jesus Christ) and His authority over man. That is why people are so quick to believe in evolution because they can do anything they want and live any way they want without having to be accountable to anyone else. On the flip side that is why the reject creation because just like Lucifer their lives are in open rebellion against God and His Word.

Christians or False Converts?

2010-02-11T13:37:00.005-05:00

There is something that I have been noticing over the last several months and maybe even the last year or two. There seem to be more and more people that are saying they are Christians but when you look at their lives there is absolutely no fruit. I am not saying that I know for sure that these people aren't saved, but I have a hard time when I see no evidence of the new birth. The Bible says that we become a new creature in Christ after our salvation and that the old things are passed away.

One of the things that really bothers me is when someone tells others they are a Christian, but then they are living in open sin. I can't tell you how many people I have run across on visitation that told me they were saved but yet they were living with someone of the opposite sex outside of marriage and they did not see any thing wrong with that. Then there are those who say they are Christians but have absolutely no desire to attend church. Now I understand that sometimes people get hurt by a church and they have trouble ever going back and sometimes they never go back. I have been in the category before and I spent a whole year out of church after being hurt by my former pastor and church. I am talking about people that always talk trash about the church, the members of the church, and the pastor. Even if every Christian in the entire world was a hypocrite it would not excuse someone from being faithful to the church, if they say they are a Christian. Then there are those that say they are Christians but yet they use foul language and cuss in their speech. The Bible tells us that what we speak shows what is in our hearts. The Bible also tells us that our speech should minister grace unto the hearers. We read in Matthew 7 that there will be many that have professed to be Christians but Christ will tell them to depart from Him because He never knew them. We see all sorts of people in our society today that say they are Christians because of a variety of reasons. The problem with their profession is that there is no fruit being produced in their lives; many of them live in open sin with no desire to stop, they have no use for the church or for God's people, and they use foul language or cuss words and see no problem with a Christian talking that way.

I am not saying all of these things to belittle anyone or to look down my nose at them. I am simply pointing out the failure of the church and those truly born again to properly evangelize and disciple people. We preachers have quit preaching against real sin because we are afraid of people leaving our churches and taking their money with them. We preachers have also given up on discipleship too. We cannot have a new converts class once or twice a year and think that we are teaching our new converts. Discipleship is an everyday process that never ends. We must be willing to take the time to make sure that new believers are properly taught from the Word of God.

I truly believe that when we get to Heaven there will be many people there that we never expected to see and many people we expected to see in Heaven that will not be there.

Wicked Blessed For The Righteous Sake

2010-01-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

"Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation." - Daniel 2:24

Have you ever wondered sometimes why God doesn't just go ahead and bring judgement on this wicked world of ours? I know I have heard many people ask this question when it comes to the world in which we live in. The truth is that judgement is being held off because of the righteous people still living in our country and world today.

From the above verse in Daniel chapter 2 you find that the man of God Daniel is interceding for the wise men of Babylon that they be not destroyed. Just like today we have many righteous people interceding on behalf of our wicked nation and world. In Genesis 39:5 we find that Potiphar's house was blessed for Joseph's sake. In Acts 27:23-24 the people on the ship were saved for Paul's sake. Then we have the example of the city of Sodom, God was going to destroy this city for it's wicked and abominable acts toward the Lord. Abraham intercedes to God asking "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" The Lord tells Abraham that He will spare Sodom if there is found 10 righteous people in the city. The Lord is unable to find even 10 righteous people in Sodom, what a sad testimony for any city.

Like I said before our world is being spared from judgment because of the righteous people that are still interceding for it. There is coming in day when the righteous shall be taken away. When the church is "caught up" to be with our Lord this world is going to be ripe for judgement. At that moment there will be no more righteous people to intercede for this wicked old world.

The Deception Of Satan

2010-01-06T12:37:00.003-05:00

"Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." - John 18:3-9

Many of us are familiar with this passage of Scripture in John 18. Our Lord is in Gethsemane praying as Judas is on his way with a band of officers to betray the Lord. I want to just take a few minutes to show how powerful Satan can be when it comes to deceiving people.

In verse 4 Jesus asks the officers whom they seek and they answered that they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord answers them and says "I am he." The Bible tells us in verse 6 that as soon as Jesus said "I am he" that the officers went backward and fell to the ground. Then Jesus asks them again whom they seek and they tell him they seek Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord says to them "I have told you that I am he." It is very important to note that Jesus uses the words "I am he" because the words "I AM" are very significant to the Jew. In the book of Exodus when Moses asks God who shall he say sent him to the children of Israel to deliver them from bondage, God tells Moses to tell them I AM hath sent me unto you. Jesus Christ by saying "I am he" was proclaiming His deity to the officers. Notice in verse 6 that when he spoke those words all of the officers went backward and fell to the ground. I am told that there were probably anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men that were in that band of officers.

Here is the thought that I want us to ponder on for a few minutes. Think about what has just happened in verse 6. Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men have just fallen backwards to the ground after Jesus said the words "I am he." We have just seen the power and deity of Jesus Christ in this act yet there is no affect on the band of officers. In fact Christ asks them again whom they seek, then they give the same answer, and Jesus tells them a second time "I am he." Just think about how powerful Satan can be when it comes to deceiving people. Here we have people that were eyewitnesses to the deity of Christ and yet there was no change or affect on their lives recorded in Scripture.

It is the same in our society today. Even with many Christians we underestimate the power of Satan when it comes to his ability to deceive. Just look at how quick many Christians are to defend things like Harry Potter, Santa Claus, or being a Mason. Satan is more powerful than we give him credit for many times. Even Michael the Archangel did not try to take on Satan directly, he said "The Lord rebuke thee." The Bible tells us that even Satan is transformed into an angel of light. Adam and Eve and personal and intimate fellowship with the Lord everyday in the Garden of Eden and they both were deceived by Satan. We are no different than Adam and Eve or the band of officers when it comes to Satan's ability to deceive us. I pray that we will not allow Satan to deceive us when it comes to things in our spiritual lives.

Lack Of Knowledge

2009-12-31T10:54:00.002-05:00

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." - Hosea 4:6

I wanted to spend a a few minutes today talking about God's people and their lack of knowledge concerning spiritual things. This verse is referring to the nation of Israel and their willful ignorance towards commandments of the Lord. Even though this verse is speaking of Israel we can still draw some application for us as Christians today.

Just like Israel many times was willfully ignorant of things God had said the same is true with many Christians today. Unfortunately the only Bible reading and study many Christians get is from the Sunday morning service. If we are going to grow as Christians then we must increase in our spiritual knowledge. Many Christians are starving themselves spiritually because they are not reading their Bibles outside of the church services and they are not reading other Christian books that deal with subjects relevant to their spiritual walk with Christ. A lack of knowledge will destroy a Christian. This does mean that they are not saved but it means that they will never grow beyond a babe in Christ. They will never be able to handle and digest the deeper things of God.

All you have to do is look around today and you will see the results of Christians having a lack of knowledge. Today you can find many people that say they are Christians yet they deny Jesus is the only way to Heaven or they believe that you must be a good person to get to Heaven. These are just a couple of examples as there are many more areas where Christians lack knowledge or in some cases they have out right rejected knowledge. One of my biggest burdens is that many Christians lack knowledge concerning the true nature and characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you read the Old Testament it has lot to say about God being a jealous God, it also tells of Him being holy, righteous, and a God of judgement. Many times we forget that Jesus Christ is also the same God in the Old Testament.

I pray that we all will spend more time in the Word that we may increase in our spiritual knowledge. I promise you that as you spend more time in Word daily you begin to see things in a whole new light.

Tolerance...

2009-12-20T10:30:00.003-05:00

I find it very interesting that as Christians we are told that we are intolerant because of our stand on certain issues. As I was talking about this with a co-worker sometime last week I began to wonder about some things. Are Christians today really that intolerant? I actually believe the opposite to be true and that is that Christians are too tolerant when it comes to some things.

If you go back to the first century church during the time of the apostles Christians were the most hated group of people that there were. It is important for us to ask ourselves: what was the reason they were so hated by others? Christians in the first century were so hated because of their complete intolerance for other gods. They proclaimed that there was only one God and they proclaimed all other gods were false. If you go back even further in the Bible you will find that the nation of Israel was hated because of their proclamation that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the only true God. Israel rejected the notion of all other gods and proclaimed them to be false.

Now let us come to modern day Christianity. We are accused all the time of being intolerant, but are we really? We have accepted many things in our churches today because we are afraid of being called intolerant. We have allowed many false teachings and false doctrines to creep into our churches because we are too afraid that we might offend someone if we take a stand and speak out against it. Many people who call themselves Christians will tell you that they believe there is more than one path to God or that they do not believe the other religions are wrong. It is truly a sad state that the Church is in today. We truly are the fulfillment of Laodicean church mentioned in Revelation 3.

The truth is that modern day Christianity is too tolerant of many things. In Acts the apostles were accused of turning the world upside down, how? It was because of their complete intolerance for the other false gods of the world at that time. I find it quite ironic that as Christians we are called intolerant in our society but the truth is that we are so tolerant that we have compromised our stand on the fundamentals of our faith.

Our Next Show

2009-12-15T22:54:00.005-05:00

I want to let everyone know about the upcoming show of Fish For Souls Radio on Thursday at 5:30PM. We will be discussing Christians and Santa Claus, talk about some noteworthy news, check out more witnessing clips, and take your calls. You can visit our show page at www.blogtalkradio.com/fishforsouls or www.myfishforsouls.com and click on radio.

If you have a thought or opinion on Christians and Santa Claus please email us at radio@fishforsouls.com or call in to the show on Thursday. If anyone has any topics that they would like us to cover on upcoming show please email us.

Until later get out there and keep on fishing!

A Sobering Thought...

2009-12-04T11:46:00.003-05:00

I know that this is a cartoon but there is a very sobering message in it. Unfortunately there are many Christians who have never shared their faith with other people. I am sure that there are many people in Hell today because a Christian failed to share the Gospel with them. When we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone else then we must do it! If we do not and that person dies without having their sins paid for by Jesus Christ, then their blood will be upon our hands. I remember hearing song while we were on deputation and the chorus said "You never told me about Him." When God judges the lost at the Great White Throne Judgement I can't help but wonder how many of them are going to say "You never told me about Him" or "I never knew you were a Christian."

Do people know that you are a Christian?

Have you been sharing your faith with others?

A Work In Progress

2009-12-04T11:13:00.002-05:00

I would like to thank everyone that has been praying for the radio program. I hope that you will continue to pray for Fish For Souls Radio. It is a work in progress as I am new to the whole radio thing. It is quite hard not to just start preaching and I probably did anyway during the first show, but I am a preacher so what do you expect?

It is my prayer and desire that this radio program can be a way to help encourage believers to grow in their faith and to help them be more evangelistic. I hope that everyone will bear with us as we work to make the show better each episode. I would like to do some shows soon where we have people call in to discuss topics, ask questions, or discuss some other church related topic. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please feel free to contact me and let me know. Again I hope that this radio program can be a blessing to God's people and a shining light of the Gospel to those that are lost.

We Are On The Air!

2009-12-01T10:12:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that today we will be doing the first episode of Fish For Souls Radio. You can visit our show page at www.blogtalkradio.com/fishforsouls where you can listen to the show or download the podcast. I do not have a set time for the show right now due to not knowing what my schedule is going to be at work yet. Lord willing I am hoping to let everyone know in the next couple of weeks when the permanent show time will be. Please pray for the radio program that the Lord will bless it and that we can use it to help evangelize and disciple people.

Are You Willing To Go?

2009-11-27T12:38:00.004-05:00

I wanted to take a few moments today and talk a little about missions. If you have never seen the above video I hope that you will take a few minutes and watch it. Listen to the words of the song as you are seeing the pictures of these people from all over the world. The song asks a very important question, who will go for me?

Most people that I know in churches today are willing to give their money to help support missions but i have found that there are few willing to go and give their time. While I was on the mission field I was very grateful to those that supported me financially because it allowed me to be there in the first place. However one of the biggest discouragements to me was that there were very few people who were willing to come visit the mission field and give their time. It seems to be that way here at home too when it comes to Christians sharing their faith with other people. We must remember that missions is also sharing our faith with others that we come into contact on a daily basis. We all have been commissioned by our Lord to share our faith with not only the entire world but also those that we are around on a daily basis.

You might be reading this and you are more than willing to give your money to support missions and evangelism, but the question is are you willing to give your time and yourself in the support of missions? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone? Will you go?

"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:36-38

Ministry Of Helps

2009-11-16T12:35:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share a great site with you all. A preacher friend of mine, Bro. David Towler has launched a new website called Ministry of Helps. You can check it out at www.ministryofhelpsonline.com or I have posted a link to it on the blog. I believe this to be a much needed thing for all Christians, not just preachers. In the day and time which we live is more important than ever that we have good resources and materials to disciple God's people. I always try to buy extras of something if I believe that it can be a help to someone else. We have been failing over the last several years to properly disciple new converts after salvation. In our former church there were people who had been saved for years but knew nothing of the rapture.

I am so thankful that Bro. Towler has launched this site so that it may help Christians to grow more and more in the Word of God. I have heard many preachers say that everyone needs a Paul and a Timothy. That simply means that we need a Paul that we can learn from and then we need a Timothy that we can teach to. I just want to close on the thought that we are only one generation away from a Godless generation. We are currently seeing the fruit of failing to disciple and train a generation. What are we doing to get involved with a ministry of helps?

What's In Your Heart?

2009-11-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

"Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart." - 2 Chronicles 32:31

Many times i often hear people say "God know what's in my heart." I believe that most people do not fully grasp what that statement says and means. The truth is God knows exactly what is in our hearts. The Bible says in the book of Jeremiah that our hearts are deceitfully wicked. The Bible also says in the Gospel of Matthew that out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks. When God looks at our hearts He sees liars, thieves, blasphemers, adulterers, and murderers at heart.

I want to share a few thoughts on the last part of 2 Chronicles 32:31 where the Bible says "God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart." Many times when we go through trials and tribulations we often wonder why God has allowed this to happen in our lives. I will confess that I have asked this question of God myself when my family was deeply hurt by our former pastor and church. I am still to this day very deeply wounded by my former pastor. Our human minds cannot understand why we are going through the things we face and that is because we cannot see the entire picture. We can only see what is going on around us now but God sees the entire picture. He knows what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, or even ten years from now. Just as God was trying King Hezekiah's heart there are times when He will try our hearts as well. Whenever we go through trials or tribulation we should rejoice because God counts us worthy to tried and tested. If He did not believe that we could come through the trial then He would allow someone else to go through it instead of us.

I also would like for you to notice where it says that God left Hezekiah. There will be times in our lives when we feel like God has left us and is nowhere to be found. We will pray and wonder if God is listening, and we will read our Bibles and God not speak to us. Even though it may not feel like it, God is still with us during our darkest hour. I remember a missionary one time telling me anyone that God has greatly used has had to go through the wilderness. I truly believe that there are many people God wants to greatly use in His work, but when they are tried their hearts are revealed.

Church Sign

2009-11-10T14:12:00.002-05:00

"Everyone wants to harvest, but few want to plow."

This was on a church sign that I passed on the way to Mt. Airy this morning. I absolutely agree with the message and it could not be more true. Everyone such as preachers, deacons, or just regular church members want to harvest or lead others to Christ. The problem is that there are few people who are willing to plow the fields or get out and do the work that it takes to lead others to Christ. Harvesting is the glamorous part because it makes you or your church look good in man's eyes if you can say we had this many people saved. Plowing is not glamorous and most of your work will go unnoticed by others. You will not have anything to make you look good in front of man. Others will never know the amount of time that you have spent plowing and then watering the seed you have sewn in prayer. It saddens me to see in our churches today that we have put more emphasis on harvesting than on plowing. Those that are more concerned about harvesting and looking good in front of others they have their reward already. May we concentrate on plowing the soil, sowing the seed, and watering the seed in much prayer so that we may have our reward in Heaven one day.

Devotional Thought For Today

2009-11-06T10:05:00.005-05:00

Hebrews 5:2 “Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”

I came across this verse as I was doing my devotion earlier this morning and it really stood out to me. I just wanted to share a quick thought on compassion. It is important for us to have compassion on those who are lost or backslidden. According to this verse at one time we were in the exact same position that many of those around us are currently in. We have compassion on sinners because we are sinners too. We struggle with the same sins such as lying, blasphemy, adultery of the heart, and murder of the heart. The Lord Jesus Christ had compassion on the lost because He went to where they were, He did not isolate Himself or have a pious attitude towards them. This does not mean that we compromise our convictions or our doctrine, it means we need show compassion to them through our words and most importantly our actions. The problem with most Christians today is that they have forgotten that we are the wretches the song refers to.

Clint

All Our Fault?

2009-11-04T10:58:00.003-05:00

A pastor friend of mine posted this on their Facebook page last night. I figured that it was going to be anti-Christian after reading his post, but I had no idea how much this guys hates Bible believing Christians. According to this guy we are to blame for all that is going wrong in the world today. He says we are idiots, stupid, and that we are a cult.

I guess it was really dumb of me to think that our world is in the shape that it is in because of sin. What blows me away about this guy is that he says that he is a church-going Christian. This guy is living proof that we have many false converts sitting in our churches today that have never been born again. This is an example of why we need to share the Gospel Biblically when witnessing to people.

Clint