Dallas Cowboys VS Jesus Christ

I was running errands the other day around town and I was wearing a Dallas Cowboys’ hoodie. The weather has been what I call in between here in Arkansas. It’s been in between a hoodie and a short sleeve shirt, for me it hasn’t been really warm enough for a shirt without sleeves, but I could just be a wimp.

I noticed a lot of people commenting on my Dallas Cowboys shirt. I got a couple “Go Cowboys” comments. I was also wearing a cross around my neck; now to be fair some of the time I had my cross tucked into my shirt, so I got my cross out and displayed it on the outside of my Dallas Cowboys shirt to see if I can get a “oh you’re a fellow believer, or “Go Jesus.”

Like I said, I didn’t have the cross displayed the whole time, but I got four “Go Cowboys” and no Go Jesus comments. Now, I do want to walk around with a Dallas Cowboy cap, or shirt with my cross displayed more to gather more results, but it’s sad to me that it seems like we get more responses from sporting our favorite jersey than we get from supporting or Savior Jesus Christ, why is that? Let’s make Jesus famous instead of the Dallas Cowboys – Go Jesus!

The Holy Spirit

I’m taking a class with BMA Seminary; Introduction to Christian Teaching. I believe it will help me learn more about the Bible and I hope it will compliment my writing. One of the required books I need for the course is the Baptist Expositor, Leader. I was reading the first lesson of Leader/Spring 2020 book and the first lesson is on Acts 1:1-11.

I’ll summarize what’s taken place: “The apostles, were told to wait in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit Who would empower them to witness for Jesus. Jesus told them that their witnessing would be far-reaching beginning at home and going to the uttermost part of the earth. What a gigantic task that lay before them! How can such a task be accomplished? They key to their success would be the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Baptist Expositor Leader/Spring 2020)

“Today believers do not have to wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He came 2,000 years ago to empower the church and has faithfully dome so ever since. We can tap into that power right now and be witnesses for Jesus. Are you utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit now to be an effective witness for Jesus? We should work hard at our witness for Jesus knowing that one day He will return to this earth just as He ascended into Heaven.” (Baptist Expositor Leader/Spring 2020)

We were just talking about this at Church, well we had Brotherhood breakfast at Church; we’re Baptists so we eat a lot, and the devotion was about asking God to use us to witness to others. If we have faith and pray to be used as a witness, the Holy Spirit will make give us the words and confidence to be an effective witness. I know it’s hard to step out and have faith to talk to others about Christ, but that’s what were supposed to do, we are supposed to build the Kingdom. I read a statistic that shocked me; only 32 percent of the World’s population believe in Jesus. This is going to sound BOLD, but I wish it was 100%! Hell wasn’t intended for us; it was intended for the Devil and his demonic angels. Matthew 25:41 says “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (King James Version of the Holy Bible Holman KJV Study Bible 2012). I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be on the left-hand side, bound for everlasting fire!

The sad thing is that you just have to BELIEVE in Jesus, that he died on the cross for your sins and accept him into your heart, and your life and repent from your sins. We’re all sinners, but believers are saved by God’s grace because we are sinners, we’re not perfect.

So, ask to be used by God to witness to others and let the Holy Spirit work in you.

Make Jesus Famous

How can we make Jesus Famous? You say isn’t Jesus already famous? According to Learn Religions 32% of the World’s population are Christians. That’s less than a third of the World that are going to Heaven. I believe in Heaven and Hell and right now, there will be more people in Hell than Heaven and that is SAD! https://www.learnreligions.com/christianity-statistics-700533

I wrote an article not too long ago where I talked about handing out donuts, and if you think about it, it’s the same concept. To hand out donuts or knock on people’s doors, whatever it takes to make Jesus famous and build God’s Kingdom. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?

We’re all sinners, but I’m a hypocrite. I recently bought this cool necklace with a cross made from small nails on it. I’m a hypocrite because I keep the cross inside my shirt. I shouldn’t hide my necklace. I shouldn’t hide my faith. I should shout it out from the rooftops. Why do we hide our faith?

We should want to make Jesus famous, or more famous, according to that statistic, only 32% of the World population is going to heaven. We should want every single person to believe in Jesus and we should be out there spreading the good news.

Are you sitting on your hands or are you trying to make Jesus famous? What are you doing to make Jesus famous? Let’s Make Jesus Famous!

Dying

I know it’s a controversial topic, but we’re all going to die. Ecclesiastes 7:1 says “A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. 2. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies – so the living should take this to heart. 3. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4. A wise person thinks only about having a good time”, (Holy Bible Gift & Award Edition New Living Translation Second Edition 2007) Death is certainly nothing that we can avoid.

Before I just use those scriptures because it fits into my writing, I wanted to share with you more about the content of the verses and the author below:

“In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon uses a series of examples – wealth, wisdom, popularity, pleasure – and shows how each of them ultimately ends in disappointment if it becomes the sole reason for one’s existence. After pondering this dilemma for several chapters, the author finally comes to this conclusion. Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. It appears the Teacher abandoned any hope in worldly pursuits and decided to glorify God provides the only lasting meaning of life”, (Holy Bible Gift & Award Edition New Living Translation Second Edition 2007).

I was at a funeral the other day and it gave me time to reflect. We don’t know how many days we have on this Earth, but God certainly knows how many days we will live. It’s sad when people die, we’re humans, and we have feelings. We’re supposed to love one another. And while I am sympathetic towards actors, actresses and other famous people’s families, or anyone after they lose someone. If I don’t know them personally, I try to not get to distraught over their deaths. We’re all going to die. It was their time to die. If they’re a believer then they went to heaven and that is the ultimate goal. They’re in a better place than we are.

The Bible says sometimes people die early or too soon because they can’t handle the World. Isaiah 57:1 says “good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil way to come. 2. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die”, (Holy Bible Gift & Award Edition New Living Translation Second Edition 2007) I know it’s hard for us feeble humans to understand but God knows what he is doing.

Furthermore, I believe no matter what our circumstances there’s always a chance to witness to other people. Again the ultimate goal is to lead lost people to Jesus Christ, even if we are in the hospital ourselves. Maybe God put you there for that specific purpose. We all have a purpose in life. What is your purpose in life?

Saturday Night Live

Back in the day I used to watch Saturday Night Live, back in the day I used to get in a lot of trouble on a Saturday night too, especially in a small town with not much to do. But last Saturday night we had a wholesome fun night. We had what our church calls a 4:19, Matthew 4;19 says “And He said to them, Come after Me [as disciples – letting Me be your Guide], follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!” (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

It was a fun night full of fellowship. We had a fish fry and desert auction to raise money for our Youth Group to go to Mexico and build a Church for less fortunate people that don’t have a place to worship God at.

Not only did we get to eat fried catfish, hushpuppies, and fried pickles, we also got to bid on desert and that stole the show. I played the role of bidder, jacking up the prices. I made sure I had the funds available to cover in case I won the bid, but there were a few times I backed out of 100 dollar banana pudding. The banana pudding is really good and it was for a good cause. It was a success and we had a good time, as opposed to running the streets in a small town with one movie theater, and not too much else to do.

Not only did we have an awesome Saturday night, Sunday morning turned out pretty good too. Sunday morning the Holy Spirit was stirring in Church in full force. Three young men were baptized and saved and another joined the Church, God has BIG things planned for our Church and I am glad I am a part of it. Stay tuned for more fund raisers and to find out how the Youth Group Church building goes and if we can manage to top this last weekend.

The Role of the Teacher

I am reading Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987) for my BMA Seminary class, Introduction to Christian Teaching and it is amazing. I’m learning so much.

I always thought to teach is to go over the answers. I filled in for the Sunday school teacher one day and went over the answers and I realize now that I did a terrible job.

“The true function of the teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning…True teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it. One might say that he teaches best who teaches least.” (John Milton Gregory)

Dr. Hendricks states “The way people learn determines how you teach.” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987). It’s true we all learn differently. Me I’m slow. It takes me a while to get something. I joke that my favorite lolly pop flavor is Windex (window licker).

In the book, he also says “the concept behind John Milton Gregory’s laws (The Seven Laws of Teaching) calls the law of the Teaching Process, it involves stimulating and directing the learner’s self-activities – that’s the key expression.” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987)

He elaborates and states “the teacher must excite and direct the learner’s self-activities, tell the learner nothing – and do nothing for him – that he can learn or do for himself. Therefore, what’s important is not what you do as a teacher, but what the learners do as a result of what you do.” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987)

“The teacher is primarily a stimulator and motivator, not the player, but the coach who excites and direct the players. The learner is primarily an investigator, a discoverer and a doer. So again, the ultimate test of teaching is not what you do or how well you do it, but what and how the learner does. Good teachers can’t be focused on what they do, but on what their students are doing.” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987)

Dr. Hendricks goes on to say “do you settle for the fact that they can give you all the right answers and mouth all the Christian truths? Does that satisfy you? I’m never impressed with how much they know. They’re always throwing in Greek and Hebrew here and there to impress me, and I say Big Deal. How does it work in your life?” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987)

That’s true if we can relate to what the Sunday school instructor is saying, we can gain a lot more out of it.

Finally, Dr. Hendricks says “teachers are interested in how much a student can cram into his head and then regurgitate onto a piece of paper. In a hallway at the seminary I once met a student on his way to an exam. He seemed to be in a trance, and I started to put my arm around him and talk to him. Prof, he joked, don’t touch me! I’ll leak everything I know. That’s not education.” Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987)

A few weeks ago, our Sunday school class went over The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25 – 37 and we learned that the road between Jerusalem and Jericho is about 18 miles long and it’s a treacherous place, oftentimes people get robbed and beat up on that road and in this particular instance someone in fact did get robbed and beat up by bandits. He was stripped of his raiment or clothes and wounded or beaten and left there.

In those times there were three levels of Jewish hierarchy: the high priest, priests, and Levites. And in New Testament times the priests were the ones who made sacrifices in the Temples. A Priest passed by, but he made sure to pass by on the other side of the road and did nothing. A Levite also saw the beaten man and also passed on the opposite side of the road and did nothing to help the man.

However, a Samaritan, a stranger, saw the beaten man and choose to stop and help. He poured in olive oil and wine on the wounds, bandaged his wounds. He put the man on his own beast (animal), He brought him to an Inn, in doing so, provided a place for him to recover, and he paid for more care to be given, and promised to pay for the remainder of the bill, if needed, when he returned.

In our Sunday school lesson we were engaged and thought about what we would do, or what would Jesus do if her were in that situation. There is no doubt that Jesus would help the beaten man left on the side of the road.

We even talked about homeless people, or people we see on the side of the road and why we don’t just get out and ask if we can pray with them, even if you don’t have money to give them, what if we just prayed with them and for them.

We got more out of that discussion and interaction that just going over the material and being given the answers. The goal should be to inspire change in one’s life, not to just go over the answers.

A Close Friend Is…

I’m currently taking a class with the BMA Seminary called Introduction to Christian Teaching. I figure it will help with my blogging. One of the books I need for this class is Teaching to Change Lives (Dr. Howard Hendricks 1987). And in the book it states “a close friend is someone who knows everything about you, yet totally accepts you, will listen to your most heretical ideal without rejecting you and knows how to criticize you in a way you’ll listen.” And yes I looked up the word heretical, it means of relating to, or characteristics of heretics or heresy (dictionary.com 2020).

How many friends do we have that fit into this category, it may be only a handful, but if you have friends that know everything about you and accepts you as you are and still like you, will listen to your crazy ideas and won’t judge you, and knows how to constructively criticize you in a way that you’ll listen and maybe even change, then you have got a good friend.

That last one, criticism, may be the hardest one for me.

If you have friends like this, hang on to them, their special.

Matthew 4:19 Fish For People

Since joining Faith Missionary Baptist Church (FMBC), we have had numerous fish fry’s to help raise money for people that are in need.

The Church calls this type of ministry a 4:19. Matthew 4:19 says “Come follow me. Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people.” Not only is the Church using a fish fry to raise money for various events, but they are also using fish to connect with others, maybe people that are lost. The ultimate goal is to lead lost souls to Jesus Christ, fish for men. Luke 19:10 says The purpose of the Son of Man (a term Jesus uses of Himself many times) is to seek and to save those who are lost, and that should be our objective too. Keep in mind, the word lost, in this passage, means those destined to perish and be destroyed spiritually.

On Saturday, February 15th FMBC will have its next fish fry to raise money to support our Youth group. Our Youth group and others will be traveling to Mexico to assist in the building of a Church so the locals there will have a place to worship God.

Come join us at 5 P.M. at 2407 Sutherland Ave. Mena, Arkansas 71953. There will also be a dessert auction afterwards, you’ll be fed physically and spiritually, as we fish for people.

Faith and Patience

Our Church is currently searching for a Pastor, and in our Wednesday night message, someone commented that our Church’s faith and patience may be being tested now since we have been searching for five months, for such a long time. And my argument is maybe five months is not a long time to God. Maybe God is trying to teach us something, maybe he is trying to teach us patience and faith. Maybe, if we found a preacher in the near future and it took six and half months or seven months or even less than a year, maybe that is a blessing because it didn’t take years. I think it depends if you look at the glass half empty or half full.

Our Church has always had a Preacher either filling in or in view-of-a-call so there has been a preacher preaching every Sunday and I firmly believe that God has used or Church for inexperienced Preachers to gain experience. We’ve truly been blessed with the different sermons from the different Preachers filling in. And meeting with the Pulpit Committee is a blessing in itself too. We have developed a camaraderie that we will miss when we do fill the position, we joked that we may continue to meet even after we find a Pastor.

God puts us through trials and tribulations and tests our faith to teach us, for us to grow as Christians. “God’s ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son” (Got Questions.Org 2002-2020)

“This is the goal of the Christian, and everything in life, including the trials and tribulations, is designed to enable us to reach that goal. It is part of the process of sanctification.” (Got Questions.Org 2002-2020)

Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknew he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Holman KJV Study Bible 2015)

“Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character and hope.” (Got Questions.Org 2002-2020)

Through all of God’s trials and tribulations, we overcome adversity and it makes us stronger in our walk with Christ.

I watched the movie Overcomer a few days ago and I highly recommend it to you.

“And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” (Holman KJV Study Bible 2015)

Are you an Overcomer?

Handing Out Donuts

Our old preacher started a ritual where he and some of the Church congregation would hand out donut holes to people at a local gas station. It was a good ice breaker, a way to invite people to our Church, it was also a way to talk to people that may not know Jesus Christ, and it was a way to let people know we care about them.

Our Church has been without a preacher since the end of August. We’ve formed a pastoral committee and have been searching for the preacher the Lord has picked out for us. We’ve been praying for God’s will. It has been a very fulfilling endeavor; we understand we are at God’s mercy and he will provide when the time is right.

As servants of God, we are supposed to go out and tell Jesus Christ’s story of good news.

Today’s Sunday school lesson was about “The Banquet”. Have you ever invited people over for a gathering and they cancelled on you or just didn’t show up? It’s disappointing to prepare a big feast or schedule a party and no one show up. That’s what happened at the Great Supper a meal was prepared, and the guests all had excuses to why they couldn’t attend.

One person said, “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.” (Holman KJV Study Bible)

Another excuse was “I have bought five yolk of oxen, and I must go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.” (Holman KJV Study Bible)

Another stated” I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.” (Holman KJV Study Bible)

Luke 14:21 “So that servant came and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, go out quickly and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt and the blind.”

Luke 14:22 “And the servant said, Lord it is done as thou has commanded, and yet there is room.”

Luke 14:23 “And the lord said unto the servant, go out into the highway and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house be filled.”

Since the people invited had other things to do with their time, they went into the streets and invited the common people into their house to fill it up. As Christians, we should also not discriminate. We should want to tell our story to anyone and everyone that will listen after all there is not better deed than to lead someone to Christ.

Can you imagine being invited to sit with Jesus and eat at his table? How could anyone refuse such an offer? How many times will Jesus ask us to do work for him? And how many times can we refuse to do what God asks us to do? How many times are we going to make excuses to not accept Jesus into our hearts? We may say next time, or next week, but the reality is there may not be a next time or a next Sunday. If God asks you to hand out donuts, then hand out donuts.