Do Something (Devotion)

Have you heard the song by Matthew West called Do Something? I just happen to have the words to the song, let me read them to you:

“I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to heaven

I thought, God, why don’t You do something?
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me

So, I shook my fist at heaven
Said, God, why don’t You do something?
He said, I did, I created you
Now listen

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
Oh, it’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Na-na, na
Na-na, na
Na-na, na
Na-na, na

I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, somebody else will do something

Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says
I’m gonna do something

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something
Yes, it is, c’mon

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill
We’re never gonna change the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something (na-na, na)

It’s time for us to do something
It’s time for us to do something (na-na, na)”

Songwriters: Matthew West. For non-commercial use only.

Men, we can’t sit on our hands, we need to be the leaders of the church. Let’s see what the Bible says about Men in the church:

As leaders of the church, men have a great responsibility. Paul told the elders at Ephesus “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

And elder must hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict: (Titus 1:9 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

Peter said, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2, 3 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

“Younger Christians are to submit to their elders: “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

Can we change the world? We may not be able to singlehandedly change the world, but we can change someone’s world.

The floor is open to any suggestions on how we can serve the church and the community?

The Woman Who Fears The Lord (Devotion)

You may know that Manuela and the girls are out of town visiting family in Germany. And I already knew how much she did for the family but, you really do realize how much of a contribution your wife makes when she is gone.

Yesterday, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the heels of the bread. And I normally go around the heels of the bread. That is where I am at right now.

Men cherish your wives. They are a gift from God. They certainly do a lot for us and others.

Proverbs 12:4: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

Psalm 128:3: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

Proverbs 31 The Woman Who Fears the Lord 10-31 21 virtues of a God-Fearing Woman. I am not going to read that one to you. When you have time read Proverbs 31 10-31.

And there may be some men in here that the Lord has gifted with singleness. You can use that to your advantage by having more time to serve.

Proverbs 31 10-31 The Woman Who Fears the Lord

¹⁰^[^d^] “An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³She seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She dresses herself^[^e^] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in scarlet.^[^f^]
²²She makes bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³Her husband is known in the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

The Woman That Fears The Lord

It’s hard to be married to someone as nice as my wife. Don’t get me wrong, she is amazing! She is everything I am not. I’m nice too, but I can’t compare to my wife. She is so selfless. She puts everyone before herself.

I love to help people too, most of the time. My wife will stop what she is doing, all the time, and make it her number one priority to put your needs before hers.

And I am learning from her to put myself last, but it’s a hard trait to learn. The Lord blessed my wife with a huge, selfless heart.

My wife is teaching me that it’s ok, if people take advantage of you, so what if you are taken advantage of. We are here to serve God and serve one another.

She is storing up treasures in Heaven. Yes, there will be treasures in Heaven waiting on us because of our good works here on Earth. No, our good works won’t get us into Heaven. Having faith in Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins get us in Heaven, but good works equals treasures in Heaven.

See these scriptures about good works and storing up treasures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19 – 21 ESV)

“Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:33 – 34 ESV)

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17 – 19 ESV)

See these scriptures about eternal life:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40 ESV)

And finally The Woman That Fears the Lord:

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
¹³She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens. ¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.¹⁷She dresses herself^[^b^] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.²⁰She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.” (Proverbs 31:10: 20 ESV)

So, the next time someone you know wants to help someone, even if you think they are being taken advantage of or you think it’s too much, let them help, help them help. We can’t out give the Lord. It’s never too much. They are storing up treasures in Heaven, where treasures really matter, not here on earth, where things rot and decay and can be stolen by others and we can’t even take them with us when we are called to Heaven. The treasures that really matter are in Heaven.

Do I Have Enough Faith?

I had this article on my mind and was going to write it and we received an email from the Occupational Health and Safety Manager at work stating “masks are a critical part of keeping our community and family members healthy, and I can’t emphasize this enough! I encourage you to mask up, educate your friends and family and set a positive example for those around you. Let’s make masks the new norm together.”

My wife refuses to wear a mask, she will not frequent a place that requires her to wear the mask. because of her strong conviction of faith that she has. She says, if God wants me to get the Corona virus, then I’ll get it, and that God has this predetermined. And while I feel the same way. I almost question my faith because I feel the need to wear a mask when I go to Walmart, or assisting customers at work because I don’t know where these people have been, maybe they are coming from a State that has higher numbers, however, I don’t feel the need to wear the mask at Church, and that may be a mistake.

We went to Lowe’s the other day and she didn’t wear her mask. You know what they say about peer pressure, peer pressure is a (insert your own word). I didn’t wear a mask either, however, if she hadn’t been with me, I probably would have worn a mask.

Now, I am questioning my faith. Do I have enough faith to walk around without a mask? If you believe the news, or media, the numbers are going up and staying cooped up in our houses will only postpone the inevitable. So what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to accept that masks are the new norm? I have a hard time with that.

Am I being naïve that I don’t want to wear a mask? I don’t want my family to get this virus. I don’t even want to call it by name anymore. I guess, it’s to each their own. We can make our own decisions regarding the wearing of the mask.
Instead of mask, we could insert weapon. Every night I pray that I don’t have to use force on anyone trying to force their way into my house to protect my family. Do I have enough faith to rely on God to protect my family or do I take matters into my own hands? How much faith do you have?

Love, Pray, Fish

I think this is going to be my new catchphrase from now on; Love, Pray, Fish

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Bible Gateway 2020)

The World we live in is consumed with so much hate right now, we have people killing each other, we have riots, we have violent protests, Antifa, terrorist groups, and the Corona virus. The World is a scary place right now. However, instead of hating, we should love one another, like Jesus told his disciples.

I got up around 530 in the morning the other day and I went fishing, on the way to my favorite fishing spot, I admired a beautiful sunrise. I was also able to pray and share my thoughts and concerns with God and take in God’s beautiful World he created to include eight deer, what I found interesting was that they were so spread out. There was one group of three and the other five were scattered out. I could not believe how many deer I kept seeing. I arrived at the ponds and jumped into a boat, the fog was lifting off the pond, it was so beautiful, and it gave me a peaceful calming. I didn’t’ have a care in the world while I was fishing. It was a great place to escape from the crazy world we live in.

God’s Beautiful Work

Pond relection

Boat

God’s Country

Feeding the Family

Fish Fry

Later that day, I had a Pastoral Committee meeting and I told them I went fishing and I didn’t have a care in the world at that time, and one of them said “I wouldn’t go as far as saying that.”

But, what do we really have to worry about? Yes we live in a sinful world that is being taken over by sin right now, like I stated above, we have the Corona virus running rampant, there are people killing each other, we have violent protesting, and riots, people are blocking the roads, it’s just crazy out there in the World, but what is the ultimate goal of a person of faith, that believes that Jesus died for their sins and we are saved through God’s grace? It’s to meet our maker in Heaven, right! I’m not saying I want to get the Corona virus, but as followers of Christ, what do we really have to fear? Yes, we are persecuted for being different, Yes, we are different, and we have a strong belief in Jesus Christ. There is a common thread here, being different whether it is what color of skin we have or what country we are from. So, love like Jesus, pray and give it to God, and fish. That is what I did. I was able to relax and forget about all my worries and I fed my family in the process.

How Do You Thank God?

How do you thank God when he answer’s a prayer? I was praying the other day that God would keep us safe in this weather coming into Arkansas from Oklahoma. There was a tornado on the ground from Idabel, Oklahoma. The local TV channel had two tornado warnings close to Dequeen, Arkansas, 38 miles away from us, apparently it didn’t turn out to be too serious, but it got my attention.

How do you thank God, when he answers your prayers? I thanked God for keeping us safe. But I wonder if we pray more asking for something than thanking God when he does deliver.

The best thing we can do is make sure we do pray and thank him for answering our prayers and to live a pleasing life towards God. We’re all sinners, it’s hard to live a pleasing life to God, without mistakes, or judgements in error, but he must try our best and ask for forgiveness when we do sin.

We also can make sure we are spreading the good news about Jesus, taking opportunities to tell people about Jesus and about being a Christian. To put our faith in Jesus, that he will take care of us, that he paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, so that we can be forgiven for our sins and are saved by God’s grace, that we will spend everlasting life in Heaven with him.

Don’t forget to shine our light and sow the seed with unbelievers and let God convict their hearts and be patient. It may take a long time for their hearts to become convicted, but we need to have faith that it will happen. God bless and thank God.

Should We Live In Fear?

Should we live in fear? With all the uncertainty of staying at home, or going out in public, and opening up the economy. Should we live in fear? No, having said that, I am not taking unnecessary risks. I am following the guidelines, six feet apart, no gatherings of more than 10 people, all that jazz. Only one person from our family goes and does the shopping, we don’t take the whole family to the store. I don’t even know if that is allowed?

I did go to Walmart a few weeks ago to get necessities and I didn’t wear a mask. I don’t think I had one to wear, now we are wearing one when we go. I’m saying all this to say that, while we are following our State’s guidelines, we shouldn’t live in fear.

I have faith that God will take care of us, one way or the other. Maybe I need to have more faith, but I’m not taking unnecessary risks. My work has closed the office to the public and only a few people are allowed to work in the office at a time, the rest are tele-working from home.

I’m not afraid to go out in public.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faith, they didn’t worship the false God.

^13 “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

¹⁵Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

¹⁷If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

¹⁸But if not, be it known unto thee, O king that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

¹⁹Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was won’t to be heated.

²⁰And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

²¹Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²²Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

²⁵He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

²⁷And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

²⁸Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

²⁹Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.” (Bible Gateway King James Version, 2020)

Believers, we certainly shouldn’t live in fear, maybe we just need to have more faith.

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!

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?

God’s Plan

I lived in Germany for seven years after retiring from the Air Force and wanted to come back home to Mena, Arkansas to be around my family and the beauty that Mena offers.

I was working at LRMC (Landstuhl Regional Medical Center) as an HR assistant, in-processing new personnel and out-processing personnel leaving and performing leave and finance duties for all the soldiers assigned and I was thankful for the job, but there is a term limit for government civilians working overseas, that they started enforcing, called the five-year-rule. I had completed 22 years in the Air Force moving where the military wanted me to and I wanted to live where I wanted to, so I took it upon myself to find a job in Arkansas to get closer to family and home.

I applied for what seemed like countless jobs only to be turned down, however, I made some interview lists and struck out, but I finally got an interview to be the Program Assistant in Arkadelphia with the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and was hired, a blessing from God.

My wife and I sold almost all our things and shipped some essentials along with our Van and moved to Mena, Arkansas. Arkadelphia is 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Mena one way. That job got me back to Arkansas.

It didn’t take too long and my wife, Manuela, was invited to attend a Church in Mena. We started attending Faith Missionary Baptist Church and fell in love with the Pastor’s style of preaching. It was like he was preaching right at you at times. It was as if he was spying on us, but that was just the Holy Spirit working inside of us. The Pastor ended up leaving and the more we got to know the congregation, the more we fell in love with the Church body. They’re so loving and nice. That’s what following Jesus is about…Love, and the Church does a great job displaying that.

Anyway, I was asked to be on the Pulpit committee, to help search for a new Pastor. I wanted to be on the committee, but never expressed this desire to anyone. That was God’s work. I thought being on the committee was going to be a breeze, we’ll meet a few times, make a few phone calls and have a new Pastor in a few weeks. I was wrong, we are going on three months. You see, there are more Churches looking for Pastors than Pastors looking for Churches. God wants me to learn something from this experience. I know God has a plan and it’s on his time, not mine. That’s one thing that God is trying to teach me (patience) and the other I think he wants me to understand is to have faith. God’s got this. It’s not about us (the pulpit committee), it’s about him. He is going to send us the right preacher for our Church. We just gotta believe.

There’s not many government jobs in Mena, but we do have the Forest Service in Mena and I found an opening in Mena that I applied for. I had been praying to get closer to home for some time now and when I saw the opening, I put my resume in for it and prayed and waited. Well God heard me and I got the job. Now, I drive about 6 minutes one way to work as opposed to driving 1 hour and 45 minutes. It’s crazy, I hardly ever have to put gas in my car now. I bought a Ford Eco Sport to help with gas mileage for the drive to Arkadelphia. It gets about 35 miles to the gallon on the highway. I was getting gas every two days, now maybe once every two weeks, another blessing from God.

On one of the times we visited Mena, my wife and I looked at a house that my step Mom’s sister and husband had for sale. At first, I thought why should we look at this house, we don’t even have a job lined up here yet (Oh Ye of little faith) but God works in mysterious ways. I ended up getting the job in Arkadelphia, buying the house and eventually getting the job in Mena. The house is less than three miles away from the Forest Service. All of it worked out, God has a plan. We just have to have faith.