Praying and Washing My Hands

I’ve been praying a lot lately, and washing my hands. I’ve been praying that God has mercy on us and wipes out the Corona Virus. Or, God certainly has the power to wipe us out, but I pray that he doesn’t. I’ve been praying that we turn back to God and seek his face, that we put him back number one in our lives, that we don’t have false idols. When I am reading the Bible, I notice that worshipping anyone other than God makes God mad. I’m praying that we repent from our sins, we’re all sinners, and none of us are perfect. And, I’m so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

When Michael Jackson died in 2009, that’s all you heard about on the news was how distraught everyone was about losing him. Kobe Bryant just passed away and I hope we are not worshipping entertainers, athletes, anyone except God. Sports, has been shut down, School is closed, but then again we’re not allowed to pray at school anymore either.

I’m praying that the kids can get back to going to the parks and playing, and that they can get back to school soon too. That we can get back to watching football, and basketball (sports in general). We just need to be careful not to worship the players and Sports and not to put it before going to Church and worshipping God, and I’m washing my hands.

I’m praying that we can get back to attending Church in person and that I can get back to attending pastoral meetings with my fellow brothers, so we can find the Pastor that God has in store for our Church and I’m washing my hands.

I’m praying for people that may not have accepted Jesus into their lives or that don’t believe in Jesus. I pray that they come to know Jesus and accept him as their Savior before it’s too late. We live in an unpredictable time, we are seeing tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, diseases, hurricanes and more. We need to be ready to go and meet our maker.

I’m also thanking God, on a daily basis for my countless blessings that I don’t deserve. I’m truly blessed. Let’s not forget to thank God, even in these times of despair and uncertainty.

And, I’m praying that God will forgive me of my sins. I know I am not perfect, that I am a sinner. I’m repenting for my sins and washing my hands – Stay Safe and God Bless You.

Are You Lucky or Blessed?

Are you blessed or lucky? Am I blessed or lucky? My family returned from Germany, March 20th, after visiting my wife’s family and celebrating her 40th birthday with her twin sister. We arrived on March 10th and planned on staying until March 25th, but our plans were changed by the Pandemic, Corona Virus.

First, we were told all American’s had to be back with in the U.S. by Friday, March 13th, but we just got there three days earlier and ignored the warning. And, the 4 0 celebration was planned for the following day. However, our return flight kept getting cancelled. My wife spent hours on the phone trying to book our return flights. We finally got a flight that didn’t get cancelled, however, we had to fly from Frankfurt, Germany with a layover in London, England and then to Dallas, Texas, five days early, as opposed to or our original flight from Frankfurt, Germany, straight to Dallas, Texas.

On the way over to Germany, I sat two seats away from someone that coughed the entire flight and didn’t bother to cover their mouth. We walked through Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and Frankfurt Am Main Airport and I don’t think we practiced social distancing lining up, to check in on the way over. On the way back, they did ensure we spread out when we exited the plane in Dallas, before we checked in with the CDC that was waiting for us there.

We arrived in Dallas and were screened for the Corona Virus, passed our screening and were told to self-quarantine for 14 days at home. We did and never developed any serious symptoms, yes, we had a sniffle or a cough, but nothing to get too worried about.

I said all that to say this, am I lucky or am I blessed that we flew all the way to Germany to visit with family, celebrate my wife and sister-in-law’s 40th birthday and to visit with some old friends and made it home safe. God was definitely with us when we drove back from Dallas to Arkansas, because we were exhausted. We took turns driving, but somehow made it home. Are we lucky or blessed? I believe we are blessed, God was definitely with us.

I’m blessed! I have a beautiful family that loves me, and we are healthy. I have a job right now, when according to CNBC ‘Another 6.6 million file for unemployment’ (9 March, 2020). I have a roof over my head. I have a loving Church family, and have many more things to be thankful for.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/another-66m-americans-file-for-unemployment-benefits-as-layoffs-show-no-letup/ar-BB12nLmw?ocid=spartanntp

I’m sure all of you have stories to share about your Corona Virus experiences, are you lucky or blessed? I’m blessed!

What Can We Learn Form the Corona Virus?

First of all, this is just my opinion, but I think we need to slow down. I believe that God slowed us down by having some of us shelter-in-place and some of us even quarantined. We have such busy lifestyles now, people working Saturdays, and even Sundays, which is supposed to be set aside for the Lord, a day of rest to glorify God. I think God slowed us down for a bit, telling us Don’t forget about me, don’t forget to put me first, don’t forget to worship me, and don’t forget to enjoy the beauty of the world that he (I) made. It reminds me of the song So Will I by Hillsong Worship, “And as You speak a hundred billion galaxies are born, in the vapor of Your breath the planets form.”

Exodus 20:8-11 ESV “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Mark 2:27 ESV “And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Those are just two passages about the Sabbath day in the Bible, there are many more. God wanted us to slow down, especially on the day of rest and I think we did for a while. I just hope we can learn from this and heed his warning.

Another point I want to make is that we need to turn back to God and put him first. Oftentimes we get caught up in our world. We need to put God first in everything we do. We need to make sure we don’t have false idols and that we are not worshipping anyone or anything but God. We just saw Kobe Bryant pass away and I saw many Facebook and Twitter posts of how people were distraught and I am sympathetic towards his family and friends. I tried to not get too distraught over his passing. I just hope we are not worshipping entertainers, actors, actresses and athletes.

I especially feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t know Jesus as their personal Savior. My prayer is that people that are lost, that they turn to Jesus in this time and accept him into their hearts and repent from their sins and ask to be forgiven to have everlasting life with him in Heaven.

And even all Christians, we are sinners and maybe we are getting caught up in our busy lives and may not be putting God first in our lives. We all need to repent, and ask God for forgiveness. We need to turn back to God and put him first, take time to pray and read our Bibles. In this time of social distancing, many Churches are turning to social media, and Facebook to put their Church services on, and their devotionals. We need to take time to watch them and worship God, to get back in the word of God.

Also this time has allowed us to spend more time with our family. We just got back from Germany on 20 March, and my family was quarantined for 14 days, with schools being closed there is more time to spend with family. While it was a good time, it did get stressful too, you have to get creative with things to do as well. It rained a lot here in Arkansas and we were not able to get outside much and some states have shelter-in-place in effect. I just hope we come out of this Corona virus stronger and that we learned something from it and that may be different for every person. For me I got to spend time with my family and slow down and was reminded to appreciate God’s beautiful work that he created. The beautiful mountains, creeks, rivers, lakes, and forest here in Arkansas. And how much I love and don’t want to take my family for granted and to remember to put God first in everything I do. I believe there is more work to do, there are more revivals to have, more Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames to have, more seeds to plant and more hearts for God to convict. God Bless you all.

https://realityoutreach.org/

Praying Selflessly

In Samuel, Hannah, married to Elkanah, couldn’t have children and Hannah desperately wanted to give her husband a child. In those days, if you couldn’t have a child, you were considered inferior. Peninnah was also married to Elkanah and she taunted Hannah about not being able to have children, driving Hannah to the point of tears. Also, in those times, if you couldn’t have children you were looked at as inferior.

Hannah wanted to give Elkanah a child so bad, she prayed this prayer: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut” (Holy Bible Gift & Award Edition, New Living Translation, Second Edition 2007) And the Lord blessed Hannah with a son, she named Samuel. You can read more about Samuel in the Bible.

This is Jesus’ instructions to his disciples when asked how to pray: Luke 11:1 “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. 2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3. Give us day by day our daily bread. 4. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Holman KJV Study Bible 2012)

Hannah wanted a to give Elkanah a son so bad, she dedicated him to the Lord, for his service. When we pray, are we praying for our own selfish desires? Or are we praying to honor the Lord, for God’s glory?

I was recently listening to a daily devotional from an old Air Force friend and he inspired this article. It’s easy to justify just about anything, when we pray. I just recently bought a truck and I prayed that if it was God’s will, I would be able to buy it, that it would still be there when I went to look at it and that I would be approved for the loan. I also said that I would use the truck to haul things in, like firewood, or whatever, trash to the dump. I mean everyone in Arkansas has a truck, but like I said, it’s easy to justify it to the Lord, but is it really justified in God’s mind? I was able to purchase the vehicle. I use it to go fishing and it’s better to drive down dirt roads, than my other vehicles. I make sure to thank God for allowing me to have it, every day.

But we must be careful when we pray to ask ourselves, are we praying for our own satisfaction, or are we praying worshipfully? Are we ready to hand over our children to the Lord for his service, like Hannah did, or are we praying for their health and safety so we can hold on to them longer?

Are we praying to be able to use our possessions to glorify God and for his will to be done, or are we simply asking for things to fulfil our selfish desires? I hope that is not the case with the purchase of the truck.

If we are not careful, our selfish desires could turn out to be things we idolize or covet and that would anger God. We’ve read many times in the Bible not to have false idols, whether it be worshipping false Gods or possibly other things we could idolize. We certainly want to put God first in everything we do.

Kobe Bryant recently passed away, I am sympathetic towards his family and friends, but we must be careful not to idolize entertainers, actors, athletes or anyone else. We now have the Corona virus wreaking havoc on the World, and it could be because we are not putting God first, we need to turn back to God. I especially feel bad for the lost people that do not know Jesus.

I’m guilty of this, my password should be based off Jesus. I should do a better job of putting Jesus first.

One question we can ask ourselves when we pray is: How is my prayer seeking God’s glory? Or is my prayer for my own selfish desires? We need to pray more like Hannan did.

Accept Jesus as your Savior

If you don’t know Jesus Christ and haven’t accepted Jesus into your life as your personal Savior, now would be a great time to, especially with the uncertain times we live in now.

Below is a site that tells you how to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior.

https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life

How to Accept Jesus Into Your Life – Steps

Trust Jesus Christ today!
Admit that you are a sinner and that you need God’s help.
Be willing to change your mind and turn from your sin (repent).
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead.
Through prayer, invite Jesus into your heart to become your personal Lord and Savior.

Here is a prayer you can say to invite Jesus into your life:

Please forgive me for my sins. I believe that you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.

I believe that you love me. I believe in my heart who you are. You are theSon of God. I confess with my mouth that I am a sinner. I accept you Lord Jesus as my savior. Please cleanse me from my sin and create a new and clean heart in me. I do believe that you are my savior and I now want to live for you as my Lord and my God. I know that I have eternal life in you because of the work you did on Calvary’s cross for me. Thank you, God. In Jesus Name. Amen.Here are the scriptures behind this prayer:

Prayer to Accept Jesus

This is not an all inclusive list, if you want more information, contact your local Church.

Inside Goosebumps

I was praying the other day, and I was talking to God, telling him that I was a sinner and thanking him for sending his only Son to die on the Cross for our sins. I thanked him for being a sinner saved by his grace. I told him that I had backslid for a while, that I had gotten away from going to Church that I only prayed when I wanted something, used to drink alcohol (I’m not saying drinking is a sin. I’m saying I told God that I quit drinking and it’s best for me not to drink) and was asking for his forgiveness, but I told him I was back that I was thankful for all his blessings and how I didn’t deserve them, but he continues to bless me anyway.

And I got the most peaceful feeling I have ever had. I felt goosebumps all over my body, but these goosebumps weren’t on the outside of my body, they were on the inside of my body and they traveled from my head to me toes real slowly. I was thanking God for his presence. I was feeling the Holy Spirit. It was amazing and I didn’t want it to end. It lasted for a few minutes. I believe God was telling me it’s alright, that I’m back now, going to Church, worshiping him, reading the Bible, shining my light, spreading the good news about him to others, and that everything is going to be alright, as long as I don’t take him for granted again and continue on his path he has set out for me.

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.

A Busy and Blessed Sunday

Sunday my wife got up and decided she wanted to go help with the 4^th Sunday morning Brotherhood breakfast that started at 730 am. Of-course, I wanted no part of that. That means I would be getting the kids ready, which she helped before she left, and I would finish getting the kids ready and ensure we are there at 830 am for breakfast.

We have an almost four year-old, December 18, and a six year-old. Anyway, I finished getting myself and the kids ready and show up to Church with the girls for brotherhood breakfast and Sunday morning devotion.

When we got there, there was pancakes being grilled outside on the grill, bacon, eggs, the works. It was very good.

I had worked on my Sunday school lesson the day prior and was proud of myself for studying the lesson and filling out the answers. I even blogged about it here on my website. Well, our Sunday school teacher couldn’t make it to Sunday school and his fill-in found out about taking his place the day before, since my wife knew I had studied the lesson, she made sure to tell “Pistol” that I had studied it, basically, volunteering me for the job. Pistol said he had heard that I did my homework and asked if I wanted to lead the Sunday school this morning, Sunday school is in two hours. But, who am I to say no to God (“Pistol” is not God, but we are in God’s house. Who am I to say no in God’s house?)

Plus I like to be challenged. I don’t really like being in front of people, but I like to try to overcome my fears and I accepted the chance to present the material.

Anyway, next up was a beautiful devotion from one of our beloved Church members that was another blessing to listen to her speak. It was a touching devotion about making sure we have our body armor on to fend off the devil while we are searching for a Pastor. She reminded us, her Son is in the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program and she went to pick him up from training and she noticed how everyone had a battle buddy, reminding each other not to forget their back pack, or luggage or whatever and they were genuinely concerned for each other and their well-being, just like our Church is checking on each other, praying for each other, praying for the Pul-pit Committee and for our Church in this time without a “Shepherd”, her words were inspiring and a blessing and we haven’t even had Sunday School yet.

It was an honor to go over the material with the Sunday school and I felt good that I was helping out any way I could in Church. There was a lot of class participation. It turned out to be a blessing to help out. I guess that’s what happens when you show up to Church early for breakfast.

For our Church service we had a visiting preacher come to share his sermon with us and it turned out to be a wonderful message, one that the Lord put on his heart and I am sure that we all needed to hear about Paul being “all in” when he went to deliver his sermon in Colossian. The preacher said Paul really had nothing to lose in Colossians. He surely wasn’t afraid to die, because he knew he would go to heaven to be with the Lord anyway. And he was asking if we are “all in” for Jesus? It was another beautiful message and another blessing and it’s not even 12:30 pm now.

Next, since it’s the fourth Sunday, we have youth night at Holly Springs Homestead scheduled and I am helping with security, making sure vehicles are parked in the parking lots.

There was a crowd of about 180 that showed up, there were games to play at the Homestead from Frisbee toss to corn hole and a corn maze for the youth to traverse. There was hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and even hobo soup. After, the kids were fed (eating again, we’re Baptists, what can I say, we like to eat), we sang songs and had a message for the youth. We even had one soul saved and planted seeds in many more. Again, another blessing. The day was filled with blessings. I was exhausted at the end of the day, but I slept great. Who am I to say to say no to helping the Church and serving God? Are you All In for Jesus?

The Importance of Knowledge in our Walk with Jesus

What does the word “walk” mean when referenced to our relationship with Jesus? In our Sunday school lesson we are studying Colossians 3:5-11. Colossians 5 “So put to death the sinful, earthy things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature, and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” (Holy Bible, Gift & Award Edition, New Living Translation, second Edition)

In my Sunday school lesson it says “Paul offers two very good reasons why the sins in 3:5 must be avoided. First, the wrath of God is coming for those who practice such things. God’s wrath is real against those who sin and the Bible is full of examples in both the Old and New Testaments. Specifically, Paul mentions that God’s wrath is coming upon the children of disobedience. This key phrase is mentioned two other times in Ephesians 2:2 and 5:6, related passages. Paul uses this phrase in Ephesians 5:6 after listing some of the same sins in that letter. The wrath of God is serious and often met with eternal consequences.” (Baptist Expositor, Learner 2019)

It goes on to say “The second reason Paul offers the Colossian believers as to why they should put these sins to death is because this is how they used to walk. The key word walk speaks of ones behavior and is a repeated word from 2:6. Paul used the word previously to speak of how the believers should now walk in Christ, but here in 3:7 he is referring to their behavior before Christ when they lived in these sins. There was a certain time in the past when these sins were part of their ongoing lifestyle. The point of emphasis is that these sins were part of their past, but should not be part of their present. Just like all believers who have committed their lives to the Lord, there are certain past behaviors that are no longer appropriate.” (Baptist Expositor, Learner 2019)

“Walk” in this Sunday school lesson refers to our behavior before and after accepting Jesus into our lives and one of the questions in the lesson is Colossian believers should put these sins to death is because this is how they used to walk. And the new man (after accepting Christ) is characterized by a renewal to knowledge.

The more we study our Bible and meditate on it, the more we learn what is expected of us as Christians. We’re to leave the sinful earthly nature behind and live a life pleasing to God in our renewed life.