Still working. Still in need of prayer and care.

We’ve had a good week up in the country, Enola, Arkansas trying to do what Jesus did one day at a time, going about doing good.  There’s still so much work to be done in Vilonia, Mayflower, Saltillo, and around about the path of the tornado that touched our lives only a few days ago.  Much work has been done.  So many friends and neighbors have come together from all around the nation to help us get back to school, back to work, and back to life, at least as much as possible under the circumstances.  Thank you!  Don’t forget us.  We still have so many needs.  I know that our Father will provide.  He has.  He is.  He will.  Always.  Forever. 

Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day, Sunday, May 25, 2014.   We remember Jesus Christ every Sunday, His death, burial, and His resurrection.  We meet to honor Him and consider how we’ve lived our life.  At the Enola Church of Christ we follow the pattern we find in the New Testament.  We share in the Lord’s Supper, sing, pray, give, and hear a message from the Bible.  There is so much going on around us these days.  Riverfest is going on in Little Rock this weekend.  Our children are playing every sport imaginable and of course we want to see them and support them.  Memorial Day is Monday and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and the freedoms we enjoy.  Many of us will have the day off from school and work.  At school our teachers and students are trying to close out the school year.  Our graduates are enjoying a break before one of the biggest decisions of their lives; college or career or maybe both.  You can see how difficult it is to focus on what is most important.  Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.  “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (the things that we need in life) will be added to you.”

On Sunday’s we are studying “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces.”  Our Scripture text is 2 Peter 1:2-10.  We have looked at faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness.  Our next lesson will be about BROTHERLY KINDNESS.  I hope you are a kind person.  Sometime when the moment is right, ask your spouse, your children, your parents, or a friend, “Hey, am I a kind person?”  If you are, great.  If not, make some changes in your words, actions, choices, and your expressions.  Brotherly kindness is a foundation principle that we must add to our faith every day.  Sometimes I am kind.  Sometimes, I don’t know, when I’m stressed or not feeling my best or distracted or maybe not being attentive enough, I am not very kind.  I am sorry.  I will do better.  There is no excuse for being unkind.  Period.  A person can be angry and yet be kind.  A person can be disappointed and still be kind.  A person can be sick and still be kind.  We just need to decide to be kind and then do it.  I will.  I hope you will too.  Know this.  Sin keeps us from faith.  Sin keeps us from being virtuous.  Sin will keep us from seeking and valuing knowledge.  Sin will control us.  Sin will cause us to give up rather than persevere.  Sin stands in the way of godliness.  And sin will make us unkind to those we love the most, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I hope to see you tomorrow when the church of Christ meets at Enola.  If not, make sure you are where you need to be.

Has God been replaced? Not in my life!

Hello again from up in the country.  58 degrees was the high yesterday, breaking an almost 50 year old record.  Today the heating system is running and I’m wearing a jacket.  No worries though.  We’ll just keep rolling with the changes.  And boy, are we seeing changes in our state, changes that many of us thought would only take place somewhere else, maybe in another country far, far away from the “Bible belt.”  And yet, here we are, experiencing the effects of the desensitization of our consciences by the constant bombardment of a culture of people that is intent on bending and breaking any and every physical, emotional, relational, financial, and spiritual law that God has ordained since creation.  Maybe you think I’m exaggerating or that I’m overstating the current reality in America.  I don’t think I am.

When I lived in Florida, my daughter was in high school in the band.  One of the “privileges” of having a child in the band was the duty to help in the Band Parent Organization as a volunteer.  We all took our place wherever and whenever the band needed support.  I remember working in the concession stand one Friday night and meeting one of the members of the marketing team for Pepsi.  Every other year, I think, Pepsi and Coke would vie for the profitable business of serving their products to the school and the local high school community.  Coke had the privilege for the past six years.  Pepsi was now the incoming provider.  Everything and I mean everything on the school grounds that had the word “Coke” on it had to be removed and replaced with everything that had “Pepsi” on it from vending machines, ice machines, cups, napkins, signs, and symbols to every scoreboard on every athletic field and building.  These companies spent literally thousands if not millions of dollars on having the privilege of selling their products to the school system.  I asked the Pepsi representative I met that Friday night how his company could spend so much effort, time, and money to have that privilege.  His remarks were thought-provoking and somewhat frightening.  He said that if Pepsi could get their products into the hands of the children, preteens, and teenagers at school every day, every week, every year throughout their years of education, then what would you expect them to do after they move on into adulthood?  Answer:  Drink Pepsi, not Coke and eat Pepsi products, not any other brand’s products.  My eyes were opened.

What has been happening in America over the past, say 50 years?  Just like the above illustration, there has been a subtle, ever growing, now drastic change in our culture perpetuated by every mode of the media and embraced by many in positions of authority.  Entertainment has replaced the joy of learning.  Sports often dominate the arts.  Worldliness has replaced godliness.  Sin has replaced righteousness.  In the hearts and minds of too many, God has been replaced.  In my life the joy of learning remains.  I enjoy sports, but not as a replacement for the arts.  I do not love the world or the things it the world.  I love God and seek to follow His word, the Bible.  The world belongs to God and He sustains it and provides for it.  I am in it and enjoy it, but the world isn’t first in my life.  God is alive.  He sees.  He knows.  He hears our prayers.  I am praying now more than at any other time in my life.  I need God’s grace and guidance.  America needs it.  The world needs it. 

Turning a "nightmare" into a dream come true! God can!

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a good week, a much better week than last week.  Only a week ago last night did we all have a “nightmare” figuratively speaking reach down from the sky to wreak havoc on us up in the country and around about Vilonia, Mayflower, Saltillo, and in other parts of the area then make its way east and north as far as North Carolina.  I was speaking to my brother who lives along the gulf coast a few days ago and heard that the same storm brought 12 inches of rain to the Mobile area of Alabama.  My parents in rural northwest Alabama took cover in their storm shelter but thankfully did not get the terrible tornadoes we did in Arkansas.  Last Wednesday night the church of Christ met at Enola to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs honoring God with the fruit of our lips and pray for every family who was impacted by such terror.  I led “Farther Along.”  Farther along we’ll know all about it.  Farther along we’ll understand why.  Cheer up my brother.  Live in the sunshine.  We’ll understand it all by and by.  We sang, “In the dark of the midnight, I have oft hid my face while the storms roll around me and there’s no hiding place.  Mid the clash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry.  Keep me safe, til the storm passes by.”  There were many other hymns like these lead and sung by a group of Christians who were teary eyed, sore of heart, and soul tired.  May our Lord help us during these troublesome times with strength, perseverance, and His much needed provision.

Maybe you have been working alongside your family, friends, and neighbors over the past few days to help them make sense of what is left of their lives.  Thank you.  The work may seem endless and the progress slight but keep on keeping on.  Do you remember the old song, “One day at a time, dear Jesus,  that’s all I’m asking from you?”  Well, the longest journey begins with just one step one day, then another, then another, and eventually because we are committed to God, to one another, and to what is needed we will turn a nightmare into a dream come true.  We live and move and have our very being in God.  And to Him we turn now to provide.  If you are reading this blog, open your heart to God.  Know that He takes no delight in storms and destruction.  He weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice and He asks us to do the same.  Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 a promise that should stick with every one of us every day.  “Now we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  I do not always know His purpose, but I do know that He can and will work everything out for our good.  I trust Him to do so.  He always has in my life.

Remember what Jesus said about treasures.  Our family, friends, and neighbors are our treasures, not “stuff.”  We must not “lay up for ourselves treasures on earth” because as Jesus told us in the Bible, worldly things always erode, rust away, are sometimes stolen, and maybe eaten up.  As many of you know, I am the richest man in the world because of my treasures; my wife, children, and grandchildren are my precious treasures.  My faith, hope, love, and my salvation in Christ Jesus is my greatest treasure.  My Christian brothers and sisters here at Enola and all around the world are truly treasures to me.  Worldly things are necessary to my life here on earth.  I do not “treasure” worldly things. 

May God bless you and yours this week!

Every Sunday is Easter Sunday to a Christian

     We had a great Sunday yesterday, a great crowd and a wonderful time together smiling, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, praying, sharing, and looking into God’s word to see how wonderfully blessed we are.  To the world yesterday was “Easter Sunday.”  To every Christian, yesterday was just as special, no more and no less than every Sunday every week.  If you read your Bible you will find that the church of Christ in the first century celebrated the birth, life, death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, not just one day every year.  I love this fact.  The church that Jesus established and came into reality on the Day of Pentecost continued in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42) which meant that the church met together every Sunday (the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day) to remember Jesus in the Lord’s Supper or communion, eating unleavened bread representative of Jesus’ body and drinking fruit of the vine representative of Jesus’ saving blood.  The apostle Paul taught about this remembrance in 1 Corinthians 11.  A good example of the church meeting together “to break bread” can be found in Acts 20.  At the Enola Church of Christ we follow the pattern so clearly and simply found in the New Testament.  I’m very happy about that.

     This Sunday we will continue in our series “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces.”  So far we have added virtue and knowledge to our faith in Christ Jesus.  This week we will look at adding self-control.  Paul told the church of Christ at Corinth to live life on purpose rather than wandering around without direction or discipline.  He told them that he lived his life like an athlete who ran the race to certainly to win.  He said that living the Christian life should be like a boxer or fighter who fights with certainty, not one that simply punches the air hoping to hit something.  He said that every Christian should live life with self-control so as to not be disqualified when Christ comes to judge every person (2 Corinthians 5:10).  I have not always lived a temperate life.  I am doing a little bit better every day.  I hope you will add this Christian grace to your life.

     I took at trip to West Tennessee last week to speak at the 35^th Annual Phillips Street Church of Christ Lectures.  This was my first trip to that part of the country and found Dyersburg, Tennessee to be one of the most beautiful towns in America.  The dogwood trees were in full bloom along with the azaleas and other trees and foliage.  My wife and her family lived in Dyersburg in 1969 when her dad, the late Mitchell Palmer preached for the congregation at Phillips Street.  We saw so many of her parents’ friends from so long ago.  We felt as though those 45 years were just a few days.  What a privilege it is to be a Christian, a part of God’s family, a member of the church of Christ.  We have brothers and sisters all around the world who love us and whom we love.   It was truly a great honor to participate in the lectureship.  The theme was “Becoming More like Jesus.”  My topic was “What Jesus Taught Us About Leadership.”   Cindi, my wife was honored to participate in the ladies’ program on Saturday.  She spoke to a large ladies only crowd on the subject of “The Pathway to Peace.”  I heard that the program was a tremendous success. 

     Before I close let me say CONGRATULATIONS to MACKENZIE LOYD.  MacKenzie is our newest Christian sister at Enola.  She was baptized into Christ last Monday, April 14^th with her parents and other family members present to celebrate her decision to follow Jesus.  The gospel is still God’s power to salvation to everyone who believes.  Maybe you have been thinking of making a change in the direction of your life.  Jesus’ command is simple:  Follow Me.  His invitation is also simple:  Come to Me.  I so wish you would.  I can help you.  May God bless you and yours is my prayer for you.

Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my Friend? Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide til the end?

     We’re having a great week in beautiful Central Arkansas with blue skies, a gentle spring breeze, and plenty of ideas for what we want to do now that we can get out of our winter blues.  God is blesses us.

     I’m sorry to say that one of our dear faithful sisters in Christ Edna Jean Smith is now resting in Paradise after a long difficult illness.  We’ll be celebrating her life tomorrow (Friday, April 11^th) at the Enola Church of Christ visiting with family and friends at 1:00 p.m. and then holding funeral services at 12:00.  I’ll miss her smile, her quick sense of humor, and her way of making others feel most important.  As long as she was physically able, she was in her place when the church met.  I’m so very proud of her example of faith, hope, and love.   May she rest in peace until the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is my prayer.

     Our Sunday morning sermon series “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces” will continue this coming Lord’s Day as we consider added to our faith KNOWLEDGE.  Jesus said that eternal life was this:  knowing the true and living God and Jesus whom He sent.  Peter said that there was no one else to go to but Jesus because he had the words of eternal life.  Peter had come to believe and KNOW that Jesus was exactly who He said He was.  Paul said that he counted all things loss that he might gain the knowledge of Christ.  What about you?  Do you know my Jesus?  Do you know my friend?  Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide til the end?  Sound familiar?  We sing that song quite often at Enola and probably elsewhere too.  Well, do you?  Do you know Him?  I hope so.  If not, let me tell you about the One who came to seek and save the lost, the One who gave Himself for you and for me, the One who lived His life for others, the One who died for the world and lives again to give life to everyone who trusts and obeys.  What does He ask?  Trust Him.  Repent of any sin.  This means to understand that sin separates us from God.  Repentance means turning away from sin.  Confess Jesus.  He is the Son of God.  Be baptized by His authority so that your sins will be washed away, forgiven and forgotten forever.  Then continue in the Light of His word.  Every time the church of Christ at Enola meets, right before I close out the lesson, I ask those present to consider their lives and accept Jesus’ invitation to “Come…”  You can read about His invitation in Matthew 11:28-30.  I do pray that if you haven’t accepted His invitation, that you will asap. 

     This Sunday evening at 5:00 we’ll take a look at Jesus’ life, specifically one occasion (John 8) and see how He was able to remain so calm, so cool, and so collected under tremendous pressure to be otherwise.  Are you under any pressure or stress at home, at work, at school, with your family, or in the world?  Just remember these three words:  Identification, Dedication, and Organization.  Know who you are.  Jesus did.  Know who to please.  Jesus did.  Know what you’re doing.  Jesus did.  Do you?  If not, maybe one or two or all three of these points could be the problem.

     May God bless you and keep  you in His care is my prayer for you and yours.  Pray for me and for every gospel preacher who tries to keep the light of the gospel shining bright in a world of darkness.  Thank you.