Evangelism Linebacker

Video Test

I am trying to download a video from YouTube. I don't appear to be working. I am trying to load a video of Mike Huckabee's response to the evolution question. Check it out here if it doesn't work.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Moses and the Israelites

We are going through the book of Exodus in Sunday School. I will admit that when we ordered the material, I wasn't overly excited about it. But I am learning so much that I don't remember or just didn't realize from the childhood stories. Currently to date we are in the 16th chapter and God has just parted the Red Sea.

The miracles that these people witnessed first hand, find me really wondering why they questioned everything. How much more proof did they need, yet throughout the book we will see them drifting from God and complaining about everything.

My question this morning to you is....are we all that different? We have God's word, we have the faith, we believe that Jesus was raised 3 days later, but yet we still question God. We want everything the way we want it and when we don't get it we start complaining. Are we really that much different? It is real easy to sit back and say that they saw it first hand, but don't we see it as well. I know that God is daily parting Red Seas in my life and in yours as well. Just like the story in yesterdays post, God is still very much in control and if we look we can find evidence of His mercy everywhere.

Look in your life today for the evidence of how God provides and I am certain that you will realize just how blessed you are.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

God's Plans

As many of you know I listen to a lot of talk radio and I heard something yesterday that I want to share with you. I will be paraphrasing Dr. Tony Beam who is a professor at North Greenville University and has a talk show called The Christian World View on this radio station...click here, and you select listen online. He is on from 7am - 9am.

Anyway he was telling a story from when he was in Atlanta for a Promise Keepers conference. They parked outside Atl and took the Marta (subway) into the city. Before the event he went to a very crowded Chick-Fil-A and the young man who waited on him inquired where they were all going and he briefly got to share his testimony, but not wanting to tie the line up he moved on and wasn't able to finish telling the man all he wanted to. After the event they boarded the Marta only to find the bus they had rented was dead and it was going to take the bus company another 3 hours to get another one to them. With everybody having schedules and it being 10pm in Atl they were not too happy. Just sitting around and waiting they looked up as the last Marta train ran the young man from Chick-Fil-A stepped off the train. Dr Beam saw him and they immediately recognized each other and they got a chance to finish their conversation. And Dr. Beam led that young man to Christ right there.

That story touched me yesterday and again today. God is perfect and His plans second to none and he knew what He was doing when He put these two paths together, but there was a choice that Dr. Beam made to initiate the conversation that ended in salvation. I just pray that in every situation I will have the courage to share what the whole world needs, even in a crowded food line. Thank you Dr. Beam for this story and for who you are.

I hope you enjoyed that story and I am sure that it touched you as it did me. And I hope you will see the importance to plant seeds without fear wherever you go.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Still Here

I am still here.....just been a little slack. I have the best intentions to get back in the groove of daily blogging, but it seems more and more difficult. Anyway I will try and start it up again in the morning.

I trust all of you had a wonderful Turkey day and for those who ventured out Friday to do some shopping, hope you got some good deals.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Happy Turkey Day

To everyone that reads this I just want to wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING. And for the freaks who will be out at the butt crack of dawn on Friday morning shopping for that great deal............God help you!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Dark Meat

I love Thanksgiving for 2 reasons.....dark meat and the kick off to the Christmas season. Nothing says happy holidays quite like dark meat and I love Christmas music that will start, nonstop on the airways until (in some cases.....New Years Day).

Yes, it truly is my favorite time of the year and if I wasn't so busy around the house I would probably be a little giddy right now. I hope all of you can take time this week to be thankful. Just give thanks, be happy, and save the dark meat for me.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

You Have Got To Read This!

This morning I just have to share with you the post that pastor Eric Boggs published yesterday. Brandon Whitworth called me yesterday and said I just had to read it, and he was right. I know a lot of you may not have time to go to the links over to the left, so I wanted to share this. I am pretty sure Eric won't mind.

This is one of the best blogs I have read in a while. The title he chose is ".....Kiss My......" I hope you enjoy as it challenges you to wrap your brain around this scriptural parallation.

"After all that punishment I had dealt the beast that day, all I could think was, 'after this is over, I need to kiss my ass'." This may be what the story would have read like in the King James Version, had Balaam's recounting of the event to others, been recorded in Numbers 22. The Bible says that he smote the animal over and over in an effort to make her move in a direction that God was against. The story tells us that Balaam entered a conversation with the ass, saying "...if I only had a sword, I would have killed you." In reality, this man's beast saved his life - and what did the animal receive for it? You guessed it - a real ass beating! Now don't go and get your religious devil's riled up too quick because of the "play" on words. There's a powerful point here if you will see with your heart.(By the way, there are several great sermon titles afforded here if we allowed for the true vernacular of the KJV. Here are a few: "Hauling Ass", "The Talking Ass", "Stop Beating Your Ass", and my personal favorite, "Kicking Your Ass!".) This donkey was perceived to be an obstacle for Balaam and his own plans. Yet the stubbornness of the donkey prevented Balaam from walking into sure peril. The Angel of the Lord said, "if she would not have turned back, I would have slain you, and saved her life."

I wonder how many times in our own lives we have faced perceived obstacles, that in reality, is the providence of God at work in our lives. How many times have we stubbornly forced our way past resistance, only to find out that the grass, on the other side of the fence that we hurdled, was not that great after all? You see there are times that God is watching out for your best interest even when you're not really aware of it. Many of those times we even question God as to why He's saying "NO" - when obviously, to us anyway - "YES" would be so much better. That promotion, that new car, that girl or that guy was the thing that would have fit perfectly into our plans. "Lord,I need it my way, and right now! Those donkeys that are in my way and keeping me from getting to where I want to go, need to be shot!" Not so quick there young fella'. God may be keeping you from a mistake that could cost you the rest of your life!

This may help:
1)Perceived obstacles may be the exact opposite of your perception. These may be the stepping stones or the open door to your most beneficial opportunity.
2)Try to discover the source of your resistance. If it's God, I'd advise you to STOP!
3)Hold On! The thing you are 'hating on' right now, may be the thing you love the most later.
4)Look Again! There may be more to it than you see initially.

I hope the point is taken well. Believe it or not, I'm NOT encouraging the use of slang. I'm not trying to be a wise-guy or disrespectful in any way. But what I promise to do, as best I know how, is to be real with you on these blogs. I hope this is an attention-getter! There are so many life's lessons that we sometimes miss or overlook in the scripture. You may say I could have gotten the point across another way, but, one thing for sure, you won't ever forget this one! The blog where the Preacher said... "there may be times that I need to 'kiss my ass'."

Thank you Eric for who you are and what you are doing, and I pray that God will continue to bless you and your staff over at Beech Springs. You guys Rock!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Clear As Mud

What is going on in your world this morning? Mine is as clear as mud! Robert Beaver (our music minister) uses this phrase a lot in choir practice. I've have just got so much going on that it ain't funny.

The only constant I know is that Jesus is seated at the right hand of my God and in times like these that is all I can hold on to. If you think about it......That's all you need.

My day is better already! How about yours?

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Upward Evaluations

All I can say is that Sunday was awesome. Our SS department had a pretty rowdy goal of 325 for our high attendance day. Well we all out did ourselves and we had 347!!! Good Job everyone.

Last night Upward officially got kicked off and we are all very excited. I can't wait to see the cheerleaders this year. I think we have close to 300 kids who pre-registered, and this number in years past has almost doubled during evaluations. Thanks to all the volunteers, you guys are awesome. Greg Tysl and Matt Lusk have really put a lot into this year and we are all excited to see where God is leading as we faithfully follow.

Hope you all had a good weekend. Pray for us and Upward as we have 2 more nights of evaluations.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Monday-Wednesday-Friday

The title of today's blog; well actually tomorrows, reminds me of my high school days. We would always work out on Mon, Wed, & Fridays. It was a pretty good routine. I'm sure a lot of you remember those days. You would work out the entire body all 3 days and rest in between.

Later on in life I worked out 5 days a week. I got a lot better results than when in high school. I would work 2 body parts a day and I really got strong. I don't believe in those new fangled work outs. You know the ones I'm talking about: work out for 20 minutes a day and you will look like a underwear model. I ain't buying it.

This can easily be said of our christian lives. For those who work out their spirituality 7 days a week, well, they are stronger. I will admit that I am not there yet. All too often I let me and my hum-drum life get in the way. Are you as tired of that excuse as I am? I do want to read my bible everyday and learn something new, but it seems that life just gets in the way.

Our maturity in Christ is dependent on what we put in. What you put in is what you get out, and the reality for this blogger is that I need to work out harder. I need to turn off the TV and pick up the Bible, or just talk to the wife about what God is doing in our midst, and believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

For the Belton peeps who read this I need you to remember EP Dorn in your prayers she lost her mother rather suddenly on Thursday morning and also Brad Hughes lost his dad a few days ago. Please pray for these families. I hope you all have a great weekend and remember this Sunday is high attendance day for us at BFBC.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Will You Take The Son?

Good Morning all. I trust your week has gotten off to a great start. I received this email from one of my customers yesterday and I want to share it with you this morning. Hope you enjoy!

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. ! The father was notified and grieved deeply for his ! only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bull! et struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his! son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"
But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it ! was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."
"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll take the son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Have you taken the Son? Is your eternity secure this morning? All you have to do is except His love and believe. It is the best decision you could ever make!!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Just A Few Quick Thoughts

I know that I have been a little slack in my blogging and I don't really have a good excuse. I have just been lazy and a little busy.

Let me bring you up to speed since my last blog. The Block Party on Halloween was a huge success. I think we served 875 hot dogs, dispensed about a 40 acre field of pop-corn, and contributed to about 956 cavities due to the large amounts of cotton candy served. What an awesome night and to me this is what church should be all about. Brown Avenue is the place to be when it comes to trick or treating and we definitely have started something that will hopefully be an annual event on our front lawn. My very talented wife even made Michael Gilreaths jeep look good. Her vision never ceases to amaze me. Not sucking up at all, just stating the facts.

This coming Sunday is high attendance Sunday within our Sunday School and I am looking forward to see if we hit our goal. Invite everybody.

We are having our 2nd bathroom renovated and it is coming along very good. Please pray for me and Lori. It is amazing how a room 6'6" X 9' can cause such in depth discussions.

Hope you are all doing well and please keep in touch. I hope to do better this week with the blog. I'll do my best to meet you here tomorrow and do your best to check in on me. I appreciate each and everyone of you, whoever you all are. Thanks again for reading.

Have a Blessed Day!!!