I will make this quick.
If you, or someone you know, would like a copy of my resume to have or to forward, please email me at PastorACBaker@yahoo.com. I would be more than happy to send you a copy.
You could also message me on Facebook.
As you may know, I am looking for a new place to serve, so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Anthony Baker (The Recovering Legalist)
Filed under Uncategorized
We plant and water seeds of hope, love, joy, and grace. We sow these seeds all over the world! Rarely will we see a harvest, but the Holy Spirit knows how to take that divinely inspired “click” and turn it into new life.
It will be interesting, and wonderful, to one day see what God was able to do with the crazy medium of Christian blogging. To HIM be the glory!
Photo credit: Katie Marie Baker
Filed under blogging, Christianity, Uncategorized
Do you ever catch yourself singing commercial jingles for no apparent reason? Well, when I am driving, bored, and a little (or a lot) sleepy, I tend to start singing songs I learned as a child. In particular, one song is tops on my repertoire…
The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song.
Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener / That is what I’d truly like to be ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener / Everyone would be in love with me.
First appearing in 1965, this song has become boiled, grilled, steamed, fried, and even micro-waved into our memories. But recently it struck me…what in the world am I saying? Am I so desperate for the attention of others that I would be willing to become an unhealthy food source?
There are many hurting people in the world who would wish for nothing more than someone to love them. They go to great lengths to be prettier, richer, more popular, or even more “available” – all to find love. But do you really think it’s a good idea to wish you were a hot dog?
What most people don’t know is that there was a second verse to the Oscar Mayer wiener song. In the 1965 commercial a truly intelligent boy quickly understood the true ramifications of the song’s wish and sang the following:
Oh, I’m glad I’m not an Oscar Mayer wiener / That is what I’d never want to be/ ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener / There would soon be nothing left of me.
Sing it, brother! You tell ’em! Why would anyone want to be a hot dog? Do you really want to be loved so badly that you would sacrifice your humanity and allow yourself to be eaten? It’s not worth it, people…believe me!
The lyrics to this song could be re-written to expose what people are really saying. “Oh I wish I was something else instead of human / A tube of meat is what I want to be / I’d gladly die alone in boiling water / If you would only say that you loved me.“
Look, there is no reason to want to become a hot dog (you might get eaten by one). Really, there is nothing to be gained by having your body boiled or grilled on an open flame; covered in chili, relish, mustard, and onions; then chewed repeatedly until you’re swallowed by someone who will forget you an hour later (unless the chili upsets them). Stay human. It’s better that way!
Ironically, someone did become something He was not in order to die for love. The big difference is that He was God and became Human, not a hot dog. And what’s more, He didn’t die to be loved – He died because He loved. His name is Jesus, and He died for you.
“For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16 KJV
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 NIV
You are VERY loved!
Filed under Food, General Observations, salvation, Uncategorized, Witnessing
Just a little something before you head to the polls to vote for President.
The attached video is not graphic, but should be terribly disturbing. It is not gross and disgusting, only sobering.
Please listen to the sound of BB’s in a tin can.
I agree with the author of this video – God help us!
NOTE: Keep in mind that when you knowingly vote for a person who personally endorses the killing of babies in the womb, especially when you do have an option to vote for someone who doesn’t, you have a part in continuing the holocaust.
Filed under Abortion, America, current events, Relationships and Family, Uncategorized, voting
As many of you already know, I am now actively seeking a new pastorate, should it be God’s will to open that door. Therefore, Wednesday night (the 2nd of November) I found myself preaching in a small church in the north part of our county. A preacher preaches, right?
So, on my way home, alone in my vehicle, I decided to turn on the radio. What do you think was the first thing I heard?
“Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop…”
Seriously???
Aren’t there any Thanksgiving songs? Can’t we just be thankful for a little while before we start getting all worked up and materialistic?
Can we please hold off on Santa stuff for a little longer? I mean, really, it’s barely time for Thanksgiving!
Filed under current events, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized
Originally published on ProverbialThought.com
“Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.”
Many young people never experience the comfort and security of a strong father who provides and a caring mother who doctors wounded knees. Therefore, I am thankful that God blessed me with a father and mother who loved me and took care of me. However, countless children are blessed with loving parents, but never realize it until it’s too late.
Every new generation of youth complains that parents are stuck in the past, uncool, and not with it. What makes it worse is that today’s culture promotes closing the ear to one’s father and despising one’s mother. Forget what’s own children’s cable networks, even Disney movies promote the individuality and independence of boys and girls over the wise instruction of parents. Heck, the plot lines in most Disney movies are centered around a broken family.
Culturally, parental advice is considered a joke, a hindrance, and is even treated with disdain. How sad for us all.
Why should we listen to our parents?
Parents aren’t perfect, that is for sure. As a parent with over 20 years of experience, I know for a fact that my advice can be flawed. So, what, then, makes my advice worth “hearkening” unto? Well…
When we don’t listen to our parents or respect their opinions it is like saying we know that there are mines in the field, but we’ll figure out where they are on our own. Sheer foolishness.
When it comes to our mothers,…
Why shouldn’t we despise them when they get old? Why shouldn’t we get tired of their health problems, their stories, their complaints, and their warnings? Well…
Only fools despise wisdom which can be gained without the pain of earning it.
Filed under Uncategorized
Brewed from the freshest Arabica beans, one black over ice, the other with cream.
Both are cold, FYI…and both are mine to drink as I drive.
A total of twenty-four ounces of java, and all it cost was a few cents and two dolla.
A little while ago I was feeling a bit tired, but it won’t be long until I’m wired.
I love my truck stop iced dual portion of caffeinated smiles to drink while in motion!
It’s just that kind of day.
Filed under Food, Uncategorized
I once saw a cat chase a chicken.
It chased it across a main road.
Through traffic they raced unhalted
Until they stumbled upon a dead toad.
Like half of a Sunday school song
It was flat and wide, not deep.
It hadn’t been dead for long,
And both of them started to weep.
“Oh cluck cluck cluck!” went the chicken.
“Meow so sad!” went the cat.
Then before their fruitless chase could continue,
A minivan flattened them flat.
The End
Filed under Humor, poetry, Uncategorized
I’ve only three minutes to write this poem,
I don’t even have time to delete
The words that don’t rhyme, because of the time.
Soon terror will approach upon feet.
Then sit behind me.
Here they come!!!
Filed under Uncategorized
Back in 2011 I wrote what has been my #1 most visited post every year. I’ve only re-posted it once, and that was in April of this year (2016). I would like to beat my total viewing stats for 2013, so why not post it again? Couldn’t hurt, right?
I would like to pose a question to my brothers and sisters who refuse to recognize any other translation: Was John R. Rice a heretic? If you don’t know of whom I am referring, let me give you a little background information.
Dr. John R. Rice
Dr. John R. Rice (d. 1980) was one of the most well-known fundamentalist writers and evangelists of the 20th century. He wrote more than 200 books and booklets which were published in many languages and sold all over the world. He condemned the compromise, liberalism, and apostasy being taught at major denominational colleges and seminaries, and fought for a return to holiness and the fundamentals of the Christian faith. But what I think he will always be remembered for is his founding of the weekly paper, the Sword of the Lord.
For the record, I highly respect Dr. Rice, and my personal library contains several of his works published back in the 1960’s. However, even though Dr. Rice was a great preacher and author, he was not flawless; he said some things back in the day that I have a hard time with. On the other hand, he also said some things that would shock the average reader of Sword of the Lord, especially those who believe the KJV is the one-and-only perfect, preserved text for the English-speaking world.
Unlike the Sword which continually decries any other translation as dangerous and confusing, Dr. Rice actually recommended the 1901 ASV. (OK, would somebody get a glass of water for the fainting KJV-only person on the floor?) Dr. John R. Rice, founder and editor of the Sword of the Lord newspaper, actually said that the…
“…American Standard Version, translated in 1901, is perhaps the most accurate of all versions… It takes advantage of the three great manuscripts – the Sinaiticus, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian manuscripts – which were not available when the King James Version was translated.” from, Dr. Rice, Here Is My Question (Wheaton: Sword of the Lord, 1962), p. 59.
As an overall explanation of his beliefs on the topic of multiple translations, Dr. Rice also stated:
“[There] are many, many translations. The differences in the translations are so minor, so insignificant, that we can be sure not a single doctrine, not a single statement of fact, not a single command or exhortation, has been missed in our translations. And where the Word of God is not perfectly translated in one instance, it is corrected in another translation. And if the Word of God is not perfectly portrayed in one translation, it is portrayed, surely, in the winnowed sum of them all… Have copyists passed on to us any major errors so that in any particular matter we miss the Word of God? There is abundant evidence that they have not. Do the various translations differ materially on any doctrine, any fact of history, any Christian duty, on the plan of salvation, or the Person of Christ, or any comfort or instruction? No, they do not! God has preserved His Scriptures. – from, Our God-Breathed Book, the Bible (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1969), p. 355.
Now, according to those who refuse to read or use any other translation of the Bible than the King James 1611, Dr. Rice, who had probably been one of their heroes, is now a liberal.
What a shame! He did so much!
I believe that God inspired His Word (2 Timothy 3:16). I believe He gave it to us in the original autographs. I believe that He has preserved copies of those originals in the examples we have of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts. What I do not believe is that the King James Version was the one-and-only, forever-settled-as-pure-and-inspired translation. It is ONLY a translation. To say that no other English translation is the Word of God is to say that the Geneva Bible, 51 years older than the KJV, was just a book.
The Kings James Version of the Bible changed the world. We should all be grateful for it. I still use it many times when preaching, and especially when memorizing verses. But even though the KJV was and is a blessing of God, His Word is preserved in the ORIGINAL TEXTS. Anything other than the original languages, including the King James, is a translation.
Our goal should be to use the best translations of the texts at our disposal when we are preaching and teaching, comparing them with each other and the originals, when possible, so that we can better understand how God’s Word should be understood in today’s language. After all, if you can’t understand it, doing you no good is the least of your worries – doing harm because of a faulty understanding based on a changed vocabulary is far worse. That is where the REAL heresy comes from.
But hey, it doesn’t matter which translation, if you are not reading it and studying it on your own, you might as well be reading Harry Potter and the Temple of Whatever.
READ your Bible. STUDY your Bible. Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you read and study. If you do, several wonderful things will happen: you won’t be ashamed in the end (2 Timothy 2:15); you will find light for your path (Psalm 119:105); and you will know how not to sin against God (Psalm 119:11). Even the ASV, ESV, HCSB, or the NIV will tell you that!
Wouldn’t you agree, Dr. Rice?
Filed under baptist, legalism, translations, Uncategorized
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