Hey, friends!
I recorded this short introduction. Would you be kind enough to watch and share it?
Thanks a bunch!
Tag Archives: Christianity
Would You Share My Introduction?
Filed under Christianity, ministry, Pakistan
How Time Passes!?
I know that what I am about to write, and you are possibly about to read is a tad disturbing and possibly a bummer. However, stick with me for a few minutes and try to follow my still developing thought.
On this day 32 years ago, my father passed away at work. He was 46 years old; I was 24. He died from a massive heart attack while working third-shift security.
This morning before Bible study began at church, several of the men and I were talking about our ages. One of the guys told me with a grin, “I can guarantee I am older than you.” He was wrong – I was two years older than him. I was older than all four sitting at that table… and I also thought they were older than me!
Age is a funny thing, for our actual age and how we feel are more often nowhere close to each other. I still feel in my 20’s, like time stood still when my dad died. I don’t feel 55. Yet, here I am, older than my father was when he died, even older than his father, my grandfather, when he died (age 53). My dad was 24 when his father died, so I wonder if that was the age he felt when he died.
It has now been longer since my father died than I lived up until that day. That feels weird. It also feels weird that I always think of my dad as older than me, no matter how old I get. Time stood still for him as well as it seems it did for me.
That leads me to think about heaven. What will it be like when we see those who have gone before us when we were young, yet now we are adults? The Bible does briefly address some of the question in the last half of 1 Corinthians 15. There, Paul talks about there being a difference in the body we shall receive compared to what we have now. Earthly attained age will evidently have little to no relevance.
Therefore, in conclusion of this thought, at least one thing will be true when we see our loved ones again in Heaven (if we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior): the saying that “time will be no more” will have as much to do with age as it does the clock.
Your thoughts?
Filed under General Observations, Life/Death, old age, maturity
I Need Help
Hey guys, I hope you are all well. I’ve not written for a while, but I’m OK.
But I do need your help. I’m trying my best to raise awareness and support for a ministry that is near to my heart, but I keep hitting brick walls. How do I get the word out? The only way to raise support is to get the word out to more people, but I’m at a loss on how.
I would appreciate any help or advice. God bless.
Filed under fundraising, Pakistan
I Should Be in Hell: My Pre-Salvation Testimony (on video)
I’m going to go ahead and tell you something upfront – this story has a twist.
If you have not already read the post I first published a few years ago, then this will REALLY be worth watching.
But even if you have read the post on which this video was based, I would still ask you watch it and share it. Thanks 🙂
Filed under Christianity, Faith, Witnessing
The Doctrine of Separation (Video Version)
What I did was take the text from the paper I wrote years ago, which I also turned into a post and a page on this blog and do a video version of it.
There were a few places that could have been and should have been updated, but I left things mostly as they were for simplicity’s sake.
Filed under baptist, Christian Unity
The Benefit of Darkness
Some people will insist that a Christian should never go through a dark time in his life. The idea is that “joy unspeakable” should empower a perpetual smile even in the middle of imminent doom.
What’s more, it’s the people in the Church who most often criticize the discouraged and depressed, treating them like whatever is bothering them could not be bad enough to challenge their faith, that is, if their faith was genuine.
It doesn’t help, either, when the rest of the world’s problems are weighed in the balance with ours. It’s like, “There are people being burned alive for their faith and you’re having a spiritual identity crisis?” It’s no different than saying, “If you think YOUR pain is bad, you should feel MINE.”
There’s songs and sermons galore about persevering through the storms of life and coming out stronger on the other side. There’s even much talk about joy in the midst of sorrow, about peace in the midst of spiritual attack. But what I don’t think I’ve ever heard is a recognition of the value or benefits of the “dark” times we may experience.
When I say I’m in “a dark place,” what does that mean? For different people it can mean different things, of course, but what do you typically think about? What do you associate with dark places?
I’ll tell you what I’ve seen in the dark places: anger, regret, sorrow, resentment, bitterness, resignation, self-doubt, self-hate, weariness, loneliness, helplessness, worthlessness, and a “deaf heaven” and “bootless cries” (to borrow from Shakespeare). It’s probably not necessary to tell you of the thoughts that accompany such darkness.
So how could there be any benefit to such darkness, such despair? How could there be any value to such moments? Well, I’ve wondered that, myself. Yet is our God not sovereign? If truly redeemed, am I ever out of His hand?
There exist rare and refined elements which offer solutions to problems yet to be discovered. In other words, there are things that, until they were discovered, we didn’t even know we had a need for them. Sometimes these things are discovered in the remains of previous failures.
I have come to believe that the strongest faith is produced in the dark, when all appears lost, when all efforts have failed, and when there’s nothing solid left on which to stand. Faith is then the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
The strongest faith can only be found, not in just weakness, but when there’s no strength at all.
When I’ve messed up so much and so many times that I’ve not even a single seed to plant in a dry field with no rain in sight, faith is the evidence of the crop to come.
The benefit of darkness is the failure of myself and the hope of Him who will not let me go.
Filed under Depression, Faith, self-worth, Struggles and Trials
Five Things I Expect from a Sermon
Not long ago my wife and I visited a particular church for the first time. I don’t want to tell you where it was or who did the preaching because what I’m about to write is not flattering. And should I tell you where we went, you might think what we experienced was the norm, when it might have not been.
Believe me, I know what it is like to be judged by one poorly delivered sermon. Heck, I’ve even been misjudged by an expertly delivered and totally biblical sermon! Therefore, I don’t want to disparage a pastor after hearing him only once.
However, what I expect from a preacher is rarely delivered these days. Honestly, it’s like every time a new preacher steps up to the pulpit, the voice of the Dread Pirate Roberts whispers in my ear, “Get used to disappointment.”
What I typically receive is a topical sermon based on a topical series that starts with a text and only comes back to it when mentioning the sermon title.
Sadly, what I have grown accustomed to are “how to” sermons loosely based on biblical principles but often drawn from Scripture verses taken out of context.
But what is it that I expect? Not much, just five simple things.
- WHAT I EXPECT… are sermons that exegete the Holy Word of God, even without artistic and often unnecessary alliterations.
- WHAT I EXPECT… is a preacher who will take the Bible, read it, explain it, then make application, not the other way around.
- WHAT I EXPECT… is to be wowed and amazed by the wonderous, Holy Spirit-inspired, inerrant Word of God, not the delivery of the one tasked to preach it.
- WHAT I EXPECT… is a sermon that treats passages from the Bible as revealed Scripture, not just supporting references.
- WHAT I EXPECT… is nothing more and nothing less than what we read of in the book of Nehemiah. There we read of when Ezra built a “pulpit” of wood (a raised place from which to be heard) and, along with a few others, opened up the long-forgotten Law of God and read it to an attentive, standing crowd.
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
Nehemiah 8:8 KJV
If the above verse isn’t clear enough, the CSB renders it, “They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.”
When you add application to the above formula, that’s when you get good preaching.
That’s what I expect.
Filed under General Observations, Preaching
A New Halloween Sermon (Just in time!)
Good evening, friends. I know you haven’t seen a lot of me as of late, but video has become more of my mode of communication.
I want to get back to writing more, however, for it is with writing that we develop our thoughts.
Yet, I do want to share with you the sermon that I recorded for YouTube. I hope it gives you some food for thought.
God bless!
Filed under Preaching
Leaving a Middle-Georgia Pastorate
When in ministry, full-time or not, there are moments when we must move from one field to another. Sometimes it’s planned and orderly, while other times we find ourselves making that move unexpectedly, or at least sooner than we planned. However, the one encouraging truth for those who love God and are called according to His purpose is that “all things work together for good.”
It’s a Romans 8:28 day every day!
Regardless, moving from one place to another is never easy, especially when you’ve grown to love the people and the place where you’ve been serving. That’s the current situation facing my wife and me.
The Ups and Downs
For the last three years (three years and six weeks, to be exact), we have been living and ministering in Warthen, GA at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The last three years have been anything but normal, but I do believe that’s been part of what has endeared us to the area. It was so nice to experience a genuinely small-town atmosphere, especially during COVID.
But don’t misunderstand me, there are downsides to living and ministering in a small community. For one, having to drive an hour and a half to go to the hospital or to a doctor for anything other than a sniffle got a little old. My wife and I would schedule our appointments and shopping on the same day so that we wouldn’t have to make multiple trips . . . three hours on the road for one appointment was insanity.
Another downside is the simple fact that everyone in a small community either knows everyone else or they’re related in some way. This makes talking with someone in secret nearly impossible. And for the love of all that’s civil, NEVER say anything bad about somebody unless you want everyone to know.
But everyone knowing everyone is also a sweet and wholesome thing, too! Sure, the slightest misspoken word can bring all hades down on one’s head, but everyone being in everyone else’s business can also prove beneficial when times are hard. The willingness to help each other out of a jam is not something you find as often in larger communities.
A Special Breed
However, when it comes to pastoring a small church in a small community, it takes a special breed of person to succeed. Evidently, I’m not that kind of person.
Small churches in small, rural communities more often desire a pastor who:
- assumes the role of fun uncle, wise grandfather, or ever-present brother-in-law who stops by unannounced to see what’s for dinner
- is always soft-spoken and deliberate with his words, never blunt
- charms the non-attending church members into returning
- says the most comforting things at all funerals (yes, even for the heathen)
- has a working understanding of all outdoor activities, including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, trucks, factory work, grilling, the military life, chainsaws, and deep-frying turkeys
- and rarely preaches Greek and Hebrew-free sermons that are longer than 25 minutes.
So, does that mean that I’m not called to the pastorate if I’m not like the gentle shepherd above? Heavens, no!
Granted, if I’m to be honest, being told more than once that I’m not the “best pastor” led to some depressing days. Honestly, it stung. I even found myself doing some self-re-evaluations.
The conclusion was that yes, I’m called; I’m just different.
My Calling
I sometimes think of the World War 2 generals like Eisenhower and Patton. If you know your history, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and General George S. Patton were both super patriotic military geniuses, but their personalities couldn’t have been more different. One was a calm, calculated, diplomatic leader whose gifts and abilities led him to be selected as the Allied Supreme Commander during WWII. The other was a complicated, often eccentric, warrior who loathed cowardice and felt destined for glory on the field of battle.
I might be more of a Patton than an Eisenhower, just without the cursing and all the reincarnation beliefs. However, if there was any general with which I would aspire to be compared to, it would be General Robert E. Lee, a man of utmost loyalty and conviction who led an army of men willing to follow him into the mouth of hell itself. He was both a warrior AND a gentleman.
But I’m not called to be a general.
My calling is to preach and teach the Word of God without apology or intimidation. More than an itinerate evangelist, my calling extends to laying doctrinal foundations on which can be built the solid and grounded faiths which can withstand the strongest storms of life. So, this kind of teaching and preaching requires time with a congregation and cannot be achieved through one or two series of sermons.
I’m a Stirrer
What’s more, when I first arrived at Bethlehem Baptist, it wasn’t long before one of our deacons gave me the nickname of “Spoon”. . . because I had the tendency to “stir things up.” It wasn’t that I tried to cause problems or move too quickly; it was just my personality. As much as I believe in tradition, “the way things have always been” can be the enemy of souls and the waster of precious, irreplicable time.
When things are left to sit and settle for too long, the ingredients separate and lose their combined effectiveness. Sometimes stirring or shaking things up involves nothing more than reawakening the inherent abilities already present. Remember what Paul told Timothy?
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
2 Timothy 1:6
And let’s not forget the words of Peter.
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance . . .
2 Peter 1:13; 3:1
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance . . .
Please don’t misunderstand me, I think it is important for every God-called pastor to show love and compassion to his flock by being there for them through the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows of life. However, there is a reason that in Acts chapter 6 the infant Church in Jerusalem was instructed to select the first official deacons. I like the way it reads in the following translation.
So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”
Acts 6:2-4 NLT
Note, the apostles had no problem “running a food program” in the beginning. It only became a problem when it began to take away from their primary responsibilities: prayer and teaching the Word.
How We’ll All Be Happy
Don’t expect me to show up to your home unannounced.
Don’t expect me to visit you in the hospital if I don’t know you’re there.
Don’t expect me to stalk you and show up uninvited to all your activities. Invite me and I will come!
I mean, seriously, do you REALLY want me showing up when you least expect it?
That’s a job for a deacon 😉
Therefore, give me a place where I can pray, study, teach and preach the inerrant, all-sufficient Word of God, or as the apostle Paul would say, “the whole gospel,” and I will have found my happy place.
And I think you’ll be happy with me, too.
Filed under Bethlehem Baptist Church, ministry, Preaching
My SECOND Watch Review: A Mission Opportunity
The Unknown
Folks, I don’t know if I will ever come close to even scratching the surface of the level of popularity others have gained over the last few years, but doing watch reviews for YouTube is fun!
I honestly don’t know how much of an impact I can make in such a crowded field, but it can’t hurt to throw my own 2 cents-worth of an opinion into the mix of decision making.
Will I become a star? I highly doubt it. Will I get monetized? Probably not. But will I have fun and make new friends as I talk watches and point people to the One who created time? Absolutely!
The Known
There’s a lot I don’t know, but I do know one thing: if I don’t do anything, I won’t make any kind of difference.
You see, I can point you all to multiple examples of where just being involved and vocal on Facebook and Instagram have led to Christian friendships and gospel conversations. I believe the same thing can be done on YouTube.
Most watch reviewers have separate channels dedicated for such. However, I’m going to do things a little differently. Instead of starting a whole new YouTube channel for my watch review videos, I’m going to include them on my personal YouTube channel – the one with all the Sunday morning sermons.
You see, if someone wants to receive notifications of my watch videos, they will also receive updates when I upload other videos, including live and recorded sermons. So, tell me, considering the popularity of watch review channels, some of which get hundreds of thousands of views, don’t you think it’s worth me sharing my thoughts about those ticking time pieces every once in a while?
I certainly do!
Filed under hobbies, watches, Witnessing
The Recovering Legalist 