CHILDREN ARE A GREAT TREASURE!

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

CHILDREN ARE A GREAT TREASURE!

Ps 127:3-4

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the  youth.

Prov 17:6

6 Children's children [grandchildren] are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

           There is a sadness in me today! A new school year is about to begin and the anticipation of it is in the breast of both children and parents for a variety of reasons. Why, then, am I sad?

           I see the children who are simply a biological product rather than what the Bible calls “an heritage.” We are killing them before they are born – and some of those are the lucky ones! Some parents have no idea how to rear children; to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Children today are abandoned, abused, and trained in the ways of carelessness by copying the lifestyle of careless parents. This is, of course, not a blanket indictment but I see enough of it to make me sad.

           I have found no studies, as yet, regarding poor parenting and the lifespan of the child – but I am suspicious! I fear we are killing them softly with tolerance. Discipline has all but been outlawed either by writ or the furrowed brow. Yet the Bible still endorses measured discipline of children because “foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.” (See Proverbs 22:15)

Heb 2:13

 I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Dear Lord, as this school-year begins, give our parents a clear understanding both of the great treasure they have in their children and the great responsibility that is theirs. Give our children understanding and obedient hearts. AMEN

A DESERT PLACE!

Monday, August 5, 2019

A DESERT PLACE!

Mark 6:31-32

31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

The Greek word for “desert” in verse 32 is eremos and the literal interpretation is lonesome. The desert place was not a place in the desert because they reached it by ship! No, the desert place was a place without people! It was a place without demands and duties although the duties remained and the demands cried out. They withdrew for renewal.

Much more than other summers, this year our church folk have yielded to their need for vacations. I miss them terribly when they are gone but I understand. Perhaps it is because our economy is currently strong, or perhaps it is because our world is so full of stress, but people sense the need to escape.

Renewal and restoration are not luxuries. They are essentials. Being alone and resting for a while is not selfish. It is Christlike. Taking your day off each week or rewarding yourself with a relaxing, refreshing vacation is not carnal. It's spiritual. There is absolutely nothing enviable or spiritual about a coronary or a nervous breakdown, nor is an ultra busy schedule necessarily the mark of a productive life.  Charles R. Swindoll (1934- )

Our “quiet time” is that desert place whether it is in the morning before others rise or at night after others have retired; it is a place where we get alone with the everlasting God. Every believer needs this time to reflect, to worship and acknowledge God and to be refreshed. What a tremendous resource we have in the everlasting God.

Dear Lord, many of us begin this day still weary from yesterday’s labor. Renew our strength. Some have worked until their physical strength was nearly gone. Renew their strength. Some have cared for others until their spirits are numb. Let them mount up with wings. Let them run and not be weary. We trust in Thee, everlasting God. AMEN

NOT ME BUT US!

Sunday, August 4, 2019

NOT ME BUT US!

Eph 4:11-16

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and  carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

           Today marks my 22^nd year as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. I’ve been thinking about this for a few days and I realize it is not a day to honor a man but a relationship. It is not about my persistence or steadfastness or even the church’s patience and endurance. It is about us! It is about how we pressed ahead through the good times – which have been many – and the bad times – which have been few.

            From that first, almost dark, evening when our tired U-haul backed into the driveway of the old parsonage and Brenda Waldrop climbed up into it to play “I’ll fly away” on Irene’s piano, until today, it has been quite a ride. We were so warmly welcomed!

           So many things had been put on hold until the New Pastor arrived that I had no need to plan anything. VBS needed to be planned and the construction of a new fellowship hall and Sunday school needed to be built. Everything runs together in a rush of memory – not just days but years. Births, baptisms, weddings, and funerals all add their thread to the fabric like a memorial quilt.

           I preach – and little else. My golf clubs are tucked away in the closet and I don’t think I have been fishing locally since Bill Phillips passed away. I have no interests or hobbies that do not include people.

           A church is not a building but an always changing collection of souls. Even when it is packed it is not full and when the crowd is sparse it is never empty. Every “joint” supplies some essential ingredient to the whole. Every person is important. There is no empty spot except the one we haven’t yet filled. We’re “sticky”! We are like Velcro on a sweater! We are family.

Eph 3:14-21

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Thank you, Lord, for my church family. AMEN