A Fugitive Spares his Rival

Do we really believe what we as Christians say we believe?

God is in control.
Love your enemies.
Pray for those in authority
Be a disciple who makes disciples.

There are times in our lives, just as in the life of King David that we have to demonstrate what we really believe? We either show a heart after God or selfish actions that please ourselves.

David had respect for leaders, such as King Saul and in 2 Samuel 24 spared Saul's life, even though Saul was pursuing David with the intention to kill him. David was even encouraged by his advisers to kill Saul because they thought it  the will of God.

Applications for us:

1. Just because something feels right and your friends say it is right does not make it right.
2. God never tells us to do something that violates the Bible.
3. Sanctify your conscience and listen to it.
4. Trust the Bible

Lessons from Jesus:

1. Jesus spared our lives.
2. Jesus took the initiative to first love us.
3. Jesus humbled himself.
4. Jesus did not fight back against his enemies.
5. Jesus refused to wield His power,

Me + God can do anything. Me - God can do nothing.

We see this principle clearly illustrated in the life of young David, the future king of Israel.

1. When David was anointed  as the future king of Israel, Samuel records, "The Spirit of God came upon David." The same Holy Spirit that enabled David to defeat Goliath lives within believers today.
2. David fought Goliath because Goliath was mocking God not out of arrogance but . There are many causes a believer can adopt, but we should always confront someone who is mocking God.
3. God said that David had a heart that sought God. When confronted with his sin, David always confessed and repented.
4. David was a unique man, shaped by God for his calling.  God also shapes us, and the Holy Spirit enables us to win the spiritual battles against Satan in our lives.
5. David was a youth when he was anointed as king. If we are willing, God can and does use us whether we are young or old, man or woman or any race. The Holy Spirit enables us to successfully accomplish God's plan for our lives.

Obedience over Sacrifice

Israel wanted a king. But their reason for desiring a king was not a good one:  they wanted to be like other nations. Their request to Samuel to anoint a king was a rejection of God, who was their king. Their rejection of God was not something new, their rebellion began right after Moses led the people from Egypt, about 300 years earlier. 1 Samuel 8:6-9.

We (believers who live in the 21st century) are no different from the people who lived 3000 years go. We look at the world around us and either want what the world has to offer, or we want to water down the gospel so that the world will want us. We forget that God called us (believers) to be holy, separate and His special people. 1 Peter 2:9.

As Saul aged, he became arrogant and confident in his own ability and power, and he disobeyed God. Saul forgot that God wants obedience more than sacrifice, 1 Samuel 15:22. Perhaps the saddest words in the Old Testament are found in 1 Samuel 13:13-14. God removed the kingship from Saul. 

How many times has God removed potential blessings from us because we disobeyed him?

Hungary Day 3

It is breakfast on day 3 in Hungary as I write this post.

We arrived during the afternoon on day 1, unpacked and went to bed. Tired but happy and ready for our Superheros Camp.

Yesterday we met the campers, preschoolers ages 4-6. Precious children, full of enthusiasm and eager to learn. Batman was the superhero, but the children learned that Jesus is our SUPERHERO. Teaching, crafts, English, recreation,  Bible study with teachers, visit to Tesco to buy gifts for the homes we begin visiting today and finally to bed about 11:00.

I met a young man about 16 years old and asked him my standard three questions. What are you going to be in 5 years? What do you want your tombstone to say? Where will you be in 150 years? He replied, to the third question, "In heaven, of course!" with no hesitation. That was encouraging.

Same schedule today with the addition of home visits. Cloudy with rain in the forecast.

God is good.

Missions Trip to Hungary

"This is the day the Lord has made.Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

After months of planning and prayers -  

    

     hundreds of texts and calls among team members, 

     multiple deliverers of supplies by Amazon, 

     dozen of trips to that specialty stores for a unique prop, 

     packing and repacking and

     final lesson preparations 

- the team from Bethlehem Baptist Church will begin the journey to Hungary in about 5 hours.

We don't know what God has planned nor exactly what the teachers and students in Hungary are expecting. We do know that we serve a great God who is our Father and has prepared each team member individually and the team collectively to be successful in accomplishing His mission. We will be working with a team from Hungary, some of the team we know some will become new friends. Because He is our spiritual daddy and loves us, He is as excited and happy as we are.

Hungary is six hours ahead of Raleigh. Each day next week will begin with quiet time about 6:00 am Hungary time and end with a devotional about 8:00 pm. In between we will have a camp for preschoolers on Monday thru Friday, activities with their teachers, a closing program on Saturday, visits with parents and family members during the afternoons and other interactions as God provides opportunities.

Pray that we will glorify God. 

Pray for protection from Satan.

Pray that the gospel will be shared simply through our words and our actions.

Pray that our families will be protected during our absence.

Thank God for those who have given.

Thank God for those who will be praying for us.

Pray that this trip will increase our love for God.

Pray that this trip will increase our love for our neighbors everywhere.

Pray that our love for fellow believers will increase.

We claim God's promises as we go:

• Ask and it will be given to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks. Matt 7:7.
  
• Whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do—that the Son may bring glory to the Father. And if you ask me anything in my name, I will grant it. John 14:13.
  
• You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And when you do ask he doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit—you only want to satisfy your own desires. James 4:3 

     

We are trusting God with the results.

We Have Seven Children

For the first time in my life I have become addicted to movies. Hallmark movies. Hard to admit this, but it is true.

As Mary and I watched a Hallmark movie the other evening, I realized for the first time that we have a seventh child. That child is about 41 years old.

For the past couple of years, I have explained to others that we have six children - three by birth and three by choice, three men and three women. Each of them is unique and beautiful and we love each of them unconditionally.

But, we have a seventh child.

We don't know if our seventh child is a man or a woman, but I think a woman – about 41 years old. We do know that she has our DNA, and she looks like us, and she is a member of our family.

We never saw our seventh child because she went to be with Jesus a month or so after conception. She was in heaven to welcome our parents several years ago. She welcomed her Aunt Margaret; and earlier, she welcomed her Uncle Keith.

And one day, she will welcome Mary and me and her six brothers and sisters and we all will have a good family reunion. She will say to us, “Let me show you around and introduce you to some people you need to meet.”

There is nothing in this world more valuable than a human life. The Bible tells us God made us in his image and likeness. This means that, regardless of race, gender, age, place of birth or socioeconomic status, every human life has intrinsic, unalienable value. From the womb, all the way to the tomb, life is precious. --Ronnie Floyd

Men's Breakfast at Bethlehem Baptist Church

Men come and join us for breakfast for this Saturday @ 7:30 am in the fellowship hall. Brent Sellers from I Am Outreach Ministries will be our guest speaker. He will be sharing and updating us on his ministry to men.

If you would like to support their ministry you may make a contribution on Saturday.

See you bright and early and bring a friend.

Bethlehem Baptist Church

8400 Poole Rd.

Knightdale

(919) 266-2486

Work is Good

Dear Mark, Christina, Melissa, Robbie, Keith and Tiffany -

In a previous letter, I briefly explained the concept of Marketplace ( home, work, church, community.) This letter continues the Marketplace theme with an emphasis on work. 

It's important that we seriously consider work and Marketplace because most of us spend more time at work than on any other responsibility in our Marketplace. I was amused at several comments I received shortly after retiring from NC State. I will paraphrase the comments as this, "Now that you are retired you don't have to work, and you can do anything you want to do, right?" Notice the implication that work is not fun and work is something you can eventually stop. 

Work is Good

I am amused by this question because I have always enjoyed work. Some would say that I'm a workaholic, and if so, that is a negative. I enjoyed my  work experience at Eastex/Temple Eastex/Temple Inland and was sad when that period of my life ended. in retrospect, being asked to resign and then retiring (from Temple Inland) five years later at the age of 50 was a good thing. After I left Temple and went to NC State I learned that there is more to life than making paper.  Work is good. 

Work is a Part of God's Plan 

I believe that Genesis is real and not just a story. God created Adam and Eve and gave them three things to do: populate the earth, work, and rest. Because these commands were given prior to man's sin, they have not been rescinded.  They still apply to us today. Work is good and is a necessary part of God's plan for mankind. Work is creativity, inventiveness, taking care of the earth, sustainability, making s living, providing goods and services for others.

Work is Hard

I also believe that work became much more difficult after Adam sinned. God placed a curse on creation after Adam sinned and told Adam that work would be difficult. I don 't know of too many jobs that are easy. In most parts of the world people have to work long hours and very hard to earn a living. Even in the U.S., many jobs require 9-10 hours per day.

Work should be a Great Place.

Work should be a great place. It  should be a place that provides contentment, satisfaction and encouragement from others. Sadly this is not always the case. Many companies take advantage of their employees both, hourly and salaried, and have expectations beyond which they're willing to pay. I believe that companies who take advantage of employees by expecting long hours without adequate pay are abusing their employees. With the coming labor shortage, companies that take advantage of employees will find themselves without good employees and will either change their management style or go out of business.

Faith and Work and MarketPlace

Much has recently been written about the workplace being the greatest mission field in the world. This makes sense when we consider our Marketplace as being the place God placed us to carry out His command to Go and make disciples. Work is often the component of our MarketPlace where we know the largest number of people and where we spend the most time. It is probably the place where people know us the best. Because I did not understand Marketplace until recently, and because I have a tendency to minimize relationships, I missed many opportunities to meet needs of people working around me and to share the gospel with them.