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Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Saved!

As a pastor, I am cautious when a child comes forward to accept Christ as Savior and Lord.  My experience tells me that certainly a child can be truly saved.  I was 8 years old when I was saved.  I knew very little about God, Jesus, and salvation at that time.  I only knew that I was a sinner and that sin was a problem between God and me.  I knew that Jesus was God’s son and that he died on the cross for me.  There’s a lot I still don’t understand!

But I also know people who walked the aisle at a young age, were baptized, and thought they were saved.  Salvation is an act of the will to agree with God about your sinfulness and to accept his resolution for that problem: Jesus’ death on the cross.  Upon confessing Christ as your Savior and committing your life to him, you are saved.  It can only be accomplished by grace through faith.  Grace is where you don’t deserve what you get.  Mercy is where you don’t get what you deserve.  Many folks think grace and mercy are the same but there is a subtle yet significant difference!  I not only want mercy (not getting what I deserve – punishment and hell) but I also want grace (not deserving what I get – forgiveness and Heaven)!  Faith is believing that God is exactly who he says he is and that he will do exactly what he says he will do.  Salvation is by grace through faith.

What an awful thing to do to a child to allow him to run through the motions of walking the aisle and being baptized without ever having a true salvation experience!  Many adults think they are saved because they walked the aisle, repeated a prayer, and were baptized when a child.  They believe they have their ticket to Heaven punched and don’t really care about how they live or living for Christ.  That false sense of security that churches place on them can be an eternal disaster.

I don’t want that to happen to any child.  So when my son Riley started asking questions about salvation, being a Christian, being baptized, and taking the Lord’s Supper, I was cautious.  This has been going on for several months but I just didn’t think he understood the basics: what sin is, that he is a sinner, that Jesus died on the cross as punishment for his sins, that being a Christian is about more than baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Last night I sat on the edge of the bed with him as we said our bedtime prayers.  After I said mine he asked me what sin is.  He pronounced it with a “d” on the end of it (“send”) so I answered based on that.  He corrected me.  I wanted to see if he really understood; his correction let me know he had a good idea of what sin is.  We talked for a while and also talked with Deana (my wife, his mother).  We finally felt comfortable with him praying to receive Christ as Savior.

I think it’s real.  And I’m real happy.  There is nothing like helping your child be birthed into God’s family.  I’ve been privileged to be present when all my sons were born into my family and born into God’s family.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Cross Connection

Another great day of missions ministry!  God is so good to show himself to us as we serve him.  Today, we went to Hot Springs for Cross Connection.  This is an event sponsored by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention that provides the opportunity for youth to learn creative ways to do ministry (games, balloons, face painting, puppets…) and a ministry project to complete during the afternoon.

Our project was socializing and yard work at a nursing home in the Hot Springs area.  Our 5 youth trimmed a few shrubs, cleaned a window (inside and out), and called a few games of BINGO.  This nursing center is unique in that it is operated in an adapted house rather than the institutional set-up I’m accustomed to.  That made it easier for our youth.

The bands, the speaker, and the breakout session were fantastic.

It’s been two weeks jam packed with missions!  Don’t miss your opportunity to be involved.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

PBA Kidz on Mission

Take a look at pictures of Jerod & Bro. Bob working hard at Camp Paron.
http://www.pbacares.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=32222&PID=403877&Style=

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Friends and Family Day

What a great day!  Attendance for Bible Study and Worship was outstanding.  The Apostles were wonderful.  The food was plentiful and delicious.  And the preaching was __________.  (You can fill in the blank!)

Thank you for supporting and participating in special days like Friends and Family Day.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

New Orleans

The trip to New Orleans was fantastic.  We are planning another trip in October.  Start planning now to take part; you will be blessed.

Our team was able to complete hanging sheet rock in two houses, install plumbing fixtures in a house, start hanging sheet rock in one house, and build storage shelves for Arkansas Baptist Builders.  Every homeowner we met was full of joy and thankfulness.  We witnessed to them and feel confident that most if not all are Christians.

It was an unbelievable experience as God worked through us to restore hope to people who have experienced so much in the last 20 months.  Ask me for information about the next trip if you are interested in going.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

VBS Clinic

Anyone supporting VBS will benefit from the VBS Clinic provided by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.  The clinic in our area is Thursday, April 26, at First Southern Baptist Church in Bryant.  The church is located on Reynolds Road south of I40…just keep driving til you see it on the right.  It starts at 6:00pm.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Mission Trip

Our team will be leaving early Monday morning for New Orleans to help people repair their homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  Arkansas Baptists have been in New Orleans since the Hurricane hit in 2005.  We are still there.  The work has included clean-up, showers, meals, construction, VBS, block parties, and much more.  Since church facilities were damaged and church members were scattered, the work there is broad and includes ministries the local church would/should do…if the church was still there.

We will be working in the Gentilly area and staying at Gentilly Baptist Church.  This church once averaged near 300 in worship but now has a few dozen even though they are meeting together with Elysian Fields Baptist Church.  Both churches felt the impact of Katrina in both buildings and people.  The need is great.

Thank you for contributing to this mission trip in the many ways you have.  Please pray NOW that no circumstance will exist that will limit the team’s ability to go.  Pray NEXT WEEK for safe travel, witnessing opportunities, job safety, and few or no problems that would limit the team’s ability to carry out the task.

Pray, too, about a possible return trip later in the year.  The timeline has been extended through November 2007.  Some have expressed a desire to be part of the team but the timing has not worked out for them.  Perhaps we can put another trip together in the Fall.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Va Tech Shooting

While our understanding of the details regarding the murders on the campus of Virginia Tech is still coming together, what is clear is that a person has taken the lives of many innocent people. Media outlets are reporting the fatalities as high as 31 at this time with the possibility of the count going even higher. That makes this the deadliest school shooting in a history that includes Westside and Columbine.

Rather than try to explain what happened, let it be enough for now to know that families and communities are hurting and grieving. As Christians we should pray for God’s grace to be prevalent at this time in their lives because we have learned from our own experiences – similar or not – that his grace is the only consolation. While it is now too late to pray for the salvation of the deceased it is never too late to pray that this might open the hearts of others to experience salvation through Christ.

Recent events – Don Imus, NBA star vs referee, school shooting – are evidence that we live in a fallen world among fallen people. When people stop having the mindset that “it’s all about me” and realize that life is about a relationship with Jesus…then we may see a change. I believe this can happen but only when Christians submit themselves completely to the Holy Spirit so that he can move through us and use us to accomplish his purposes.

Over the next days or weeks you may have conversations with family members, friends, coworkers, and others regarding this rampage. Please take that opportunity to express your belief that a relationship with Jesus is the answer to a person’s problems.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Sufficient Grace

My sister and brother-in-law set out during Spring Break to travel Route 66.  They, along with their two daughters and a dog, left with very little on the agenda: no specific places to go and no hotel reservations.  The plan was to simply go and do until they had spent all but what was necessary to get home – in other words, until they were broke!

After five or six days on the road my youngest niece called her grandmother and said, “We’re headed home; we’re broke!”

Have you ever been broke?  Initially, we think of being broke as a financial situation.  I’ve been there.  Those were hard times when valuable lessons were learned.  Those were times when I was burdened with the weight of not being able to provide for my family like I wanted.  Those were times when I felt very inadequate.

“Broke” can also describe your relationships.  Maybe a high school sweetheart broke your heart or an adult relationship fell apart.  Times like these often spin a person into despair.  If it happened to you, did you feel hopeless?  This is often the case.

The loss of a job breaks our hearts.  The loss of a dear friend or loved one hurts.  An arrest or conviction or jail time (your own or a loved one’s) leaves you broken.  The doctor’s words bring so much pain yet have a numbing affect at the same time.

For me, I rarely experience one “breaking” thing at a time; it seems like they come in pairs or even in waves.

The apostle Paul might calls these things “a thorn in my flesh.”  This great man of God experienced it, too.  The burden is so heavy it seems unbearable.  When Paul pled with the Lord to remove the burden, Jesus simply replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

It is often said that grace is not getting what you deserve.  Let me clarify the point.  MERCY is not getting what you deserve.  GRACE is getting better than you deserve.

God’s grace is sufficient – enough – best – OK – just what I need.

Sufficient grace is this: when you think you’ve spent all you have and your are broke…you still have enough to get home.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Sunday Guests

Spring Cleaning

We finally found a way to keep our dog Sandy outside; she’s been spending the nights in the garage since mid-January.  Now that she’s not in the garage Deana has straightened up in there and I’ve moved all the left-overs from the remodeling to the burn pile.  We are close to being able to park in the garage!

Spring is the time for cleaning.  I have some “yard tools” that were just tossed under the house when we moved in that need attention.  My desk is always in need of Spring cleaning no matter what time of year it is!

How about your life?  Sometimes little things pile up in our lives.  We often just sweep them aside and the clutter grows almost with no notice.  Next thing you know, you’re a mess.

Just like neglecting your house cleaning can be a physical health issue, so neglecting your sins is a spiritual health issue.  Often, physical, emotional, psychological, financial, and relational issues accompany sin.  Don’t you think it’s time for a little Spring cleaning?

This is what God’s Word says about this: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

Cleaning out the garage is a lot of work but we always like it better after the work is done.  Cleaning up your spiritual house is a lot of work, too, but Jesus did the work for you.  All you have to do is confess your sins to him and he will forgive them.  You’ll like it better after you do that.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Study of "Ruth"

She wasn’t even a Jew!  Even worse, she was a Moabite: a descendent of Lot’s relationship with his older daughter.  The Moabites were hostile toward the Hebrew people during the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.  Ruth was one of them.

Yet God chose to have a book in the Bible tell her story and bear her name. Join me on Sunday nights for a study of a story of decision, compassion, commitment, and blessing.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

 

Another Great Sunday

God just keeps on being God!  And he always surprises me.  It’s not that I don’t think he can do great things, it’s just that he does it in new ways.  I always believe he CAN do great things; but I’m always surprised at HOW he does them!  Praise him!

The choir sang wonderfully as they presented the musical Jesus, the One and Only.

A teenager was baptized.

Another teenager accepted Christ as Savior and Lord.

Have you noticed the revival taking place among our youth group?  Let’s pray that God continue to be the difference in their lives.  Those of you who work with the youth are being excellent vessels in God’s hands.  He is using you in amazing ways.  That’s what discipleship is all about.

The atmosphere of service, fellowship, and worship are top notch.  You are…

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

From the Bookshelf...

A previous job involved travel throughout the US to our company's facilities and those of our clients. On one of the flights across country I read Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. I was fascinated by the story and it was short enough to read on a two-hour flight.

Without giving away the entire book, this is about a man who is skeptical toward religion until he accepts an invitation to have dinner with Jesus.

Gregory wrote a sequel entitled A Day with a Perfect Stranger that is also an easy worthwhile read.

The Perfect Stranger series will give you answers to tough questions people ask about God and Christianity. You may even learn something about other religions. I bought my copies at Wal-Mart. Other retailers and online outlets will have them, too.

Sunrise Service

Hey, Kids!

Easter Egg Hunt
For ages 2 yrs – 10 yrs
Saturday, April 7 2:00 pm

Jesus! The One and Only!

The choir has been preparing for the service this Sunday morning. The Easter musical "Jesus the One and Only" is the telling of a journey our Savior made to secure our salvation. Only Jesus loves us enough and is holy enough to do it. I'm glad he does and did!

Plan to participate in our morning worship at 11:00 on April 1. This will be a great opportunity to bring a family member or friend who otherwise may not be interested in church. Many will come for a special event. The musical is a gospel presentation so you can trust that the person you invite or bring will have the opportunity to come to Christ for salvation.

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

Good Things

We had such great services yesterday.  Many in our church family have shared with me how God is moving in their lives and directing them.  A mark of discipleship is that we hear God’s voice, listen to what he says, and obey his directives.  My goal in pastoral ministry is to help the church make and mold disciples.

 

The morning worship service ended with many filling our prayer altars and one coming to profess faith in Christ as her Savior and Lord.  These are GOOD THINGS!  To get to that point we had to have open ears and hearts, uplifting worship, and God’s Word binding us together and moving us toward him.

 

The service last night was an hour of singing and testimony.  Again, God moved us as we considered the simple concept of his love for us and the not-so-simple concept of the roll call in Heaven and the calming concept of having a friend in Jesus.  These, too, are GOOD THINGS!  God’s Word was just as much a part of this service as it was in the morning service…just through the medium of music.  “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”

 

What a blessing it is to be your pastor.

 

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life

A Burden That Won't Go Away

I have asked you about and you have faithfully responded in praying for the Tukulor people group living in The Gambia. They are unreached in that there is virtually no evangelical witness among them. The International Mission Board is working among their "cousins" in neighboring countries so I expect God will form a bridge from the existing work in to the Tukulor. That is my prayer and I thank you for praying with me about this.

When we first considered adopting an unreached people group I mentioned my previous contact with the former Soviet Union. I suspected the IMB might send us people groups in Russia because these people have been on my heart and mind for many years. That was not the case so I have focused my "ends of the earth" mission strategy on the Tukulor.

Have you ever had a burden that just won't go away? That's the way I feel about Russia. I'm not yet sure where this is leading, but I am praying for missionaries there who have Arkansas ties. Some of you may know Rusty and Lori Hart through missions studies. I became acquainted with their work a few years ago. Each time I think about missions in Russia I think about them.

Would you join me in praying for the work in Russia led by Rusty and Lori Hart? Here is their website; please browse to it and see what God may lay on your heart as a prayer concern. Then start praying.

www.ahart4russia.com

Thank you for being a caring, praying church that delights in...

Impacting Eternity at the Cross Road of Life