"Preach the Word,

Matthew 20:29-34 is the story of the Lord Jesus healing two blind men. These blind men were daily asking the wrong people for the wrong thing. They did not need money-they needed sight. As Jesus passed by, the men cried out, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son on David (20:31)."  Jesus answers them by saying, "What will ye that I shall do unto you (20:32)."

Let me ask you a question: Didn't the blind men already tell the Lord what they wanted? They asked for mercy. Is that a bad thing? No. Is it specific? No. To ask for mercy is kind of ambiguous. Everybody needs mercy. Jesus wanted to know what kind of mercy.

Prayer does not just change you; prayer changes things. Often we can miss the point by emphasizing the secondary matters of prayer. Praying longer, more fervently, on your knees, before the sun rises, etc., may be valid points, but if you are not asking God--if you have no sense of need--your praying is a sham. If you live with a sense of need, all of those things-time, fervency, posture-will take care of themselves.

• Do you think the Lord knows what you need?
• Do you think others may even know what you need?
• The question is, will you?

Have you ever found out that you were not alone when you thought you were? More times than I care to admit this has happended to me. A couple of times recently, I thought I was alone, but quickly found out that I was not! One morning, as I was walking through the auditorium to the office muttering to myself lost in thought, when suddenly, I heard a noise and looked up to see one of our men working in the church staring down at me from off a ladder. Boy, was I embarrassed and caught talking to myself (again)!

Genesis 32:1-2 "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim."
In Genesis 32:1, Jacob thought he was alone because he always had been. The name "Jacob" means supplanter (or trickster), so even the things God had promised to him-like the birthright-Jacob was used to scheming and conniving to get. The truth is that God is able to do even more than we can do by scheming and conniving. If Jacob would have let God take care of providing what He had already promised he would not be in this situation getting ready for a "showdown" with a long upset brother and what has been a ruined relationship with his brother. But now, Jacob is between a rock and a hard place. He could not scheme and had to be honest enough to realize that he was not alone. He meets God's messengers-a host of angels-and calls the name of that place Mahanaim.

There is an expression in America that inspires excitement and raises hope. When a situation seems hopeless and the cry is heard, the downtrodden senses his rescue on the horizon. “The Cavalry is coming!” The victim feels he can survive long enough for the men of blue riding on horses to arrive.




Let’s Ride.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6).

Have you noticed that God finishes what He starts? He didn’t stop creating the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them until He was finished. Jesus did not give up the Ghost until “it was finished”. God's Word says He won't stop until He ushers in the millennial reign followed by the new heaven, new earth, and the new Jerusalem.

God is not finished with us either. He is shaping us for eternity in heaven. We may be tempted to think that the good work begun in us was our idea (wrong!). We may be tempted to think that the good work we are doing in His Name will not be completed (wrong again!). God has ordained our times and seasons.

It can be tempting to give up the good fight when we have so much going against us. We may find that our zeal for evangelism fizzles because we are overwhelmed with the resistance of Satan. Resolve to keep your eyes on Jesus. Press on to finish the race, forgetting what lies behind.

Be a finisher.

Satan is tirelessly working against God by seeking to destroy His children. That threat is common to every Christian. The Enemy’s persecution appears in varying forms, even deceiving the elect.

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Col 2:8).”

These last days call for discernment and wisdom. Something that appears good can be nothing more than a facade concealing the evil lurking behind it. Be warned. Satan’s attack is increasing while he is cleverly disguising his deceptive tactics. His tactics now on the socio-political front on found in every-day, common language...wording such as "Hate Crimes" or "Fundamentalist" or "Freedom of Choice" are all simple things with deadly meanings and consequences. Just as God can speak through people, Satan also can use people to voice his lies. Be careful what you believe, Christian.

“Extremism” is the present-day code word used to label people as an enemy whether of the State or the religious norm. I believe that God would refer to the world's tag of "extreme Christians" as those who are merely faithful and obedient. Are you increasing in your obedience to the One who sits on the throne? “Intolerance” and “hate” are other words Satan uses to cause Christians to compromise, without them realizing it.

The Truth is the utmost picture of love and liberty...but the devil (being the father of lies) will blur the lines of truth, tolerance, and love in our socio-political world to corrupt the message of Truth and to discredit the proclaimers of Truth. Never, never, never compromise the Truth. Jesus said he is "the way, the truth, and the life..." (John 14)

In vain our fancy strive to paint
The moment after death,
The glories that surround the saints,
When yielding up their breath.


One gentle sigh their fetters breaks;
We scarce can say, “They’re gone!”
Before the departed Christian takes
His mansion near the throne.


Sorrow strives, but all its efforts fail
To trace him in his heavenly flight!
No eye can pierce within the veil
Which hides that city of light.


Thus much (and this is all) we know,
They are completely blest;
Are done with worry, sin, and woe,
And with their Saviour rest.


On streets of gold they praise His name,
His face they always view;
Then let us foll’wers be of them,
That we may praise Him too.


Their faith and patience, love and zeal
Should make their mem’ry dear;
And, Lord, do Thou the pray’rs fulfill
They offer for us remaining here.


While they have gain’d, we losers are,
We miss them day by day;
But thou canst ever’y heart repair,
And wipe our tears away.


We pray, as in Elisha’s case,
When great Elijah went,
May double portions of thy grace
To us who are left, be sent.




Adapted by M. Coon, March 2009

Oftimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.
But when the storms beat loudest, and I cry
Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,
And whispers to my soul, "Lo, it is I."
Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,
"Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day;
In every path of thine, I lead the way."
As I transposed names from my monthly list to my prayer journal. I couldn't help but notice that this month how many of my family and friends had a trying month to begin this year.

Please lift up my brother's mother-in-law, Keta, who lost her husband this month and the rest of the family.

Please lift up the names of my lifelong friends, Dorothy and her children and grandchild they lost their husband/dad/grandpa, Mike, this month.

Please lift up my dear sweet friends Rande & Mishel, and their children and grandchildren who are going through a devastating trail in their life right now.

Please pray for Jamie's family as he was just laid-off.

Pastor Mark J. Smith, Director of Bible Tracts, Inc wrote:

There is a scandal attached to the cross. Many of those urging sinners to be saved are calling them to religious activities and emotional choruses, but not to the cross. To preach the Biblical cross would cause sinners to see thier real condition before God, who is holy.

"Cursed" is the word the Bible uses. You see, only the vilest people were scandalized by experiencing cross death. Many who like the forgiveness of the cross refuse to come any closer when they see what owning the cross says about them personally. It makes them stumble.

Without the scandal of the cross...
- our baptisms become mere rituals,
- communion becomes an add-on to already full services,
- the true ugliness and deception of our sins are not seen,
- the power of sin that makes men enemies of God is not grasped,
- the beauty of God's love and grace is not adequately displayed,
- the power to transform our lives is lost, and
- the greatness of God's power to overcome the egos of organizational church structures or the fetters of religious tradition will not be seen.

Thank God for the shame and suffering of Jesus on the cross that I claimed as a 9 year old boy for a covering for my sin debt...for my salvation.

October is Clergy Appreciation Month which is dedicated to uplifting and encouraging our nation's spiritual leaders (the pastor) in the church.

I have often revolted against that word, CLERGY, because it includes those that I would not refer to as pastors. But since religious organizations often have different names for their spiritual leaders I guess Clergy is meant to be the universal umbrella that covers them no matter the religious sect. Of course, I'm always quick to claim it when its on the sign for good parking spots at the hospital or a discount at a local establishment (I'm mostly kidding!). I do want to boldly say something and understand I don't want to seem to be self-serving but

Church members you absolutely need to love your pastor and his family...and you need to show it! If you can't love them then you need to ask God to work more in your life or you need to leave that church.

All of the members of my church are supportive and loving towards my family and I. They regularly show it, but there is one man in particular who blesses me more than gifts, or taking us out to eat, or whatever. This man is such an encouragement, such a blessing to me because he often tells me that he loves me. Not for any personal gain or because I have done something for him, but because he simply loves me and I know and see it from him. Understand that outside of my family, no man has ever said this to me and that overwhelms me (in a good way!) and is such a blessing!! This man is over 20 years older than me and I should be the one to encourage him but it seems the Lord brings this man to tell me that he loves me at just the times that I need uplifting and encouragement.

Church member understand that pastors and their families face incredible pressures. They often feel overwhelmed by unrealistic expectations and demands and frequently battle burnout. So, while prayer support is important throughout the year, Clergy Appreciation Month is dedicated to uplifting and encouraging pastors. So for the next couple of weeks, I want to encourage you to love your pastor and to tell him and show it. I guarantee that if the church members do this and show it not necessarily with gifts but with a sincere heart...it will make a world of difference in your church and to your pastor and his family!

I can imagine Noah in the ark. Blackness fills the sky. It is dark everywhere. Lightning breaks out from the pavilion of the storm cloud. Thunderbolts burst in judgment over the heads of godless men.

The rain falls. The storm rages. The earth is covered with water. The darkness deepens. There is no safety in the homes. Houses are being destroyed. There is wreck and ruin everywhere.

Yonder is a man on a hilltop. God kindles for him a lightning fire. Look! He sees Noah's ark floating down the valley in safety. Hear him cry, "Noah, come this way. Rescue me!"

The lightning writes across the sky, "Too late!" The thunder echoes back, "Too late!" The wind sighs, "Too late!" The rushing waters take up the chorus, "Too late! Too late!" A wave from the sea of God's wrath sweeps over the lost and despairing man with a final shout, "Too late!"

Don't delay your salvation until it is TOO LATE. Trust Christ today!

I watched this video posting over on my wife's blog and I unashamedly cried and laughed and cried some more. Man, if that can't touch your heart...you are too calloused and have been hurt too much. I can imagine that God sees things like this everyday and much more...so much that He sent His Son to die for us so that He could redeem us to Himself and eternity in Heaven. God must laugh and cheer for the amazing strength displayed in spite of the overwhelming obstacles. Yet He must cry thinking of the wasted lives that constantly reject His love.

Oh, I desire but a heart that is not just tender enough to be touched by this sweet and encouraging story but a heart that is filled with love towards God enough to consistently tell others of Him and His love!!

God bless you, my friends, and I pray that you all remain faithful for Him!! A verbal testimony is the best way to win someone to Christ, but witnessing for Christ through Godly living and boldness in the passing out of Gospel tracts, is effective and the least that we all should do!

Dear Heavenly Father,

In spite of everything, I thank You for calling me to this work, and I praise Your name for success amid failure, conversions among the hardened, and a few kind words from my friends to offset the gossip of my critics. Save me from obsessing over my foes or from thinking I'm a martyr because of low approval ratings. Don't just keep me faithful; make me joyful. Relieve my anxieties, increase my confidence, and use me despite myself. Keep me from leaving this work a minute too early, or from staying a day too long. In all I do, help me work heartily as unto You, offering the work of my hands and heart as a sweet savour humbly rendered. Anoint me with Your blessings, though delayed or unseen, for You have promised that my labor in You is not in vain, and I am taking You at Your Word.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

A Dad is a person
who is loving and kind,
And often he knows
what you have on your mind.
He's someone who listens,
suggests, and defends.
A dad can be one
of your very best friends!
He's proud of your triumphs,
but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient
and helpful and strong
In all that you do,
a dad's love plays a part.
There's always a place for him
deep in your heart.
And each year that passes,
you're even more glad,
More grateful and proud
just to call him your dad!
Thank you, Dad...
for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!

I Love You Dad!

"Life is like a combination lock; your job is to find the right numbers, in the right order, so you can have anything you want." - Brian Tracy (Renown Businessman, Influential Speaker, and Knowledgeable Author)

Well, this is totally false...and definitely true.

It is totally false in the fact that this highlights humanism, man's control of his own destiny. The idea that man can just keep trying for the right 'combination' of things to achieve success and obtain lasting happiness is preposterous; because without God mankind can never truly know happiness.

Now on the other hand, it is definitely true in the fact that only through the right combination of things can one obtain true success and happiness.

Joshua 1:7-9 tells us, "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

We can know success and happiness when we combine the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (which only comes by salvation), obedience to the commands of Christ, and an attitude that strives to please and honor God!

See so Mr. Tracy is right...and wrong! But what about you? Are you combining the things of God to be happy? Or are you trying to combine the stuff of this world to be happy? My friend, please leave a comment requesting more info or email me at the link above and I would love to share more with you!

and when to separate? That is a question that I asked myself as I sat in the huge meeting hall attending the "Mayor's Prayer Breakfast" for the city of Orangeburg on Thursday...which also happened to be the National Day of Prayer. I intially thought what a great opportunity to go see the relationship between the city officials and the area clergy.

[author's note: what an interesting word...clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from Greek κλήρος - kleros (a lot, that which is assigned by lot (allotment) or metaphorically, heritage).]

While I know my intentions were pure and more curious than self-serving, I realized quickly that by simply being in the same room our presence together lent an element of fellowship and that I condoned the whole group whether I agreed with them doctrinally or not.

Nearly every reverend...

[athur's note: Reverend another grand word. The term the Reverend or just Reverend is used as an honorary prefix to the names of many Christian clergy and ministers. The prefix is correctly called a style rather than a title or form of address. It is sometimes also used by leaders in non-Christian religions such as Buddhism. Anways let me continue...

that prayed (1-Southern Methodist, 1-Catholic, 1-Female, 1-Southern Baptist, 1-Presbyterian, 1-Church of God, 4 of other various flavors not readily identifiable) took it upon themselves to pray for and focus on unity; in fact, one prayed that he was thankful that our differences were not as big as our commonalties. Huh? As I sat there wondering why I thought this was a good idea...you know you've done stuff like that too! I couldn't help but think of some of our differences...Jesus as the Son of God; Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life; salvation by grace not by works; baptism by submersion; confession of sins through Jesus the only mediator between God and man; and more. I realized that they all talk about unity so that the idea of unity is the only thing that unifies them together. It is common understanding that not every religion sees God the same way...often overlooked is that not every so-called Christian religion sees God the same way... not counting the Moslems, Buddist, or other such religions.

Further complicating my discomfort and strengthening the urge for escape, was as the guest speaker (an area college president) spoke for nearly 30 minutes hardly mentioning God, occassionally mentioning church, and improperly using the idea of prayer to fix all the socio-injustices of the world...I realized that we should be quicker to separate and quicker to be intolerant towards the false teachers who are wolves in sheeps' clothing and slower to accept the world religions' idea of unity.

Remember my friends what Jesus said to his disciples in John 18,

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

So learn a lesson from my good intentions and my desire to "get along" and instead of wondering when to unite...you would do better trying to figure out when to take flight....................................you know run away and fast!

to have in our lives! Often we don't because all of our bad habits distract us from having a consistent prayer life to make praying a habit. Maybe you're like me in that I would pray and shortly after closing my eyes I would be distracted by things in my busy schedule and life. Or maybe you desired to pray for another person but often failed to truly pray for them as you had committed because you forgot. Now none of this was from lack of caring but more from lack of focusing while praying and not developing any kind of consistency.
I was re-introduced to the concept of focusing prayer. No, this is not some meditation or deep spiritual theology, but simply a prayer journal. I have introduced this concept to the church here and in fact we are going through a series on prayer during our Wednesday evening Bible Study entitled "Defining & Refining Prayer." Last night, I passed out the "Little Blue Book of Prayer" which was just a plain old little blue notebook. I also passed out a sheet with categories ideas to use to separate the areas of the notebook and to focus specific prayer time.

Here are some of the headings that I offered:
Praise & Thanksgiving
Confession
Character Changes
My Personal Growth
My Finances & Giving Goals
My Spiritual Goals
Family Needs
Physical Healing
Witnessing Goals
Divine Appointments
New Believers
The Lost
Church Leaders
Church Ministries
Sunday School Classmates
Missionaries
Community Leaders
Church or Community Events
Other Believer's Needs
"Wisdom" for Decisions

I am encouraging my church to follow the ACTS system for prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. So I would suggest that you spend the first 5 or 10 minutes just praising God. I personally read poetry or psalms that speak about the greatness of God and I am trying to memorize verses out of the book of Psalm that are praises to God and find that 10 minutes is often not enough time once I get going. I often feel so unworthy after adoring God that I naturally want to confess my sins (naming them is important) and this causes a feeling of humility and unworthiness for being called a Child of God which leads naturally into thanksgiving for his mercy and grace to adopt me into His family. After most of my prayer time is spent in these three categories (Adoration, Confession & Thanksgiving) I'm able to pray through my journal reading the lists that I've developed making supplication to God for my needs. I find that I have more requests and things to say than time and have to divide my categories up by days. For example, Monday & Tuesday is taken up of my personal and immediate family needs. Whereas, Wednesday & Thursday are set aside for my church ministry and church family needs. And Friday & Saturday are set aside for my 'others' days which are those outside of my church (e.g. community leaders and events, missionaries, etc). As a Pastor, some days I can pray straight through my journal and have spent an hour plus just praying. Please understand that I don't share this to highlight myself but to show that I could barely make it through a 15 minute prayer time before and now an hour flies by. I can honestly say that this has had a profound impact on my life and has turned prayer into a good habit. I also find that I worship and praise the Lord a lot more and keep a much shorter list of unconfessed sins.

I would encourage you to get a notebook and start a prayer journal. I guarantee it will change your life! If I can be of assistance in getting started or you would like more info please feel free to contact me.

PS. If you have a request or need that you would like me to pray for please email me at pastor.coon @ yahoo.com. I would love to add you and your specific need to my prayer journal. We never know what God will do to answer our requests if we don't develop a prayer habit!

The simplest and shortest version to what could be a long post is that I have felt God leading us to serve a church as a Senior Pastor instead of as an Associate Pastor (as our current position in Massachusetts). So starting in about November 2007 I have been in contact with hundreds of churches and posted my resume to Bible Colleges and I think I even pestered a few of you about churches that may have need of a pastor.

Well, the Lord has answered our (and your) prayers and for the last 8 days we have been fellowshipping, preaching for, and candidating at a church in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This afternoon the church held a business meeting and voted unanimously to extend to us a call to be their pastor and a few minutes later when I was revived we accepted (I’m kidding about passing out). It was a sweet time with the members crying and us crying (all tears of joy, I assure you!!). We all hugged each other’s necks just feeling a sweet spirit! We feel like we have known these people for years and it is all due to the Holy Spirit knitting our hearts together!

The church is small and has suffered a few trials first was the death of their former pastor of eight years who died from brain cancer and then they suffered from some power struggles after his death caused a void…but the Lord has blessed them with some faithful few stilling seeking and serving and so instead of facing difficulties…I see challenges that easily can be overcome. The church has only had about 15-20 faithful members but they are a strong tithing faithful with a heart to serve and witness. The church has been blessed with some gorgeous facilities and 10 acres of land in a great location. The town and surrounding area has about 60,000 and a very few churches that still preach the Word, Baptist or otherwise. There is not a Christian school in the area and so we are excited for the possibilities and future growth.

I thank you, my family and friends, for your prayers on our behalf and wanted to share the joyous news with you. It is with a humble and anxious heart that I can proclaim to be the Pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church of Orangeburg, South Carolina! We will be heading back to Massachusetts tomorrow and will be transitioning our ministries up there and moving down to South Carolina by April 1st, Lord willing. Please pray for the financial situation of our house in Massachusetts; a safe & smooth move; a successful ministry hand-off at Grace Baptist Church of Pepperell, MA; and for the Lord to work out all of the other details in a short time period. As we change mailing addresses and phone numbers we will send out another email and (hint, hint) if you visit our family website and blogs you can keep updated there as well.

I truly pray that God will give you the opportunity to witness to at least one lost soul this week and I pray that you will have the wisdom to recognize that opportunity and the courage to testify! God bless you!

Ken was a young man in the naval reserve from Ohio. He was stationed on Grosse Ile in the downriver Detroit area many years ago. Experimenting with his new-found freedom as a young man he went out with buddies and did some drinking. It was a Saturday night. He spent a restless night fighting off dark guilt and unhappiness. He got up early the next morning to attend chapel on the station. He was the only one there. The chapel was conducted by a local pastor who volunteered because there was no station chaplain at the time. This young man would not find the Lord for a few years, but that experience was a nudge in God's direction.

Keith attended the funeral of a friend. While the pastor was trying to eulogize his friend he got to thinking about what it would be like when he died. What would the pastor have to say about him at his funeral? It turned his life around. The funeral was a nudge towards God.

Tony never told the pastor the effect his question had on him. Ken was eventually converted and entered the ministry but never met the pastor on Grosse Ile again. Keith never told the humble country pastor about what happened to him at the funeral of his friend but God used him to nudge him closer to God. People write books about profound things, overt miracles, the out-of-the-ordinary—but the thing that keeps me plugging away in ministry is the potential of nudging someone just the right way at the right time to make a decision for God.

So have you nudged someone God's way, today?!

Are you meeting daily with God and feeding upon His Word, dear Christian friend? There is an old and wise saying, "The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible." Psalm 119:9 bears this out: "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." And that goes for the old man, too!

A recent study of 200 pastors who committed adultery or other immoral acts found that they had something other than immorality in common, in that none of them had a regular quiet time in fellowship with God.** No believer "falls" into sin. We backslide into sin when we neglect the basic spiritual resources God has given us. This is a very hectic age, but if we are too busy to spend time alone with the Lord and His Word, we are far too busy.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints-- Ephesians 6:10-18

**This has been a friendly reminder from David Cloud