"Preach the Word,

No, this is not a post about my handyman skills (or lack thereof) nor is it about my latest trip to Home Depot. Rather this is about my wonderful Christmas gifts. Yep, my wife let me purchase my own Christmas gifts and I had fun shopping online at BJU Press, Christian Book Distributors, and Regular Baptist Press. I was surprised with all of the varied resources available to preachers and teachers. So I confess that I worked it out to order my gifts from my parents as well. I picked up some great books for studying the Bible, preparing sermons, and even a few on sermon illustrations. I picked up some booklets to be used for personal devotions, Sunday School lessons, or Bible Studies. I am very excited for a selection of books I ordered from RBP...a set referred to as the BUILDUP series. This seems to be a very good Adult or Wednesday Evening Bible Study series for all Christians of any maturity level. I spent way too much money because once I got started it was hard to stop :)

I am glad that BJU Press and RBP offer the many solid resources that they do but I was shocked and saddened by all of the confusing (garbage) resources available online (and yes through CBD). Many of these resources are either blatantly worldly, scripturally weak, or extra-biblical. It can be a challenge at best, an exercise in frustration, or doctrinally corrupting at worse. So it is with a grateful heart that I appreciate the advice I receive from other Fundamental Baptist pastors in regards to recommended resources and to those companies that still make the solid, biblically correct materials available. Thank you and keep up the good work!

Ok so enough of my rambling...I gotta go study and use my tools! Happy Holidays to All! God Bless!

LORD, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. - PSALM 141:3

Proverbs 10:19 states, "The one who controls his lips is wise." I’m glad God included in the Psalms and Proverbs the words that are before us today about controlling our speech. It’s important to talk, but talking too much is as bad as not talking at all. Proverbs extols rationing our words.

Once, when Thomas Edison the inventor was at a reception, the toastmaster stood up and complimented him on his many inventions, especially the talking machine. After the toastmaster sat down, the aged inventor rose to his feet and said, "Thank you for those remarks, but I must correct one thing. It was God who invented the talking machine. I only invented the first one that can be shut off."

A doctor told me that once, while writing out a prescription, he asked a woman to put out her tongue. When he had finished, she said to him, "But doctor, you never even looked at my tongue."The doctor replied, "It wasn’t necessary, I just wanted you to keep quiet while I wrote the prescription."


A wise person has a disciplined tongue. Many need to learn this, for, like the tongue in old shoes, our tongue is often the last thing to be worn out. If a disciplined tongue is your need, ask God to help you, for an undisciplined tongue is an unloving tongue and leads to much trouble.

Do you know God's will for your life? Well, good let me know, will ya? Yes, I understand that we do know God's will for our lives by walking daily according to His Word. We are to be fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission...loving God and telling others of Him! But to understand how and when we are to do His choice for our life or the where of service to Him or the why's of things (good or bad) that come into our lives...anyone have these figured out? I have reread Job to understand how he responded so I can learn to allow difficulties into my life without blaming or doubting God (or the others around me). Job was even "betrayed" by his Christian friends who told him to purge his life of sin and seek God's forgiveness even though Job knew he was "ok with God." So as I seek the Lord's direction and for Him to open doors for me to serve at, I try not to get bogged down with self doubt or insecurities. I know I have been called to preach and do desire to serve Him and minister to the Body of Christ. I just want to do everything in the right time, making the right choices. As we search for a church, I ask you to pray with us for the Lord to open doors for me to preach at. I also ask that you will pray for our exit from here that the Lord will receive glory and that the ministry will not be harmed. We want to protect our testimony and continue to serve the Lord effectively while we are still here.

PS. I may be preaching at a church a couple of hours away within the next couple of weeks, please pray for this.

A life without Christ is a life without hope and a sure path to sadness and loss. Not just to the one without Christ but also to every life that’s touched by a hopeless life. Reaching people with the “Good News” of Jesus Christ is not just about heaven. It’s also about sharing hope.
In the space of just a few days, mass shootings at a mall in Omaha, Neb., and at two churches in Colorado (Arvada and Colorado Springs) have claimed the lives of 14 people (including two gunmen). CNN reports that the same man, Matthew Murray, perpetrated the killings at a Youth With a Mission dormitory at Faith Bible Chapel near Denver and at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Details regarding the motivation of the Colorado shooter have not yet been established. But more is known about the Omaha shooter who killed eight victims before taking his own life. Robert Hawkins, 19, left a suicide note which alternately voiced despair and a desire for fame: “I’ve just snapped. I can’t take this meaningless existence anymore. I’ve been a constant disappointment and that trend would have only continued. I know everyone will remember me as some sort of monster, but please understand that I just don’t want to be a burden on the ones that I care for [for] my entire life.” Elsewhere in the note, he said of his motivation, “Just think tho I’m gonna be [expletive] famous. … I just want to take a few pieces of [expletive] with me.” [abcnews.com, 12/8-10/07; cnn.com, 12/10/07]

What are the benefits of keeping our gaze continually focused on God? I can think of at least three.

First, the more we study Him, the more we will want to become like Him. The most natural thing in the world, when there is a good relationship between parents and their children, is for that child to want to become like them. That is the way it is also with God our Father. The more we discover of His love, His holiness, His purity, His trustworthiness, His strength, His patience, the more we want to emulate Him.

Second, the more we study God, the better we will know ourselves. When Isaiah stepped into the Temple and had a vision of God, he also saw the truth about himself. Things that were hidden deep within him came to light in the presence of the Eternal.

Third, the more we study Him, the clearer will be our perspective on the world. When you see that God is in charge, then you won't panic every time you open the newspaper. You can only know God, of course, through Christ, and because You have Him, instead of saying, "Look what the world has come to," you will be able to say, "Look what has come to the world."

So in conclusion the people who know their God will firmly resist the Adversary. The Prophet Daniel writes, "...but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." (Dan. 11:32). I can do no more than to say - there you have it in a nutshell. The more you know God, the stronger you will be.

May God bless you as you learn to rely on Him!