Remember the Sabbath

Remember the sabbath...

I love the word of God because He, a Holy God while inspiring thought of everything! Jesus reminds us in Mark 2:27 “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” God instituted the sabbath to benefit man by giving him a day of rest! We need rest! I love Sunday because I can set aside time and worship with family and friends. Sunday is my favorite day of the week! I am looking forward to this Sunday! It will be my first Sunday at my new Church! I am looking forward to time reflecting and absorbing the word of God. As believers, we need to remember the sabbath. We are to keep it Holy! How are you doing? Is Sunday just another day, or do you make it special? Take time tomorrow to rest, to reflect and recognize where you are in your relationship with Christ and remember the Sabbath...enjoy the Lord...and the rest!

It has to start somewhere...

It has to start somewhere…

Today is a new beginning for me, as I will officially start my work at Hibernia Baptist Church. I am excited at the possibilities and look forward to what God has for me here! It is the beginning of a journey and it starts today!

Our spiritual journey through life has to start somewhere also! So today I want you as a believer to take some time and pray! I want you to ask God to do a great work in your life! Ask Him to totally rock your world and to reveal through scripture direction and purpose! Focus on what message God may have specifically for you! Every movement of God has to begin first with God, then as we make ourselves available by submitting totally to Him the movement begins in our lives! Can I tell you that when you are on a journey with God there is no telling where you might go! A journey with Christ is truly an adventure you will never forget! Scripture teaches, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) John understood that Jesus always was! He was with God in the beginning and He is seated at the right hand of God right now! We are on a journey! Is God with you? I pray that He is, because HE IS! Take some time today to declare your allegiance to the name that is above all names! Take a stand for Jesus…I love you all!<><

my new phone

I am loving my new phone! I am so amazed at all of the things it can do! I would probably be totally amazed if I actually opened up the instruction book and really learned about its capabilities. For now I am having fun stumbling across the features! I love it!

follow me

Follow me….

“Follow me” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!”
Matthew 4:19 HCSB

I love to fish! When I used to live at the lake I learned techniques that helped me catch fish! I like listening to fishermen who have perfected techniques that help pull the big fish into the boat! Several years ago I learned that by using a 7 and ½ inch purple worm and casting under the docks on the lake that I lived at would produce fish! The fish get under the docks trying to stay cool! Those purple worms work! Jesus wants to teach us how to fish for people! We have to perfect our techniques! We need to be able to clearly present the Gospel in a way that your fish can see the benefit of a relationship with Christ Jesus! There are lost people all around us, we come into contact with them each and everyday! How are you going to share the Gospel with them? Let God guide you! Let Him help you perfect your technique! God will use you if you are willing to be used! He will also provide the opportunity for you to share with someone the life changing Gospel. Follow Jesus! He will guide you to the stocked ponds where you can catch fish! I love you all! <><

I am the father of a princess...

The father of a princess...

I am the father of a princess! I never thought about this much until the other night when my youngest daughter Bethany (Boo) was crowned the 2009 Strawberry Princess for Bradford and Union Counties. Her mother and I are very proud of her accomplishments as she did extremely well on her talent and also in the interview process. She is a very gifted young lady! The point I want to make goes out to fathers of daughters! I want to confess that in many ways I have let my daughter down! She has always been a princess, but I have not always treated her like one. It is ashamed for me that it took a beauty pageant for me to realize this! I was as proud of her before winning the pageant but like many dads I did not tell her these things! Take time for your children! Dad's spend the time being the significant male in your daughters life. Help her through the process of growing up. Be dad, don't be afraid to be gentle and loving! Our kids grow up so quickly so today I want to encourage you that in the midst of your busYness carve out sometime for your children! You won't regret it! Let them know how important they are to you and how proud you are of all of their accomplishments! By the way...did I tell you that I am the father of a princess! I love you Boo and I am so proud of you!

Raising the Bar

Raising the Bar...

I love student ministry! I love the student culture, I love their willingness to learn and go beyond, and I love to see their eagerness to step up and out even in uncomfortable situations. We have before us a generation that is big and bright. Our mission (if we decide to except it) is to challenge the millennial generation in their walk with Christ! The world places academic and physical requirements on this generation everyday and millennials are accustomed to stepping up to the pressure! Colleges and Universities have requirements and make no exceptions in lowering standards to accommodate individuals. In many ways we (the Church) have encouraged students to be successful in life without challenging them in the most important part of their life! We must challenge students in their walk with Christ! We (the church) should also have high expectations for student ministry. My friend Alvin Reid says “It is the job of the minister both to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable” (Raising the Bar). Before us we have the greatest generation that has ever lived and unfortunately we are not challenging them! We (student ministry leaders) have to raise the bar! I am not willing to let a generation slide into the annals of history without the opportunity to possibly ignite a movement and be instrumental in the next great awakening! I want to be used in a great way by God! I want the ministry that I am involved in to make a huge impact for the Kingdom! I believe in young people! I believe that each of them have a driving desire to succeed in life! As a leader in student ministry it is my job to raise the bar! I need to daily challenge students in their walk with Christ! If God has called you to work with millennials you too need to challenge them! They are very gifted and capable of doing many things! We need to challenge them with the word of God! We need to assist them in their transition into becoming responsible leaders within the New Testament Church! How do we do this? By letting them come along side and actually do ministry! We challenge them by making our student ministries a laboratory where leaders are allowed to experiment and give input! Successful student ministry happens when students buy into what you are trying to accomplish! Let us raise the bar! God expects this of us! What are you willing to do for the student ministry at your church? Are you willing to raise the bar and challenge students in spiritual areas of their lives? I would love to recommend a great book! Raising the bar by Dr. Alvin Reid! I love you all! <><

My Princess Boo...

I am so proud of my daughter Bethany Caroline (Boo) who was crowned last evening as the 2009 Strawberry Princess for Bradford and Union counties at the Annual Strawberry pageant.

Indescribable

Indescribable...

Have you ever thought about what you toes are doing when your sitting there watching television? Or what about your knees when you are typing on the computer! The answer to these questions are no! You probably don't put a lot of thought into what your body is doing when you are doing things unrelated to the task at hand! Call me weird but I sometimes find my self thinking about these things! Why (a sane person) might ask? I cannot help but be amazed at how God created us! The greatest super computer on the planet pales in comparison to the human body. When God created us He created something that could not be duplicated. God created the one who created the super computer! What does that tell you about God? He is as the Chris Tomlin song says in INDESCRIBABLE! Our God is truly awesome! He is God! I want to challenge you today! I want you to think about what you really think of our creator! As Christians, we are to have a high and holy view of Him! We have to realize that everything that has been created is due to Him!. The Bible teaches us "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." He (God) is responsible for it all. Everything that has been made was made possible because of God. He is indescribable! He totally blows my mind because you see I think about things like where did He get the organic material needed to create the universe in which we live? Indescribable! There is nor has there ever been nor will there ever be anyone like our God! He is God! The great I AM is still the great I AM! What is your view of God? Take sometime today to think about His characteristics! When you do...like me, you will be totally blown away! I love you all! <><

This is the day...

This is the day that the Lord has made...

I am amazed each day at how God thinks of everything! Each day He gives us exactly what we need! "Give us this day, our daily bread..." God gives us exactly what we need each and every day! We can always count on God ! We need to each day to celebrate God and our relationship with Him! Think about all that He has done for us! Think about the blessings that you have received from our heavenly Father. So many times it is easy to take all of the blessings that we receive for granted! Have you ever considered what a blessing truly is? Think about it, the air we breathe, the sun shine we see and feel and our ability to read this blog are all blessings! God will do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever hope for or imagine! I believe the God of the universe wants us to dream big dreams! I believe He totally wants us to live for Him! Take sometime today and let our Creator know how much you love Him! I love you all <><

Heros

When I was a kid there was a great television show called the six million dollar man! Steve Austin was incredible! He could run faster, jump higher, see further and could hear conversations a great distances with out any effort! He would always find himself in precarious situations where his remanufactured body would save the day! He was one of my heros! He was honest, strong and determined! I would arrange my schedule so that I could catch the show, even the re-runs! I loved the six million dollar man, his integrity and all around demeanor made me want to be like him.
As I grew older...I realized that I could not have Steve Austin as my hero, I began to realize that he was not real, he was only the idea of a group of writers who had a persona to create with a target audience to appease! So I had to look else where! It was not long after this that I discovered a hero rich environment! They (Heros) where every where! I remember a Hero name Frank Goodlett, one named Herald Rivers, There was Jerry Knight, Dr. Jim Hampton, Bill Morris and Howard Steiner. Heros where all around me!
You might be at this moment trying to figure out where I found all of these heros! I found them at First Baptist Church, Clarksville Tennessee. These godly men had a profound influence on my life! God has used men over the years to shape my life! I love heros of faith who have chosen to live for God!
One of my favorite heros is a man name Jerry D, Moore. This man individually has probably had the greatest impact on my life! He loves Jesus...and he loves me! Brother Jerry is an amazing man with an amazing testimony! God has used him in a great way across sixty years of ministry! Bother Jerry recently retired from the pastorate but that has not minimized his life long pursuit to share the gospel every where he goes! Jerry Moore is my hero because he is so much like Jesus!
Find a hero! I would like to suggest that you go to the hero rich environment! The local Church! I love you all! <><

incredible

Wow, what a week it has been! This past weekend I took a group of middle school students to the Live Love tour put on by Student Life at First Baptist Orlando! The first word that comes to my mind when thinking about the experience is incredible! First, I want to tell you about the band! Kristian Stanfill (http://kristianstanfill.com/blog/) took 2500 students right to the throne of grace! His song “Lord of all” has to be one of the best worship songs I have ever heard! You need to go to itunes and purchase some of his music! I am looking forward to the possibilities of having him come for some event that we are planning! Then there was Francis Chan (http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/). A wonderful and gifted communicator that automatically connected with students! His message was so rich and relevant and helped me work through some decisions that I an going to be making in my own life and ministry! He also helped me to rethink my view of God! Thanks student life for an incredible weekend of worship! My only regret is that I have heard this is the last year for the tour format! I am going to miss not having this weekend next year! I love you all! <><