BLESSINGS FROM GOD!

Before I was saved I used to get mad at people and when I did I would often say, "Go to hell." Did you ever do that? Now hell is a real place, it is an eternal place of unbelievable torment and suffering. It is a place that once a person enters they will never be allowed to depart. There are millions of people there now and they are forever sentenced to this place. I think that even the most wicked person if they knew how terrible this place was they would not want anyone to " go to hell." 

But on the other hand, the best statement a person can make to anyone is , " God Bless you" or "may the Lord's blessings be with you." The Bible is filled with such greetings , especially in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul usually blessed those he was writing. In fact in 2nd Corinthians 13:14 it explains what "God bless you" means.

GOD BLESS YOU WITH LOVE." The love of God be with you all," Paul wrote. The Bible is clear God loves everyone, both Christian and Unbelievers. He loves all the people of the earth, all those in heaven, and even those who, have rejected Him, those who are in hell. No one is outside the boundaries of God;s love. GOD BLESS YOU MEANS GOD LOVES YOU! Now that is something we can say to everyone, even those we are angry with and would like to see change their ways. And God's love never fails, it is the very thing that will change anyone it comes in contact with.

GOD BLESS YOU WITH GRACE. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all," Paul's also wrote these words. Now here is a fact. Though God loves everyone , His grace is only extends His grace to those who receive it. Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that His saving grace is given to those who repent of their sin and receive Jesus by faith. No one in hell has known God's grace. Why? Because they rejected it. So may we say to others "be blessed with the grace of Jesus." We can say this to unbelievers and explain to them His wonderful grace that must be received, and we can say this to our believing families and friends when all is well and even when we have been hurt , offended disappointed, et

GOD BLESS YOU WITH HIS PRESENCE. Paul also wrote , "The fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." All are blessed with God's love, and Christians are blessed with the grace of Jesus, but only obedient Christians are blessed with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Carnal, rebellious believers miss out on the Spirit-filled life.

"God bless you" is perhaps the best words we can ever say to someone. It means, May the Father bless you with His love. May the Son, bless you with His grace, and may the Spirit bless you with His fellowship. Really what it is saying to someone is may God's love , grace and presence be yours today.

---------------------------GOD BLESS each of you Bishir Blog reader today! ----------------------------------

 It is Monday morning and I am in the office early after a very busy weekend of service for the ONE I want to please and praise. I took last Friday as my day off and worked at the house with Karen. We worked hard on organizing our barn I fixed lots of little things in need of repair. Then about 4 p.m. we went to meet our son Matt and we played 9 holes of golf. I have only golfed once in about three years so it was more like Plowing instead of golfing. We golfed 9 holes but it was really like 36 holes because of the amount of strokes it took. It was enjoyable to be with Matt. Then on Saturday we started early with Mens Prayer, thank the Lord we had 28 men for prayer on Saturday. Our prayer meetings are the power houses for all of our ministry. After prayer I had several counciling appointments then at 1:30 we officiated Katlyn Fowler & Zach Atkins wedding. It was very pleasing to this pastor to help them celebrate their special day. Both of these have grown up here at Liberty and each have remained faithful through the years and have taken their places in their church. They each serve the Lord and are committed to Christ. After the wedding we hurried back to the office and made several phone calls to some of our people who were in the hospital and then back to the reception. Afterward we went visiting and then home to study and pray. On Sunday morning Karen & I were at the church by 7:20 and working on prep things then at 7:45 a.m. we went to Sunday Mens Prayer. Then to the first service and preached. Then off to Sunday School and taught, then to second service to preach again. After service we shook hands and spoke with many concerning needs then Karen & I went to the hospital to make a few visits. Then we met a fine single man in our church who just needed to spend some time with someone who cares and we had lunch together. It was a sweet time of fellowship. Then back home and we took a 1 hour nap, AMEN. Then back to church by 4:30 as Karen had practice for her special and choir at 4:45p.m. I went to the office and studied for the evening message and prayed and at 6 p.m. preached in the evening service. We stayed around after church and visited all the VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL AREAS. The children were everywhere and the workers as well. Karen & I had fun visiting the classes and the children and of course we had fun talking with the wonderful servants. VBS went till 8 p.m. and we left before it was over and finally went home and popped some POPCORN and sat down for a few minutes before going to bed. WOW what a weekend, but a very productive one and I am thankful for the gift of life and the call to serve our Lord. 

I am asking each of you to pray this week for our annual Vacation Bible School. Pray that the workers will be filled with spiritual power as well as physical strength. It will be a long week and they need the Lord's presence in all they do. Pray for the children to hear God's Voice. That they will learn of Jesus and if they are not saved yet that this week will be the week they repent and receive the Lord as Saviour. I am asking the Lord that they will also have lot's of fun and that they will learn that church is a great place to build their lives around. On Thursdays we are doing something special through the summer, we are passing out SUMMER OF FAITH SNACKS after church. We have given out candy bars, ice cream bars, and cold cans of pop, it has blessed my heart to watch the children come to the snack patio with their parents to get their snacks. They are so exited and I can tell they think their church is a great place to be. I have watched our teens and young adults and even older adults do the same. Thank you Jesus for blessing our church with joy and grace. If you know of any child who would like to come to VBS you can bring them each night this week through Thursday. Need info cal the church. 

I need to go for today, but plan on blogging tomorrow, so hope you visit the blog then . Have a great week!

 Good Thursday to each of you. Hope your week has been a blessed one . Hope you have fellowshiped every moment with Jesus. Jesus makes all the difference in our lives. He is a faithful friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is always there and when we seek Him we find Him and when we find Him we find all we need for every situation in life. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I studied the Bible for 14 hours. I prepared messages for Sunday morn and eve. In the morning service I will preach a message entitled, "Why God Allows Suffering and Evil." It is one of the Big Questions for God. I really think this message will answer many questions that have been asked from many people. If God is God why does He allow such things that we see happening in this world? If He is all powerful why do these things happen? We will look at the Bible and bring Biblical answers to these and other questions. In the evening service we will preach from 2nd Thessalonians 1:11-12. In this passage we find how we need to be praying for our church. It will be helpful for our church to hear these truths this Lord's day. 

Tonight we have a good old friend who will be preaching in our mid week service for our "Summer Of Faith" series. Missionary Don Hodge is no stranger to our pulpit. He has preached at Liberty many times. God always uses him in special ways. Tonight he will bring us up to date on Liberty's church plant in Cuba as well as teach us on FAITH. Hope you can make it and help us get the word out. Bring a visitor you will be glad you did.

Yesterday I took some time to go visiting. A new fellow in our church has wanted to go visiting with me so Bob Peach met me here at the church around 11 a.m. and we went out for 3 hours or so and visited some folk. We went to the hospital , the nursing home, a shut in, some widows and some other connections were made with folk. I love to shepherd and to show concern and care for God's sheep. When is the last time you went by to visit a lonely brother or sister? When is the last time you went to a funeral viewing, a nursing home, a wedding? When is the last time you called someone who you haven't seen at church or in your Sunday School class lately? When is the last time you sent a card to someone you have seen their name in the prayer bulletin? You would be surprised how much it would encourage them along the way and it would do WONDERS for you. Every time I  "GO VISITING" I come back better than I went out. Give it a try, it may just be the answer for your discouragement, depression, loneliness, self pity, negative thinking or any other ailment that is keeping you from God's best. THINK ABOUT IT!

 This past Sunday I preached a message on John the Baptist. I entitled it,"The Greatness of a Man." Jesus said none had been born greater than John the Baptist. As you study the gospels you will find many of the qualities of this man and the reasons Jesus said this man was great. He certainly feared God rather than man! 

Leadership can be a frightening place to find yourself. Leaders in the home, church, work or any other area can have fears. Not all fear is dangerous, there are healthy and unhealthy fears for all leaders. Let me explain a few.

WE MUST FEAR THE LORD!

Psalm 111:10 tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." When we fear the Lord it helps us to recognize our accountability to God for the stewardship of leadership. It will moves us to seek the Lord's knowledge and direction in hard circumstances. It will challenge us to give our all to the Lord as we serve those we lead with love and humility.

WE MUST NOT FEAR MAN!

The fear of man is in direct conflict with the fear of God. It resists the fear of God. The fear of man will push us to seek man's approval rather God's direction. It encourages visible results at the expense of private devotion and growth. The fear of man leads us to make all our worship visible to the eye of man. The fear of man will cause us to focus on our shine instead of our substance. Man looks on the outward but God on the inward.  Often times it causes us to over-commit and spread ourselves beyond the Holy Spirit's leading, thus making man a god to us. It limits our ministry and stunts our walk with God.

The fear of man is a horrific trap. Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." The fear of man is an unsafe place to be while the fear of God is the most secure place we can bring ourselves to be.

While the fear of the Lord moves us to give our best by and through His Spirit, the fear of man intimidates us into fleshly works. The fear of man strangles us, because we can never please everybody in our home, church, work or any other place. But the fear of the Lord sets us free, because it leads us to live and serve for an AUDIENCE OF ONE. 

Ask yourself this question today. Are you operating in the fear of the Lord or the fear of others'? 

I love attending Liberty Baptist Church in Sweetser. 23 years ago marked our first service that we attended Liberty. Seems like yesterday in some aspects and in others it seems like it has been a lifetime. When we first came to Liberty we thought we were only coming for a short time to help the church get back on its feet. We were serving as an assistant pastor at Union Chapel Baptist under our father in-law Ralph Rickner. He had been at Union Chapel Baptist for over 30 years at that time. At that time Union Chapel had a very large attendance and we had been on staff there for about 13 years. I had no plans of leaving for long term but did have a heart to preach more so when we came to Liberty in our minds we thought it might be short term. For the first two years we maintained both duties, we ministered at Union Chapel as well as Liberty. I was younger and full of energy. I never really thought it was hard and Karen was such a help meet we just were able to do it and the Lord blessed. At Union I was still overseeing many ministries and would leave there after Sunday School and drive the 16 miles to Sweetser and preach in the morning service. We had an early service on Sunday eve at 5 p.m. and afterwards we would drive back to Union and be in the evening service thee as they started at 6: 30 p.m. It made for some long days but this was what life was all about. Sharing Christ, and Teaching His Word. Discipleship and helping to build God's Church. After all Jesus was coming soon and souls were perishing all around us. What did it matter if we had to sacrifice a little? What did it matter if we missed some things of the world? There was another world. Another purpose worth living. As Karen & I look back it has been worth every effort, every sacrifice, every pain and self denial. Souls have been saved, lives have been changed, families brought back together. 

As I look back over the last 23 years, nothing has changed in our purpose and plans. Yes, some things have changed. We may not have as much physical energy as we once did. We may not have some of that youthfulness that once was present. We are a lot more mature and have learned much in how to minister for the Lord. But today we have the same Lord! The same Bible! The same passion for our God. We still have the same mandate to go and tell others about Jesus.  I look forward to the future as we praise God for the past 23 years here at Liberty. 

 What a beautiful day in Northeastern Indiana. I won't take much time to blog today but I wanted to remind each of you about tomorrow morning's Prayer Breakfast and Blitz. We will FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER as we eat and then we will PRAY TOGETHER and then we will go and SHARE THE GOSPEL TOGETHER! Liberty is a TOGETHER CHURCH! Hope to see each of you at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. Have a great weekend! 

Since I blogged last on Tuesday I feel like I have been around the world and back and I never left Indiana. I have been very active in many things and none any greater than being involved with hurting people. Today we have spent time with a family that spent the last several days at the hospital after going to work on Tuesday and being rushed to the Emergency Room unexpectantly. Two stints later he is home and his wife is caring for him. Life changes fast and there is never a lack of hurting people needing the ministry of love and prayer. Another family suddenly found themselves at Marion General Hospital and a few hours later at Ft. Wayne Lutheran Hospital. I just returned from there after giving council on wether the family should allow the ventilator to be put on a love one. Big decisions and big hurt all needing wisdom from heaven. So many people are in need today. I hope each of you will avail yourself to be used of God to help others in their hour of need. It can be exhausting but it is also very satisfying to know you were used of the Lord in someone's life, just as if you were there representing Jesus Himself. Please pray for these two  families and many others who are facing difficult times today.

Hope to see all you LIBERTY folk tonight at church. We will continue our "Summer of Faith," emphasis on Thursday evenings this summer. It will be good and I know you will be glad you came to church. Don't let summer time activities keep you from the good discipline of faithful church attendance. Also tonight at 6 p.m.  there will be a special Birthday Party before church in the  Life Center. Our very own Lori Jones turns 40. As you know Lori is disabled and for her to live to be this age is a testimony for the Lords power in her life. She is one of our special members and it would mean a lot to her and her parents, Olin & Janice, if you would come a little early to church and help them celebrate this milestone. 

Over 30 years ago the gospel singer Mark Lowery came to Union Chapel Baptist on a few occasions and ministered in song. He was a student at Lynchburg Baptist College which later became Liberty University. I can still remember one particular song that he had written and would sing . It was entitled, DON'T QUIT! It had a particular phrase in it that has stuck with me for over 30 years, "Don't quit, think about it brother but don't quit, that's it, think about it brother but don't quit." I don't know how many times I have rehearsed that verse to myself over these many years of ministry.

Today is not unlike most days when it would be so easy to just quit and give up. It would be the easiest thing to just bail and let others handle the situations, perhaps those who seem to have more answers, perhaps those who seem able to criticize all the effort. But then I think of those words, "Don't Quit, think about it brother but don't quit." Then I remember the ONE who didn't quit on the world, no He didn't quit on me. Hebrews 11 is filled with believing brothers and sisters who are in heaven today who encourage us not to quit, not to succumb to bitterness, not to faint. We are to look to them and they encourage us to, "Look to the author and finisher of our faith." He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him, and we must do the same. He is the one who has begun our faith walk and He will be the finisher , the completer as we keep our eyes on Him. He is the One we must not quit on, He is the One we must not fail. And He shows us the way to remain faithful, He shows us the reason, He shows us the future prize for all those who live by faith, and by faith they find the way to endure and not quit. He is the one who gives us the power to keep on keeping on, even when every fiber of our soul wants to quit. He is our faith, yes, He is our faith. People are not our faith. Problems are not our faith. HE IS OUR FAITH! I think today I will choose to focus on the author of my faith instead of the encumbrances. I will lay aside every weight and the sin of unbelief and choose HIM MY FAITH to follow and as I do perhaps others will find something in my life that will help them see Jesus just as those in Hebrews 11. 

Let me encourage you to read Hebrews 11-12 this day. If you are thinking about quitting in any capacity it will be a great help I am sure. 

Hard to believe it is another Monday already. The weeks go by so fast for this preacher but I am thankful that every day is filled with much to accomplish for the Lord. This morning we had a great staff meeting and a good spirit was represented in each pastor as we looked over last weeks accomplishments and as we looked at this weeks agendas. There is much each of us is hoping to accomplish and as we spoke together it seemed each one knew we needed divine aid in making our days count for God's glory. We went to our weekly staff lunch and had a little fun and as Pastor Chas prayed for us he asked the Lord to help us see the challenges we face were only opportunities from the Lord Himself. 

Yesterday we had good services. Yesterday I spoke on the afterlife and spent a good amount of time on Hell. Let me encourage you to listen to this message this week . You can go to resources on this web-sight and click the message entitled, What Happens After Life Ends." Last eve we spoke from 2nd Thess 1:4-6 on the topic , "It Will Be Worth It All." In the evening service we made a very important announcement concerning our Children's Pastor, Ryan Frank. We announced that Pastor Ryan had accepted a Vice President position with AWANA International. He will begin his new duties with AWANA in July. He & Beth will be able to stay in this area and they will continue to stay at Liberty but will no longer be on the official pastoral staff. He will continue teaching his SS class as well as other ministries . He will help us through this transitional time. It was bitter/sweet to say the least. We are proud and honored that one from our staff would receive such a broad reaching ministry with children. AWANA currently in ministering to nearly 2 million children worldwide. It is also very difficult losing such a quality staff member who has serving in his capacities since he was a young teenager. I was a little emotional last evening to say the least. Our Lord has it all together and He has a plan for the future of our church. We will lean and listen and follow Him into His perfect plans concerning all ministries of our church.

We do want to say THANKS to Pastor Ryan & Beth for being the immeasurable resources to Liberty Baptist that they have been. Our Children's ministry is deeply indebted to their hard work and giftedness. Many other areas of our church are successful today because Beth & Ryan have left their fingerprints upon them through the years. Make suer in the days ahead that you seek both Ryan & Beth out and let them know how much you appreciate them for all they have done . Again we are thankful they will still be with us and will help us in this transitional time of finding God's plan for the future. 

 Good Friday to each of you. We are in our office early and preparing for our monthly deacon/pastors meeting held tomorrow morning. We have a lot of great things to speak about and some really important decisions to discuss and make. We have 9 deacons, 5 pastors and 1 treasurer and 1 financial secretary who sit on Liberty's official board. We are blessed to have men who have a heart for God and who seek the Lord's will in every decision. I am constantly leading our men to be men of prayer, because when you are in the Lord's work you MUST have heavenly wisdom and direction. We each would appreciate your prayers as we will discuss some very major possibilities here at Liberty tomorrow. 

Last evening was our first midweek service of "A SUMMER OF FAITH." It started out with a bang. In spite of many of our regular attenders who were away on vacation and graduations we had a wonderful attendance and better than that we had a wonderful spirit. John Rickner led the congregation in song and was he fired up or what? The instrumentalist were amazing and Pastor Chas' special "Faithful" moved me to worship and praise and set the tone for the preaching of God's word. We spoke from Hebrews 12:1-3 on the author & finisher of our faith. We took up a special offering for our new "Memorial Way" with the purpose of honoring each of our members who have gone before us. "Memorial Way" will be in some ways our Hebrews 11, our Hall of Faith.  Reports were given to me after service that AWANA had many , many children in attendance and that the workers were out in force as well. Teens had a great summer night of fun and discipleship. Young Adults met at 8:30 p. m. and as Karen & I were walking at 10:15 we called our daughter Abby and she reported YAMS were still going on and the teacher was being used of the Lord. To God be all the glory. All that even in June, PTL.  I love giving good reports like this , and all the praise goes to Jesus. 

This Sunday morning I will be preaching on the topic, "What Happens After Death?" Be sure to be here and bring a visitor you will not be sorry. Also in the evening we will preach a message from 2nd Thess 1 entitled, "It Will Be Worth It All." Hope to see you. Our plan is not to have one down moment this summer at Liberty Baptist in Sweetser. Have a great Friday and Saturday and we will see you Sunday unless the Lord comes back before! God Bless each of you! 

TODAY IN HISTORY.

1.1912- David C. Cook Was Born In Elgin, Illinois. Mr. Cook was president of David C. Cook Publishing Company, a Sunday School materials publisher. Pray for all our Sunday School materials to stay faithful to the Word of God.

2. 1914- James T. Jeremiah Was Born. He was a great leader in the General Association of Regular Baptists and served as the president of Cedarville College. He was a faithful preacher of God's Word. His son is Pastor David Jerimiah of our day. 

3. 1900- Stanley Sebaston Kresge Was Born In Detroit, Michigan. He was a great Christian laymen active in the Christian Businessmen's , Youth for Christ, etc. He provided much money to further the Lords Kingdom. He founded the dime store chain S. S. Kresge which later became what we know as  K MART. We need great men and women of success to continue to help further the Lord's work on this earth. 

 Paul's ministry in every city was validated in many areas but in the area of personal relationships his testimony tremendous. Especially in the city of Ephesus. When Paul gave his final fair-well to the church leaders it was so tender and touching. They had worked together and grown to love each other. Upon his departure he was able to part with a clear conscience and strong relationships ( Acts 20:19-34 ). 

Our ministry and personal life is likewise strengthened when we are:

1. RIGHT WITH GOD.

We must never think that we can put our walk with the Lord on "auto pilot." No matter how long we have been saved or how mature we have become as a Christian, there is always room to grow. I have found when I am not walking with the Lord as closely as I should that my relationships with other humans begin to grow weaker as well.

2. RIGHT WITH AUTHORITY.

We cannot be right with God and be disobedient to our authorities. A person who knows how to serve under authority is qualified to be a leader ( Luke 7:8-9 ). When I council I often direst young parents to the authority of their parents, wives to their husbands, Workers in the church to those put in positions of leadership, workers to their bosses and church members to pastors. God's authority structures are vital in our lives.

3. RIGHT WITH THE TEAM.

Each of us need a spirit of love in our hearts. A Spirit given love for one another on the team. Philippians 2:2 says, "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,of one mind." I often need to ask myself the question does this verse describe my relationship with fellow believers?  Your marriage is a team. Our families are teams. Our church is a team, and team players find there is great joy in serving together. 

Think about ways we can strengthen these three vital relationships.

TODAY IN HISTORY!

1. 1935-ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WAS ORGANIZED IN NEW YORK CITY. 

2. 1752- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DREW LIGHTENING FROM CLOUDS WITH A KITE. This day changed our lives. Thank God for men & women of discovery. 

3. 1943- THE WITHHOLDING TAX WAS SIGNED. 

 `Every person that will have a fruitful life for Christ will pay some price along the way. Many Christians want blessings without being willing to bear burdens; they want the crown without carrying the cross. Yet, whenever there was a great work to be done for God in the Scripture, someone was willing to pay the price. Noah, Moses, David, Nehemiah, and Paul all experienced the fruit of spiritual success-and the expense of personal sacrifice.

Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing. God used Paul to accomplish great things in ministry, but it was not without cost. Paul emphasized this in 2nd Corinthians 11:23-28: "Are they ministers of Christ? ( I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stipes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was iI stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep, In journeyings often, in perils in the water, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." 

Is obedience to God's call easy? NEVER! Is rearing Godly children Easy? Is building a Godly marriage Easy? Is teaching a Sunday School class Easy? Is winning souls Easy? Is continuing in your God called ministry ever Easy? NEVER! And who said it would be? And why would we want it to be?  Seems to me that one of the problems today in the realm of Christianity is that many want it "EASY INSTEAD OF FRUITFUL." 

For those who are willing to count the cost and put their hand to the plow without turning back, God provides daily grace to continue in the ministry and see spiritual fruit. When we're willing to yoke up with Christ, we find a supernatural strength that only comes from abiding in Him and ministering in the power of His Spirit. 

The danger of wanting life always easy may be destroying the very possibility of producing joy giving fruit. We American Christians have grown soft and because of it we have grown barren. The absence of spiritual fruit in our life may be a reality of our unwillingness to sacrifice and pay the price it takes to see the production of real fruit and fruit that remains. 

I am challenging myself to not grow soft but to have enough love for God that I would be willing to continue to pay the costs for a productive life and ministry for God's glory. How about you?

 It is another Monday morning and it is a very beautiful day in Northeastern Indiana. Yesterday we had good services at both Liberty Baptist and New Hope Baptist. Pastor Ryan preached at Liberty in the morning at Liberty as I preached at New Hope. Each service had a great spirit present. In the morning at Liberty we honored all our High School grads as well as our College grads. In the evening at Liberty we had our Awana Awards night which is an annual event. We had many children who were presented awards for all their diligent work at memorizing Scriptures as well as Christian Truth. It was fun to see the children so exited bout receiving their awards. It reminded me a little of the Judgement Seat of Christ. We also honored workers who have been so faithful to the tasks of working with children. We have some Awana workers who have been involved in this particular ministry ever since we began the program 23 years ago. We also honored the parents of the children who are so responsible to motivate their children to this life-changing discipline. After the awards ceremony we spoke from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 on the DIstinctive Goal-the Decisive Choice-the Determined Plan- the Delightful Result. All in all it was a good day for the Lord's work here at Liberty. At New Hope Baptist we spoke on " Is There More Than One Way To God." The people were really into the message and many learned some practical things in taking our stand for JESUS ONLY. I heard good reports of their services last evening and that visitors were present. PTL.

This week Liberty Baptist is having our Annual Children's Camp. It is at Rainbow Christian Campground close to Converse, In. Please be in prayer as Pastor Ryan and many workers are working with the children this week. Over 60 children are registered and nearly 20 workers will be at camp beginning today and going thru Wednesday eve. God often does great things at camp time so pray every heart will be in tune with the voice of God. Pray for safety and pray for each speaker and leader to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Hope you have a good day and we will blog again tomorrow, Lord willing. 

I have been meditating on the fact that one of the names given to Jesus in the New Testament is "Son of David." For many people this title means the kingship of Jesus and rightfully so. David was a great king, and Jesus is our King of kings. 

But in Acts 13:36 we find the perspective on the life of King David from the Apostle Paul as he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God." David was a great soldier, statesman, king, and writer yet what the Lord was pointing out that he was most importantly a servant. Servants make the best kings, parents, writers, soldiers, and statesman. 

David was perceived as being used by God for God's purposes. He functioned as a servant of God to the people of Israel. Servanthood under God's command and authority was David's most important trait. 

In this way, Jesus is most assuredly like David. He was the most supreme servant. Jesus knew the secret to true success from God's perspective: Discover God's goals for your life and then achieve those goals. 

We often think of Jesus' ministry, or His years of active service as being the final three years of His life on this earth. What we often fail to understand is that for nearly 30 earthly years He served as well. He served His own earthly family and His community. Most Bible historians would tell us that Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, died when Jesus was a young teen. We know that if that happened it was the Lord Himself who sovereignly planned it before the world was ever created. As the eldest son in the family, Jesus became responsible for the care and well being of His mother and siblings. In all likelihood, Jesus filled this role in a very practical way-providing the family income-and helping in the training of His younger siblings-until the youngest of His siblings reached adulthood. 

Some may feel today that their life is so busy with family obligations and responsibilities that you cannot serve the Lord like you want. Some older sisters or brothers may feel constraint as you help with the younger children. Some may feel like when you help at the home that it isn't service at all. Mowing the grass, washing dishes, changing a diaper, working and making money so you can buy your own car or pay the insurance, helping buy your own clothes, all of this can be service unto the Lord. The wife, husband, father, mother, teen or child who are working in the home to make it a place worth living are serving the Lord as well.

The truth is you are serving God as you serve your family. This may be the sole or primary role that God has for you right now. Be a parent as if you were a parent to the Lord Jesus Himself. When you serve your children from that perspective and with that motivation, you are serving God. Children serve your parents as well and as you do it will also be as unto the Lord. 

It was serving His family that Jesus no doubt developed as a servant in His earthly life. As he entered the last three years of His earthly ministry He had great servant compassion. He reached out to children, He touched lepers, He embraced outcasts, He quieted the fears of the fearful. May each of us develop the servant attitude as we live life out in the ordinary days of life. 

TODAY IN HISTORY!

1. 1808- THE BIRTHDAY OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

2. 1905- HUDSON TAYLOR WENT TO HEAVEN. A great missionary. At his death his daughter in law said as she watched, "It was not death." 

3. A GREAT MIDWEEK SERVICE IS PLANNED AT LIBERTY BAPTIST SWEETSER. 

It has been a very full day for this preacher again today. We are still working on getting our office annex back up and running with phone systems and internet service as well as some computers which were damaged by the lightening strike on Thursday. We thought we would be back to normal by today but that isn't happening. Much more damage then we originally thought.  It sure has caused some difficulty but when we look at our problems they seem so small when it comes to many who have some very large issues they are facing. Our office problems are ones we can eventually fix and in some ways make some things work better in the future. 

Many people today are facing some BIG situations in their life or another precious person in their lives. Some of these situations may not be able to be fixed on this side of heaven, yet God promises us in Romans 8 that He can take our problems and "Work them for Good." Some of you today are going through real deep waters and the LIGHTENING is hitting all around. Perhaps some have been struck with a surprising bolt of destruction. You may be thinking today it will never be the same, yes that is true, "IT MAY NEVER BE THE SAME IT MAY BE BETTER." Our God can take the worst of situations and in His mighty power make them turn into blessings. 

We may have some temporary pain and difficulty but we can trust our Lord to win the day. Most of the time we live to see it in this life but sometimes it will only be revealed in the next. But we can trust our Lord when things are never to be the same He has the power to make them better. AMEN! 

Each of us need to believe this truth when we are in the darkest of hours. We need to believe it when we are in our deepest doubts and our most overwhelmed moments. We need to do all we can to fix the damage of these lightening strikes of life but also trust the Lord that we are not the only ones working. Our Lord is working in ways the human eye may not see but our human hearts can believe. We need to continue to obey our Lord in these times and practically apply our belief to all that is going on in our lives. Good is on it way. Good is from God. Good is promised of our Good Lord. Good will come from this. And with that truth we can remain steadfast for our Lord to help us be good as well. Being Good as we wait on the Good One to make it all Good one day. 

It has been a while since I last blogged. I think the last day I blogged was Thursday. I took last Friday off instead of my usual Wednesday. Yesterday was Memorial Day and didn't get to blog that day either. Came to office this morning early ready to blog and found our entire phone system and internet network had been hit by lightning on Monday. It will take several days and lots of money to get back up and running in our normal way. Times sure have changed in our dependency on the phone system and the internet. We had to wit till 3 p.m. for the phone company to come and tell us it wasn't their problem. Then we called the company who installed the phone system to find out they went out of business. So we called another company and they sent someone late afternoon and they finally diagnosed the whole system has been damaged by a lightening strike. Not great news as the system is only a year old and now we will need to wait for parts and then time to fix the system. It will be very expensive and we carry a high deductible insurance so this is not a pleasant event. But with all that said we are rejoicing that we will be able to take care of this and keep moving forward. I love high tech but with it comes problems and costs. I am thanking the Lord today that lightning and just plain old tech problems can't keep us from communicating with Him. He is always a prayer away no equipment is needed. Our lack of connecting with Him and our sin is the only things that keep us from speaking to and hearing from the Lord.

We had a great Memorial Weekend of services. Many people were away for the weekend but we still had good attendances and wonderful fellowship. The spirit was tremendous and the Word of God was proclaimed. Sunday eve we celebrated the Lord's Supper and His presence was manifested to each one present. Thanks to all those who had a part in helping with our LIFT {Liberty In Fellowship Together}. It was a time of eating and enjoying one another.

Yesterday I was able to stay at home for a good holiday. Karen and I planted some flowers and mowed the grass and worked around the house till about 3 p.m. Then we cleaned up and began to get ready for our family to come over for a nice evening together. I always look forward to such times and last eve was one of the best. I hope each of you had a wonderful day how ever you spent it.

Again I am sorry for not blogging for 4 days, I looked and saw that hundreds have visited the sight over that period. I will try to blog tomorrow and I am sure it will not be before afternoon, because it will take that long to get our system up and running or at least till I will have access to the internet. Hope to hear from some of you letting me know you are still are out there. Have a good evening!